Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding
(3.47)
Plum Pudding is an English Balkan blend like no other. Rare tobaccos, crafted and pressed carefully together. Many pipe smokers say it is their perfect tobacco. Nirvana, said one reviewer. Master Blender Joe Lankford created this treasure for the Seattle Pipe Club our perfect tobacco. Delicious, smoky, spicy and positively addictive. Truly an exquisite tobacco to share. Enjoy this original cake of six rare ingredients: Latakia joins with Turkish Orientals, Virginias, cavendish and perique. Crafting the most sought after small batch blends in America since 2007
Details
| Brand | Seattle Pipe Club |
| Blended By | Joe Lankford |
| Manufactured By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | Balcanes |
| Contents | Black Cavendish, Cavendish, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Krumble Kake |
| Packaging | 2 or 8 ounce tins |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Actualmente disponible |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.47 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 14 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2009 | Mild | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant |
I have been wanting to sample this blend for a good while now as Sillem's Black is one of my favorite smokes of all time and I have been searching for a rotation partner with similar qualities. I do enjoy Latakia blends that are sweeter than those of traditional English origins. This is where Sillem's Black fits the bill, and I was hoping to find another that was similar.
Mine was a 2 ounce sample tin that was tinned on 9-22-09. I have never seen a crumble cake as well put together as this one is. Actually, they should call it "brick cake" or something like that as it did not crumble in a fashion that I have experienced with other crumble cakes. I actually prefer the harder version that Plum Pudding presented as. The tin aroma was of Latakia and a mild smelling earthiness - like peat moss. The earthiness I attributed to the Perique. No sweetness in the tin note and very little in the taste department. For me, I would have preferred more sweetness to balance the dryness to the palate I always find with Latakia.
After preparing a portion of this brick for my pipe, the lighting was very easy. One char, a tamp, and a re-light was all it took to keep this glowing. My sample was not dry by any means, nor was it sticky. Actually, the tobacco is so compressed that it is hard to actually comment on its moisture level by appearance and feel alone. It must have been just right since I had one of the most effortless smokes ever. This just kept going even after putting the pipe down for a minute every now and then. I could not actually define any aromatic casing or top dressing while smoking. The sweetness was too mild in what I expected to find, and there was a salty component as well. I don't know what the "something extra" was since I could not detect its presence; unless it was meant to be the ever present taste of salt! A bit of gurgle, but nothing major with that.
I smoked this in a Hardcastle bent billiard. It burned very consistently and slowly. It did not burn hot nor was there any bite - even with fast puffing. I'm assuming the Perique added the mild saltiness which thankfully was not too overbearing. The biggest problem was the lack of flavor - or I should say "generic" flavor that was way too bland. The Latakia was subdued, but that is fine by me. Salt I'd rather taste on my food, not in my smoke.
This was but a mild Balkan. Nothing fancy nor special to rave about. I prefer Sillem's Black over Plum Pudding since the tobacco has a very nice sweetness added and no saltiness. Needless to say, Plum Pudding doesn't compare with Sillem's Black and my search for the Black's partner continues. Perhaps a good introduction for those not familiar with Latakia. I can not give it higher than 2 stars since it lacked that "something extra" for me.
Mine was a 2 ounce sample tin that was tinned on 9-22-09. I have never seen a crumble cake as well put together as this one is. Actually, they should call it "brick cake" or something like that as it did not crumble in a fashion that I have experienced with other crumble cakes. I actually prefer the harder version that Plum Pudding presented as. The tin aroma was of Latakia and a mild smelling earthiness - like peat moss. The earthiness I attributed to the Perique. No sweetness in the tin note and very little in the taste department. For me, I would have preferred more sweetness to balance the dryness to the palate I always find with Latakia.
After preparing a portion of this brick for my pipe, the lighting was very easy. One char, a tamp, and a re-light was all it took to keep this glowing. My sample was not dry by any means, nor was it sticky. Actually, the tobacco is so compressed that it is hard to actually comment on its moisture level by appearance and feel alone. It must have been just right since I had one of the most effortless smokes ever. This just kept going even after putting the pipe down for a minute every now and then. I could not actually define any aromatic casing or top dressing while smoking. The sweetness was too mild in what I expected to find, and there was a salty component as well. I don't know what the "something extra" was since I could not detect its presence; unless it was meant to be the ever present taste of salt! A bit of gurgle, but nothing major with that.
I smoked this in a Hardcastle bent billiard. It burned very consistently and slowly. It did not burn hot nor was there any bite - even with fast puffing. I'm assuming the Perique added the mild saltiness which thankfully was not too overbearing. The biggest problem was the lack of flavor - or I should say "generic" flavor that was way too bland. The Latakia was subdued, but that is fine by me. Salt I'd rather taste on my food, not in my smoke.
