Tobaccos Watch City Cigar - Deluxe Crumb Cut

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2015-02-13		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

The cube cut burleys are very nutty, woody, toasty, oat-like, and molasses sweet with a bit of earth, a little sugar, and a hint of cocoa. The woody, dry, earthy, floral white burley is a very minor player, but I get a bare hit of sharpness, and a savory note from it here and there. The unsweetened black cavendish offers a little brown sugar in the background. Has a very small amount of smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia. The vanilla topping is mild, while the couramin style top note (a tonka bean substitute) is mildly herbal and vanilla-ish. The licorice note is very light, but always obvious. The nic-hit and strength are a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste threshold is medium. Has very few minute rough edges. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns clean, cool and a little slow; smooth with a very consistent taste from start to finish, and beyond as the after taste and room notes pleasantly linger a mite. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, though it does require a few relights as the tobacco is a tad moist. Is an all day smoke that won't wear out its welcome.

-JimInks

35 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-10-20		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Various browns in a cube cut with tiny ribbons, the "Grape Nuts" cereal analogy is pretty apt here. Rich burley with vanilla-type bag aroma. Watch City no longer uses deer tongue but instead uses a tonka bean substitute, a la SG's 1792. The flavoring is cocoa.

Once again, Ernie Q has created a blend that just won't share bowl time with other blends. I smoked 6 bowls of this over two days, and that constituted my entire consumption for the weekend. This is a blend that could satisfy almost all straight burley AND aromatic cravings. One of my complaints about American-style aromatics is that they are too heavily flavored, they use less than stellar base tobaccos, and as a result they smoke too wet and the flavoring dissipates as the chemicals and sauces combust. This blend exhibits none of those flaws. It smokes like a fine burley, with a nutty and sweet character, and with strong hints of rich oats and grains. It smokes like one of the finest aromatics I've ever enjoyed, with cocoa notes that are not oversugared or oversaturated. The room note is a cross between your dad or grandad's old burley OTC and a light, refreshing aromatic that is not your basic goopy atrocity. If you enjoy a sweet flavor and a nice room note with your burley, this is the one. If you enjoy straight burley but want a little extra sizzle with your steak, this is the one. This is the burley that could satisfy every burley and aromatic lovers tobacco craving... it's that simple. Ernie Q is really showing his blending genius and this blend has hit my rotation with a sledge hammer. I'm a smoker that likes to have blends on hand that cover all the various bases, and this one knocks all the other aros and 2 or 3 burley blends from my rotation. A masterpiece!

34 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2015-02-16		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is pure bliss ! The cut is incredible being similar to cube cut but softer and it kinda falls apart a bit like a Krumble cake type blend ... it's really incredible as it lights and stays lit brainlessly throughout out the bowl . The flavor is uncanny ! I don't think there is any Deer tongue in it because I have an anti Deer Tongue detector built into my genes which protects me from such horrid flavors like that and soap . That said , the flavor is burley [ not so much the woody but more nutty ] and a mild cocoa topnote which just works perfectly .. and I mean perfectly . The mouth feel is full and almost creamy but the blend isn't strong and burley bitterish by any means . Of the many blends I've tried in the past few years , this one stands out as a super classic , masterfully done blend . If I were to pick an all day " The One " tobacco .. it might come down to this blend . Thankfully , such a choice isn't reality .

Pipe Used: Quite a few

Age When Smoked: Not sure as it was a gift from a friend

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2014-08-06		Medium	Medium	Full	Very Pleasant

04/06/2015 - I am very surprised that DCC has not been reviewed more than it has. Usually cube cut, top shelf Burley blends prove to be very popular (or unpopular like Crooner). DCC has the unique character of being totally made in house, IE not a mix of bulk blends which is VERY rare. I mean really think about it, what other micro blender creates flakes? Real BEAUTIFUL flakes, not the half crumble cake, half broken flake that those without a 5 ton press put out. Hats off to Ernie for being a master blender. DCC has the most amazing Iced Oatmeal cookie aroma and Graham Cracker nutty taste even though its not a heavy aromatic, just a light vanilla topping on some Rolls Royce Cubed Burleys... Although I like DCC anytime, if you like your Burley straight up like Prince Albert with minimal topping, consider this blend for times when you are around mixed company and want a fantastic smelling blend with real tobacco taste and don't let the vanilla scare you, its not BCA or 1Q strong...

