Blind Review Participants - pipe tobacco

[RevSmoke]

I forgot to put this in the box to you three, but if you could review the three different blends according to this manner, it would be appreciated! If you want to, the scoring numbers are listed below the categories.

Thanks for participating.

How about a standardized form for rating tobaccos here. It gives us something to look at and hopefully, with the broad range of things described.

0.0 - 2.0 = poor/inferior quality
2.1 - 2.9 = fair
3.0 - 3.5 = good
3.5 - 4.5 = excellent
4.6 - 5.0 = superior

1) Aesthetics: the look of the tobacco - rough cut, ribbon cut, cubed cut, brick, flake, what colors, maybe even the tin’s aesthetic appeal (maybe this is better for describing a pipe)

Score for aesthetics:

2) Pre-light Construction: moist? dry? Difficult to rub out? easy to pack? ease of lighting? does it smell cased, naturally sweet, smoky, reminds you of a particular fruit?

Score for Pre-light construction:

3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: burns evenly? smokes hot or cool? What is ash like? color of ash? did it get overly wet, gurgle?

Score for post-light construction:

4) Flavor and strength: English, Oriental, Aromatic, etc... What does it taste like? Full-bodied, med. or mild? Does it taste earthy, spicy, fruity (which one?), vegetal, sweet, rich, harsh, floral, robust, woodsy, acidic, salty, nutty, caramelly, marshmallowy, etc...? Is it pleasant or unpleasant? Does it build in flavor and/or complexity as you smoke it? Is it bland, flavorful, complex? Did it get bitter?

Score for flavor and strength:

5) Aftertaste/Finish: aftertaste is the sensation &/or flavor on you palate after each puff, not the taste left after you finish the bowl. Is it heavy - light? Spicy, nutty, fruity, bitter, hot, grassy? Mild - strong? Pleasant or not? Harsh?

Score for aftertaste:

6) Aroma: What does it smell like? Good - bad? light or heavy? pervasive - mild? overpowering, unpleasant, magnificent? nutty, spicy, earthy, smoky?

Score for aroma:


7) General Comments Did you particlarily enjoy of with a certain food or beverage? Does this blend appeal more at certain time of day? Did it remind you of something? Would you buy it again? Sum it up as you would to a friends ("That tobacco was awesome!") and give it an overall score.

Overall score for the tobacco:

8) Recommendation: Would you recommend this blend? Pick one of the following and explain: Not Recommended/Possibly Recommended/Recommended/Highly Recommended

[DAFU]

This is my review of the kind Revs blind sample #1. Smoked at my desk in a pre '66 restored Kaywoodie 51 billiard.

1- nice dark broken flake. looks good.
Score - 4.5
2- perfect moisture content and easily rubbed out.
Score - 4
3- lights easily that gets a bit hot if smoked too fast. Doesn't bite too bad however.
Score - 4
4 - VAs stand out in the beginning with sweet fruity flavor. Gonna guess some Perique and possibly Burley in here too with a bit of spicy smokiness coming thru by mid bowl. Not overpowering at all and fairly smooth. Finishes with the VA in the background, which is why I'm guessing a VaPer or VaBur. I like it!
5 - Pleasant aftertaste evolving from sweet and fruity in the beginning to more smoky and subdued in the end .
Score- 4
6 - Room and nose note is equally pleasing like a rich sweet tobacco aroma should be.
Score- 4.5

Overall score would be a 25 out of 30 which makes this a well above average 'baccy for me. I mostly smoke VaPers and English/Balkans and I did like this blend
quite a bit and would recommend to anyone wanting to stray a bit from straight VAs.
If I must guess I'd say St.James Flake or maybe the other Gawith Brown flake.

I want to thank Todd for starting this. Been awhile since we've done much on the pipe forum and it's so much fun.

Stay tuned for samples 2 & 3.

LMK if any other BOTLs might be interested doing a blind review.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by DAFU

This is my review of the kind Revs blind sample #1. Smoked at my desk in a pre '66 restored Kaywoodie 51 billiard.

1- nice dark broken flake. looks good.
Score - 4.5
2- perfect moisture content and easily rubbed out.
Score - 4
3- lights easily that gets a bit hot if smoked too fast. Doesn't bite too bad however.
Score - 4
4 - VAs stand out in the beginning with sweet fruity flavor. Gonna guess some Perique and possibly Burley in here too with a bit of spicy smokiness coming thru by mid bowl. Not overpowering at all and fairly smooth. Finishes with the VA in the background, which is why I'm guessing a VaPer or VaBur. I like it!
5 - Pleasant aftertaste evolving from sweet and fruity in the beginning to more smoky and subdued in the end .
Score- 4
6 - Room and nose note is equally pleasing like a rich sweet tobacco aroma should be.
Score- 4.5

Overall score would be a 25 out of 30 which makes this a well above average 'baccy for me. I mostly smoke VaPers and English/Balkans and I did like this blend
quite a bit and would recommend to anyone wanting to stray a bit from straight VAs.
If I must guess I'd say St.James Flake or maybe the other Gawith Brown flake.

