Two Friends Bed & Breakfast
(2.86)
Red and bright yellow Virginias are combined with fine Oriental leaf, toasted cavendish, and just a bit of rich Latakia. Bed & Breakfast is wonderful for a morning or all day smoke. Its delicate flavors and subtle nuances delight the senses. The room aroma is smoky without being overbearing.
Details
| Brand | Two Friends |
| Blended By | Craig Tarler & Gregory Pease |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Cavendish, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.86 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
Original review 12/05/08:
Bed & Breakfast (bulk): picture Tarler & Pease cackling like witches bent over a cauldron.
Double, double, toil and trouble Tobacco burn and saliva bubble. Start out with a red VA, Add some yellow - smells like hay. Desperate for a taste that's new, add some Cavendish. Oriental too! Use Latakia -- but just a dash, to make it burn to a fine grey ash. A mix concocted late at night, like a hell-broth, fume and bite!
[Fade out as witches laugh with high-pitched, insidious delight.]
Well, maybe that's an overly harsh portrayal -- Tarler and Pease really don't cackle over a cauldron ...or do they? B&B strikes me as an amateurish experiment where five different tobaccos were somewhat capriciously tossed together to see what happens. There is no balance, no synergy, no polish. I guess my sense of taste doesn't admit mixing sweet, grassy Vas with Cavendish; or Cavendish with Latakia; or whatever else they did.
This is a somewhat sweet, bite-prone, and flavor-laden smoke that quickly fatigues the palate. Impoverished by abundance, it is a mix of five tobaccos lacking unity and competing for attention. It's rather like five musicians playing at the same time, but not "together". The Vas take the grassy lead while the Cavendish and Latakia obstinately bang against each other - taking this olio first to the sweet and earthy, then to the savory side and back, with no integration, no balance. For me, the Oriental gets lost in the cacophony of flavor. Maybe it's at work taming the somewhat hot Va without calling attention to itself (staying out of the fray, as it were.) I believe the only thought put into this blend was at day's end, when they decided from which side of the blending room floor they'd begin sweeping.
Toward the end of the bowl B&B seems to be much better: the Latakia fades and starts to work with the toasty Vas and Cavendish. It is actually a fairly good smoke for the last few minutes; but you will have to endure a mediocre bowlful just to enjoy the tasty heel.
To me B&B is an ill-conceived mix -- a witches' brew of discord that ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Not worthy of the Tarler and Pease name. I'll cellar the remainder of my supply for a few years to see what happens. I don't hold out much hope.
Update 12/19/08: I didn't really have enough B&B left to justify cellaring, but I did make an interesting discovery that could influence some smokers to give this a try. I used a small old meer that I had since the late '60s. It has a conical bowl that tapers down from 15mm at the top; and it has a really thick side wall (it's a freehand called a "Caveman" that resembles a crudely fashioned club. Remember those?) In this, B&B's flavors begin to integrate much quicker. After about 10 minutes it settles down nicely and remains a pretty good smoke right to the bottom. I'll upgrade my review a smidgen; but since I won't buy this again, how can I recommend it to you?
Bed & Breakfast (bulk): picture Tarler & Pease cackling like witches bent over a cauldron.
Double, double, toil and trouble Tobacco burn and saliva bubble. Start out with a red VA, Add some yellow - smells like hay. Desperate for a taste that's new, add some Cavendish. Oriental too! Use Latakia -- but just a dash, to make it burn to a fine grey ash. A mix concocted late at night, like a hell-broth, fume and bite!
[Fade out as witches laugh with high-pitched, insidious delight.]
Well, maybe that's an overly harsh portrayal -- Tarler and Pease really don't cackle over a cauldron ...or do they? B&B strikes me as an amateurish experiment where five different tobaccos were somewhat capriciously tossed together to see what happens. There is no balance, no synergy, no polish. I guess my sense of taste doesn't admit mixing sweet, grassy Vas with Cavendish; or Cavendish with Latakia; or whatever else they did.
This is a somewhat sweet, bite-prone, and flavor-laden smoke that quickly fatigues the palate. Impoverished by abundance, it is a mix of five tobaccos lacking unity and competing for attention. It's rather like five musicians playing at the same time, but not "together". The Vas take the grassy lead while the Cavendish and Latakia obstinately bang against each other - taking this olio first to the sweet and earthy, then to the savory side and back, with no integration, no balance. For me, the Oriental gets lost in the cacophony of flavor. Maybe it's at work taming the somewhat hot Va without calling attention to itself (staying out of the fray, as it were.) I believe the only thought put into this blend was at day's end, when they decided from which side of the blending room floor they'd begin sweeping.
Toward the end of the bowl B&B seems to be much better: the Latakia fades and starts to work with the toasty Vas and Cavendish. It is actually a fairly good smoke for the last few minutes; but you will have to endure a mediocre bowlful just to enjoy the tasty heel.
To me B&B is an ill-conceived mix -- a witches' brew of discord that ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Not worthy of the Tarler and Pease name. I'll cellar the remainder of my supply for a few years to see what happens. I don't hold out much hope.
Update 12/19/08: I didn't really have enough B&B left to justify cellaring, but I did make an interesting discovery that could influence some smokers to give this a try. I used a small old meer that I had since the late '60s. It has a conical bowl that tapers down from 15mm at the top; and it has a really thick side wall (it's a freehand called a "Caveman" that resembles a crudely fashioned club. Remember those?) In this, B&B's flavors begin to integrate much quicker. After about 10 minutes it settles down nicely and remains a pretty good smoke right to the bottom. I'll upgrade my review a smidgen; but since I won't buy this again, how can I recommend it to you?
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 03, 2004 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Appearance: Very small cut, almost granulated. All colors are present, but the lighter shades are dominant.
Aroma: Smells like mostly Virginia, with traces of Latakia and Orientals. The Va. seems to be of the lightest persuasion, and has a ?grassy? aroma.
Packing: Packs easily into any size pipe.
Lighting: Lights easily, sometimes with one match.
Initial flavor: I can?t tell if this burns hot, or if my tongue is sensitive to some component of the blend. In most pipes, this tobacco starts poorly for me, then subsides into a more tolerable condition of smoothness. Not that it ever gets smooth, just a bit less harsh.
Mid-bowl: Seems to burn wetter than most blends, but maybe that?s my reaction to it. The blend never develops enough flavor to get me interested. I find this so poor a blend, that I mixed it with Stokkeby Proper English.
Finish: Due to the harshness noted, I can rarely finish a bowl of this stuff.
Summary: Simply doesn?t work for me as an ?eye-opener?. It left me with enough negative feeling, that I may never try any of the other blends in the line.
Aroma: Smells like mostly Virginia, with traces of Latakia and Orientals. The Va. seems to be of the lightest persuasion, and has a ?grassy? aroma.
Packing: Packs easily into any size pipe.
Lighting: Lights easily, sometimes with one match.
Initial flavor: I can?t tell if this burns hot, or if my tongue is sensitive to some component of the blend. In most pipes, this tobacco starts poorly for me, then subsides into a more tolerable condition of smoothness. Not that it ever gets smooth, just a bit less harsh.
Mid-bowl: Seems to burn wetter than most blends, but maybe that?s my reaction to it. The blend never develops enough flavor to get me interested. I find this so poor a blend, that I mixed it with Stokkeby Proper English.
Finish: Due to the harshness noted, I can rarely finish a bowl of this stuff.
Summary: Simply doesn?t work for me as an ?eye-opener?. It left me with enough negative feeling, that I may never try any of the other blends in the line.
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