Newminster No. 403 Superior Round Slices

All these coin/roll cake blends take a little time to get to know.. Things like moisture and packing really seem to be especially important for this type of cut.. I think this holds especially true for this newminster blend.. it really has some sharp edges to it.. I did find that once dries out and folded carefully it delivered a nice bite free smoke.. is it worth the trouble? I would say yes.. Not a complex smoke but a nice gentle sweet soft light Kentucky blend with emphasis on the virginia.. I find it to smoke rather like orlik dark strong minus the topping.. or indeed dark twist.. but not quite as pleasant as dark twist in my opinion.. Nevertheless, it is a solid 3 for me.. and the price makes it a good choice for jarring and aging.. I like the subtle honey sweetness.. but it is a tad bland.. I like a little more spice and strength with my Kentucky..

I was given some of this at our last pipe club meeting. It was from a bulk purchase dated Dec 2018. These are small coins a little larger than a dime with a nice bird’s eye. I am amazed at how thin these were cut and yet retained their shape, must be some high-grade steel being used. I took a few coins and twisted and rolled them like a tube and inserted it into my Poker Meerschaum. This is a mild smoke, not sure what has priority, the VA or the Kentucky. Thanks again Dawg for all of the samples you have given me in the past and future. Ha. A good all-day smoke but nothing to make me want to add more to my cellar.

I only ordered a 1 oz. sample of this one so I didn't have too much to evaluate. The coins had a good moisture content and were easy to fold and pack as I usually do with flakes. I think the dark fired KY tasted harsh and towards the end of the large bowl, bitter. However it smoked cool and without bite so I don't think I was puffing too strongly. I didn't sense the claimed 'aromatic'. Much prefer PS Luxury Bulls eye Flake.

I did'nt think much of this. Tastes thin and burns a little hot. I'm comparing this to Dunhill and Escudo so it has some tough competition. Also felt that this would improve with more ageing. Light on the nicotine side. I will not be ordering any more.

A good virginia wrapped around a dark fired core. It is slightly sweet with a smoky taste every now and then. Won’t bite if smoked slowly and dried out some. It’s guite spicy one you get down about a guarter, finishes very well. A great example of a great blend, great price and value. I have smoked many bowls and never got tired of it. Ordered over a pound to cellar and plan on ordering several more pounds.

Excellent with a cup of sweet black coffee! A good rainy day smoke as well. I found it cool smoking from my cob. The spicy notes were far from overwhelming.

When Newminster labels something Superior, you best take note. Their Superior Navy Flake is my favorite Virginia flake these days, and this... chef’s kiss.

Superior Round Slices took me a few bowls to even begin getting a firm grasp on. I couldn’t tell exactly what I was tasting... I just knew I liked it. Among those early “false notes” I was experiencing, the oddest was a hint of mint. I KNEW that had to be wrong.

I can see now where/how I was picking that up, but trust me folks. This ain’t minty. And, for the record, there’s no discernible topping, and if there’s any casing, it’s minimal.

What we DO get is great tobacco flavor. The Virginia and Kentucky dance together beautifully across my palate (such as it is). The Virginia provides a subtle sweetness, but the star of the show, as best I can tell, is the Kentucky. And it’s giving off a spicy flavor I hadn’t yet experienced in a pipe tobacco. And there’s plenty of it. Earthy. Spicy. Maybe even a little meaty.

I certainly don’t see this becoming an all-day kind of blend. Not for me; at least. But this will make for a great change-of-pace blend.

About midway through the bowl I’m currently working on, I start picking up an almost zinc kind of taste. It’s reminiscent of the zinc notes Dominican cigars have, according to those (I am one of those) who are not fond of said Dominican cigars.

But the zinc-ness passes as quickly as it arrived, perhaps another “false note,” like the mint.

This blend is definitely going to require more intensive study before I can give a final verdict. I also look forward to seeing how a little aging affects Superior Round Slices. Ideally, it’ll bring the Virginias up a bit more in the mix. Because, for now, the Kentucky is stealing the show.

