Newminster No. 403 Superior Round Slices

I really like this blend. Straightforward and very flavorful. Love the burn qualties and aroma. I smoke my favorite blends on saddlebit half bends and this is one of those on my regular rotation. It will bite when provoked but then again,im a slow puffer,2 coins and I'm off for a good hour or more smoke.

Newminster - No. 403 Superior Round Slices.

The blend has a generic curly cut appearance, think Mac Baren Roll Cake. The colour's a little darker than medium brown, and the moisture's decent. The coins load into the bowl easily; they don't need 'rubbing', I just give them a slight roll between my fingers and stuff them in.

To me, the Kentucky's responsible for the majority of the flavour: smoky, nutty, and rustic. I struggle to get anything from the Virginia: the smoke doesn't have any refreshing grassy or citrusy qualities. Some people note a topping like sweetness, but anything added eludes me; the only extras to me are from the Kentucky's curing process. I also see how bite's an issue for a lot of smokers; not me though, it's amenable in that department!

I find the nicotine a bit above medium, and the room-note non-offensive; I don't love it, and don't hate it.

This is a very solid smoke:

Four stars.

I admire simplicity. Less is often more when it comes to pipe tobacco for me and this blend nails that adage. This blends requires a bit of...temperance to keep it from biting your tongue. I love this blend in a cob and in my briars that are smallish in diameter and depth...a little of this tobacco goes a long way as the pace in which it needs to be smoked creates the length of the experience, not the amount of tobacco. I like to rub out a single coin and lay it in the bottom with a light tamp. Then I take a few coins and slide them in the bowl edgewise. It takes a few small lights and "rough ups" to the top of the stack to get it to take a light....of which there are numerous because I like to get it going, get a nice mouthful of smoke, snork it out of my nose and let it go out...I guess I kind of play with it rather than smoke it lit from top to bottom. I am rewarded with a cool flavorful smoke, the sweetness of the Virginia (and maybe some honey?) and then the counterpart smoky, spicy dark fired burly as well....much more complex in flavor than one would expect considering the sum of its parts. The room note to me is kind of sweet and unapologetically tobacco....perfection for me and a blend I have several pounds of in my cellar that are broken down into pint jars for aging....love this stuff!

Smoking some now as I write. It has good flavor. Reminds me of fishing for trout under rocky outcroppings. How the mind works. Could be an all-dayer. Has more flavor than the cigaretty blends, and more strength than most. Well-rounded. And the wife likes the room note. I'm always looking for a non-aro, some nic kick, and good room note for the wifey, If it smells like a cigarette it's a thumbs down from her. And the aromatics scorch my mouth. Round Slices fit the bill pretty well.

So, this tobacco represents a change in my pipesmoking paradigm. Let me explain: As with many here, I've been avidly enjoying my pipes and although Ive found many tobaccos that I truly enjoy (as well as those that I dont), I'm still exploring...still throwing a "few more" ounces of this or that onto my online orders just to try different stuff out (some thing like almost 2 dozen C and D blends so far, all of the available gawith ropes and bizarre geranium lakelands flakes etc, etc.)- I probably have a hundred blends in jars and baggies in jars in my cellar at this time along with my "bulk stash" of codger burleys and jarred long term bulk blends.

But I've always been somewhat conservative- even to the point of going out to my car and searching this site prior to buying a tin of something at my local B & M. I feel that I've made responsible choices regarding experimenting- for example- although I appreciate Latakia in certain blends, I'm not a huge fan- being more of a VaBur/ VaPer/ VaTurk kinda guy- so my large scale purchasing has been in accordance with my known tastes.

Recently (in the past few months) I've been ordering larger quantities of the things that I like and can expect to age well (PS Luxury Bullseye flake, PS Cube Cut, PS Navy Flake, C and D Orions Arrow/OJK, G and H Happy Bogie and Sweet Rum twist etc) as well as be somewhat affordable. Also have ordered some multipouch packs of some of the aromatics I enjoy like Skan full aroma, Sail and Troost.But of the bulks, its pound quantities, mind you, for incorporation into my cellar pending what I believe to be an imminent tax increase/governmental demonization of all tobacco products...but I digress. I just can't believe that I'm buying pounds of pipe tobacco at this point to stash away. It sorta blows my mind.

