Every year we release our annual Christmas blend and for 2014 we have kept with a similar blend as last year. Think of the traditional aroma of Christmas and that's what we have here. Plenty of spices; cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, clove, star anise and of course it has to have some booze in there. We also opted for a generous helping of both orange and brandy.
What a fabulous aroma, very Christmas like! To be fair, as the smell is so complex, it is quite hard to separate each of the individual ingredients but it is still a beautiful Christmas time melange. Christmas Bend 2014 holds a superb quantity of water, it's neither too much nor to little which is good as I despise having to wait whilst blends dry!
Once I get mine lit I'm a touch surprised at the flavour, the aroma lead me to think " this will probably taste like a sickly mess" but this gives a great soft taste. Lesson learn't , I won't be so presumptuous in future! I find it easier to identify each added flavour in the taste than I did in the aroma, the nuts come through fantastically with scintillating fervour added by the cinnamon, Spices, apple and brandy, all with a delicious laid back tone from the chocolate. Of all the tobaccos I find the black Cavendish to be the most dominant, it's harder to identify the others but as there are so many added flavours I think that it's a bit of a daunting task to try and do so! The amount of "N" is quite mild for me, I can get it but to do so I have to inhale a fairly hefty puff! I haven't had to do many re-lights with this, in fact the burn has been great right from the first puff giving a medium to cool smoke leaving a white ash behind. The room note? Well there is no mistaking that this is a Christmas blend as it holds all of the festive qualities that make this time of year special!
To be fair, I couldn't smoke more than a couple of bowls of this in one day as for my 'go to' tobaccos I favour something that has a more basic flavour to it e.g a simple Balkan or a Va-per but this really does make a delicious Christmas treat!
The pouch note is really beautiful, rich, fruity/spicy, apple, brandy & clove. The cut is perfect mixed cut, at just the right moisture level and burns really well. A very mild blend giving a pleasant cool smoke. Whilst the pouch note is very enticing, the actual flavour is a lot more subtle than expected.
Very pleasing Christmas Blend! Rich in true tobacco flavor with just the right amount of casing. Brandy, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Allspice and Nutmeg balance this out perfectly. Cavendish, Virginia and Burley are added to an English Brown. A nice English Aromatic! Christmas will be enjoyed with this addition.
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