Hermit Tobacco Works Co. Captain Earle's - Nightwatch

The tin note is really nice: smoky barbecue, darker with way more pepper than, say, the classic worcestershire McClelland smell. There's a bright, fresh note of something like menthol.

The crumble cake (especially if you jar it) retains flavor and moisture level, which I should say is perfect right out of the tin. It breaks apart and packs very easily. Every now and again you do find a stem, but I don't really mind that. All CE's blends will burn clean down to white ash with one or two lights if you pack 'em right.

There's a good bit of flavor here right from the first draw. Although you couldn't write a dissertation about the flavors and tasting notes, by no means is this a one note, "conventional" English blend. There's a deep barbecue sweetness here that I really, really like. The latakia is full, smoky, and peppery. Orientals change shade throughout the bowl, ranging from musty and floral to sweet. Perique comes and goes. The bowl sweetens halfway down, which surprises me every time. I could definitely smoke this all day.

Aromatic fans and those who cut their teeth on McC Frog like I did will find this a bit stronger than what they're used to. Bolder C&D, Pease, and Ten Russians fans might find this a bit lacking in strength and complexity.

Is this blend a lat bomb? I would say no. To me, a lat bomb has to really wallop you with. We're talking leather belt in the face. The VA, orientals, and perique make this sweeter than a lat bomb ought to be. But add 10% more latakia and yea we'd be talking lat bomb.

Like I said, I cut my teeth on Frog Morton's Cellar. I dearly miss it. When it came time to find a new numero uno, the last thing I wanted to do was find something too similar. I liked FMC because it was FMC. I didn't want my new favorite to be FMC light—I wanted it to be its own thing. This is definitely bolder and way less sweet (I did want to grow up and move on), but it still has a similarly mellow, easygoing vibe to it. Ten Russians this is not. TR is a great blend, but I just don't need that much flavor most of the time.

My ideal blend is less of a fine wine, more of a faithful whiskey. Something like Mississippi River Plum Pudding, one of those mountaintop stunner blends, is usually just too bright and fancy for me most of the time.

This is my favorite among the Captain Earle's blends I've tried so far (Nightwatch, Ten Russians, Private Stock, and Mystic Blend). In fact, this is my favorite blend right now period. It's more complex than the faithful Frog was, dare I say it. Rest in peace, ol' Froggy, but I do think I like this better.