Dan Tobacco Limerick

Once I opened the tin I got the taste of fig. It was the first time this scent was so clear, even my wife recognized it immediately. The tobacco is in flakes with brown and dark brown color. Its humidity is good and it contains Virginia and 5% Perique, according to the description, which you can feel easier in the morning smoke. After a meal and a glass of wine, the flavors emerge better. Maybe because I am not a Perique fan. For me, it's not an all day smoke, but I will try to find and store a couple more tins, believing that I will be rewarded, taste wise, for my effort. It is packed quite easily, but the first light-ups were a bit difficult.

I am just now smoking the last bowl of what ended up working out to a five-bowl sample of very crunchy, dried-out flakes. No problem, that's how I like my flakes! Obviously, then, this review is based on limited experience, and I can't say anything about tin note or appearance, though these are rather typical, well-formed Virginia flakes. I'm glad I waited to review until the last bowl of my sample. The first bowls were not promising, but that is only because I have had limited opportunity to learn this new blend (to me). Much better to smoke a bit more of course, but I can see now how some folks seem to like this. I probably puffed too hard on the first bowls. I think I left the dry flake out too long on them as well, and it probably absorbed some tainted moisture from the room or something, because those first bowls were harsh. I packed this last bowl right out of the bag, and am sipping it more slowly. I am getting much better flavors now. In fact, the casing and style of this kind of reminds me of MacBaren, and I am treating it accordingly! Nice VAPER for sipping. I say VAPER, but being somewhat jaded to Perique, I would have to say this one is like PSLNF: if they say it has Perique, I'll just have to take their word for it! The person who sent me the sample thinks there's burley, but I would have to say based on this last bowl, no. There's something in the curing of this flake that causes a little burley-like roughness when it's puffed heavily, but that is all. All in all, though I really haven't smoked enough of this for a proper review, this farewell bowl of my first introduction to Limerick is good enough for me to recommend it to the lover of milder VAPER flakes, and I will probably buy my own tin of it sometime. Very nice sweetness from the Virginias, mild and pleasant topping which is not overbearing as long as you behave yourself, and a very good burner.

Let me preface this by saying that I've only ever smoked this tobacco in a long German clay churchwarden, so my results may be a bit skewed from the norm.

That out of the way, I really like this blend. I don't know if it's the 18 inches of clay, but I get a very sweet and grassy taste off this blend. It has a relatively unremarkable room note (according to my wife, but then again, I torture her with black rope, so maybe she's just desensitized?) Unremarkable meaning, by the way, that it smells like tobacco (go figure.) It's just the way tobacco *should* smell (in my humble opinion) and it's the way a nice Virginia blend *should* taste.

Let it dry and give it a shot in a 'warden if you've got one. Relax with it, like an old friend, and it may soon become one. Not sure if you'd get the same out of a calabash, but since I don't own one, I leave that review up to someone else!

The review below is part of a VaPer Showdown that I conducted between several VaPer blends:

Well, after a couple of day?s absence, I?m ready to review another blend. This time it is the CAO/Dan Treasures of Ireland-Limerick blend. I also have the good news that the order that I placed with pipesandcigars.com is finally going to get here. Apparently they were waiting on the McConnell Scottish Cake to come in. With that said, I will now be able to review the McC 2015, H&H Anniversary Kake, and the McConnell Scottish Cake.

Right, now back to the Limerick blend. I have to say that this blend smelled better in the tin than any of the others so far. It has a very sweet Virginia smell and to tell you the truth, I didn?t really smell any Perique in there. This blend comes in flake form so I grabbed two flakes and rubbed them out to dry. I let this dry for about 2 hours as it is rather moist in the tin.

It packed decently even with the long flake strands in there. It was a little hard to light up but once it was lit it burned very well. I had mostly sweet Virginia tastes in the first part of the bowl but then the Perique kicked in a bit and stayed present for the rest of the bowl. It may have been that when I rubbed it out and packed the pipe I may have separated the tobaccos a bit. Either way, once it got started I knew that this was going to be a great blend! This blend is kind of in between Escudo and Dorchester as to the amount of Perique involved. It isn?t hidden in the background like Dorchester but it?s not really in your face like Escudo.

This was a well behaved blend and it didn?t require many relights. It burns down to a grayish-white ash that is very easy to tamp. It burns very cool and I never had any hint of bite from this blend. I have to admit that this blend didn?t wow me the first time that I smoked it. But after the first, it got better and better with each consecutive smoke. It took me a while to notice the subtleties of the different Virginias playing off of the Perique. It is medium in strength and can probably be smoked throughout the day.

