Watch City Cigar Eureka!

The very nutty, earthy, woody, lightly molasses sweet Kentucky burley is the lead component. The mildly sugary black cavendish plays a support role. The grassy, citrusy, mildly earthy Virginia cavendish is a secondary player. The richly sweet whisky is the most obvious topping. The very mildly applied grape is tangy sweet and tart, but doesn’t really give the smoker the impression that it is grape unless you’re actively looking for it. The toppings work well together, and sublimate the tobaccos quite a bit, though they don’t drown them out. Has no distracting chemical or artificial notes. The strength is a couple of steps past the mild mark, while the taste is just past the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is mild. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has no rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent deep, smoothly tangy sweet flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is attractive. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

A typical light brown to black heavy aromatic approaching Gooper territory in the nose. But fairly dry to the touch. Whiskey flavored for sure but there was something else I couldn't place but that was more prominent than the whiskey. Hugely respected tobacco reviewer that I am, I had to ask Ernie. 🙂 A light grape flavoring, says Ernie. Oh Lord, says I!

I needn't have worried overmuch. This was a reasonably dry smoking U.S -style aromatic that wasn't goopy and didn't have the chemical taste inherent in so many blends of that style. Nice sweet whiskey flavor, some extra tart sweetness no doubt supplied by the grape addition. Held its flavor down the bowl for the most part, with just a hint of ashyness at the very bottom of the bowl. Granted, this type of blend isn't my thing but as I was smoking it, I thought again about how many blenders of this kind of thing should take a lesson from Ernie and not leech the tobacco taste from the leaf. It was medium of flavoring but the tobacco came through, if not terribly loudly. Possibly one of the 5 or so best heavy aros I've ever smoked. I finished the 2 oz bag and also did some experimenting. I smoked 3 bowls of this in pipes I usually reserve for Lakeland blends and the combo was enticing and really good tasting. Fun stuff, and great for the smoker who wants an aromatic but wants to know there's tobacco underneath.