Red Roses by Robert Mc Connell

Unique and different, that is how I would describe the description on the can of this tobacco. According to the label, this is a "composition of jet-black cavendish and sun-yellow Virginia, embedded in rose buds. Finest attar of roses, topped with a touch of caramel..." this is made in Germany and the first from this brand for me to smoke today.

I have yet to learn of a tobacco that uses rose buds until I saw this can, and I had to pick it up, At $15 for 100g online, I am a bit anxious, this is more than my normal expenditure for a can of tobacco. The label's color scheme is blood red and black with two female shadows each
holding a rose.

As I popped the can open, a couple of bits escaped as the pressure was release. I am instantly greeted with a strong sweet caramel aroma. The smell of cavendish is prominent and makes a point to not be lost in the aroma. The contrast of the cavendish and Virginia is striking. The colors blend beautifully with each other with a lot of character. The pieces of rose are noticeable, they are of a yellow-tan in color and blend with the Virginia tobacco easily.

I purposely opened up a rose bud on the top of the tobacco I packed in my pipe before lighting. The moisture this tobacco has is little more than I prefer. I packed this into my unfinished Amadeus pipe, this is my go to aromatic pipe especially when I am trying a new blend.

Right off from the initial light the sugary cavendish jumps out at full attention and the background flavor is a tad musky. Once the tobacco was fully lit, the caramel pushes the cavendish out of the way and is the predominant flavor.

The smoke is thick and creamy, with an aroma that smells of caramel and roses. I am starting to think I may enjoy the room not of this aromatic tobacco more than any other I have had to date. This is a tough call as I really enjoy Blue Note's aroma.

I was sure I packed this bowl well, but the tobacco is not burning as well as I would have liked, I should have dried the tobacco out a bit before lighting up, but it is not so much a bother to be a nuisance for me. The tobacco is of a clean and earthy quality. The background flavors are solid as I reach the half way point of the bowl. The smoke has remained cool and a thick crisp texture.

As I am typing this I was blasted with a nice subtle roasted coffee flavor and scent. It seems to be fading in and out through the last half of the bowl. The natural tobacco flavors are a bit woody, in fact the last scent I noted was pine, it reminded me of being in a pine forrest. Not to be confused with the smell of a Christmas tree, this was crisp and fresh like I remember in my camping days.

This is a relaxing smoke, the background tobacco flavors are very enjoyable with a nice topping of caramel flavor and a room note of roses. Just as the label promises. This burned a little faster than I would have liked, but I will just light up another bowl. The smoke was never hot through the whole duration of the bowl. This is a nice medium body smoke that will soothe the senses and relax the soul after a hard days work.

I certainly would recommend this to anyone wanting a sweet thick caramel aromatic. The price range; I will certainly not hesitate to pay for it again when I desire a caramel flavor. This blend is now in my list of top 5 favorite aromatics.

McClelland Dark Star - Pipe Tobacco

This tobacco is Virginia and Carolina leaf, dark dark black color with a touch of tan here and there, looks to be very oily. Reading the description of this, McClelland ages this tobacco for 3 years before selling, well this tobacco was gifted to me by IHT with a date of 2000. So I need to note that this probably does not taste the same as a fresh open tin.

The aroma is pungent, and hits the sinuses with a tingle. The tobacco is in flake form, it crumbles easily as I prepare it for my pipe. Normally with flake I do a little folding and packing, crumble the top to get it lit, but for this review I am rubbing out the flakes.

For me, the tobacco is a bit more difficult to light with it rubbed out, I got it going though. This burns warm for the start, the smoke is clean and light, but abundant.

First this I was presented with was a vinegar and hickory. For some reason I really did the vinegar taste, I like pickles and I like Zots candy, so what can I say? Into the bowl the taste was still sour and picking up some leather tones. The smoke was consistent throughout the bowl, light and clean with a bit of citrus in the background.

There was not a lot of complexity or flavor changes, the smoke developed a woody taste and it seemed like fermented berries were hiding in the background, kind of like a liquor touch. This tobacco burns warm, never getting too hot, the flavor was still sharp and at times a sweetness tried to emerge but was never able to come to the front of the flavor profiles.

The aftertaste is very woody, it is not overbearing on the senses. The aroma this tobacco produced is like burning berries, kind of sweet with a touch of a charred scent.

My final thoughts. I really enjoy this tobacco, I have just enough for one more bowl and then it is gone, I need to purchase a couple of tins to keep around. This tobacco burns warm, doesn't bite, the smoke is smooth and clean. I find this burns easier if the flakes are not rubbed out. I would say this is an acquired taste and I will have to make sure I always have some on hand. I cannot wait to try a fresh batch too. This is a medium Body and mild strength tobacco.

Thanks IHT!!!

Classic Vanilla - Altadis - Pipe Tobacco

On the package this tobacco is described as an “all burley blend topped with vanilla” though as I was looking for more information, I found on the Altadis website that this Classic Vanilla blend is described as “We make this blend with only the choicest Burleys, Golden Cavendishes and Virginias available”. This package I have is just over two years old, so it is possible that they have changed the blend from straight burley tobacco to now include the “Gold Cavendishes” and “Virginias”.

As I looked this bag I saw a different colored tobacco leafs, from tan to brown to black. I do question the blend described on the package as to what is on the website. The tobacco is not heavily scented with vanilla, I was a bit surprised as I would have thought the aroma would have been much stronger, as that has been my experience with vanilla flavored tobacco up to this point. This tobacco seems light weight, there is not a lot of heft to it and it is soft in texture. I carefully placed it into the bowl of my Amadeus 2nd pipe.

From the beginning this tobacco lit up easily giving off a rich amount of creamy smoke with just a touch of vanilla flavor. This is not an overly flavored tobacco and is lightly sweet. I can distinctly taste the nutty flavors of the Burley tobacco with just the slightest bit of spice.

The aroma of this blend is a mellow vanilla and caramel. The tobacco burns really well, never needing a relight during the entire bowl.

As I was nearing the last half of the bowl a caramel flavor emerge and with a touch of oatmel in both taste and aroma. This blend is soothing and easy to enjoy. There is not much in the way of complexity, the smoker can plop this into a pipe and go mow the lawn without much forethought.

The tobacco smokes cool, it was not until I was reaching the final end of the bowl that the pipe started to heat up, even then the pipe is not hot, just warm. As I puffed on I was given a woody touch in the smoke, the aroma still drifting into my nose is still just as pleasant, this picking up in vanilla aroma.

My final thoughts: This is a nice mellow vanilla blend, the body was in the mild-medium range and the strength was in the mild range. This is a nice aromatic for beginners and even experienced smokers.