Dan Tobacco Da Vinci

This is an excellent blend. Nothing to compare with Cellini's stuff which I don't like. The tuscany wine is an invention, however the Da Vinci by Dan is simply a great smoke. If you like aromatics such as Blue Note, Sweet vanilla, Autumn Evening, WO Larsen Vintage etc. (all of them first class aromatics, to me) you simply cannot miss the Da Vinci. After many tins, I always find myself amazed by how good the aroma and smell of this blend is. It is well balanced, and it deserves 5 stars with no reserve. Aromatics are like cakes: there's not a "best" one, however you should know the best of all kind, and refuse second choice blends. This is first quality, and it is a bit expensive unfortunately.

The black cavendish offers some sugar, and is a little more noticeable than the mild grass, citrus, dark fruit, and earth from the Virginias. The lightly sweet and more tart Tuscan red wine topping sublimates the tobaccos quite a bit. I figure the light undercurrent of vanilla and caramel comes from toppings as they obviously don’t come from tobaccos. The taste level is a little closer to mild than it is to medium. The nicotine content is light. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns fairly cool at a slightly slow pace with a mostly consistent flavor, though it’s not quite as sweet as expected. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and needs a few relights. Has a decent, short lived after taste. Can be an all day smoke. More of a two and a half star production.

-JimInks

One of the few aromatics that you can actually taste. Whether the taste is wine or not is debatable but the pouch smell is superb and the smoke flavor on the tongue pairs nicely. Indeed everyone nearby appreciates the smell, but even so, the one with the pipe gets the true experience. Very unique blend and flavor worth trying at least once to see how you like it.

Currently smoking Da Vinci from 2012, when I received this sample it was still perfectly moist in excellent jarred condition. I've let it dry pretty well sitting in a bag, but the flavors are still as they were fresh from a jar. A very smooth and sweet VA/black Cavendish mixture with a very hard to pinpoint flavoring. I mostly seem to get a sweetened black Cavendish vanilla like flavor, little bit of something like a caramelized sugar or toasted marshmellow all throughout. I don't get any sort of wine flavor at all. I've smoked about 8 bowls of this blend, and it's a solid aromatic. Dan Tobacco really know their aromatics. These types of blends are not my preferred style, but any black Cavendish sweetened aromatic smoker should thoroughly enjoy this blend. It steps it up a notch in smoothness and a curious flavoring, I'd say better than American Cavendish aromatics.

Da Vinci gives a sweet and delicious smoke. Among Dan aromatic tobaccos, this is the one I prefer. It is as sweet as other blends, but have a more complex composition.

Tin aroma is wonderful, as well as room note. This is a "social tobacco" that will make non smokers tell that is smells delicious. In the tin the tobacco shows an open range of colors, from cream to black.

Tried several tins on the past years and the recipe is consistant. Aromatic fans wont be dissapointed.

Even with being a primarily VA & English blend smoker, I do like a good aromatic now & then as a change of pace. Many of the aromatics that I have tried just do not cut it as far as flavor, and also are so "goopy" as to burn and smoke too hot even with air drying. Very few can impart good taste, even burn, and quality tobacco. DaVinci is most assuredly one of these rare few.

The blending of VA, Black Cavendish & the light wine topping is simply exquisite and very balanced. This blend is very easy to light and rarely needs a re-light at all. To my palate, the red wine could be defined as a good Italian Chianti. The leaves in this blend are of high quality, with very few stems if ever found at all. The VA & Cavendish marry together quite well, and play off each other imparting a memorable smoking experience.

The room note is excellent, and biting is not a worry at all.

If your tired of sub-par aromatics, I urge you to try DaVinci and experience this quality blend.

Very Highly Recommended!

Dan Tobacco - Da Vinci.

In the tin: good hydration, mostly dark brown, the ribbons are medium in size. The aroma from it's slightly sweet, fragrant, and sharp; wine.

The smoke? I can't say I'm much of a fan! The tobaccos are nice but the wine ruins it; for me. I get a 'relaxed' character from the sweet black Cavendish and rich Virginias, they taste quite sumptuous together. But sadly the Tuscan wine/Chianti, has far too much sapidity and bitterness to it. In all fairness, a DGT can reduce this quality but I'd rather enjoy a pipe straight away rather than having to wait around! It burns well, without needing much maintenance and doesn't bite.

Nicotine: a little above mild. Room-note: nasty.

Da Vinci? The tobaccos are nice but the topping spoils it. Not recommended:

One star.

I?ll make this short and sweet. DaVinci ought to stick to painting and drawing and keep his Tuscan wine in a glass where it belongs. This is another one of those marketing gimmicks that attempts to be more than it is: a burley concoction with exoticism thrown in the mix. Like most spirit/tobacco marriages, they don?t work. I?ve yet to try a good one, and there?s nothing here to remind me of Tuscany either. This is typical aromatic candy, acrid in taste, waxy on the tongue ala Nat Sherman and a bowl that burns to the touch. There are too many other great things out there to waste your time with this one. Like most CAO products, highly overrated and overpriced.

One of five stars

This is an enjoyable, lightly aromatic tobacco. It smokes cool and dry and possesses a set of fairly deep and rich flavors that don't completely overwhelm the underlying tobaccos.

I picked up a pouch of this last month while on the road and, despite the insanely high price I paid, I've enjoyed the dozen or so bowls I've smoked. The pouch features a ribbon-cut mix of golden and black Cavendish with perhaps a little golden Virginia as well. There were several large sticks in the 50 g pouch, which is about the only negative I can think of. Moisture was perfect from the pouch and I loaded up straight away.

This is supposed to be an aromatic flavored with Tuscan red wine—Chianti Colli Senesi of all things. As others have pointed out, anyone familiar with the red wines of Tuscany (or anywhere else, for that matter) will probably find this to be a load of hokum. Prompted by the pouch text, I suppose I can smell something vaguely wine-like in the aroma. But if it's winey, it's more like the caramel-raisin-vanilla complex of scents that define wines like Malmsey Madeira and Tawny Port. Whatever it is, the aroma is pleasant and has genuine depth and fullness.

The tobacco in the pouch I bought was quite dry and I find it offers a clean, dry smoke, too. I have no idea what the tobacco is like out of the tin. The flavors on the palate are similar to the pouch aromas—dried fruit (raisins and prunes), caramel, a little vanilla. It's also quite a smoky blend for an aromatic, which I like.

Da Vinci is not something I will smoke often, but I do think it is a very good aromatic. The flavors are rich enough and the nicotine is high enough that I always felt satisfied after a bowl.

Wow, this is an amazing blend! In fact, (it may be to early to tell) I think I might like it better than Blue Note!?!? I mostly enjoy non-aromatic blends but if you're like me and you want a change of pace from time to time, or if you're planning on smoking around a crowd but you still want to enjoy the smoke, then hands down this is the blend to turn to. It most certainly is one of the better aromatics out there.

-Essential.