Review: Larry’s Blend September 25, 2012

Posted by SifuRestita in Uncategorized

As a relatively new pipe smoker (again), I’ve recently decided to try English/Balkan pipe tobacco blends. Being primarily an aromatic smoker, I was excited to try Dunhill Nightcap last week. My review of Nightcap is here: Dunhill Nightcap Review

Recently, I was fortunate to have won the “Fledgling contest” on a subreddit on Reddit.com (/r/pipetobacco). The prize was a sample of “Larry’s Blend”. Many thanks to “RenHolder” and other powers-that-be for nominating me for the Fledgling giveaway!

On to the review…..

Upon checking my mailbox after a weekend in Canada, I was greeted by the delicious aroma of tobacco in the mailbox. Inside the envelope was a ziplock bag labeled “Larry’s Blend”. It smelled a lot like Nightcap….but since I had only tried one English outside of aromatics, I had nothing else to compare it to.

I filled a mini cob pipe for a short smoke on my way to work. The char light was delicious…..grassy, smoky and earthy… sort of like the dried mushrooms my mother buys at the Asian market. After getting the true light going, I wished I wasn’t actually driving but rather sitting back in an easy chair with my pipe and coffee. The flavor was complex…it had that nice punch of Latakia, a warm spicy/smoky/campfire-out-in-the-woods flavor, yet a wonderful sweetness in the Virginias….. a little sweeter than Nightcap, I dare say. Absolutely delicious! And butter….did I mention butter yet? There’s a smooth buttery feel and taste in the smoke, as well as (how I described it in my Nightcap review) a Japanese Cha taste that flits in and out during the bowl. Larry’s blend, however, gives me a bit of an added “Genmaicha” * flavor.

No tongue bite whatsoever, very smooth smoke. Granted, I will most likely be careful not to smoke this before I have to teach kids martial arts classes, because children, in their honest and down-to-earth curiosity, may very well ask “Sifu, what’s that smell?”. As a funny side note, one of my students got into my car so we could go get coffee, and he asked “Wow, what’s that …..it sorta smells like dirty socks in here”. When I told him I tried an English blend (wait….is it English, or Balkan? I’m confused), he commented “You don’t smoke the Aromatic stuff anymore?” . To which I answered “Well, I still do aromatics, and man, ya don’t know what you’re missing. Tasty stuff. Dirty socks? Well, you need to lay off the bong because you smell like bong water, so there”. We laughed pretty hard at that one, and he wasn’t denying the bong water smell either. 🙂

So far my introduction to tobaccos outside of the Aromatic realm has been very tasty. Thank you /r/pipetobacco on Reddit.com!

And by the way…. Can someone enlighten this relative newbie to the difference between English and Balkan blends?

*Genmaicha: Japanese tea consisting of green tea and toasted rice….has a grassy & nutty note.