Tobaccos Cornell & Diehl - John Marr (Melville At Sea)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SonofVirginia (2)	2018-05-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This was a delightful surprise for me. I am usually very cautious about aromatic tobaccos, and I approached this one with no small amount of trepidation. Upon opening the tin you get a lovely aroma. A light vanilla with a very subtle boozy undertone. When you go in for a second whiff you catch the wonderful virginia and perique notes, coupled with the oriental tang. It is fairly moist when fresh and I would recommend some drying time, otherwise it leaves the final third of your bowl fairly difficult to keep lit. It is a fairly uniform medium ribbon cut that packs abd lights easily. I was immediately taken with it. Plenty of flavor here. Typical virginia sweetness, accented by the top notes. A fair amount of perique pepper and stewed fruit. Not anywhere near overwhelming, but definitely present. I have difficulty in detecting a lot of oriental flavor here. Retrohale brings molasses and more mild pepper. The flavors build pleasantly as you progress. The top notes are mild in flavor impact, yet help make a very nice room note. Nothing like a typical american aromatic. This tobacco likes a larger pipe, and so do I. I found that I always wished for more at the end of every bowl. A wonderful aromatic that I will keep on hand for the foreseeable future.

Pipe Used: Peterson system, briarworks rhodesian, bc apple

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2018-06-26		Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Simply scrumptious! Everything is in this blend that a piper will enjoy. All proportions are well balanced and play very well together. The addition of bourbon and vanilla is just an added bonus. The aromatics are not over the top and let the Virginia and Turkish come through. Easy to light, stays lit, and not gooey. Billows of spice with a nice medium nicotine lift.

Pipe Used: Charatan’s Make Black sandblasted Canadian

Age When Smoked: Week old

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2019-03-31		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Cornell & Diehl - John Marr (Melville At Sea).

A fairly fine, medium brown, ribbon, with a mild alcoholic aroma. My moisture's good.

Unfortunately, I'm not as enthralled with the smoke as the other reviews to date. On the positive side it has exemplary burning qualities, doesn't bite, and has a medium temperature. The rest of JM warrants two stars, from me. The vanilla comes over a little stronger for the first third, but is overtaken by the sour bourbon. The tobaccos? The black Cavendish is non-existent, the Turkish, Virginia, Burley are equal in weight, and the Perique gives just enough causticity to ruin it. I don't get rich dark fruit, etc., the Perique only gives a wallop of sharp spice; paradoxically, the Perique causes my clothes to smell like a malodorous, 18th century, saloon.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not nice.

John Marr? Just scrapes by with two stars:

Somewhat recommended.

Pipe Used: Davorin Denovic Morta

Age When Smoked: 02/06/18

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Singularis (17)	2018-11-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Opening the fresh tin dated March 5, 2018, greeted by an unmistakable aroma of chocolate covered cherries. That’s interesting because the toppings are supposed to be bourbon and vanilla.

It’s a beautiful “Virginia ribbon” as the tin says, a nice light brown like a city roasted coffee. Supposedly there is Black Cavendish in there but it isn’t obvious. (I did find what appears to be a small pine splinter. Wonder how that got there.) The moisture level is just about perfect, though I’m sure some veterans will want to dry it out a bit.

The initial light and smoke are absolutely wonderful in terms of aroma and the taste is quite nice for a light aromatic. I can taste a bit of cinnamon and almost spicy wood note, no doubt from the perique and Turkish, though I’m sure the former is only lightly applied. But the Virginias definitely lay a solid foundation, both in taste and retrohale, making this seem almost like an exquisite cigarette. Probably the Burley making itself known (yeah, chocolate!).

Further down the bowl the tang of the Orientals and the bite of the Virginia hit me, and I got some moisture in the bowl. But it burns beautifully and leaves me with a very pleasant woodsy aftertaste.

Really this tastes like a very typical C&D blend: balanced, tasty, solid. 3.5 stars out of 4. Very worth trying and will gladly buy again when I’m needing a complex and approachable Virginia blend.

