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Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
And in my defense, there's other Va/Bur/Pers on the list. ;)
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I have tried it in the past and did not like it. It probably wouldn't hold up well in the showdown. But hey, that's just my taste. What may be #1 for me might not be for anyone else.
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i thought it was mainly a burley blend?
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Don't get me wrong, as burley blends go, this is quality burley - and a nice blend if you like burley. I don't like burley, and this is a chore for me to smoke. But then again, if everybody like the same blends, I would never get any of what I like. |
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That's not important. The thing is this is a great reference for those that are getting into VaPer's :tu |
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And I would put anni cake towards the bottom. Everyone has different tastes.
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I've been enjoying watching this play out. It is interesting to see others comments about where they put the tobaccos on this list. So, here's your list. And below that is how I'd rank the same tobaccos - just for a snickers and grins.
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1) G & H Louisiana Flake (my "go to" tobacco) 2) Escudo (always on hand) 3) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake (always on hand) 4) McConnell Scottish Cake (presently out of) 5) C & D Night Train (presently out of) 6) H & H Anniversary Kake (like to keep on hand) 7) Solani #633 (presently out of) 8) Dorchester (like to keep on hand) The following I have tried, do not have on hand presently, and while not bad blends, didn't "wow" me enough to keep stock on hand. 10) Luxury Bullseye Flake 11) Luxury Navy Flake 12) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 13) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices 14) H & H AJ’s VaPer 15) H & H Louisiana Red 16) Kajun Kake These I suppose people like, but if I found myself with some, would give it away to someone who truly appreciates them. 17) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 18) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 19) GL Pease Filmore 20) GL Pease Telegraph Hill The following I have not tried. Low Country’s Waccamaw Peretti’s Park Square John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke H & H Rolando’s Own Reiner’s Long Golden Flake |
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would be cool to blind review all of them, having someone else pack them so you can't even see which one is which based on how it's made (flake, ribbon, coin, etc).
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I would be glad to donate my can of Kajun Kake, lol. I got ahold of it when it was in a list of 4. I'm thinking,
hmm, 4th, not bad. Haha. By the time the reviews were winding down, it was at the bottom. That's where I'd put it too. I am smoking it, albeit a little wet, and it was nothing. Tasted like a bad cigar. I was waiting for some aromatics to come into my sinuses, but nothing. So for my top two tobaccos I have ever smoked. Escudo and Kajun Kake, lol. I lie, I smoked a bowl of Junkyard dog in the truck over lunch just now, and it was better. For my trip to Charlotte tonight I have about 10 habanos, one bowl of Escudo filled and ready and one bowl of Bowlegged Bear filled and ready. And my Acids just came in for the troops...maybe I will smoke one of these minis. |
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I have really enjoyed this thread, BUT I would like to say, it got me to order 4 oz of AJs Vaper taste untasted and
I don't like it at all. But on balance, it did get me to order Scottish Kake, and get 4 tins without wondering if I'd like it. 8 oz of Anniversary kake on top of that and greatly bulk up my stocks of Escudo. The anni had help from lots of raves here and there. It's not bad. But I love the McLelland's Scottish Kake and the Escudo. |
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i didn't like the AJ's VaPer either... haven't liked any of the H&H blends, to be honest.
just a quick correction: it's McConnells Scottish Cake. |
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ehh. Tomato-Tomotto, lol. You are right, my friend. Musta had Mclelland's on the brain.
That Scottish Kake is some seriously tasty tobacco. |
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Scottish cake is good stuff, favorite vaper.
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[quote=OLS;851649]it got me to order 4 oz of AJs Vaper taste untasted and I don't like it at all.[quote]
I've ordered a bunch of AJs over the years. It does better when it has a chance to sit and meld for 6 months to a year. I'm guessing that they pump it out too fast and it doesn't have a chance to age together all that much. |
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I think i will try a bowl tonight. There is no way something that reviews that well is that bad.
