Sillem's Red

I have been smoking Sillim’s brand of aromatics for years. They are, IMHO among the best premium, regularly produced (non-limited edition) aromatics on the market today. Red is no exception. Out of the tin, the tobacco is of high quality and I love the larger pieces of flake that are mixed into the blend. It smells fruity and in the pipe it burns very clean with no bite. The moisture content, even with the Cavendish component is fairly dry for an aromatic although I prefer a small amount of dry time. I don’t get as much cherry as others have mentioned, but more fruit. I have smoked this fresh from the tin and cellared as long as five years and it stands the test of time well. Be sure to jar it unless you are planning to smoke the whole 100g right away as the tins, while nice really don’t maintain the proper moisture content very long. Sillim’s aromatics are a little pricey, but in this case, you get what you pay for.

Of late, I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone and try a few different aromatics. I'll admit, a lot of these have blown up in my face like a nuclear bomb; some, both rhetorically speaking and taste wise... I'm talking to you Savinelli Armonia! Others, like this, have been a totally surprising joy.

I knew I'd like this the moment I opened it up: it's a course mixture that comprises different sizes of flake pieces and ribbons, all with a brilliantly aromatic smell of fruit. The moisture's good (sample bag) so on with the smoke:

I find the added taste quite strong but not too sticky; the fruit's been added at the right weight to gain appreciation, yet not to implore a sick feeling. Even though this topping is of a heavy weight it still allows some of the tobacco tastes to come through; some, not lots, mainly the Cavendish.

Of the fruits, I get more of the cherries for the initial part of the bowl, with maybe a subtle suggestion of apple. It takes until about halfway through a bowl for the plums to come through and then for the latter part of the smoke they pretty much render the cherries redundant.

Room note? Fabulous; I don't see how an aromatic lover couldn't like it!

Although I don't consider myself an aromatic smoker I like this blend. If every rotation was to have an aromatic it might as well be good; like this!

Highly recommended.

Oh it bites. The flavor of this tobacco is quite nice. However, I found that it bit quite a bit. Disappointing, I love the black so much.

These blends from Sillem's have no description on the tin so you have to rely on these reviews or on the recommendation from your stockists! I hesitated between the green and red mixtures and was a little uneasy about the pina colada description of the green blend as described by my stockist so tried the red mixture. No regret! More a German mixture than a Danish mixture with a nice smell of cherries in the tin. Nice smoke with fruity flavorings and bits of nutty flavors in the middle of the bowl. Recommeded to the enthusiast of aromatic and the red tin is quite elegant!

What you smell in the tin is pretty much what you will taste in the smoke. The fruit flavor takes the lead with the natural flavors of the tobacco playing a supporting role.

It bites me if I puff it too hard, but that's my problem not the tobacco's. What else can you expect from a Virginia dominated blend? It's difficult not to puff hard because the flavor is quite tasty. However, I can only smoke one bowl of this a day as it wears out my "taster". Kind of like eating too much candy.

The room note is pleasant but not quite "potpourri" as in the case of other aromatics.

The tobacco is fairly dry and not at all sticky. It packs and lights easily. It stays lit without much effort. The flavor remains pretty constant throughout.

A bit pricey, but I think you're paying for the packaging as much as the tobacco. The tin is pretty cool but not useful for long-term storage. The tobacco is inside of a cellophane bag that has the ends rolled up and secured with a piece of foil tape. I can't imagine anyone would want to age this kind of blend, but if you do, plan on transferring to a jar.

If you like fruity aromatics I'm sure this one will please.

Upon opening the new tin I just received from Smokingpipes.com, the tin wafted a wonderful berry fruit scent. The visual appeal is enticing and has something for everyone, thin light ribbon cut, a few slices of a medium brown flake/crumble cake, some large pieces of leaf here and there, and quite a bit of black Cavendish. It had a good moisture level to pack and go right from the tin. It lit easily, and the berry aroma wafted lightly from the bowl. Char, tamp, relight, and away we go. It had a nice, ever so slight sweet flavor and smoked all the way to the bottom of my meerschaum without so much as a nibble on my tongue. It burned to a nice ash and didn't leave the bottom of the bowl soggy. A most satisfying smoke for me. I love a good, smooth, aromatic. I highly recommend this tobacco, especially for those who love aromatics. Excellent. I have some Peterson's Limited 2014 that is very similar in most respects.

At first I thought 'This is pleasant' but after a few smokes it becomes exactly like strawberry chapstick - plasticky, fake, cloying. There are no ripe apples, cherries or Mirabelle to be found here, just strawberry chapstick all the way.

Weak tobacco - even for a Danish style. Has some broken flake in there. It gets 2 stars because it has the strength of flavouring an aromatic should have that most do not, it's just the wrong flavour.

