Missouri Meerschaum Country Gentleman

I've been smoking the new Country Gentleman and Missouri Pride tobaccos almost continuously, and to the exclusion of everything else, since they arrived in the mail a couple days ago. I need a little more time getting to know Missouri Pride before I post a review, but Country Gentleman I think I've got a pretty good grasp on.

Smells great in the pouch. There might be a light topping on it. I can't taste it but I can smell that sweet fragrance that you smell when you walk into a tobacco shop that has bulk aromatics in glass jars. Just a whiff.

Unlike most pouch tobacco, it's not necessary to dry Country Gentleman before packing your pipe. It's already at perfect smoking consistency. The coarse cut makes for easy packing, lighting, and smoking.

I get a little bit of bitterness and astringency on first light. I don't know how else to describe it. It reminds me of the tannic flavor of a tea that's been brewed too long. It subsides as the Virginia picks up strength and sweetness. That interplay, or transition, from bitter to sweet is one of the interesting things about this smoke.

Country Gentleman reminds me a lot of McConnell Scottish Cake, but with less Virginia sweetness, more Kentucky tang, and maybe slightly less Perique. The Perique is definitely subdued here, more of a condiment than a main ingredient. I don't get the tingly sensation on my tongue that I get with stronger Perique blends. There's plenty to like about this tobacco even if you're not a Perique Freak. I'm not (usually) an all-day smoker, but if I was, I think Country Gentleman could easily be an all-day smoke for me.

Good, tasty, easy-smoking tobacco that also happens to be a good value. $4.95 for a 1.5 oz. pouch seems real reasonable to me.

Pouch note is very light, with a pleasant, plummy, dried fruit aroma barely detectable over the smell of the plastic pouch. Moisture content is perfect: ready to smoke immediately with no drying time needed. The charring light, however, is of sharp contrast, bringing a pungent, Perique-forward flavor, framed in earthy Kentucky, with the sweeter Virginias further in the background. This blend immediately reminds me of McConnell's Scottish Cake, though with a ribbon cut.  As the first third of the bowl progresses, the Perique balances out with the Virginia and Kentucky to create a very smooth and mild smoke.  I find this blend to smoke mellower in a cob, and more assertively in briar. 

By mid bowl, there's a bit more tang.  No bite whatsoever, but a bit more intensity to the smoke and a more hot and sharp flavor profile.  When sipped slowly, one can extract a bit of sweetness from the Virginias. But generally, this is a smooth, rich, leathery and lightly earthy blend, with a hint of plum always in the background - easy to pack, easy to light, smoking dry and cool.  The finish is of damp wood and pine needles, burning to a dry, gray ash. 

Country Gentleman is an excellent introduction to VaPer blends; a fine, dry-smoking blend for those who prefer a lighter, smoother VaPer (or rather, VaBurPer), and an economical alternative for lovers of Scottish Cake. This could easily be an all-day smoke for lovers of this style, and I can see myself reaching for this blend quite often as a daytime VaPer. 

My only (minor) complaint is the packaging, though perhaps I am overly sensitive to the scent-inhibiting effect of thick plastic. The plastic pouch detracts from what might otherwise be a plummy, earthy and woodsy, natural VaBur nose.  The key here is to jar this immediately upon arrival.  Overall, this an excellent blend, and like most of Russ's blends, it's priced well below its class.  A great intro to the style,  or for those who desire a milder VaPer/Kentucky blend. 

Alas, unlike the first reviewer I did not detect much Perique or any Kentucky, but nearly all rather bland VAs. Oddly, I also got some tongue burn from this blend, which is unusal for me, esp from VA blends. Overall, despite the burn, this came across as basically innocous, even somewhat generic. Hopefully others will find it more rewarding.

A nice spicy VaPer with just the right amount of Kentucky. The Kentucky doesn't impose on the VaPer, just supplements it with another layer of flavor and depth. Nicely done.

Mild to medium in body and flavor. May need a couple of extra matches to get it going. Ok after that.

Missouri Meerschaum - Country Gentleman.

Anyone who bothers to read my reviews will have noted if posting on a Friday I normally smoke my Altinok Lee Van Cleef replica. But, not wanting to sound moronic, CONSTANTLY recapitulating the same thing, I mixed things up today; went with a morta!