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I wouldn't mind trying some Aj's with some age. I've grown to appreciate cavendish a little more now. When I first smoked AJ's, the cavendish left a funny after taste that I just couldnt get around. Might order 2 ounces and let it sit...
I have however really enjoyed Louisiana red, and for the price cannot be beat. |
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BigFrank....the best way to try it is to let it sit one month then smoke a few bowls. Then let it sit another month and then smoke a few bowls and so on.
Like I said above, with the Hearth and Home Blends I find that the demand is so high that they are pumping them out too fast and the blends do not have the proper aging on them. For the price, this is fine with me. I buy it and let it sit here in my cellar. I'll have to order a bit of Louisiana Red. It's been a long time since I have had any of that and I cannot remember exactly how it tastes. |
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Sounds like its time to fire up a pipe with some louisiana red in it!
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After a long extended break here is a new review for your reading pleasure.
In this installment I am taking on Former’s Straight Grain Flake. This is kind of a sleeper blend it seems that many people pass over. In my opinion, all of Former’s blends seem to be sleepers. Heck, there are only 5 reviews of this blend over on tobaccoreviews.com. I just happened to run across this blend as a reference in another tobacco review that I was reading. Then I went to smokingpipes.com and there it was. And it is a cheaper blend as well. Right now it is listed right around $7 for 2 ounces. I have not seen this offered in bulk anywhere. Here is what the blend description states: A full bodied but amazingly smooth dark flake tobacco prepared from traditional old world recipes and methods. A good pinch of mellow, yet spicy, Perique brings out the rich flavor in this zesty blend. The appearance in the tin of this blend is similar to Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake but a lot darker. The tin aroma is a mix of the dark, tangy, sweet Virginias along with the underlying spice of the perique. There is also a hint of leather in there as well. This is one of my favorite smelling blends in the tin. It doesn’t really smell like any other blend. I opened several other Vapers and stuck my nose in all of them and none of them smelled as good to me as this one. I rubbed out the flake a little but to dry for a few minutes before packing this in. I have started using the Air Pocket Method for my flakes and broken flakes and that is what I used with this blend. I smoked this in a Peterson 268 Zulu shape as it seems the best for me with this blend. Lighting was very easy. Once rubbed out this blend is made up of very narrow strips of tobacco which take to flame very easily. This blend has a very dark Virginia taste to start off with. There are some lighter flavored Virginias in there that provide high notes, perhaps Red or maybe even Lemon Virginia. I’m not sure but they are delicious. The perique is there in the background but it really comes to the forefront after about 1/3 of the bowl. Then it kicks in and rounds this blend out very nicely. It has a fuller taste and strength than a lot of the blends in this showdown. Now this is not to say that this is a nicotine bomb like Night Train seems to be but it is definitely more full than any of the Hearth and Home blends. The taste and strength last through the rest of the bowl and never turns sour near the end. Overall this is a very, very enjoyable blend. While it is not my favorite smoke it is definitely in my regular rotation. As stated it is also one of the better bargains out there and I will be ordering more tins throughout the years to lie down in the cellar. This will be one that really gets better with age in my opinion. And because of all of these factors it now enters in at spot #5. 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) Escudo 4) GL Pease Filmore 5) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 6) H & H AJ’s VaPer 7) Low Country’s Waccamaw 8) Peretti’s Park Square 9) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 10) H & H Rolando’s Own 11) H & H Anniversary Kake 12) G & H Louisiana Flake 13) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 14) C & D Night Train 15) H & H Louisiana Red 16) C & D Bayou Morning Flack 17) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 18) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 19) Dorchester 20) Solani #633 21) Luxury Bullseye Flake 22) McClelland Bulk 2015 23) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 24) Kajun Kake 25) Luxury Navy Flake 26) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
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I'm coming in late here but this thread is a work of art, Scotto. +10
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You've had other things on your mind Moo. Good to hear from you though buddy.
