Seattle Pipe Club Potlatch

Tin aroma is sweet Virginia's, Cavendish and smokey Latakia. There are some sour notes in the aroma as well most likely from the Turk/Oriental. Potlach makes me think of the tobacco's of another age. For some reason I get an "old world" feel from this blend. Unsweetened Cavendish and the kitchen sink blended in, but nothing in massive proportions. Condiments are used as condiments and they blend together very nicely. The tobacco is a little flat for my tastes, but it is a thoughtful and complex blend. For transparency, I like a dominant flavor in my smoke. This doesn't really have a dominant player, and if I had to say there was one, I would say it is the Cavendish. The smoke provides flavors from sweet and smokey (Cavendish, VA's and Latakia) to earthy and spicy (Perique and Turk/Orientals). The perique was barely noticeable to me and I attribute the earthiness to the Cavendish as well as the melange of Orientals and Virginia's. This seems to play to an old school palate and I appreciate it. It is a nice thought less smoke for me, the burn characteristics are fantastic: easy to pack, light and forget about. The nicotine level is low and the after taste is pleasant. Some other flavors I noticed were toasted bread, dark fruits here and there and sour hints from the Orientals. For me this is a once in awhile tobacco and it invokes rainy days and/or morning smokes. I found this best in a cob (Lil' acorn to be exact made the flavors more concentrated and sweet). If you are new to English this might be a good first step, although I always shy away from that type of recommendation since sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Another nice blend from the master blender at SPC.

This is indeed an excellent English blend! And you can see that even from the tin note where a complex array of aromatic Oriental is complemented by a light Latakia touch and other notes of natural tobacco.

It is a very well balanced blend, it is complex and though I cannot discern all the constituents I can say that Latakia is there, smoky but refined and not in any way in overwhelming proportions. It is backed by sweet red Virginias and earthy Burleys with the Orientals adding a salty/sour tang. I am not sure about the Cavendish contribution but there is a peppery spiciness especially towards the end of the bowl which seems to me to be from the Perique (yes, towards the end I occasionally get a hiccup or two...).

If you like English blends, this is an excellent medium strength specimen. Not heavy on the Latakia but still for me the Dark Leaf is the protagonist along with the Orientals as they both sing on a background of the Virginias and Burleys (and Perique at the end). So this is an English both Latakia and Oriental forward with neither of them being dominant.

It’s very easy to see how this can be someone’s favorite blend: it is just excellent! It’s not going to be a personal favorite of mine though as my Latakia threshold is even lower than Potlache’s content (a thing I can remedy by adding some more Orientals to it), but this is just personal taste, nothing wrong with the blend.

Moreover it has excellent burning qualities and its strength is such that if you like inhaling the occasional puff, this blend is for you.

I like how romantic and poetic all reviews are. I don't have that ability but I hope I will through time. I suspect it to be because I still know nothing, or at least not much or not enough to be able to discern smells and tastes.

That being said, I really liked the tin aroma. I found it quite earthy but still fresh and pleasant, not old dirt. The tobacco comes packable straight from the tin so I didn't need to dry it a little beforehand. I found it very easy to pack, light and keep lit throughout the bowl. The taste is very strange, and to me, hard to describe. Probably because it has a bit of everything in it. Definitely an English blends with the Latakia, which is, although present, not overpowering. It has a touch a Fall in the Forest, these are the words that came to my brains. It just rained and the forest is resting and rejoicing from it. It shares the precious drops of water to all plants and trees present.

I'll come back at it, definitely.

Seattle Pipe Club Potlach derives its name from the Northwest Indian Celebration of Plenty. There are plentiful types of tobacco in this blend, and blender Joe Lankford has manged to derive a solidly attractive offering out of the melange.

The mottled black and brown ribbon is easy to light and keep lit; the mixture requires few relights.

The burley comes across as the dominant ingredient, with the Latakia coming in next. The black cavendish and Virginia add a note of sweetness. Both the oriental and Perique lurk in the background.

Overall this is a medium strength tobacco, although I have upped the taste to medium to full. The room note is not offensive, with less negative nature to non smokers than most mixtures with these ingredients.

Potlatch burns to a light ash with little dottle. Puffed judiciously, a large bowl offers a lengthy smoke.

