Blind Sample Reviews
- Thread starter Ozark Wizard
- Start date
Ok, I'm wrapping up Blind Sample #3 from @Adam Bybee
TL;DR: I didn't like this one, and I might be slightly lazy and/or uneducated about my guess.
#3 is a deep brownish red broken flake, pictured above. The variation in color is so minor as to make me believe that this is either a single, dark leaf, or a rather aged blend of a couple dark Virginia leaves.
"Tin note" was light, woodsy, and slightly savory. The flakes were dry by my standards, and rubbed out very easily for packing.
I smoked this blend three times: in a Savinelli Oscar, a cob, and finally in a Falcon. The first two smokes were, frankly, not very enjoyable. I quickly surmised that I didn't care for this blend, flavor-wise, and had a poor burn experience to boot. The first two small bowls burned quite hot despite my attempts to pace, and only on the third and final bowl did I get a more satisfying experience, with ample amounts of smoke and full flavor throughout.
Strength was light to medium, and the flavor profile was quite one-dimensional: deep Virginia, woodsy, with a little bit of spice, almost no sweetness, and some tangy, deep red wine-like flavor. At its worst, this tasted like hot wood chips to me, and at its best, a vaguely enjoyable, toasty cracker-like flavor with a bit of spice and seasoning on top.
So, I'm fairly certain this is a pure red VA, or a very predominantly red VA blend. I do not get any perique or other tobacco poking its way through whatsoever. I'd put money on this being a McClelland red Virginia, though I'm not overly experienced with their products, nor do I care for them overly much. Unless I'm mistaken about what I'm smoking, this type of tobacco was actually one of the biggest disappointments for me when getting into piping - not realizing just how drastically different McC's red VAs tasted when compared to the other Virginia blends I was growing to enjoy.
I think my guess here is McClelland Christmas Cheer, moderately aged. If I messed up on this one, I'm not sure what to do with myself!
TL;DR: I didn't like this one, and I might be slightly lazy and/or uneducated about my guess.
#3 is a deep brownish red broken flake, pictured above. The variation in color is so minor as to make me believe that this is either a single, dark leaf, or a rather aged blend of a couple dark Virginia leaves.
"Tin note" was light, woodsy, and slightly savory. The flakes were dry by my standards, and rubbed out very easily for packing.
I smoked this blend three times: in a Savinelli Oscar, a cob, and finally in a Falcon. The first two smokes were, frankly, not very enjoyable. I quickly surmised that I didn't care for this blend, flavor-wise, and had a poor burn experience to boot. The first two small bowls burned quite hot despite my attempts to pace, and only on the third and final bowl did I get a more satisfying experience, with ample amounts of smoke and full flavor throughout.
Strength was light to medium, and the flavor profile was quite one-dimensional: deep Virginia, woodsy, with a little bit of spice, almost no sweetness, and some tangy, deep red wine-like flavor. At its worst, this tasted like hot wood chips to me, and at its best, a vaguely enjoyable, toasty cracker-like flavor with a bit of spice and seasoning on top.
So, I'm fairly certain this is a pure red VA, or a very predominantly red VA blend. I do not get any perique or other tobacco poking its way through whatsoever. I'd put money on this being a McClelland red Virginia, though I'm not overly experienced with their products, nor do I care for them overly much. Unless I'm mistaken about what I'm smoking, this type of tobacco was actually one of the biggest disappointments for me when getting into piping - not realizing just how drastically different McC's red VAs tasted when compared to the other Virginia blends I was growing to enjoy.
I think my guess here is McClelland Christmas Cheer, moderately aged. If I messed up on this one, I'm not sure what to do with myself!
This package I received from @DrumsAndBeer smells funny..... I'm a bit concerned...
This package I received from @DrumsAndBeer smells funny..... I'm a bit concerned...
