D & R Tobacco Rimboché S.J.

I use this for RYO cigarettes. It is hands down one of my favorites. Perique is a hard one. I have found many perique blends where the Perique taste like vinegar and just generally over powers the cig. Not with this blend its just right . The Virginia in this blend is bright golden orange. This is a real treat and quality you will never find in packaged cigs bought off the shelf.

From the tin, Rimboché SJ is a ribbon cut that comes a little dry but at a good smoking level. The tin note is strong hay that is lightly sweet, a touch of citrus and grass, and a pungent, sour, fermented fruit note from the Perique.

The Virginias offer a lot of notes of mildly sweet and dry hay. Much like the tin note, there is some bright notes and a touch of grass present as well. There is a lot of perique in this blend. It’s peppery and spicy, and has a nice zing through the retrohole. It also offers strong notes of raisins and stewed fruit. A little more plum then prune. There are dry, woody, musty, and earthy notes present as well. It is consistent from beginning to end.

Rimboché SJ smokes cool and dry and required very few relights if any. If freight trained it will get a little hot, but it’s very well behaved. It’s strong medium to full in taste and the nicotine is medium. I’m not sure if it could be an all day smoke but easily enjoyed throughout the day. This isn’t blended to be a knock your sox off special treat smoke, it is blended to be an everyday easy going VaPer, and my rating reflex this. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

My first review will be of this tobacco which has quickly become a favourite and an everyday smoke. Dry in the bag and has a nice, I'd almost want to say fermented odor. Goodness I've come to love the smell of tobacco. I smoke fast so this will definitely burn down to ash, but depends on whether my pipes gurgle not on the tobacco. Flavours have likely been covered better by others, let me just say this is sweet and natural. Very enjoyable.

Top quality Virginia and the St. James Perique is just shy of moderate strength. Deliciously present, but not at all overwhelming, it offers that wonderful fermented sweetness VaPer smokers love. I especially enjoy using this blend as the foundation for my own blending experiments. Mark Ryan, the man behind D&R knows quality tobacco and has played a key role in sustaining Perique's veritable cottage industry. Not surprisingly, it ages beautifully. 14 oz bags are reasonably priced, but best transferred to mason jars for putting away.

Smells like wheat bread straight out of the tin. The Virginia is less sweet than Rimboche AP with more wood and Earth notes. The spiciness of the Perique is more muted and more of the stewed fig flavor comes through. This one does not punch as too sweet, nor too spicy. Upon initial light, I would have thought otherwise as the Perique seemed very prominent, but quickly balanced out. Quality, straight-forward, and consistent smoke.