Pipe Used: Irish second briar

Age When Smoked: About 8 months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2018-07-10		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Synopsis: An intriguing blend that brings together a complex combination (some might say a surfeit) of flavors.

Tin Note: Upon opening the tobacco, a boozy topping plays well with the hay-like aroma of the Virginia tobacco. There is a subtle fruity undertone, which I cannot place. Unlike most American aromatics, the topping in this blend does not overpower the flavor of the tobacco.

The Blend: At the first light, the grassiness of the Virginias are clearly present as the major component of the blend. The mix of Virginias here do tend to bite a little, so keep your cadence slow. The Turkish leaf adds a distinct dry woodsy nutty flavor to the blend. The slight spiciness of the perique presents itself as you make your way through a bowl. The Burleys and Cavendish play a supportive role and easily hide in the blend.

Cut and Burning Characteristics: The ribbon cut packs and burns well all the way to the bottom of the bowl. There is a little harshness, which holds this blend back from perfection.

Conclusions: A good blend that might draw aromatic smokers to explore va/pers and oriental forward blends. I expect this blend to improve with some cellaring to mellow out the Virginia tobaccos.

Edit 5 Dec. 2018 The harshness is still present and has become the main reason why it has taken me so long to get through one tin. I probably will not reorder more, though I do enjoy the blend.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2018-08-20		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A Bluesy-Boozy-Bandwagon that's best to be enjoyed just as you enjoy your bourbon - sipped! And so we go.. sippin' and pickin'

In the tin-note the very mellow vanilla aroma is accompanied by a somewhat fruity undertone. In addition the mildly turfy and boozy note of bourbon fuses with the lovely vanilla. Once the tin was opened for a while a corn-ish aroma appears, which I find most interesting. Like sweet, roasted corn bread or alike. The flavoring is on the mild side and gets even milder with time, leaving enough room for the tobaccos - mostly the Virginia's hay - to shine through in the tin note! Update: the tin note keeps getting better and better with time! After another while the sweetish notes go play in the back, whilst the warm bourbon steps forward, as well as the Turkish's wonderful spice..nice!

In the pipe the bourbon plays the bluesy-boozy lead guitar, howlin' the lonesomest sounds with its pleasantly spicy, slightly peppery-smoky and smoothly boozy aroma. It's a lot more present than in the tin-note. Quickly the smooth vanilla - which is rather sensitive to vigorous puffing - joins in, yet keeps the amplifier at half-volume, giving a great rhytm for the bourbons strat to wail on.

One might get the impression that this is a full-blown aromatic the way I'm gushing and raving over the flavorings... I just savour this flavoring a lot, so I loved describing it in detail! ;-) The tobacco is everpresent with few of the Virginia's hay and earthy tones, but moreso the Turkish with a delightful hint of sharpness, as well as mildly nutty and ethereal-flowery notes. I get the feeling its the same Izmir leaf as in Embarcadero! I suppose the perique plays a role to the decent spice this blend offers, just as the b.cav. must play a role to the smooth and creamy sweetness and broad flavors.. but they are both unnoticeable as such - they are the sound-engineers of this bluesy-boozy-band! ;-)

A lovely Virginia+Orient dominated blend, with an expectionally tasteful bourbon-vanilla topping, that never subdues the tobaccos too much, but always lovely harmonious accompanies them. The flavoring is a bit less present in the last third, especially the vanilla is gone by now and the mixture of bourbon, Virginia and Orient makes for a nice spicy, slightly (pleasantly) sharp last puffs.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (182)	2019-10-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Sweet,sour, earthy, spicy and a little boozy. John Marr for me is what a top drawer American blend aromatic should be! Not one of the components overrides the other. Smooth savory sweetness from start to finish. I smoke a lot of C&D blends and as per usual the quality of the leaf shines through. The blending is in line with their other creations. Moisture was spot on out of the bulk bag, took fire well with no delights sans the char. Burns at a medium rate with no bite or goop. Consistent flavor throughout the process. Not a nicotine giant but ample enough. Repeatable throughout the day. All in all a very pleasurable smoke in a cob or a briar. Solid 4 here on the creek, will stock more for sure

