[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?

[Tobacco Blends] Sutliff Private Stock: Man’s Best Friend

It’s not every day a company makes a ‘cross-over’ blend that can pique my interest smoke after smoke. Sutliff Tobacco Company, however, did just that in their blend entitled Man’s Best Friend. With a mix of burley, Virginia and latakia leaves topped with a mild casing of rum flavoring they managed to get things just right.

The tin note is rather pleasant with that every-familiar smokey smell thanks to the latakia as well as hints of sweet rum. The man behind the Sutliff Tobacco Company claims that all of their tobacco is ready to go right from the tin with no drying time needed. That being said, it is almost true of this blend. I do like my tobacco a little on the crispy side but I can load a bowl quickly when I’m in a hurry and have as of yet to suffer from what I feel is slightly moist leaves. Even so, my dry time only amounted to 10-15 minutes at most when I felt the need to enter my ritual of preparation for a smoke.

It takes to light easily. In fact, it keeps the cherry going from beginning to end. If for some reason the bowl snuffs out, a relight still tastes great and no ‘skunking’ near the end of the bowl is had. One thing to note is that I thought this blend to burn a little on the warm-to-hot side, especially if you’re a puffer like me. When smoking from smaller bowls I had to slow down…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it made me enjoy this tobacco even more so.

This particular blend is marketed as a non-aromatic with the inclusion of latakia rather than an English blend. However, even an English smoker will find some enjoyment here as there’s enough latakia to keep things a little spicy and a bit of burn to the ol’ nostrils. The rum flavoring is a nice touch and isn’t overpowering. It stays with the bowl as it burns, but smokes like a roller coaster ride, some parts of the bowl the casing being more prevalent than others.

The room note is, obviously, rum-infused as well. I actually found this blend to be a great outside or in the garage smoke, as the extra air movement only enhanced the outward note. It smells delicious.

My first few bowls were out of my dedicated latakia-based pipes (i.e. my Nording Point Clear Freehand and Amadeus #61). However, as the weather has begun to become pleasant here in Iowa, I started loading it up in on of my Missouri Meerschaum pipes so I can enjoy a smoke while I’m piddling around out in the yard. I found in my bigger-chambered MMs, the blend had room to mature as I puff.

All-in-all, this will be a blend I will most definitely reorder and keep around. It may not be one I smoke as part of my daily rotation, but instead will be one I keep for enjoying outdoors. Whether that means it’ll be one I smoke every few days during my “chores” or just on weekends as I work in the yard it’ll be a smoke I’ll look forward to each time.

[Tobacco Blends] Dunhill: Early Morning Pipe

I’ve taken my interest of getting off my beaten path of aromatic pipe tobaccos seriously. I still order some to sample and see what is out there, but lately what I have purchased has been the majority non-aromatics. Although I’m still attempting to get the nuances of Virginia non-aro blends down, I’ve noticed my palate is adjusting well to the ‘English’ or latakia-based blends…to the point of this style being a predominant fixture in my tobacco cabinet.

Due to multiple suggestions, Dunhill’s Early Morning Pipe is one of those blends that has been loaded heavily into my pipes. The tin note is lightly smoky and not overpowering (unlike some latakia blends I have purchased). The tobacco itself it just about right direct from the tin, but as always I prefer mine a bit more dry. My preference, however, only requires 10-15 minutes worth of air time.

The tobacco takes to light well and after the false light I don’t find myself having to fish for my Zippo or matches any time soon (unless, of course, I get distracted and have to put the pipe down).

The smoke is light and airy, which I love. It’s not overly dosed in latakia, and I find it has enough to spice things up and tickle the nostrils rather than take your breath away. I will say that it’s not an overly complicated smoke. The latakia is prevalent more so in the beginning of the bowl and I find it all mellows out about 1/3 to 1/2 the way through.

Initially, this started out as a blend I kept to my Nording Point Clear Freehand. The big chamber of this pipe gave me more than enough time to enjoy the taste and let the it roll around a bit. However, I actually found it smoked well from my Amadeus #61 (the design/finish of which I believe is amongst there Dark Smooth line). It’s a smaller-chambered bent egg-shaped pipe.

Keep in mind that this particular pipe and I have a long history of hatred and loathing. I picked it up roughly eight years ago from a local B & M shop (which is, unfortunately, no longer around). At the time I had a hankering for Peterson pipes, but the shop owner steered me towards his collection of Amadeus pipes he had recently started carrying. The maker is based out of Greece. At the time, I had no clue about the makers of pipes, nor what constituted as a good choice. I decided to give it a go and for $40-$50 I wouldn’t be out much if I didn’t care for it.

