As it would happen, I've been smoking a lot of 965 the past couple of weeks and had a "breakthrough" moment with it a couple of days ago. It's been quite a challenge as a new piper to make 965 "sing." Quick version is this: it's very complex and subtle, but needs a lot of drying time out of the tin to be so. It also changes a lot from pipe to pipe. By all reports, aging does a lot to make it similar to its predecessors, but I can't speak to that.
Full narrative version, if you feel like reading on:
As a point of reference, the only other Latakia blend I've tried is Frog Morton, which I loved instantly. The tin aroma is a sharp, sour barbecue sauce and the main notes in the smoke are deep, rich leather / soil with moments of honeyed sweetness. (Islay whisky (Laphroig, Ardbeg, Lagavullen, et al) is my favorite drink and Latakia reminds me a lot of the iodine / peat moss nose of that particular Scotch. I think I've taken immediately to Latakia from the time being an acolyte of the peat monster.) Frog doesn't take much to smoke well--tin to pipe and light it. Easy peasy.
965 is a very different tobacco than Frog. MM 965 has a fine tin aroma (do note the very small sample size used for comparison). Ribbons of black, tan, and khaki green tobaccos, with the majority of tan, less black, and the least khaki. More subtle and complex aroma than the Frog, 965 has the recognizable BBQ notes, but more molasses than vinegar. There are also notes of potting soil and smoke in the tin. Looks good, smells great. So, I was really, really excited for the first smoke. Straight out of the tin, the first bowl tasted like cleaning out the fireplace. So smokey I yearned for a Churchwarden to keep the bowl away from my face. A bit of whisky, leather, and soil, but overall, hot air and not much flavor. Disappointment.
Now, as a new piper, I put any difficulties with a tobacco down to my inexperience. Since I liked Frog Morton and it smoked well in a variety of pipes (it's very happy in a MM Country Gent, incidentally), I put it aside and set my focus on befriending 965. I like a challenge.
Tried it in cobs, bents, billiards with similar disappointing results. Rather than the full-bodied legend it was reputed to be, 965 seemed flavorless. I could feel the nicotine, which made for a neat buzz, but that was about it. Read more reviews and, following the recommendations, put some in a jar for a few weeks. That was a bit better -- ghost notes of honey and peat glide in. I decided to let it age and put the jar away for the time being.
But a couple of days ago, I had a breakthrough with it. Dried some from the tin on a paper towel for almost an hour. Filling the bowl, I found I'd dried too much for a loose fill, so I over-packed the pipe. I still could get a fine draw on it. Went to the porch, did a charring light with a match--mmmm, what's this? Leather and soil, a bit of hazelnut, and that lovely campho-phenique medicinal note. Tamped it down and it kept smoking--no ash flavors. Fired it up with another match and went for a walk outside. No relights, a good 30 minutes of fantastic tasting tobacco before it finally went out. Moments of sweet honey, lots of iodine, and some bright, mustard seed notes in there. (This is in a Peterson 999, btw.)
Tamping showed that the ash had been suspended above the rest of the tobacco--the whole thing caved in when lightly tamped. Rest of the smoke was equally enjoyable, deepening some of the iodine notes. Ash taste was very subtle, almost non-existent.
In the name of science, I repeated the process the following afternoon (I usually rest and rotate my pipes, but this is science!) and I had the same positive results. So, for me, drying it and packing firmly have worked wonders.
