[Tobacco Blends] Drew Estate: Meat Pie

Finding that some of my favorite cigar manufacturers had begun putting out blends of tobacco meant for a pipe, I must say that I was elated. First came CAO, which had put out my favorite in flavored cigarillos. I found out once I started delving back into the pipe collecting hobby that they had released multiple blends based off their tinned line of smokes, which included my personal favorite of Eileen’s Dream.

It was not too soon after that when I stumbled upon Drew Estate and several of their blends. To this company’s credit, they aren’t blends based of off something they have already released in the past. In fact, they went out on a limb and went all out. Naturally, with my recent fascination with English/Latakia blends, I steered first towards their Meat Pie. No real hint as to whats in it (although, after some digging I did find out it is a mix of latakia, oriental and Virginia tobacco) I went for it, and I have a feeling this just might be a staple in my rotation.

Opening the tin, my nose was greeted with the familiar smells associated with these blends. Smokey…almost bonfire like in smell. For a split second, however, I was slightly confused as I examined the tobacco as there are plenty of light and dark tones…hinting at aromatic blends.

This blend was perfect, and I do mean perfect, right from the tin. There was no dry time, even for my tastes. I quickly loaded up a bowl, sat back and struck a match. It took to light easy enough. My first bowl it took a couple tries, but I have a feeling it was more out of my pack job due to excitement than anything else. Once the tobacco gets going there was no relight. It burns well enough that even after sitting for a minute I can pick my pipe back up and there’s still enough smoldering that with a couple puffs it takes off once more.

The blend tastes smokey at first, like any good English with a hint of something more underneath. I found as I went along the bowl mellows out and the latakia becomes less prevalent. As a matter of fact, I found that the blends becomes sweeter the further down the bowl I smoked. Near the end, there was something there that was almost vanilla-like in taste. This hint of vanilla was just that…subtle and enough to make me tilt my head to the side and wonder. There was no note in the room that myself or my other half could pick up (it smelled smokey, like all English tend to) and as far as I could find, there was no casing involved…so if there happens to be a bit of vanilla in this blends it is no more than a spritz or two.

The tobacco finishes out to a nice grey ash. Out of all the bowls I have smoked not a single one had more than a piece or three of dottle. Most smokes ended up burning clear to the end and other than in larger bowl (like my Nording), there was no moisture at all. What did accumulate in my Nording was more due to me and my drooling tendencies than the tobacco.

In the end, as I stated, halfway through the tin and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those I include as part of my rotation. It’s delicious and surprisingly different than the norm. If I were to recommend an English/Latakia blend that isn’t a cross-over from an aromatic I’d say this would most likely be it. It has great flavor and a complexity that piques my interest as I smoke, resulting in my curiosity in all of their blends growing. If they can make a twist on a traditional English, just what can they do with their aromatic or Virginia-based blends?