Tabac Manil La Brumeuse

I've had a couple dozen bowls of this product so far, and really I want to like it more, but I don't think I can give this the 4/4 that I give to Le Petit Robin. Semois is very unique and it is very good, but I am not reviewing the merits of Semois as the leaf itself, but I must also consider the preparation and smoking experience of this product. The first complaint many have about it, and it might just be the way that it is, but the packaging makes every thick-cut or medium-cut version of this blend I have tried very dry. People say "it is meant to be a lot drier than ordinary tobacco", but when you smoke it, it smokes with the harsh characteristics of tobacco that is much too dry and this definitely puts a damper on otherwise beautiful flavors provided by the tobacco. I have tried re-humidifying it a bit, but the difference is negligible to my taste. Others who really love this product may find this criticism moot, so take it with a grain of salt.

Interestingly, I've not had this experience with Le Petit Robin, a VA/Semois mix from Manil. Le Petit Robin comes in the same packaging, but I'm not sure if it is because of the VA in it or if it is due to a mild humectant of some kind on the blend or just the VA, but it at perfect smoking humidity in the package and I don't experience any such harshness.

Overall I recommend this tobacco because I think the flavor lives up to the hype, but I have ordered my own and sampled from other people's packages of this tobacco, and each time it was way too dry and contributed to a harsh smoking experience. You might not perceive this to be the case and this could be a 4/4 tobacco for you, as others here enjoy.

This was a generous sample from a friend. The tobacco is a chopped ribbon with a few thick bits that are almost like half cubes. It is uniform in color and came dry.

I packed it fairly tight as delivered in a pot. The smoke is earthy with a few notes that are hard to describe. They are not spicy exactly, but there is a sharp, slightly edgy quality to it. There is a little bitter in that edge. I come back the the earthy. I have seen the comparisons to a cigar, but that is not quite it. As I said, it is hard to describe.

This was a good smoke, and I am glad to have tried it given the traction it has gotten on the various forums. It smoked fairly quick for me, and left a slightly sour aftertaste when I was done.

From the bit of reading I’ve done, I understand that both Belgium and Italy produce their own versions of what is in the US referred to as “Kentucky”, basically a fire cured Burly tobacco. With the recent jump in recognition, popularity and availability of “Dark Fired Kentucky”, my own interest in related varietals has grown. The hype (and the fog) surrounding Vincent Manil’s Semois have particularly drawn my interest, and I was pleased to finally get hold of and smoke some serious Belgian “Burly”.

My 3.5 oz. brick of La Brumeuse arrived with a nice, retro paper label over a “paper foil” wrapper. The tobacco inside is pressed, long ribbons, and it’s pretty dry, though it’s still springy and not at all crumbling to dust. The aroma is low, musty, earthy, muted spices, slightly mossy, very cigar like, also faintly smoky, with ethereal meadow grasses and wildflowers. I have read that this tobacco is traditionally cured with oak wood smoke. If that’s the case here, Manil have done a good job of self-restraint in not making extra certain we know “it’s SMOKED!”. Speaking for myself, I hope to never smell (or taste) again the “smoky” topping applied to too many blends over the years. Meanwhile, persistent sniffing is what this blend is all about, IMO, and for me this is what makes this blend a Topper. Well (which is to say, tightly) packed, LB fires right up and smokes down like a dream. Because of the quick burn, large pipes seem to be in order. I prefer a pipe not used for strong Balkan, DFK, Perique, or Lat blends, and in my case, La Brumeuse gets its own pipe. I was hoping the smoke would echo the packaged aroma, and indeed, it does, right down to faint lavender. For me, the level of the musty earth and cigar spices is perfect, because they in no way interfere with the rest of the tastes and scents. While it may be “one dimensional”, it’s a nice dimension, top to bottom, and I find La Brumeuse to be interesting and satisfying, too, largely because it’s easy and relaxing to smoke. There is some KY “fat” and tannin, but not much, and only a little cashew in the way of “nuts”. Basically, this is not a typical US Burly. Strength here is medium. Tastes run midway between medium and full the way I smoke it. Room note might be an issue for non-smokers. Aftertaste is a nice trailing off of the smoke that can be a little sour and ashy if LB is smoked carelessly. I think there’s also a very slight bitterness here that I find bracing.

I absolutely recommend La Brumeuse to those who enjoy mild cigars, or any adventurous lovers of KY blends. I do not equate LB with simple Burly or VA/Bur blends. Four stars from me and a spot on my Favorites List. It’s also getting a nice, big, old Punto Oro.

Interesting but this stuff didn't blow my socks off as for some. Somewhat refined high nicotine air cured leaf that is lightly toasted. It's between robust natural burley and cigar leaf as many have stated. In fact when I opened the packet the bouquet reminded me of the slightly sweet-cigarish smell of a domestic machine made cigar. Smoke wise it's mild in flavor with some harsh elements which is to be expected from leaf like this but not ammoniacal. What I found interesting was a mild, slightly toasted character in the background on slow contemplative puffing. Variations in natural sweetness wave in and out of otherwise strong but austere smoke. Well, this stuff ain't for everybody and I imagine that my 3.5 oz. supply may last a lifetime. If you fancy Five Brothers you may have found something even more profound in this Semois. But, if one likes the traditional lightly cased burley blends, this tobacco is quite a departure and and can't be recommended. It's a totally different animal. A more refined rustic smoke that beckons to a time before the development of flu curing and modern adulterants.

