Tabac Manil Réserve du Patron

Wow, this tobacco is my new #2, fantastic flavor, earthy, nutty, light sweetness, slightly floral and oodles of creamy smoke, also kind of reminds me of a very tasty cigar. I bought the Reserve du Patron and there is a lot of tobacco in this package, very dry, wants to be packed firmly, very few relights and smokes like a dream. Beware the nic-hit on this tobac is on the high side, but that's another plus in my opinion. This is different from everything else and I love it, 4 stars! Bravo Mr. Manil!

Once you get by the fact that its dry in the brick when you get it, (Of course, I'm trained to think dry tobacco is bad tobacco or damaged) this is a very different but very interesting blend.

I'm not a big cigar smoker, but the flavor of this is similar. It is very earthy, nutty, and even a little bread taste to me.

Packing and lighting is a cinch. It takes off like a cigarette. I never get any tongue burn, but it can get hot in a smaller bowl. I love smoking this in thick bowled pokers, my Bones Pickaxe, etc... It also works great in my Radiator Pipe bowls. When traveling its a great quick smoke with a decent nic content.

This is something completely different from our normal blends and I have really enjoyed learning more about the history of the tobacco and how it is still processed to this day.

Reserve du Patron - Pure Semois came very dry in the brick. It appears that this is standard practice for all Tabak Manil blends... at least that was the way with the Le Petite Padron I've sampled. Le Petite Padron had a slight, floral, tea-like aroma & provided a semi-sweet floral flavor whereas Reserve du Patron's aroma was almost cigar like but doesn't burn with a cigar flavor but that of strong Burley. After about a third had burned down it smoked like a regular Burley tobacco with a minor floral, earthy, cool, unique flavor/taste. This doesn't appear to be a blend but rather a solid brick of pure Belgian Burley with a different flavor than an American/Kentucky grown tobacco. It is not as strong as say, a heavy duty cigar but still, a fairly strong smoke.

I found it similar in strength to Five Brothers but not quite as strong as Picayune... Somewhere in between. Rather than smoke it completely dry as packaged, I hydrated it as I would any tobacco. However, it had not quite reached the 69% level that I prefer. I was too anxious to give it a try prior to reaching that threshold & it still provided a good, fairly fast burning smoke even when sipped through a quality, Pete System pipe.

It may seem to have some bite about it but that is mainly due to its strength... like getting halfway down into a good, semi-strong cigar. It will deliver a quick Vitamin N blast with a flavor that goes beyond that of a cigar-like experience. As far as comparing it to the strength of a pipe tobacco, I'd say it's about like Irish Flake or HH Bold Kentucky but will burn down much faster unless properly hydrated. Let's just say it's a different kind of packaged Burley... flavor that's rather unique & enjoyable.

It's a quick preparation to stoke & smoke & is relatively clean without noticeable stems to be removed... an easy preparation, as it were, right out of the brick. Taste is rather slightly floral & smokes cool with a flavor of nothing more than that of the tasty Belgian Burley that is unlike anything grown in our country. I liked it for it's strength, unique flavor, ease of packing, preparation & smoking quality. There's a lot of tobacco crammed into one of these bricks once hydrated to a proper smoking humidity. However, smoked in its natural dry state is still a treat that is enjoyable & subsequent bowls might attract a Burley buff... like me.

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Package note of mildly sweet, earthy, and mild licorice. Tobacco is brown medium ribbon cut, a little on the dry side but soft, no prep needed. Burns fast with few relights. The strength is Medium to Strong and nic is medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is Medium to Full and very consistent, with complex notes of a spicy cigar, very earthy, mildly sweet nuts, very dry wood, very mild bitter cocoa, bready, herbal floral, musty hay, mildly tangy-sweet background note, and a peppery retro. Burley is leading with the "secrete leaf" (maybe a Virginia?) supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Earthy, woody, muddy, creamy, very unique flavour. Completely dry out of the package, it should be packed quite tightly, otherwise it will burn too fast. Easy to smoke but with a surprising richness in flavour, it doesn't have complex evolution, but it guarantees a satisfying, surprising and extremely pleasant smoking experience. Smells like horse crap, a foggy day in the countryside, tastes like mud, grass in a winter night, toasty and round. It blows away a lot of sophisticated blends with its raw and genuine character. Not available in most countries, but it is worth having a 250g brick bought by friends, colleagues and relatives visiting Bruxelles. One of my favourites ever.