Drew Estate Harvest on Hudson

Overall, I have been pretty impressed with the Drew Estates Aromatic tobaccos. I find them to have a pretty good burley/Virginia base and the topping to be applied just right so that it lasts throughout the bowl and never gives one the feeling of hot air.

Having established that the aro is of higher quality, it all comes down to how the topping is to me as to its rating on TR. I was not a fan of this topping. It was not horrible, but just wasn't as good to my tastes as, say, Grand Central was. It is supposedly apple and I have yet to enjoy an apple aromatic. I have only had a few and this is likely the best of them, but it still is not my thing.

I offer this to point out from an objective view this is a three star tobacco or a four is you really like the topping as I do in Grand Central, but subjectively I can only award this one two stars.

I should have known better as I did not figure that the apple flavorong and I would get along. I was not wrong. When I opened the tin the apple notes were VERY strong. The moisture content was also high. Over all the tobacco itself as it appeared in the tin does look nice. However after letting some dry for a little--well I loaded up the pipe and as I smoked this offering from Drew estates--well perhaps its just my palate as this one seemed to burn hot, bite my throat a bit and the apple flaoring was VERY pronounced. This just may have been the clump of tobacco I had. The next couple of bowls behaved much better and I could detect hints of the tobacco and a spicey nature or notes coming through. Over all its just not for me. I like their Heirloom Cherry and I must note that I really do think their offerings are nice quality tobaccos. Its all in what you want or, prefer.

This blend wasnt too bad, it has a pleasant room note, and hardly any tongue bite. The apple flavor to me seems to be hard to nail down at times, but all in all not too bad. Im curious to how some of the other blends fare compared to this one? The company makes good cigars, but the pipe tobacco thing was heh, but not too bad. Room note was, well, "apple."

On my last P&C order I was bummed out to not find Drew Estate's Grand Central, which is a real shame as I consider it one my favorites. I have a sneaky suspicion this may be the end of Drew Estate selling pipe tobacco, so I order the only other blends available I had not tried (this one and Gatsby Flake), just in case they turned out to be something special.

While fruit flavor has not been much a sell for me, I didn't mind the apple aroma from the tin, though it does remind me of the potpourri people spray in bathrooms. The cut is very rough and the occasional stick was annoying to weed out when packing it. It tended to burn quick, making the smoke time more frantic and hurried.

The apple was retained in the smoke, so I could see this being a fall harvest blend, but it was a tad bitey and harsh due to the quick burn. In the end it was interesting, but it needed to be smoother to really enjoy it and earn 3 stars.

Another quality blend from Drew Estate. Not my favorite of the line, but good quality tobacco with an excellent tin note and flavor. Best if dried slightly and then sipped. It will smoke hot if you aren't careful. The apple does come through better with age. I usually don't go for apple or cherry blends, but this one will stay with me for an alternative to my usual selections.