Villager 1888 Mid Day

"A mixture of double steamed black Cavendish, blended with Burley, Oriental, and light Virginia tobaccos.  A delightful aroma and top note vanilla and exotic fruit make this a mild and pleasant smoke in the early afternoon."
  If you were at the memorial day party at the ranch, This is what smelled so good.  Now you all know my secret. If you weren't there, if you didn't smell it, I'm not sure where to start describing it. That "exotic fruit" seems to be mostly coconut, and "mild and pleasant" pretty much nails the flavor. I actually had people yell at me because it smelled so good!  There's very little I can say about this besides how wonderful it is! If you're lucky enough to find it (a tin runs about $6.50. The cheapest tinned tobacco EVER) just buy one. I think the whole line of Villager is great, but this one takes the cake. That's why I saved it for last.  I'm not into the sugary sweet stuff as much any more, but this is so mild that it doesn't bug me enough to put me off. It's GREAT around other people, because everyone seems to like the smell. If you're not really a pipe smoker smoker, but WANT to look dignified, get yourself a glossy black pipe (always stylish) and a tin of this (tins just make you look classy) and light with a match. Within no time, people will be asking where you attended finishing school. Don't tell them the truth. As a matter of fact, fuck the truth. If wanted the truth they wouldn't have asked such a stupid question.
  Sorry. I'm a little off track. Got some bad medical news from my mechanic, and it has me in a mood. Guess WHICH mood, and win a prize! See y'all next time, when I may just admit I was way off about something I already reviewed.

Villager 1888 Late Night

It took me a while to figure this on out. It's a partial flake, made of Virginias and black cavendish, and flavored with Irish whiskey. It sounds good right? and it is, but only if you smoke it right. Flake tobaccos are unique in that they give the smoker a myriad of options for preparation. MOST flakes are best when worked to the level of fineness the smoker prefers, and then dried for an hour or so before loading the pipe. Not this one. In the spirit of convenience, they packed this in the tin at the optimal level of smokability . I tried working it to a finer consistency (which I usually prefer) and it was unpleasant. I let it dry for a while, and it burned too hot. Finally, I gave up the fancy stuff, retreating to a "Fold and Stuff" tactic, and presto! A wonderful smoke. It's surprisingly not as sweet as other Virginias, or cavendish, but mild and refined. The room note is pleasant and sweet, and also the only place one might detect any evidence of whiskey. I certainly couldn't TASTE whiskey. A good all day smoke, nothing extraordinary, but certainly not lacking anything either.

  Out of the three blends from Villager, this is the most mellow. Early Day is pungent and smokey (as an English blend should be) and Mid Day is.... well, I'll tell you about it next time.

Villager 1888 Early Day

First, let me apologize for taking SO long to get back to the keyboard. It's been a hell of a month. Second, let's jump right in. This is my first ever review of a tinned tobacco, Villager 1888 (by Peter Stokkebye) Early Day. This is an English blend, described on the tin as "Mature golden Virginias blended with oriental leaf and Latakias from the Balkan region. The rich share of Latakia makes this blend a true English classic with the characteristic smokey room note"
  The orientals are taste-ably present, but the latakia definitely dominates the blend.  The virginias do sweeten the blend, but cause it to burn a little hot for an english blend. The villager 1888 line is a good bang for the buck, being one of the cheapest tinned tobaccos around, but holding a flavor and quality of a premier blend. The early morning blend isn't AS fine as some other english blends I've smoked, but the convenience of the tin definitely balances that out.
  I've had to relight once or twice near the bottom of the bowl, but with minimal maintenance, it burns to a fine, white ash every time. I'd definitely  buy a tin of this for vacation, or when I know I won't be around the house for a few days, for the security of a well kept english I can pack anywhere, anytime, and enjoy well enough to sate my own spoiled tastes. A well done job for a nominal cost.
  Thanks for staying 'till the end! Hopefully, I'll be able to post once or twice a week for a while now, so stay tuned for the rest of the Villager 1888 line!

The delight and terror of blending your own.

