Watch City Cigar The Churchwarden

This is a full flavored Krumble Kake (sort of, as my flakes needed extra work to fully break up), that boasts a lot of cigar leaf to go with the Latakia and Kentucky that provided fullness and strength. Not a particularly sweet blend at all, but one that still had a wonderful presentation at the match. Not for those who enjoy lighter English fare.

Mostly dark cake cut thick and smelling heavenly in the bag of latakia and orientals. It was very obvious that this was going to be a heavy blend. I got the best results with a light rubbing of the cake, not too much so as not to end up with crumbs in the bottom - it ended being almost a broken flake after the load.

First impression was that this lacked elegance, and I think that's sort of the point. This was a rich, deep blend, with the latakia well up front, the orientals running shotgun and the perique and cigar leaf minor but critical players. The Cavendish in here did not develop sweetness as it did in WC's "Nor'easter", a sister to this blend. One of the things that impressed me was the fact that typically I need a strong base of Virginia or burley whenever there are multiple condimental leaves at play, to act as an anchor. Without that, the blends usually end up in confusing territory. Not so here. This blend must have taken quite awhile to perfect, as it is extremely well focused. There is a kind of mellow sharpness underneath the main proceedings, which I suspect is the result of the merging of perique and cigar leaf... or it could be the particular oriental varietal used. This blend is not for the faint of heart, as it could best be described as robust. But not the jumbled mess that is made by many other blenders when they try to include too many leaves. And my son tells me that this has the most horrible room note of any tobacco I've ever smoked. I'd have to agree, although GLP's Quiet Nights is a contender. This isn't exactly my cup of tea, but it's extremely well done. 3.5 stars, but not a rotation maker. If you enjoy latakia in large quantities but also want the complexity afforded by the other ingredients, and you enjoy a mouth-filling flavorful smoke, this is a must try! Ernie Q continues to separate himself from the status quo. Very impressive!

I received my order of Nor'easter and Churchwarden at the same time from the fine folks at Watch City. Churchwarden, like Nor'easter is a well done kake that lives up to the description as a “stout” blend as it packs much more of a punch than Nor'easter. It also lacks the sweetness of Nor'easter as this one doesn't have any added Cavendish. I often find myself agreeing with many of Tom's (below) reviews, but I don't here because I believe the sharper flavor that is found in Churchwarden comes from the perique and not the cigar leaf, which seldom presents itself as sharp. I also think the cigar leaf is a supporting player and not the dominate flavor of the blend. I do think that Churchwarden is rougher around the edges and is geared for the more experienced pipe smoker. I do enjoy it best fully rubbed out and on the dry side. It will be interesting to see what a couple of years in the cellar does to this blend. I expect that it will soften some with time. Recommended.

I like this blend.I'm fairly new to pipe smoking(by way of cigars) and was looking for a full tasting blend that wasn't a shredded cigar, this blend hits the spot. While it does have cigar leaf in it, I feel it still tastes like quality pipe tobacco but much more "stout". Also, it packs easy and stays lit, great for us "newbies". I purchased this blend from Ernie at Watch City himself, he's very knowledgeable and is a decent guy to boot. I highly recommend this blend.