Ferndown Black & Tan

I find the Ferndown tobaccos to be some of the best on the Market today. They always have a older feel to them, from the pre McClelland/C&D days, when Rattray and Bell's were Scottish, and the Germans didn't make everything, and the Halcyon birds flew. In any event this blend is a hodgepodge of sweet, musty aromas that blossom at the match, to a fine pipe experience. Not the type to weigh you down, with excess sweetness or smokiness this is a fine Oriental blend.

Tin Aroma: the orientals are almost impossible to detect in the tin aroma, owing to the pungent, sickly-sweet smell of the Virginias. However, if I work at it, I can smell them in there, behind the Virginias, a dusky collection of leaf and grass smells, hinting that this blend may not be the riot of tongue bite that the aroma promises it to be.

Physical Characteristics: A narrow ribbon cut, with the usual variation between brown and black strands found in Virginia/Oriental blends, but tending to be a bit heavier on the darker colors, probably as a result of the Virginias being stoved, or "toasted" as the tin calls it.

Notes: The taste of this blend is totally disconnected from it's tin aroma, I can tell you that. Once lit, this ceases to be the odd off-putting thing that it was when only you were smelling it, and announces it's true character. A slightly reserved Oriental blend in the "english" style, this is a nice all-day smoker. The Virginias provide some body and lift to the bass notes from the Orientals, but never do they become too spicy. However, after smoking a bowl of this, with no hints of the odd tin aroma, it makes a reappearance in the aftertaste.

Verdict: This is an ideal tobacco, taste-wise for someone new to english style blends to "cut their teeth on", and holds enough variation to interest a more sophisticated palate as well. I can't quite get over the aroma, but if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, I say go for it!

I was excited about trying this one. I won the tin off ebay auction about 4 years ago. As to the actual date of it, I have no clue. I do figure it had some good age on it, however, due to how saturated the coffee filter like rap was and the traces of plume on the darker leaf. It was almost completely a dark brown color. The leaf did not lack for moisture either.

The smell coming off the tin was pretty nice, but not as nice as I was expecting. The slight sign of plume on the leaf made me believe I was in for a real treat. Ultimately, I was a little let down, but I think it was more a case of too high of expectations rather than the blend being that bad. It was not bad at all. I have just come to expect more sweetness from aged Virginia and it was just overall too mild for my tastes.

This is not a complicated blend. It is Virginia and Oriental/Turkish. Normally I would attribute the lack of sweetness to the oriental overpowering the Virginia, but I found even the oriental presence to be a bit on the weak side. On the bright side, it did have a nice sidestream aroma and was pretty easy to smoke. It did not bite, and at times, it delivered a really nice smoke. I took this one out to the golf course with me and remember it delivering some great flavor as I waited to tee off. I think this could easily be an all day English blend as it is just easy on the palate and the nicotine is light.

For a rating, I was between 2 and 3 stars and decided to settle for the latter, however, as this is not in production anymore, I would not recommend paying a premium to try it. It just is not that special IMHO.