I have a small Hermetic jar simply labeled "English". When I have a non-aromatic blend that just doesn't quite cut it, for one reason or another, in to this jar it goes. The first was far too strong, the next, too pungent, Then too mild, and so on. An English blend only requires a strong base of Orientals, and hopefully a good portion of Latakia, so it all works out in the end. I have managed to balance a tasty and dark blend in this manner, adding some blending Latakia to the mix every now and again, when it gets too light for my taste. Delight!
  Now, the terror. As the jar gets more and more full, I find it harder to actually BLEND said blend. Simply shaking and rolling the jar is no longer possible to mix the interred leaves. I have taken to stirring it with a dowel, but alas, this morning I find it quite insufficient. While smoking my customary morning bowl, I found the flavor pleasantly spiced with copious light Orientals. At first. then a brief period of quite strong spice, then several minutes of pure black Latakia, and finally, at the base of the pipe, all the flavors hit ma at once and changed dramatically. It might seems exciting to experience these layers of flavor. A gobstopper pipe, you may say, but it wasn't. While trying to relax with a morning smoke, it's downright disappointing. Maybe I need a paint-can shaker like they have at the hardware store....

Long time gone. Oh, and two different so-so blends.

I haven't had much keyboard time lately, and I know that you're all torn up about it. Wait for the laugh......and continue. Now while I will USUALLY dedicate an article to one individual blend, neither of these seem do deserve a dedicated spotlight. Neither were great, neither were terrible, they were just....there.

  Cherry Bonbon: This blend started life as Stokebye's wonderful black cavendish, (which is mild, mellow, and delicious by itself) and then they flavored the hell out of it. It smokes easily, it's fanciful, it's tasty, and you'll be washing the sickeningly sweet smell of cherries out of your hair for a day and a half. You take the good with the bad, I suppose. I'm exaggerating the smell, but it is EXTREMELY sweet smelling.

  Mocha: There are so many blends labeled mocha, that I'm not sure which one Cigars Ltd. carries. It's not bad, it smokes well, has a pleasant room note (like coffee and vanilla) and a mellow flavor. All in all, it's a real feast for the senses, just not the senses you'd expect. In the pouch, it smells like fine coffee candy, and feels like spun velvet. I almost don't want to lite it on fire. All of that adds up to a totally mediocre smoke.

In conclusion, these weren't bad smokes, I just didn't have alot to say about either. I may keep some Mocha on hand, as my wife seems to like the smell, but the Cherry Bonbon isn't something I'll be getting more of any time soon.
  Tune in next time (which hopefully will be soon) because I've got a whole variety of flake tobaccos to investigate, and more pipe-wise educational topics to tackle!

Stokkebye's English Luxury, From Perfect Blend

As defined by Stokkebye, this blend is "A characteristic English Mixture, developed from mellow Georgian Virginias, Black Cavendish, Mexican Burley's and Cyprian Latakia, a classic. Mild to medium strength."
  I doesn't taste English to me, but what do I know.  I know that despite the dark, smokey note from Latakia that usually defines the flavor in an English blend, I enjoy this thoroughly. The flavor is light in taste and body, while still bringing the cool, delicious note of other non-aromatics. In addition to it's traditional non-aromatic body, the room-note (smell of the smoke) is airy and sweet, carrying a slight scent of chocolate. With the only visible drawback being that it burns just a tiny bit hot, this is the best of both worlds.
  There's not a whole lot else to say about this. It stays lit easily, the flavor remains unchanged to the bottom of the bowl, and the smell won't put people off.  If you want a smoke that won't re-flavor your pipe, but you can still smoke in public, this is a great one. I'm sure to pick up more of this once I run out.

Vanilla Custard, From... John T's???????

Yeah, John T's in Fashion Fair Mall. It's wierd. Before I get into the tobacco, I guess I should say, John T's is actually stepping up it's pipe tobacco. ALOT.  They invited me into the store room to see everything that they haven't made room for yet, and the selection was staggering.  They had blends I haven't seen since Hardwicks vavished, even base blending tobaccos. Still no cube cut, but I keep hoping.
  That said, I'll move on to the point. Vanilla Custard may seem like a strange name for a pipe tobacco, but I'll be darned if that's not what it smells like. Seriously. If you're ever near John T's, stop in, stick your nose in the jar, and take a whiff. It's unbelievable. I wish that it smoked that well. It burns hot, or not at all. When it wasn't trying to burn my mouth, I was struggling to keep it lit. Striking a balance withit will take practice. At least it burns fairly dry. There was no undue residue at the bottom of the bowl as happens with so many over-sweet blends, and the pipe never gurgled once. The smoke that lifts from the pipe is almost as pleasant smelling as the pouch, making me regret airing the room afterwords. I could enjoy this for hours.
  In the end, despite it's shortcomings, I have come back for this more than once, now. Always willing to talk to the oddly eccintric proprietor of John T's, and ALWAYS hearing his story about why he can't stand Latakia anymore (If you talk about pipes for more than 4 minutes, he'll tell it.) Even if I wasn't willing to smoke it, I'd keep a little on hand, just to open and sniff every so often. There's nothing quite like it.