This was but a mild Balkan. Nothing fancy nor special to rave about. I prefer Sillem's Black over Plum Pudding since the tobacco has a very nice sweetness added and no saltiness. Needless to say, Plum Pudding doesn't compare with Sillem's Black and my search for the Black's partner continues. Perhaps a good introduction for those not familiar with Latakia. I can not give it higher than 2 stars since it lacked that "something extra" for me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 22, 2015 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
Plum Pudding is a nice tobacco with a nice touch of périque. The slices of crumble kake are sure nice to look at and they are also very easy to break when preparing a pipeful. PP is mostly medium brown in colour with some lighters shades of golden and dark brown. I believe the "something extra" mentionned in the description is a light topping as there's some sweetened Black Cavendish. The topping reminds me, I don't know why, of Spillmann Mixture. And I certainly have not been able to identify it. Based on my tin content, I would say PP is not heavy with Latakia (confirmed by my wife's reaction when she entered my study: she did not say a word). The virginias and orientals seem to be up front as much as the latakia. Smoking reveals a nice combination of some spiciness, smokiness, and sweetness from the topping (it is very much percievable) and peppery notes from the périque, which becomes present to affirm itself past mid-bowl. I can't say I do get the virginias' flavours, though as I can't detect hay flavours or the sweetness of stoved virginias. As for the nicotine, it's mild to medium: mild the first half, and medium afterwads. It's very hard to keep lit, it requires multiple relights; it just won't stay lit. It's its biggest downside as it becomes almost frustrating after a while to fight with a tobacco that just won't stay lit. It almost removes part of the capacity to enjoy the smoke and generates some tongue bite. Overall, PP is not bad but has not raised my enthousiasm. I think it's a nice change of pace for when I seek a Latakia with a lower latakia content. But I definitively think it's not worth to pay $12 or chase it around. Unless something unexpected happens while I work my way through my tin, I would be very surprised if I buy more in the future.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 01, 2010 | Mild | Medium | Mild | Pleasant |
PP is a tobacco I thought I would like much more than I did.
The tin note does have a mild perique scent to it-- and it smells great. I love the pressed bricks which break up like a crumble cake. The down side to the brick, though, is moisture. Unless PP is allowed to dry out pretty thoroughly it will smoke wet, which in addition to giving it a bitey quality, depresses the flavor.
As to flavor, I struggled throughout the 2 oz. tin to find much. It improved with dryness as I smoked through the tin. Still, the blend just never jumped out at me with either big flavor or subtle nuance. My tin was dated April 2009, so perhaps aging would help. In all, I'd try a second tin in the future but PP just seemed somewhat off the mark to me.
The tin note does have a mild perique scent to it-- and it smells great. I love the pressed bricks which break up like a crumble cake. The down side to the brick, though, is moisture. Unless PP is allowed to dry out pretty thoroughly it will smoke wet, which in addition to giving it a bitey quality, depresses the flavor.
As to flavor, I struggled throughout the 2 oz. tin to find much. It improved with dryness as I smoked through the tin. Still, the blend just never jumped out at me with either big flavor or subtle nuance. My tin was dated April 2009, so perhaps aging would help. In all, I'd try a second tin in the future but PP just seemed somewhat off the mark to me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 04, 2013 | Medium to Strong | Very Mild | Full | Tolerable |
This "krumble kake" comes in densely pressed pieces that sometimes are quite hard to break up. Rather than try to rub it out, I break it into small chunks and fill the bowl by gravity, topping off with finer, well-rubbed ribbons. Think of it more like a very dense flake in terms of how it behaves. Good for a breezy day.
The Latakia is the dominant flavor. The Orientals provide a floral scent. If I focus, I can taste the Perique. It has a flavor profile that reminds me of Penzance, not that it tastes like Penzance, just a close cousin or sibling. There is no sweetness at all. This is strictly a savory and smoky blend with a floral bouquet from the Orientals.
Not as much nicotine as the Mississippi River blend by SPC.
The big negative is that it burns very hot. That could just be the casing. Puff very slowly or you will have a scalded tongue!
Recommended only for Latakia-loving English blend smokers.
The Latakia is the dominant flavor. The Orientals provide a floral scent. If I focus, I can taste the Perique. It has a flavor profile that reminds me of Penzance, not that it tastes like Penzance, just a close cousin or sibling. There is no sweetness at all. This is strictly a savory and smoky blend with a floral bouquet from the Orientals.
Not as much nicotine as the Mississippi River blend by SPC.
