Seattle Pipe Club Mississippi River

The red Virginia is tangy, dark fruit sweet with a little earth, bread and wood, and a touch of tart citrus. It's rather McClelland-like in that there’s a very mild barbeque flavor present at the beginning. The woody, earthy, stoved Virginias have a fermented sugary stewed dark fruitiness, and competes with the red Va. The earthy Cyprian Latakia is an strong supporting player, adding a sweet smoky, musty woodiness that is obvious in every puff as a contending leader for attention. The perique continuously offers some spice with raisin, plum and fig notes in the background. The Oriental is also a minor player, not always detectable, but it is woody, earthy, dry, floral, herbal, vegetative,and mildly spicy with a slight sour hit here and there. The strength is in the center of mild to medium while the taste just approaches the medium mark. The nic-hit is shade less potent than the strength level. Won’t bite or get harsh, but sports a few small rough edges. Presented in an easily broken apart krumble cake, it may need a little dry time. Well balanced, it burns slow, cool and clean with a very consistent, complex, rich and creamy smooth sweet and savory taste to the finish. Leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. Requires some relights. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

Some smokers have complained that the newer production, which is made by a different company than it first was, is not as good as the original. In comparing the 2011 version versus the 2015 several times in back to back smokes, I taste very few minor differences, e.g., the red Virginia is more prominent with less of the McClelland notes at the beginning, the perique seems to occasionally be a shade more noticeable in the new manufacture. I don’t see any of that worth complaining about, and the two versions are certainly not night and day different. In this instance, I think the power of suggestion over rides the taste buds of those smokers.

-JimInks

This review is from a purchase of Mississippi River in September 2013.

I bought 8oz in bulk to split with a friend and it came as 4 big speckled "brownies" with some shake that had fallen off in the plastic bag. I put my 4oz share into a mason jar.

It packs and lights really easily because the crumble cake breaks down into almost a chopped tobacco consistency, ranging from light brown, to auburn, to near black. At first, I didn't get what the fuss was all about ... it was so tasteless in my Sav pot (very wide not deep chamber), I thought maybe everyone who raves about this stuff was crazy or I had gotten a bum batch.

Then I tried it in a deep, narrow bowled Sasieni and it was a whole different thing altogether. Its still mild, body-wise, and its pretty much a morning/daytime smoke for me. But its got a lot going on in terms of flavor (in the right pipe). I occasionally have to keep myself from absentmindedly inhaling it because its just that easy smoking. That almost never happens with VA flake tobaccos I generally smoke.

Good stuff. Get it if you can because geez it sells out fast.

EDIT: smoking it a few months later a description came to mind to describe the sweetness ... its like the caramelized edge of a chocolate chip cookie. Yum.

This is a superb blend and a go to top shelfer for me. Love the balance in this blend. Absolute all dayer English blend. Just the right amount of spice from the orientals and enough smokiness from the Latikia to keep me interested but not so much that it extinguishes the sweetness of the Virginia's. If you're a new pipe smoker or new to English blends you should try this. This will always be a part of my rotation for sure!

I love this blend! Once again, master small batch blender Joe Lankford came up with a winner. I thought it would be similar to Esoterica's Penzance due to the contents and the fact that it is in Krumble Kake form. However, it is more Virginia forward with the Orientals, Perique and Latakia playing very deep in the background. This one stands on its own merit as a somewhat spicy offering that is a real palate pleaser for those who appreciate Latakia in small doses that compliments rather than overwhelms a blend.

Pipestud

This is simply awesome! Not being a fan of Latakia, I shied away from this blend despite all the rave reviews of it. Finally giving in to peer pressure, I ordered a tin. Amazing... The Latakia smokiness is prominent at first light, but quickly fades into the background( which is great for me). What remains is a sweet, caramelized sugar flavor from the Virginias, with just a tiny hint of smoke. The only bad part of this blend was when I reached the bottom of the bowl and realized it was gone.

A deep, rich looking Krumble Kake that begs to be smoked. I prefer to fully rub it out and let it dry. The Virginia's lead the show here. More sweet than sour, but not overly so. I prefer Plum Pudding by the same blender for a little more Latakia. English lovers that are fond of a stong Virginia component should give this one a try. Recommended.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bulk bag is the smell of a mild, sweet BBQ sauce. Similar to the McKetchup smell, but not the same. The sweet part of the smell was akin to molasses.

After lighting, the Virginias took the lead and held it for 2/3s of the bowl. The Latakia and Orientals were balanced in second place. The Perique was light but discernible. There's an extra bit of sweetness from a casing or topping. There are also some nice fruity notes. In the last third of the bowl the Latakia and Orientals achieve a balance with the Virginias providing a more "traditional" flavor profile which is held to the finish.

