Wessex Gold Brick

This is a very good "standard" blend. I can find no fault in it. It is not complex but it is far from one dimensional. I removed mine from the foil as soon as I received it. On opening I was rather disappointed, no aroma at all. I put it into a 16 oz. mason jar and after a year opened it. Wow! What a change, I get dark fruits and sweet tobacco upon smelling it. The flavor while simple had nuance. I got the dark dried fruits, a little earthiness, and hay (way in the background). No this is not the most complex VA I have ever tried but sometimes standard fair fits the bill. Nothing wrong with meat and potatoes instead of a rich French meal. Same here, this is a meat and potatoes tobacco that satisfies. It never tasted ashy or like cigarette and it never bit. I really enjoyed it as the weather is starting to cool but far from cold. It could find a way into a rotation in early Fall or later in the Spring for me. I am very glad I have another brick in the cellar.

I've ordered this several times, at infrequent intervals. Whenever I get one of these plugs, I remember why it's been awhile since the last one: the smoke is pleasant. And that's it. To my taste, it is unexceptional and given the price and the bother of preparation, I don't find it to be a compelling experience.

I did amend the information provided in the description that earlier reviews allude to; of course they are correct, this is not flavoured with coffee, or anything else.

Pretty tasty not very sweet but more smokey with grass like flavors. I couldn't smoke this all the time but i like to have it around for those time I want smoething light and dry.

The only drawback is the plug itself. And understand, to me it is not, but to others it is. This plug to me is easy to deal with, but I like plugs. Most folks will find this difficult to cut and light. Once it is going though, it delivers a true VA taste experience. A good old fashioned plug that if treated right will treat you right.

Upon opening the foil pouch (not the tin as advertised), you find a 2"x3"x2" tightly pressed brick with a pleasing aroma. I was able to peel off the moist, pliable layers since I normally don't rub out ~ blends but it became quite messy. This technique also made uniform packing within a bowl and from bowl to bowl difficult but I don't have the patience or time for alot of prep work. Therefore, initial lighting was sometimes difficult and relighting sometimes needed but that was due to my decision. If you will devote more time to the preparation, you may enjoy the rather sweet taste of a cool,dry smoke without a hint of bite. For me, it also left one of the better true tobacco aftertastes.

This was the first plug I ever tried, and I had a lot of fun with it. I still have a little cube left, and am putting off smoking it to see what age can do for it. It's good, natural and to me rather full Virginia, and my only complaint is that it bit me pretty bad. Granted, I last smoked it a year ago and may be more tolerant by now, but somehow feel that it's one of those tobaccos that just doesn't agree with my mouth. I liked the complex range of flavors, though-it gives an impression of different things at different times, like raisins, figs, wine, grass/hay, etc. When I smoke that last bit, I'll come back to this review and see if I can add that last star-it might deserve it.

When I finally smoked that last bit, it did not bite. I don't know if aging did it or if I have at last acquired leathertongue!

There is much to be said about set and setting when trying a tobacco for the first time.

The Set: my granddad, a blacksmith and later an engineer for the Katy railroad, always had plug tobacco. It fascinated me as did his ritual for preparing the tobacco for use. I waited over 50 years before fiddling with a plug, but I associate them with good things. The setting: my wife fixed baked catfish as it is eaten in SE Asia. Oh, and the Jayhawks clobbered MU this afternoon, sweet revenge.

I used a large kitchen knife to slice a too thick (3.5mm +/-) flake from the plug. The plug was bone dry, or so I thought, and I was surprised to find the flake had a perfect moisture content. It was pliable, and it had a pleasantly sweet aroma of Va tobacco. I didn't dry it at all. I rubbed it out, sort of, to a chunky mix. Into a VA-only pipe she goes, well, about one-half of the flake.

Lighting was simple. Not as sweet as FVF or CVP, but the strength was in that class. It burned cool and dry. I expected some moisture buildup, but it just wasn't there. This is a very smooth VA, creamy and cleanly pleasant on the palate. Hay, wood and leather. Nutty, at times. I wondered if this is what LGF would be like without the perique. Consistent top to bottom. Not the sweet/tart range of FVF. Earthy. I downed a bottle of Irish style lager with it. The tobacco seemed to sweeten after finishing the bottle of Rogue. I think the Islay single malt mentioned below would be a better fit.

For me, this is pipe tobacco as it should to be enjoyed.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing GB to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.

If you're looking for instant gratification, sorry, wrong number. If, on the other hand, you're blessed with some patience, alot of matches and armed with a very, very sharp knife, you're in for a treat. Slice into thin flakes, then dice. Dry it out. Dry it out some more. When you think it's dry enough...dry it out some more. Gravity feed into a narrow gauge bowl...press down very lightly. Light up. Enjoy. You'll have to get used to frequent relights, but this one doesn't suffer from them, nor will your mouth. No bite and no ashy flavors. Some deeper flavors of caramel develop as do brighter notes...a nicely balanced indulgence. Yummy.

Wessex Gold Brick comes in the form of a 2 x 3 x 2" rectangular plug. It has a sweet woodsy aroma in the foil pouch

I happen to be the proud owner of an old fashioned cast iron tobacco plug cutter. I was able to easily cut the plug into thin slices not unlike the ones we buy commercially (Erinmore, Edgeworth etc...)

Once the cutting (A daunting task without a cutter or VERY sharp knife) is done, the tobacco rubs out and packs quite easily

One thorough light with a wooden match and a careful tamp or two, and this brown and golden brown flecked tobacco is on it's way. Perfect moisture level.

This tobacco delivers medium bodied sweet nutty smoke from beginning to end. If you cut the plug thick and rub it out into a "wide flakey" texture, it burns cool and smooth. Though it doesn't say so on the package, I believe a moderate amount of Burley is present evidenced by the sweet nutty undertones.

If you don't mind a little careful and involved preparation, this is a real treat. Sweet and nutty with a slightly bright tangy overtone typical of well matured Virginias.

I still like Wessex Burley Flake more than this, but Gold Brick is my second in command