East India Trading Co. Cellar Reserve

I am a relatively new pipe smoker and have been savoring many different types and blends of tobaccos since starting last year. I recently purchased Cellar Reserve to go with the other two East India Trading Co. tobaccos I had previously tried. Upon opening the tin the aroma is very pronounced and pleasant smelling. It was moist but lit easily. I found it to be my new favorite of the three blends from this company. It is a tasteful, mild blend that could be an all day smoke. It has no tongue bite and left me a hankering for more. I believe I have now smoked at least four bowls in various pipes since receiving it yesterday from Pipes and Cigars. I will purchase more. I have indeed purchased and smoked more of this very good blend. In am presently (10/17/16) smoking my fifth tin of this very good smoke.

East India Trading Co. - Cellar Reserve.

This is one of the most enjoyable aromatics I've had!

The ribbons are dark, black and dark brown, some of which are quite chunky. There's a smell of vanilla and caramel, but not much rum. This tin's 3 years old, the paper lining is rather stained from the blend. It's a little moist, but not wet.

It was a blend where I hadn't finished my first bowl but had ordered more for my stash. It's a heavy, decadent tasting smoke. The Perique's a very light addition, almost non-existent, the same can be said for any rum. It's a blend that's more about the Virginia, Burley and Cavendish, caramel and vanilla. I get plenty of nutty Burley, very creamy black Cavendish, but less of the Virginia in comparison to these two. Onto the added flavours. The caramel is the strongest. This has a formidable sweetness, it's this that causes it to feel 'decadent'. I get less of the vanilla, but enough to give the smoke a slight 'stickiness'!! It burns slowly, being as the ribbons are chunky I expected a slow burn. Tongue-bite? None at all.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: beautiful.

Cellar Reserve? A gorgeous aromatic. Four stars:

Highly recommended.

East India Trading Company’s Cellar Reserve is for people who want to have their cake and smoke it, too, an aro and a half jammed into one tin. Long, fat, wet ribbons and chunks range from red-brown, to dark brown and black, and the initial tin note fairly explodes from the popped tin, rum, vanilla, caramel, coconut and chocolate. It actually smells like a kind of birthday cake I enjoyed for several years running, until the bakery went AWOL. When it’s dried I also get some orange. Truly yummy, but my first thought was, how much should I dry it out? This is going to be personal, for sure. After experimenting I found I prefer it pretty dry, which hasn’t taken long in our blistering sun. It handles and loads well wet or dry, and it lights and smokes down with no problems dried. Smoked straight from the tin (wet), I get some tastes I don’t care for from combusted toppings. Dried, there is very little of this and, further, I actually enjoy the tobaccos. The Cavendish is very sweet, also sour. The VAs seem to be red, and they are earthy, bready, and a little woody. The Burley is nutty, woody, a little floral, and bitter. The Perique is sour, musty figs and dates, with some bakery spices. Drying (or not) determines how much tobacco I can smell and taste over the toppings, and the toppings are prominent in any case, smelling and tasting delicious, just like the tin note. It's pretty consistent, top to bottom, except the tobaccos come up as it's smoked down. Strength is just over medium, with the nicotine trailing below medium. Tastes are at least medium. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste from a dried bowl is a slightly metallic best of the smoke, very sweet.

Popping the tin sets the stage here. How Cellar Reserve sits with a given smoker will likely be determined by expectations and the smoker’s ability to tailor this blend to taste. I don't smoke a lot of aros, and I don't like many aros, but I’m giving CR four stars, not because I think it’s a world beater but because I think it’s better than a 3 at what it aims to be.