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I'm glad Scott did a review on that Former's for ~7 bucks a tin that's a sleeper blend there. Keep up the good work brother...:tu
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C & D’s Poplar Camp
I have to admit, when SailorJack (a friend on smokersforum.com) first posted about this blend and wrote to me to ask if I wanted a sample to try in order to review it for the VaPer Showdown I had to scramble and look this blend up. I have to say that this is a VaPer that I had never heard of. And in my opinion it is better than most other VaPers that C & D puts out so I’m not sure why they don’t advertise this one any more than they do. The blend description is: Stoved red Virginia is combined with bright Virginia ribbon and restoved. Then red Virginia, Perique and unsweetened black Cavendish are added." It is basically their blend #457 Yorktown with Perique added. I think that the main reason that I like this blend by far and away from other C & D VaPers is that it does not have that earthy, peaty smell and taste that a lot of their other blends do. This is surprising to me with as much stoving as goes into this blend. They must be using a different type of Virginia for this one or something but it tastes and smells different from their other offerings. It is similar to the bulk version of Bayou Morning (not the flake) but this one tastes a lot brighter to me. This blend packs great and is made up of different colored short ribbons I’m assuming that are cut off of a larger flake. Lighting this blend was particularly easy as it was at the right humidity right off the bat. The taste is pretty much the same throughout the bowl which is a plus to me. Too many times the blend goes sour in the last 1/3 and it turns me off. The perique does come in a bit more in the middle and stays put until the end of the bowl. This one is a slow burning one as well. About a medium sized bowl lasted me about an hour. Overall I was pretty surprised by this blend. For a seldom mentioned VaPer this one is definitely flying below the radar. It is a bit hard to find however. The only place that I see it offered is on the actual C & D website. At this writing there were no online retailers that carry it as far as I can find. However, it is still a good deal from C & D and well worth ordering. I am definitely going to be getting more of this. 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) Escudo 4) GL Pease Filmore 5) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 6) H & H AJ’s VaPer 7) Low Country’s Waccamaw 8) Peretti’s Park Square 9) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 10) H & H Rolando’s Own 11) H & H Anniversary Kake 12) G & H Louisiana Flake 13) C & D Poplar Camp 14) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 15) C & D Night Train 16) H & H Louisiana Red 17) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 18) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 19) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 20) Dorchester 21) Solani #633 22) Luxury Bullseye Flake 23) McClelland Bulk 2015 24) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 25) Kajun Kake 26) Luxury Navy Flake 27) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
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GL Pease Tribute
I will state up front that this is one of my top 3 VaPer tobaccos. With that said, it is hard for me to smoke it because I have such a limited supply. I was lucky enough to acquire 3 tins of this over the years and every time I smoke some I realize that it is a pleasure that has an ending. This is a special blend that was distributed in the shadow of the tragedy that happened in New York on September 11th, 2001. Like most Americans, Mr. Pease felt a need to do something so he created this blend and donated all of the profits. There is a great write-up about the process on his website here: http://www.glpease.com/tribute.html Here is the tin description: Tribute is a special blend of red, lemon and stoved red Virginias, perique and toasted cavendish tobacco's. The blend was created by Gregory L. Pease. Production and distribution by Craig and Patty Tarler, Cornell & Diehl, Inc. The tribute was written by Ernest A. Carabillo III. All profits from the sale of this tobacco were donated to the "Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund". Produced in September, 2001. From what I have been able to research on the internet there was a First Edition in 2001 and then a Second Edition in 2002. I also found some references that C & D may have distributed this blend afterwards under the name of C & D Nassau but I could not find anything on their website or on tobaccoreviews.com about this blend. In my opinion, this is Mr. Pease’s opus for VaPers. My review is from a tin from the First Edition and has aged for over 9 years. Because I never tried this when it was first released this review is completely based on the aged tobacco. The tin aroma is excellent and certainly all VaPer. When I usually open a fresh tin of any VaPer I can define the different components with my nose. In this case, and I am assuming because of the aging, the aromas have combined into one distinct smell that is intoxicating. The ribbon cut makes this blend very easy to pack and also to light. Once