Sillem's Red

The tin smell is like peaches, the taste is not super sweet on the tongue like most aromatics, in fact I could hardly detect any sweetness. The taste is like the smell but extremely mild and barely noticeable unless you really concentrate on what you taste.

This stuff is bland and mild. I've had house blends similar to this but with more flavor.

And I got a bunch of hard woody tobacco stems in mine, just like my Sillem's Black tin.

Also, I got heavy tongue bite with this stuff.

This is the first tobacco I've bought not at the local grocery store. It was reasonably priced but I was nervous trying something new and must say I was very pleased. The smell upon opening the tin was really nice, kind of fruity and a little... nutty. Not a strong aroma like the aromatic blends I'm used to. I cant place all the various aromas but together they were quite nice. Its the first broken flake I've used and packed a little differently than my Captain Black Royal ribbon cut. My first several smokes left me rather unimpressed but once I found out how to pack it properly the flavor was very nice. Not very strong but mildly sweet and that fruity smell from the tin came through in the flavor. Also, once I figured out how to pack it right, the aweful tendency to bite went away. The only bite I get now if from myself puffing too hard on it.

As for the room note,not as fragrent as my other tobaccos but not displeasing either, an important factor since I live with my girlfriend and the only reason the landlord lets me smoke inside is because of the pleasant smells of the tobaccos I have chosen.(and when its 10 below I don't want to go one to porch to enjoy a pipe, so I am very picky about the smell to others).

A few thoughts and reccomendations: I keep it sealed in the bag inside the tin but it is a little wet. My solution is to take out enough to fill the pipe and let it dry out for 5 or 10 minutes (useually just flip the lid over and lay it out in there) before packing it. When I first tried it I was a little puzzled by what to do with the larger flakes in the pouch. I started out just rubbing them out and then mixing it in but have tried, with some nice results, breaking them into smaller flake (about 1/2 the size of the bowl diamiter) and evenly spreading them as a layer in the middle of the bowl. It seems to give the flavor a new characteristic halfway through when it burns down and lights this "flake layer". This blend expands; alot. At least in comparison to the ribbon cuts Iim used to. Weather this is normal or not for broken flake I don't know but my eyes shot open with shock as it expanded about 1/2 inch above the rim of my pipe on the first light. Freaquent tamping as I smoke to keep it packed kept a cool burning and realatively bite free smoke that lasted a good long time.

Play arround with it and I'm sure most will find this to be a very pleaing blend to add to your rotation. I deffinately reccomend it.

A good quality aromatic.It's like drinking forest fruits tea. Not close to my taste.If you like nakhla(hookah,nargile) tobacco then you are going to love it.

This is one of the first aromatics I've had that actually tastes as good as it smells in the tin. I can taste a hint of cherries and perhaps the Mirabelle plums. I've never had Mirabelle plums but if they taste like this tobac, I'm sure I'd like them. This tobac smokes easily to the bottom without a relight and is good right to the bottom. I have yet to have anyone complain about the room note, although that is not a prerequisite for a tobac that I smoke. Yes, it is a little wet when smoked but I smoke it in a Savinelli with the balsa filters and have nary a problem. I'm not much of a aromatic smoker but I've had to add this tobac to my regular rotation due to it's delicious nature. I highly recommend this tobac.

Really got to pay attention to this one or it can turn incredibly harsh. One of the few my wife has said she hated, but on these occasions I wasn't paying much attention, and probably scorched it. Smoked very slowly and deliberately, it's floral, main note I get is rosewater. Not a favorite, but it's nice. Lights easily, stays lit.

On opening the tin, Sillem's Red reminded me a bit of Peterson's Summertime 2020. It tastes a bit like it too... with the same apple notes and fresh Virginia tastes right off the bat. But Red isn't as "refreshing" as Summertime 2020. It has a slightly "darker" taste... and unfortunately, it tends to bite pretty hard. As an aromatic, it's a good tasting blend, with a nice apple/cherry sweetness, and without the artificiality of many aromatics... but again, that bite always gets me. I've given it lots of chances too, and I've found that unless I smoke unnaturally (for me) slow... it bites.

Bottom Line: There's lots to like about Sillem's Red, quality tobacco flavors and a good aromatic flavor sharing the space... but for my speed of smoking (which has never given me problems before), Red tends to bite. It's too good not to give it a 3 star rating, though. But just keep the pace slow.