E. A. Carey Castle Blend

Carey's - Castle Blend.

The smell is a straight forward Latakia one, smoky and a little leathery. The mix comprises quite chunky tobacco pieces, they're not all extraordinarily long but the majority of the strands are mainly thicker ones.

It has a good level of moistness which means that it lights up great, a fairly short touch of the lighter is plenty to get a steady burn going. The flavour isn't as strong with Latakia as the aroma led me to expect, yes it's easily detectable and definitely the most formidable but it it's not the only flavour. Behind the Lat' resides a splendid sourness from the Oriental/Turkish with an equally weighted Virginia hay flavour, making it seem like a much tamer version of Petreson Balkan Delight. The nicotine is mild in Castle Blend, if you, like me, appreciate "N" then some deep inhalations are a requisite with this. The smoke issues zero bite, it can be puffed with extra vigour and even then bite remains elusive. The speed of the burn isn't the slowest I've had, it's not over in seconds but there are a fair few better suited blends for a long period of relaxation.

I think this would make a great beginning to the world of Latakia, it has just enough Lat' to give a good example of the smoky taste yet it also allows the other tastes to come through. 3 stars.