I want to thank Todd for starting this. Been awhile since we've done much on the pipe forum and it's so much fun.

Stay tuned for samples 2 & 3.

LMK if any other BOTLs might be interested doing a blind review.

Hopefully there is enough baccy there for a couple more bowls?

Glad you enjoyed it.

[DAFU]

So I guessed wrong?

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by DAFU

So I guessed wrong?

The great reveal will happen when all 3 participants have smoked their tobaccos and submitted their reviews. I am not giving anything away now.

Also, I never said that the purpose was to "guess-the-blend".

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[DAFU]

Thanks for the info Todd. Very generous samples also to let me explore further bowls.

Sample 2 review smoked in a GBD Dynasty Lumberman.

1 - very dark sliced flake, looks good
score 4
2 - not to moist or dry, broke up nicely for packing
score 4
3 - lights easily and burns evenly with few relights required.
score 4
4 - taste is definitely on the bold side with a light Lakeland essence. guessing the good bit of dark fired leaf in this blend keeps the VAs in the background. strong with a nic punch, I smoked this slowly. between the Lakeland essence and the dark, earthy mustiness I didn't notice much evolution of flavors as I did in sample 1. not my cup of tea so to speak but may improve with some cellar time.
score 3
5 - I would have to describe the finish as sharp and floral, maybe would have paired better with a stiff drink instead of Coke Zero.
score 3
6 - room note is non offensive, but a bit soapy and earthy on the nose.
score 3.5

Overall this 'baccy got 21.5 out of 30. I would have enjoyed more if some brighter VAs were employed into the blend, but that would just be my personal preference.
My guess of this mystery blend would be it's a dark Lakeland flake.

[DAFU]

BLEND #3

1) Aesthetics: the look of the tobacco - rough cut, ribbon cut, cubed cut, brick, flake, what colors, maybe even the tin’s aesthetic appeal (maybe this is better for describing a pipe)
Very fine looking whole light brown flakes. Nice
Score for aesthetics: 5

2) Pre-light Construction: moist? dry? Difficult to rub out? easy to pack? ease of lighting? does it smell cased, naturally sweet, smoky, reminds you of a particular fruit?
Easily broken up for packing, but I imagine it would have been fine folding the flakes. Not much in pre-light smell, so probably not heavily cased.
Score for Pre-light construction: 4.5

3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: burns evenly? smokes hot or cool? What is ash like? color of ash? did it get overly wet, gurgle?
Smoked well and burned evenly especially after getting past the staying lit phase. Smoked fine....not to hot or moist.
Score for post-light construction: 5

4) Flavor and strength: English, Oriental, Aromatic, etc... What does it taste like? Full-bodied, med. or mild? Does it taste earthy, spicy, fruity (which one?), vegetal, sweet, rich, harsh, floral, robust, woodsy, acidic, salty, nutty, caramelly, marshmallowy, etc...? Is it pleasant or unpleasant? Does it build in flavor and/or complexity as you smoke it? Is it bland, flavorful, complex? Did it get bitter?
Definitey had the flavor of a Danish VA. Light and sweet with a bit of tanginess that progress along with overall strength. Hay and citrus notes detected probably from a light topping. Never got hot or bitter with a wee bite if puffed too aggresively.
Score for flavor and strength: 4

5) Aftertaste/Finish: aftertaste is the sensation &/or flavor on you palate after each puff, not the taste left after you finish the bowl. Is it heavy - light? Spicy, nutty, fruity, bitter, hot, grassy? Mild - strong? Pleasant or not? Harsh?
Finish was light, sweet and hay like. A litte tang also as it progressed.
Score for aftertaste: 4

6) Aroma: What does it smell like? Good - bad? light or heavy? pervasive - mild? overpowering, unpleasant, magnificent? nutty, spicy, earthy, smoky?
Aroma was very light, pleasing and sure to be non offensive to bystanders. Just sweeet tobacco.
Score for aroma: 4.5

7) General Comments Did you particlarily enjoy of with a certain food or beverage? Does this blend appeal more at certain time of day? Did it remind you of something? Would you buy it again? Sum it up as you would to a friends ("That tobacco was awesome!") and give it an overall score.
I would classify this as a very approachable all day blend. Reminds me alot of Stokkebyes Navy Flake of which I have quite a bit cellared. So I would imagine this would be Luxury Twist Flake especially considering it probably was purchased in bulk also (thanks Todd). Haven't smoked alot of straight VAs as I've preferred English, VaPers and Balkans but this one is worthy and one I may consider putting away. Hits all the marks for me in a VA and highly recommended.
Overall score: 4.5

Thanks for the 'baccy Todd and the opportunity to put my spin on them.
Also was curious how long blend 3 was cellared?

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by DAFU

BLEND #3

Thanks for the 'baccy Todd and the opportunity to put my spin on them.
Also was curious how long blend 3 was cellared?

All shall be revealed when all the reviews are done...and when I post mine, I will reveal all - the blends and how old they were. Let me just say that none of them was purchased in the last 2 years.