I haven't been around for quite awhile, but I wanted to give a nod to something I picked up on a whim recently from SmokingPipes: Savinelli Special Tobacco.
The tin description:
Think of the aroma and ambience of a wood fire: not alot of nuances, subtleties, sweetness or or high notes. This is how this tobacco comes across to me. Earthy, woody, slightly smoky. (Not a Latakia smokiness - I detect Latweed neither in the tin or the bowl.) There is not alot of variety here that I can detect as one proceeds down the bowl - there are no delicate interplays, surprising crescendos, etc. If there are any orientals hiding in here, they are very subtle. This is not one that needs to be "studied". But, that is not at all bad.
The flavors, which seems to start off on the weak side, tend to linger in the mouth, so that as the bowl continues there is a building of layers of flavor over time so that the second half of the smoke is quite satisfying and I am left savoring this long after the bowl is done. That makes it very enjoyable as an evening or after-meal smoke. The room note is moderate and is akin to a wood fire, which I find enjoyable, but may or may not please others in the room.
I assume that "Java" in the description refers to coffee....I'm not familiar with any "Java" tobacco leaf. (Is there such a thing?) Do I taste coffee here? Not overtly...my guess is if its there it is contributing to the lingering earthiness, which does comes across as a touch acidic.
Moisture content is just about right (no PG goopiness), requiring only a slight drying for optimal burn, which is steady and easy. I get bitten by ALOT of tobaccos, so I was pleasantly surprised that this blend was so kind to me, and only with excessive puffing could I sense a little bite. Nico level seems to be mild to moderate. I feel this one definitely benefits from a dedicated pipe: give it a half-dozen bowls in a single pipe and it will feel like an old friend.
My up-front expectation was like most of my other ventures into unusual blends: I would load up the first pipeful, scorch my tongue, and/or then spend an hour trying to get the awful taste out of my mouth and hoping that I could salvage the pipe. Especially since this one has zero reviews on tobaccoreviews.com - which is usually not a good sign! But, for someone who usually prefers the likes of 1792, GH Dark Flake, ropes and such, I found this a surprisingly enjoyable blend. I plan to add it to the stockpile for aging.
ipe:
The tin description:
(Yes, the mangled first sentence is indeed just as it is printed on the tin.)
Think of the aroma and ambience of a wood fire: not alot of nuances, subtleties, sweetness or or high notes. This is how this tobacco comes across to me. Earthy, woody, slightly smoky. (Not a Latakia smokiness - I detect Latweed neither in the tin or the bowl.) There is not alot of variety here that I can detect as one proceeds down the bowl - there are no delicate interplays, surprising crescendos, etc. If there are any orientals hiding in here, they are very subtle. This is not one that needs to be "studied". But, that is not at all bad.
The flavors, which seems to start off on the weak side, tend to linger in the mouth, so that as the bowl continues there is a building of layers of flavor over time so that the second half of the smoke is quite satisfying and I am left savoring this long after the bowl is done. That makes it very enjoyable as an evening or after-meal smoke. The room note is moderate and is akin to a wood fire, which I find enjoyable, but may or may not please others in the room.
I assume that "Java" in the description refers to coffee....I'm not familiar with any "Java" tobacco leaf. (Is there such a thing?) Do I taste coffee here? Not overtly...my guess is if its there it is contributing to the lingering earthiness, which does comes across as a touch acidic.
Moisture content is just about right (no PG goopiness), requiring only a slight drying for optimal burn, which is steady and easy. I get bitten by ALOT of tobaccos, so I was pleasantly surprised that this blend was so kind to me, and only with excessive puffing could I sense a little bite. Nico level seems to be mild to moderate. I feel this one definitely benefits from a dedicated pipe: give it a half-dozen bowls in a single pipe and it will feel like an old friend.
My up-front expectation was like most of my other ventures into unusual blends: I would load up the first pipeful, scorch my tongue, and/or then spend an hour trying to get the awful taste out of my mouth and hoping that I could salvage the pipe. Especially since this one has zero reviews on tobaccoreviews.com - which is usually not a good sign! But, for someone who usually prefers the likes of 1792, GH Dark Flake, ropes and such, I found this a surprisingly enjoyable blend. I plan to add it to the stockpile for aging.
ipe: