Exclusiv No. 1 (Royal)

I must agree with most of what the esteemed Pipestud points out in his review, except for one thing: tongue bite! As much as I like the taste and old fashion spiciness of this tobacco, and no matter how delicately I puff, my God, this thing bites! Not only that: after smoking it, it tends to leave my palate dry, and my throat scorched.

It may be the packaging, since I?ve only found it in 50 g. plastic pouches. Also, I don?t believe I?ve ever smoked an aged version of this weed. For a number of years this blend was available down here in Mexico, in a chain of stores that also sell Middleton?s and Mac Barens. I do like the texture and the granulated presentation of the leaf, and I also enjoy the fresh, slightly piquant smell upon opening the pouch. In my view, however, this is extremely mild, tending toward a natural flavour, but very bland and uneventful.

At one point I even mixed in a little Prince Albert to see if it managed to give it a little more oomph, and temper its rabid tendency to bite (after all, I also use Prince Albert to produce my very own Half and Half mixture, by adding it in equal proportions to Virginia Nº1, and it does tone done the biting nature of MacBaren?s Virginia). It did help, somewhat. But, alas, it?s too much of a struggle for me.

Please Note: I am trying to work off my back log of tobaccos i have tried years and years ago. In most cases i have no clue anymore when. Or who produced it back in the day. Also my memories are faded by time and those reviews are based mostly on my notes but sometimes i have a current tin for comparison as well:

As has been said before this blend is a true classic blend in Germany and yet it is ignored and forgotten by most contemporary smokers.

The tin note reminded me of a tin of white clown make up i had when i was a child. It was the very same smell and so i think back in the days clown make up was scented with orange aroma or extracted from tobacco ;o) But you can smell the tobaccos as well, the light topping only is there as a refinement and does not play any major role.

Packing, as with all cube cuts, is a breeze just as long as you keep yourself from actually "packing" your pipe. Just let the granulate trickle into the bowl, do *not* press down at all. The most you are allowed to do is to just even the surface and of you go.

Lighting takes a bit of time, which is owed to the cut and not a problem of the blend itself. But once lit it burns down hassle free and with ease.

The taste has been accurately described by the reviewers before me and i could not add anything to it, so you may excuse myself for not even trying. But i remember that, back in the day, i was very disappointed by the taste and simply did not care for it at all. Also i got mad, mad tongue bite from it. But also in those days i had a very different taste in tobaccos as well, so i am pondering to give it a re-visit after all those years and then update my review.

Room note is old timey and on the yes-i-smoke-tobacco side of being nice. I couldn't tell how the aftertaste fares as i never got any from it, just tongue pain.

Now for the rating: for being a true classic on the market i should give it a four star rating. But for giving me tongue bite that bad and at the same time not offering alot to my palate i only give it a two star rating. However, should you stumble over this blend i suggest you give it a try nonetheless, i know i will the next time i get an opportunity for it.