Ted's Pipe Shoppe Virginia Blend

The Deer Tongue makes this blend well off the beaten path, giving it a cinnamon note on the front of the tongue and nutmeg further back. I swear I can smell a bit of cinnamon in the room note as wellagain, the Deer Tongue? Blended on a virginia flake and cube cut burley base, with a hint of latakia, this is an old-fashioned blend made to be gravity fed (it simply wont respond to Hannas Air Pocket Packing Method). Its also a smooth, nutty, sweet smoke for those who (like me) normally reach for tinned Virginias, Orientals, and Balkans. It was blended by the late Ted Kanaley (of Teds Pipe Shoppes, Tulsa, OK), and as such dates back to the early 1960s. Give it a try in a well-caked bowl to savor its intricacies. I would give it ***, but the deer tongues uniqueness moves it up to ****. (Note: Pipes & Cigars has a mixture with deer tongue called Old Tartan, but with cavendish and w/o the latakia and virginia flake; they also make a deer tongue mixture with perique instead of latakia called Capitol Stairs. Cornell & Diehl makes a replica of Bings mixture with deer tongue, but w/o the virginia and latakia. That would seem to make this blend unique.)