B&B Tobacconists, llc Scott's Companion

The red Virginias are earthy, tangy sweet, and have some McClelland vinegar notes, though they don't detract and fade a bit as you smoke it down. The Oriental/Turkish is spicy and woodsy, providing some savory depth and light complexity. The perique is more peppery than plumy, and is here in a goodly amount, but not enough to overtake the other components. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with few relights and a consistent well balanced flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl. It's not quite an all day smoke, and while fairly rich, is good for several smokes a day. It almost gets four stars from me, and it's certainly good enough to be in your regular rotation.

-JimInks

This may be my favorite VaPer, if you could call it that. Sure, there's Turkish in there, but it's pretty much a VaPer, and perhaps it's the Turkish in this that makes it stand a step above every other VaPer I've ever had. This includes Escudo, Dunbar, Dorchester, and on and on. This is a truly fantastic tobacco, and if you're ever in Asheville (that's Asheville with an "E"), pick some up.

I do like B&B and the folks who run the place very much, but that is not a source of bias for this review. Whether you frequent the shop or only go in once in awhile to pick up some Scot's Companion and Ol' Limey Bastard, you will love this blend. Very nice ribbon cut, packs and lights very easily, stays lit, all the right things in their correct places. It's a shame this is only available in Asheville, because in my opinion, everyone should have the opportunity to smoke Virginia/Perique blends this good on a regular basis.

The taste of this stuff is far smoother than all the other VaPers I know, and that's why I love it so much. The others mentioned above have a bit too much of that Virginia harshness (and yes, Virginia is sweet, but it also has a harsh characteristic, possibly due to moisture, in many cases, at least in my experience), whereas this blend is perfectly balanced. And I do mean perfectly. I am an English smoker for the most part, so I don't like undue harshness or anything in my tobacco, and this is fantastic in that regard. Perfectly proper nicotine level, perfectly proper taste, everything is just as it should be with this one. If you put a gun to my head and told me to find a fault here, I would be hard pressed to do so.

Really, if you can get your hands on some, do it. It's more than worth the price (which is very modest, since it's an in-house blend), and you will not be disappointed. This shop is quite consistent with their blends too; every batch I buy is the same, and that's a good thing. Give this one a try folks! Four stars!

Not bad at all. I am not a perique fan but this overall is a pretty darn good smoke. Yes it is a bit peppery but not to the point to be distracting. Tin note is as you would expect wood smoke with a hint of pepper. Lights very easy and first couple of puffs are that wonderful vinegary wood smoke flavor that I simply love so much. Then as you go through the bowl you get hit with a pretty dominating pepper flavor. There is some Turkish in there somewhere but the perique tends to overpower the finishing off of the bowl. Room note is as you would expect that of wood smoke. Overall this is a fine smoke and would be perfect for a perique fan, which I am not but still enjoyed the smoke. I would recommend this smoke but not put it n my rotation.

I walked into B&B tobacconists, as I do every time I'm in Asheville, and asked Mr.Barnes for a good Vaper. He said, "this is my favorite blend and I smoke two bowls every night." I told him I'd like to buy two ounces. "Well, I won't sell it to you but I'll give you a couple ounces and if you don't like it, throw it away." I'm just finishing it up and I'm planning to buy more.

This is a great vaper and the turkish adds a lovely accompaniment. The pouch note is conspicuously ketchupy if that tips you off to the source of the "red cakey" virginias. Like all VA blends, it requires some careful sipping, but oh what a reward! I'm going to cellar some to see what age does to this delightful blend.

I like VaPers a lot and when I have the chance, i love to try new ones. Many are very similiar and this is a good thing but it is always nice to try something a little different, with a twist to the basic ingredients. This one does this in an excellent and tasty way. They have added turkish to the VA and perique for a nice change of pace Vaper. This blend is very perique dominant which I like, and the Va adds the sweetness but the Trukish used in this adds a spice that I like very much. In the baggie in my case the blend has a sweet peat like aroma with just a touch of spiciness to my nose. The tobacco is a ribbon cut but is not long strips but short rough cut and of different sizes. This makes for an easy to light and long lasting cool smoking. The color of the blend is a rich dark brown interspurced with a darker shade of brown and some medium colored longer ribbons. The hand feel is very silky, not dry but not wet or sticky either. It came to me at just the right moisture level to just load up and jump right in with it.

First light up it has some rise so I tamp and relight and it stays lit for a long time. Maybe one or two relights to the bottom of the bowl. It smokes down at a nice slow pace and to a light gray ash with onlt a little dottle at the bottom. I have tried it in several of my briars, one meer and a Falcon and it does well in all of them. Th taste upon smoking it is very spicy but not hot, you can feel the large amount of perique in your nose but it tastes very smooth and is sweetened by the VA, and the turkish gives it an interesting tongue feel and aroma. it never grows too strong to the bottom and the taste stays consistant all the way down. This is a delightful change of pace VaPer and I could really smoke this as an all day blend. I very highly recommend trying this one, you will not be disappointed. Not for the perique challenged though, but I like Frenchy's SunzaBitches so I obviously like perique. Got to give this a four star for it being a quality blend by a blender that dared to be a little different.

I bought a pound of this tobacco mainly on the smell of it in the jar at the B&B shop in Ashville, NC. It also may have been that I loved the stores atmosphere,which was thick with cigar and pipe smoke from all the old codgers hanging in the bay windowed front, and just felt a need to patronize an endangered species that can truly be call a pipe shop. As for the tobacco

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The tobacco quality is apparent immediatly upon lighting. This blend has a full, rich, tangy flavor from the Virginia and the Turkish rounds it and the perique peppers it. With perique being added with a heavy hand, it becomes the main flavor of the blend by the second third of a bowl. This in itself is not necessarily bad. With aging, this blend will balance out for sure. I know it has had no time for aging upon my first bowl, for I watched the tobbaconist blend this batch in front of me. ..... B&B's " Beck's Old Limey Bastard" is a 4 star tobacco that shouldn't be missed by Latakia lovers and non-Latakia lovers alike. That blend is turning this Vapor smoker into an English/Balkan smoker quick.

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UPDATED:::7/12/10

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With aging this is smoothing out nicely and staying rich...

I have been enjoying SC for the last several months (amidst an ongoing love affair with Beck's Ol' Limey Bastard from the same blender) but I still can't quite put my finger on what it is that makes this mix so incomparably wonderful. The for-me-perfect moisture straight into the bowl, it burns very evenly without a hint of bite. I'm guessing it's the Turkish that smooths any edges off the sweet Virginia and the tangy perique and melds the two into such a full yet mellow smoke. The room note is more than the missus appreciates, but the overall taste and experience is spot on. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing how the richness of this blend builds over time as I crack - one after another - into the jars I've already cellared, I'm now getting paranoid that I haven't stowed enough away! I have looked around online and it is only available directly from B&B. I recommend you scoop some up before I horde it all myself. Really something special.