Watch City Cigar Watch City Slices

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).

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.

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.