Tobaccos Dan Tobacco - Ascanian No. 2 Sweet & Gentle (Ascanian)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wilhelm Joharsányi (33)	2017-12-17		Medium	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

Ascanian No. 2 is one of Dan Tobacco’s most premium blends: very complex with a satisfying combination of honey sweetness with a spicy Perique and Oriental combination.

Aside from the Latakia bombs and Aromatics (I’m not a fan of); Dan Tobacco has a lot of quality blends that are overlooked outside of Europe. With 7 prior reviews, all giving this blend 4 stars, with 5 of those users adding it to their favorites; I knew I had to at least try a sample of this.

This blend does not disappoint and lives up to the reviews. It has a very pleasant aroma upon opening the tin and a very nice room note once you light it up. Ascanian is not too sweet, but you will taste a fig-like flavor with a distinct honey aftertaste. This combines nicely with the spicy Perique and the supporting Orientals. It burns well, without any relights if you smoke it diligently.

The Virginia’s are from Zambia and Mysore, with high quality Orientals added in with the 3-month matured Perique. I’m not a Master Blender, so I won’t go on “how I can really taste the Mysore(y) and Zambian goodness”; but I do know when I am smoking quality and this is perhaps the best European VaPer on the market today. Along with Midnight Ride (which I reviewed last time), the Perique takes center stage and Dan Tobacco uses some exceptional Perique and its 3 month maturing process only enhances the overall taste.

If you are located in Europe, definitely pick up a 50g tin and if you really love it, go for the more affordable 250g bulk pack. You won’t regret it.

20 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	da'rum (5)	2015-11-22		Medium	None Detected	Very Full	Pleasant

This tobacco is a hidden, or maybe well kept secret, gem. A lot is said about the classic Vapers like St James from SG but in my opinion this Ascanian no.2 is easily as good, if not better. A well balanced combination of sweetness and spice accomplished with Va, turkish and Perique. It burns well and doesn't need more than a minute or two airing time. It sells at a reasonable price, not cheap but not overly expensive either. A staple blend for my tobacco cupboard.

Pipe Used: Bulldog meer, Falcon, Design Berlin

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Dtm Lauenburg

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2020-09-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The mildly floral Zambian Virginias provide a little tangy dark fruit, some wood, a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, bread, earth, vegetation, mild sugar, light spice, honey and acidity along with some grass as the base of the blend. The spicy potency of the perique and Orientals combine to place the Virginias as an important team mate instead of a leading component. The raisiny, spicy, figgy, plumy, earthy, woody perique tends to lead because of the spice and plum aspects in particular. The rather spicy, woody, herbal, earthy, mildly sour, moderately floral, zesty Orientals offers some support in the third slot. As the tobaccos are matured for three months in a press, they also sport a slight fermentative note. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the medium mark. The taste is in the center of medium to full. Won’t bite or get harsh, but has a few rough edges. You may experience a little tongue tingle from the spice if you puff fast, so I recommend a moderate cadence. Well balanced and nuanced, it burns cool and clean at reasonable rate with a mostly consistent, fruity, very spicy, fairly savory, mildly floral flavor that extends to the lightly lingering pleasant after taste. The room note is a tad stronger. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.

-JimInks

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2017-02-09		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Tin aroma is of dried figs, prunes, raisins and that Perique mushroomy scent. The flakes are rubbed out but need a little more rubbing to pack neatly inside the bowl. Moisture is just fine. The tobacco lights easily and needs only a few relights.

The use of Perique here manages to impart a succulent dried-fruit sweetness to the blend with just a hint of spice and mostly towards the end of the bowl. There is ample sweetness which must be due to Virginias as well which are dark yeasty and earthy. The Orientals I could not sense in the beginning but they make their presence felt as the bowl progresses as nutty sweet spiciness with their tell-tale tang.

So this is a tobacco where flavors develop throughout the bowl. It starts off with the mellow sweetness of dried plums with just a touch of peppery spiciness and as it progresses it becomes drier and spicier with both the piquant Perique spice and the Oriental sweeter type coming to the fore. The latter enhance the scent of the tobacco with their natural aroma.

