Watch City Cigar Deluxe Crumb Cut

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!

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?

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.

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.

I get a tad of cocoa and a solid burley base but not feeling the love others seem to be heaping on this blend. I do love burley-centric tobaccos and I get the mild aromatic flavorings.

Bought a small amount of recommendation. You always know this is risky because that person’s taste is not your own taste. All good.

Still, at the point of writing this review, a 3.8 or so rating? I should wait for more than 18 reviews. My bad.

It is fine. It is good. It is not very good. It is not exceptional. Burns easily. I will give it 3 stars but feel it’s more like 2.5.

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 .

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.

The bag note smells like a package of chocolate brownie mixture. Smells wonderful. Big moist crum cut perfect for scooping into the bowl. A bit moist and took a few more matches to get lit.

The notes above say that there is Latakia in this however WCC’s website and my experience says otherwise.

The taste… it’s medium bodied but complex. Woody, nutty, earthy, chocolate but it’s not as sweet as the smell. The sweetness can very throughout the bowl. It’s not an aromatic sweet but enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. Has that codgerness to the blend but is different enough to be interesting.

Smoking on a cool rainy summer morning with coffee and it’s quite nice. Nic hit is low. After taste is mild if any. Puffed faster to keep it lit with no bite and burley can bite me.