Low Country Pipe & Cigar Black

Black is sweet, musty, and strong.

In body and bouquet it is the most cigar-like blend in my cellar. I can't place the topping but, again, think "cigar" rather than "aromatic." There's a cinnamon and cedar spiciness to it, and the strong latakia component provides the dark oomph that underlies those flavors, rather than standing at the fore. Instead of the "savory campfire" that defines many of the latakia-heavy blends I enjoy, Black might better be subtitled "blackened Cajun gingerbread." It is a unique blend that, to my tastes, doesn't fit neatly into the traditional English category.

If provoked, it can bite. But smoked carefully, it provides quite a heady bowl of incendiary voodoo. I'll be very interested to see how it ages. At present, I'd give it 3.6 out of 4 stars.

Low Country - Black.

I had a battle opening it, the ring pull snapped off so tin-opener to the rescue! Once the lid comes off a very coarse blend is revealed, one where I can easily identify some pieces of flake. It appears a 50/50 split between brown and black tobaccos, and the moisture's faultless.

Where the taste is concerned at first I get quite a fair divide between sweet and smoky, making it an exceptionally smooth English. Once the bowl's stabilized the smoky addition easily overtakes any sweetness; it's still remarkably smooth, but smokier. Regarding the sweetness I'd be inclined to say there's the presence of a topping, it seems a bit too much to be natural. It burns cool, and only bites slightly when REALLY strained.

I'm one of the few who like the room-note, and I find the nicotine above medium.

Low Country Black easily warrants four stars:

Highly recommended.

I discovered this blend on smokingpipes.com only to realize this was their "house" tobacco (I believe). Buying it on a whim with very little to go off of other than the description, I decided to give this lesser known brand a try. In the tin, I was very surprised at the strong scent of BBQ, which I have gained familiarity with when it comes to latakia. The main point of separation was the intensity of this smell, as well as the addition of other foreign (but pleasing) scents -- I was very eager to light up as soon as possible. To my dismay, I was not dazzled with it upon my first few puffs down to about a quarter of the bowl. Described as "swarthy," I was expecting to be blown away from the first puff, not rolling my eyes at its lack of strength. I was very wrong. Like a boxer warming up with his first couple of jabs to test his opponent, I was not prepared for the knock-out uppercut about to be delivered mid-bowl. Suddenly, all the latakia burst forth and hit me like a freight train. This coupled with the nicotine really left me hurting -- with pleasure, that is. From this point on, the blend only continued to astound: it became very "charred" in flavor, and the stoved reds only gave it more nicotine fuel. Yet despite all the power, there was still a very predominate "spicy-sweetness" that took shape and gave me the impression that I was smoking BBQ chips (no joke)! I must add that I was drinking black coffee, and was smoking this in the morning on an empty stomach. However, I feel this only added to the wonderful time I had smoking this blend, all the way to the bottom of the bowl (which burned to a fine, black gunpowder, I might add). Needless to say, I was rather dizzy and grinning like a fool drunk on his favorite brand of spirits by the end. This tobacco has not gained much recognition yet, but I have a feeling as more lovers of full, dynamic english blends give it a try, it is sure to make its mark in the tobacco market. I highly recommend!

I will start by saying this: When my favorite retailer gets with my favorite blender and makes a blend- its as good as sold. I have all but the X-mas blend that I didn't know existed until today. This is my new favorite all-day english blend. It hits all the right spots on my palate and satisfies my desire for sweet and salty all at once. It comes very user friendly and perfect for instant packing. The smell is like a warm spring hike through the meadow by the Little Rock River. In the tin and on the air it hints at dark soil and moss, wood and leather. In one of my own handmade pipes, this blend burns consistantly from first light to last puff with never a bitter suggestion or fowl aftertaste. If you like english blends occasionally or constantly, I couldn't recommend one more highly at this time.

It is not common to find such excellent blend these days. Full, potent, easy to smoke and pleasant aroma and smoke. Great tobacco!

My rate: 5.0

This is a very nicely balanced English blend for those who like something a bit more on the strong side. Unlike the name implies, there are quite a few red and light tan leaves in this blend. The flavors are of very nice and somewhat sweet VA tobaccos with a very assertive Latakia presence. It is not overkill like say Pirate Kake, but more in a Londonblend 1000 way. The tobacco came way too wet, as most do to my taste, but once dried smoked very well. There is no tongue bite and very few relights, overall one that I would seriously consider adding to my rotation.