Jim's Drucquer & Sons Reviews.

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JimInks

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Drucquer & Sons Blairgowrie:
The matured red Virginia provides a fermented tangy dark fruit, a touch of “barbecue”, and a lot of earth. It forms the base of the blend. The floral, spicy, dry, buttery sweet, earthy, woody Orientals are a very noticeable supporting player. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is just a little more than a condimental addition. The spicy, raisin and plum perique tends to underscore the experience. The processing (pressed and aged in cakes, then sliced into broken flake) adds a little fermentation as well as cohesively melding the intrinsic characteristics into a well balanced, complex and very deeply rich, smooth, cool, clean consistent flavor from start to finish. It burns a little slow, and needs no dry time. Requires a few relights, and leaves just a light dampness in the bowl. The nic-hit falls a step shy of the medium threshold. The strength and taste levels start out as medium, and both intensify to the point of full by the halfway point. Won’t bite, and has no harsh moments. Requires some relights, and can burn to ash. The after taste is very pleasant, and it, as well as the mildly stronger room note do linger. Though not an all day smoke, this full bodied mixture is repeatable for a veteran smoker.

Drucquer & Sons Inns of Court:
The very nutty, deep molasses sweet, toasty brown burleys have a hint of cocoa, and takes a little lead over the other components. The red and more obvious bright Virginias offer a bit of citrus, a little tangy dark fruit and earth, and a light grass note in a support role. The white burley sports a very mild dry, woody sharp hit in the background. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is slightly more than a condiment, while the spice, raisin and plum aspects of the perique are condimental. A pinch of black cavendish provides a little brown sugar. The nic-hit is a step beyond the mild level. The strength and taste are just past the center of the mild to medium threshold. No chance of bite, and has no weak or harsh spots. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a fairly smoothly sweet consistent flavor all the way to the finish. Provides lots of smoke, requires few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. Has a sweetly pleasant after taste and room note. A fairly easy going all day sweet American English smoke. Three and a half stars out of four.

Drucquer & Sons Levant Mixture:
The very richly smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is the star component. The buttery sweet, dry woody, mildly sour and spicy Turkish is an omnipresent supporting player. The ripe, tangy dark fruit sweet, earthy red Virginia is a secondary force and also provides a touch of spice and mild fermented “barbecue”. The gentle addition of the bright Virginia offers light sugar along with some citrus and grass for a little nuance. The nic-hit is just past the mild to medium threshold. The strength and taste levels are a step shy of being full, but they reach that level by the time you’re at the half way point. Won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots. Well blended with some obvious and not-so-obvious complexity, you’ll likely notice all the previously noted aspects in every puff. Burns at a slightly less than moderate pace, cool and clean with a smooth, very consistently deep campfire flavor from start to finish. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. The after taste and pungent room notes will linger. It’s not an all day smoke. While it is a fulsome smoking experience for latakia aficionados, it won’t bring you to your knees, and if it fits your personal preference, is repeatable.  

Drucquer & Sons Prince’s Blend:
The mildly grassy, very sugary, deep citrus sweet bright flue cured and air cured Virginias take a lead over the tangy dark fruit, earthy, lightly spicy red Virginias. Both the flue cured and the air cured brights sport a little grassiness. The very nutty, molasses sweet burley also has some earth, and a touch of cocoa in the background. The spice, raisins and plum from the perique continually underscores the experience. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is a gentle addition, mostly providing a flavor push to the blend. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. The strength and taste levels are a step closer to mild than they are to medium. No chance of bite, and has no dull or harsh moments. It burns at a reasonable pace, cool and clean with a very smoothly sweet, and lightly spicy consistent, subtly nuanced taste. Requires few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. Has a very pleasant after taste and room note. An easy going all day smoke with a little character.

Drucquer & Sons Red Lion:
The base of the blend is the sugary, citrusy, lightly grassy bright Virginia, and the earthy, tangy dark fruit sweet red Virginias, which have a hint of vinegar and spice. The red is slightly more obvious than the bright. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia plays an important second lead to the Virginias. The spicy, raisin and plum perique is a background player. The toasted black cavendish provides a little caramel and brown sugar in a minor role. The nic-hit is mild to medium. The strength and taste levels barely reach medium. Won’t bite or get harsh. Well balanced with some complexity, it burns at an even, moderate pace, cool and clean with a smoothly consistent flavor all the way through. Requires few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. The pleasant after taste and room note are short lived. An all day smoke with enough body to continually hold your interest without wearing out your taste buds.

Drucquer & Sons The Devil’s Own:
Forming the base of the blend is the golden Virginias, which offer citrus and lemon, light sugar, some grass and spice, and a few pinches of toast and honey. The toasty, earthy, nutty, woody, lightly molasses sweet burleys also have a mild sharp note and rough edge in support. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is not quite the equal of the burleys in proportion, but is significant enough to be just a little more than a condiment. The brown sugar, toast and slight caramel from the unflavored black cavendish adds a little smoothness in a minor role. The nic-hit is mild to medium. The strength and taste levels are medium. It won’t bite or get harsh, though the aforementioned rough edge will be a little more noticeable to a fast puffer. I recommend a moderate smoking cadence, especially as this blend does gather just a little more strength in the last third of the experience. A fairly complex blend with a slight inconsistency in its rich, deep, clean, sweet and savory flavor, it burns at a reasonable pace with few relights from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasant woody sweet after taste, and a pleasant to tolerable room note. Not quite an all day smoke.

Drucquer & Sons Trafalgar:
The earthy, tangy dark fruit red Virginia also has a touch of vinegar, sugar and spice. The citrusy, lightly sugary, toasty and grassy bright Virginia is a shade less obvious. The buttery sweet, dry, sour and floral, woody Turkish adds a little spice in an important supporting position. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia plays a complementary role. A whisper of perique provides raisins and spice, though it’s often not very noticeable. The nic-hit is a shade closer to medium than it is to mild. Medium in strength, the taste level is a shade above that. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. Well balanced, you’ll observe nearly all the inherent aspects of the tobaccos in every puff. Burns at a moderate rate with a cool and clean, deeply rich, fairly smooth consistent flavor. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl.  Not quite an all day smoke, but certainly worth repeating during your smoking day. Has a full after taste, and a smoky campfire room note that may chase your mother-in-law away. You may be grateful for that.
 
Thanks for the reviews Jim. Well done! :)

AJ
 
I too appreciate your taking time to review them. I've always had trouble with the "barbecue" and "grass" notes so I may take a pass, but I found your thoughts enlightening - Thanks Jim.
 
Great reviews as always Jim. Pity that I'm off Lat for the time being. Many years ago I doted on it!

Ah well, the pendulum may well swing back around as if oft time does.



Cheers,

RR
 
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