A significant smoking characteristic of this blend is the interplay of the tastes of the constituent tobaccos. Personally, I prefer great variety in the blends I smoke and almost never smoke the same mixture back to back. Potlatch is a blend that will not tire the taste when smoked either exclusively through the tin or quite frequently for those who choose that manner.

Smoke this in pipes dedicated to English mixtures, or else in cobs or meerschaums. I started my tin using my Latakia dedicated pipes, but soon discovered that I preferred it in cobs or meerschaums.

This is quite similar to Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding with an added burley component and a more manageable cut. I prefer Plum Pudding, but both are very fine blends.

A tale of two halves for me. In the first half I get mostly Burley, Latakia, and Oriental. This gives me smoky wood, a slight sourness, and a nutty earthiness. Only a hint of sweetness at this point. In the second half the fruitiness and spice of the Perique join in shortly followed by the sweet hay of the Virginias. The Black Cav adds a little more sweetness. The first half isn't much to my liking as it's a bit dull. It livens up nicely in the second half and becomes a very pleasant smoke. I guess with the long list of components, it's not surprising that it would take a while for the character to develop, but I have some trouble waiting for it to do so. 2 stars for me.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. No added flavoring. Burns very well.

This would be the result of tossing everything under the kitchen sink into the gumbo. Open the tin and your nose doesn't know where to start. You'll find all the flavors you come to expect in an English, as well as some sharp spicy Oriental, some hidden sweetness, and cache of nutty Virginia lurking below. I was eager to dive in.

As a novice, I wasn't sure what I was tasting inside the fire. It kept changing on me like an ever dissolving gobstopper candy. I liked it. Midway through the bowl things settled down and I was on the Oriental side of the tracks.

Because I tend to hot box the pipe when I am smoking I can be sensitive to blends with bite, and this one can be aggressive in this category. For this reason I would likely not buy it again and for me it's 2 stars, but most smokers ought to give it puff and so it gets 3 stars from my telescope.

A blend that I personally love and one that defies classification in my collection. I put off trying this one for some time. The reviews lavished praise on it, but with so many component tobaccos involved I couldn't see how it wouldn't end up a cacophonous mess. Boy was I ever wrong! This blend is amazing!

The abundance of tobacco flavors seem to meld together harmoniously, while at the same time the overall profile is constantly morphing, waxing and waning. So even though the tobaccos weave together so well, you still quite often get individual flavors popping to the forefront before soon melting back into the crowd. Love it! The burley and Virginia are most often noticeable...both of impeccable quality and sweetness. The latakia plays in the background lending it's smoky spice to everyone. And the perique and Orientals throw in some pungently sweet & sour notes from time to time.

Definitely a uniquely enjoyable creation, exceptionally balanced. Having quickly smoked through a couple 50g tins I'm wishing I'd had a couple 8 oz. tins instead. On the whole, I'm quite impressed with SPC & Joe Lankford. If it wasn't for pipesandcigars, I may not have had the pleasure to experience their work. Thanks guys, keep up the great work!

Updated 4/12/16 This has really started to grow on me and with a few months of breathing, it seems to have gotten more creamy. I hate to say this, for fear of turning away the English smokers , but I put this in an "American style" of tobacco, but a real good one. I've bought more

updated 5/17/2016 Changed this to 4 stars , it's a creamy, "meaty" strong smoke. Very satisfying. this really reminds me of GLP's Caravan , but it's smoother.

Original review: I really think most experienced smokers will like this. On the positve side, it comes with a full 2ozs., at perfect moisture that packs and lights perfectly. The initial light and any relights are flavorful and creamy, however the smoke turns "muddy"after a short while. The Burley and Cavendish are not major players that stand on there own but do make a creamy base, however, they do seem to mute the perique and Orientals. I'm especially sensitve to "Burley tongue bite" and this does nip me . The tobacco has pleinty of "N" kick and would be nice after a big meal or single malt .

I could be a buyer again, and I think many would like this blend, so I gave it 3 rather than 2 stars.

What a treat!

I have tried nothing like it. An extremely pleasant Cavendish, perfectly paired with a sweet Virginia, dominates a mild yet complex mix of tobaccos. The Perique and Latakia stay in the back without taking over but with ample room to show off their best qualities. I can only assume the Burley is responsible for tying everything together and deliver an effortless burn.

I cannot emphasize how pleasantly mild this blend is. Try it!