The Country Squire Tobacconist Indian Outlaw

From the Mountain Rambling Rusticator:

I know that names can be suggestive, but this blend truly evokes an Indian Summer. Crisp mornings, warm afternoons, bright colors, and a woodsy spice floating on a gentle breeze. This is an excellent smoke. The blenders at The Country Squire are true practitioners of the tobacconist's arts.

The Squire's website says that this, Cherokee and Choctaw are a trio of sorts, with this one being a blending of the other two. Cherokee is the mildest, Choctaw the most full. That would put this one in the middle. I can actually taste the Cherokee in there. Cherokee is mild and subtle as butterfly kisses. Outlaw is a solid smack from your lover's lips by comparison. I thought I had smoked about every blend known to man, but a friend suggested the Country Squire...a new friend well met. Astonishing deftness in blending. Little individual works of art. Picture a handsome pastry chef wheeling his cart to your table as you sip your after dinner coffee. The tray is laden with small wonders...petit fours and tarts and parfaits of the most delectable ingredients nurtured to perfection under caring hands. The aromas! The flavors! Such treasures. That's the feeling these blends convey. The Outlaw is VA back and forth with Cavendish. The scenting is very faint, and needs to be as the Virginia's are so subtle. Tobacco notes are forward. Good. Packs, lights and burns very well. Not even slightly hot and no hint of bite. While Cherokee needs a nice chair and a fireplace, the Outlaw should be quite at home on a morning Stroll...or any time of day. Flavors build toward the bottom, but never go bitter.

I thought that their Parson's Blend took the great prize...this one gives it a fair race indeed. The winner might just depend on the day and setting.

What’s in your pipe? Make it Indian Outlaw! The Country Squire blended their Cherokee & Choctaw blends 50/50. If the name reminds you of the song by Tim McGraw, you’d be right. Now, when I smoke Indian Outlaw, I can’t help but sing the few words I know. Drives my wife crazy. The Country Squire describes it as, “a complex mixture…”. During my first bowl full I kept telling my wife, “damn this is good”. I couldn’t put my taste buds to a specific flavor, but my nose knew I loved the smell and my mouth the flavors. When lite, the deep rich flavors left me saying out loud, “damn this is good”! I’m not one who can pick out the nuance flavors, but I can tell you if I like or don’t like. When a tobacco packs well, lights easily and stays lite and smokes easily and produces great flavors and LOTS of smoke than I am happy. I’m a simple guy looking for tobaccos to help me unwind from the crazy of life. This is one such tobacco. I’ll put this in my top 5. Oh, I had to buy more after smoking my 1oz sample in about 2 days. In short, “Damn this is good”!

I liked Cherokee and I liked Choctaw so I figured I should try the Outlaw which is a combination of the two according to the website.

The Virginia's are complemented by the Cavendish and its really full flavored for an aromatic. It does split the difference between the other two blends as would be expected. After being jarred a year, I've noticed that it seems smoother than it did before and provides an easy relaxing smoke.

If you want to have a little fun, mix in some Blending Perique at maybe 10-15% and you'll get the Bayou Outlaw version of this which to me is also a knock out.

The Country Squire continues to make some great blends which I highly recommend that everyone tries.

This was a part of my first purchase from The Country Squire. All of the tobacco I received from The Country Squire had the appropriate moisture level. No wet goopy tobacco here! It packs and burns well with few if any relites. No hint of tongue bite. The blend of Virginia is perfect, so many times these blends add to much Virginia (IMHO). This one nails it. I do not detect any dominate casing in this, but the black Cavendish provides a pleasant room note so I can smoke it inside. This is really more of a mid-day to evening smoke, but I prefer more fruity blends in the morning.

I would like to echo the other reviews and say that Cherokee is good, Choctaw is also good.. Indian Outlaw is GREAT. I bought a few oz's of Cherokee, a touch too sweet without enough tobacco taste. So I bought a few oz's of Choctaw - not sweet enough, great natural Virginias. I mixed them together 50/50 - perfectly sweet with enough tobacco taste to satisfy. The flavoring is phenomenal. A truly incredible aromatic experience. Side note: This blend with coffee is like bacon and eggs. 4 stars no question.

Another top-notch aromatic from the Squire. Through some serendipity of chemical synergy, the combination of Choctaw and Cherokee creates a blend that is better than either of those two by themselves. I'd say it achieves that by suppressing the slight negative tendencies in each: the overt sweetness of Cherokee, and the flavor-sublimating creamy coating of Choctaw. The net result is less caramel and cocoa which then allows some palate-lifting clove to peek through.

Somebody posted a suggested tweak on one of the forums called "Bayou Bandit" which adds 10% Perique to Indian Outlaw. I tried that and found 10% Perique (C&D) too overpowering for this base, the mustiness too obvious. But I kept tinkering and found that 1/14 (7.1%) worked nicely for me (no mustiness, just some pleasing spice).

I only need so many aromatics in my rotation and I do prefer Rivendell year round, and Figgy Pudding for a seasonal treat. But if either of those became unavailable Indian Outlaw would jump to the front of the line. I do urge all lovers of aromatics to give this a try; you may prefer the flavors of Indian Outlaw over Rivendell or Figgy Pudding. One thing's for sure: they are all top-notch aromatics!