Part 4: Raoul's Rampage Continues and Takes a Hiatus
Paul Szabady
for me to smoke as the description on the tin and the appearance of the
tobacco was identical to one of my favorite staple tobaccos: McC's 'St.
James Woods'. Identical except for one major exclusion: BF is without
Perique. I kept on looking for the (absent) perique and it took some time
for the habit patterns to re-align and to be able to taste this tobacco's
own nature.
This is a an unflavoured, non top-dressed flake virginia consisting of
red virginia and black stoved virginia. SJW has a similar content
description but with the addition of perique. The proportion of the
constituent tobaccos might vary in proportion but it seems that the
tobaccos used are identical in both.
Stoved virginia has a milder, cooler and smoother taste than bright (or
yellow) virginia but also loses some aroma, zest and complexity in the
process. The gain is less bite; the trade-off is a simpler, almost bland
taste. Stoving is an old curing technique, dating back to the plugs,
twists, and bars of "navy" tobacco days and this tobacco gives a hint of
those tobaccos, though McC makes no attempt to increase the nicotine or
body intensity. The result is a cool and mild taste that is very smooth
with a very narrow puffing-rate range: puff too fast and the tobacco gets
bland to the point of flavorlessness; finds its ideal 'zone' and a subtle
soft taste emerges that is reminiscent of virginia passing through a very
heavy filter. I much prefer St. James Woods; the addition of perique
catapults these base tobaccos into something exalted. Even with slow
puffing and a rich-tasting pipe this tobacco seemed lacking; the memory
of SJW is hard to forget.
BF gains in flavor intensity at 1/2 bowl like a typical virginia flake,
but this is more like Debussy or Delius than Beethoven or Liszt. The
first half of the bowl was somewhat of chore to smoke through as the
flavor was so light; it was only the promise of it rising to a climax
that kept me going. My experience of BF was tainted by my fondness for
SJW: I could not really overcome my feeling that it was somehow neutered
and unmanned.
McClelland 'Dark Star' (tinned): this begins as "bright, yellow, sugary,
top-grade virginia" that is "triple aged, pressed and stoved" resulting
in a black flake tobacco that is very similar to McC's bulk 2035, another
of my staple tobaccos. It doesn't contain the cutter-grade virginia leaf,
however, and is far easier to rub-out and to light. This is un-flavored
and with no top-dressing.
In short this is everything that BF was not: what I expected SJW to taste
like sans perique. The rich and complex taste and aroma of bright
virginia is maintained, losing only its bite and edge. 'What' you stove
has some bearing on the net result of the stoving process. This tobacco
clearly outdoes 2035 for me: it's richer, more refined, and with a more
complicated flavor and aroma. It possesses that savory 'salty' 2035
flavor and subtle sweetness; it's cool smoking, smooth, balanced and
refined. It starts out at a flavor/aroma intensity that is 'just right'
for me and then builds in the classic flake way. In short, superb. This
will definitely replace 2035 in my regular staple tobacco stash. I find
this to be what I expected of Samuel Gawith's 'Full Virginia Flake' and
which I did not find there. I'm about to climb out on the roof-top and
start ranting praise!
I still have half-a-dozen tobaccos to smoke were I to continue this
sampler rampage now, but I'm going to stop and consolidate what I've
experienced. The big winners for me in this batch of tobaccos are McC's
Dark Star and 22: these will enter my staple straight virginia flake diet
of Gawith's Best Brown, McC's 2010, and Ashton Brindle Flake.
Virginia/perique flake staples consist of 3 Nuns, 2015, St. James Woods,
Beacon and Black Parrot.
I was very pleasantly surprized by the Dan Tobaccos: while I never
regularly smoke aromatic and flavored tobaccos and object strenuously to
their basic raison d'etre, these were the apotheosis of their type for
me. It goes to show what came be done by using high-quality leaf,
perfectionist standards, artful and restrained use of high-quality food
grade flavors, and a disinclination to try to tart-up low grade and nasty
burley. By contrast, the common variety goopy-dipped chemical 'aromatics'
seem even nastier, indeed, verge on the criminal.
The rampage was a success, netting 2 superb tobaccos. I hope it was
useful to the group, or at least entertaining.
Raoul
Colonel Panic
> The rampage was a success, netting 2 superb tobaccos. I hope it was
> useful to the group, or at least entertaining.
It was both for me, Raoul - thank you very much!
Reg'ds,
Terry
--
I am we Todd did. I am sofa king we Todd did.
John Sandin
Paul Szabady <sza...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
(lots of good stuff snipped)
> I'm about to climb out on the roof-top and
> start ranting praise!
Think about what that might do to the property values in your neighborhood.
>
> I still have half-a-dozen tobaccos to smoke were I to continue this
> sampler rampage now, but I'm going to stop and consolidate what I've
> experienced.
We want an encore, and soon.
--
--John Sandin
Note: claim...@my-dejanews.com is BOGUS.
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Richard Trebbien
night. Do you own purple pajama's? Thanks for the great commentary! I am
looking forward to trying 22 and Dark Star. I've been very much enjoying a
few of the tobaccos you have recommended and I love them, including-2015 and
Peretti's BPC. Thanks Raoul
--
Richard Trebbien