Butera Kingfisher

I tasty combo of three of my favorite tobaccos: Virginia, burley and perique. The crumble cake form is not my favorite, but it's acceptable and does not distract from the smoking experience. You get all the good qualities of each tobacco. The Virginia yields sweetness that is cooled by the perique, and the burley adds body and strength. There's just enough body and nicotine to make it a satisfying smoke.

Kingfisher is a well made, high quality blend that every Virginia/perique smoker should try. It can be hard to find at times, but I will pick up another couple of tins when I can find it. My tin had a few years of age on it and I smoked through very quickly.

One caution is I would not let it get too dry. It seems to smoke well right out of the tin. I usually dry my tobacco more than I do with Kingfisher. It's my favorite tin label as well.

I have been trying to find someone with this blend in stock for over six months. Tinderbox almost sent it to me, then apologized over the phone that it was a glitch on the website. Last week I got an email from Iwan Ries that it was in stock so I had them send me three tins. The shipping was fast but I spent those two days wondering if it was worth the trouble.

Turns out it was. I could probably live a full and relatively happy life if I'm naught able to get anymore, but I'd prefer it if I were able to. I noticed a few reviewers did mention something I thought was weird too, the tin wasn't really sealed, I mean I got the lid off with my bare hands and one of them in a sling at that. Still, the tin presentation was fantastic, that figgy smell of aged Virginias, or of aged Virginias like Hal O the Wynd ( That vinegary ketchup smell of Mc Cleland Virginia always puts me off a bit) Chocaltely krumble kake flakes with flecks of gold, and all still pretty moist. I rubbed out a few flakes and let them dry. My most curious dog kept sniffing at my fingers and licking them (some tobaccos he cowers from like he cowers from Gin or Vodka. It's Va/Pers and Beer for that dog).

I smoked the first bowl in a fairly large Castello Sea Rock billiard, not usually my first choice, but the doc said rest your shoulder, so I had a long movie and only one hand to watch it with. The slightly dried krumble kake burned well and the taste stayed interesting, not complex, but interesting, more like Casablanca than Donnie Darko (sorry, be told to rest for two weeks now, watching a lot of movies) familiar and engaging, but not surprising. I half expected the burly to ruin it for me as I'm not overly fond of burly, I don't hate it, it just reminds me of hot sauce, something used to cover the poorer quality of the ingredients. No, it acted more like a Bass guitar in this trio, underlining the beat, not taking a solo.

This is the Va/Per equivalent of Special Latakia Flake from Germain and though I didn't research as the gentleman before me, if I were wagering on taste and presentation alone I'd say this blend was made by JF Germain. Not to step on any sacred cows here, but I think Special Latakia Flake may be the best latakia flake out there for combining strength and balance. Certainly the best that's hard to get a hold of. Again, not having researched as Sounds7 (who may not be a gentleman after all, I mean that in the objective sense, not as an insult) it is out of sheer optimism that I expect we haven't seen the last of this blend or the other fine blend from germain.

I'll also confess that one of my main motivations originally for hunting Kingfisher down, besides the reviews here and idle curiosity, was the tin art. Even with limited space and forcing myself not to get all pack ratty, it's a tin I'll keep.

The second bowl was smoked in a fairly narrow, tight, and small Tim West Dublin. Burned well, maintained my interest still. I have yet to find a pipe in my rotation that won't smoke this tobacco well. I'm giving it for stars, one star is for the difficulty of the routine; finding it. Although loathe to recommend solely on my tastes alone, I can't imagine anyone who enjoys a Va/per and has a curious palate regretting having this in their cellar or rotation.

"Originally blended by J.F. Germain in UK, then by McClelland in US, then now by Peter Stokkebye in Denmark." I dont know where the person that added this description gets his information but Butera as of 02/27/2011 is still being blended as it always has been in the UK by J.F. Germain. My brand new tins that came from a couple different etailers say made in Jersey, British isles on both the front and back sticker.

Ted Swearingen of Smokingpipes,com had this to add : "No reason to think that this isn't being made by Germain. Consider that of all the blends offered on Butera's own line, the two made by Germain have been consistently unavailable and one (Kingfisher) just happened to return with Esoterica and Germain offerings from the same distributor. I don't think it's a coincidence."

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To read more here is a link: http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe- forum/285382-kingfisher-question.html

Based on this information I have requested to tobaccoreviews.com that the description be changed to reflect the truth about this fine tobacco product.Oh and speaking of the truth, yes it is still being made and all the talk of it being discontinued is just that-"talk"

As for kingfisher and my thoughts/ratings: it is a wonderfully smooth, brilliant tasting tobacco made from old tried and true processes by a British company known for such classics as Esoterica Stonehaven,Penzance and Brown flake and Special Latakia Flake. Kingfisher ranks up there with all of them IMO and is a very unique obacco experience. it is no wonder it is so rare and hard to find. 4 out of 4 stars

Other than my tin being unsealed when I got it this is great stuff. It's a crumble cake cut into flake like strips. It has a great robust perique flavor up front with a nice blend of virginias and burley rounding it out. I was looking for a tin of bayou morning flake but my local store was out of it so the guy suggested this. This was a great choice. I'm missing the bmf a little but this is excellent. If you like perique this is a must try. My all time favorite every day smoke is Old Gowrie but when I'm in the mood for a little more perique I go something like this one. Enjoy!

