Watch City Cigar Watch City Slices

I am a Virginia and Vaper fan. All of the Watch City Virgina offerings are excellent--the best in my opinion. I have tried the popular burley blends and have yet to find one that worked for me. I ordered Slices not realizing it was a burley based so when my order arrived I put the Slices aside and focused on the Virginias. My best pipe is my first pipe of the day and I decided to load some Slices. This is the most delicious tobacco I have smoked! Smooth and very flavorful. I can pick up some coco from time to time but the overall flavor is rich and creamy. I had back to back bowls and now want another. Nic is medium to me and quite satisfying. I noticed WCC has a flake sampler for a very reasonable price with 6 of their blends including Slices. Based on my experience with Slices I am ordering the sampler to branch out into their other custom blends. Excellent tobacco.

I should say off of the bat that I am not a huge fan of Burley blends. I go in phases where I really enjoy them but they quickly bore me and I also feel if I smoke them too often my palate changes toward them. Rotated in every few months I enjoy them, then back on the shelf for awhile. I love the fact that Watch City makes their own "flakes", I have not had one yet that meets my definition of a flake, they are all crumble cakes in my opinion (of the several I have tried), but I love the presentation and I do believe this pressing concentrates and/or fuses the flavors in a blend. Tin note on this is quite pleasant, if you are a fan of rum, The "jar" note is all rum to my nose, maybe some VA's coming through as well. The smoke is very interesting. I would call it to the left of medium in flavor, the rum top note is almost non detectable in the smoke, it is briefly present at first light but quickly fades into Burley territory. Earthy, spicy, woody, nutty and slightly sour at times are the best descriptors I can thing of for this blend. At the midway point I picked up some bready flavors from the VA's, which are background flavors in this blend. This is a very nice blend, I found if pushed too hard it gets ashy and harsh, like many burley blends when pushed....so keep it slow and steady. The unique blending of DFK with other Burley's and VA's as a base works very well and is a stand out in its genre. Only 3 stars for me, that is the best Burley can do in my opinion, with one exception (Germain's Rich Dark Flake is in a class by itself).

UPDATE: After cellaring WCS for ten months, I've smoked it a few more times and I find it somewhat more pleasant pipe tobacco. It is still light on flavor but the flavor it does have, while not spectacular, is pleasant. Based on this, I've increased my rating to Somewhat Recommended. It seems to taste best in a cob or other deep bowled pipe.

I'll make this short and to the point. Watch City Slices is terrible tobacco. It has little taste and the taste it does have is unpleasantly acrid, reminiscent of burning straw. I get no VA flavor or sweetness from it, nor any of the usual burley notes like molasses, nutiness or cocoa, just a bit of spiciness at the beginning (the dark fired, I presume) that burns off eventually leaving nothing to take its place. The room note is also unpleasant, and the tobacco is hard to light and keep lit.

I'm not a fan of burley based tobacco blends, so take that into account when reading this review. But I can usually find something in them that appeals to me. Not so with WCS., and I've tried it in a variety of pipes, hoping forlornly for a different result. I can't for the life of me see what others see in this blend. Maybe I just got a bad batch but, if so, it doesn't speak well of Watch City's quality control.

If this is what Edgeworth Slices was like I can understand the crazy prices sealed tins bring. This is an incredibly good Burley. The consistency is closer to a krumble kake than a flake, and the tobacco prepares beautifully. It's about perfect dryness as is.

For me this is like a really upscale interpretation of an OTC. If you like Prince Albert or Carter Hall I can't imagine not liking this one, the difference being that the tobacco here is much nicer and there are no caveats to go with the praise. I get less an impression of any nut or cocoa notes and more just a straight and excellent tobacco. The Kentucky is applied so as not to take over, and it adds backbone without calling attention to itself.

A fantastic Burley that deserves some room in your cellar. I like this better than Solani ABF. After much contemplation I would still choose John Patton Storm Front over this one, but it's close. A real surprise to me how great this tobacco is and I heartily recommend this and its cousin Flake #558.

Thick flakes of gold and dark brown that look a little like tree bark.

Sweet Virginias seem prevalent in the pouch aroma, though that could also be the high-pitched sweetness from the rum. Kentucky is noticeable in the background.

The burley becomes apparent once it's lit. Nice-smoking, buttery blend of what seem like quality tobaccos. Very nice room note. The Kentucky balanced out the burley here and there, but not perfectly, imo; little bit of a tug of war.

This type of blend isn't my cup of tea (came as part of Watch City's flake sampler), but if you like burley with dark fired and a rum dressing, you can't go wrong with this. Might age well too.

Watch City slices - i read a quote recently and I don’t remember who said it . It read ; There are two kinds of pipe smoker , those who love Burley and those who don’t know they love Burley ! It took me about 4-5 years but the Burley bug has got a hold of me . I’m hooked . This is one delicious blend . Soft flakes a la C&D . Easily rubbed into ribbons with 3 fingers . Cocoa Burleys front and center . Dark fired , floral and earthy and a wee spicy . The Virginias fruity and bready . The Rum adding more fruitiness and smoothing out any rough edges which there are hardly any . I am suprised how creamy this blend is . I’m in love . 4 stars

Deep, rich nuanced burley flavor without hitting you on the head with nicotine. The toppings are masterfully subtle and serve to underline the natural flavor of the tobacco. I don't have much to add other than my enthusiasm for this terrific blend. Truly exceptional. I like it better than Solani.

Watch City Slices... I've got to say, I love me some Watch City Slices. It was by chance, or fate I suppose, that I recieved them. I placed my first order online from the good fellers over at Watch City based on reviews from here. I didn't notice that some blends, like 556, had been revamped to different blends, like 558. I asked Ernie to send me whatever he recommends since I had paid for it anyway. Watch City Slices surprised me as my favorite of that shipment, and I had passed on it thinking it sounded similar to many blends I had already tried and didn't care that much for. Beautiful slices, thick and easily broken apart, as much or as little as preferred. Burns like a champ, though if too broken up can get a touch warm. But the flavor is where this blend shines. A sweet, slightly Caribbean tasting tobacco with dark dried Kentucky showing off the whole time. The best descriptive words for this blend are fresh and crisp, it is a joy to smoke. I have a Savinelli Porto Cervo dedicated to this blend, and every time I pick it up and draw on it, the most wonderful tasting air greets my palate. It's almost mouth watering. I've of course ordered more since then, and it has been a bit more moist, and a bit more flavorful. That leads me to think I should have hydrated my first batch a wee bit, something I was tempted to do but never got around to.... I smoked it up too fast! Highly recommended, like most of the blends Ernie gets his hands into!

I just finished the first two ounces of the 8 ounces I purchased around 7 years ago and this was my first time trying this blend. I like when a risk pays off as I enjoyed this blend substantially. The same risk did not pay off for me with Deluxe Crumb Cut, but I made a friend happy who does enjoy that blend.

WC slices has a fair share of DFK which is commonly cased with Molasses and this appears to be the same with the DFK in slices; however, I find the aromatic presence that would typically come from such treatment to be quite subdued in slices, yet present. It makes for an enjoyable smoke where the tobacco presence also shines through.

I also found this to be adequate in nicotine content, but surprisingly mild for a blend containing DFK, which tends to lead to strong blends. I feel this could easily be smoked all day without overwhelming the palate. Part of the reason for this is that this is just an easy smoker that performs well. Taking light easily straight from the bag with no dry time needed (at least my bag didn't). I also don't recall relighting this one often. This does not rise to the juggernaut four-star level for me, but it is close and I will enjoy the remaining 6 ounces I have in the cellar.