Ashton Smooth Sailing

I really like this Aromatic. I'm not usually an aro smoker, but Ashton has a price point I like, and comes in vacuum tins which I prefer to travel with *pouches can get messy in your pockets, or in the glove box of your car*.

The smell from the tin is just lovely. A cocoa with hints of maple. It's a little wet, so dry it for a few minutes before packing and you'll appreciate it more. I've found cased tobaccos have very little tobacco taste unless properly dried, or unless you buy a good Peterson like the Luxury Blend.

Initial bowl shocked me with how good it is. The room note is heavily chocolate and the sweeter flavours play on your tongue. Again, if dried properly the nice Cavendish they use comes into play.

This was my first Ashton, and the others will go into my cellar as well, if they are this good.

Really nice, sweet, tin note.

Burns well and gives faint tastes of cocoa and walnuts. Just not quite enough flavour for my taste buds but would be great for anyone who favours less robust flavours.

It's nice tobacco and I'll finish the tin, eventually. I guess I'll smoke it when I'm worn out by the stronger stuff.

To be fair to it I have to give Smooth Sailing three stars, as it is good at what it does but I don't know if I'll bother buying it again.

This tobacco smells incredible in the tin. WOW! But smooth sailing is too smooth for me and I have trouble finishing a bowl because the taste flattens out mid-way through the bowl. I can see why many have rated this highly though as it is a very smooth, mild and pleasant smoking experience but it leaves me wanting more.

I found that Smooth Sailing remided me of a lighter cased Sweet Kilarney from Peterson. The same tastes are there, only Smooth Sailing is milder and doesn't bite like Sweet Kilarny. All in all, this is a good blend for an aromatic smoker. I wouldn't recomend it for an all day smoke, but it is best kept in the rotation.

The name of the tobacco is spot on! It brought to mind thoughts of sitting aboard an old wooden sailing ship amidst calm seas. This is a thoroughly relaxing, enjoyable smoke that can be enjoyed anytime of day.

Opening the tin produced an aroma which I can only say was delightfully sweet and somewhat fruity, but not so fruity as to overwhelm the aroma of tobacco. It is a pleasant upper middle of the road aromatic which (unless you puff hard) does not bite. I noticed a nice smell of rich cappuccino, which may be taken by others as chocolate. Either way, it was delightful with the subtle hints of vanilla. Now here's the odd part, and I experienced it only once. About half way down the pipe I got a definite taste of peppermint! This was a nice refreshing blast, but it lasted only for a few seconds. I liked it. None of these delights overwhelmed the tobacco scent or flavor.

I picked up a tin from my local smoke shop, and when I got home and tried it, it was very harsh. I had to put the pipe down. It burned my nose. I thought that I can't let a can of tobacco waste so I tried a couple of days later with a old pipe that i had lying around and surprisingly it was a more nutty and woodys flavor than the punch in the face first time.

It turned from a beast to a beauty for the taste buds.

A nice mellow (mild!) composition this, is easily smoked morning, day or night.

Best smoked slowly letting the smoke hang just for a second in your mouth -- you may bake your tongue otherwise.

Quite (fairly) sweet, but definately not sickly in my opinion, might leave long term pipe smokers wanting a bit more "oomph" but it is pleasant nonetheless.

I find this is a good one to start the day, possibly watching the sunrise. Sat on a great chunk of granite, on the crest of a nice, forlorn (yet beautiful) crest. (Shame I live in a town, isn't it!)

this is a blend that says on the tin that it has flavors of maple, coconut, and dark chocolate. the aroma of dark chocolate and coconut are evident when the tin is first opened, but not upon lighting. Very colorful blend, that packs easy. The moisture content is minimal, and requires no drying out. The smoke is a cool dry one, but as with all aromatics, puff slowly or you'll slow-roast your tongue. This one is something that you'd think is way to sweet, or over-cased, but it definitely has a consistent tobacco taste that blends very nicely with the dark chocolate and maple-coconut topping. Burns to a nice salt and pepper ash, with no syrup or goop left in the boil. Great winter time blend, to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate. Another winner for Ashton!!!!