More to come... but, for now, I’m giving it three stars. I suspect that may get bumped up. But only time — and more bowls — will tell.

Update 1 April, 2021: Having set my 2-3 remaining ounces of this aside for a couple of weeks, I spent a week smoking nearly nothing but burley and bright, followed by a weekend of basically only Rattray’s Brown Clunee. Since then, it’s been very heavy on the “heavyweights” ... Irish Flake, Stirling Flake, HH Old Dark Fired and HH Bold Kentucky.

So, I decided to see how THIS fits into THAT. You know, since everything I just mentioned contains Virginias and Kentucky, in varying degrees.

I find this blend so unique, compared to the others. It probably has more in common overall, with the various Rattray’s offerings (Hal, Clunee, Gowrie), but there’s not much in common, taste-wise. This—SRS—may be a bit more flavorful. It’s certainly spicier. And I may prefer these Virginias to the ones Rattray uses.

UPDATE 30 June, 2021 I pulled my ever-shrinking stash of SRS out tonight, right after I finished my first bowl ever of Gawith Hoggarth Curly Cut Deluxe. I noted in my still-in-progress review of that product that its flavor is reminiscent of THIS product.

So, after finishing that initial bowl, I packed up some of this to see how they really compare. (Note: the CCD I sampled is over a decade old, while this is only a little over three months in my “cellar”... so YMMV)

The first thing I noticed was that while, yes, they do have a very similar flavor profile, the decade-plus-old GH product has more of said flavor. The Newminster seems a little wimpy by comparison.

HOWEVER... while it may not have quite as much flavor, SRS remains the spiciest blend I’ve had in my pipe. The Kentucky featured here is still the star of the show, but the Virginia is definitely developing into more than just a supporting player. It’s getting gradually sweeter... smoother.

I firmly believe that this blend is going to age quite well. I’ve definitely GOT to grab a pound of this the next chance I get. This one has the potential to become more than just an occasional treat.

That said, maybe I’ll hold off a couple more months, just to make sure the depth of flavor doesn’t diminish further.

One final note: I’d enjoy this one more if it was simply a straight Virginia, like the CCD (as far as I know). I’d definitely stock up heavily on this one if I knew definitely that the Virginia will continue to blossom and the KY falls back.

It’s in the neighborhood of something special. It’s just not quite there yet.

hoping that age will mellow the bite as the bite is very harsh to me, similar to a macbaren sugar bite.

The Virginias surprisingly dominate the generous amount of kentucky to me. Very flavorful, sweet and grassy. The kentucky isnt very strong, i tend to like it very smoky and ketchupy but i cant taste much smoke in this one or smell the notes of ketchup. Very dominant VA

It seems to have a hard time staying lit, even with proper drying, it smokes better just by folding the coins rather than rubbing them out.

I enjoy it, I would like to enjoy it more as it is not a common blend and cut. I think i will age some for at least a few months

Newminster- 403 Superior Round Sliced

This blend is a rope than sliced into coins, although this blend unlike most other blends is just Kentucky and Virginia.

I bought a 16 oz bag of this as it was cheaper than buying the smaller oz versions. I tried this a few months prior at Pipe club and enjoyed it. The bag I received was from Dec2018.

This blend has a fair amount of spice, the Kentucky brings a nice smoky barbecue flavor, the Virginia’s come in on occasion and bring a nice sweet note, I think it is primarily a yellow being a little bright but very enjoyable, with an almost honey sweetness and bready flavors.

I will get a larger jar to store what I have left and keep one for smoking and the other for aging, I’m excited to how this ages in the next few years, will be purchasing another affordable 16 oz bag.

I will have to try three Nuns original and see how this compares to it.

I really enjoy this blend, a lot more than I thought I would but if you like spice, smoky and a little sweet this may be fore you.