The big negative is that it burns very hot. That could just be the casing. Puff very slowly or you will have a scalded tongue!
Recommended only for Latakia-loving English blend smokers.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 03, 2009 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Full | Tolerable |
A dissapointment for me after all the glowing reviews. To me the flavor was monochromatic and it just slightly disagreed with my sinuses and throat. Certainly an adequate krumble kake, but not on my must have list.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 16, 2021 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
Tin note is musty smoky tobacco. The presentation is nice.
Dont get me wrong this is a good well made blend. But I just cant blow it the way others do. Its a solid English with the latakia being very well complemented by the orientals.
This one does not behave well in my pipe. I have tried various drying and preparations. Regardless of what I do it inevitably requires alot of relights.
For the price, i just dont get the accolades for this one. There are scores of other blends that are as good or better for FAR less money.
To each his own tho, just not my thing.
Will not rebuy.
Dont get me wrong this is a good well made blend. But I just cant blow it the way others do. Its a solid English with the latakia being very well complemented by the orientals.
This one does not behave well in my pipe. I have tried various drying and preparations. Regardless of what I do it inevitably requires alot of relights.
For the price, i just dont get the accolades for this one. There are scores of other blends that are as good or better for FAR less money.
To each his own tho, just not my thing.
Will not rebuy.
Pipe Used:
Briars and cobs
PurchasedFrom:
P&C
Age When Smoked:
Fresh to 6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2009 | Mild | Mild | Mild | Tolerable |
Joe is one heck of a nice guy. This tobacco smokes ok and reminds me of Frog Morton. If you want to introduce an aromatic smoker to an english type blend then this may be a great cross-over. I prefer non-aromatic/non-cased mixtures with my latakia.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 18, 2009 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
The best way I can describe the tin aroma is a musty odor...something akin to a horse blanket or dirty sweat socks. Fortunately, the smoke is much more tolerable. The pressed cake pieces look like fresh-baked, Betty Crocker brownies. I was expecting another blend of Latakia overload. That was not the case here...smokes like a Balkan. Some have stated this is similar to Penzance, but is smoother & sweeter. This and other comparisons prompted me to try this blend. I think that the Latakia variety used in this blend is probably Cyprian.
Plum Pudding delivers in all aspects of a quality pipe tobacco. I believe it might even make a good chaw after a soak in some ribbon cane syrup. FWIW, I mainly smoke VA or VA/Per blends. I've been trying to find a Latakia blend that I like and this is not it. It's pretty good, but after a while, became disagreeable to my palate & I won't be buying any more. OK...two st**s!
Plum Pudding delivers in all aspects of a quality pipe tobacco. I believe it might even make a good chaw after a soak in some ribbon cane syrup. FWIW, I mainly smoke VA or VA/Per blends. I've been trying to find a Latakia blend that I like and this is not it. It's pretty good, but after a while, became disagreeable to my palate & I won't be buying any more. OK...two st**s!
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 15, 2016 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
A serviceable Balkan with added Perique, a trick found in Super Balkan and Bill Bailey’s before Plum Pudding was a twinkle in anyone’s eye. The Turkish, Virginia, and Latakia are well balanced and play together nicely, although it’s maybe a little light on the Turkish for my preference. Occasionally the Perique comes through with an odd flavor.
What starts out as distinct flavors becomes muddy as the bowl progresses, no surprise when all those different tobaccos are competing. It’s pleasant all the way down, but never as bright and tangy as the first half. I’d be in love if it could carry that clear taste throughout, but no luck.
It’s hard to recommend Plum Pudding, it’s taken me 3 years to work through 8 ounces of the stuff so it’s obviously not high up on my list. I prefer both G&H’s Balkan Mixture and Stokkebye/Arango’s Balkan Supreme, both of which can be had for half or two thirds the cost of the SPC offering.
What starts out as distinct flavors becomes muddy as the bowl progresses, no surprise when all those different tobaccos are competing. It’s pleasant all the way down, but never as bright and tangy as the first half. I’d be in love if it could carry that clear taste throughout, but no luck.
It’s hard to recommend Plum Pudding, it’s taken me 3 years to work through 8 ounces of the stuff so it’s obviously not high up on my list. I prefer both G&H’s Balkan Mixture and Stokkebye/Arango’s Balkan Supreme, both of which can be had for half or two thirds the cost of the SPC offering.
Age When Smoked:
fresh - 3 years
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 05, 2023 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
I’m sorry to all those who have raved about this legendary tobacco. For me Peterson My Mixture 965 is a landslide better value. It’s like famous for being famous. Too expensive for average tobacco.
Pipe Used:
Dunhill
PurchasedFrom:
Tobacco Pipe
Age When Smoked:
New
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