James Fox Hibernia

James Fox - Hibernia.

This, to me, has quite a unique taste for an aromatic. The usual suspects in a vanilla topped blend would be Cavendish, Black Cavendish, Virginia and maybe Burley, but Perique? This works quite well though; it doesn't give an overriding spiciness to the smoke but it definitely makes it taste brighter in comparison to some 'sluggish' vanilla aromatic's out there.

Forget the Perique for a while, let's discuss the vanilla; this is the leading flavour. My initial thought upon opening the blend was "wow, there's no problem in identifying what the added flavour is here"; it smells virtually sticky! This is the situation right throughout the smoke. It doesn't taste too cloying or sickly but it has a very potent vanilla taste to it. The vanilla's VERY recognizable!

The nicotine amount is another antithesis compared to most vanilla aro's. It's not overly strong but it's not the commonly found 'almost unnoticeable' quantity of many aro's: Smack on medium.

One of the few negatives that I notice is the speed of the burn. It wouldn't be a good blend for any harsh puffers.

Room note? As has been the case all along: it's strong with vanilla!

For me, this is a bit unique. I find myself being torn between three stars or four? After some deliberation I feel that three stars would be appropriate; it's good but I couldn't have it as a regular addition to my rotation.

Recommended.

I found this to be a hard one to rate. The vanilla is the main flavor, but there's some cocoa. The toasted, nutty burley and grassy, citrusy Virginia flavors are very sublimated by the topping, which is a little chemical tasting. The perique offers a slight spice note in the background. Has little nicotine. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns at a moderate pace with a consistent taste, and leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but it also presents an after taste that lasts too long, so I couldn't classify it as an all day smoke. For true aro smokers, it may rate higher, but the artificial, chemical character of the toppings is such that I award it only one star.

-JimInks

This blend is tricky to describe cause it is truely a blend that makes one flavor . It is not a complex blend in flavor . The Vanilla is super light and the Perique as well . Lighting and keeping lit is fantastic ! It burns perfect also . The Flavor is medium all the way down . The taste of the flavor is a delight but it dosent change or build to much . It's pretty much a constant flavored blend . A Burley / Va blend w/ a little something else goin on . I'd like for this blend to be in bulk cause it would make avery fine go to blend . If you are wanting complex , this is probably not it . But if youre looking for a go to and you can afford to buy tins for your go to ... no doubt , try a tin . No bite and a fine room note makes everyone happy . If it were sold in bulk , I'd make it my go to .

Pretty much all I get out of this is a "chocnilla" topping that has an astringent chemical finish to it. Not pleasant to my t-buds at all. I can get an underlying generic tobacco flavor, but it's very nondescript and weak. I'm done with this one.

I would almost give this one 3 stars because of the amazing tin smell and room note. Other people simply love to have me smoke this blend around them. For whatever reason though, I just find this one to be not my favorite blends. It was nice to try it, and it has an amazing aroma with great presence, it smokes well enough, but for some reason the taste did not do it for me. It has a very distinct chocoloate smell about it in case and being smoked.

Will miss the room aroma though.

Hmmmmm. What to do? I entered this blend nearly 6 months ago or more when I first ordered and received the tin. Having a very high regard for the superb "The Banker's" I threw caution to the wind and added this new item to an order. I've tried it intermittantly since then, trying to put my finger on just what they have added to give this the potent and unique aroma it emits. I know there's a niche for this high quality item, and it may be on my roster now and then, but it is not my usual cuppa tea. It is most certainly cased, I would call it a semi-aromatic. Not that that kills it...there are some very elegant and fine tobaccos out there that share the catagory, notably from Affordable Pipes, and this shares some of the pouch aroma characteristics of some of their blends. It is kind of a course ribbon cut melange of black, dark brown and yellowish leaf. The predominant aroma is closely akin to that of Luxury Twist Flake's "cocoa vanilla creme" (this is a good thing) but is more potent even after some months following initially opening the tin - and - it shares a kind of deep low cocoa note that a few of the aforementioned Affordable Pipes blends share (Morning Watch, Old Fashioned). I know there is the perfect pipe out there for this, I've tried three of mine and refuse to sully more than that. I have a suspicion that inb larger powls it would do well, but my large bowls are spoken for. Stars? Well, for me this is a 2-star...but for those of you that prefer a good quality aromatic this might be just the ticket, so to be fair I'm upping it to 3.