Jim's Plum Pudding Special Reserve Review.

[JimInks]

The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is the major component, but this is no lat-bomb. The Virginias offer earth and a little grass, fermented tangy ripe dark fruit and citrus with a light barbecue essence. The sun-cured tobaccos not present in the regular Plum Pudding add a bit more sweet citrus, along with a drop of honey and a hint of toast. They provide an extra dimension to the complexity in this particular production. The dry, buttery sweet and sour, wood and smoke from the Orientals also sport a pinch of salt in the background, a little less so than they do in the other version due to its reduced presence. There is a continual undercurrent of spice, raisins and figs from the perique, though the spice is lightly more obvious. The unsweetened black cavendish provides a brown sugary smoothness in a support role. The nic-hit is a shade closer to medium than it is to mild. The strength and taste levels are medium. It won’t bite, and any chance of harshness is tamed by the black cavendish as well as how the easily broken apart kake is pressed. The tobacco is a little moist, but I did not feel the need to dry it. I recommend not totally rubbing it out. I broke off small pieces and dropped them into the bowl. Burns a bit slow, cool and clean with a very consistent, complex, deeply rich and creamy smooth, smoky, woody sweet taste from start to finish. Requires some relights, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. Has a very pleasant, lingering after taste with a stronger room note. It’s not quite an all day smoke, but certainly a repeatable one.

Aside from the aforementioned differences from the other Plum Pudding, PPSR is a little sweeter, deeper, smoother and richer in flavor, with nearly the same strength and taste levels. Its sweetness has a mildly more fermented attitude, and the “barbecue” note a tad more pronounced. Well balanced, you’ll notice virtually all of the inherent aspects of the tobaccos in every puff.

 

[AJ]

Thanks for the comprehensive review Jim. This one sounds like one to try. Maybe one day when or if I buy anymore tobacco I'll add it to my order.

AJ

 

[JimInks]

Thanks for the comprehensive review Jim. This one sounds like one to try. Maybe one day when or if I buy anymore tobacco I'll add it to my order.

AJ

I'm not sure this is going to have a long shelf life because of the addition of the rare Virginias, so I wouldn't wait too long if you want it, AJ.

 

[artvandelay]

P&C has a habit of hyping products that frankly don't deserve the hype. I doubt if it's any better, or even as good as the original version. I think I'll stick with 8 oz. tins of the original.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Hmm, it does sound nice.

I should try to whip up a batch!

 

[JimInks]

P&C has a habit of hyping products that frankly don't deserve the hype. I doubt if it's any better, or even as good as the original version. I think I'll stick with 8 oz. tins of the original.

Just so you understand: I don't work for P&C or Seattle Pipe Club, or any other tobacco company. I write objective reviews that relate my experiences to those who may or may not find them helpful, and post all of them at Tobacco Reviews.com. The ones I post on the forums are done when I try a new blend or something already on the market that may be of particular interest to a wider audience. Or deserves more attention than they get, e.g. HU blends, Strang, etc. I'm not hyping or selling any blends in my reviews, which, at last count is over 1,560. I do this on my own as pay back to the pipe smoking community, and it's not my concern whether people buy anything I review or not. That's an individual decision, and not my objective. Whether you or anybody else agrees or disagrees with my reviews is a subjective opinion. Anyway, your problem in believing what P&C (or the other companies who are selling this blend) says about anything has nothing to do with what I doing, and is out of context regarding this thread.

 

[Timbo]

Great review Jim but currently I'm preferring standard PP. I must need to try the reserve in more pipes as my usual pipes where plain old plum pudding shines, I'm finding the taste muted and not as well rounded as the standard.

However, this is going off only 4 bowls in 3 different pipes. Will try some more pipes and report back. The other thing is the ordinary PP I'm tasting this against has two years of age on it.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Timbo]

Found my problem, it was me being too impatient to wait for the reserve to dry enough. After letting a pipes worth dry for half an hour, I now get the full range of flavours I was expecting earlier.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Brewdude]

Found my problem, it was me being too impatient to wait for the reserve to dry enough. After letting a pipes worth dry for half an hour, I now get the full range of flavours I was expecting earlier.

Cheers

Tim

Well there you go then!


Cheers,

RR

 

[Old Nate]

Hey guys, I've been away for a while. I've been wanting to try the Reserve PP. I need to get on SP.com and check to see if they still have this available... last I checked it was about $25 for 4 oz, which is about the same price as their standard Plum Pudding, so not a bad gamble. And PP is prob my favorite English... And Jim, nice review!