An excellent blend. A great, satisfying smoke. Mild to medium in body with medium flavors. Just a great all-around smoking experience. Loved it.

Comparing this to Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding, I would have to say that the presence of the Perique, for me, was the dominant factor. Also, if you like your tobacco salty, neither will disappoint.

The presentation in the tin was similar to Plum Pudding, but the tobacco was not as brick-like. It was much easier to prepare Mississippi River for smoking. I could not detect any aromatic presence once I opened the tin, nor could I detect the presence of the Latakia. I did detect the presence of the musty Perique, but during the smoke, none of the Perique's flavor - just salt. It took to the match with ease and I had no trouble keeping it lit. Not a hot smoke, and very nondescript. All I tasted was salt and no tobacco - something I certainly wasn't expecting after reading the other reviews. At times I did detected a mild sweetness, but none of the fruity presence mentioned in the above description. For me, the Perique was so dominant (more salt than pepper) that I could not honestly detect the taste of any of the other tobaccos said to be in this blend.

Nothing in this one for me to cry out about. I will finish my 2 ounce tin over time, but unless things change, I won't be revisiting it. I have been wanting to try it and I am glad I did, with perhaps a slight preference for Mississippi River over Plum Pudding. Neither will make it into my rotation. In both cases, I was actually looking for more of a fruity sweetness to go with the Latakia. I recommend it with 2 stars for what it is - a mild, sweet Virginia with a little spice.

Seattle Pipe Club - Mississippi River.

Another blend I acquired in a recent trade with Gentleman Zombie; Franck, you've made my day again! I haven't been as excited over opening a blend since I obtained Haunted Bookshop on a previous trade and I've not been as satisfied since my first bowl of Black Frigate; it's such a shame it's unavailable to us in the U.K!

I adore krumble Kakes, I love how tactile they are and this scores even higher marks than usual as it's not just one or two blocks in the tin, there's a mixture of big and small blocks with some of the blend being broken so it's loadable straight away. The colour's mainly dark brown, there are some light and dark specks but as a whole it's dark brown. Just the tin note alone hits the spot, it's very satisfying! Due to the tin being quite spacious my mixture's breathed a little and the room inside has aided some of the kake in breaking up to a smokeable texture, so lets move onto the actual smoke:

My, oh my; this is the apotheosis of satisfaction! There's masses of thick smoke with a deep, rich and buttery flavour; it's very luxurious. I simply love it! Unlike a few other folks I struggle to detect any form of topping, I get a slightly fruity, slightly woody, slightly grassy and slightly sweet taste but I'd expect all that to hail from the tobacco's used. The one expected flavour which eludes me is any smokiness from the Latakia, albeit it says it only includes a smidgen! The nicotine quantity is very agreeable, for me; just enough to be identified yet nowhere near enough to turn my guts! And finally, we have the burn: steady, cool, even and leaves a fine white ash; perfect.

I can't recommend this highly enough; this steals the crown of 'the worlds best tobacco' from Black Frigate for me!

Highly recommended

A million star blend!

Finally got my hands on a tin of M, i, crooked letter, crooked letter i, crooked letter, crooked letter i, hump back, hump back i.

I purchased the small tin hand blended 2oz. I peeled back the top and took a deep whiff. Nothing. I took another whiff. Nothing. Barley a movement on the smell test. Kind of shocked. Didn't have a strong smell profile. I loaded my pipe and puffed it up as I stood outside and helped my daughter with her homework through the screened window. (I couldn't wait).

Hmmm. The mildness carried over to the pipe. Then, something strange happened. My reliable pipe with a decent cake that never runs hot began to run hot. I applied my puffing skills to the hilt. The pipe burned super hot and I wasn't impressed with the flavor. SUPER mild. Not what I was expecting. Not spicy, not sweet, not ANYTHING just like that deep whiff of my noz. Since then I've smoked about 8 more bowls in two different pipes. I get the same reaction. Burns super hot. (That's strange). And the flavor was eh. Pretty mild. I have combed through the reviews a good ways back and I can't find anything similar to my experience. The word mild was used only once. I'm surprised at this blend. Maybe I just got a bad batch, or maybe it's over hyped. Or, maybe you Seattle folks put a little (extra sum'tin, wink, wink,) in the blend you smoke . I do love Plum Pudding… but this is no Pudding. And I know Pudding.

UPDATE: July 13, 2015. Based on the previous smashing reviews I must have had a bad batch of this stuff. There's no way to describe the stark contrast between all other experiences and mine. Since Oct 2014, I smoked this tin down and finally gave up at the last bit. If I didn't get a bad batch, I will say this is the most overrated and overhyped tobacco on this site. Flavorless. Even the tobacco barely had a smell in the tin. I hate this tobacco and never have I committed the sin of throwing tobacco away until today. It was taking up valuable space in my cellar and the tin was worth more than the contents.