4noggins MOJO

Thanks to 4Noggins for the generous sample, I love it when shops surprise me!

This is the third Deer Tongue mixture I've tried, including "Special" from Ed's Pipe Shop, aka Tinderbox No. 1, and the other, C&D's Crooner. Crooner was a simple cube cut Burley and deer tongue mix, which tended to fatigue the palate after extended smoking, while Special was quite good, with a level of deer tongue that was largely imperceptible--you'd be lucky to pick the stuff out of the bag without looking deep.

Mojo stacks up favorably to both...with an impressive ratio of the leaf and a diverse bunch of components. I've read that deer tongue supposedly imparts a vanilla like flavor, and given my experience with earlier blends, I couldn't quite place the note--Special used the leaf too sparingly, and Crooner didn't quite mesh together--the small deer tongue bits dropping to the bottom of the sample, leading me to disregard their inclusion entirely when filling the pipe.

But Mojo has enough of the stuff to make the deer tongue, and its unusual flavor, overwhelmingly evident. For lack of a better descriptive vocabulary, I'll go ahead with the vanilla characterization, though the flavor is slightly off, much in the same manner as 1792, whose tonquin additive really confounded my senses upon initial smoking. But you adapt, and begin to appreciate its qualities, which one will likely do with deer tongue after some experience with the leaf.

My sample was exceedingly dry, requiring me to really jam the contents into the bowl, listening to the mix crunch together with a few solid tamps (I'd have preferred a slightly higher level of moisture). The strength is quite pronounced with the inclusion of Perique, and it certainly falls in the upper medium category, while the spice finds a place as well, perhaps a product of the Burley, which can at times emulate Oriental leaf and bring my senses to a tingle. Pack a smaller bowl to begin, as the oddity and strength may startle you.

Now, if you really want to try deer tongue, I think this is the best showcase blend out there. Special is certainly good, but it's impossible to find outside of that Santa Monica Tinderbox, and while Crooner has a hefty portion of the leaf, it's just that and cubed Burley (though very high quality Burley), which exhibits too much monotony. Admittedly, the blend is a bit of a novelty, and though I ran through the sample quickly, two ounces of the stuff would likely last a very long time. I have a little less than a bowl left, maybe I'll try adding Latakia to top it off...actually, that sounds tasty!

4noggins - MOJO.

A medium brown ribbon with a few splashes of yellow but no black pieces. Black Cavendish: where? The moisture's good, as always from 4noggins.

Of the tobaccos it's the Perique which leads. It's quite a vivacious variety, giving a strong, vinegar-like flavour. The burley and Virginia are of an equal weight to one another, backing the Perique with a support of hay and nuts. As expected, from the appearance, I get no black Cavendish. The deer tongue gives more of a herby top note, as opposed to a deer tongue-vanilla flavour. But this is very gentle. MOJO burns well, producing a smoke which remains bite free throughout a bowl.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not a fan.

MOJO? A three star blend:

Recommended.

This tobacco is rather strong according to your nicotine tolerance. The taste is good if your like this type of blend. Too strong is you prefer aromatic.

Very good Deer Tongue blend, a delicious natural change for the Aromatic Smoker

I'm used to Virginia and Latakia blends, smoking aromatics mostly in wintertime. Opening the pouch I got a weird flavour, prevailing deer tongue (it's my first tobacco containing this herb). Smoking the first bowl I could only get deer tongue, it was too much! So I deceided to put it in the cellar for a couple of weeks. Two months later I gave it another try: the offensive smell of the deer tongue disappeared. Now it's a lovely light to medium flavored blend with enough nicotine for a evening smoke. You get a Virginia/Burley mixture with a herbal - slightly sweet - touch, no artificial flavors! Good high quality baccy! I like it!

If you are tired of sweet artificial flavored blends, give it a try!

In the zip top bag that this came in from 4noggins, it looks like the day's floor sweepings... a little bit of everything.

Easy to pack and light. An immediate strong tobacco blast. Subtle, underlying flavor comes not from a sugar-y top dressing but what I presume is the Deer Tongue (which I wasn't familiar with). Tasty, unchanging down to the bottom and one of the stronger smokes I've had. I like this stuff! I'm going to order more.

Very good Deer Tongue blend, a delicious natural change for the Aromatic Smoker

AP

2 oz. zip lock bag arrived in perfect smoking condition. Upon lighting there is a minty, herbal flavor that is very light. Subsequent puffing produces a tang that continues throughout the bowl. The blend smokes effortlessly with adequate nicotine delivery. I do, however find this tobacco quite boring and with too little flavor to stay interesting. Price point is also a bit high.