Kendal Blueberry is a unique approach to aromatics. Rather than the typical Burley/Virginia/Black Cavendish, Kendal Blueberry is made of nothing but matured Virginia with the one of a kind addition of sweet, ripe blueberry essence. A pleasant, sophisticated aromatic.
Blonde-to-medium brown stringy shag with an unmistakable blueberry essence. Kind of perfumy but light. Smoking a lot of Kendal Kentucky helped me load this without any issues. My impressions are based on one ounce, so take it for what it's worth.
As noted, this is an aromatic without black Cavendish. The room note is therefore more of blueberry candle scent - light and wispy but noticeable - than a full blown nostril assault. The blueberry flavor is evident but l ess so than the aroma. The African Virginia is the prominent flavor and it is mellower than most of the Virginias from G&H. It is lightly sweet with a herbaceous flavor but can be prone to becoming cigarette-ish if pushed too hard. Not a complex blend, but a top to bottom uniformity of taste. The blueberry flavoring smooths out the proceedings and, hand on heart, I wouldn't mind just a bit more of it. But being a G&H blend, it's more scented than flavored, and that's a good thing for me. This reminds me of Steven Books aromatics, with their "tobacco first" declarations. This is not for the blueberry fanatic but more for the tobacco lover that wants a little something different. As noted, the blueberry flavoring/scenting is unmistakable but does not run the show. G&H's stellar Virginias do that. I enjoyed it but it's not destined for my rotation.
As D.K.'s review covers about everything, there's not much more to add! I'll just jot down a few notes:
After smoking a few bowls of this over the past few months there's only really one bug-bear: tongue bite. The rest of the factors are quite positive though: a delicate, somewhat vague, blueberry flavour, mild nicotine amount, pleasant room-note, and a good burn; albeit, a touch fast if chugged. I find the way the fruit has been added to this is just enough to separate it from a natural blend, but nowhere near enough to domineer the taste.
This is a good enough smoke, but it isn't my sort of thing.
I like it. It has a better blueberry taste than the other brand's blueberry I previously reviewed. I'm not too sure about the shag cut though. When I first opened my pouch, I thought a mistake had been made, and I had been sent roll your own cigarette tobacco.
The shag cut feels great to the touch, very fluffy. Packing it is a bit different to other cuts. I fumbled around with it a bit, stuffing the pipe too tight at first.
Tastes and smells very nice though. Definitely taste the blueberry. I would buy it again.
Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Corncob and Hardwood
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