Butera Kingfisher

The tin description of this blend says it better than I ever could. It says "Subtle but Complex". That sums it up right there.

Kingfisher is a really nice krumble kake. The tin art is really nice and classy and the blend is a true winner.

This blend is pretty dark in the tin, and can appear to be a little moist, but in my experience it performs flawlessly without any drying time. This is a vaper I think...er maybe not...a burley?..er.. Well whatever it is it is really nice. I cant really pick up the perique, and the Virginias are not a high note sweet type, more like a earthy dark Virginia, like Wessex campaign flake.

The flavors here are really comforting. Nothing really sticks out but this is a nice warm feeling blend. It has a wonderful genuine tobacco flavor, and I for one think as subtle as this blend is it is really quite complex. This blend also pairs amazingly well with single malt scotch, especially the islay's, laphroig to be particular.

This blend seems to be getting hard to find. If you can get your hands on some snap it up.

Recommended

This tobacco has a very mild flavor, but at times I notice a slight citrus note, and for whatever reason, it leaves my mouth enjoying the taste of delicious seafood.

When I smoke this blend, my cares seem to disappear into the air along with the smoke. It is a very relaxing experience that I only wish I had more time in the day to enjoy. I am not very sensitive to nicotine, but I'll count the feeling I get here as a respectable buzz.

I do not have a very sensitive or experienced palate either, and my opinion of this tobacco may increase as I try more. I agree with the reviewers that suggest drying time in advance. This stuff is pretty moist, and I have yet to smoke it as far down as I'd like to, though I admit I am still a novice pipe smoker.

Give it a try, it'll make your day better.

This is a tobacco I had to work at to find it's strengths. My first reaction was of a fairly bland blend of mostly burley and the faintest whisper of perique when it felt like showing itself and the virginia not so much tasted as perceived condimentally.

I still believe this is mostly burley and I think a nice nutty smoke is the intent. But the VA is really a nice teaser, and the blend is chameleon-like from bowl to bowl and less so as the individual bowls progress. In fact, this is a tobacco that changes the most from bowl to bowl of any I've smoked. Some bowls tasted like straight burley and some tasted like a solid VaBurPer. I never knew what to expect, and that has a certain excitement to it. No overabundance of perique in this one, to be sure!

Generally, this is a "set it and forget it" blend that has few surprises down the bowl and that might be a little TOO nuanced for a lot of smokers. I don't see myself buying this again, at least not on a regular basis, but I did enjoy my time with it. If you want something different and you like to concentrate on your smoke and really bond with it, this is recommended. Perhaps for the perique newbie.

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.

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!

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.

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.

I must say that I liked the smoking characteristics of this blend....rubbed out in an instant, lit well, smoked cool but I did not take to the strong presence of the perique. This was the first time that I know of trying a blend with perique and though I find it interesting, it was too much for me. UF was once my favorite after dinner smoke but I found it way too stong with ammonia and nicotine for my tastes....though I remember the Burley/VA flavor fondly. I like the perique in Dunhill's Elizabethan Mixture much more than this blend.

Update 03/06/2011:

Wow its been years since I have tried this blend. I must say that my tastes have changed greatly...or maybe the blend has changed? Either way this is a mild blend as far as taste is concerned with a nice full aroma however. The perique is very mild and over the years I have grown to like greater amounts of perique. The burley is the most pronounced component and I had a hard time detecting the virginias. I do like this blend and will probably cellar a few tins. I have changed this from a two star baccy to three...pretty darn good.

Well here goes a review for a tobacco apparently no longer made, earthy burley dominates the show with the Virginia and perique weaving in and out, the nicotine is presents itself a quarter into the smoke and a glorious amount of smoke is produce this could have been and all day smoke back in the day of production if it was easier to find (it never was).