Wilke Pipe Tobacco Churchill

Very spicy, fine pipe tobacco. As every Pipeworks & Wilke it packs and burns extremely well, although I find this a little hotter than the other products of the blend. I also thought about Dunhill Durbar when I smoked it, but the English one is fuller and more complex. Very good.

"Room Note" is really inapplicable since my S.O. doesn't let me smoke in the house anyway:-). Carole sent me a sample of Churchill when she repaired a mouthpiece, and the sales tool worked. Yes, Churchill is strongish, it has a real cigar flavor to it, but instead of being sickening the way I've found many Syrian and Latakia mixtures (I mean to the point of wanting to throw up), the flavor of the tobacco actually is a bit sweet without being cloying or sugary. It's amazing that way. It's a strong tobacco but also one I can smoke all day. Which maybe explains why I'll order all I can get.

I am an ardent fan of Wilke tobaccos.I smoked them for years when I lived in New York. Churchill has always been one of my favorites in the full English category.It has all the great characterstics of a full blend with that special addition of cigar leaf.This blend is agreat change of pace for the English type mixture pipe man.The closest thing in flavor would be Dunhill's DURBAR. The cigar is not overpowering,in fact it adds a nice aroma and zing to the blend.If you are a cigar smoker or someone who appreciates a fine non-aromatic this is the blend for you.

Founded in 1872, Wilke Tobacco stands as one the country’s most distinguished brick and mortar establishments. Encompassing a wealth of unique products offerings, Wilke’s selections present original blends appealing to a broad class of pipe enthusiast from signature aromatics to luxury non-aromatic varieties. Of note in particular, Churchill bids a hearty welcome as a traditional English mixture stoutly augmented by a generous portion of gilded cigar leaf. By some accounts, an impressive bulk blend suitable for the cigar-smoking British stateman himself.

Commencing with an aura of sophistication, Wilke poses an intricate recipe inspired by a rather portly alliance of complex and mixed varietals. Well balanced and duly contrived, Churchill unifies a distinct affluence of mixed Virginia, Burley, Latakia, Turkish/Oriental, Acadian Perique, Black Cavendish, and natural Connecticut cigar leaf. Ultimately the full-flavored blend yields a patent taste achievement in bestowing the admirable fusion of classic woody English with the sweetly spiced potency of a heady cigar.

With Churchill’s formal introduction, a thick knotty weave of long ribbon cut strands form the initial impression. A colorful entwinement of the assorted strains casts a rousing mask of orange-red-warm/dark brown-ebony hues. This mottled construct is given primary shading by dense blackened chucks and granular specks, as hardy fragments of daunting cigar leaf float randomly throughout. By visual inspection, the let-down ratios confer heavier Latakia and Oriental content, followed by an even amount of Virginia to Burley, approximately 20% cigar leaf, with modest complements of aged grainy Cavendish and Louisiana Perique. An obliging level of optimum dryness properly fosters the pouch-ready state for immediate smoking.

Surprisingly the proximate bouquet offers a somewhat docile temperament given the forceful nature of the blend’s constituents. However, with continued passes, the nose gradually becomes amplified and virtuous showing evidence of sharply tart vinegar, floral pungency, and sweet earthen spice, thus underscoring that the Latakia, Turkish/Oriental and cigar will set the course for the experience. Underneath this foremost aroma, less discerning airs register a native woodiness and isolated hay/grass moving with a conquered disposition. Finally, there is a perceivable note of soft vanilla and feasible prune lifting as the trailing feature of Churchill’s distinguishing aroma.

Hefty waddings of supple tobaccos accommodate themselves gracefully upon filling the pipe’s bowl chamber. As follow-up to repeated smoking practice, I discovered that the captivating influence of the mixture is best captured with exaggerated and sustained drawls using a deep pocketed briar. The savor of its full depth leaves no disappointment, as Churchill plays out an entrancing melody.

As projected, the elements of the cigar leaf and Latakia take the dominant lead. Their confluence presents a level and robust parceling of the two individual streams. Although billed as the milder Connecticut varietal, as the cigar leaf melds with the salty-smoky-woody incensed Latakia, the registered flavor is more indicative of choice Sumatran wrapper, capturing a full head of sweet floral spiciness, a chase of raw cinnamon, and some brooding earthen goodness.

Riding about mid-stream, the Turkish/Oriental and Burley seems to continuously compete for positioning. As with typical Oriental strains, an exotically spiced melee folds together nuances of bright tartness, vegetal spice, and an uncommon nuttiness like pecans. Pillowing this effect, the Burley projects an embellished molasse sourly wood enhancing the general strength of the overall taste profile.

Like most classic English mixtures, the Virginia resides within the bottom edge providing the essential baseline, affording some very light burnt grass influence. Of considerable interest, a tinge of fleeting vanilla seems to hug in close quarters to this Virginian element perhaps describing a casing that may have been applied or mildly absorbed during fermentation.

Additionally, even by exercising careful focus, the Acadian’s actual flavor proved to be a tad elusive only lightly marked by a gentle peppery-musty prune note, more so on the retro-hale if anything. Even so, I could feel the usual tingling sensation on the back of my palate, Finally, while the Cavendish makes no apparent presentation it does serve to facilitate the smooth symphony of variable flavors as described.

Churchill is healthy in maintaining its strong forward flavor for the duration of the smoke. It tempers cool and slowly, thereby extending the pleasure of a lasting encounter. Essentially this is one of those blends that renders a peaceful mellow undertaking despite its full intensity. Enjoying a pipeful of Churchill is an effortless venture given its smooth quality and an overall taste that is categorically velvety in texture. Furthermore, the observed force of its nicotine contribution falls within the medium classification which is not that unsettling.

The room note that permeates from the burnt thick plume of blue-white smoke signals the inherent power of Churchill’s constitution; “Habana-esque “ in short. With unconstrained magnitude, a richly deep perfume of a weighted spicy sweet cigar, smoky leather, and charred wood virtually annihilate the air, invading and escaping the extended capacity of the immediate room. Namely this mixture’s sovereignty can be authenticated at considerable distance, making Churchill not particularly appeasing to those of weak knees. Personally, I relished in the efficacious impact of its full-bodied aroma, but then again, I am an English disciple who also enjoys the muscled fortitude of fine cigars.

I enjoy a blend with cigar leaf every now and then, and two of my favorites from John Patton have featured fairly regularly in my rotation (Oriental Dusk and Storm Front). In Churchill I feel that the percentage of cigar leaf could be reduced slightly, but more importantly, the type of cigar leaf used doesn’t entirely win me over. In my own blending I tend to use richer and darker leaf (Regius Maduro, for example) but this one brings back long ago memories of White Owl. Others may enjoy that flavor profile more than I do.

It helped when I took the fingernail size bits of torn cigar leaf and cut them with scissors into smaller pieces to better integrate with the other ingredients, and I also pulled out a few in the process so that the blend had better balance to my palate. This just wasn’t a favorite for me, but I you enjoy cigar leaf it may be worth a try.