Watch City Cigar Old Dominion

Old Dominion is another flake created out of the imagination of Ernie, the owner Watch City Cigar. Made from Bright, Red and Matured Virginias with Perique. This is a pretty straight forward VaPer, but not boring at all. The pouch scent is offers a mix of tangy and sour scent. The color is medium tan with some light flecks. The flake, like the other Watch City flakes, is cut on the thick side. I find this blend works best for me fully rubbed out. I prefer it in a smaller bowl and fairly dried out. At first light, OD shows off its peppery side before settling down into a nice, smooth, slightly sweet smoke. The bright Virginias are what make this blend for me as they are added perfectly for my taste. The sweetness increases as the bowl progresses. I think this blend is good now, but has amazing potential for glory after a rest in the cellar. All in all, another fine flake from Watch City.

(I am a newer and irregular pipe smoker. My reviews are subject to my preferences and tastes and pipe smoking habits)

I have been smoking this blend from Watch City off and on now for a few months. SteelCowboys review is pretty spot on for this blend.

It comes in the familiar 'Crumble Flake' fashion from Ernie and is a dark rusty brown overall color. The smell is rich and heavy of Virginia, very similar to SG FVF, but with that extra little note of dark fruit/figs from the Perique, but it is very faint. I am not sure of the age when I purchased this blend, but after several months 'whole' in a mason jar before being rubbed out, I noticed a plume developing on the tobacco. I pack relatively light when I smoke and try to keep a slow pace, and this tobacco was perfect for that. Of the three VaPer blend I have from WCC (558, Hampton Rd and Old Dominion) this is by far my favourite. The overall character of this smoke was Virginia sweetness and some mild vinegar notes. The Perique was very light, to me, and could only be detected occasionally when I noticed little black pepper tingles. But there was a rich, dark, rounded 'note/taste' present that helped add a little oomph to this blend. When I return to Watch City I will be ordering more of this and cellaring it, with SteelCowboys recommendation. This blend comes well made and at a great price, for me. A 'light on the Perique black pepper' VaPer that I am really happy with.

I purchased a half pound of this bulk when placing a large order from WCC a few years ago and finally got around to trying a couple ounces. I went with 8 ounces because I thought it sounded like something I would like. I am not disappointed.

It is a solid VaPer that is a little darker and earthier than my favorites in this genre, but it is nice to have a solid change up from time to time. The dark and earthy is mostly due to the Virginia which also has abundant sweetness, just not much in the way of citrus and hay. It is more along the lines of fruity.

The Perique is moderately applied. You can tell it is there, but it in no way dominates. It is just the right amount of spice. The presentation is the standard Sutliff produced flakes that are really more like narrow crumble cakes. This is one of my favorite cuts in pipe tobacco. They are fun to work with and pack easier than a standard flake. They also perform well and this blend is no exception to that.

I like it and look forward to trying the rest of it as it ages.

I have been lucky to have sampled several of Watch City’s blends and decided to purchase a few that I have not tried. Some of the blends I wanted were out of stock so this is one that I settled for based on the description. I will have to admit the first couple of bowls were okay but over the past week this blend as grown on me. I brought this in to the club and a few observations from some was that it seemed to be lacking a little in the Perique department. A point well taken I suppose. The aroma of the soft flakes, almost crumble cake like was that of sweet stewed plums for want of an adjective. I slightly rub mine out unlike others who apparently rub theirs out until it is like sawdust. Every one has their own personal preference in how they smoke it so not for me to judge. Even though I am. Ha. This smoked semi-sweet, lots of smoke and has a thick and meaty feel to it. With my jaded grouchy demeanor, I would probably rate this a 2.5 as even though good somewhat on the fence on this one. But I prefer to grade upwards rather than down and will give it a 3. Glad I bought it and my Meerschaum Poker is glad I bought it too.

The flakes are dark and smell a little sweet and earthy. They are more of a crumble and remind me a little of Anniversary Kake in terms of pressing density and a little thick. The flakes are wider than most- about 4 inches long and 1.75 inches wide. I broke off pieces and rubbed them out in my hand to load.

The Virginia is a slightly sweet and mellow with a few citrus notes. The perique presents as a dark fruit with a little spice on the snork. It is a very pleasant combination and an easy smoke. Perhaps due to being slightly damp, it was a slow smoke, but I found it easy to keep lit. I found the flavor to be very consistent - perhaps a heavier sweet at the bottom of the bowl.

This blend is a wonderful VaPer, and I recommend it.

