McCranie's Currituck

Again this month, we have a rather unique tobacco to review. Complexity is the order of the day, here; complexity in both the casing and the tobacco flavors. The levels of sweetness, spiciness, dark and light notes, etc. all work together to ensure that this a blend that will certainly never be boring. At the same time, the bite-free smoothness and excellent room aroma make this a tobacco that acts as a very good all-day or mixed company smoke. The aroma of my sample is excellent, a spicy, rich, and sweet blend of far too many different smells to count. The tobacco is dark, mainly dark brown and black with a few strands of lighter brown providing contrast. The cut is varied, bits of two different types of unrubbed flake mixed with longer, almost ribbon-cut strands. The tobacco is on the damp side, though the moisture isn't excessive, and it packs easily. It lights quickly and burns well, requiring a normal number of relights during a bowl. In the first third, the initial flavor is rather unique. The best way I can describe it is sweet, with a spice note - but spicy the way eggnog is spicy, rather than Tabasco spiciness. The taste is almost like hot, sweetened Chai tea. There is absolutely no bite, and the smoke is very cool and smooth. But even apart from this unusual casing taste, the tobacco flavor itself is highly varied. Dark and light notes battle in what should be an anarchy of confusion, but what turns out to be a very well integrated and smooth mixture. It ain't the symphony orchestra, but it's far from bluegrass twang. I find myself puffing too hard in an attempt to taste the individual flavors. In the second third of the bowl, the mixture of flavors continues seemingly unabated. The casing hasn't really faded, still present as a sweet/spicy taste. The tobacco flavors continue on well integrated, with nothing really standing out in the smoke. The blend remains cool-burning and bite free; the only real change I notice is a very minor note of sourness at about the halfway point. Both in casing flavor and tobacco flavor, this is a highly complex and multilayered tobacco. It is also very nice blown out through the nose. There are no moisture problems up to now, either, and I find that my bowl is burning rather quickly. In the final third of the bowl, the flavors are pretty much the same; in fact, they are remarkably consistent throughout the entire bowl. There is no appreciable lessening of the casing notes, and the tobacco notes stay similar throughout. The smoke is also consistently smooth and bite-free and cool, and is very pleasant to non-smokers in the room. The leaf smokes clean and dry right to the bottom, and I am sorry when my bowl is finished. Overall, this is a remarkable tobacco, in more ways than one. The multiple flavors, both in casing and tobacco, should clash and stumble. They never do, however, and the entire mess is very well-integrated and smooth. Each element adds to the overall flavor without overwhelming the other notes; this blend was obviously put together by someone who knew what they were doing. In addition, I've seldom met a tobacco that was as consistent, from first light to the dregs of the bowl. This could work as either an inoffensive all-day blend or an evening treat. I find myself smoking a LOT of this - so much, in fact, that my 2oz sample is almost gone! It's easy to go though many bowls of this blend very quickly, almost without knowing it. I think I'll go buy a pound or so - it's great stuff! Thanks for the sample, Wes!