Virginia/Perique

Perique is an odd duck. Used sparingly, it is said to cool a blend that smokes too hot. When it dominates more than half, as in this case, it's all I can taste. As it turns out, I don't like that taste. I really don't know how to describe that taste, or the smell, for that matter, other than fruit that's gone bad. I know that tobacco preferences are all a matter of taste, which will vary wildly from one person to the next, but with that said, For MY taste, I just don't care for it.
  I absolutely hated the first bowl I smoked, and the flavor grew on me a little each time over passing days. After a week of growth, it never got any better. It's something I could smoke, if it were present, but given the choice, I would probably reach for something else. I have added it to other blends which have proven too strong for casual use, and it has mellowed them slightly, but even with proven results like that, I doubt I'll ever buy any more.

Round Midnight, from Cigars Ltd.

This is a black Cavendish, sweetened lightly (VERY lightly) with vanilla. It produces thick clouds of cool, sweet smelling smoke that seems to invite others to come enjoy it with you. The flavor is at least as pleasant as the aroma, light and fanciful right to the bottom of the bowl. So much so that I was a little depressed to find that I had already finished it. Packed lightly, it produces no moisture to ruin the last bit at the bottom, leaving only an extremely fine ash as evidence of its passing.  There's no struggle to keep it lit near the end, as so many aromatics do. A truly fine smoke that I'm sure I will be coming back to time and time again.

Tune in next time when I'll examine McClelland's 2015: Virginia/Perique Flake. Spoiler Alert! The outcome doesn't look good.

Good Morning

This morning, as I sat at my computer, I was smoking an english blend that I threw together. Mostly Virginias, a little latakia, and just a breath of oriental. I left the room to take the dog out, and stayed outside in the crisp morning air for a few minutes. Upon re-entering the room, I was greeted by the light, earthy aroma of my morning's smoke. It still hung thinly about head-level in the room, just enough to see in the weak sunlight starting to stream through the window, and the smell made me smile. Fine way to start a day.

Talking pipe, Vol. 1: Know your tobacco

Here are the basics: Pipe tobacco is usually ALL tobacco (with few exceptions, which I'll get to later). If you've been smoking cigarettes, and nothing else, you're missing that. Brand name cigarettes, at their worst are only 82% tobacco. What's the rest? Filler. Don't take my word for it, go to the R.J. Reynolds website (camel, etc.), or the Philip Morris website(yeah, you know who they are). They don't list percentages, but thanks to an ever nosy uncle Sam, they've got to tell you what they add. Go ahead and look, I'll be right here when you're done.
  Find it yet? The fillers? It took me a while to find it, too, but there they are :water, vegetable matter, and celluloid. CELLULOID! This is why I took up the pipe. Well, that, and because it looks, tastes, and even smells better. Probably due to the lack of celluloid.
  Enough of the moral abjection, on to the lecture. Know your basic tobaccos.

Pt.1 BASE tobaccos

Virginia: There are a lot of different strains, each having their own name, but they are all the same leaf deep down: red, orange, lemon, Carolina, Brazil, and so on. Several are simply named for where they were grown (something you'll see again.) This is a smoker's bread and butter, if you will.The base of most blends, and at least 80% of what IS tobacco in a cigarette. Hot burning, mild flavor, medium nicotine, High sugar content, and a sponge when it comes to added flavors.
  Burley: More nicotine and sugar than Virginia's, harder to keep lit, but warm and pleasant, with a nutty flavor and aroma. This will also soak up introduced flavors, but it keeps more of it's original character. It's said that this tobacco won't ferment the way Virginia's will, but just "mature" This crop started life as a Virginia tobacco, but sprang mutated in one lucky farmer's crop in the late 19th century. About 10% (give or take, depending on brand) of a cigarette is Burley.
  Orientals: considered a "spice" tobacco because of it's high level of flavor, it has the lowest nicotine content of all the tobaccos, and only makes up about 5% of a cigarette, if you're lucky. Again, the different strains are named for where they are grown. Turkish, Xanthe, Smyrna, Samsun, and so on. Coming form an area not known for it's high rainfall, productions is limited, and cigarette companies snap up what little there is, leaving tobacconists to squabble over what's left.

