Sillem's Black

FIrst off I am not a latakia fan, but after reading the reviews here decided to give this blend a shot. Like all the blends I have tried with latakia in it, its always overwhelming. Overall this is a pleasant smoke, no bite, burns well, and smells wonderful in the pouch as well as when burning. Well behaved tobacco and if you like latakia then you probably will enjoy this blend. I detected no floral taste, nor chemically taste of any sort. I will cellar this and smoke it on rare occasions when I want a change of pace.

Simply put, this blend is exactly as described above.

I've never really smoked anything like it. Grand Slam!!!!

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.

Hmm, what to say here...

This was one of the first blends I tried since I started up pipe-smoking again a few months ago. (I used to back in 2003, but very lightly. Now I'm into it full-bore.) At first, I really liked this. However, that was before I tried other English blends. Since then, I came to realize this was an English/Aromatic, and it almost seems like it's low quality tobacco with simply some sort of flavoring added.

Another reviewer mentioned a soapy taste (or smell?). I get this too, and even if I let it air out for a while, it's still there. The flavor of the blend is good, but I can't get past that soapy/floral thing. I gave the rest to a friend in case he likes it.

What a nice surprise, an aromatic, that doesn't taste like a 1960's drug store blend. This is a quality tobacco , yes, with just a touch of Latiakia. French inhale, exhale through the nose, side-stream, it's all good. There is a lot going on here, but the predominate flavor is that "Lane's, Peach Brandy John Rolfe". I hate to do that, compare the two, because this baccy is head and shoulders above JR ( last time I tried JR was 1960's). This tobacco comes damp so it needs to dry before smoking, (the poor closing tin will take care of that for you), it doesn't bite and flavor seems to last through the bowl. I think this has a little N kick also. What you don't get is that bitter/sour Burley taste, it's all good. Have a big pile of cash, because this one doesn't come cheap. I'll keep this around for when I want to impress guests. They will say " ooooh I love the smell of a pipe", my wife will say "not the crap he smokes" . I'll fire up some SB and she'll be wrong again!

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