lit, this blend only needed one re-light. The flavors of this blend immediately make themselves known. The aged Virginia and Perique are intertwined as you smoke this blend. There are no real moments where the Perique or the Virginia take over but rather a constant stream of both. The flavors and strength of this blend increases the closer that you get to the bottom of the bowl. While certainly not overpowering you will definitely feel it as you smoke this blend down. I never tasted the Toasted Cavendish but I did get the sense that it added fullness to this blend that would not have been there if it had been absent. It also seems to keep a balance between all of the tobaccos as well. Overall this is one of the best blends that I have had the pleasure to try. Not only because of the blend itself but because of the meaning behind why this blend was put together and the fellowship that developed because of it. Mr. Pease I applaud what you, the Tarlers, and everyone else that had a hand in getting this blend out there went through. I lost a friend in New York. My brother lost his best friend in the Pentagon. There were so many people directly and indirectly affected by what happened. It was a low point in our nation’s history but overall brought us closer together and made a much stronger nation. This year (2011) will mark the 10 Year Anniversary of what happened on that day. While I understand that this was a limited edition and I certainly understand the reason for keeping it that way, if Greg ever decides to revive this blend either for an anniversary or under another name you can be sure that I will be ordering a lot of this. “On 11th September, 2001, terrorists killed thousands of Americans. The blow came without provocation or reason, and the tragedy has left emptiness in the hearts of people from all nations. “Those who seek to defeat us aim to kindle the fires of hatred and despair in our hearts, but they will not. We are united. We will prevail. “In the years to come, do not forget that hatred took our loved ones away. Please smoke this tobacco in the spirit of peace, and never forget those we lost. “In the middle of the darkest night In the glowing of the tiniest ember We will remember” —EC III 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) GL Pease Tribute 4) Escudo 5) GL Pease Filmore 6) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 7) H & H AJ’s VaPer 8) Low Country’s Waccamaw 9) Peretti’s Park Square 10) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 11) H & H Rolando’s Own 12) H & H Anniversary Kake 13) G & H Louisiana Flake 14) C & D Poplar Camp 15) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 16) C & D Night Train 17) H & H Louisiana Red 18) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 19) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 20) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 21) Dorchester 22) Solani #633 23) Luxury Bullseye Flake 24) McClelland Bulk 2015 25) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 26) Kajun Kake 27) Luxury Navy Flake 28) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
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Nice review on the GLP Tribute Scott... |
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Here's a new blend that just came out......
Triple Play from G.L. Pease Product Description from the Tin Ripe red and bright flue-cured tobaccos are joined by piquant Acadian Perique and a balanced measure of smoky dark-fired kentucky. The leaf is pressed and matured in cakes before being cut into 2oz bars, resulting in a bold blend for Virginia and Perique fans. This all-American plug is a winning play, no matter how you slice it. Tin Appearance I love how Pease and C & D have the tobacco wrapped in cardboard layers inside the tin. It’s like opening a present at Christmas time. Upon opening this tin I was hit with a heavenly aroma. The tobacco was in a pressed brick in the middle of the tin with a couple of flakes lying on top (my second tin was a full solid brick). The thing that stands out with this brick compared to other cakes and crumble cakes is that you can see the whole tobacco leaves in there and it does not appear that there is a lot of “cutting down” of the leaves prior to pressing. I like this a lot. It almost appears like an plug of chewing tobacco back from the old days. Now I’m not going to bite off a chunk and start chewing, but I am going to put this on a cutting board and slice it up into flakes. Cake Preparation I cut this cake 2 ways from the original format. For half of the cake I sliced it into flakes that I slightly rubbed out for drying and packing purposes. For the other half, I sliced it as close to cube cut as I could get. After smoking both I found that I preferred the flake choice but it may be different for you. Lighting I dried this out a bit after rubbing it out not because it was overly moist but because I prefer my tobacco on the dryer side. This blend, to me, was very easy to light. The bigger pieces of tobacco took to the flame faster than most rubbed out flakes that I smoke. The initial aroma was very, very pleasant. It had a woody, nutty, and spicy aroma and taste initially. Whole Bowl It would be hard to describe this blend in parts throughout the whole smoking experience. This is because it remained consistent