Needless to say…I didn’t care for it. I’ve attempted to smoke it off and on over the years and the pipe and I just never seemed to hit it off. The mechanics of the pipe are downright horrid. It cannot pass a pipe cleaner from mouthpiece to bowl, the draught hole is, in my opinion, raised just a smidgen too high from the bottom of the chamber and the looks of the pipe bothered me as it’s riddled with fills. The pipe was never able to be finished to the bottom in part due to my puffing habits and in part due to design.

Something, however, spoke to me about this blend and this pipe. I decided to dig it out of my stash of castaways and give it a good cleaning as best as possible. A couple of days later, Early Morning Pipe found its way into the bowl and since then I have enjoyed both the pipe and blend immensely. I found that this tobacco smoked better in this little pipe than it did in my Nording. The small nuances played on my palate and I could taste the tobacco a little bit more ‘clean.’ It could be due to the shorter length of the pipe or the small bowl. In truth, I don’t know, but I can’t get enough of this blend.

In both cases, it smoked well all the way to the bottom. At the times I did find myself having to relight, the taste was pleasant and didn’t change much. One thing I noted is that when the tobacco did have to be relit, the latakia came out more for a few puffs and I found this quite nice, especially as the bowl went on and the latakia mellowed out. Sometimes, I’ve even purposely let the pipe go out just to relight and spice things up when I felt the need.

All-in-all, I’d say give this blend a go. I’ve heard more experienced smokers say this blend is pretty mild, but I’ve also noticed the same individuals prefer truer ‘English’ blends with a heavier latakia content. I personally find it has just enough of everything to get my day going in terms of my palate and will continue to keep it in my rotation.

[Tobacco Blends] McClelland Craftsbury: Frog Morton’s Cellar

As mentioned previously, I’ve been an aromatic, and strictly aromatic, smoker since I first picked up a pipe. It’s wasn’t for lack of wanting to try different variations of pipe tobacco, but rather a safety net of sorts. I had never tried anything other and I was a skeptic as to branching out, fearful it’d ruin things for me.

Recently, however, I became motived to seek something new. I read through various reviews of different blends, as well as lurked through the forums over at Pipes Magazine. There were plenty of suggestions and offered advice for one such as myself (i.e. wanting to step outside of the box) and one name that kept cropping up was that of McClelland’s Frog Morton line.

After a little more digging, I hunkered down and decided to give Frog Morton’s Cellar a go. For one, it seems to be the more popular of the line’s blends currently on the market. For another, I’m a sucker for whiskey and as the tobacco blend is aged with stave cubes (chunks of cask from whiskey barrels) it naturally piqued my interest.

I have to say, I’m glad I took that leap of faith!

Once my package arrived, I greedily tore into it, popping the tin with eagerness. The first thing I noticed is the campfire-like smell with a hint of whiskey and sweetness underneath. I had ordered the 100g tin, and in order to preserve some in case I didn’t particularly care for it I broke it up into two different mason jars; one to tuck away for a while and another to take from. One thing I found to be a surprising novelty is the inclusion of an actual stave cube in the 100g tins, keeping that whiskey-ness along for the ride.

The tobacco was all but ready to go right from the tin. I let it dry for 20-25 minutes before loading up my bowl, letting that aroma waft around me in the interim. Upon setting flame to leaf, an earthy and smoky, yet spicy, flavor hit my palate with eye-opening interest. Although smoking aromatics had me searching for the different flavorings this was something totally different. Although a reportedly mild blend for “English” offerings, being new to this side of the fence offered me a completely new experience.

The smoke was relatively light but husky. A hint of whiskey was present in the background but not prevalent. It was somewhat ‘meaty’ in taste…like that charred crust sitting on top of a steak on the grill. With the inclusion of latakia for the first time in my smoking experience, I found it added a little extra kick to take it up a notch and gave my palate something new to toy with.

As the bowl smoked down, I found the blend to become a bit thicker in consistency, mellowing out as it went along allowing the Virginian leaves to come more to the forefront with their sweet taste.

The tobacco itself burns relatively cool and took to flame easily. My first smoke of this blend was in a fresh Nording Clear Point Freehand and after several days of smoking and letting the briar pick up some of that latakia more of its essence became prevalent in each bowl. Going out on a limb and deciding to dedicate the new pipe to latakia-based blends I found to be an enhancing experience and from what I understand tend to ghost bowls for those who shuffle between tobaccos with other varieties of leaf.

All-in-all, after the Frog Morton line being hailed as “cross-over” blends for aromatic smokers wanting to try “English” blends, I can understand what they mean. Frog Morton Cellar has enough kick to shock the aromatic smoker’s palate with its inclusion of latakia. Enough latakia, in my opinion, for someone to decide if the “English” blends would be something worth delving deeper into. For me, I can’t get enough.

After several bowls now, I’m ready to try other latakia-laced blends and those fruity, casing-heavy blends are looking to be the occasional ‘treat.’ If you’re wanting for something new as an aro smoker, give it a whirl, you just might enjoy it…I know I did!