Chonowitsch T 17

This is a wonderful smoke. The various Virginias initially lead with a mild hay, a tangy citrus/grass, a hint of darker fruit and a nice sweetness and spice. The Macedonian comes in about half-bowl with a sour note that perfectly contrast the Virginias sweetness. Throughout the bowl the Latakia provides a background of smoky wood that becomes a little more prominent toward the end. An English that allows all the players to have a say. Something I have come to appreciate.

Mild to medium in body and taste. No added flavorings that I can tell. There may be some added sweetness, maybe not. Burns very well.

Now where did this come from? I think it should be a tobacco with worldwide acclaim as it is one of the finest Scottish blends I've ever smoked. Bold Latakia mixed with velvety soft and sweet Orientals and a little backbone provided from some outstanding Virginia. As cool a smoke as you could hope for with palate filling delicious taste with no heaviness. Marvelous stuff!

Chonowitsch - T 17.

The mixture includes some very coarse pieces, is about even with dark, medium, and light brown pieces, and had a good hydration when I popped it.

I think I'm with the few who rate this as fuller tasting. The flavour's made mostly of Orientals and Latakia: fairly sour with a gentle smokiness- the Lat', although a prominent flavour, isn't caustic. The Virginia adds a subtle dark fruit, tanginess. It burns steady enough, but can become too warm if pushed hard.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not great.

T 17? A pleasant enough smoke, but it falls just short of four stars:

Recommended.

- One reviewer said Gingerbread, yes, nice room note, very mild but with a nice flavor, a good change of pace from heavy Latakia blends. Nice when snorked, it gives that Oriental forward. I know I've tasted a similar blend before, it has that "split oak" flavor, or "pencil shavings" cedar flavor!. Really not a big blast of flavor, I think this is one I could get hot and ashy if I wasn't paying close attention, but when sipped and savored and not pushed, it's nice. . Mindless puffing gets you a mediocre smoke, like sucking hot air and 2 stars .

This seems to be very pipe type sensitive. Some cobs or briars are great, while others are so so, haven't determined the bests yet.

Ok, we are between 2 and 4 stars , I'll give it a 3 stars, just don't expect to get anything if you're a northern winter smoker running outside to catch a few puffs, it needs to be savored!

The aroma of dark plug tobacco hovers behind the ghost of Virginia tobaccos - subdued and mellow. More sniffing bring out caramel, chocolate, red wine, gingerbread, wet leaves and birch bark. Noticeable sweetness seems to come from the casing rather than the Virginia. (Typical light, sweet Danish casing.) Danish blends usually bite my tongue - due to the casings they put on everything - but we'll see.

Interesting cut - very coarse. Fairly easy to pack. Burns well.

Smoke begins with dusty tobacco flavors, Virginia tastes toasted and mature. Peppery, slightly sweet, faint pine flavor, more dusty notes (reminiscent of raking dry autumn leaves). Casing brings caramel and raisins - in subtle small doses. More dry, dusty moments, like a tobacco barn in November. Pleasant, but comes across kind of dull. Drop the sweet Dutch casing, and pump up the Virginia and Oriental mix, and then You'd really have something. (Not that much like a Scottish Mixture to me, but too bland and cased to tell what the blend was meant to be.)

As I said, quite pleasant. Not bad but not exciting. Nice smoke for busy times when you aren't paying that much attention to your smoking. Smokes well but I doubt it will be a regular smoke for me. Doesn't bite as much as I feared.

