Seattle Pipe Club Potlatch

I’d mostly agree with Jiminks’ 2017 TR review that Seattle Pipe Club’s Potlatch is a very complex blend that veers toward being called a Balkan because of the strong presence of Oriental leaf. The main player here is the burley with support from the Orientals but the VA lends sone sweetness. The Perique is lost. I’d wish for a stronger Latakia presence but I adore the nuanced use of the burley. And I love the use of the spicy, creamy oriental that is clearly present. This is a moderate strength blend in the same vein as Odyssey, Sunset Harbor and Tashkent and even the Bourbon version of Plum Pudding. It has more going for it than Plum Pudding Special Reserve. Potlatch is an impressive achievement. I’d give it 3.5 out if 4 stars rounded up.

Potlatch, the tobacco that is, scales a complex recipe of virtually every smokeable resource in existence. In leveraging the best of the Balkan spirit, Lankford ingratiates us with an impressive amalgamation of mixed varietals that spans commanding Oriental, featured luxury Burley, complementing Perique, guarded Latakia, residual Virginians, and the solidifying dose of sugared Black Cavendish. Showing a visage that abridges a lovely palette of colorful autumn-toned splendor, this well-crafted blend brings a generously proportioned ribbon-cut mane of cultured richness.

As the remarkable tinned air of Potlatch evolves, the foregathered essence fills with a boldness cinched with an exceptionally tart-sour bite much like the effects of balsamic fig and aged vinegar. This powerful sharpness is predominantly top-level as the supportive aromas of the native fragrance release from within. Seething streams of acute spicing bear evidence for the presence of fertile floral spice, rested smoky creosote, progressed fermentation, deeply earthen nutwood, and primal pungency. There is a touch of tickling sweetness that attempts to make itself known but is quickly suppressed by the austere mood of a characteristic foreboding darkness.

Truthfully this tobacco proved to be somewhat of a temperamental contrarian. Namely, upon reviewing the subject recipe, one would expect a considerably enlivened registration, a blended dynamo if you will, that was hotly sparked with a surge of stirring intricacy. As such, my framed perceptions had me anticipating the distinct colorful boldness and virility of a classic Balkan experience, ala the famed Plum Pudding mystique. Instead, what I actually discovered was a substantially calm and abnormally flattened revision of the same.

Being somewhat deluded by my successive findings, and in the perils of chasing the sought ends of known Balkan machismo, at first my true objectivity was a bit confounded. After a series of disappointing trials that only revealed a so-so rendering, experiential wisdom finally hit me smartly upon the noggin. Immediately I defaulted to my ever-faithful Savinelli Bruyere briar, and with that “should have been obvious” decision, suddenly this blend gloriously came to life as expected.

It is certainly true that to optimally capture Potlatch’s unique character, one must enlist the aid of a solid briar that is scaled with a wide, deeply contoured bowl, there is no question. Describing the essential character that follows, the medium Potlatch largely endows an underlying spicy, smoked sweetness, some consistently featured bright floral, heedful earthen sourwood, and a degree of mixed-leaf mildly common pungency.

Conferring the nominally tamed demeanor, what one encounters is a conventional Oriental forward profile that is primarily interposed with what are perhaps the strongest secondary influences, those being the settled Burley and the spiraling Perique. All the same, as a Balkan construction that is afforded sophistication by way of its supporting recipe, the tobacco manifests a degree of the associated denseness and depth that one should normally encounter within the genre. It is, however, noticeably more conservative in comparative magnitude, making the charge of felt impressions decidedly softer.

Honorably assigning credit where credit is due, Potlatch’s physical design and finished blending quality are fundamentally commendable. As a result, the achievement is a well-rounded offering that bestows a median amount of differentiating complexity. Nonetheless, reflecting upon a minor side note, at times the confluence of streams model too much equality which results in the confusable separation of succinct flavor. And although the respectful nuances and accenting are a bit grander than average, Lankford’s creation facilitates an exchange of modest but entertaining animation. The occurring dominant stream moves in ebbs and flows, the election of which is perfectly affixed upon the principal Oriental-Burley-Perique interchange.

