Wilke Pipe Tobacco Pipemaker's Choice

Presentation is typical Wilke ribbon. A mixture of light, medium, and dark browns. Jar note is slightly sweet, with a touch of smokey Latakia.  Will benefit from some drying time before lighting.  This blend produces plenty of smoke and will definitely nip, but not quite bite, if rushed. 

The charring light brings a very sweet flavor to the tip of the tongue. While Royal Scot is not listed as an ingredient, I strongly suspect it is the Cavendish listed here. After the true light, some citrusy Virginias poke through as well. Latakia is applied here with a very gentle hand and, in the first third of the bowl it's a light, condiment touch but nothing more.  

By mid-bowl the lemony citrus settles down a bit but the smokey notes of Latakia are still struggling to shine through. This flavor profile remains fairly consistent through to the end.  There is a touch of smokiness in the background but the sweet Virginias and Cavendish are the stars of this show. By the final third of the bowl, I found myself wanting something more in order to ground this blend - perhaps some burley, or a touch more Latakia. 

In this regard, it's tough to consider this a "medium English", and I think true English smokers may be disappointed. This is definitely an aromatic English and in Pipeworks & Wilke's line-up I would rate it as more similar to No.5 and No.13 than, say, Bestmake, which is less sweet. To my taste, this blend could use some burley to balance out the sweetness from the lemon Virginias and Cavendish. But then it would basically be No.5. 

That doesn't make this a bad tobacco, far from it. I don't want to suggest that this is anything other than a good blend from one of my favorite blenders. But Carole has several better blends in this category.  Those who like a pinch of Latakia in their aromatic blend should definitely try this. Smokers of HGL will find this a dryer, higher quality blend. 

This is a very balanced smooth blend.It is I guess a mild to medium english with slight sweetness from a small amout of cavendish. I find this addition well balanced & adds not distracts from the base tobacco tastes. This, #10, & Gramercy are my favourites & if I had to stop adding to my rotation these would be my 3 tobaccos in there different genres. They are not finicky about the pipe, the tendencies of the smoker & yet tate like tobacco.

The Dick Cheney of pipe tobaccos: rich, bitter, and monotonous.

This is a terrific medium English blend that has become my afternoon favorite in my daily rotation. The latakia gives it the robestness and smoothness that it posesses. There is a underlying flavoring that surfaces throughout the smoke, making this a very unique blend IMO. It burns slowly, allowing me to savor this treat. I actually prefer this now to Dunhill's London Mix as my all afternoon smoke. Perhaps it is because of the light application of cavendish in this blend. Whatever it is, it is very satisfying and worthy of your consideration.

This is the first tobacco in a long time that just knocked my socks off from the first bowl! Once again, the folks at Pipeworks & Wilke have hit another one out of the park (I understand that this blend was first created by famed pipemaker Elliot Nachwalter).

This is an extraordinary (and uniquely different) medium English blend made of very high quality leaf. The VA base is full and rich but has no bite. The Latakia is low-key and floats in and out for nuance without taking over. What sets this tobacco apart for me is the addition of natural style (not cased black) Cavendish. As in Dunhill's 965, the Cavendish takes the tobacco from standard English fare to something special. With Pipemaker's Choice, the Cavendish adds a sweetness and warm spice that perfectly balances the VA and Latakia. However, this is not an aromatic English. Instead, it is a sweeter natural English blend with undercurrents of spice like nutmeg/cinnamon (you really have to try it to understand what I mean).

The cut is a mix of shorter ribbon and rubbed out flake. Burns clean and dry all the way down to the very end of the bowl.

I really love this tobacco. I truly have smoke nothing quite like it before.

A mild to medium English with a deliciously sweet addition. The latika definitely takes a back seat. A nice almost grassy/celery note from the Virginia but it’s the faint aromatic with the cavendish that star of the party. Feel the nic hit might be a little more than say EMP or Presbyterian.

I did not like this at all. The listings above say there is no flavoring, but I do not believe it. I tasted Vanilla when I first lit up my first bowl of the sample sent me. I was cooking on the grill for my In Laws, who happened to be over. After moving some meat around. I sat down with my FIL who immediately remarked "smells good, Vanilla right?"

Looking on here, it stated there was nothing listed, but I did see a few reviewers also picked up on Vanilla notes. Whatever is used to top this blend seems, to me, at odds with the latakia and otherwise English Notes this blend has. It is contrasting and distracting and further points out the reason many of us will use some pipes for lat blends and some pipes for aros, but seldom intertwine them.

When an aromatic English is done right it can be enjoyable. Blends like C&D Sweet English, PS EOS and luxury English are a couple of examples. This one is just terrible to my tastes. My favorite bowl was the last since I diluted it with so much unflavored Cavendish. I wanted to give this one star, but will give it two out of respect for reviewers I know who apparently don't think it is as bad as I thought it was.

I was given a sample recently of a friends stash of Pipemaker's Choice and through the bag I could tell this would be an interesting taste. Latakia blends that have a topping are one of those love it or hate it genre's since traditional English smokers tend to scoff at a topped English and Aromatic smokers might not enjoy the smokiness. I enjoyed the full mouth feel and strength of PC and my family were pleased with the room note so it's a win-win. To me PC is a light to medium English with a decent amount of Latakia but nowhere near bomb territory and the supporting Virginia's were of course the best quality being as Carole uses nothing but the finest leaf. I do not believe the blend is topped but rather an Aromatic Cavendish is added to the English blend which keeps the goopyness and moisture at a perfect level. At $60 + per pound, this is a bit steep for what Is essentially an Aromatic English, or is it an English Aromatic... But either way if this is your thing then PC is the best rendition of the genre I have found.