Watch City Cigar Nor'Easter

I'm smoking my third bowl of Nor'easter, and I'm enjoying it every bit as much as the first, a few days ago. The Orientals and Latakia dominate in both flavor and aroma, but the Burley makes its presence known in a woodsy, nutty way. This is my first foray into Crumble Cake and into Watch City Cigars blends. I'm very pleased on both fronts. Crumble Cake is not only fun, but I think it preserves the moisture of the tobacco and helps the various flavors continue to marry after pressing. Nor'easter packs easily, and I've smoked every bowl so far on a single light. Many reviewers seem to ignore the visual aspect of the smoke. To me, a thick, dark gray smoke adds to the piping experience. This blends satisfies in that arena, too. As far as room note goes, I can't say "pleasant", based on the way my wife's nose curls up when I smoke it. But being a latakia fan, I personlly like the aroma. Great blend! I'll be looking into more from Watch City soon.

Watch City
Nor’easter

Blend notes: “This is similar to our Churchwarden but with a decrease in the cigar leaf and perique, and the addition of some high grade burley for a slightly sweeter, nuttier smoke. Rich and full with round full undertones. Pressed into Crumble Cake!”

Nor’easter is a delicious medium-bodied blend which Tobacco Reviews labels as an ‘American.’ What does this mean? Usually it means the blend is an English with the addition of burley.

The latakia is upfront but does not overpower. The burley brings a nutty, earthy structure that mellows out the latakia. The Virginia brings some citrus and grass but is in a supportive role. The perique is off to one side as a bit of sourness. The cigar leaf adds structure. There is unsweetened Black Cavendish as well as some small amount of Oriental leaf.

My issue with many American blends is that the many ingredients, at times, confuse the overall taste profile. Not so with Nor’easter. There is serious balancing of the parts that simply taste good.

4 out of 4 stars.

This is the sister blend to "The Churchwarden." The differences being:

1. This one has no cigar leaf 2. The Nutty Burley's fill the support role.

A masterfully blended "American" English.

Love this blend and it has become a trusted go-to companion to several of my pipes. Slightly heavier than what an early dawn requires, so this blend seems a perfect evening smoke to complement a meal and an ale.

I really enjoy crumble cakes,Latakia and Burley. Therefore, I love this blend The cake arrived slightly crumbled but in fine shape. It smoked cool and slow with a smokey, nutty and creamy taste. I found it different enough from Churchwarden to make it worthwhile to cellar both. It is a real pleasure and interesting to smoke frequently.

Happy to add my 4 stars to this. The ingredients list is a dog\'s soup -- bit of everything, nearly -- but it\'s easy to summarize: Latakia forward burley. Everything else is condimental. I agree a *tiny* bit of flavoring (vanilla?) may be adding to the sweetness, but whatever it is, I like it.

It starts better than it finishes (when it gets more smokey) but it\'s delish and smooth all the way down. One of things I like best about it is how slow it smokes. It\'s also not fussy -- an easy to crumble krumble cake, and you can load in chunks without fussing about rubbing it out much.

My normal view of smoke heaven is non-aro McClelland with Oriental (Tudor Castle, Pebblecut, any of the Grand Orientals). Nor'Easter is very different from those, but on the short list of currently (2024) contemporary blends I find worth smoking.

I must admit, in my 20 years of pipesmoking, I haven't had a lot of experience with the Krumble Cake varieties. I'd say the best I've ever had is Smokers' Haven Krumble Kake. And that is a high watermark to reach!

Nor'Easter arrived in the mail at the perfect smoking humidity. No drying time needed. I rubbed out a quarter of one of the thick slabs and filled my pipe. It loaded easily and stayed springy in the bowl. The act of rubbing released a nice meaty aroma.

I toasted it with a false light, tamped a bit, and then followed with a true light and it sprang to life.

The first thing that came to mind as I began smoking was "Wow, this reminds me of McClelland's 3 Oaks!" It's charred, smokey Latakia meets with a tart black cavendish that is sweet but not too sweet. 3 Oaks may be a little sweeter in fact. The semisweet, bitter, tartness almost tastes like underripe cherries and it is the main player and hits hard. The tart bitterness may be a bit too much for some, but I don't mind it.

The Perique makes itself known as a light raisin undertone and a tingle on the tongue and in the nose. The Oriental/Turkish is there with a spicy exotic wind that picks up and dies down.The Virginia tobaccos sit way in the back and whisper with a bit of citrus and hay.

The room note is pleasant if you like Latakia, but if not then beware. This is not one I could smoke around my partner Amanda.

I'm about halfway through the bowl and the initial tart smokey punch in the face has died down. The storm is calming a bit, but still there. The rest of the elements remain the same, just coming forward a little because of the main players waning.

This is a very engaging tobacco. I'd only smoke it if I was doing nothing else because it's a thinker. Definitely not a yardwork smoke. It hits hard and fast and is aptly named.

It burned cool to the very end with no hint of bite. The bowl finished dry with a fine, light gray ash.

In the end, I think this is a very good Krumble Cake, not the best I've had, but solid. I think it would benefit from a year or two in the cellar to grind down the sharp, tart, bitter edges, perhaps sweeten a bit, and further meld the array of tastes.

I personally will be buying more. Some to age. Some to smoke on that occasion when my palettes needs a reset. I'd like to smoke this during a thunderstorm!

This is a 4/5 and I highly recommend it!