Tobaccos Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Drexel VIII

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3048)	2017-04-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The base of the blend is the flue cured Virginia, which offers some tart and tangy citrus, a lot of grass, light bread, floralness, and a couple drops of honey and sugar. In between playing a support role and being just more than a condiment is the raisiny, lightly figgy and plummy, very mildly spicy, earthy, woody perique. The nic-hit is mild. The taste is a step past mild, while the strength level sits squarely on that threshold. Won’t bite or get harsh even when pushed, though it does have a slight acidic note. Burns cool, clean, and slightly slow with a very consistent flavor to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste, and room note. It does lack depth, and serves as an all day work and play smoke. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-01-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Drexel VIII.

Having been smoking Sutliff African Queen #500 this morning, which thoroughly disgusted me, I wanted something simple and no-messing to 'cleanse' myself with; this did the job perfectly!

I was expecting the pouch to contain long strips of flake but when I lifted the flap I found two neat stacks. They're about 5x3 centimetres and fairly thin. The colour's a medium brown with a high quantity of yellow mottles and the nose from the pouch is a straight forward uncased one.

I really like the flavour: there's lots of plummy, spicy Perique, with only a smidgen of Virginia freshness. The Perique easily domineers the smoke. In fact, the flavour of it becomes a lot stronger as the bowl's smoked. The burn can't be faulted, and the temperature's below medium. I get no tongue bite from this, whether I strain or sip.

The nicotine's medium, and the room-note's nice.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson Kinsale XL 12 P'Lip

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BlackAdderLXX (5)	2018-10-05		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

July 4, 2018. Independence day. For me it was a day I will never forget because I had received a pouch of Drexel - FREE in my latest order from Pipes and Cigars and this was the day I opened it. This is my story.

I was skeptical at first because it was free, but when I opened up the pouch and took a big whiff it smelled like freedom. Like an excited kid on Christmas day, I took out my most prized pipe, a big old Boswell bent brandy and packed it up with delicious flakes of Drexel and prepared to watch the fireworks celebration. The sun was going down as I did a charring light, and then as I gave the full light, the fireworks started, both literally and metaphorically. I am not as eloquent as other reviewers here on TR, but I have to say that the taste of this wonderful flake reminded me of the promises of the founding fathers - I had pursued happiness, and finally took a hold of it and it was now mine. The perfect symbolism of discovering nirvana on independence day was exquisite. Ironically, I think that the classless society that Karl Marx dreamed of could have been achieved by Drexel. But, here we are...

If you want a blend that completely humiliates all other VaPers; Eso, SG, Rattray and yes even McClelland (pease be upon them) - look no further. This is your moment.

TYVM

Pipe Used: Various Briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Similar Blends: Dunbar, St James Woods, Marlin Flake.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2018-03-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I got this as a free pouch with the P&C ISPD promo. The flakes came very dry because the pouch is not sealed. The first bowl was smoked as delivered, but then I hydrated it a little. It is a better smoke when not so dry.

This is in the same class as LNF or OGS. The perique is a light touch, and there is less citrus than OGS. The taste is a little less "bright" than LNF. There is a little plum from the perique and some hay with a slightly heavier sweet from the Virginia that either of the others.

This is easy to recommend. For a flake, it comes at a very attractive price point (even when it is not a freebie), and it is an easy smoke.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jmic (3)	2018-10-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

On the technical side, this is a tasty blend with some natural sweetness, and an enjoyable flake.

But hear me out...

It's 9pm, and I've been awake for 17 hours. I'm driving home after yet another 14 hour shift, and I get lost in thought and miss the on ramp to the highway. I press onward, and find a way small trailhead to pull over, and turn around. But maybe this was a sign. How many times had I taken the highway just to miss this tiny seaside trail, an adventure yet unexplored. One other lonely car is parked, and I grab my bag and head off into the night.

The trail is mostly flat, but a small hill leads to a Boulder that gives me a clear view of the sea. I sit, chilled by the start of fall, and take out my pipe. I dig through my bag for my flavor of the month, but stop. An untouched bag of drexel sits atop my tin. In the spirit of the night, I pick a flake and begin to prepare it.

