Well, well. I'm about to do something I never imagined that I -- an unrepentant tobacco snob -- would someday be doing.
I'm about to give four stars to a full-on English-aromatic crossover blend. That's right - I'm about to favorably compare Boswell's Northwoods to perennial faves like Odyssey, Abingdon, Larry's Blend, Wilderness, etc.
This is my first Boswell's blend. I never tried Boswell's before because they are primarily known for their traditional American aromatics, a genre I don't smoke very much of. Anyway, after coming across a zillion positive reviews for Northwoods, I ordered a few ounces with the attitude that, if I didn't like it, I could certainly find something to mix it with.
Upon arrival, this ribbon-cut blend looked, felt and smelled like a heavy, goopy mess of Latakia and black cavendish, with maybe a few stray strands of Va mixed in for color. I loaded up a meer with some trepidation and got ready for .... well, not what I ultimately got, let me tell you.
Northwoods starts out pretty much as expected: a blast of pure latakia and cavendish-based sweetness. No subtlety here! I smoked a few minutes, enjoying the base flavors but disliking the muted but obvious aftertaste of what appears to be some kind of preservative or chemical casing (a slightly oily, almost plastic flavor that dances around the edge of the smoke in tandem with blasts of sweetness). The bowl started to heat up at the 15-minute mark, so I let it go out, fixed another drink and waited for it cool off. When I relit ...WAM!
At about a third of the way down, this blend morphs into a woodsy, spicy, COMPLEX mixture that immediately conjured up memories of some of my favorite Balkans. There are no orientals listed in the ingredients, so I can only surmise that this delicious spice comes from the Vas or even the Lat itself. (I wonder if the Vas are perhaps being gently stoved as the bowl burns down?) No matter -- as the bowl progressed, this delicious melange of incense-like flavors intensified, especially with relights. I even enjoyed smelling the smoke as it burned, and my wife didn't seem bothered at all by the room note. I've ever experienced anything like this in an crossover blend, and I've tried a LOT of them.
In summary, I'd describe this stuff as what might happen if Frog Morton stopped swilling chocolate syrup, went on an all-steroid diet and bought a gym membership. Put another way: This stuff is vaguely reminiscent of McClelland's lat offerings (British Woods, the FM series, and Legends) in terms of flavor but, where McClelland's mixtures are almost always on the mild side of the spectrum, Northoods is definitely on the stronger end. I am reluctant to place Northwoods in quite the same category as Pease's best Balkans or English blends (it's not THAT complex, as there are no orientals or even perique) but the bottom line is that I enjoy it as much as I do my Odyssey. I was absolutely floored by this stuff! I never would have believed these constituent tobaccos could add up to something this tasty or satisfying.
It burns very well, and has never bit my tongue (even when smoked aggressively enough to heat up the bowl). It has enough nicotine to satisfy, more than most traditional Englishes but not enough to scare anybody off. And -- oddly enough -- it tastes almost identical in my meers, briars and cobs! One caveat, however: this stuff really likes larger bowls, so don't even bother loading up a clay. Instead, reach for that giant Danish freehand sitter you haven't touched since discovering Virginia flakes and get ready for nirvana ....
I've smoked through most of my 4-ounce sample in a variety of pipes and I'm about to pull the triggr on a few pounds. The only negative I've identified -- and this is a BIG negative to many smokers -- is the aforementioned chemical aftertaste. I've encountered it before in blends like Shortcut to Mushrooms, 1-Q, etc., so I believe it to either be PG or something that's added to the black cavendish. It's annoying, and I still don't like it, but this blend's flavor and temperament simply overwhelms my traditional preference for more naturalistic English blends. I can, however, definitely envision some English or Balkan fans not being able to overlook it.
YMMV, of course.
I'm about to give four stars to a full-on English-aromatic crossover blend. That's right - I'm about to favorably compare Boswell's Northwoods to perennial faves like Odyssey, Abingdon, Larry's Blend, Wilderness, etc.
This is my first Boswell's blend. I never tried Boswell's before because they are primarily known for their traditional American aromatics, a genre I don't smoke very much of. Anyway, after coming across a zillion positive reviews for Northwoods, I ordered a few ounces with the attitude that, if I didn't like it, I could certainly find something to mix it with.
Upon arrival, this ribbon-cut blend looked, felt and smelled like a heavy, goopy mess of Latakia and black cavendish, with maybe a few stray strands of Va mixed in for color. I loaded up a meer with some trepidation and got ready for .... well, not what I ultimately got, let me tell you.
Northwoods starts out pretty much as expected: a blast of pure latakia and cavendish-based sweetness. No subtlety here! I smoked a few minutes, enjoying the base flavors but disliking the muted but obvious aftertaste of what appears to be some kind of preservative or chemical casing (a slightly oily, almost plastic flavor that dances around the edge of the smoke in tandem with blasts of sweetness). The bowl started to heat up at the 15-minute mark, so I let it go out, fixed another drink and waited for it cool off. When I relit ...WAM!
At about a third of the way down, this blend morphs into a woodsy, spicy, COMPLEX mixture that immediately conjured up memories of some of my favorite Balkans. There are no orientals listed in the ingredients, so I can only surmise that this delicious spice comes from the Vas or even the Lat itself. (I wonder if the Vas are perhaps being gently stoved as the bowl burns down?) No matter -- as the bowl progressed, this delicious melange of incense-like flavors intensified, especially with relights. I even enjoyed smelling the smoke as it burned, and my wife didn't seem bothered at all by the room note. I've ever experienced anything like this in an crossover blend, and I've tried a LOT of them.
In summary, I'd describe this stuff as what might happen if Frog Morton stopped swilling chocolate syrup, went on an all-steroid diet and bought a gym membership. Put another way: This stuff is vaguely reminiscent of McClelland's lat offerings (British Woods, the FM series, and Legends) in terms of flavor but, where McClelland's mixtures are almost always on the mild side of the spectrum, Northoods is definitely on the stronger end. I am reluctant to place Northwoods in quite the same category as Pease's best Balkans or English blends (it's not THAT complex, as there are no orientals or even perique) but the bottom line is that I enjoy it as much as I do my Odyssey. I was absolutely floored by this stuff! I never would have believed these constituent tobaccos could add up to something this tasty or satisfying.
It burns very well, and has never bit my tongue (even when smoked aggressively enough to heat up the bowl). It has enough nicotine to satisfy, more than most traditional Englishes but not enough to scare anybody off. And -- oddly enough -- it tastes almost identical in my meers, briars and cobs! One caveat, however: this stuff really likes larger bowls, so don't even bother loading up a clay. Instead, reach for that giant Danish freehand sitter you haven't touched since discovering Virginia flakes and get ready for nirvana ....
I've smoked through most of my 4-ounce sample in a variety of pipes and I'm about to pull the triggr on a few pounds. The only negative I've identified -- and this is a BIG negative to many smokers -- is the aforementioned chemical aftertaste. I've encountered it before in blends like Shortcut to Mushrooms, 1-Q, etc., so I believe it to either be PG or something that's added to the black cavendish. It's annoying, and I still don't like it, but this blend's flavor and temperament simply overwhelms my traditional preference for more naturalistic English blends. I can, however, definitely envision some English or Balkan fans not being able to overlook it.
YMMV, of course.