Watch City
Old Dominion

OD is a subdued, medium strength Virginia/Perique blend that is Virginia forward. The Perique is present and part of every puff. This is a competent blend. The Virginias add a structure with some fermented grass. Pressed into easy to crumble flakes but needed some dry time. No obvious flavoring added. Available bulk.

OD is straightforward but not complex. Burns cool. A combo of tangy and lightly sour taste profile. It feels, on my palate, pretty basic. Not nearly as good as Escudo, Haddo’s Delight, Doblone d’Oro, Viprati, or Fairbourne.

This is a heavier VaPer than, say, Penny Farthing, Chenet’s Cake, or Orlik Golden Sliced, but heavier does not translate to better. In my view, the VaPer market is saturated with excellent choices (some mentioned above).

I’d give it 2.5 stars our of 4 rounded to 3.

And so, entering for your consideration, comes a classic example of a pressed Virginia-Perique production, Old Dominion, an original house offering from Watch City Cigar & Pipe. In deferring to the generalities of the published recipe, we find an essential mixture of basic Virginia and Perique tobacco within its fundamental construction. Yet, further supposition suggests that, although convenient, this nicely simplified description may not be an entirely accurate depiction.

Chiefly, evidence revealed by mere observation and the experiential details that followed with its smoking, lead me to surmise that, in fact, Watch City has enfolded quite an array of select Virginia tobaccos within the recipe’s design. Namely, the singular character that was discovered by repeated smoking sessions refutes anything to the contrary. And although explicit details of the blend’s ingredients are not readily available for review, that is my definitive conclusion for what it is worth.

As a bulk offering, Old Dominion is the summation of when single cut and whole leaf portions of tobacco are blended together and then neatly pressed into a healthy cake formation. In being a time dependent operation, this squeezed cake is held tensely compact for an extended period, thus allowing for the natural incurrence of fermentation and the co-mingling of the comprising ingredients.

At the point of maturation, this pressed cake is then generously sliced into meaty slabs dimensioned at about a ¼” thick. As a result, a finished strand of Old Dominion provides an elaborate specimen of pressed multivariant tobaccos. Exquisitely ridged gradations of conjoined, toothy tobaccos show a vibrant compressed mélange of yellow, bright tans, orange, red golds, assorted/stoved browns, and finely embedded swatches of sheer black. The precision of attained fusion of these bounded tobaccos is impressive in a word. And as a technical reference, this tobacco is best rubbed out as any attempt to fold and stuff one of these monstrous strands would prove to be an exercise in utter futility.

There is yet another physical aspect of this tobacco that emits with memorable distinction. To merely express that Old Dominion carries a native pungency would be an untrustworthy personification. Truthfully, a jolting wave of festy rancidness liberally springs forward in a most primal fashion to define the expressive tone. As it emerged, realistic essences of classic barnyard aromas play out as well as the affronting odor of cheesy, curdled milk and pastoral funk, without a shred of regard to modesty, just being honest. However, getting past that stigmatic swell, what surfaces is a more congenial representation of vinegary tartness, rustic wood, darker fruit tones, earthen spicing, aged hay, the enlivened effects of refined tangy floral and softly bedded sugars. In retrospect, it would be fair to suggest that the pouched air is a riveting presage of the adventure that soon followed.

Portraying Old Dominion all told, primarily, I would not necessarily classify this tobacco as complicated in nature. Truth be told, the blend offered a rather standard complexion that was commendably straightforward. In this simple bargain however, an ensuing display of tasteful subtleties and nuances evolved to arrive at a genuinely charismatic experience. Of objective merit, the particular grades of assorted leaves deployed within the recipe embodied a multitude of standard varietal attributes, some of which bordered upon the extraordinary. Both of the categorical strains demonstrated a scored assessment averaging at or above 80%.

As a medium-full construction, this mellow blend delivered a consistently round and aptly balanced confluence of the Virginian and Perique leaves, which reflected in achieving a high rating per the genre standards. Categorizing its inherent temperament, I would label this tobacco as deeper and fuller in scale. To be more precise, what transpired was a presentation of differentiated forward streams that competed fairly for recognized prominence. Through a gradual flow of movement, the effects of that competition surfaced to be quite engaging and tasteful, to say the least. Even so, the fermented delightfulness of the resident Virginian undeniably stood as the pinnacle feature of this blend’s singularizing endowment.

Moreover, an involved degree of stylish accenting and colorful highlighting added to the savor of the total experience. Still, there was a gingerly native sweetness that had been developed within the successive pressing operation. Circulating passively over the composite flavor, this gentle element brought a relaxing contrast to what could have been a racier presentation.

