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.
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