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (217)	2019-09-01		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

It took me only two tries to find the right pipe for Cornell and Diehl’s John Marr, and it’s one I also use for C & D’s Sansepolcro. While a VA pipe would work, JM will ghost it to the point where it will take a prep bowl before using that pipe for VA again. I recommend against using pipes previously used for strong KYs, cigar leaf, or Latakia for John Marr. Bag note is fragrant, vanilla and faint Bourbon over flowery, dry meadow grasses with woody, flowery notes, along with cashew and sweet country corn bread, as noted by DenizBeck, and these scents are echoed in the tastes, as well. JM handles, loads, lights and smokes down very well. Burn rate is tied to the Orientals, which is to say, a fair clip. However, a tight pack kills the subtleties that make JM special, so I just take it slow. There are savory, faintly woody, very slightly musty over and under tones from the Orientals, and there are bakery spices and some souring from the Perique as it is influenced by the Orientals. The VAs are mostly grassy, flue cured yellow, along with some earthy, air cured red. There are nuts, notably cashew, and some bitterness from the Burley. Ample Cav delivers sweetened Bourbon and vanilla and some typical Cav sour. If the mix is kept cool, the vanilla and Bourbon remain a delicious adjunct to a well-melded yet fairly complex smoke, somehow playing well with the Orientals as well as the flue cured VAs. Strength is just short of medium. Tastes just nudge medium. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste is the best of the smoke.

With the wrong pipe and/or technique John Marr might still make a 3. With the “right pipe” and “due consideration” I’ll round it up to a 4. I happen to prefer C&D’s (somehow) similar Redburn, but YMMV, of course, and John Mar will make a nice everyday smoke for some.

Pipe Used: seclected briar

Age When Smoked: a few months

Purchased From: Liberty Tobacco

Similar Blends: Compare/contrast to GLPs The Virginia Cream, and C&Ds Redburn.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	haparnold (6)	2020-02-02		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not an aromatic smoker per se, but something about this blend has captured a great deal of my pipe smoking attention lately. All the components play together well, and the topping is just right. You get a little taste of it in each puff, but it never obscures the taste of the tobacco.

Personally, I think the Turkish is the star of the tobacco components in this blend, and it lends a certain...astringency(?) which pairs very well with the added flavorings.

If you're primarily a non-aromatic smoker who's looking to shake things up a bit, this is a great choice. On the other hand, if you're a hardcore 1-Q smoker, this might be a nice introduction to more natural tobacco tastes.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BrokenRecord (124)	2019-06-18		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

John Marr: A complex aromatic with some perique

The bourbon and vanilla topping complements the tobacco in this blend and is noticeable in the tin-note and subtly throughout the smoke. The tobacco is mostly made up of bright and some red Virginia varietals that provide mostly grassy-crispy notes and a little tanginess to the smoke. The unnamed Turkish varietal provides a strong floral and dry quality to the smoke. The perique is noticeable, adding a subtle spiciness that I quite enjoy. The cavendish is barely noticeable in the tin or the smoke. Make sure to smoke this blend like a straight Virginia or it will lose flavor and bite like mad.

Similar Blends: None.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tpatriarche (43)	2020-11-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A very pleasant light aromatic—light on the casing, not on flavour. An old-fashioned judge's blend, bourbon and vanilla. Easy on the tongue, and burned well until I monkeyed with it, thinking it was too dry! I've noticed this with many C&D bulk purchases; they seem dry and stiff in the bag, but they burn well, so I think it's just something about the cut.

Could be an all-day smoke for some, I will certainly be buying it again. Not quite enough character for 4 stars, but a solid 'Recommended'.

