Dan Tobacco Da Vinci

Tin note: bright cherry, cream, vanilla, alcohol

Taste same as tin note, but vanilla more pronounced. Aromatic taste is very light however. Underlying tobacco sweet, nutty and woody. Nice room note. No relights, burns well. Prone to tongue bite and tends to be harsh even when smoked slowly - that's why the low rating. Aroma is lost in the second half leaving only tobacco taste. Tobacco taste wise similar to Bagpipers Dream.

This seems to be one of those love it or hate blends, with lots of 4-star or 1-star reviews. The tin note was very nice, suggesting figs and dates (some say raisin), and a faint tickle on the nostrils which suggest some volatile acidity from the wine. My own experience in using either wine or coffee for flavorings is that once the sugars combust you are left with bitter dregs. That’s why coffee flavoring is so difficult to achieve in pipe tobacco. As for wine, I find that something more concentrated like ruby port gives a better end result than wine. I mention all of this because there is a tartness present which some seem to like - “Pleasantly sour’ as one reviewer put it - while others are put off by it. I find it subtle enough that it doesn’t really bother me that much. My main criticism is that the only real flavor I get is when there seems to be a concentrated flavor burst from a clump of black Cavendish, tasting of vanilla and caramelized sugars, while most of the time the light golden Virginias are rather boring and nearly tasteless. One reviewer described the blend as “flavored hay” which is kind of what I think, too!

For whatever reason this blend does put out a high volume of smoke for an aromatic. The first time I had a bowl I looked around the deck worried that maybe an ember had set fire to some dried leaves! In the end, I only smoked seven bowls of this over the course of a few months, then went on to tweak the rest with a reduction of tawny port and couple drops of walnut oil which I then baked onto the tobacco at 145 degrees for about an hour. That turned out nicely, but nothing I’d want to bother with again.

Even if cost is no object and you can afford to buy one of everything on the market to try, there is still the question of your precious pipe time. I’d say the risk is too high with this one that you will be disappointed as I was, and even though I’m giving two stars for my own lackluster level of enjoyment, I can’t really recommend this one. Read the other reviews carefully before you decide!

CAO Da Vinci (manufactured by DTM): Tin of vanilla, spices and mild dark chocolate. Tobacco is mostly dark brown and black with a little tan. The fat ribbon cut has some moisture, no drying needed. Burns slow with relights. The strength is mild and nic is mild. Flavoring is strong, and nothing like the tin note. Flavor notes of mildly sweet and tart red wine. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of lemon grass, tart dark fruit, dry herbs, wood, salty caramel, spicy, mild earth, mild floral, mild sweet background note, and a mildly peppery retro. Virginias is leading with Flavoring and Cavendish supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

I received an unopened tin from 2003 in a recent box pass. I picked it out because of the age and the fact that I'm usually a fan of Dan Tobaccos aros.

The seal was still good and it opened with a nice whoosh. The aroma from the tin had lots of wine notes to it still, which I was afraid would have evaporated over the years. The tobacco is a little dry and had sugar crystals across the top.

I jarred the tin in an oversized mason jar and gave it about 2-3 minutes of tumbling to break it up and mix up the tobacco.

I loaded up a small Canadian and gave it a charring light then true light. The wine note comes through the smoke strong and clear. Its the main player through the bowl. I didn't find it over sweet, but playing between sweet and slightly sour at times. The burn is great and even. No relighting required and it burned down to a nice ash with minimal fuss.

This might be really good paired with some port or even a dark red wine. I put it in a similar category to Pembroke (wine instead of cognac)

I am an aromatic pipe smoker and this gets my highest rating. To get the best flavor, I let it dry out considerably. The Tuscan wine topping is very noticable and adds to the excellent flavor. The room note is great and tolerated by non-smoking spouse. Dan's similar blends (Blue Note & Milonga) are good but not great compared to this, I suspect due to the wine infusion.

Yeah. I like it. I'll buy it again & again. Don't rush it though - it will bite.

Its a good aromatic but not the best. I like honeydew more than this. I ll buy it again if i dont find any better aromatic.

I tried this as it came in a sample group- it is a good everyday type smoke and one that is enhanced by a moderate consumption of your favorite red wine. I smoke this in a churchwarden type pipe and enjoy the cooler flavored taste in a more traditional way. Decent room note.

I bought Dan Tobacco's Da Vinci because a woman who works at The Briar Shoppe said she loves how it smells. I like to smoke there, their free matches are the best in the world, and I want them to stay in business, so I paid nearly double what I would pay online to try this. I usually just get pipe cleaners there. The woman came and sat near me as I lit up, so I guess the room note is good. Da Vinci smokes well and tastes pretty good, but the flavor comes from what has been added, rather than from the tobacco itself.