Diamond Crown Kentucky Nougat

I enjoy smoking this rather unspectacular baccy from time to time, because it is exactly that. Great companion when I'm kinda indecisive or doing stuff around the house. The high quality basis of solid Virginias, refined with a little Burly and Black Cavendish is a no-brainer to handle and fill your pipe with. The added flavorings never feel overwhelming and rather hard to detect, however, give the mixture something like that whee dram o' milk in a coffee.

The experienced smoker will easily find it's missing that little something. Recommended to beginners and lovers of mild aromatics, though.

Tin Aroma: Absolutely superb; like a confectioner's shop but not sickly or overpowering. It's a melange of chocolate, nuts, fruit and vanilla.

Room Note: Very much like the tin aroma; this has 'em drooling! I'm sure if everybody smoked this the antis would never have latched onto this passive smoking lark! The aroma is like the mixture described above but also warm and homely with it.

Packing: Although described as a ribbon cut, I found it to be more of a wild cut and was thus a snap to pack, especially using the pinch method. Moisture content was perfect being just a tad on the dry side but nice and springy. Packing wise, this tobacco is excellent for beginners.

Lighting: The weed lights easily and well with one charring light, a firm tamper and relight.

Appearance: As previously mentioned, it's a bit like a wild cut with diamond shaped pieces of black cavendish with bright, golden strands interlaced with medium and dark brown leaf. A very attractive cavendish blend where one can clearly mark the burley and virginia complonents.

Smoking: Very flavoursome indeed with fruit, nut and vanilla topped off with a chocolote high note, intermingling with a good solid tobacco base. Burns suprisingly slow and cool. It also burns evenly to a fine white ash with very little dottle. However, if you're tempted to puff hard due to a burst of flavour it can bite and leave an overpowering aftertaste so it's better to sip and savour this one! However, things do deteriorate in the last third of the bowl. The flavour becomes remeniscent of burning woodchips. This is a phenomenum I have experienced with practically every Exclusiv blend I have smoked, but not Kohlhase, Kopp and Co. I'm not sure what causes it; maybe it's flavour overload. This blend is somewhat mild in the nicotine department so don't expect a headbanger if nicotine is your recreational drug of choice!

Pros: Wonderfully aromatic taste and smell. Burns slow, even and cool. Very tasty indeed.

Cons: Flavour can deteriorate and the weed can bite. Can leave an aftertaste.

The best thing about my return to the aromatic world via this blend was the nice flip top tin it came in. I was attracted to the vanilla/nut taste and it was present as advertised along with a delighful tin and room aroma. However, although it seems that Kohlhasse and Kopp, the German blender, has used quality tobaccos as is their typical approach, the Cavendish processing and casing overpowered the tobacco taste for me. The smoking, lighting and burning characteristics were fine in most pipes but turned quite harsh in others even though I routinely clean and rest my pipes. Perhaps it was a bad reaction to the remnants of the prior flakes that I normally smoke but their was no predictable pattern that I could determine. So I'm back to my favorite VA and VA/Perique flakes until my next expedition into aromatics.

The tobacco tin itself is very unique, after opening the golden pouch the tobacco was very fresh with a light aroma of Vanilla. The blend of Burley, Virginia and Cavendish were that of a ribbon cut, easy to pack and light.

The tobacco as I smoked it was not harsh with no tongue bite. The aroma was of a very mild Vanilla and a hint of a nut flavoring. The tobacco presented itself as an enjoyable tobacco for the connoisseur of aromatic tobacco blends.

IMO this would be an excellent tobacco for someone who would like to test the tobacco world of aromatic tobacco blends as it does not overwhelm with a sweet sickening stinch as I have found in some aromatic tobaccos.

I like it, and it will be on my Faovrite List of tobaccos to smoke.

Smoke it slow, enjoy it longer

Another decent Diamond Crown aromatic by Robert McConnell. This should not be confused with another Kentucky Nougat the is allegedly made by Peter Stokkebye. The tin and room aroma reached the "I like that" level for my wife - high praise indeed! Perhaps because Cavendish isn't the predominant tobacco in this blend, the casing doesn't completely dominate the experience, although its influence is felt throughout the smoke. It is well-applied, and the nuttiness is complementary to the naturally-nutty burleys. There is enough Virginia toasty character to supply some tobacco structure and support, although "tobacco satisfaction" would be an overstatement. Instead, the COMBINATION of casing and tobacco make this a good choice for someone seeking a good-smelling, light, easy summer tobacco.