Jim's Synjeco Tobacco Reviews.

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JimInks

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
37,039
Reaction score
48,370
Nismo270r recently sent me samples of six Synjeco flakes and ropes to try and review. There are a few others, and perhaps I'll get to try the rest of them at a later date. It's obvious to me that these products were made by Gawith & Hoggarth because of the Lakeland scent. I found the tobaccos used to be of very high quality.


Bad Nun:
The Virginias are citrusy with plenty of dark stewed fruitiness, a little grass and a bit of deep earthiness. The Lakeland topping is strong, and sublimates the tobacco flavor to a large extent, and while it diminishes some after the half way point, it always remains to compete with the Virginias for attention. Burns cool, slow and requires some relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no dottle and no bite. Has a strong nic-hit. One of the strongest Lakelands I have smoked. If you like heavily scented Lakelands, you’ll enjoy this very smooth tasting flake. If you don’t, you’ll never get into it no matter how hard you try.

Bad Nun 2:
The Virginias are citrusy with plenty of dark stewed fruitiness, a little grass and a bit of deep earthiness. The perique is elusive at times, and seems more raisin and plum sweet than spicy. The spice hit is not strong, not always noticeable. The Lakeland topping is strong, and sublimates the tobacco flavor to a large extent, and while it diminishes some after the half way point, it always remains to compete with the tobaccos for attention. Burns cool, slow and requires some relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no dottle and no bite. Has a strong nic-hit. One of the strongest Lakelands I have smoked. If you like heavily scented Lakelands, you’ll enjoy this very smooth tasting flake. If you don’t, you’ll never get into it no matter how hard you try.

Clegir Rope:
The high quality Virginias are earthy with a little grassiness, and a fair amount of naturally sweet citrus with some dark fruitiness and a bare touch of spice. There is a very mild floral Lakeland essence, but it doesn’t sublimate the natural tobacco taste to any extreme. Needs minimal prep time as the rope is very easy to slice, but depending upon your preference, you may want to give it just a little dry time once you have done your cutting. I’d not advise much drying because the tobacco spun in the rope (which is smaller than your average kind) is thin and a little fragile, and will turn crisp if you aren’t careful. Burns clean and smooth at a slow pace, and should be sipped for best effect, though I encountered no hint of bite. The nic-hit and strength is medium, though the taste is a shade more than medium. Has a very pleasant after taste and slightly floral room note. Leaves no moisture in the bowl.

Greenodd Rope:
This is Clegir rope with seven percent perique, and is smaller in width than your average rope. The high quality Virginias are earthy with a little grassiness, and a fair amount of naturally sweet citrus with some dark fruitiness, and a bare touch of spice. The perique is a little noticeable, being as much raisin and figs as it is peppery. There is a very mild floral Lakeland essence, but it doesn’t sublimate the natural tobacco taste to any extreme. Needs minimal prep time as the rope is very easy to slice, but depending upon your preference, you may want to give it just a little dry time once you have done your cutting. I’d not advise much drying because the tobacco spun in the rope is thin and a little fragile, and will turn crisp if you aren’t careful. Burns clean and smooth at a slow pace, and should be sipped for best effect, though I encountered no hint of bite. The nic-hit and strength is medium, though the taste is a shade more than medium. Has a very pleasant after taste and slightly floral room note. Leaves no moisture in the bowl.

Holker Twist:
This is Oxenfisl with seven percent perique. The Virginias are dark stoved, dark and light brown, with a little bright, and are much more earthy/muddy than grassy. The sweet flavors are predominately fermented dark stewed fruits with a mild citrus and some tanginess. The perique is as much spice as it is raisins, figs, and dates, though you won’t notice the spice in every puff because of the Virginia sweetness. There is an extremely mild touch of the Lakeland essence, though it doesn’t seem to mute the tobacco flavor much, and weakens a little as you go along. The perique helps to lessen the Lakeland effect, too, compared to Oxenfisl, so it is less obvious here. The twist may need some dry time no matter how you slice it. And depending on how you pack the bowl, the flavors, especially the citrus, will vary in how often you notice them. I prefer to thin cut the twist and stack them as coins, leaving a few loose stand on the top and bottom of the bowl for easier lighting, and less clog at the bottom. The tobacco strands are very thin, so I don’t recommend drying them too much. Burns slow, clean, and fairly smooth. Has a mild to moderate nic-hit. No bite. Medium strength and medium to full in taste. Leaves no moisture in the bowl and will burn to the proverbial fine white ash.

Oxenfisl Twist:
The Virginias are dark stoved, dark and light brown, with a little bright, and are much more earthy/muddy than grassy. The sweet flavors are predominately fermented dark stewed fruits with a mild citrus and some tanginess. There is an extremely mild touch of the Lakeland essence, though it doesn’t seem to mute the tobacco flavor that much, and weakens as you go along. The twist may need some dry time no matter how you slice it. And depending on how you pack the bowl, the flavors, especially the citrus, will vary in how often you notice them. I prefer to thin cut the twist and stack them as coins, leaving a few loose stand on the top and bottom of the bowl for easier lighting, and less clog at the bottom. The tobacco strands are very thin, so I don’t recommend drying them too much. Burns slow, clean, and fairly smooth. No bite. Has a mild to moderate nic-hit. Medium strength and medium to full in taste. Leaves no moisture in the bowl and will burn to the last molecule of tobacco.
 
