Seattle Pipe Club Seattle Evening

I've tried all 3 Seattle Pipe Club blends and this is my second favorite of the bunch. The cut is a short ribbon of mostly dark tobacco and smells quite nice in the tin. I find the flavor similar to two of my favorite blends, Smokers' Haven "Our Best Blend" and GL Pease's "Odyssey". The blend is VA forward with the Latakia next and then the Orientals, in my mind a classic medium English and one to stock up on. 8 of 10 stars.

Opening aroma: Plum and raisin. Moisture content just right for an immediate bowl, easy light, easy to maintain. Plenty of color contrast among the different leaves, short cut medium-thick ribbon.

Flavor is well balanced. The Virginias, latakia and other orientals play nice with each other, and none overwhelms the others.

Oddly enough, following the evening theme, I had just finished a bowl of And So To Bed. Seattle Evening holds up very well after the pungency of ASTB. I am not comparing the two, however.

This is mild enough to smoke all day, with pleasant aroma and taste. I recommend this for all except those who want a big latakia component.

For me this blend is like the ambient music of tobacco; it's beautiful and nuanced when you choose to really pay attention to it but it also works well as something you don't HAVE to think about and can just let it be an enjoyable part of whatever else you're doing.

It packs well, smokes well, and is pretty well behaved. All the flavors are very well balanced and mild with nothing being too aggressive yet nothing going unnoticed. I particularly enjoy the interplay of the sour and earthy/musty notes that come in and out of focus.

Tin note of sweet spices, sour fruit, and smoky. Tobacco is light brown ribbon with a little brown and black mixed in. Moisture content is ok, some may prefer to dry it. No prep needed. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is mild to medium and consistent/inconsistent, with notes of smoky, spices, herbal, bread, sour, sweet, toasted wood, dry earth, floral, leather, tangy citrus, spicy, sweet grass, fermented vegetation, lemon zest, mildly bitter, a stewed tart fruit background note, and a mildly peppery retro. Oriental/Turkish is leading with Latakia and Virginia supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

disclaimer: I am a huge fan of oriental forward blends and I'm very sensitive to virginias.

TIn note: mostly sour orientals with hay in the background

Moisture from tin: goldilocks, requires no dry time and remains soft and supple, packs with just a little spring.

Mouthfeel: slightly past light and moving into creaminess territory

First light the tangy citrus flavor of the virginias come through in the perfect amount for my tastes. The smoke quickly moves into a sweet vanilla with hints of carmel, the smoky latakia is there but it's in the backseat. The next change comes towards the end of the first third and is a sweet smoky hay. At the halfway point there is another change to the majority flavor being sour orientals. Following this it evens out to a smooth woodsy and earthy smoke while still retaining the virginia sweetness. This continues until the very end of the bowl when the smoke becomes reminiscent of a clean evergreen smoke, not overpowering but a nice change of flavor for the finish. Wife described the room note as "interesting and spicy in a good way".

Overall I consider this a unique and underrated smoke. I'm usually a skeptic of SPC blends as I don't find most of them to be anything special. I was particularly skeptical of this blend due to other reviews here. Will be buying more of this to cellar. If you like orientals and subtle complexities rather than in your face changes I would definitely give this a try.

This is my first Seattle Pipe Club blend and I'm not at all disappointed. I am a big fan of English blends and this one is quite tasty. I characterize this one as mild to medium. The name says "Evening" but this is my go to morning blend along with my coffee and the morning news. It just seems the right strength to start the day. Not overpowering, but also not too light. The latakia is wonderful and high quality. The orientals and Virginias add their usual and unique notes to the overall smoke. Very satisfying to begin my day. As the day progresses I tend towards the stronger blends and this is a great and flavorful start. I plan on sampling many more of their blends.

As a new pipe smoker I think this is an excellent blend. Burns cool and no bite. Reminds me of Balkan SaseinI. Skip the Aros and go strait to this. Although the room note isn’t quite as pleasant it is tolerable (per my wife)

Seattle Evening: Opening the jar, I get a musty, mildly peaty, woody, bready natural aroma with floral and vegetative notes. I pack densely the tobacco in the bowl; I prefer a small-medium bowl such as MM country gentleman or savinelli 673 for this blend. Smoking the tobacco, the taste is somewhat consistent with the aroma coming from the jar, with the addition of some more prominent spiciness, light creaminess. I perceive the blend clearly as Latakia-forward with the Virginia to follow; as an oriental-based pipe smoker, i find the orientals to be on the background here, but they also contribute nicely to the complexity this blend offers. I tend to smoke Seattle Evening on some quiet nights, though I find it as a tobacco that can be repeatable during the day, particularly if you are Latakia lover. It needs a few relights, it burns cool at moderate rate (could say it burns little fast compared to some other English, not extraordinarily fast though). I perceive it as a mild blend in terms of strength, definitely the nicotine level is very mild; its constituents and their portions cannot make this blend to be “medium” in terms of strength/nicotine, but it offers a very satisfying smokiness and experience.