throughout the whole bowl. It was delicious. It reminded me a bit of C & D’s Night Train but this was better. Because this blend is still young there were times when certain tobacco components took over but not overly so. I believe with aging this blend will form together into a perfect harmony of flavors. Overall Not to use an old baseball term here but I cannot help it….Greg truly hit a homerun here. Most people liken Greg to be the master of Latakia but I think that he is going to turn some heads with the Perique fans with this one. Now I will state that this blend is a bit heavy on the nicotine so I definitely would not recommend it to a new smoker. However with that said, I don’t think that it is over the top by any means and it is a blend that I feel everyone will enjoy except for the diehard English tobacco smokers. All of the tobaccos used in this blend will only get much better with age so everyone be sure to stock up on this in your cellars to smoke for years into the future. This one debuts at spot #5. Not bad for a brand new blend. 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) GL Pease Tribute 4) Escudo 5) GL Pease Triple Play 6) GL Pease Filmore 7) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 8) H & H AJ’s VaPer 9) Low Country’s Waccamaw 10) Peretti’s Park Square 11) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 12) H & H Rolando’s Own 13) H & H Anniversary Kake 14) G & H Louisiana Flake 15) C & D Poplar Camp 16) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 17) C & D Night Train 18) H & H Louisiana Red 19) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 20) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 21) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 22) Dorchester 23) Solani #633 24) Luxury Bullseye Flake 25) McClelland Bulk 2015 26) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 27) Kajun Kake 28) Luxury Navy Flake 29) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
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****GL Pease Tribute Update****
I am not sure if everyone is aware or not but they have re-re-released the GL Pease blend Tribute. It is now Cornell & Diehl's First Responders blend. I have bought all that I can afford right now so I thought that I would let everyone in on this tip. http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/...oduct_ID=80554 Although this blend is under a different name.....please don't ever forget why it was created. |
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that blows.
must be why nobody was interested in buying the 2 tins of originally released Tribute i had for sale... which is fine, i pulled them earlier today because i really didn't want to sell them anyway. |
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Fantastic reviews so far, Scott. More, more, more...
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Trying to get to some more....time during the summer is the issue.
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Just a heads up......I have a new VaPer blend coming my way. It is the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club VR Blend from pipesandcigars.com. This was recommended to me a while back but I'll post up a review after I have a few bowls.
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Looking forward to it. I am really new to pipes and at first was turned off by the sweetness of VaPers but now I am loving them. Although not a true VaPer, I have been smoking Virginia Spice non-stop the last couple of days and can't get enough.
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What a great thread.
One that I do not see here that I have enjoyed is C&D 3 Friars. From what I understand it is blended to be like 3 Nuns. I have no idea since I have not had 3 nuns. But 3 Friars is very good, it's got a hay/grain and spice combo that goes really good with some light roast coffee in the morning. |
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nice bump Jake, hadn't read this yet, gots me craving some Anni. Kake. great list and reviews Scott, hope they continue!
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Scott,
What an incredible thread regarding Va/Per's. Fascinating reading and comparison; though I notice you have not done a review of one of my all time favorites yet, and that is Nordings, Hunter Series, Beagle. A marvelous Va/Per!!! Can't wait to see your review of this one and how it stacks up on the list. I know from reading your reviews that you like your perique a little on the stout side, so Beagle might be too much on the light side in the perique department for you. But still would love to read your review. Sonpuff:tu |
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I'm hoping this showdown study is not a dead issue. This is one of the greatest reads on the site.
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Scott,
It's been quite a while since your last comments and we are dying out here for more of your Va/Per Showdown entries. This is a marvelous study in the Va/Per's that is extremely valuable information to those exploring these fantastic blends. Hurry Back! Thanks! Sonpuff :tu |
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I'll be updating this soon.
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Could it be????