I open the book that holds old ticket stubs and postcards, and find a page. Korpiklanni, 2016. A fitting choice. I use the book as a platter and rub out a flake. It's easy to do, with a nice cut. I half close the book and empty the leaf into my pipe, and the wind blows out my lighter. I shield it with my hand, and begin to puff away.

The pipe let's out a ghost of latakia which yields to a mild spice of perique with a hint of sweetness. I begin to puff away, and for a moment, my world makes sense. The fall air let's me know summer is truly gone, and my time disappears faster than I can realize.

I tamp twice to keep the pipe lit, and on the third tamp, the moment is gone. I dump out my ash and some blows off to the sea. Off to the sprit of sailors who smoked their pipes on the same salty sea breeze. They did not smoke the fine blends we know today, but they smoked what they had. They smoked not when they wanted, but when they could. I prepare to close my book, and notice a small ribbon of Drexel stuck behind the stub. Perfect.

I walk back to my car and a jogger with a dog passes me. I sit and think that this moment will stay with me, and am grateful for all I have.

So here I ask, nay implore, that you go out and buy yourself a bag of Drexel VIII. Smoke it not because you can, but because you want to. Appreciate every moment of it, because those moments can last the rest of your life.

Pipe Used: Roma basket pipe, unknown

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: P&C

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	truculentfrogs (17)	2017-07-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

No pretense. As simple & straight forward as SWR, which despite no burley, it reminds me of . . .i.e. a tad rough (in a good way) and nic on low side of medium. Why no sticky seal is a bit of a mystery. That made 1st pouch immediately smokeable, but when I got around to the 2nd, a button disc used overnight was required. Attractively priced & worth trying. You risk no more than being underwhelmed, but will certainly find it smokeable. Makes an interesting flake parfait with 1/3 Heinrich Special Curly atop 2/3 VIII.

Pipe Used: briar, meer & cob

Age When Smoked: from pouch

Purchased From: SP

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-05-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a pretty good VaPer. A little grass and citrus, some earth and a fair sweetness from the Virginias. Tart figs and plums with ample spice from the Perique. The fruitiness fades a little in the second half replaced by a little more earth. A satisfying smoke.

Mild to medium in body and taste. No added flavoring. Burns very well.

Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2017-05-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Heard horror stories about how powerful Perique is, but also a bit intrigued about what this thing called a VA/Per is and wanting to move away from aros or codger blends? This might be the intro VA/Per to try. The VAs are mild and fairly balanced with perhaps a bit of a sweeter cure or a touch of sweet casing (but not overtly changing the flavor profile), the Perique is lightly applied, giving just a bit of spice. Those who prefer just enough VA in their Perique to hold it together would probably not care for it, but certainly worth a try for most others, although, like JimInks, I did notice a bit of acidity, especially in the last 1/3 of a bowl.

Pipe Used: briars, cobs, and meers

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StogieBear (20)	2018-10-16		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is bad stuff. Picture a normal, light VA flake. Orlik, Capstan etc. Now remove half the flavor and replace it with a sort of acrid house paint smell.

That’s your best case scenario. Since it comes in an unsealed pouch, from P&C (which isn’t very good at handling or rotating stock) there’s a good chance you get dry crumbles.

Pipe Used: Doesn’t matter. It’s bad in all of them.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: P&C

Similar Blends: OGS, smoked in a room that’s just been painted..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HavelDad (1)	2018-10-10		Overwhelming	None Detected	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

I'd rather smoke poison Ivy.

Acrid burning dumpster tobacco, I wouldn't even use it as incense. Burns like the sun, smells and tastes awful. Smoking this blend is comparable to trying to eat wet boot leather that is covered in manure.

