Iwan Ries Three Star Gray

The toasty, nutty, earthy, woody, dry burley is the lead component. The grassy, citrusy, lightly floral bright Virginia also sports a slight honey note as a supporting player. The spicy, raisiny, plumy perique is almost a secondary star. The smoky, woody, earthy, incense-like Cyprian Latakia is virtually equal to the perique in terms of effect, though it occasionally recedes a hair below the perique. The mildly sugary, toasty black cavendish is a step above being a condiment. The very light topping appears to be anise and (mostly) vanilla, and mildly sublimates the tobaccos. The strength is a couple of rungs past the mild mark, while the taste is a slot past that, falling short of the center of mild to medium. Presents no harshness to the smoker, but it may tingle the tongue if not puffed slowly. Burns warm and clean at a slightly fast pace with a fairly consistent sweet and spicy, slightly savory flavor that translates to the short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. Barely leaves any dampness in the bowl, and doesn’t require many relights. This is an all day mildly aromatic English blend. Three stars for the flavor, two for the bite potential. Two and a half stars rounded down to two, though we were allowed five stars, I would give this a three.