Butera Latakia No.1

It does not seem like a good time to try new tobacco. One of my favourites, as some of you know, is Butera's Royal Vintage Latakia No. 2 (see that review). For some reason, I have put off trying Latakia No. 1, but I figured it is about time. No. 1 is a mere shadow of No. 2 and should really be called something else. It is fair to compare since they share a name and, besides the raw quality of the weed itself, No. 2 is everything than No. 1 is not. Bloody shame! I seem to be wasting a lot of money on tobacco lately. The good news is that there is another unopened tin around the corner. The bad news is that I have another opened tin that will sit and waste. Perhaps I will give this another try, but only because of its namesake and certainly not because of its taste.

This is a full-strength English blend that aims to please the latakia lover. Its been a little while since I burned a tin of this stuff but, another was to me as a gift. The texture of the leaf is very "McClelland." Those of you who are experienced with McClelland's Frog Morton series know exactly what I'm refering to. There is a generous dose of Cyprian latakia present in this blend, as the tin does reflect a mottled sea of black. To be honest, I'm not really fond of McClelland's Cyprian. I prefer Syrian two times fold. This blend does contain a heaping helping of raw English power, yet has very little nicotine kick. This is a solid choice but, I believe that I'll stick with Frog Morton, when it comes down to choosing a latakia blend from McClelland stock.

Don't believe too hard in most of the reviews here, because you might be disappointed: this is NOT a strong Latakia/Oriental blend like Balkan Sobranie 759, but a close relative to McClelland's Bombay Court. Sure, there are suggestions of the smell/taste of 759 in the interplay of sweetness-smokiness-spicyness, but the intensity and mouthfeel of this Butera tobacco are vastly inferior. 759 was strong, almost overwhelming, although round and never harsh: big sweetness, and a very satisfying fullness. Latakia No. 1 is like a very watered down (and sometimes watery-tasting) cousin: sure, it has finesse and a nice complex flavour, but it will leave you flat if you're looking for a latakia kick in your nuts. Especially the second half of the bowl can be very weak and lacking in taste, IMHO, while in the first half there is a satisfying sweetnes/smokiness very similar to the one of a good Scotch whisky. Not a bad tobacco, mind, and it burns very slow and cool, but not as full as advertised.

From everything that I've heard of this tobacco, I was expecting a full flavor Latakia blend. The tin aroma was pleasantly strong. The flavor was very mild when smoked in my Meer and only slightly more flavorful when smoked in my briar pipes. The taste did seem to improve after a couple of days after opening the tin. Overall, a good blend, but not as strong as I like. I may try again to make sure it wasn't just this tin.

I expected #1 to be the lighter of the two Latakia blends, but it turns out to be he opposite. It's a mostly dark blend, with about 30% medium color leaf. The initial aroma is heavy latakia, and lighting it confirms the impression. It smokes fairly well, but lacks the complexities of Latakia #2 (which is much lighter), or GLP Raven's Wing (which is about equal in richnesws). In summary, a pleasant enough evening smoke, but thee are others I much prefer.