So, has anyone tried any of the new C&D releases?

[Brewdude]

I'm speaking of the 3 new C&D releases that are supposedly blended for long term ageing. Namely-

Chenet's Cake

Components: Perique  Virginia  Family: Virginia
Cut: Plug

Named in honor of Pierre Chenet, the farmer accredited with discovering the process that turns Burley into Perique in 1824, this combination of Virginia and Perique, pressed into an old-fashioned crumble cake, is a Perique powerhouse for those who simply can’t get enough of this “truffle of tobaccos.”



Oak Alley

Components: Burley  Orientals  Perique  Virginia  Family: Burley
Cut: Plug

Arguably the most famous of Louisiana’s antebellum mansions, and certainly the most immediately recognizable, Oak Alley is a splendid namesake for this cellar worthy, new American standard. After establishing an impeccable partnership between sweet Red Virginias and white/brown Burleys, discreet amounts of Perique and Katirini Turkish are added to enhance both the flavor, as well as promote the coolest smoke imaginable.



Joie de Vivre

Components: Black Cavendish  Latakia  Orientals  Perique  Virginia  Family: English
Cut: Plug

That magnificent ability to see the joy in everything, and the very embodiment of the festive spirit of New Orleans is the inspiration for this singular, eminently cellar worthy blend. A foundation of fragrant Latakia and sweet Red Virginia is joined by equal amounts of Perique and Katirini Turkish to enhance complexity, and then it’s finished by a dash of unsweetened Black Cavendish for extra smoothness.



I clearly understand the difference age makes on certain blends and saw something that said these would be best around 10 yrs or so. That notwithstanding, has anyone smoked them fresh and what are your impressions?

And yes monbla I do remember you smoked everything fresh back in the day!  

TIA



Cheers,

RR

 

[monbla256]

I have nothing against ageing 'baccy, 'cept it's for young guys, not guy's at my age with Diabetes. Statistacily, Diabetes takes 10 years off ones expected living time so I have around 6 more years left and with all these "aging" blends needing 5/6 years to be ready to smoke , I'll probably be dead BEFORE I'll get to smoke 'em   :twisted: :twisted:

 

[smg913]

I have smoked the Chenets cake right when I got it and let me just say it is absolutely a wet tobacco. So I broke some up and I let it dry for awhile. It was a good smoke with no age on it. But if I had a choice to buy one of my at the moment favorites like morning drive time or Chenets cake I would choose morning drive time

 

[gravel]

I have nothing against ageing 'baccy, 'cept it's for young guys, not guy's at my age with Diabetes. Statistacily, Diabetes takes 10 years off ones expected living time so I have around 6 more years left and with all these "aging" blends needing 5/6 years to be ready to smoke , I'll probably be dead BEFORE I'll get to smoke 'em   :twisted: :twisted:

As a young guy... stay ornery and sniping at us young guys. I prefer you alive you old fart!

 

[bigmick]

I bought a tin of Joie De Vivre from my favorite local B&M. Not a bad blend, but I can see where age would help it. It had some, for lack of a better term, sharp edges. Slightly acidic, it needs time to mellow. I jarred the remainder of the tin and will revisit in a few months. The flavors all came through but not melded well yet so it was more of a jumble than a blend. i'd bet a year or two of age will improve this one considerably.
With my tobacco budget curtailed by SWMBO and income I bought it knowing it wasn't going to sit in the cellar for 10 years. The only way I get aged tobacco is to let someone else age it before I buy it.  :roll: 

 

[DrT999]

I have the Chenet's Cake, but it's rather far down the 'to open' list

 

[RDPipes]

I have nothing against ageing 'baccy, 'cept it's for young guys, not guy's at my age with Diabetes. Statistacily, Diabetes takes 10 years off ones expected living time so I have around 6 more years left and with all these "aging" blends needing 5/6 years to be ready to smoke , I'll probably be dead BEFORE I'll get to smoke 'em   :twisted: :twisted:

As a young guy... stay ornery and sniping at us young guys. I prefer you alive you old fart!

He's already too ornery to die, he'll most likely out live most of us just to be the ole Peckerwood he is.

 

[monbla256]

I have nothing against ageing 'baccy, 'cept it's for young guys, not guy's at my age with Diabetes. Statistacily, Diabetes takes 10 years off ones expected living time so I have around 6 more years left and with all these "aging" blends needing 5/6 years to be ready to smoke , I'll probably be dead BEFORE I'll get to smoke 'em   :twisted: :twisted:

As a young guy... stay ornery and sniping at us young guys. I prefer you alive you old fart!