Subsequently, even allowing for the experienced relative charisma, the sheer weightiness of all the other variables enabled this tobacco to attain a higher scoring on genre trueness. What is more, the general flavor properties encounter as uplifting given the accessible standards, but again a tad frailer. In specific the middling nature of the intensity, the outwardly relaxed presence, and the slightly faltering push from the registerable base note, effectively serve to marginalize the potential bigness of the Balkan performance overall. Still, no misunderstanding here, Potlatch is genuinely a worthy specimen to the prescribed class.

In getting to the tasted specifics, I must say that if you delight in the savors of the Oriental leaf then Potlatch definitely has its merits towards these ends. Remarkably, the sweet-sour lead note is exceptionally bright and consistent with a pleasantly green tartish floral constitution. What kept coming to my mind was the essence of a commonly nourished yew, trickled with a musty camphor-like spicing. Further tinting this main thread was a subtle highlight that reveled in the feel of tasty black tea. In sum, the eminent Oriental influence clearly stands as the blend’s most endearing facet.

Upon reading the marketing blurb that describes Potlatch’s inventive internals there is one interesting comment expressing the inclusion of “luxury” Burley. What that statement exactly signifies is open to interpretation. It may be that the words speak to the most pristine grouping of leaf variety available, as defined by the NTA’s Harmonized Grading system. Whatever it alludes to, I will attest to the fact that the quality of the residing Burley embellishment within this mixture is authentically flavorsome.

The middle band standardly defines a Burley character that is multi-pronged in context. Generally, a clear and often wonderfully warm node of pecan nuttiness fills the weight of the envelope. This notation rings comfortably with flashes of faint buttery molasses. Additionally, moving in a wave like pattern, toasty dark resonant woody zest subsidizes the balance of the registration. This deeper ambience previews a distant innuendo of weaker earthen sour, and more determinately an herbal accent that is reminiscent of a sweet basil-stevia variant.

As recorded, the third element of importance charted as the Acadian Perique. This spicy condiment magnifies the sweet nature of Potlatch, as the impressions of neatly stewed prunes form its base character. Besides this fruity casting, the Perique injects a compacted pepperiness in addition to a stronger piquant must and searing meaty umami undertone. At times this stimulating Louisiana strain bonds with the less impactful Latakia further expanding the Cyprian’s sweeter nature. But for itself, the darker natured Latakia varietal emerges to be a mere secondary complement riding on the rear middle tier. It moves forward indeterminately with some general smokiness, sooty char, and burnt pungent tartness that hinges on a real tar-like essence.

In reference to the subject Virginian content, it is all but controlled by the overarching magnanimousness of the three aforementioned strains. You do just catch what I would deem as a widowed contribution of tangy diluted sweetgrass and a seasoned ambience of regulated Red fruitwood at best. These contained elements further supplement the overall softening effects of the total profile. And finally, the trailing underbelly of flavor is populated with the soft sugary zeal of the absorbed Black Cavendish which essentially serves to coalesce and harmonize the rounded completeness of Potlatch’s tasteful meld.

In a demonstration of solid base mechanicals, with the combustion, medium nicotine Potlatch yields handsome full-bodied clouds of substantive gray smoke. Presumably tolerable at best, the tobacco’s odor replays a convincing echo of its essential ingredients. Precisely, dense, and heavy smoky airs expand with a bigness of presence leaving the toasty impressions of seasoned char, burnt wood, tart floral, softer buttery pungency, and a curtailing general sweetness offset by waning zest. Finally, the ensuing burn is regulated at a comforting pace showing exceptional dryness and a nicely cool demeanor.

You know one of the best gifts that we can give to others is a simple thank you. So, thank you to Mr. Lankford for ultimately sharing his passion. And speaking for many a piper, this gifted blend, like all Seattle Pipe Club offerings, stands as a testament to the true generosity of his Potlatch spirit.

Objective Scoring: (based on flavor, standard genre attributes and mechanicals): 206/253 ? 2.63 WAVG.
Subjective Rating: (factored for likeability and cost): 3.2 Pipes.

Smells like a barn. Tastes like a barn. Notes of barn with "barn" overtones.

7/10

On a serious note: This tastes like a f***ing barn. Go buy it. Cheers.