A new VaPer Blend Review???? I’m bringing it back baby!!!! I got sidetracked by English blends, Balkans, and even some OTC aromatics but I’m now back to my true love. Keep an eye out for several more over the next few weeks. This is also my 30th blend review. Oh how the time flies. Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club – VR Blend Site Description: Simply called "VR", the monogram of Victoria Regina, Queen of England which Holmes adorned his wall with while doing a little indoor revolver practice in his rooms at Baker Street. It also stands for Virginia Rich, a pressed blend of bright, stoved and red Virginias with a touch of unflavored Cavendish and a hint of sweet and spicy perique. Available exclusively at Pipesandcigars.com. Appearance This is actually a bulk blend and that is the only way that you can buy it. It is listed as a Krumble Kake but it comes similarly how H & H Anniversary blend used to come. There are some loose pieces and there are some solid chunks. I have ordered this a couple of times now and I have never gotten a full chunk or have it completely loose. All you have to do is tear a chunk off if you have a big piece and rub it out just a bit. To me this comes a bit moist but nothing outrageous. I just let it dry out for a few minutes and it’s ready to go. It has some browns and blacks in there which is pretty typical of a VaPer and it also has some unflavored Cavendish which also accounts for some of the black pieces. Aroma Ahhhhh…..to me nothing smells as good as a nice VaPer blend and this one is no exception. This one has a bright citrus/fruity smell to it that is also sweet. You can also smell the underlying twang of the perique in there. Initial Light Once this was dried out a bit it was really easy to light. If you like it chunky then put a bit of the loose stuff on top and this will light almost immediately. The taste upon lighting was almost exactly how the blends smelled. It was bright and citrusy with a spicier undertone of the perique. Middle and End of Bowl This blend was very consistent throughout. It always retained its bright note and never really bottomed out like some blends do. The Cavendish also added a bit of fullness to the blend and made it even that much more interesting. Overall Well my overall impression is a great one. As stated above I have ordered this a few times and have some in the cellar as I think this blends will get even better with age. This blend I would rate at about a medium in strength and is a great all day blend to smoke. 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) GL Pease Tribute 4) Escudo 5)GL Pease Triple Play 6) GL Pease Filmore 7) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 8) H & H AJ’s VaPer 9) Low Country’s Waccamaw 10) Peretti’s Park Square 11) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 12) H & H Rolando’s Own 13) H & H Anniversary Kake 14) G & H Louisiana Flake 15) Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club VR Blend 16) C & D Poplar Camp 17) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 18) C & D Night Train 19) H & H Louisiana Red 20) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 21) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 22) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 23) Dorchester 24) Solani #633 25) Luxury Bullseye Flake 26) McClelland Bulk 2015 27) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 28) Kajun Kake 29) Luxury Navy Flake 30) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
Nice review Scott and great addition to the VA/Per showdown lineup:tu
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Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
And here we go with the 31st VaPer review. Whew…..it’s been a labor of love.