Pt. 2, The other "base" tobaccos

  Cavendish: Not a separate strain, but rather Virginias that have been cured and fermented to bring out their natural sweetness. Another common base for many blends.

  Latakia: A specially cured Oriental tobacco, named for the only port that once exported it. the leaves are hung in special barns where smokey fires are fed to smolder for months, imparting the smoke from native hardwoods and herbs into the tobacco. The nicotine level raises, and the leaves turn a tarnished silver or black color. A very pungent tobacco, the smell of the smoke reminds me of a wet tire fire. Blended sparingly with other tobacco's it cools the smoke, and adds a mellow, earthy aroma. 

  Perique: This is a specially fermented Virginia Tobacco, produced only in St. James Parish, Louisiana. It's secret has supposedly never left those borders. Extremely strong, both in flavor and nicotine content, it should be blended very lightly indeed. In hotter burning blends, it is said to alleviate "tongue bite" that ails many new pipe smokers.

Thanks for staying with me through that. I'm not sure what I'll discuss next time, but eventually I'll continue the lecture series with tobacco cures, cut styles, base blends, and pipes themselves! But there are SO many tobacco blends to sample, I can hardly wait to try another!

Higland Whiskey, fron Perfect Blend.

I gotta be honest, I'm a little distracted, but I'm gonna TRY to stay focused.
This blend is a little too sweet, and burns a little hot. It's not enough to keep me away from it, and both of those points are pretty common for alcohol scented tobaccos. I would crumble a bit of latakia into the whiskey blend I would get from Hardwicks, and I remember that mellowing it out just perfectly. If I could FIND latakia around this town, I would do the same to this.
  With all that said, it's an interesting, easy smoke. It's got a pleasant aroma (assuming you like whiskey in the first place) and it stays lit with the least attention possible. It's flavor is near incorruptible as you reach the bottom of the bowl, and apart from the sweetness, seems mild and manageable. A good smoke for a beginning pipe smoker, or anyone who prefers the scent of scotch.
  I realize the description is short, but let that be a testament to the beautiful simplicity of this blend. I'd give it a B+, possibly an A with some latakia.
  Tune in next time, when I'll review a pipe smoker's basic vernacular! (types and qualities of base tobaccos, cures, and aromatic casings.)

Nougat, as offered by Cigars Ltd.

It was dry to begin with. The tobacco had been allowed to sit unhumidified too long, and it was dry. That MAY have been the initial problem. It smoked too hot, and wasn't very pleasant. After a week in the humidifier, it brightened up a bit, and while I am still not overjoyed with the flavor, the aroma of the smoke is quite pleasant indeed.
  This is a Burley and Cavendish blend, lightly cased with vanilla and chocolate. Sounds awesome, right? I guess that depends on your taste. I couldn't detect chocolate or vanilla in the scent, nor the taste.Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was just past it's prime. I may be persuaded to try again in a month or two, and I'll see if a fresh batch changes my mind.
  Perfect Blend Cigars also carries a blend called Nougat. Maybe I'll pick up some of that and see how they stand up to each other. Is that a good idea? My overall impressions of this were poor, but I've had worse. It's something that I wouldn't mind smoking around my friends, when my focus isn't solely upon my pipe, and the flavor isn't as important. As I said, the smoke is pleasingly fragrant, and at least company should warm up to it.

Tune in next time when I'll FINALLY look at something from Perfect Blend in the tower district: Highland Whiskey. (My guess is that it will fair better, I'm already loving the smell of the pouch.)

Pipe Dream, as offered by Cigars Ltd.