This is a deeply satisfying smoke. Maybe too good and too complex for an all-day smoke, better for relaxing and contemplative moments.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipers' Domain (16)	2018-08-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Being a vaper fan but not having tried many blends, this was a surprise. Yeasty and sweet virginia leafs come as a first taste, while the perique proportion is just enough to please your nostrils as the smoke gets through. The turkish part is not much present in this blend. The actual fact is that the flavor tends to change as the burn advances, in a very pleasant way, leaving nothing but white ashes at the bottom of the bowl. So sweet and gentle it is. A mild earthy and kind of spicy blend.

Pipe Used: Briar

Similar Blends: Dunhill - Elizabethan Mixture.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cakeanddottle (105)	2017-07-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Previously I was smoking three different blends to get notes that are all contained in this tobacco. This is what I want Tudor Castle to be, and frankly as much as I enjoy Tudor Castle, this tobacco from Dan is much better to my mind.

Dark and tangy fruit notes in abundance from the Va and Perique. A pleasant sourdough twang from the Oriental. Flavorful but never tongue scorching. Rich in Perique, but not the zing-y and pepper-y kind, it just adds fruit and tang to the already fruity and tangy Va. It really is a bit like Tudor Castle on steroids. Perfect moisture level as packed. A beautiful reddish tobacco that falls somewhere between ready rubbed and broken flake.

This is probably my single favorite tobacco. A shame that it is not available in the USA, because as things are this tobacco will remain one of pipe smoking's best kept secrets. I only have a little over 4 pounds of this and I am considering selling off some of my aged FVF to get more. It's that good. Just a lovely blend.

Age When Smoked: fresh

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-04-07		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a (somewhat) hidden gem to me. Very rich, well balanced and deep in taste. The Orientals play a weighty role to the wonderful aroma I assume!

The tin note is already really attractive. The aroma of a typcial Perique sourness and fruitiness is what hits me first, to be quickly followed by the etheral and herbal notes of the Oriental varietal(s?) in it.

Once it's smoldering in your pipe it kidnaps you to foreign lands. Ascanian No. 2 is etheral, and dominated by the fruity and decently sour Perique, which also sports plum-like aroma and its genuine pepper, which is present all the time, but never overwhelming. The Oriental leaf is easily detectable and contributes the ethereal feeling, while adding a woodsy, slighlty nutty and dry dimensions to the taste. A very decent honey-sweetness is rounding the flavor-profile in the back of this very natural seeming pipe tobacco.

Full-bodied, creamy smoke texture and loads of flavors to detect and dig into. Perfectly balanced, with no sharp edges and never a dull spot to it, this is a top-notch blend within its style of pipe tobacco. One of the best Va/Pers with Oriental leaf in it, and easily as good as blends like Motzeks "Alte Hasen" Plug, or Crue Pierre Henri by Peter Heinrichs. Also somewhat similar to Mac Barens Acadian Perique.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	coldmoon (24)	2015-07-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This VaPer tobacco blend is based on matured five year old Zambian Virginia tobacco. It also contains VAs from Mysore, some Oriental leaf and 10% Perique. The tin aroma is very sweet with hay like grassy notes. It has no apparent flavoring or casing. The tobacco is in ready rubbed form with occasional broken flake in it. The moisture level out of the tin is almost perfect, just 10 minutes of drying time needed.

Packs very easy and lights with no problems. Also stays lit very easy. From the very first puffs Perique comes out to play. It has that peppery taste to the smoke. Virginias are very smooth and of high quality. Orientals are almost unnoticeable in the beginning but after the first quarter of the bowl they are more apparent and nicely complements the VAs.

As @the_german mentioned before, this blend really benefits from pipes with larger bowls. Only after I smoked it in my Stanwell No.11 which has large pot shaped bowl, I understood how complex this blend is.

At the end of the bowl the taste is very peppery and strong. The nicotine level is on the medium side. As for the room note - it is rather pleasant. I highly recommend this blend to all the VaPer lovers.

Pipe Used: Stanwell No. 11

Age When Smoked: 3 months

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	glaswegian (18)	2018-10-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is my easiest Va/Per to smoke.No curly,no flake...means no preparation time, just stuff and go. It has got a nice sweetness and a nice spicy fruitiness. The small amount of the orients come through once in a while and make this smoke more interesting. I use this blend to get my palate clean because I love the english blends. The ready rubbed mixture is easy to pack and needs a little more room in the chamber.