This totally answers my curiosity about these Synjeco 'baccys Jim. Thanks for the skinny.

Looks like I'll be giving them all a wide berth, as the "L" character and I do not get on well at all. Not even a little bit.

Pity that, as I was rather looking forward to Nismo's next group buy. Oh well, more for you guys. And as always smoke what you like.

:monkey: 



Cheers,

RR
 
Thanks for the great reviews Jim! My impressions of the nuns and greenodd rope are similar. I did not detect flavoring in the greenodd, but my pallett is not at all refined when it comes to Lakelands. The perique is there, but it is not dominant. The quality and complexity of the Virginias would cause me to purchase greenodd again. The nuns, on the other hand, are not for me.
Would you say the essence on the holker and oxenfisl are comparable to what you detect in greenodd?
Thanks,
Mike.
 
MichaelM":bgkilqjc said:
Thanks for the great reviews Jim!  My impressions of the nuns and greenodd rope are similar.  I did not detect flavoring in the greenodd, but my pallett is not at all refined when it comes to Lakelands.  The perique is there, but it is not dominant.  The quality and complexity of the Virginias would cause me to purchase greenodd again.  The nuns, on the other hand, are not for me.
Would you say the essence on the holker and oxenfisl are comparable to what you detect in greenodd?
Thanks,
Mike.
Yes, I pretty much would. I'm not entirely positive those ropes are topped with Lakeland as much as they're in the same factory and some of the smells gets into the tobacco. That is very hard to answer, but since I caught a taste of it in them, I had to mention it in my reviews. I'm disappointed that the perique in those blends didn't have more effect than it does. But I thought they all are quality tobaccos.
 
Thanks for the reviews Jim! I'd agree with your statement on the ropes possibly picking up some of the Lakeland essence just from being produced in the same factory rather than being deliberately topped. Definitely, nothing like the SG Special Flakes where the scenting smacks you square across the face! My intro to Lakelands was Grousemoor Plug and I couldn't stand it. A couple of years later when DrT picked up the SG Special Flakes from the group buy and sent them on tour in a box pass, I was intrigued again. I'm glad I gave it another chance, because I found I liked it quite a bit now.

As to be expected, the line up of ropes and twists seem to all be variations on a theme. Thanks again Jim!
 
nismo270r":lbjvv8vs said:
Thanks for the reviews Jim! I'd agree with your statement on the ropes possibly picking up some of the Lakeland essence just from being produced in the same factory rather than being deliberately topped. Definitely, nothing like the SG Special Flakes where the scenting smacks you square across the face! My intro to Lakelands was Grousemoor Plug and I couldn't stand it. A couple of years later when DrT picked up the SG Special Flakes from the group buy and sent them on tour in a box pass, I was intrigued again. I'm glad I gave it another chance, because I found I liked it quite a bit now.

As to be expected, the line up of ropes and twists seem to all be variations on a theme. Thanks again Jim!
I thank you for the tobaccos. All of them are high quality. As you say, they are variations on a theme, but I like the tune they play. Funny thing though. I'm not that far from finishing off the ropes and twists, and as I have kept them in the baggies you sent, I've noticed that very minor Lakeland essence is more a whiff in the early part than it is a hint. Obviously, it was not added to the tobaccos, and I now feel stronger about that assessment than I did when I wrote the reviews.
 
After talking with master blender Glynn Quelch about Lakelands and G&H flue cured bright Virginias being very naturally floral, I have rewritten my two Bad Nun reviews to reflect my current thinking.

Bad Nun 1: 
The Virginias are citrusy with plenty of dark stewed fruitiness, a little grass and a bit of deep earthiness. There's a floral essence that reminds me of Lakeland, but it may be coming either naturally through the Virginias or from the fact the tobaccos absorb a little Lakeland by being in the same factory where the scented blends are. Either way or both, it diminishes some after the half way point, it always remains to compete with the Virginias for attention. Burns cool, slow and requires some relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no dottle and no bite. Has a strong nic-hit.

I edited this review to reflect my latest thoughts on the topping, but I'm still put off a little by the floralness, even though I have been know to rate blends with that characteristic higher, and often enjoy Lakelands. I also have learned that essence of Lakeland that is absorbed by unscented blends varies from batch to batch, which makes reviewing unscented G&H tobaccos a little harder. Hence the neutral two star rating.

Bad Nun 2:
The Virginias are citrusy with plenty of dark stewed fruitiness, a little grass and a bit of deep earthiness. The perique is elusive at times, and seems more raisin and plum sweet than spicy. The spice hit is not strong, not always noticeable. There's a floral essence that reminds me of Lakeland, but it may be coming either naturally through the Virginias or from the fact the tobaccos absorb a little Lakeland by being in the same factory where the scented blends are. Either way or both, it diminishes some after the half way point, it always remains to compete with the Virginias for attention. Burns cool, slow and requires some relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but no dottle and no bite. Has a strong nic-hit.


I edited this review to reflect my latest thoughts on the topping, but I'm still put off a little by the floralness, even though I have been know to rate blends with that characteristic higher, and often enjoy Lakelands. I also have learned that essence of Lakeland that is absorbed by unscented blends varies from batch to batch, which makes reviewing unscented G&H tobaccos a little harder. Hence the neutral two star rating.
 
Top