Pipe Used: Carey Magic Inch

Age When Smoked: Fresh bulk

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (396)	2019-08-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I bought a few ounces of this last Sunday, from the bulk jar at the local tobacco shop. It has a nice sweet vanilla note but I could not detect any bourbon smell. I grabbed my Peterson Dublin Edition Unfinished Poker and loaded my bowl. This smokes cool and sweet and I tried ‘sipping’ on this as recommended in a previous review. Not a big deal but about half way down the first two bowls I got the old pipe gurgle. Not sure if it was from the tobacco or how I was smoking it but a pipe cleaner took care of it. While smoking on the front porch if I see my neighbor across the street I go over and get her room note opinion. This blend she said was very pleasant. I guess that is a plus. Day two: I had a few more bowls of this with my coffee and surprisingly not hardly any pipe gurgle this time. Maybe because I left the jar sitting outside on the porch all day. Who knows? Who cares? Ha. I tried some 1Q probably a year ago and looked it up and apparently, I have not reviewed that one. If memory serves me correct and it probably doesn’t this blend sort of reminds me of it. It is a nice mild aromatic and is pleasant for the summer but my body is starting to crave a Lat Bomb so I will probably go back to those types for a while. If anyone smoking this can get the bourbon flavor out of this one my hat is off to you but I mostly sensed vanilla while smoking this one. By the way, who is Melville?

Pipe Used: Peterson Dublin Edition Unfinished Poker

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: 1Q.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	getyur@sstomars (26)	2022-06-30		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

When I first tried this I was very much not satisfied. The vanilla smelled cheap, and got no alcohol smell I was expecting. I jarred it up and forgot about it for about 5 mo ths or so. Upon a revisit it really made a great impression. Nice , smooth, and tasty as hell. I found one of my all time favorite blends from c&d.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimPM (145)	2021-12-26		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

On the heels of my previous repast of Melville at Sea, that being Billy Budd, I venture now in offer of this mixture for further consideration. With identical tenacity, C&D ‘s John Marr – Virginia Ribbon enters the port in strong compliment to the wealth of the noted series. Largely modeling the quintessence of traditional navy tobacco, prepare to encounter a keen recipe of cultured Red and Bright Virginia, Dark Burley, pressed Black Cavendish, lavish Turkish/Oriental and of course vital Perique. Swelled within a lashing of gentle vanilla and distinctive bourbon spirits, John Marr poses its mark by showing a dominant character of full dense woodiness, graciously soft sweetness, and vigorous air of brilliant spice.

As typical of many C&D blends, John Marr counters a starkly dry composition. Notably so, discovery reveals a grainy pillowed coarseness reflecting a genuine aged texture. A wooly mat of variegated brown, finely cut into ribboned twists, dissimilar darkened shards, peppered by flecks of blackened fragments comprise its chapped constitution. As to be expected, the two independent strains of Virginia constitute considerable volume within the total mass of tobacco, leaving modest breathing space for the seemingly inharmonious complimenting varietals. Rough and ready for the maiden voyage by all practical appearances.

Embracing John Marr’s fragrance, an unreserved spray of colorfully concentrated aroma invades the senses. Bold and robust notes of deeply aged wood, sharp and tart exceptional spice, a proudness of earthly pungency, subdued grass, soft streams of vanilla sugars and distilled spirits, raisins and other dark fruit flood from the pouch announcing the celebration of its base character. With said registration, the blend queues with the promise of a full-flavored adventure.

By pure speculation, I surmise that the strains of Virginia employed within the recipe encompass some evidence of extended aging. Namely, with the flavor registration a substantial degree of cultured fermentation and seasoning of the affected tobaccos reports with considerable discernment. Consistent deeply developed and florid tones of ancient wood and weathered grass move from within permeating the base line flavor. In particular, the Red takes prominence with its darker tonality and is well supported by a spicy rustic hay/grass accents emanating from the weathered Bright.