All in all, I really liked this blend and will definitely buy more. This blend almost unseated Escudo as my favorite. Almost. I rank this one a solid second.

Here are the standings so far:

1) Escudo 2) Treasures of Ireland ? Limerick 3) Dorchester 4) Luxury Bullseye Flake 5) Kajun Kake

Appearance: Small, thin flakes of mostly medium orange-red with flashes of lighter and darker leaf evident.

Aroma: Very rich, well matured Virginia aroma.

Packing: The flakes are thin enough to roll and fold into any normal sized pipe (group 3 and up) for a slow smoke. They can be rubbed out fully, but this leaves a rather fine cut to deal with.

Lighting: Typical two match light if you rub out a little for the top. Otherwise it make take three before you get a good even burn.

Initial flavor: Superbly rich Virginia flavor, mostly middle notes with some low notes and an occasional high note. A slight peppery flavor with a hint of stewed fruit tells me there is Perique in the blend. There is some strength here, but not overpowering.

Mid-bowl: Burns cool and dry if you pace yourself, but can get hot if over-puffed. Flavor remains rich and mouth filling, with some interplay of the different Virginias. The Perique doesn?t dominate the blend, but would be missed if it weren?t there.

Finish: No perceptible change right to the bottom. No gunk, just pale ash.

Summary: This one hits the long ball for me. This is an excellent afternoon or evening smoke, maybe even an eye opener with a cup of full-bodied coffee. I wish DAN put it up in 8 oz. bags.

Having smoked this tabac in the recent past and again over the past coupla weeks, I gotta go along with Johnnyflake and Pipestud on this one. What a pleasant smoke this is, to be sure. Nice tin aroma that reminds me of stewed fruit, rubs out easily, lights easily, nice VA. flavor w/hints of spicey notes along the way, wee bit of tingle at first but mellows out quickly, burns well to fluffy grey ash, leaves the pipe clean and dry, only used one cleaner about 1/2 way down the bowl....jeez, how much more can one ask for? Not a lot of bottom w/this, mostly mid and high notes, but nearing the end of the bowl the flavor becomes a bit more rich and/or intense. That wee bit o' Perique is just enough to do the trick. Some may feel Limerick is a bit *plain* but there are taste variations that keep the smoke lively and interesting. As I've said before, sometimes simple is best, but this is notches above simple to be sure. I'm erring on the caution-side w/the flavoring because I've seen nothing in print to indicate a flavoring was used. Mind you, that in no way means that there wasn't any flavoring used, perhaps there was and it's very light, but for me, I'll choose to believe that the aroma and/or taste is just good ol' VA fermentation at work. Very tasty stuff and I'll keep some around. Having been gifted w/a 1-2 yr. old 5-pack of this tabac gives me a good start. Could turn out to be one of the favorites. Works for me.

Given the oppurtunity to smoke Limerick I am grateful. The gracious sample that I was given is aged 7yrs. I've not smoked a fresh tin of this blend. The flakes I have are dark brown, not black like Dark Star though, and crystalized with sugar comng to the surface. This is one ssuh-weet smoking experience here. The flakes broke easily and I rub them out all the way as I fill my bowl. I did let a couple bowls worth dry to almost crispy as I do most predominately VA blends. To me it just seems to open the bouquet of flavor in a VA. It lights very easily and burns without a lot of fuss with relights clear to the bottom. I can't say that I've noticed much strength but as for taste I'm satisfied with this VaPer.

This blend obviously ages well. And I would heartily recommend what I'm smoking here to anyone who appreciates a fine tobacco. Again, I just can't vouch for a fresh tin but if you have the patience to age some, a person won't be dissappointed. And, if you're aging some you are probably a VaPer smoker to begin with. I'll recommend this blend and give what I have Three stars.

I have just discovered this flake on the internet in a 16oz bulk pack which arrived by post in very good condition. It's also very good value compared to Irish tobacco prices.It's a little weaker that I usually smoke but a nice long ribbon flake which rubs up well and packs nicely. Gives a reasonable nicotine hit and is a smooth smoke with no bite so far. I often smoke outdoors when shooting or fishing and this burns well outdoors without 'flaring'. It's a nice 'all day' smoke. The wife says it has a tolerable room note so I can keep it going at the computer.

It does, unfortunately, lack a bit on the nicotine department.

Nevertheless, this is a very interesting flake well worth the try.

Smooth and tasty.