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the tin

Purchased From: Cigarworld

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lazarus77 (91)	2016-07-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Quality !!!! Lits well, one relight, no bite, burns dry till the end even if you are puffing fast like locomotive. Sweet taste from virginia, Chili pepper taste reminding that perique is there. Perfect all day smoke, bought another few tins for my cellar. Highly recommended !!!!

Pipe Used: Peterson standart system 314

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Cigarworld.de

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nikos Maistros (9)	2020-11-13		Mild	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Perfect all day smoke. Bit expensive but hey, you get definitely what you pay for, and there is always the bulk (250gr) pack, where you can save some money. Perfectly balanced and to tell you the truth, if it had a catchier name, or a different mkt approach, it would sell for more. Nice taste, never a dull moment, I found it is better to break a bit more the broken flake pieces, to get an even more unproblematic burn. Good quality tasteful tobacco and at the end you get a clean pipe as an added bonus. I would not ask for more.

Resuming, the perfect all day blend for the non-aromatic pipe smoker. For those who know about cigars, this blend can be compared to a fine dominican Davidoff cigar. Mild but full of taste with an unproblematic burn. This is good stuff. Period.

Pipe Used: various group 3

Age When Smoked: fresh from a 250gr bag

Purchased From: hacico, germany

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tiffanzsolti (6)	2020-05-15		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Ready rubbed ribbon, easy to fill the bowl, easy to light. Tin note is “vapery”, little sweater though: spices and black tea dominant.

Medium moist. Spicy, meaty, sharp and crisp in taste. Medium flavour, nicotine on the lighter side. I’d consider it a good tobacco. It bites the tongue easily especially when dried out a bit, hence I won’t recommend to do so.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Arcobaleno 111 KS (blue)

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: DanPipe

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Three Nuns Green, Rattray - Hal O' the Wynd (British Collection).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2021-04-17		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is what I said about No. 1:

"A bright, airy, smooth and easy blend. A nice soft and pliable broken flake that packs and burns extremely well, and that adapts to puffing pace. Yes, it's quite a light blend, with fragrant hay-like character plus a moderate touch of Perique sourness. Not particularly sweet, not fat, not an ultra-fruity blend: as I said, light and easy, but not lacking complexity at all... just a little bit of oomph."

No. 2 is actually a bit different. The cut is a little more ribbonish rather than the soft broken flake of No. 1. And yes, it's spicier, with more marked sour/peppery overtones. Personally, I prefer the gentle balance of No. 1.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mijnnif (130)	2022-07-13		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bag note is citrus , fruity, sweet . Beautiful ready rubbed cut bright colors. I find it is quite similar to Dorchester but much stronger overall and in the perique. The top notes are citrus and sweet fruit not specifically apricot but similar. The smoke is just a bit lite in sweetness. Some woodiness on the retro hale. The Orientals and Turkish provide a bit of spice. I use and recommend a medium bowl and light puffing. This one gets harsh if puffed hard. If your candence is slow it will give you great flavors and is quite complex. Nic hit is a bit past the medium mark. Stays very consistent throughout the whole bowl. A bit strong for an all day smoke but a great after dinner change.

Pipe Used: Dr. Grabow duke tasting pipe

Age When Smoked: gift not sure but aged a bit

Purchased From: friend gift

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Frank85 (2)	2022-05-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Note from the tin: The sweetness of the virginias combined with the dried figs from the perique. After lighting the pipe, first you notice are the medium sweet virginias. After you puff for a few seconds, the spiciness from the perique comes in. The orientals are kind of in a support role and you don't notice them much. It somewhat leaves a feeling of dryness in the mouth, so I recommend pairing it with a cool beverage. Otherwise it's a real delicious smoke. If I could liken it to a beverage, this would be a dry sparkling white wine.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TheOtter (72)	2023-04-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I'll keep this review short and sweet. This is an absolute hidden gem. Dan Tobacco has blended an esquisite Va/Per, that also works as an all day smoke. I am a huge fan of Perique, but it's hard to find blends that do not fall out of the all day category while giving me that figgy-spicy goodness that I crave. You would be hard pressed to beat this gentle smoke with real Louisiana perique.

4/4 packing this in my pipe all day long, and loading up my cellar.

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