Kyle Weiss
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2011
- Messages
- 11,988
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In a fit of extreme laziness (or general complacency) I haven't been doing much tobacco research, nor have I been nose-down typing logs up on logs of my tobacco experiences with pipes each day...I didn't even remember what the hell was in GLP Robusto before I loaded up my MM Freehand Cob with a TON of it and went to sit out on the porch for the evening. With an empty stomach.
I like cigar leaf stuff in cobs...not sure what it is. It could be the slight sweetness the cob itself lends to cigar-included blends, it could be that they often smoke easily without fuss (kind of like a cob). Very portable, travel-able tobacco and pipe combination.
So, the cigar leaf I did recall. Maybe deep in the recesses of my mind I remembered the Latakia, but I wasn't prepared for the delicious kick in the senses when I took on Robusto. I figured it would be a little more full than Key Largo (which is also wonderful, but totally different), but it much more resembled Billy Budd. Around when I joined BoB, I tried this stuff on the request of someone at Tinder Box, but I genuinely didn't remember or recall that pipeful on-the-spot. I probably wasn't ready for Robusto quite yet.
This batch, from 2007, was a welcome bomb from a kind friend and Brother who shall not be named (but he's been thoroughly thanked). :cheers: I hear-tell this stuff mellows out a bit with age, which makes me curious about a fresh batch, because Robusto isn't for the meek. Billy Budd is a bit more Lat-centric, with a Burley presence that more evens out the smoke than adds flavor. It's good stuff, and I like it--but Rubusto is a rounder experience, with many more flavors and complexity. Often, complexity is (to me) is associated with subtlety, and it's not too often stronger blends and mixtures also have complexity, although I do admit my interest in high-octane stuff does mean a delivery of great, bold flavor. Sometimes I'm in the mood for one or the other. Robusto is another anomaly that is flexible and easy to smoke, if you're looking for a real dazzling show or just want a bold smoke...well, there you have it.
The "wrapper leaf" is very present. Unlike Storm Front, Key Largo or Billy Budd, where the cigar leaf fills out the body, mouth feel and "meatiness" of the mixtures, Robusto you can actually get hints of cigar taste. Which is good, because of how typically dreadful it is to load up a pipe with actual cigar clippings.
A very have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too kind of blend. Powerful, slightly smokey, bold, *ahem* robust; intensely savory with black pepper, distantly tarragon-like notes; beefy, with tannin and even an quinine aftertaste--it's something else. Smooth and easy-smoking, great in simple cobs and seasoned briar alike, it's going to fit nicely with warm weather smokes, good single malts and after-barbecue pipes. I may dedicate a cob just to this mixture only because the cigar leaf is strong enough that it just might ghost a pipe.
Eventually I'll grab a small tin of fresh stuff and see how it compares and post it here, because I'm intrigued enough to see if a sharper edge might be a pleasant experience.
This is gonna be a good summer! Or the nicotine has simply gone to my head. Again.
8)
I like cigar leaf stuff in cobs...not sure what it is. It could be the slight sweetness the cob itself lends to cigar-included blends, it could be that they often smoke easily without fuss (kind of like a cob). Very portable, travel-able tobacco and pipe combination.
So, the cigar leaf I did recall. Maybe deep in the recesses of my mind I remembered the Latakia, but I wasn't prepared for the delicious kick in the senses when I took on Robusto. I figured it would be a little more full than Key Largo (which is also wonderful, but totally different), but it much more resembled Billy Budd. Around when I joined BoB, I tried this stuff on the request of someone at Tinder Box, but I genuinely didn't remember or recall that pipeful on-the-spot. I probably wasn't ready for Robusto quite yet.
This batch, from 2007, was a welcome bomb from a kind friend and Brother who shall not be named (but he's been thoroughly thanked). :cheers: I hear-tell this stuff mellows out a bit with age, which makes me curious about a fresh batch, because Robusto isn't for the meek. Billy Budd is a bit more Lat-centric, with a Burley presence that more evens out the smoke than adds flavor. It's good stuff, and I like it--but Rubusto is a rounder experience, with many more flavors and complexity. Often, complexity is (to me) is associated with subtlety, and it's not too often stronger blends and mixtures also have complexity, although I do admit my interest in high-octane stuff does mean a delivery of great, bold flavor. Sometimes I'm in the mood for one or the other. Robusto is another anomaly that is flexible and easy to smoke, if you're looking for a real dazzling show or just want a bold smoke...well, there you have it.
The "wrapper leaf" is very present. Unlike Storm Front, Key Largo or Billy Budd, where the cigar leaf fills out the body, mouth feel and "meatiness" of the mixtures, Robusto you can actually get hints of cigar taste. Which is good, because of how typically dreadful it is to load up a pipe with actual cigar clippings.
A very have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too kind of blend. Powerful, slightly smokey, bold, *ahem* robust; intensely savory with black pepper, distantly tarragon-like notes; beefy, with tannin and even an quinine aftertaste--it's something else. Smooth and easy-smoking, great in simple cobs and seasoned briar alike, it's going to fit nicely with warm weather smokes, good single malts and after-barbecue pipes. I may dedicate a cob just to this mixture only because the cigar leaf is strong enough that it just might ghost a pipe.
Eventually I'll grab a small tin of fresh stuff and see how it compares and post it here, because I'm intrigued enough to see if a sharper edge might be a pleasant experience.
This is gonna be a good summer! Or the nicotine has simply gone to my head. Again.
8)