I was fortunate enough to have a large supply of pipe dream on hand when Hardwicks went out of business. So fortunate, in fact, that it lasted me until last month, when I discovered that Cigars Ltd. had what they claimed was the same blend. They weren't lying. I had just enough left to sample the old and the new side by side. My palate may not be as complicated and discerning as some, but I actually could not detect a difference between the old and the new. Maybe they really are exactly the same. Maybe I just WANT it to be the real thing so badly, that I'm not willing to question it. The end result is the same, and I'm perfectly happy with that.
  I realize that I may not be very impartial in my analysis of this tobacco, because of the emotional investment I've just disclosed. This was the first tobacco I ever tried that I really loved. When I can't decide what specific blend I'm in the mood for, I reach for pipe dream. I'm not saying it's the best of all possible blends, but I am saying that there's never a time when it's not great. A fine blend for the beginner and the veteran pipe smoker alike, I'm overjoyed that it hasn't disappeared from the landscape.
   In addition to being fun to smoke, because of how easy it is to produce thick, velvety clouds of smoke, it is cool-burning, sweet, and fragrant. The raw tobacco has a tart, sweet scent, indicating it's overall tone. The smoke is far more fragrant that many aromatics I have sampled, and pleasant, delicate taste holds flavor to nearly the bottom of the bowl. If I were to grade this tobacco on my own likes and tastes(which I suppose I should, otherwise, what's the point of reviewing?), It would be a strong "A". Quite near the top of my own preferences, but depending on my mood, I MAY reach for something different.

965, From Cigars Ltd.

As I take the lid off of my humidifier, I become aware of what I can only describe as a dark aroma. I am aware of the latakia in the blend, but that is not the source of what I smell. Indescribable. After I pack and light the bowl, I realize that the smell of the smoke is actually remarkably similar to the smell of the raw blend itself, certainly not an ordinary trait. I puff too frequently, and the bowl is already hot. Slow down and enjoy it. It is a real feast for the senses. The smell, the taste, the mellow sense of being that seems to accompany it. It is a quite strong tobacco, more so than anything else I have sampled thus far. Uh oh, I've slowed down too much and almost extinguished it. Maybe next time I'll wait until I've finished a bowl before commenting on it.
  I've been told that this blend strongly resembles Dunhill's 965 "My Mixture", but I've never sampled it, or any other tinned tobacco, for that matter. This is definitely not for the faint-hearted, or casual aromatic-loving smoker. I also don't envision my wife wanting to cuddle up to me while the wreath of pungent smoke this produces is still hanging about me. It doesn't have that wet tire-fire aroma of a dark English blend, but it is sill definitely darker, more earthy than others may delight in.
  Smoking this blend seems to produce a euphoric, almost giddy, sensation in me, and I begin to see why Dunhill is able to charge so much for a tin of their brand of it. I find myself quite pleased that I can obtain a two ounce pouch from Cigars Ltd. for a mere $8.50, compared to a name-brand tin at an outrageous cost for a 50 gram tin. My complements to the blender.

  Though, this isn't something I could smoke too often, for fear the euphoric sensation might dull with time.

Tune in next time when I will explore Cigar Ltd.'s "Pipe Dream", which they assure me is form Hardwick's own recipe!

Firsties!

I miss Hardwicks. I'm not alone in the community of Fresno area pipe smokers when I say that. They had everything the pipe smoker could want, in the convenience of a mall shop. With that said, the current atmosphere for the discerning smoker is still nothing to cough at. In the venerable tower district, there is "Perfect Blend Fine Cigars" which has been around a while, but I am just now coming to know. Then in old Fig Garden Village (as well as in old town Clovis) there is "Cigars Ltd", which contains a wonderful atmosphere for all things smoke. What they both seem to lack is choice. Cigars Ltd. has 28 fine blends of pipe tobacco that I am working my way through sampling, while Perfect Blend Fine Cigars may have a lager selection, but they both lack the cornucopia of selection that Hardwicks offered. There are no base components for blending your own special mixture, and many of my personal favorites have seemingly vanished forever. After viewing an order form from Parkers (a smoking institution in downtown Fresno for some long past decades) I realize that I should be thankful for the selection that is laid before me, and I am. But I reserve the right to look back longingly at what I had.

Tune in next time when I will begin reviewing the blends that ARE offered locally!