T17 is another feather in renowned pipe maker, Jess Chonowitsch’s cap, suitable for any pipe and any and every pipe smoker who fancies English blends. A note on the tin actually refers to T17 as a “Scottish” blend. I guess “Scottish” here means chunky English, because this is an archetypal “English” blend, composed of chunky, short ribbons and well broken pieces of flakes. Initial tin note is fine Latakia well over everything else, but, like many Lat blends, the smoky scent drops back with rest and some airing before smoking. T17 lights well enough, better after it’s dried some, and it smokes down with regular attention. This blend is very well balanced, indeed, and it features the full gamut of VAs. There is some dark fruit from stoved red, earth and tang from air cured red, some mustiness and significant sugar from air cured brown, while air cured orange and flue cured lemon add some zest. Savory Macedonian is woody, sour, and gamy like pheasant or quail. First quality, Old School, Cyprian Latakia gives a fragrant, wood-fired aspect to the other tobaccos, and it also sours like peat down the bowl. The lot is sweet, savory, sour, salty and smoky at once, like a dream barbecue, with Middle Eastern kabob spices and exotic, deep, woody resins, so mellow it belies the medium tastes. Despite the significant sourness, there is enough sweetness from the VAs to balance this off through the smoke. It is consistent and consistently excellent, top to bottom. Strength is mild. Room note is quite pleasant to me, but I’ll temper that out of deference to bystanders, due to significant Macedonian leaf. Aftertaste is the best of the smoke, and it gets sweeter and sweeter as it trails off. If there’s a negative, it seems T17 is addictive!

Here is a definitive answer to the oft-asked question, Do we need another medium English? Well, if it’s T17, then, yes, we do! 4 stars (and I have no idea why it took me so long to find it). Also, no question, this is absolutely one for the cellar!

Remarkable blend!!!.....tasty,well balanced,without taste changes due to smoking till the end of the bowl.....every smoker must try...and after that must have

I've just started to smoke this blend & find it remarkable. The blend description, Double broadcut light and dark Virginias, Old Belt plug, Macedonia and Latakia. Cool and slow burning Scottish mixture with full flavor, got my attention but really didn't prepare me for the sublime presence & smoke of this fine Tobak. The tin note is muted scents of Autumn, and the tobaccos are just as colorful. It lights easily and burns with little effort. You can almost dare it to bite, but instead find subtle note of the blend components step forward in gentle harmony, that still allows for the occasional center stage presentation of each, owing to the wild cut. Smooth as Blues slide guitar, it weaves a tapestry of flavors that are mellow but not timid. Be glad that this one's still around.

Finally a Kohlhase & Kopp mixture that tastes different from the usual ( they make Banker's, Comoy's, Robert Lewis and they're all the same)! Maybe because this isn't a reissue of an historical tobacco...The cut is REALLY broad, with Virginia leaves the size of a blanket; you better tear them in smaller pieces to harmonize the size with that of the other tobaccos. The moisture was perfect to smoke upon opening the tin. The first impression is that of an overall sweetness at the smell, and this impression lasts after having lit but the sweetness is unobtrusive, pleasant. The second part of the bowl is the better one, when the slightly acrid oriental leaf counterbalances the sweetness: I personally would have tried to add a little more Latakia to suit my taste, but the blend is nicely balanced however. The sense is of a general mildness and tranquillity, a mixture that can suit every moment of the day without becoming too invasive to the palate, burning well and dry. Just pay attention at smoking it slowly: it can bite if rushed, due to the high percentage of the Virginia leaf, but it never becomes bitter.

A very pleasant surprise!

Appearance and tin aroma: mostly darker leaf with some mohagany and lighter leaf interspersed. Broadcut ribbon. Smells very fragrant with a slight "honey" topping noticable too.

Packing and lighting: Moisture is perfect out of the tin. Packs easily even though the ribbons are broad. Works better in big pipes. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: When I think of a Scottish mixture, this is it! Not too sweet and heavily cased like the MacBaren offerings, not too full and cloying like 965. Not too light, like Old Dublin. You get the point?

Mid-Bowl: Nirvana, this blend gets into the "zone" with all the leaves balanced properly, with a nice room note to boot!

Bottom of Bowl: Finishes with a slight increase in strength, dry, no bitterness. Let's reload!

Overall: I really enjoyed T-16 and really had no expectation for this blend. In fact, I was expecting to be disappointed. This blend has filled a void in my overall rotation. It has replaced MacBaren's Scottish Mixture Flake. I really liked the perfect mix of leaf and slight casing and its overall smoothness. For those times I want something sweet, but not overly, T-17 will be the one. Try it, you'll like it!