Dunhill’s Deluxe Navy Rolls (DDNR) Well I finally got around to smoking this blend. I know…..it’s about time, right?!?! I do have to say that it was definitely worth the wait. This blend has an average rating of 3.3 out of 4 on tobaccoreviews.com and it has over 100 reviews. I can’t really argue with numbers like that and luckily I don’t have to. I really liked this blend. With all of that said, let’s get to the review. Tin Description: De Luxe Navy Roll is made in Denmark using hand-stripped Virginia tobaccos from Brazil and Africa, married with Perique from Lousiana. This recipe produces an aromatic smoke with natural tobacco flavors and lovely sweet notes. Appearance: This is another blend that comes in coin form. Because of this there has been a lot of speculation that this blend, Escudo, and Stokkebye’s Luxury Bullseye Flake are all one in the same. I am here to put that argument to rest. They are all different. For one thing, DDNR does not have a center like Luxury Bullseye Flake and it smells and tastes a lot different than Escudo. To me Escudo has a lot of dark notes within the blend and I did not detect that with DDNR. It is more “bright” than Escudo. I did a test and smoked all 3 back-to-back and found them to be very different. Aroma: When you first open this tin you will find that it smells very sweet, like sugary sweet. Plum and raisin notes and also light peppery notes from the perique are present as well. As stated above, it smells bright to me. I love sniffing the tin on this one. Initial Light: I always rub these coins pretty much completely out. I haven’t yet mastered the act of rolling and stuffing this one. My tin came just a bit wet so after rubbing this out I set it out to dry out for about 20 minutes. After that I packed it into the bowl and lit it up and away we went. This blend does take to light very well. After rubbing this out it breaks down to a pretty thin ribbon and it lights quickly and burns exceptionally. The flavor of the first part of the bowl is very bright. The smoke coming out of the bowl is sweet and smells delicious. Middle and End of Bowl: The middle and end of the bowl is pretty much more of the same. The blend does settle down just a bit. The sweetness goes away just a bit but it still hangs around throughout the bowl. The perique is also always there but in the background and it pops in throughout the smoke. Overall: I have to admit that this one really surprised me. In all honesty, the reason why it took me so long to get to this blend was because I always viewed it as being a bit too expensive when compared to other blends that I enjoy. How could this one be that better that it could afford that price. Well I am here to say that it is worth it especially if you can get it on special like I just did from pipesandcigars.com. I still have my favorites so unfortunately this cannot take over the first few spots. Your tastes may differ and I could easily see this being many people’s #1. For me it takes over the #4 spot from Escudo. 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) GL Pease Tribute 4) Dunhill’s Deluxe Navy Rolls 5) Escudo 6) GL Pease Triple Play 7) GL Pease Filmore 8) Former’s Straight Grain Flake 9) H & H AJ’s VaPer 10) Low Country’s Waccamaw 11) Peretti’s Park Square 12) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke 13) H & H Rolando’s Own 14) H & H Anniversary Kake 15) G & H Louisiana Flake 16) Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club VR Blend 17) C & D Poplar Camp 18) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 19) C & D Night Train 20) H & H Louisiana Red 21) C & D Bayou Morning Flake 22) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 23) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 24) Dorchester 25) Solani #633 26) Luxury Bullseye Flake 27) McClelland Bulk 2015 28) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 29) Kajun Kake 30) Luxury Navy Flake 31) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices |
Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
I do not want to disrupt this thread, I love what you have done and are doing here. I completely respect your tastes and such. But, as all of our tastes are a bit different, I was wondering if you would mind if I were to jump in here and give my own list, ordering the VaPers which I have had from this list, according to my tastes? VaPers are probably my favorite blends.
Do not be afraid to say no, as this is actually your showdown. Peace of the Lord be with you. Todd |
Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
i don't know why he wouldn't? I know i'd always like to see other peoples reviews of the same stuff.
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Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
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I'd like to see it. |
Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
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But, as you have requested, here is my list. I post it here with a bit of commentary. As this is a "ranking", I had to put them in order, but the first 4 could change order on any given day. As Dorchester is so doggone hard to find, it should lose even more ground, but it is ridiculously good so it my stay up there. 1) G & H Louisiana Flake (I have not had any that was aged less than 4 years old in ages) 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake (I think this is FVF w/Perique) 3) Escudo (a class all its own) 3) Esoterica Dorchester 4) GL Pease Haddo’s Delight 5) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture 6) McConnell Scottish Flake 7) P.S. Luxury Navy Flake (given the price, I smoke more of this than any other on the list) 8) C & D Night Train 9) Rattray Hal ‘O the Wynd 10) Dunhill’s Deluxe Navy Rolls 11) McClelland Beacon Extra 12) Solani 633 13) H & H Anniversary Kake 14) H & H AJ’s VaPer 15) P.S. Luxury Bullseye Flake 16) Tordenskjold - Virginia Slices (this would be lower, but it is already at the bottom) |
Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown
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Solid line-up Todd. It appears that Scott spends quite a bit of time these days on PSF, and so may not be around to reply to post... |
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