El Rincon de la Pipa No. 1

This is a well balanced variety of tobaccos. The Burley is forward closely followed by the Orientals. The Latakia is in the background but noticeable. It's a touch spicey. Can't detect the Black Cavendish.

Nicotine is mild to medium.

A very nice change of pace for the experienced pipe smoker who enjoys non-aromatics. It would be an excellent introduction to Latakia and Orientals for beginners and would probably be a good choice for those trying to get off cigarettes.

Wanting to try something unique to my first 4Noggin order, I got an ounce of Rincon without any expectations going in. The baggie (which was a very sturdy plastic btw), opened up to a very pleasant sour Oriental twang that was not overly potent, allowing for whiffs of sweetness and some kind of nutty natural taste.

The cut was akin to another 4Noggin product I tried (their Hobbit's Weed rendition), with a paper thin leaf and anemic ribbon cut, that I just can't pack correctly. It is very light (think cotton candy texture), so it tends to be airy if packed loosely and restricts air flow once tamped down too much. These packing issues caused my sessions to burn hot.

Once I got a somewhat consistent burn going, I found the smoke to be pleasant, though a bit bitter. The profile was similar to a non filtered cigarette, yet not terribly strong.

For me, I had too many issues with the burn and lack of depth once lit. To be fair, the packing issues could easily be a me problem, but I have no plans to revisit this one.

If you can only have one kitchen sink blend-i.e. include all kinds of tobaccos mixed together-, this is a must try, and no doubt is one of the best. Easy-to-pack cup, burns even with smooth flavor; not complex, means the taste is consistent through the bowl. It's not in my rotation but worthy to try.

Upon opening the bag I was intrigued with the first sniff, fortunately I purchased a pound after reading all the reviews. El Rincon De La Pipa couldn't have chosen a better blender to introduce themselves to the tobacco world.

I find that this is like a journey between America, England and the Orientals. The tobacco is quiet dry which is good because it is light and you get more for your money, if you want it moistened you can do that yourself but if you choose to try this blend don't do it half hearted, buy at least a pound, everyone has given it 4 stars because it truely deserves it.

I have put some into tins for my regular rotation and squashed the rest into a mason jars for ageing. I am yet to try it with a bit of moisture but this is quality tobacco. At times I mix it with a bit of Trout Stream also from 4noggins to get a hint of sweetness to perk the rest of the many treasures this blend has to offer.

I’ve rounded this up to three stars, but this might not be for everyone.

First off I’d say the basic recipe here seems good. The version for U.S. distribution is made by 4Noggins. The problem for me comes down to one of the blending tobaccos that 4 Noggins uses, at least in the batch that I received, and that stems from some issues of Butyric acid in the processing of the Burley. I’ve noted this off taste in exactly three tobaccos, all from 4 Noggins from roughly the same time period and the only common ingredient is the Burley used. A rogue batch from a supplier is entirely plausible because I had a batch of blending white Burley from Lane that went semi-rancid on me. Nut flavors are inherently unstable unless a lot of alcohol is used as a carrier. And while I always taste fresh shipments of blending tobaccos, I wonder if all the boutique blenders out there take time to do this kind of time-intensive quality control.

I guess my biggest beef is that either nobody else notices this issue, or else the dark clouds are only raining on me. Either way, I buy blends based on positive reviews only to find disappointment. And these kinds of problems are difficult to cover up with tweaks. So yeah, this is still good enough to earn three stars, but I suspect it really could have been a four star blend. Here are my tasting notes . . .

Deep savory jar note seems to promise a good smoke. No soapiness upon ignition and no sootiness from the Latakia, so far so good. There is also a deep, rich and savory flavor like brown gravy, but very quickly I pick up on something off in the gravy: the cream is starting to turn rancid. Flashbacks to Weybridge! Fortunately the unpleasantness comes and goes, and is after all a subtle defect. More positively I also get pan-scorched brown sugar and roasted pecans, along with some muted Balkan flavors that we expect.

It’s hard to make a final verdict on this because I wonder if what I got was truly representative. If so, even with the ‘taint,’ I like it better than Limey Bastard which I reviewed recently. You may enjoy this even more if you like savory blends that are more Burley prominent and have a slightly ‘different’ something special in the flavor profile!