In the pouch it appears finer than a mixture, or the blend pictured here. Well, that's my blend's appearance, I note other esteemed reviewers have a blend congruent with the description. Mine's mostly medium and light browns, with just a few darker pieces. The moisture's exactly as I like for imminent smoking, albeit, a touch dry for long-term storage.

The smoke? Nice, simple but nice. The Virginia occupies first place, with a notable support from the others. Although it states Kentucky, I get more of a straight Burley flavour than a fiery, cured, Kentucky one. The Perique lifts the flavour, with a touch of piquancy; a touch, not a smash of spice. A bowl burns nice and perspicuously, giving a medium temperature, bite-free, smoke.

Nicotine: maybe above medium. Room-note: not TOO bad!

Country Gentleman? To me it inculcates three stars:

Recommended.

Another of Russ Ouellette's VaPer blends, of which he is a master for my money. This blend strikes a balance between other of Russ' VaPers (ex. Louisiana Red) and C&D VaPers (ex. Bayou Morning). I guess it's the addition of the Kentucky to Country Gentleman that hits this mark.

The tobacco burns cool and dry. It delivers the sweetness of the virginias and the spice of the perique. Although I recommend it I still like other Ouellette blends better. This is really a two and a half star mix for me.

*Edited 7/24/18 Country Gentleman is another tasty VaPer from Russ Oulette. The red virginias are slightly sweet and tangy, and a little earthy; and there's light, citrus grass from the bright virginias. The perique is lightly applied and contributes with notes of raisin and a bit of pepper. The kentucky lends some body, wood and spice. It comes in a non-sealed pouch, and that creates the one downside for this blend: it comes a little dry. Rehydrate this baccy and you'll have a very decent all day smoke on your hands, though I'd strongly recommend puffing this blend at a moderate pace. It burns a little fast and it can get considerably warm. Recommended.

I was given a pretty good sample of this from a friend who attended the Chicago show three years ago. I Smoked a few bowls of it right away and then jarred up the rest and just recently got back to it to finish the sample.

When I originally tried the blend I had two thoughts. One, this tastes like a cornell & Diehl blend. Two, I could have swore they said this is a VaPer, but it sure tastes like a VaBur to me.

I now see I was wrong on the first thought as it was made by Russ Oulette, but I will stand by my second thought as I see it does have some Burley in it and, for the life of me, I have had a hard time tasting Perique in this one. It must be very lightly applied or just muddled in with the taste of the Kentucky.

Overall it is an enjoyable smoke. Not very complex and I am sure that is not its aim. It is Virginia and burley. It is old timey and Amiercan. It is something that would go well in a cob. I would guess these are the things that this blend was intended to do and for that, it serves its purpose.

I am a big fan of Russ O and I tend to like his blends unless they are his extreme aro blends he dabbles in. I also am a huge Missouri Meershaum fan, they are very nice people making a great corn cob and I smoke them a lot. therefore it is natural I would try some of their tobacco blends.

This blend is a mix of American fire cured leaf with some dark fired and perique tobacco. It if a rough cut blens composed of colors of brown ranging from light to dark in color. The pouch note is sweet, pungent, peat like, and while smelling of Virginia it also has a tangy sweet ness that makes me think it has some type of flavoring in the background. It is very close to the moisture content to smoke it right out of the pouch, but a few hours drying make it more to my taste. It packs well and takes a couple of lights to get fully burning and one lit stays lit well. It burns well creating a deep grey ash with lighter edges on the top. The room note while smoking it is pleasurable to me, might just be tolerable to some but this is typical of perique blends. It is medium to full in strength and is a little more bold than blends like Escudo and it is a little more raw in character. This is typical of blends by C and D who make this blend and with some age on it I am sure this will improve. I has a great sweet flavor upon lighting with the spicy perique in the background and the flue cured leaf giving it boldness and the Virginia imparting it's sweetness on the tongue. It is very good until it goes past the halfway point in the bowl, as then it picks up in strength and continues to get stronger towards the bottom of the bowl and once reaching the bottom it is quite strong reaching the point that it no longer is pleasurable. I find I rather dump the remainder before burning it all the way to the bottom as it is rather harsh at that point.

This is a good blend, not in the league of very fine vapers but then again it is not in that price range and it does smoke well in a cob. I would recommend trying it and am putting some aside to age and will return to it in the future to see how it matures.