AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
@RazorbackFan said. In a different thread, that he'd like feedback on pipe tobacco blends he can't get his hands on over there, so here goes.
The difficulty here, is that I'm instantly drawn towards comparing this to two other Germain blends, Brown Flake, and Medium Flake, which this broken flake sits squarely between. I would class it as a broken flake rather than ready rubbed, slightly more robust in flavour than the Medium, but less so than the Brown, and the orangey citrussy edge is less than the Medium, but more than the Brown.
I said in the Pipe of the Day thread last night, that I kind of wished I'd picked something with more interest, but finishing the bowl today, I can see that was more to do with it being the wrong mood and setting last night, rather than any failing of the blend. I just picked a salad, when I wanted a steak.
This is a very nice plain Virginia, which unlike other Virginia blends I've tried (Best Brown, Full Virginia Flake) this tastes fully ready to smoke. No rawness or rough edges, and none of the bland "hot air" sensation that other Virginias have left me with. It's very clean and light, which as I discovered last night, can leave you wanting as an evening smoke, but makes for a very nice daytime one.
Germain's Virginia blends, are ones I can smoke straight away. Other Virginia blends I've tried, taste to me like they're not ready yet. This is just a sample, as was my Brown Flake a few months ago, but I now have a tin of each ageing in the drawer, so they could be even better when I get around to them. I'm now going to try to only. Smoke plain Virginias that have got at least a couple of years age on them... unless it's Germain's, in which case I know it'll absolutely be ready to fire up straight away.
The difficulty here, is that I'm instantly drawn towards comparing this to two other Germain blends, Brown Flake, and Medium Flake, which this broken flake sits squarely between. I would class it as a broken flake rather than ready rubbed, slightly more robust in flavour than the Medium, but less so than the Brown, and the orangey citrussy edge is less than the Medium, but more than the Brown.
I said in the Pipe of the Day thread last night, that I kind of wished I'd picked something with more interest, but finishing the bowl today, I can see that was more to do with it being the wrong mood and setting last night, rather than any failing of the blend. I just picked a salad, when I wanted a steak.
This is a very nice plain Virginia, which unlike other Virginia blends I've tried (Best Brown, Full Virginia Flake) this tastes fully ready to smoke. No rawness or rough edges, and none of the bland "hot air" sensation that other Virginias have left me with. It's very clean and light, which as I discovered last night, can leave you wanting as an evening smoke, but makes for a very nice daytime one.
Germain's Virginia blends, are ones I can smoke straight away. Other Virginia blends I've tried, taste to me like they're not ready yet. This is just a sample, as was my Brown Flake a few months ago, but I now have a tin of each ageing in the drawer, so they could be even better when I get around to them. I'm now going to try to only. Smoke plain Virginias that have got at least a couple of years age on them... unless it's Germain's, in which case I know it'll absolutely be ready to fire up straight away.
