Centurian 803
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2008
- Messages
- 1,406
- Reaction score
- 1
After having read a number of reviews here and others on the WWW, I find myself sadly deficient in knowledge, training and taste. Nonetheless as a famous justice once said about pornography, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it." I can't glibly describe the various components of the blend and rhapsodise over how one complements another. I can only tell you whether or not I like it. So here goes.
My Secret Santa sent me a sample of his personal blend. He wrote the recipe on the bag but I won't share that with you without his permission. It just wouldn't be right. Besides, my wife threw a cleaning fit in the man cave and tossed the bag so I don't have it anyway. (They'll never find the body!) Secret Santa, if you read this review I'd sure love to have that recipe again.
I smoked this blend in a Bari Mandarin 9234 (made in Denmark) estate. It had been thoroughly cleaned and the bowl was treated with S & A. so there was no lingering taste from whatever had been smoked in it before I acquired it.
At the first match I experienced a sweet taste on the tip of my tongue which I could not identify. I tamped the tobacco and applied the second match. The sweetness was still there but somewhat diminished. From that point to the bottom of the bowl was a taste adventure. The smoke remained cool and smoked dry. At first I thought it was going to be a little thin tasting but after a few minutes it seemed to fill my mouth and was quite satisfying. At various times I tasted a hint of vanilla or chocolate that was so elusive that I wasn't sure if that's what it was or not. The tobacco burned all the way with a fine ash and no dottle at all. I only needed one more match and that was because I had to lay the pipe down and go attend to a problem (I was at work) for about fifteen minutes.
This was a quite satisfying smoke. Rarely have I finished a bowl and immediately wanted to reload and go again but I did with this one. Because it is a mild blend I expect it would be really good for the first pipe of the day and as a dessert pipe after a meal. The nicotine kick was slight and there was a pleasant after taste. As far as I could tell, the room note is quite pleasant and shouldn't draw complaints from anyone. In short, I enjoyed it immensly and would be happy to have more. (I really need that recipe or who I can buy this from.)
The second blend I tried was labeled Bright Burley. I am a huge fan of The Gatlinburlier's Gatlin Burley blend so I was eager to try this and see how it compares. In the bag, this blend doesn't have as strong an aroma as the Gatlin Burley. It has that sort of woodsy smell so characteristic of the burley blends I've tried. I loaded it into a Stanwell Horn and fired up. From the first puff I was sold. This is one fine burley blend. It has a buttery nutty flavor that "twangs my buds" as Briscoll Darling used to say. For some reason, when I smoke a burley it always conjurs memories of long walks in the autumn woods after the leaves have fallen and this was no exception. This blend is appropriately named. It's taste is much brighter than the Gatlin Burley but still full and has a pretty good nicotine kick. As I progressed toward the bottom of the bowl the taste became richer and even more satisfying. The after taste reminded me of a good premium blend coffee - perked not the drip stuff. Really good stuff. I could smoke this every day.
Ok, the Centurian scale of tobacco taste runs as follows:
DTGS - Damn that's good stuff
OKILT - Ok I like that
Hmmmmm - Not too sure. Not bad but not all that great
IDTS - With a nod to Dr Berney I don't think so
SMTAGWL - Scrape my tongue and gargle with listerine
I give both these blends the DTGS and once more thank my Secret Santa.
My Secret Santa sent me a sample of his personal blend. He wrote the recipe on the bag but I won't share that with you without his permission. It just wouldn't be right. Besides, my wife threw a cleaning fit in the man cave and tossed the bag so I don't have it anyway. (They'll never find the body!) Secret Santa, if you read this review I'd sure love to have that recipe again.
I smoked this blend in a Bari Mandarin 9234 (made in Denmark) estate. It had been thoroughly cleaned and the bowl was treated with S & A. so there was no lingering taste from whatever had been smoked in it before I acquired it.
At the first match I experienced a sweet taste on the tip of my tongue which I could not identify. I tamped the tobacco and applied the second match. The sweetness was still there but somewhat diminished. From that point to the bottom of the bowl was a taste adventure. The smoke remained cool and smoked dry. At first I thought it was going to be a little thin tasting but after a few minutes it seemed to fill my mouth and was quite satisfying. At various times I tasted a hint of vanilla or chocolate that was so elusive that I wasn't sure if that's what it was or not. The tobacco burned all the way with a fine ash and no dottle at all. I only needed one more match and that was because I had to lay the pipe down and go attend to a problem (I was at work) for about fifteen minutes.
This was a quite satisfying smoke. Rarely have I finished a bowl and immediately wanted to reload and go again but I did with this one. Because it is a mild blend I expect it would be really good for the first pipe of the day and as a dessert pipe after a meal. The nicotine kick was slight and there was a pleasant after taste. As far as I could tell, the room note is quite pleasant and shouldn't draw complaints from anyone. In short, I enjoyed it immensly and would be happy to have more. (I really need that recipe or who I can buy this from.)
The second blend I tried was labeled Bright Burley. I am a huge fan of The Gatlinburlier's Gatlin Burley blend so I was eager to try this and see how it compares. In the bag, this blend doesn't have as strong an aroma as the Gatlin Burley. It has that sort of woodsy smell so characteristic of the burley blends I've tried. I loaded it into a Stanwell Horn and fired up. From the first puff I was sold. This is one fine burley blend. It has a buttery nutty flavor that "twangs my buds" as Briscoll Darling used to say. For some reason, when I smoke a burley it always conjurs memories of long walks in the autumn woods after the leaves have fallen and this was no exception. This blend is appropriately named. It's taste is much brighter than the Gatlin Burley but still full and has a pretty good nicotine kick. As I progressed toward the bottom of the bowl the taste became richer and even more satisfying. The after taste reminded me of a good premium blend coffee - perked not the drip stuff. Really good stuff. I could smoke this every day.
Ok, the Centurian scale of tobacco taste runs as follows:
DTGS - Damn that's good stuff
OKILT - Ok I like that
Hmmmmm - Not too sure. Not bad but not all that great
IDTS - With a nod to Dr Berney I don't think so
SMTAGWL - Scrape my tongue and gargle with listerine
I give both these blends the DTGS and once more thank my Secret Santa.