On the specifics, the prime Virginian contribution was brought forth by the significancy of the aged Red and stoved varietals. A fair depiction of the registerable personality is that the mainstream character is colored by a fanciful ambience of darkly matured fruit/tart-sweet teak wood. As this progressively advanced note resonated, a run of supplementary highlighting emerged to effectively frame a basis of extended importance. Principally these seasonings engendered the remarking of spruce-like floral, toasty darker caramel, and a curious hint of a spicing that drew an inference to fresh thyme. This dominant Red/stoved feature seemed to finish with an abiding nuance of loamy dirt and a weakened hint of softened cinnamon sugar.

With a more reserved posture, what denominations of Bright leaf that were attendant, shyly revealed themselves in the remote trails of the upper middle band of flavor. Subtle at best, their character reminded me of the fields of alfalfa present here in Ohio’s Miami Valley, a bit green but more so richly tangy. In order of magnitude, this Bright-centric feature was absorbed comparatively. Although, I did sense a discernable parceling of lemony-orange citrus that filled the shelf of the secluded flavor.

If you were to defer to Watch City’s description of the subject recipe, there is a note suggesting that a “dose” of Perique has been included within. With the smoking of this blend, the implications of that particular statement might be a little misleading. Not that this component is overwhelming, but nevertheless the Acadian factor within the registerable profile, in truth, comprises a good portion of the active flavor.

In demonstrating considerable vivacity, the selection of Perique used within the recipe is most definitely a key attribute of Old Dominion’s perceivable worth. Essentially this fetid condiment counters with an exacting, stark persona layered with embellishing shadows and shading. By and large, the principal thread projected a settled tint of mature simmered prunes, deeply seeded with dark seasoned sweetness.

With decided funky mustiness, the Acadian further showed a determination of smokey charred zest, herby, tart peaty pungency, and a dimmer tone of honest earthen sourness. Additionally, there is a presence of zinging pepperiness that sensitizes the whole nasal cavity. This distinct accent called to mind the feeling of common Cajun spice, as it hinged upon the assertiveness of the sweeter-hot punch that originates from a mixture of cayenne pepper and paprika. On a final thought, about the last third of the bowl, I found the boldness of the Perique did relax a tad becoming more sulfuric than anything else.

Through the production of medium-bodied smoke plumes, a standard room aroma showed as thickly crowded with an extravagant hosting of assorted Virginian splendor. Touching all facets of nuance, Old Dominion’s resolute spirit embraces the toasty fragrance of sweet grass to bolder tones of season spiced wood and yes, that notable musty fruited funk from the Acadian. The plumpness of this aroma is most likely a little off-putting for the sensitive types, but for me, splendidly captivating to come to the point.

Assessing Old Dominion’s essential mechanical properties, clearly the blend charted with solid performance. With an effort of proper preparation, the tobacco ignited easily and assumed a comfortably slow, dry burn for the course of the bowl. Nonetheless, at times there was a bit of roughness in the texture and escalation of heat which is definitely felt upon the palate. As such, my best recommendation is to slowly savor the session for optimum results. Furthermore, I found that my mouth experienced excessive dryness requiring a periodic dosing of water in circumvention. Overall, the rating was quite acceptable on the whole, despite this irregularity.

All things being equal, a VaPer is a VaPer rightly said. However, occasionally one of these typical concoctions comes along breathing with an air of compelling difference. This characteristic alone epitomizes that blending craftmanship is not just making a product that meets existing expectations. Instead, it is about creating something new that changes those prospects. Uniqueness always equates to attractiveness with respect to pipe tobacco. In reflecting upon the mystique of Old Virginia, this unique blend shines with the best of that which made the state historically famous, pure simple enjoyable tobacco. It takes a lot of history to make even a little bit of current tradition and Watch City’s Old Dominion is a fine representation of that very concept.

Objective Scoring: (based on flavor, standard genre attributes and mechanicals): 130/153 ? 2.88 WAVG.

Subjective Rating: (factored for likeability and cost): 3.4 Pipes.

When I opened the bag, I smelled a pair of stinky socks that could stand up. The wide, tidy appearance gave me the courage to crumble them into my terracotta bowl (a must for grass testing). The flavor was rich, sweet, spicy, salty, but with all due respect, my lady went into action after the tobacco was lit, patrolling the neighborhood garbage bags and dog kennels. I know some people love blue cheese, but I don't, and thankfully I only have a 2-ounce sample and won't be buying any more.