Age When Smoked: Too young

Similar Blends: Poison.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wintermute (90)	2018-08-23		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

First of all, lest me say that I am more of a Burley fan and smoke a lot of aromatics. Typically, I usually give these Virginia based blends rather lack-luster reviews. This, I am afraid, is no exception. The aroma from the pouch is of natural tobacco and it arrived a little dry for my taste. After hydration, the flake was easy to rub out and pack. It takes a light well and does provide a fair amount of smoke. The taste is very mild and I did find myself puffing with greater vigor to get more flavor. Even with that, there was no tongue bite. I got almost no plum taste from the Perique. I am used to lighting my pipe only twice, but this required several. I am willing to admit user-error, however. towards the end of the bowl, I did get a little more spice. The flavor stayed consistent throughout the bowl. The ash was fine. The bowl was left moist, but that was probably due to the excessive puffing on my part to get flavor. The nicotine level seemed a little low to me. There was no after taste and the room note will not win any friends. The room note is not bad, but unless your friends enjoy the smell of natural tobacco, they will not be won over. Maybe this genre is not my thing, but if I were out of tobacco and needed to pick up a pouch, I would probably choose something else; this is a little bland when there are many options.

Pipe Used: MM Huck Finn

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Mac Barren Virginia Flake No 1, Escudo, Sail Yellow.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2019-12-06		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

I too received this from pipesandcigars.com some time ago, maybe even last year. This pouch is dated 10/2/17. A good two years of age. It felt hard in the package until I realized this is flakes in a 1.5 oz pouch. At first it had an odd sweet smell to it but then airing out somewhat was not as strong. I take a nice square flake and fold, double fold and crumble and stuff it into my meerschaum. Upon smoking this I kept getting a sense of déjà vu. This reminded me of a blend I have tried but I could not place it. I like reading other reviews when I am smoking to get a feel of what others experience. It does not change my opinion but sometimes helps in trying to describe what I am smoking since I am not great at the usage of words to describe what I smell or taste, i.e. figgy, grassy, plum, hay, etc. To me I smell, say sweetness but sweetness compared like to what? DeathMetal.org to me hit the nail on the head. This reminds me of Peter Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake. Though this says there is no flavor I sensed a topping that I really do not care for. There may be none, but there is something that for me detracts from this blend. This one is all over the map, either you love it or it tastes like crap. A lot of 4 and 2 stars. Whereas this does not taste really bad I would only somewhat recommend this one as it just does not ring any bells. Nice to get a free sample, which makes me wonder why are they giving it away? Ha.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: free from pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Peter Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	michaelc (40)	2018-06-07		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I purchased this from cupojoes.com from their clearance section. The price was very good so I bit and bought a pouch. When it arrived the tobacco was very dry. It was a year and a half old from the date of packaging. It had a grassy hay like smell in the pouch. Filled a bowl and it lit easily. It smoked slowly with no bite. It tasted of citrus with plum spiciness from the Perique. I was surprised to find flakes in the pouch. They were perfect and thinly sliced. I liked this so much that I purchased six more pouches. These I jarred and hydrated for future smoking.

Pipe Used: Several briars

Age When Smoked: 1 1/2 years

Purchased From: cupojoes.com

Similar Blends: PS LNF.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2018-03-31		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: not quite a breakfast cereal Va/Per, but soft Virginia flakes with mild Perique and a coconut topping along the lines of Peter Stokkebye "Luxury Navy Flake."

Upon opening the packet, one finds a stack of soft, sweet-smelling flakes. The coconut topping wafts upward. First light brings out the Virginia sweetness which has been made mild with a coconut topping, eliminating much of the natural variation. The Perique manifests as a slightly piquant fruity flavor melding quickly into the Virginias. As the bowl burns down, a syrup-like flavor appears from the melting Virginias, topping, and denatured Perique. It has a bit of bite, little nicotine, and while an easy smoke, remains an uninteresting one. There is nothing wrong with this blend but nothing to particularly recommend it either, but if you want a sweet but not cloying all-day smoke, this semi-aromatic will do.

Similar Blends: Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Navy Flake, Newminster - No. 403 Superior Round Slices, Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Bullseye Flake (No. 403).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	craig61a (22)	2021-02-22		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

First received as a free sample a number of years ago. Bought some more because I liked it. Has a nice semi-sweet Virginia/Bright Va flavor, with a mild Perique Plum/Fig flavor that's well balanced. Perhaps a small percentage of Unflavored Cavendish in there too that adds a little bottom to it. Produces a good amount of smoke. A mild to medium no nonsense VaPer that's a good all day smoke. Ages well, add a good value for the price. I recently re-discovered some that I had squirreled away in my cellar, and I'm enjoying it...