(Originally posted on Reddit in April of 2013)

Leaf: Long ribbons, mostly nut brown in color, with some tans and lighter shades of brown. The leaf is very dry to the touch, which is apparently how it’s supposed to be, although it’s still fairly springy.

Package Aroma: I get a grassy, earthy, almost cigar-like aroma. It has a very raw, natural tobacco smell to it, significantly more so than anything else I’ve smoked.

Taste: the pre-light draw and the first light both present some slightly herbal notes. I’m expecting to tamp and relight after the first match, but the semois stays lit by itself so I run with it. The smoke is smooth and velvety, and the flavors are fairly strong and savory. I think the herbal / floral notes are still there, but they move to the background. It doesn’t taste at all like a cigar, despite the package aroma. All in all, it’s pretty unique and hard to describe, but it’s good. Really good.

However, the semois really shines when retrohaling. I don’t even know how to describe the flavor that comes through when I push the smoke out of my nose—it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The best description I can think of is burnt sweetness, like caramel, mixed with rained-on earth, or something like that. It’s sublime.

Smokability: the tobacco burns really well—it lights and it stays lit. I could probably get through an entire bowl with a single match if I kept up with tamping to keep the ember insulated. Because it’s so dry, it burns quickly, although it never gets too hot and it never bites. And I mean quickly: I packed my first bowl normally and rocketed through it in about ten minutes. Subsequent bowls were packed extremely tight and they lasted about as long as an average bowl would.

One interesting note: the semois leaves my mouth nice and moist, which I’m not used to. Most tobacco leaves me pretty dry, but this one seems to encourage saliva production.

Thoughts: I smoked this out of a corncob, and ended up smoking three bowls in a row, which I never do. It’s a good thing I bought as much as I did—I have two quart-sized mason jars stuffed to the lid and I don’t know how long they’re going to last me if I keep smoking it at this rate. I’ll have to try a briar and see how it behaves.

All in all, this is a fascinating tobacco, like nothing I’ve ever had before. As far as comparisons to other tobaccos, it’s subtler than your average Latakia blend, but that uniquely delicious retrohaling flavor makes it much bolder than a Virginia or even a Va/Per.

update: I've since rehydrated the semois using the old "wet paper towel over a sterile container" method, and it has improved quite a bit. The flavors and nuances are essentially the same, but the tobacco doesn't instantly incinerate upon contact with a flame. I still pack bowls tighter than I would otherwise, but I'm don't have to cram a ton of the stuff in just to get a normal half-hour smoke out of a cob. The end result, of course, is that the tobacco will last me significantly longer; definitely recommended.

EuroBurley? I'm a Burley lover and I had to try this fine tobacco. It's expensive, dry, and packaged in a bit of an odd way... The Tobacco is compressed into a brick, then wrapped in a heavy foil paper. But there is no glue or actual sealing of the package. I recommend removing the tobacco and packing it into a quart or litre sized glass jar. The cut of the tobacco is similar to Birds Eye as the leaves are cut across so that the smaller veins form bird's eyes. In the entire 3.5 ounce brick I found only two smal woody bits, so the actual quality is very good. Brick note: delightful, sweet humidor just opened.

This dry tobacco lights very easily, smokes fairly quickly and is best tamped aggressively for flavor. Flavor is unique; not dark burley, not light burley, somewhere in between with a slightly sweet grassy taste. Another reviewer mentioned turkish hints and I have to agree. La Brumeuse is the best straight Burley that I've ever smoked and it is quite enjoyable as a simple, strong tobacco. Strength is almost strong; too strong for me to call medium. Goes great with coffee and pale beer. I have to give this one four stars for quality and uniqueness, but don't splurge on this if you don't care for Burley.

La Brumeuse is the best Semois that I have tried so far. Smells like it's coming from a barn, a dry manure with dried flower leaves. It has an earthy, robust flavor it's a ''terroir" tobacco. The peat like aroma is tempered by some floral notes. It burns very smoothly and is better enjoyed slowly, not only because of the stength but also because of the underlined flavors of hay and leather. The perfect cigar leaf taste while still remaining a pipe tobacco. Pure tobacco from artisan craftsmen, from people that obviously like what they do. It's a rare experience nowadays, one I will indulge very often.

Virginia lover

"Tin" / bag note - Cigar leaf, pasture (hay, sweet grass, "gaminess").

Moisture - None, bone dry.

Pipe - Meerschaum

Lighter - Zippo

Smoke spot - Balcony, no wind, 64 F.

Smoke speed - Quickly and HOT, packed tightly.

Flavor - Much like a nice oily maduro, but equally as earthy as it is floral. A slight hint on the puff of "gaminess" is the best way to describe it, or to contradict two flavors, a clean manure. Earthy and grassy.

Overall Impression: 10/10 my favorite tobacco thus far, I've had a variety of aromatics, englishes, va's, vapers, many more, and none are like this or similar. If you like a very down to earth, literally, cigar-like flavor, this is for you.

Value - Highly recommended, $25 for 3.5 oz/100 g is well worth the artisanal beauty and incomparable flavor that you get.

being a big fan of pipe smoking, cigars and Belgium I really wanted to like this one, its not bad, but for the price nothing special in my humble opinion. Its like chopping up a cheap cigar that's been a little dried out and then smoking it in your pipe. I mean, there are even lots of chopped up very thick stems in this. if you want to pay a premium for that then this is your bag. could go on about its flavors and nuances but that's all you need to know.