d4klutz
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2014
- Messages
- 821
- Reaction score
- 1
So, I was given almost a pound of this in a trade with a BoB member about a month ago. I jarred it and forgot about it as I had tried some straight Va's and found them to bite really hard. I am still learning to sip, not puff. It felt a little dry to the touch, but I left it as is.
First impressions on opening the jar. A tad dry, fairly even brown color, and a mildly sweet smell. No "ketchup" smell at all. Not as strong as some Virginias that I have cracked the tin on. I decided to try this blend in my pre-republic Peterson system pipe as I don't get any gurgle from it, and it would let me work on my sipping a bit more. To be honest, I expected the 5100 blend to smoke like my other straight Va blends. Charring light - It charred nicely, but took a couple of matches to get a nice char set. I let it sit for a minute, grabbed my gin tonic and a mug of fresh coffee. I then re-lit it. It took 3 matches to get a solid ember going. I'm not sure why this is, as the tobacco feels much drier than other Va flakes I have tried.
My first impressions of this tobacco were not very nice, to say the least. Very little flavor and very monochromatic. It didn't bite or burn my tongue at all. It had a hint of sweetness to it, but that was it. As I got about 5 or 10 sips in, the flavor started to sing, but very softly at first. It started to taste and smell a little like some perique was in it. So, much so, that I actually looked it up to see if there was anything but Va in it. Verified.... it is a straight Va blend. Interesting. The slight perique flavor and aroma left very quickly, while followed with a fuller Va flavor. This is when the tobacco really started to sing. The mellow sweetness and tobacco flavor really started to come out. I had several relights, but each time, a nice thick cloud of smoke and then it settled right down and produced an amazing smoke. I also found that it lasted a very very long time. I smoked a bowl for 1.5 hrs and still hadnt finished it. Due to a very long day, (I had been up since 3am and it was then 9:15pm) I reluctantly dumped the rest of the tobacco and ash out and called it a night. I think the thing that amazed me so much about this blend, is the lack of traditional Va *bite*. There was absolutely NONE. Even when I huffed and puffed on it to get it lit and during relights. There was no bite, and very low moisture content. Lady N is low in this blend as well. I could only feel her a bit, but then again, I didn't smoke it to the bottom of the bowl. I find that a lot of blends put off more nicotine at the end of the bowl though, so that may have had something to do with it.
In conclusion, This is an excellent blend. Hands down, it is one of the best Va blends I have tried. It is a great blend for those trying to get into smoking straight Virginias. It has a mild and fairly bland room note. However, you really get to experience the flavors that straight Va's can share without having to "fight the bite". It is a very forgiving blend as it smoked well even without trying to get a perfect pack in the pipe. It will be going into my regular rotation as well as being cellared. I can only imagine what it will do with a bit of age on it.
First impressions on opening the jar. A tad dry, fairly even brown color, and a mildly sweet smell. No "ketchup" smell at all. Not as strong as some Virginias that I have cracked the tin on. I decided to try this blend in my pre-republic Peterson system pipe as I don't get any gurgle from it, and it would let me work on my sipping a bit more. To be honest, I expected the 5100 blend to smoke like my other straight Va blends. Charring light - It charred nicely, but took a couple of matches to get a nice char set. I let it sit for a minute, grabbed my gin tonic and a mug of fresh coffee. I then re-lit it. It took 3 matches to get a solid ember going. I'm not sure why this is, as the tobacco feels much drier than other Va flakes I have tried.
My first impressions of this tobacco were not very nice, to say the least. Very little flavor and very monochromatic. It didn't bite or burn my tongue at all. It had a hint of sweetness to it, but that was it. As I got about 5 or 10 sips in, the flavor started to sing, but very softly at first. It started to taste and smell a little like some perique was in it. So, much so, that I actually looked it up to see if there was anything but Va in it. Verified.... it is a straight Va blend. Interesting. The slight perique flavor and aroma left very quickly, while followed with a fuller Va flavor. This is when the tobacco really started to sing. The mellow sweetness and tobacco flavor really started to come out. I had several relights, but each time, a nice thick cloud of smoke and then it settled right down and produced an amazing smoke. I also found that it lasted a very very long time. I smoked a bowl for 1.5 hrs and still hadnt finished it. Due to a very long day, (I had been up since 3am and it was then 9:15pm) I reluctantly dumped the rest of the tobacco and ash out and called it a night. I think the thing that amazed me so much about this blend, is the lack of traditional Va *bite*. There was absolutely NONE. Even when I huffed and puffed on it to get it lit and during relights. There was no bite, and very low moisture content. Lady N is low in this blend as well. I could only feel her a bit, but then again, I didn't smoke it to the bottom of the bowl. I find that a lot of blends put off more nicotine at the end of the bowl though, so that may have had something to do with it.
In conclusion, This is an excellent blend. Hands down, it is one of the best Va blends I have tried. It is a great blend for those trying to get into smoking straight Virginias. It has a mild and fairly bland room note. However, you really get to experience the flavors that straight Va's can share without having to "fight the bite". It is a very forgiving blend as it smoked well even without trying to get a perfect pack in the pipe. It will be going into my regular rotation as well as being cellared. I can only imagine what it will do with a bit of age on it.