There are 100's of VaPers on the market; The quality of the leaf in this blend is by no means substandard. I give this one high marks for it's simplicity, easy smoking, balance and price. It's in the top tier for me.

Pipe Used: Peterson Kinsale XL11

Age When Smoked: 4 years old

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2018-06-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I got a pouch of Drexel 7 in my National Pipe Day goodie bag from P&C (great promo btw), so I had zero expectation of the product. A few months after Pipe Day (whenever it actually was), I decided to properly celebrate with my Pipe Day swag bag (the corn cob pipe, mini tamper, book, and included tobacco).

I sat down with the book on pipes (a good read, though slanted towards Stanwell products) and cracked the seal on the pouch. I was very surprised to find flakes inside as I don't associate them with pouch tobaccos. The contents had a fine sweet Virginia hay aroma with perhaps some added topping to sweeten it up.

The cut was so precise you could use these flakes for a ruler (machine made and exacting), they were also wafer thin and quite dry. Rubbing them out sucked as they had no body and immediately broke down. The lack of much moisture sparked a cherry quickly, yet it didn't burn excessivly hot, it did however give off a dry "chokey" smoke. The flavor was almost tart and without any country-time barnyard taste I would want from a Virginia.

Ultimately it was not a good smoke (1.5 stars), though for what I assume was a bargain product, I was impressed with it being a flake and not a lazy ribbon cut (so it gets a .5 star nod).

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mosessupposes (11)	2017-09-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A very pleasant vaper at a reasonable price, probably because it's USA made by a large company. I don't taste much perique, but even so it's to my liking. Smokes cool with no bite. Recommended.

Pipe Used: Radford

Age When Smoked: Just purchased

Purchased From: Smokingpipes

Similar Blends: Many mild Virginias and vapers..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Seedun (4)	2017-04-05		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

To my taste this is Orlik Golden Sliced. Has the same bergamot/lavender flavor and citrusy dry finish. Did not notice any perique flavor.

Quality of my pouch was good.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Lumberman

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thepipehunter (43)	2021-03-03		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

VaPer flakes in a pouch. The flakes are uniform, symmetrical, intact, and a rather wide for a navy flake, as well as darker in color. They are on the dry side. The aroma is strong and is of sweet hay and fermented fruit, as well as tangy, spicy, and peppery.

Upon lighting, the Virginia’s shine. They are sweet with hay, with a little bit of lemon grass, and are on the bright side. The perique has a lot of black pepper and is spicy, with a some dark fruit flavors. I can pick out strong notes of raisins and plum as well as fermented/stewed fruit. I think there is a light rum and fruity topping present. They fade as the bowl it smoked down, but never fully goes away, especially the fruit. This blend is similar to OGS, but a little more full, not as bright, and with more perique.

Drexel VIII smoked cool, burned slow, and didn’t require a lot of relights. I had success smoking this folding it and rubbing it out. It never got hot or bit, but can have a slight edge if aggressively puffed. It lacks a strong nicotine hit, so this one falls into the all day category. If there was an OTC codger style VaPer, this would be it. I would bet money that this blend will age well in a jar. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2021-02-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

Even though sealed in an outer cellophane wrapper, this one was dry from the pouch. Nicely prepared, uniform flakes. Burns evenly; no bite or condensation; few relights. Not much influence by the Perique and comparatively bland overall.

Pipe Used: charatan; estella

Age When Smoked: 12/4/17

Purchased From: smoking pipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Robby the Belgian (24)	2021-01-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

A very uneventful Virginia/Perique. Both the flavor and room note bring the idea of rolling tobacco, with not much else to add.

Be careful when smoking this: if you smoke it a bit fast, it will burn very hot. If smoked slowly, there are very subtle hints of flavor (black pepper and golden plums).

When you get to the last third of the bowl, the flavor becomes a bit more pronounced, and it is actually pretty enjoyable. It's a shame that the first two thirds are just mediocre.