Oh my... This blend has me mouthwatering just thinking about it. The below description is right on, only thing I can really change is they do not use deer tongue anymore, now they use a special vanilla type curing method. The cut is between a cube cut and a ribbon which makes lighting and packing a breeze, scoop and thumb into the bowl, doesn't get any easier for a beginner. I have been looking for a replacement for Wilke's Nut Brown Burley which has been discontinued and while Uhle's #44 is still the best replacement this has an even better aroma and much sweeter taste for someone coming off aromatics or likes a sweet burley smoke. The taste is off the wall delicious for me, think the best Burley flavor you've had and add a little black Cavendish sweetness with a Iced Oatmeal Cookie aroma. Actually that's the best analogy for me , an Iced Oatmeal Cookie. These guys hand blend and nothing is bulk blends mixed together, a real old school pipe shop that delivers top shelf blends, a must try!

Pipe Used: Cobs, no name italian briar

Age When Smoked: 238 , blended in 1776

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	brashboy (84)	2015-08-28		Medium	Mild to Medium	Full	Very Pleasant

This is so good, I hardly know where to start. If you are an aromatic smoker looking to step up to an aromatic blend that is a truly great tobacco, DCC is it. If you are an English smoker looking for a great aromatic to try, or just a great tobacco-y Burley, this is it.

The cocoa and coumarin flavorings are not heavy and I really note only the chocolate. I don't get the licorice at all, but I am not the best at picking up every flavor nuance. I think the JimInks review below really nails this blend, as JimInks so often does, as does the DK review. If I was on a desert island and could have only a few blends, this would be one of them. As a blender, Watch City Cigar owner Ernie Q yields to no one. He is to Burley what Greg Pease is to Latakia.

Four stars because that's all I can give it. It is so rare for a tobacco to have a wonderful aromatic flavoring that also presents a masterful tobacco taste, but Deluxe Crumb Cut delivers both.

Pipe Used: Cob, Vauen and Brebbia briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar

Similar Blends: Reminds me a lot of Butternut Burley, also a great blend..

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	lasttango (6)	2018-04-10		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a very pleasant tobacco to smoke. On one hand, it is a slightly sweet, tobacco forward blend that is so easy to smoke. It is delicious.

On the other hand, when smoked slow and consciously, you notice some very complementary components. While it has some noticeable sweetness, it also has a masculine side that reminds me of ancient grains, brown sugar, oak and truffles. It tastes rich, creamy and natural to me. I find the nicotine to be fairly medium to mild and could smoke this all day.

I do not recommend this tobacco for a quick smoke. One, it could burn your tongue if you smoke it to aggressively. Two, I think you need to treat this tobacco right in order for it to reveal its full potential.

I can't believe this isn't more widely appreciated. I think most of WCC's blends are terrific.

Pipe Used: Reverse Calabash, Lovat, Cob

Age When Smoked: Arrived in mail within the week

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cakeanddottle (105)	2019-12-09		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

This is a tobacco I wouldn't have given a chance back in my snooty aromatic hating days. Thanks goodness I've grown up enough to get over that.