I can't believe 4noggins stocks this awful stuff but doesn't stock the delicious natural tasting MacBarens 7 seas red.

THIS TOBACCO COMES IN ONE OF THE COOLEST TIMS EVER. SO IF YOUR INTO COLLECTINH TOBACCO TINS. THIS ONE SHOULD BE ON THE LIST. AS FAR AS THE TOBACCO TOSS IT. A VERY BAD VERSION OF A SOLANI GREE OR CAROLINA ROSE. SMOKES HOT AND BITTER TASTE. ROOM NOTE IS P

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Being a huge fan of Sillems, I'm not really sure why it took me this long to try their Red, so to celebrate I decided to have a fruit showdown with some other blends I was meaning to try (Rattray's Exotic Orange and Reiner's Professional) - who will reign supreme?

The stuff smelled amazing. One part apple orchard and one part Christmas aisle at the holiday nick knack store, all the sweet and fruity goodness one could want in an Aromatic. The addition of some broken flakes to the colorful mix was a nice surprise - like finding marshmallows in your cereal.

The smoke was great, maintaining it's fruit flavor throughout and left a sugary finish in the mouth. Never overstaying it's welcome or containing a chemical finish. The quality of the leaf come through as well.

All three of these high end fruit Aromatics were a delight to smoke, each having their own unique merits, but this cookie squeaked out the narrow victory. That said, Sillem's Black and Linea Epoque Antique are still my preferred Aromatics they produce.

La boite, comme vous pouvez le constater, à un format plutôt inhabituel, en plus d’être jolie et sobre avec son logo en relief. La mienne a d’ailleurs rapidement disparue au profit de mon épouse, qui lui en a trouvé une utilisation plus à son goût, afin d’y mettre je ne sais plus quelle connerie dedans, plutôt que mon tabac. Cela parce « qu’après tout tu nous fais chier avec tes tabacs et tout l’argent que tu mets dedans, et que moi je ne dépense pas l’argent du ménage pour des trucs pareils et que j’ai rien à me foutre sur le dos etc. etc. » et d’autres choses de cet acabit. En deçà des ces considérations touchant la vie privée de mon ménage, et qui ne vous intéressent surement pas (ou alors c’est que vous êtes d’un tempérament voyeur à la limite de la perversité) il faut tout de même avouer que la boite « en jette » et qu’elle attire l’œil du client potentiel. Cette boite, une fois ouverte, offre en son intérieur un pochon plastifié où se trouve ce beau mélange noir, marron et doré. L’odeur qui s’en dégage rappelle la chaleur d’un mélange de type danois, avec de subtiles touches de fruits, suscitant rapidement la gourmandise. Dans le pochon le tabac est peu humide, ce qui permet après une courte aération, de pouvoir le fumer à loisirs. Il faut tout de même prendre soin d’effilocher les parties de broken flake pour pouvoir assurer un bourrage et une combustion régulière. Un allumage traditionnel en deux temps suffit pour assurer une combustion qui se révèlera relativement régulière jusqu’à la fin du bol pour peu que le fumage soit lent. Côté saveur, et dès les premières bouffées, la combinaison des arômes de fruits est relativement légère, chaleureuse et moelleuse, arrivant en arrière plan, derrière un mélange de tabacs d’excellente qualité. La fumée généreuse et plutôt douce, très agréable en bouche, vient révéler bouffées après bouffées, et par petites touches, des notes fruitées de cake anglais arrondies par le black Cavendish. Ce n’est pas sucré du tout, ni sirupeux, et les amateurs de tabacs très aromatiques pourraient en être un peu déçu. Il y a pourtant beaucoup de finesse, ainsi que d’étonnantes subtilités à découvrir dans ce mélange au long des fumages. La fin de bol, qui se corse un peu bien entendu, révèlera un arôme un peu plus prononcé tel un aromatique plus saucé, mais qui ne s’avère au final pas du tout désagréable. Une découverte des plus sympathiques pour moi donc, qui suis un fervent amateur des aromatiques légers, et dont je n’hésiterais pas à m’offrir de temps en temps une boite, même si ce ne sera jamais un tabac de tous les jours. C’est aussi la première boite de cette marque que j’ouvre et qui ma souvent attiré, aussi je n’en suis pas du tout déçu. J’ai d’ailleurs en réserve une boite de Green et de Blue de la même marque dont je vous ferai une revue lorsque je les aurais ouvertes. Enfin, et pour conclure, ce tabac me fait penser à un verger sauvage l’été, et qui vous offre ses fruits variés, gorgés de soleil et de douceur que l’on déguste les uns après les autres avec gourmandise.