The tobacco needs quite a few relights (a problem I have with many flakes) but does burn completely to a nice fine powdery ash, all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

One very good use of this I have discovered is combining it with an aromatic tobacco that is heavily cased or topped, losing its flavor soon (which I have found with several of the poorer aromatics), the type that leaves a soggy mess at the bottom of your bowl. Taking a pinch of such tobacco, folding it in a flake of Drexel and stuffing it in your pipe takes the strengths of both and alleviates the weaknesses. The Drexel adds structure to the flavor and makes the tobacco burn better.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Churchwarden 601

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tamentis (9)	2018-11-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Like a few other people in here, I received a free pouch of Drexel VIII with one of my online orders. As far as I understand this is what we call a VaPe (Virgnia/Perique). It was my first of its kind. Since it was free I somewhat resented smoking it, assuming it wasn't going to be that great. And indeed, it wasn't the most pleasant smokes at first. I even mixed in some Nat Sherman 580 in a few smokes to have a more pleasurable smoke. I transferred the content of the pouch in a jar and re-opened it after a few months to give it another try. I actually acquired a taste for it and almost regretted running out of it. I would probably not buy it again and would probably investigate other VaPes instead.

I didn't like the smell it left behind.

Pipe Used: Vieille Bruyere Bent Rhodesian from St Claude

Age When Smoked: From a 4 months old jar

Purchased From: Free pouch from pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Olivermac (19)	2018-07-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have been getting a lot of this free from p&c every time I order from them lately. I say, keep it coming. It comes to me on the dryer side due to its being in a pouch and not a tin, but not so dry that it turns to dust when you break it up. I truly enjoy this one.

Pipe Used: Various mm cobs and assorted briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: P&c

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyThousand (5)	2018-03-14		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is an easy and cool smile that required a few re-lights. I’m relatively new to VaPers but I thoroughly enjoyed the notes of spice and tangy citrus that seemed to strengthen the more I smoked. Maybe it’s me, but I got the s smallest hint of cocoa. The pouch note is grassy and quite honest, not that appealing to me. However, it tastes better than it smells out of the pouch. I rubbed it out before packing. Nice morning smoke with coffee. Could be an all-day smoker. I’d actually buy this — it was a freebie from the IPSD goodie box from pipes&cigars.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Venere w balsa filter

Age When Smoked: jarred a couple weeks

Purchased From: PipesAndCigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brunello (166)	2023-02-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, I was travelling, and it was cheap. I found a ‘tobacco’ shop with a nightmarish selection of just three choices: Borkum Riff Honey Orange, Velvet, and this. What would you do: an Edvard Munch scream and quick exit?

Since I already knew the others and didn’t care for them, I went with this. It wasn’t that old, packaged in February 2017, and I bought in March 2018. But already the flakes were brittle dry, turning to hard splinter-like shards when rubbed out. I tried it anyway and found it to be decent, all things considered. Being so dry it did get the bowl of my briar quite warm, yet never once did I get a hint of tongue bite.

After careful rehydration and some time in a jar I tried it again without much excitement and put it to the back of the storage cupboard. Fast forward to this weekend, five years later. Has it become any better with age? Perhaps, a smidge. It’s still not going to vanquish memories of Hal O’Wynd. Jar note and ambient aroma are more promising than the actual smoke, sort of like blonde Graham cracker with a dash stewed fruit juice. In terms of taste I now get stale pepper, grassy chlorophyll, faint amount of the Perique’s stewed fruit (more prune juice than raisin), and an odd woody bark taste (but, despite Euell Gibbons’ exhortations, I never sampled any, so I’m just guessing!).

But here’s a surprise ending to the story that almost made me give this three stars: Normally I would never reach for a Va-Per after dinner, but this being stoved, and since I was writing this review, and since it was a mild evening out on the deck, why not? I also had a clean, traditional IPA on the side to help cleanse the palate (provided by my son, as I’m more of a dark ale guy). Anyway, the drink and pipe played off of each other, and with long, slow retrohale, so light that you can barely see any smoke, I enjoyed this much more. Hints of rye and pumpernickel, and definite malty sweetness to savor and enjoy. So, if the stars are all aligned, I guess three stars!

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