Peter Stokkebye Cube Cut (PS41)

Peter Stokkebye - Cube Cut.

There isn't much to report on the aroma coming from the bag, it's a very simple tobacco one. The colour of the mixture's a straightforward medium brown; O.K., if I'm REALLY pedantic each cube has some brown layers, and some yellow layers, but I don't see inspection that 'up close' particularly necessary, on a whole, it's medium brown!

I gravity feed this one and then just give it a gentle finishing pack, very gently so as not to hinder the burn. And then, mine's quite easy to get burning. The only problem with it is due to the firm construction of the cubes, if I put my pipe down, I only have a VERY short amount of time before the burn becomes extinguished. Cube Cut requires a diligent smoking technique. That's the only fault I can find. It doesn't bite, the smoke's cool and velvety, the nicotine's medium, and the taste is superb. To me, the taste is of sweet nuts: the Burley is the strongest taste, given a slight caramel edge by the Cavendish. When I get past halfway, a chocolate taste comes through: very mild, don't think Bobs Choc Flake, think a MINISCULE sprinkle of cocoa powder. The Virginia doesn't give me much, but I very often struggle to pick out any grass etc when it's been combined with other more flavoursome leaves. On a final note, the room-note's nice!

I added this to an order from Smokingpipes.com with no real expectations in mind, I guess I just thought it'd be summat to review, so only ordered the smallest quantity. Now, after a few good smokes, I wish I ordered the largest pouch available!

Highly recommended.

This is a very nice Virginia/Burley indeed. The cube cut is rather thick and can be a bit tricky to get going, but nothing too bad. The Burley does indeed give it a grassy quality, and the Virginia provides a pleasant toastiness.

The casing complements, rather than overwhelms the tobacco taste. I can't tell exactly what it is, but I get impressions of caramel apple. It smells very nice while burning as well.

There is indeed enough Virginia in it to make it a bit bitey, so slow sipping is your best bet. This is a good quality blend. It never turns ashey or bitter. Rather, it leaves a clean taste on my palate. It never filled my pipe with gunk.

For me this is the tobacco equivalent of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Nothing exciting, but very warm and comfortable. If you are fond of Burley, or Danish aromatics, I think you will enjoy this. For Latakia and Perique fans, this could make a nice change of pace.

At the end of the day, a 1-5 star rating is not very useful. It's either a good blend or not, and the question after that is whether you like it. It is possible to like bad blends for their imperfections, or to note that a good blend is not your thing. I rate this one "Highly Recommended" because anything else is waffling and the only waffles I like are at IHOP (avoid Waffle House; it's a hipster joint).

This blend features little cubes of pressed Burley, Cavendish, and Virginia. The Cavendish wins out at first, but then the warmth of the Burley rises, and the ketchup-ish gentle sweetness of some quality matured Virginias then appears in the mix. There might be a slight topping because there is a molasses-vanilla flavor. My tongue receives the slight burn of an alcohol/sugar/flavoring topping.

Within those parameters, this is a great burn. The room note is bready with overtones of ketchup. When you stick it in the pipe, a gravity fill followed by a hard tamp to avoid having the little cubes explode and blast burning embers all over your shirt, this blend burns easily and provides a gradually changing texture of its constituent flavors. If it has a flaw, it is in the small amount of vanilla topping and the lack of Nicotine, which from a Burley-centric blend is sort of alarming. But, I could easily smoke this all day and never get bored, and enjoy myself during the process as well.

Peter Stokkebye- Cube Cut

Bought this bulk from an online retailer about 2 weeks ago, thus far have smoked 4-5 bowls.

A light aromatic burley blend, beautiful cube cut, needs a little drying time, but overall smokes great even without.

Nutty earthy burley flavor, with a mild vanilla-esque flavor, most likely from the cavendish, this blend reminds me of Rattray marlin flake but much better and easy to pack.

This blend cannot be beat for the price. Will need to grab a larger amount next time put in a jar, as this is one I can see myself grabbing frequently as a change of pace.

I have been moving into burleys lately, Orlik's DSK, Solani's ABF, and McB's HH Old Dark Fired.

I sampled this at a Brick and Morter store and then promptly went online to order more.

The only way I can explain my attraction to it is that it is a very approachable blend: the cube cut is so easy to pack and it stays lit, the topping or casing is pleasant but doesn't overshadow the taste of the Bur/Va tobacco, and the burley definitely shines.

Regarding the topping debate on this one: I definitely smell something extra in the tin note. But I like it and, again, it's not over powering.

Maybe I'm in a phase but I'm on my third bowl and feel as though I could finish my mason jar stock tonight.

This is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine. I agree completely with most of the points expressed in the foregoing reviews. The tobacco is flavorful, has a bit of a tang, must be sipped, has a nice room note, has no noticeable casing, and is sometimes hard to get started. Where I differ is in the packing technique required.

