Dan Tobacco Salty Dogs

The packaging does not do justice to either the quality or the price of this tobacco, although that is not the most important thing for me. The pouch is presented as a homemade print with a rudimentary drawing on a white background that evokes piracy. After overcoming the successive layers of plastic, the hardest and most compact block of tobacco I have seen so far appears. Its appearance, with a very dark color and its cold smell, is very reminiscent of a piece of chocolate bar. The preparation to take it to the pipe may require a knife to cut it, but flake-shaped strips can also be peeled off (although with irregular shapes), pinching the corners of the plug and then removing them little by little or cutting it into small pieces . Tobacco comes with a slightly high degree of humidity, so keeping the pipe burning requires several re-ignitions.

When lighting the tobacco it produces a very fresh smoke. The perique is fruity and smooth but makes its presence felt, with the typical nuances of raisins, plums, stewed fruits ... The virginia component is felt more towards the end. The rum coverage is barely noticeable. The intensity of the flavor in general is also mild, although it gains from the second third with some very tasty puffs, but almost always staying on the smooth and refined side. It is convenient to smoke it slowly so that the flavor is not lost, taking in with small puffs and paying attention to the smoke, without doing something at the same time that distracts us too much. It does not sting the tongue at all.

In short, it is a rich tobacco with different flavor profiles to what I knew until now, which invites you to repeat another pipe during the same day, since it does not saturate the palate nor is it very satiating. Although I am the type of smoker who likes more pronounced flavors, as I smoked it I liked it more, in such a way that the plug disappeared after a week. I would recommend trying it, although then it will depend on the tastes of each one whether to repeat it or not, but it is very likely that it will not leave you indifferent. I give it a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

I have always liked plugs, the look and feel of holding a solid brick of tobacco. This is a true plug in the style of Peterson’s 3 P’s. Maybe not as hard but pretty close. Albeit, I do not smoke plugs very often. No particular reason as to why, maybe lazy. A friend of mine at the pipe club gave me a ring (text nowadays) and asked if I was going to attend and he would bring in the Salty Dogs plug. Let’s see, pull weeds at home or attend the meeting. Easy decision. He cut me a generous portion across the grain and I saved this for when I got home. I was a little bit smoked out from the club but had to try it. The plug has a faint sweet smell to it, as to whether it is the rum, hard to tell. The plug was actually slightly moist. I took a small section broke it apart. The leaves immediately expanded. I loaded my Peterson Dublin Tankard with some and started to light this puppy up. I chose a small bowl pipe for this exercise. I will not lie I had to relight quite a bit but this was due to the concentrated leaves in my bowl. This is a slow smoking excursion with I would say the rum in the background. A real medium to full flavored smoke that lasted at least an hour with my leisurely pace of not being able to sit for very long. Goes good with my afternoon coffee. Day two, I took what was really a bowl and a half and crammed it into my Tankard and had another hour plus smoke with this tobacco. This is a straightforward blend, consistent taste, not a lot of play with different flavors but is what expected. A good solid Virginia and Perique smoke. Since I am fond of plugs it already gets an extra star. I find it slightly amusing that this plug comes in a pouch. If I did not have such a hoard, I would definitely buy some. Thanks again for the generous sample.

An Excellent Virginia-Perique Plug. Very rich and sweet flavour. Packs and lights very easy if you cut him to cubes. One of the best VA-Periques i had so far. Highly Recommended.

If you like Mick Mcquaid Plug this tobacco is for you. It is more fruity taste. But taste is great. It is very wet from the pouch but you can cut it very easy. If you like aromatic plugs give it the try.

Tin note is musty sweet Virginia. I did not smell the perique in the bag. As a plug this needs to be shaved (small cube cut is best) I just put the very small cubes in the bowl . It helps to let it sit for a while as its very moist when fresh from the package. From first light this is a really great blend. Highly recommended if you like Vaper's. The rum is barely noticeable at the start but becomes more evident as you progress through the bowl. The Virginias are a bit sweet, but not overly so and the perique is there but just. Its a very nice balanced blend with lots of flavors going on. I use small to medium sized pipes . With slow sipping it lasted a full hour. with only a few relights. One trick to get the most flavor from this is to light you bowl smoke it for 5 minutes as it burns very slow and put the pipe down for at least 30 minutes or more. You will be rewarded with much more flavor after a waiting period. I have let my pipe sit overnight and the flavors were much more prominent . The nic hit gets a bit stronger as you progress through the bowl, but this blend doesn't bite. Very smooth smoke with the spicy perique siting just behind the Virginia's. The aftertaste is quite nice as well.

