Sillem's Red

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.