This blend belongs in the category of barely aromatic Burley blend. I'm guessing this is what aromatics looked like prior to the oversaucing that started in the 1960s. I'd put it in the same class as a tobacco like Derby Club in that both have a nice added flavor note that never diminishes or takes away from the focus on the quality Burley blend that it is. To my palate it is definitely identifiable as a Sutliff Burley, but it's the best quality Sutliff I've ever smoked and that Sutliff sour note is way less noticeable than in other Sutliff based blends. There may be a little molasses and cocoa to this, but what I get is vanilla applied with a very light hand. You get more of it in the smell of the unlit tobacco than you do while smoking it. I doubt this would ghost a pipe more than it'd take two bowls of straight Burley to undo. The cut burns great and is a great Burley cut, not as fine as a cube or the classic Burley Grape Nuts that Kentucky Club was, more of a crimp cut.

This is a 3 1/2 star Burley for me, so I'll round up to 4. If you pinned me down I'd have to include this in my top 5 Burleys along with HU Makhuwa, MB HH Burley Flake, Uhle Blend 00, and Kentucky Club. If you like Burley, if you like codger blends, you can't help but love this tobacco. Russ O makes so many blends that it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall; most of them are nondescript and end up on the ground but occasionally he sticks something great by accident. Ernie on the other hand is the real deal, and I have not smoked one of his blends that I didn't think was at least way above average. Bravo and thanks Ernie!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-05-22		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This one in the Crumb Cut Burley series by Watch City Cigars.

It is an unusual cut, in the pouch pouch it basically looks like grape nuts cereal. It also has flecks of green leaves in there which would be the deer tongue. Though this "grape nuts" consistency makes packing a breeze. Just scoop it up with the bowl of your pipe and and tap to settle.

Though so effort is required to light it and it did need

The pouch aroma is that of oatmeal cookies as so the room note.

The flavor is also similar to oatmeal cookies with the nuttiness of the burley and the hits of vanilla-y sweetness from the deer tongue. Not much flavor development through out the bowl save the nuttiness becoming more intense. Solid all day smoke for fans of burley.Great for those who want to branch away from aromatics.

Only drawback is the tobacco is prone to form a bit of tobacco dust, which can either clog the draft hole or cause you to end up with a mouth full of tobacco dust depending of the draw of the pipe.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LOGS (4)	2021-01-15		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Basically a codger burley blend, aro in nature but not heavy handed. Sweet in cinnamon pastry flavors. One reviewer compared it to "a spice cake in your pipe" which sounds right to me. A good choice for someone looking for an easy agreeable non-goopy aro that burns well and has a Christmas-time aroma. Holds no interest for me personally but many will find this quite smokable.

- Logs

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PKT (30)	2020-04-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Another great tobacco from Watch City which along with Wilke, are my favorite small blenders. This is a sweet, nutty and expertly flavored burly, It smokes slow and cool. The blend could easily be an all day blend and for me is an excellent first pipe smoke. It is very close to the sadly discontinued Wilke Nutty Burley.

Pipe Used: Wide variety of briars

Age When Smoked: Varies

Purchased From: Watch City

Similar Blends: Wilke Nutty Burley.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2021-09-15		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Tolerable

I did not like the taste of this blend and it is 100% due to the topping which I find to be kind of raunchy. I am not a big chocolate topping fan, but this goes beyond that and I think it is just the combination of that and the coumarin, that is really killing it for me.

The tobacco itself is fine. Nice Burley that is easy to pack and maintain, but the topping never really leaves. I do not like it, but have more than a few friends who love it. I am leaving it at two stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Justindaze (11)	2020-08-19		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is one of my favorite aromatics, up there with Straus' Sleepy Hollow. The tin note smelled like melted chocolate dripped on honey'd graham crackers. I know it is cliche to say a blend makes your mouth water but this blend's tin note actually makes my mouth water. IT lights easy. I taste notes of Citrus, Raisin, Honey, Coco and Graham crackers. They accompany the nutty Burley tobacco very well. It burns cool and the flavor doesn't kill the tobacco taste. It's crisp, never goopy or overly sweet and burns clean. Certainly a wonderful treat for the smoker who doesn't normally smoke aros. And for the aro smoker I could see this easily being an all-day every day staple! Outstanding!

