Butera Kingfisher

I am totally re-writing my review on this one (2-27-11). At first, I didn't care for this. I felt it was very bland excepting that the Perique took the entire stage. As I am not a big fan of Perique, Kingfisher wasn't my cup of tea. I did like the tin note - very molasses/raisiny. That was a plus. It burned exceptionally well and never produced any moisture nor did it bite - quite a cool smoke actually. Not being a bird fancier, as much as I wanted to like this bird, I could not. I gave it 2 stars, and reluctantly.

Well, I decided to re-visit after many months of it sitting in its tin. It was very dry, and as a crumble cake, well, it was already in a state of crumble. I filled a pipe full and lit up. It wasn't bad, and I managed to snag 3 more tins of it (now out of stock all around). I'm still holding to 2 stars. I wish the wonderful tin note translated into the smoke as Kingfisher is basically a bland smoke with very little flavor. The only thing it has going in the way of flavor is the pepper-like quality from the Perique (which I don't like at all in this blend), and nothing else.

UPDATE 2-27-13: On a whim I just opened a half smoked tin that I got fresh and first opened 2 years ago. The tobacco was bone dry and the kakes were all crumbled. Tin note, although less than when fresh, was still present. It loaded like dry crumbling cereal and if squezzed too hard would turn to dust. This time around it was way better than previous which deserves another star from me. I have two unopened tins that I was going to sell, but now I think I'll hold on to them since I believe it is no longer being produced.

I find the Kingfisher's balance of its three constitutent tobaccos to be nicely balanced. However, the perique, as other reviewers have noted, is in rare supply. The interplay between the burley and virginia is enjoyable, with figs or apricots coming to mind. Do be advised there is nothing exceptional going on in this blend, but there are pleasures to be found. I appreciate the krumble kake and its ease of loading, resulting in a bowlful requiring very few lights. The tin art is quite a nice touch.

I don't taste anything. Nothing. Smokes like hot dirt.

Actually, to be more forthrightly honest, there were a few puffs where something reminiscent of flavor slipped to my tastebuds, and those hints of flavor were actually kind of nice, but it took some work and those phantasms of flavor were too ephemeral to bring into focus.

Too much work for so little return. Life's too short to continue smoking something in the hopes that I'll be lucky enough to chance upon some toothsome will-o'-the-wisp.

UPDATE 12/30/13: Tried it again a few years later. Nothing new to report.

Earthy-spicey-yummy---One of my favorites! If you have any tins cellared,check the seals-This one can be faulty.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is a blend that definitely appreciates the "right pipe". I found it's deep flavour best comes out in a properly broken in Castello hawkbill: fairly thick walled 3/4" bowl...no ghosts. This is very tasty stuff and I deeply regret not popping one of the three tins I picked up three years ago sooner. Seems they are hard to get now, (figures!). I like Haddo's but would pick this over it anyday...far richer. Finally, the crumble cake, (which crumbles with ease), element is such a treat versus rubbing out flakes, (which more often than not don't rub out but turn into ropes like roll-your-owns). I'm trying to be less easy with handing out 4 stars...but this deserves it in my books. Bring it back already!!!!

I guess I am just not a Butera fan. This was better than Pelican, but nothing to right home about. I just did not find it at all exceptional.

I've smoked this in a variety of pipes. Small pipes bring out the flavour. In big pipes all you taste is the burley.

The tin smells like figs, but the taste is very mild. The suggestion to smoke this in a meerschaum is a good one, you'll want either a dedicated pipe or a meerschaum to really get at the flavour.

As a latakia smoker, this will not replace Scottish Cake for when I want something different. It's just too bland and uninterestng.

Update: smoke this in a dedicated latakia pipe. It adds a wonderful complexity to the blend.

Update: An extra star for this blend worthy of high recommendation. Loading this in a stack billiard intensified the flavors and strength, making it a year 'rounder for me. Quite versatile. Cigar lovers should give this a whirl, especially if it is a touch on the dry side.

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I chose Summer heat as the right time of year to delve into this mysterious mixture. The reviews on this site overall gave me the impression that this would ?float? as a warm-weather blend due to its alleged light character and modicum of complexity (if any at all).

I had an instant sensory flashback to Brown Flake by Germain?s when I open my well-aged tin of Kingfisher. The two blends share a musty, citrus aroma in the tin (even a bit of chocolate was noted), along with a strong Burley resemblance between the two. On strength alone, Brown Flake is hardier and deeper flavored overall. Kingfisher was at the right humidification from the onset, whereas Brown Flake was a bit moist in the last tin I enjoyed. That said, the similarities end and Kingfisher takes on its own, fine characteristic.

Think of this as Barbary Coast without the topping, Barclay Mixture with Perique, Cumberland with all the subtlety and much more flavor (and less nicotine shock), MOB 111 altogether more refined and with more Perique, Back Porch without the taste of cut grass and hay, and Grey Havens without the moisture and with flavor.

Kingfisher is really not in the family of Virginia/Perique blends, as Kingfisher is burley, sweetened a bit by Virginias and enriched with Perique. There is a cigar note of some complexity here, not the sweet and deep, swirling high?s and low?s of better V/P mixtures. Three Nuns, Elizabethan Mixture, Haddo?s Delight, Escudo, and Limmerick are not interchangeable with Kingfisher.

I get the most flavor by gently crumbling the slices into chunks, avoiding both sawdust and folded flake. Crumbling the slices allows for easier packing and more surface area to burn without a real downside of increased temperature.

My verdict after testing my impressions of Kingfisher? This is a great Summer blend and one for all year round minus, perhaps, the dead of winter nights (if you have to smoke outside as do I). Hardly boring, mundane or undistinguished and not a nicotine wash either, Kingfisher is easily a satisfying smoke before and through dinner, unless you have eaten the heaviest of fare. Whatever you do, use a very clean pipe dedicated to non-aromatic, non-Latakia/Oriental blends. Try it in a meerschaum.

Remarkably cool, clean and smooth, ending with just a wee touch of the bitters. A charmer, and the nice tin artwork makes it a fine present to a fellow pipester prejudiced toward Burley blends (either way).

Tin: Musty Fig Newton smell. The aroma lures you into trying to identify the individual components in this VAPER/Burley. Apricots come to mind. Pressed cake, cross-cut into slices, that crumbles. Moisture level was such that the crumbled up tobacco could almost be pressed into a ball.

Packing & Lighting: Packing is quite a chore. Tryed to scoop out each slice with the spoon of my tamper but the slices kept crumbling, so they were just scooped out anyway. Easily overcrumbled to a powdery consistency. Be careful not to pack too tightly. Using flake just stuffed into the pipe, moisture necessitates two strong efforts to achieve first light, is more difficult to keep lit, but is slower burning. Crumbling KF to a powder, it burns easily with one match.

Taste & Aroma: There is a definite Perique aroma, levelled on a burley base. Not much taste; the Perique is not peppery. KF smokes cool, if it isn't hurried, but it does not smoke to an ash. The dottle doesn't burn well, but there is no moisture in the stem. Biteless. I don't get a good VA signature from KF. With residue left in the pipe, I couldn't call KF clean-burning.

Room Note: Stale, burley. The ash had a strong cigar odor.

Nicotine: For a Perique blend, KF is moderate.

Overall: Just not my thing; not enough of a VA signature; too much burley.