Tin Note: Dark brown bits and chunks (after rubbing). A lot of finer particles here too. The smell is primarily darker VAs.

Packing: I let this dry just a tad. It packs very easily. I was careful not to over pack. I left some of the chunky bits chunky.

First Impression: I was surprised by how much of the flavor is actually from the burley. It is quite nutty, with a good bit of VA flavor there too. Well balanced and very tasty. If there's perique here it's not coming through very strong.

Halfway Through Bowl: This is some real tasty stuff. It's not very complex, but there is plenty to keep me interested. Seems a perfect marriage of VA and burley. It is the platonic form of a vabur, as far as I am concerned. Maybe there is some perique, but it's contribution is as an undertone.

End of Bowl: Surprisingly, this did not get harsh at all. It is a cool smoke (thanks to the burley, no doubt). It is pleasant all the way to the finish. Typical levels of dottle, and not excessively moist dottle at that.

Room Note: Probably OK, but hard to say.

Likes: Great flavor - nutty and a little sweet. Well balanced. Burns well too. Avoids harshness.

Dislikes: I'm out of it. I need to get more with my next tobacco order, no doubt.

What a consistent smoke. This is some delicious stuff.

Its a burley base with Virginia and some Perique in there for good measure, and thats really about it. The burley takes the front stage with a good nutty/woody flavor to it, with the virginias and the perique coming in to have a few words edgewise, but the star of the show is definitely the burley.

I like this stuff and I was lucky to grab a tin of it at the B&M a while back, considering that I often see it sold out on so many other sites.

This has got to be my favorite pipe tobacco.

First, the cut is magnificent - the tobacco crumbles neatly into a bowl and has a supple texture that allows a few slices to simply fall into the bowl and reduce to rubble. It lights better than anything and instantly rewards with a peppery how-do-you-do from St. James Perish.

This tobacco is best smoked when well packed. On the light it will be coy and subtle - almost nutty. Then as I smoke it, the flavor dynamic darkens drastically. I find myself always tamping it down and being rewarded with ever increasing depths that are exquisite in the back draft and sinuses. Some have noted a musty character in this blend and I think that's quite accurate. I am reminded of a fine cheese when I think of KingFisher. I have always smoked this in my cheap but reliable small-bowl, well caked, bent-apple Duca Carlo. Some other reviews indicate that a well caked small pipe helps this one achieve its full potential.

It's got a satisfying smoke and a wonderful texture that keeps me coming back for more. I can not speak highly enough of this tobacco. It's the only thing I've given four stars to.

I picked this up last year at a cigar store that happens to carry a few tins. It was dusty and discounted. I opened it and assumed the seal was faulty, it was that dry. I thought about rehydrating it or blending it with something or pitching it, but I forgot.

I rediscovered it this week. It smells like very dry tobacco. It looks like very dry tobacco. I have to take care in getting it out of the tin and into the pipe least it turn to dust. Be that as it may, once lit it is magic.

I bought this during a time when I thought I wanted to marry VApers. At the time, I think I thought Kingfisher was a VAper. I am startled by how much better I like this over, say, Escudo. Of course, I am in a period where I think I want to marry burleys. I am in nuptial bliss.

Backing up a little, I find straight VAs dry my throat. Someone here attributed that to its astringent properties. I think that is right. So, from my throat's perspective, adding burley to anything VA improves the chances I will like it. I really like this Kingfisher. Its got VAs, its got perique, but most of all it has cool, nutty, nicotine laden burley. For me, this works!

To start the aroma coming from the can was fairly week, not like Esoterica Tobacciana's Pembroke which is really strong. The Krumble Kake was nice.

Smoking it initially was a pleasure. It had some issues with staying lit, however I tried it fresh when I was new to pipe smoking. It also seemed to burn hot. That again could be that I was new to pipe smoking.

Smoking it part 2. After 6 months of drying the Krumble Kake was quite dry. I'll brake this up a bit; Outside on a 40 degree day with a light breeze the tobacco is amazing, it seems to bring out the flavor. In a Meerschaum it is indeed a nicer smoke. As for indoors in a Briar it gets boring. The flavor is almost unnoticable.

Perique I could only catch the note of it on a fall type weather day, otherwise it seems to not even be there. I have given in my own notes a 7.7 to Kingfisher. I'll have to keep it for a cool windy day smoke.