Principally the complex assortment of complementary tobaccos is moderated as they gingerly circulate within the proverbially stern and amid the high notes. Although the piquant floral Turkish/Oriental with its tangy spice tends to shine more strongly to the forefront. The modest level of Burley is extremely submissive offering sour nutty-woodiness and a pronouncement of thinned brown sugar. John Marr, in my estimation, is exceedingly a Red Virginia dominant smoke. Chiefly, its robust classic Virginia woodiness is supplemented steadily with a trailing punch of zesty peppered spice/prunes presented by the Perique perhaps in conjunction with the additive bourbon flavoring. However, on occasion, the bourbon enthusiastically pushes forward on its own merit with a note of barreled malty sweetness.

The presence of Black Cavendish facilitates the orchestration of composite taste in general. Essentially the Cavendish influences the compliments by converging the differing streams into a savory cohesive envelope that elegantly supports and cases the foremost Virginia/Perique nuance. Leaning on its essential capacity for mechanical fusion, Black Cavendish smooths out any rough edges in the flavor, making an overall registration that is mellow and flowing.

Finally, floating in the middle of the taste band a tacit sweet vanilla registers in swings characteristically medium or passive in magnitude, as the aftertaste fills the mouth with its residual influence. In summary, a little bit of every component can be experienced in a balanced and well tendered fashion, yet my palate read the blend to be Red Virginia/Perique forward in nature once again. The quality of the total smoking experience astutely portrays a proper mood of seafaring exuberance. Hence, I categorize John Marr as falling closely within the traditional navy tobacco sort.

One additional observation about this mixture is that it does not fare as neatly within in a narrower bowl. The described complexity of taste becomes a little more monochromatic by default, largely stout Virginia. By deploying a wider bowl, the resulting effect is to open proper recognition of all the described subtilties. Moreover, the generosity of a bigger chamber enables the texture to feel substantially smokier on the palate, thereby the enjoyable vibrancy of the blend is greatly enhanced. Incidentally, John Marr’s flavor enrichens tremendously as the bowl progresses to about the last third. It is truly one of those blends that optimally tastes best as it finishes.

As smoked, John Marr projects a room essence that is shaded by a thick meaty gray cloud tempered in dark, deep variegated woodiness coming from the recipe’s multiple varietals, sweet-spicy burned hay, and some buttery fetid tartness. The after effect is intense yet perceivably tolerable. The aroma stands present for an extended period, delivering witness of a fully strong mixture.

On a few final notes, John Marr burns cleanly with a moderate temperature leaving a fully consumed thick white ash. Although Virginias are often susceptible to promoting bite, this mixture is relatively easy on the palate perhaps signaling the combined effect of its involved varietals. The resultant nicotine element centers roughly at medium intensity making John Marr feasibly an extended smoking venue for the experienced piper.

So, there you have it. One more successful league piloted through C&D’s Melville at Sea series. Overall, another noteworthy and quality product based upon my simple sampling exercise, inspiring and fashionably true to the genre. As a matter of opinion, John Marr unveiled itself to be an extremely satisfying and engaging review experience. Chiefly, the developed flavor of the Virginias that C&D has utilized within this recipe is most impressive. Tantamount to this mixture’s appeal is the deployment of skillful blending and balancing of complex components. Selecting the correct varietals (i.e., age, source, strength) to arrive at a designed output that discreetly appeals to customer satisfaction largely centers on knowledgeable craftmanship and experimentation; nicely achieved by C&D.

Last, I would argue that this blend stands as a comparable VaPer-like experience, while being in parallel to several other navy flake tobaccos that I do personally enjoy. The additive feature of supporting exotic Turkish/Orientals offers a nice differentiation given the vast list of alternative product offerings on the market. With all that being stated, I would recommend this mixture without reservation to those who have an affinity for quality Virginia/Perique or Virginia-based blends. As always give it a try and see if you are swept away by the winds of John Marr.

Hanna Subjective Rating: 3.2 Objective Scoring (based upon standard genre attributes, mechanicals, and cost): 126/153 @ 82%

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (140)	2021-06-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

First of all: Whoever calls this blend "flavored" is definitely giving preference to old English recipes of creosote and hemp rope. The aroma of the tobacco is very light. I found it to be an oak barrel bourbon, nicely topped with a mixture of baked apple and bitter chocolate.