When I first smoked Cube Cut, I used my customarily loose fill, practically a gravity fill. Had a devil of a time keeping it lit. Set it aside and nearly forgot about it. Saw a post in a forum I frequent that cube cuts require a firm pack to keep the ember progressing through the bowl. Tried it and it worked like a charm. I pack this tobacco far firmer than any of the ribbon cuts I normally smoke. Not only that, but I tamp frequently and firmly as the bowl progresses.

I've been rewarded with bowls that burn to the bottom with only one or two lights. Not only that but the pipe bowl never gets more than warm throughout and there are no flaming bits flying out if the bowl get jarred.

So, by all means, try the loose fill; it may work for you as it has for others. But if not, try a firm pack; it may work as well for you as it has for me.

One other thing; this is not a brainless smoke. There are better choices if you need something to puff on while stacking firewood or clearing snow from the drive. It takes some concentration to carefully sip this smoke and enjoy its flavors. If you get to puffing too hard, it will deliver a serious bite. I've found that it is best when reserved for those times when you can just sit and smoke without distraction.

YMMV

I'm a big Peter Stokkebye fan and Cube Cut adds to the list of excellant tobac's that cost so much less than the competition.

Nice sweet Virginia's used along with a good nutty Burley. To taste i'd say the mix is 50/50 Va/Bur.

The Bite: This does bite a bit and towards the end of the bowl it also tends to smoke a little hot.

The solution: Smoke this in a bigger pipe. Think Dunhill grade 4 and above. It massively reduces any bite and smokes much cooler.

If you want a stronger smoke then pack this tightly. I've found you can press this stuff down very hard and it still smokes perfectly and also gives a fuller smoke.

For the money, definitely 4 stars.

PS Cube Cut is another bulk blend that's just blowing my mind! It's absolutely delicious. The toasted, mildly nutty, earthy Burley lead and meld with the sweet bready Cavendish pressed red Virginia. Mutted and smoothed notes of honey, dark molasses, cocoa, mild cigar and coffee develop throughout the bowl. If packed loose it can be a light smoke, or if packed more firm, a subtle but wonderful medium bodied edge comes out in the blend. This is like a dark nutty version of Superior Navy Flake. I love the Cavindish note in the retrohale. It has a faint spice if pushed hard. The nic hit is mild in a medium bowl. Rubbing out the cubes makes it easier to light. In the pipe it smolders but burns pretty steady. Lots of tamping and fusing will keep you lit and happily puffing.

PS 41 is primarily a VA-Burley thin pressed flake with some Cavendish, cut into small cubes slightly larger, and not too different in appearance from Grape Nuts. I fired up a bowl "right off the truck," and was quite pleased. I brought a sample in for a BOTL co-worker, who was also duly impressed. When it went on sale at P&C the next week, we went in together on a bulk order.

Tin note: In my case this would be "Ball jar note." Basic burley tobacco aroma with some sweetness.

Texture: As noted above, PS 41 is a "cube cut," which is a pressed flake, a thin one in this case, cut into small cubes, like Grape Nuts cereal but bigger. It's not all cubes, as pieces break off, and they're not all dice-like perfect cubes either, but that's the general idea. I have approx. a half pound of it in a 20 oz Ball jar, so it's fairly dense - I normally get less than a half pound of ribbon cut to fit in a quart jar. To load the pipe, I employ gravity fill with slight tamping after the initial toasting.

Appearance: little sorta-cubes, abt 1/8" to 3/16", colors varying between light and dark brown.

Burn: It arrived by mail slightly damper than I prefer, as do most bulk tobaccos. My first bowl burned well at first but then got a little soggy toward the bottom, requiring a few relights, and then I had to dump out the balance. I put a dessicant pack in the jar for a few hours, then let it sit (sealed) overnight to stabilize the moisture level, and that seems to have done the trick. Stayed pretty dry down to the bottom of an MM General bowl, just requiring a few relights toward the end. The size of the cubes seems to be about right - unlike some flakes, no "rubbing out" was required, so the small cubes seem to have about the right surface area to volume ratio for steady oxidation. You do have to careful when dumping the ashes, as the partially-burned cubes tend to fall out along with. Tongue bite: none.

Flavor: Excellent. The burley flavor is predominant, and the VA complements nicely. I don't really detect the Cavendish which supposedly is in there, but Cavendish by itself is pretty subtle, so it might just be there in the background helping with the burn. There is some sweetness which may be a mild topping or from the VA. Other reviewers have noted chocolate or vanilla notes, but to me it's more of a straight tobacco flavor with hints of whole wheat toast. The flavor doesn't change much throughout the bowl, but like most tobaccos, it gets a little bitter if I smoke it too fast. Overall, a very nice blend, subtle, not too complex. Sort of like Half and Half without the medicinal flavor.

Strength: medium vitamin N.

Room note: I don't usually pay much attention to room note, as I'm normally smoking alone, but for the sake of comprehensiveness I'll include it here. Bruck: "Honey, how does this tobacco smell?" Mrs. Bruck: "Get out of the house with that thing!" Once outside, Bruck: "OK, now how does it smell?" Mrs. Bruck: "Pretty good."

In summary, this is an excellent, and fairly inexpensive, tobacco with good flavor, requiring some drying for optimal burn.