Pipe Used: Dr Grabow Big Pipe

Age When Smoked: 3 Years Jarred

Purchased From: Watch City Cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nkulk8r (90)	2019-02-19		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

The universe is random.

It was by mere chance that I stumbled upon a review for a Watch City blend, which led me to read some more reviews, which led me to order 5 different samples, which utterly changed my life, which led me to procure a whole bunch more of the stuff.

It's all so simple: quantum chaos.

THIS Deluxe Crumb Cut is everything I thought an aromatic would be when I first picked up a pipe (the reason why I initially -- innocently -- went for aromatics when first starting with the pipe). Watch City Deluxe Crumb Cut is a preposterously incredible, delectable creation. Of course you’re going find something as exotic as tonquin bean in a modern haute blend like Deluxe Crumb Cut. How else could one explain a blend with such an exquisitely decadent tin note, so utterly resplendent with notes of cocoa, vanilla, caramel and dark honey? And the smoke -- “Oh my” indeed . . .

This is my fourth review of a Watch City blend, each one of which has been a monster (McCovey Cove) home run. I cannot believe, for example, that this Watch City blend—Deluxe Crumb Cut -- has been on TR for nearly 9 years, and it only has 7 reviews (each of those, a 4-star review). The addition of this 4-star review will leave Deluxe Crumb Cut batting 1000. And who wouldn’t want such a blend in their rotation?

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar & Pipe

Similar Blends: Crack Cocaine Crumble Cut; Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	craig61a (22)	2020-11-29		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

A very pleasing and well behaved tobacco. It's like a spice cake in your pipe. I gave it some dry time, just enough so it wouldn't quite stick together when pinched. The depth of flavours is amazing. I barely noticed the latakia, but it's nice addition to the background flavor.

It burns very well indeed, leaving a fine grey/white ash. Needs very little intervention as it is being smoked, just load up, light up and go!

Fine quality tobaccos used in this blend.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: WCC

Similar Blends: Somewhat similiar to Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake in Flavor..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixondavid (9)	2020-09-05		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Absolutely perfect. Sipping reveals all of the subtle beauty of this mixture. Highly recommend all of the Watch City blends and this one above all. Really shines in a cob.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Watch City Cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (221)	2021-04-20		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Watch City Cigar Deluxe Crumb Cake - A very nutty Burley blend . I really like the slight sharp notes that I think come from the white Burleys. Suits me fine . A get a little bit of the cavendish at times and it is a nice touch . This is a top notch codger style blend and even beats out Carter Hall for me . I get mostly Vanilla flavoring with a little cocoa and maybe Licorice or Anise extract maybe ? I think most Burley lovers would enjoy this . I will give this 4 because I think it gets it right where so many other blends in this genre fail .

Pipe Used: Cobs

Age When Smoked: Fresh bulk

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimPM (154)	2021-04-14		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Apparently, the Boston bulldog has his rear haunches firmly planted on Central Avenue of Codgerville on this one, while the front paws have been busy scratching up the turf in valley of creatively crafted blends. The iconic canine from Watch City Cigar & Pipe presents the subject blend, Deluxe Crumble Cut for our thoughtful consideration. Tabled as crumble cut treat, this working man’s blend is highly revered as one of several five-star rated flagship mixtures prepared by the quarter century old Boston-based tobacconists.

What the heck is a crumble cut anyways? Searching high and low on Pipedia, nowhere will one find reference to this style of tobacco. I mean there is crumble cake and pressed cube cut Burley of course, but this crumble cut dog don’t seem to hunt; must be one of those rare designer breeds it seems.

The recipe is categorized officially as a Burley blend being constituted by a choice quality burley, a modest strain of Latakia and some non-discreet Green River Cavendish. The mélange is softly cased with a variety of added flavorings; chocolate, licorice and then given a final splash with a vanilla coumarin-like top coating. Codger-like arguably so, as Deluxe Crumble Cut plays in the same fields as your Carters or Sir Walters of the world. Watch City’s is most definitely a notch or two above in my humble opinion, however.