He's already too ornery to die, he'll most likely out live most of us just to be the ole Peckerwood he is.

 :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[juanmedusa]

I'm most eager to try the Oak Alley.

 

[Carlos]

Let's just say, that I picked up multiple tins at Chicago. I have only smoked one blend. That being Oak Alley. I have been considering offering up some trades of my aged tins in the cellar for more of this. Yeah, it really suits me. Maybe over the winter when I get more time.

 

[Brewdude]

I have smoked the Chenets cake right when I got it and let me just say it is absolutely a wet tobacco. So I broke some up and I let it dry for awhile. It was a good smoke with no age on it. But if I had a choice to buy one of my at the moment favorites like morning drive time or Chenets cake I would choose morning drive time

I bought a tin of Joie De Vivre from my favorite local B&M. Not a bad blend, but I can see where age would help it. It had some, for lack of a better term, sharp edges. Slightly acidic, it needs time to mellow. I jarred the remainder of the tin and will revisit in a few months. The flavors all came through but not melded well yet so it was more of a jumble than a blend. i'd bet a year or two of age will improve this one considerably.
With my tobacco budget curtailed by SWMBO and income I bought it knowing it wasn't going to sit in the cellar for 10 years. The only way I get aged tobacco is to let someone else age it before I buy it

Let's just say, that I picked up multiple tins at Chicago. I have only smoked one blend. That being Oak Alley. I have been considering offering up some trades of my aged tins in the cellar for more of this. Yeah, it really suits me. Maybe over the winter when I get more time.

Great to have responses on all three blends. Thanks brothers. One question though-

Would you say that these are blended on the strong side, IOW high in lady nic and/or very full bodied? That's what I had in mind when I read that they were for cellaring with a view that age would mellow the power and intensity.


Cheers,

RR

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

You know these all sound really interesting but I have to admit, when these first came out I thought to myself: "A C&D blend designed to be aged? No Way!"  :scratch: (deep sarcasm here).

Anyway, burleys aside, I get along real well with C&D baccys, I appreciate their minimalistic approach to processing, use of distilled water/no strange humectants, but all of the C&D blends that I have tried are in dire need a bit of aging and taste very youthful. This is in no way a knock on their fine tobaccos, only an observation. That said, when I shop C&D, if possible I shoot for a bygone tin date.

 

[Hermit]

I bought five tins each of Oak Alley and Chenet's Cake.
I'll prolly try some in about a year. They sound good.

 

[idbowman]

You know these all sound really interesting but I have to admit, when these first came out I thought to myself: "A C&D blend designed to be aged? No Way!"  :scratch: (deep sarcasm here).

Anyway, burleys aside, I get along real well with C&D baccys, I appreciate their minimalistic approach to processing, use of distilled water/no strange humectants, but all of the C&D blends that I have tried are in dire need a bit of aging and taste very youthful. This is in no way a knock on their fine tobaccos, only an observation. That said, when I shop C&D, if possible I shoot for a bygone tin date.

No kidding. Most C&Ds need two years to really even be approachable - not counting burleys which are seem to have an ok reputation (I guess?), but burley's not really up my alley. I'm still kind of confused about what makes this new line particularly good for aging - looking at the components, I'm sure they'd all benefit from some time (as most blends do), but only Chenet's looks like it'd really develop with a lot of time.


On the topic of aging, I was going through my stash, and I have two tins of GLP Blackpoint from '09...not incredibly well-aged, I know, but they've both developed one heck of a bulge. I'm thinking about cracking one open and having a go.

 

[bigmick]

Would you say that these are blended on the strong side, IOW high in lady nic and/or very full bodied? That's what I had in mind when I read that they were for cellaring with a view that age would mellow the power and intensity.


Cheers,

RR

I wouldn't say the one I tried is high nic or extra full bodied. I would say it's more a deepening and melding of flavor with time. My concern with Joie is most places I've read that Latakia doesn't age well, that the flavor/scent lessens. Don't know that I fully believe that. Recently I found a 5+ year old tin of Ashton's Artisan Blend that has a really good lat flavor. I can't compare it to a new tin, but I wish I had a few more of the older ones. I'm willing to bet ageing helped it some.

I trust C&D knows what they're doing and have a pretty good idea how it will end up.

 

[Northern Neil]

I have grabbed a couple tins of each blend, but have not yet tried any of them to date. My plan is to try this blend at 1 year old, 5 years old, 10 years old and 15 years old. I would love to be able to try one every year until it hits it's peak. But I just cannot make that kind of investment at the moment.