AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
These tobaccos receive a lot of adverse commentary online. Sometimes referred to as beginner tobaccos, wife pleasers, or just flavourless and gloopy. Yet I still really like them.
Now, I'm not talking about the blends that are almost completely black, and that have a consistency suitable for fitting windows or caulking wooden yachts, but the ones that are a good mix of yellow, brown and black. Here is my current jar of Chieftain Stormy Skye as an example.
This one is on a Virginia and Burley base, but some are just on a Virginia base, and the Cavendish is less than two-thirds of the blend. Glorious tin note, and the flavours carry over to the lovely tobacco base without drowning it out.
In my limited experience, these European aromatics (as I believe they are considered) do actually benefit from some ageing. This dollop of Stormy Skye is nearly two years old, and is wonderful. I've also had Samuel Gawith festive releases at three years old, and they were excellent smokes too. Some of the younger blends of this type were very nice too (Celtic Talisman etc), but all the ones I smoked older were better. I dare say they won't necessarily be as suitable for cellaring long term, like plain Virginia's, with or without the addition of Burley or Perique, but at two to four years, they can be wonderful.
I still like my plain tobaccos, and the occasional mild English with low to moderate Latakia content, and have more of those ageing than I do aromatics, but I will always have a soft spot for these aromatic blends too.Not an everyday smoke for me, but I do miss them if I haven't smoked one for a while. I've now stopped buying plain tobaccos for the back of the ageing queue (I have a psychological barrier as to how far ahead I can buy for), but may well add a few more of these for the front of the queue. I already have a shopping list knocked up
I'll probably do the same with these though, in as much as when the tin gets opened, I'll put a quarter of the tin in a jar, and the other three quarters will be sealed in three Mylar pouches for enjoying later.
Anyone else a fan? There must be some somewhere, as I think aromatics like this outsell untopped blends at most tobacconists.
Now, I'm not talking about the blends that are almost completely black, and that have a consistency suitable for fitting windows or caulking wooden yachts, but the ones that are a good mix of yellow, brown and black. Here is my current jar of Chieftain Stormy Skye as an example.
This one is on a Virginia and Burley base, but some are just on a Virginia base, and the Cavendish is less than two-thirds of the blend. Glorious tin note, and the flavours carry over to the lovely tobacco base without drowning it out.
In my limited experience, these European aromatics (as I believe they are considered) do actually benefit from some ageing. This dollop of Stormy Skye is nearly two years old, and is wonderful. I've also had Samuel Gawith festive releases at three years old, and they were excellent smokes too. Some of the younger blends of this type were very nice too (Celtic Talisman etc), but all the ones I smoked older were better. I dare say they won't necessarily be as suitable for cellaring long term, like plain Virginia's, with or without the addition of Burley or Perique, but at two to four years, they can be wonderful.
I still like my plain tobaccos, and the occasional mild English with low to moderate Latakia content, and have more of those ageing than I do aromatics, but I will always have a soft spot for these aromatic blends too.Not an everyday smoke for me, but I do miss them if I haven't smoked one for a while. I've now stopped buying plain tobaccos for the back of the ageing queue (I have a psychological barrier as to how far ahead I can buy for), but may well add a few more of these for the front of the queue. I already have a shopping list knocked up
I'll probably do the same with these though, in as much as when the tin gets opened, I'll put a quarter of the tin in a jar, and the other three quarters will be sealed in three Mylar pouches for enjoying later.
Anyone else a fan? There must be some somewhere, as I think aromatics like this outsell untopped blends at most tobacconists.