Some see this mix as an aromatic, but I personally do not think so. Calling it an aromatic takes away from the true prestige of Ernie Q’s concoction and pigeon-holes this goody in a diminutive fashion. This is a quality crafted burley-dominant mixture prepared with the same level of affluence as other luxury blends, again my opinion.

The visual presentation of this tobacco is generally enticing; it begs for the smoking. Peeking at the swarm of varietals one cannot help but instantly proclaim “yep that there is a crumble cut if I ever saw one”. A very lovely mash of cube-cut and course fragments of indiscriminate profile nicely tossed and clustered awaiting eager consumption. Per the blender’s assertion this combination promotes optimum burning temperature and consistency. The mix does genuinely temper cool and dry leaving a handsome and impress mound of fine ash at the close.

As this is a custom blended brick and mortar preparation the presentation is within an unassuming poly-pouch rather than a flashy tinned package typical of most mass-produced blends. In comparison to the latter, I guess one could badge the production as a small batch which to me speaks to the craftsmanship and ardor that goes into the making an exceptional product. It seems to go in and out of stock on a regular basis which is another significant leading indicator of its attraction. The essential stew of tobaccos by default are therefore relatively fresh, yet this does not detract from its savor.

The essential perfume note is lively and fragrant. Warm wood-nuttiness dominates the register with just a dash of the smoky Oriental tang at the tail end. The added flavorings softly enfold sweet and light notes of vanilla and chocolate. A mild but pithy licorice twist and what I interpret as a parting spin of coconut lace hit me with every registration; odd but true.

The base line flavor is genuinely steady, presenting itself as an almond-like nuttiness meshed with oaty-cocoa tempered oak while the mid and high accents kind of interweave and smoothly transition drawl to drawl. Frequently one gets that a deliciously stark sour note which I absolutely relish from a quality Burley. The scant but present Latakia lurks in the background showing nice compliments. It brings a buttercream/fruity earthiness or an occasional subtle smoky incense undertone, which is typically how I experience a splash of this varietal when it is has been bundled as a compliment to a bed of deep Burley.

A constant dark sugary-molasses sweet-toast thread runs throughout the entire smoke. The additive topping of licorice and coumarin sit high and lightly on the taste registration with a recognizable tone of salty, sweetened spice. Overall, the taste profile is satiating, lightly sweet and well-balanced; I really like it! One final note, I feel the blend really starts to howl about half-way down as all the aforementioned attributes tend to get deeper and richer in character: very nice.

Deluxe Crumble Cut produces a medium-bodied plume of velvety smoke. Texturally it feels comfortably smooth and warm within the mouth chamber. As the tobaccos straight from the pouch seem to be at ideal moisture levels, there is no lashing or roughness experience. The side stream note generated smells very deep and toasty complimenting the essence of the main plume. A pleasant buttery smoke that this sweet in temperament and characteristically Burley.

By my estimation and reaction, the nicotine effect of the preparation is somewhat of an easy stroll. Deluxe Crumble cut is a very mellow relaxing smoking experience. Typically, Codger blends can be a tad bit racy and rough but none of that manifests with Watch City’s recipe which, once more, speaks to it crafted differentiation.

Well, there you have it the straight dope on the cryptic crumble cut. In sum, a simple yet very gratifying working-class blend as symbolic as the bulldog’s dainty bowler hat itself. A good all-day indulgence to be enjoyed no matter what your present order of business might be. Every Burley and Codger enthusiast should pet this dog. Every aro-nut, Crumble Cut might indeed wag your tail. Enough for now. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll retire to my front porch rocker and pack myself another tasty bowl of Watch City Cigar& Pipe’s Deluxe Crumble Cut; it’s highly recommended.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gentleman

Age When Smoked: Fresh & 1 month jarred

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar & Pipe

Similar Blends: Carter Hall & Sir Walter Raleigh (somewhat), 4Noggins Bald Headed Teacher.

1 person found this review helpful.