Perfectly even ribbon cut, very even medium roast coffee color, no light or dark flecks. Very soft to the touch, I would even say "fluffy".

I took literally a couple grams to try in a small Virginia-Perique blend pipe and smoked it in the fresh, frosty air, so don't ask me about the smell in the room. But the smoke itself is sweet, thick - and yet light. The taste is a typical VaPe, with a slight, slightly astringent, taste of walnuts.

I must say that the strength of this blend is medium, and the smoking was very comfortable in temperature and speed - warm and not too slow. This tobacco won't help you wake up like, say, Early Morning Pipe, but it is invigorating.

I know for myself: there are a lot of good mixes out there, and John Marr won't be my favorite. But I think, it's very good.

Pipe Used: Peterson 69

Age When Smoked: 2016

Purchased From: Online

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipey duck (49)	2021-05-21		Medium	Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

Wow!! 1 year ago I purchased a tin of JM anf find it not very well . I experienced it unbalanced and rough and also kind of "dirty". Maybe my impressions cheat me by smoking it as the third pipe of a day or I expected a different flavour. Today I gave it another go and was surprised to like it a lot. Va's in the frontseat, spicy orientals beneath and a little tang from the perique in the backseat. Rounded by a masterly measured vanilla scent. Also my beloved nic was in the house. Flowery ,tea like and otherway a little spicy. I enjoy it alot will go on

Pipe Used: Parker 109

Age When Smoked: 12 month

Purchased From: smoking pipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc pipes (108)	2021-04-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

John Marr looked to be an interesting blend in light of its novel selection of component leaf and topping. There is little black cav evident in the bag (this is a bulk purchase) or the smoke. The virginias and Turkish make up most of the red/brown leaf. There are a few strands of bright Virginia. Perique is of the granulated variety and its pepperiness plays quite charmingly with the vanilla topping. The vanilla is the strongest contributor to the bag aroma. I wasn’t able to detect the bourbon initially. After some airing out, the bourbon came through gently in the smoke and was vaguely evident in the bag. This is an admirable attempt, but a miss per my tastes. That said, it is an aromatic that smells good to bystanders, come relatively dry and certainly not gooey. The toppings do not distract from the tobacco taste, but do not enhance them in any meaningful way. This would make an excellent transition for pipers wanting to move from aromatics into blends tasting of proper tobacco. Certainly a novel aromatic, just one I likely will not restock.

Pipe Used: Numerous

Age When Smoked: Fresh bulk

Purchased From: SP

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2022-06-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

I enjoy a good aromatic made with quality base leaves. when I first read the description of this, it sounded like it would be a great rainy day indoor blend.

Pouch appearance of light and medium choppy ribbons, with some random large dark brown leaf scattered about.

This has a wonderful vanilla aroma, like fresh baked vanilla cupcakes. I don't detect much alcohol in the pouch.

This blend has a great moisture content, as the majority of C&D aro's have. No lighting issues at all.

John Marr packs well, with little spring. takes a match readily and require minimal relights. The Virginias are bright and sweet, but the burley adds some harsh/sharp qualities (common with C&D burley) that hopefully aging will minimize. Perique is most noticeable when exhaled through the nose, but even then, its just a trace. The vanilla stays with the smoke down to the heel, and the bourbon adds an oaky char that really comes forth when sipped. This blend is extremely balanced and flavorful.

The room note is toasty, bready and bakery sweet. I've enjoyed this in the mornings with both coffee and RYZE mushroom coffee. a solid 3.5 stars, hopefully I can bump that to 4 after the burley ages a bit

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PaulMcCoy (78)	2021-12-17		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I was really excited to try this one based on the components list. It has a lot going on. The retrohale is really nice. The pepperiness works well with the vanilla. Not something I’ve experienced before. I would definitely recommend this to an Aro smoker who might be looking to branch out.

Pipe Used: Medico Magnet-Top Billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.