Low Country Pipe & Cigar Waccamaw

This is one fine blend. I tried it a month or so ago and am in my 3rd can. This is well balanced and has the character that I like with the Virginia, Perique combined in a way that make it pleasant, a bit spicy. One warning, a bowlful of this lasts a quite a while. You know some blends, just hang in there. This burns a long and very pleasant time. It's sliced, but rubs out quite easily. Even Steve Fallon could get it rubbed out without his food processor. Spend the extra buck and try this one. I wish it came in bigger cans.

Nicely prepared flakes of yellow to dark brown that were too moist right from the tin but quickly dried and without rubout, lit easily and didn't require relights. No bite or condesation and a cool smoke. I missed the expected Va sweetness and the Perique + Izmir were dominant thruout the smoke. For this reason, I wouldn't chose to smoke this regularly or as an all day blend. However, it's a interesting change of pace and if you enjoy those tobaccos, you should give it a try.

The tin aroma is sweet and sour, with notes of chocolate and ripe fruit. The appearance is sugary (crystals on the flakes) and oily. Most of the time, I fully rubbed this flake out to make packing and smoking easier.

In the bowl, this blend is very tasty with fermented fruity flavors and aromas (presumably from the Perique), musty and "deep" notes (presumably from the Turkish), and sweet. Sometimes I noted a bit of chocolate in the sweetness.

When smoked too fast, the flavors became thin and muted, as can be expected in a Virginia/Perique blend. I find the added Turkish condiment to be an excellent and interesting component to this blend. I did feel the nicotine a few times, but I wouldn't call this a strong flake.

Overall, this is an excellent Virginia/Perique/Oriental blend. All the components are present and recognizable, but the overall impression is complex and delicious, with lots of interesting sweet and savory flavors.

A friend recommended this to me after hearing my preference for a little Turkish/oriental with my Vas and VaPers. The tin I was working with was a little over two years old. I took a gamble on this blend because I knew it was made for the fine folks at C&D for the equally fine folks at SmokingPipes.com. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The flakes are typical C&D; not uniform like MacBaren, slightly separated and in various sizes. I would recommend a little bit of dry time before packing but it doesn’t need too much. They were mostly dark brown with flecks of lighter areas. The tin note was nothing to write home about but just good ole fashioned tobacco smell.

I don’t know the ratio of Perique to the Va and oriental, but I would imagine it’s a decent amount. This blend in my pipes seems to display a great dynamic between the sweet and earthy Vas and the dusty fragrant orientals. Both of these work well with the spicy pepper notes from the dominant condimental tobacco.

I’ve smoked this in several pipes but I found that a wider bowl lets the components expand their flavors more while small conical bowls tend to just taste spicy and salty. I’m usually a fold and stuffer but I recommend rubbing this blend out to get maximum flavor profiles.

Despite only being two years old, there was a lot of plume on the flakes and it tasted very well. I can only imagine what another 5 years or so would do to mellow out the spice and enhance the VA. Almost a four star blend but I think 3.5 would be my actual score if possible. If you like Regents Flake but want a little more kick, this is the blend to try.

Very well done tobacco. Spiciness is the focus of this blend. The Virginias are very good, not too sweet, and the perique is nice. The oriental adds an earthy and herbal taste that balances everything out. Even when smoked beyond what normally is the "uh-oh I'm smoking this too hot and it's going to taste gross" limit, it sweetens up and gives a whole other taste that is actually very good. Full flavored without being heavy or overwhelming. Very, very good mixture. To me, this tastes like Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture with more body and spice. I like it very much.

Waccamaw is a rich, full-flavored, complex and exquisitely balanced blend! I grade it a solid "A" now. Can't wait for aging to effect even more magic.

I detect a savory Virginia base along with higher notes of sweet Virginia. The perique presents itself, mostly in the middle and later half of the bowl, as a delicate stewed fruit/figgy taste and aroma. Gratefully, the perique is NOT overdone. Along with these wonderful sensations, oriental leaf provides a mild but spicy/ piquant depth, or barotone voice to the harmony. Like the Perique, the oriental is used as a spice - noticeable, but not overpowering.

Easy to pack, easy to light and keep lit, smokes smoothly with no bite. Highly recommended for fans of VAPERS and oriental spice.

11/23/07

Nice Vaper with a Izmir kick to it. Flakes are nice and juicy and rub out well. The tin armoa is very musty. Kind of like wet grass and hay. Need to be dried out a bit to avoid the bite.

Its lights up well after a bit of drying and produces nice white smoke. It's quite tasty.

I have mixed feelings towards Waccamaw. I love it when I start smoking, but middle to end of the bowl I don't like it anymore.

The problem to me is simple: lack of balance. Virginias here are definitely outstanding, but the Perique content is rather overwhelming. You start enjoying a sweet wonderful Virginia leaf and end up with a sour and piquant Perique taste.

Don't get me wrong, I love high Perique content on VaPers (my favorite is Escudo) but to me, this is overdo. Sad, because a good balance would make this one of the best VaPers in the market (the tobaccos are excellent).

In the tin there's lots of pleasant back cherry aroma. The flake is lovely and easy to rub out. Slightly moist, I let this sit for a few moments. Despite this it still burned a bit wet. Next time I will let it sit longer.

I packed this using the Frank method and was pleased to taste the subtle flavorings this method affords the smoker. It burned evenly and fairly cool. I have to mention this is a great way to smoke certain tobacs. Big puffs of cool smoke with hardly a touch of bite even from virginas.

This blend is so well balanced I couldn't distinguish between individual tobacs. Just a good heady blend that I believe would be well worth investing in for the cellar.