Sillem's Black

I smoked Peterson's Christmas Blend 2011 before this one, and the similarities are glaring. Same berry/fruit/spiced apple note, but Black carries an additional Latakia note that sits well with me, given what I usually smoke.

The Burley in the background can lend a slightly toasty flavor to those looking for it, but I don't detect the Virginia except to say that it is subtly sweet, which I suspect is what they intended.

For all it's nuance and complexity, it is still an aromatic, but a good one.

It's an aromatic-englishy tobacco!! Ha ha. Seriously, this stuff is for the guy who likes to be social with aromatics, but doesn't get a lot of taste from the aromatic itself. This stuff smells wonderful to those around you, but also tastes better than most aromatics do on the tongue.

It smokes cool for me and never bites. No chemical taste like others have reported.

I smoke it in my Sillem's black onyx gentleman's pipe, so maybe I'm biased, but this is a great blend.

Not only was this my first tobacco, it still remains one of my all time favorites. To me its like a full blend on its own. but its like that something extra that dosnt over power and you dont have to meditate on to realize that its there. One of the best tobaccos I have ever smoked. Put it in your pipe and smoke it ! ! !

The aroma out of the tin is quite intriguing. A mosaic of sharp Latakia, cherry, vanilla, baked goodies, and holiday spices. Warmly aromatic, no chemical odors, rich aromas from the tobaccos hold their own with the casing. I'm not a big aromatic smoker, I've had some bad experiences with bad flavored tobaccos. But this stuff smells so delicious, I can tell this is going to be different.

Coarse cut packs OK, slow to light but burns alright.

Well blended English mixture, sharp, smoky Latakia pulling most of the weight. The casing is very well done - contributes quite a bit of flavor, but doesn't overpower the tobacco flavors. Balanced, interesting, and really tasty. Cherry, chocolate, marshmallow, tart Virginia leaf, hops, dried beans, graham crackers, plum sauce, cherry cordial, distant smoke, almonds, popcorn, roasted grains, and prunes. Yet it never loses it's “English” tobacco character for even a minute.

Complex and delectable. Not at all artificial tasting, all aromatics should be this pleasant and flavorful. This stuff is amazing. Cool smoking and a nice room note.

4 Stars. It's rare for me to consider an aromatic for my favorites list, but this one made it.

Black...WOW-WOW-WOW! I love this leaf/just put a pnd of it in the tobacco bar, air-pocket method pack for me gives me max-flavors on this wonderful blend...

just for sitting back sip'in with nothing on the mind....you will love it if enjoyed this way

A really nice tobacco that I'm delighted to be smoking. A really nice tin aroma, and just as nice when smoking. It relights easily, and there is very little tongue bite. It burns clean and is a pleasure to smoke all day. This is really good tobacco. Highly recommended.

Wonderful. If you read my review of Iwan Ries' "Gourmet English," it applies to Sillem's Black as well - they are almost identical in appearance, taste, smokability and room-note, although Sillem's Black seems to have slightly more of whatever flavoring/scent added, which is more pronounced in the tin note as well. The tin description above is puzzling, and it is not printed on the actual tin I purchased. I detected no "fruit essences" whatsoever (and I am not a fan of "fruity" tasting tobacco).

It arrived a little over-moist in the tin, but rubbing out a portion and letting it air in the open tin before packing allowed it to smoke perfectly. If you drink a cup of coffee while smoking a bowl, you may notice that Sillem's Black leaves the same nuanced aftertaste as IR's Gourmet English on your palate, although Sillem's Black has perhaps a hint of a more licorice-like aftertaste. For this tobacco blend, I have nothing but the highest recommendation.

Now the critique - not of the tobacco, but the packaging and availability. While IR's Gourmet English is readily available in an airtight sealed two-ounce tin or in bulk, Sillem's Black only comes in a 100g tin. Although the tin is very aesthetically pleasing, and no doubt contributes to the higher price of the tobacco, unfortunately it does not provide an airtight seal so the tobacco dries out too quickly. The tobacco inside is packaged in a folded cellophane pouch which is taped shut, also not airtight. It helps to put a humidor disc in the tin if you are not going to smoke the entire tin soon. An airtight tin, or perhaps a resealable foil pouch inside, would be a huge improvement. It would be nice if it was available in bulk too, but it is not.

Right now, Sillem's Black is unavailable for purchase anywhere online that I know of. If someone comes across any website that actually has it in stock, please inform us. But until some more becomes available in the future, I recommend trying Iwan Ries Gourmet English, as it has almost identical qualities in every way, and it is available in bulk too.

[BTW: Stop whatever you are doing right now and call your representative in Congress. Tell him or her to vote NO on H.R. 4439, the Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010 which was introduced on January 13, 2010. If passed, it will raise the tax on pipe tobacco 775% - that's seven hundred seventy five percent - from $2.8311 to $24.78 per pound. At that rate, you'll see typical pipe tobacco retailing at $150 a pound - which will put a lot of local tobacconists out of business for good, which is the intent behind the legislation.]

Wow. This is awesome stuff!! The tin note is sublime but, it's hard to describe. Latakia with a slight berry topping perhaps. The moisture content is fine and the tobacco lights up right away and produces nice plumes of white tasty smoke. It burns down to a nice white ash. The room note is very pleasant. You just don't want to bowl to end. I enjoyed this tobacco very much. I experienced no bite at all. It kind of reminds me a milder version of GL Pease's Maltese Falcon with twist. Excellent. Well done!

I was gifted a generous portion of the this blend and I have to say i quite enjoyed it. Upon opening the baggie it was in, I was rewarded with a smoky sweetness that just begged to be put to the fire. It is a dark looking blend with a rough cut leaf composed of black and dark brown flakes that were of just the perfect moisture so Zi felt no drying time was needed. i don't know if the person that sent it to me had dried it or no. It loaded quite easily into my pipe, and lit up with one char and one full lighting. it burned quite well and provided right off the bat a nice sweet, creamy and smoky taste and aroma. This is for sure an English blend with the spicy taste of the Latakia, but the Black Cavendish content was there but in the background. it added a sweetness that was delightful, and it held this flavor all the way to the end. It never grew gruff or bitter and it never tried to bite me even when I pushed it. It burned cool in my pipe and burned down to a fine ash with no moisture or dottle in the bottom of my pipe and I smoked it in a large pot. I really like this blend for a Latakia smoke and I would highly recommend it to any one looking for a crossover English/Aromatic. I will buy more of this.