Salty Dogs is a high-class, strong, sweet, predominantly Virginia blend, with Perique becoming more assertive as the bowl progresses. I can’t detect rum. I pack moist and loose. You need to sip gently. Relights well, which is important given Salty Dogs’ forthright strength. An exceptional tobacco well worth the cost and effort to prepare. Just remember to sip.

Dan’s Salty Dogs starts with a dense, Old School plug that’s along the lines of Peterson’s Perfect Plug. It’s dark and oily, sable brown with a few lighter striations. Initially, it smells of fragrant plum, prune and apricot fruit leather, with the aged, fermented tobacco brooding like leaf mold under that. The density of the plug makes preparation either a chore or a ritual, depending on one’s perspective and patience. Rolled and stuffed flakes are practically fireproof, also, IMO, the smoke I finally get from this approach is not the best of this blend. Likewise cubes, which seem to form a hot coal for the last part of the smoke. Although it’s “more work”, I prefer to slice the plug with a strong, super-sharp knife into about 1/16” thick flakes that I am careful to cut off a layered “edge” of the plug, so the broad and long face of the flake shows a layered cross section. Then I roll and spindle the tough, sticky flakes to rub them out into fluffier ribbons. After gently stuffing an old #4 Dublin with these ribbons, it still takes a while to get it thoroughly lit, then it burns down slowly, smoking profusely, with regular, gentle tamping and sometimes a little stirring at the bottom. Scents when it’s smoked this way are like a blooming, floral version of the plug scents, adding fragrant, mild baking spices of the sort I associate with long-aged Perique. Tastes track the scents, adding moldering hay, wheat bread, cut meadow grasses, figs, and dates, and it’s pretty consistent, top to bottom, except the intensity rises gradually from mild, through medium, toward strong/full in both strength and tastes over the course of the smoke. No surprise that the VAs and the Perique are tightly knit, given the density of the plug. It sours out of the blocks, and it actually took me a while before I first noticed that it’s also fairly sweet, with turbinado sugar and treacle. Room note is tolerable. Aftertaste is a lengthy, smokier continuation of the smoke.

I like Salty Dogs, though its best is hardly right there for the taking. It’s a quality offering, for sure, but it strikes me as better suited to experienced and/or patient VA/Per lovers. 4 stars, with noted reservations.

A plug that comes wrapped in what feels like 20 layers of plastic. Now that's an unusual presentation.

Once you manage to free it from it's pouch, you'll find yourself holding a small, rather dense brick of quality VaPer. Curiously, i always thought that the unlit tobacco smells very clearly like dark chocolate, but i wouldn't say this translates to the smoke very much.

You can prepare the tobacco in various ways. You could cut it into slices and treat it as a very compact flake cut. Or go one step further and make it into cube cut. If you want to take some time, you could eventually get it rubbed out into a more loose mixture as well, if you want something that'll burn a little quicker. The only thing i wouldn't advise is to bite off a bit and use it as a chew, like the description says. Mainly because unless you're a certain Bond villain, biting into this hard, dense brick of tobacco would likely cost you a couple of teeth.

Jokes aside, in terms of moisture, this blend comes pretty much ready to smoke. You could dry it a little bit, but then, you'd be trading an easier burn for a little less flavour.

How easy it is to light and how many relights it needs is largely dependent on how you prepare it of course, but largely, i've found that this blend is well behaved. It's always taken a light without fuss and needs only a few relights.

As for the flavour, i would call this stuff direct and uncomplicated. It says Virginia-Perique in the description, and that's exactly what you're getting. You've got sweet, tangy virginia, some small notes of black bread and a decent amount of dry pepper from the perique. The rum, i personally can't really detect much of. It doesn't offer much complexity, and it doesn't offer any surprises. What it does offer, however, is quality. Heaps and heaps of quality. It's full-flavoured through the entire bowl, has a decent bit of nicotine to it and on top of that, burns really cool, even if you get carried away with it. Which means it'll never bite, either.

After your smoke, it leaves you with only a little dottle and moisture.

Overall, i'm rather chuffed with this blend. It only does one thing, but it very much does it right.

The aroma in the pouch is a slightly sweet bread.

Classic Virginia flavor, a bit figgy, not spicy, a bit bready. Sweet. At a more standard price point this would be a mainstay, but it's a bit too expensive to be a regular in the rotation. Definitely worth keeping on hand to have now and again or to try.

You can see my video review of this blend here:

https://youtu.be/a9bp10eAJZs