I had never really heard of the "Newminster" brand before, but clicked onto an item description on a website and was confronted with an image of the most gorgeous coin cut tobacco i'd seen in a long time- reminiscent of MacBarens Club Blend or Dark Flake in appearance- just with a few more birdseyes.

So I researched it- and found out that it was actually made by MacBarens (which I like), somewhat similar to Stockton and Norwood (which I've liked) and club Blend and Dark Twist and roll cake (which I like)

So...on the strength of the reviews here and elsewhere on the web I threw all caution to the wind and ordered a pound...for $26.

I've never done this before. Never ordered more than an ounce of an untried tobacco. Never took the plunge like this. Granted, I didn't buy a $150 tin of some decade old GL pease masterpiece off of ebay, but a pound of tobacco is alot of tobacco if it turns out you dont like it...

Yes, $26. cheap. Here where I am it's tough to find a 100g tin of Club Blend for less that $19.00.

Let me tell you, after a few days and a half dozen bowls, I am relieved and excited. This stuff is fantastic. Smokey, cool smoking (my package seemed slightly dry- perfect actually). I don't know why it's described as "mildly aromatic", because it's not. Its basically dark fired Kentucky with about an equal proportion of bright virginia. Some mildly piney, bitter marmalade and vegetal overtones. a hint of lemony sweetness from the virginia counterbalanced perfectly by the almost pumpernickleish kentucky. As someone else described, this blend almost tricks you into thinking there is some perique in there. Something figgy and almost fermented about the kentucky that does it. Tart apple jelly on slightly overdone rye toast washed down with strong black coffee might be a good way to describe it

Tendertongues, don't believe what you read- puffed low and slow (properly, that is), there is NO tongue bite (smoked out of a kaywoodie bent pot with a stinger and a few legend MM cobs)

I think this is fantastic stuff, and at the pricepoint, it's absolutely wonderful. Is it as refined as one of the other macbaren offerings? No, but it's different too. Reminds me taste-wise of the Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky that you can't seem to find any more, with a sweet virginia added.

I can certainly say that a few more POUNDS of this will be purchased in the next few weeks. I'll see if my old man is as into it as I am and possibly put together a huge order...may possible "splurge" and pick up a pound of their navy flake as it gets some decent reviews as well.

I'm going to play around a little bit with this one too- I think that adding a bit of Mclelland 5100 redcake virginia to this (maybe 10-15%) may do wonderful things for this blend.

I suspect that this one will age and mature well.

Highly recommended.

Ah, this stuff. The first light and quarter of the bowl taste like chocolate cake - that Virginia reminds me of good cake flour, a natural and earthy sugar, and the Kentucky adds that note of cocoa. It will get a bit warm near the middle of the smoke, and is as sharp as you might expect to encounter from a coin that looks so yellow when completely rubbed out, but it doesn’t bite, and it burns clean and dry. I’m puffing away contemptuously right now in a Savinelli 636 without a filter, and my tongue is quite comfortable - but this is my dedicated DFK pipe, and I still think Newminster 403 could use more Dark Fired. As an aside, this 636 will hold 2 & 1/2 coins rubbed out or folded, it does not alter the taste or burn. Ironically, it may be the presence of the DFK in this blend that keeps it from biting, but it still plays second fiddle to the citrus and grass of that sweet, sharp Virginia. It remains tasty down to the ash, and has that “empty-stomachable” level of nicotine. It is a great smoke for the price, even if it is pretty basic. Oh yes, and that honey taste really does show up in the last half. Did I mention the delayed gratification potential of 403? Still, going to pack this pipe with ODF after I clean it.

What a great value this tobacco is! For those venturing into Kentucky Dark Fired tobaccos, you won't find a better welcome mat. Just enough smoky richness to get an idea of what dark fired is about. The Virginia seems to be aged nicely, lends a nice grassy sweetness that isn't too dissimilar to a non-vinegar McClelland. Very well balanced blend that smokes nicely, with minimal relights. I did notice a distinct oil that was left on the rim of the pipe, something I have rarely seen. The room note is a bit toasty, with a slight aroma of distinct dark fired. I have no problem rating this 4 stars, due to value, price point and ease of preparation.

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.