Watch City Cigar Old Dominion

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.