Summer of 2016 Blind Review Thread

[Tobias Lutz]

Mystery Tobacco #23

Smoked in an old Comoy’s Academy Award dedicated to Latakia blends.

This is an odd-looking blend of mostly very light tobacco cut in short, wide, ribbony squares, which I guess is a VA, plus some dark brown and black strands which seem to be Latakia and other Orientals judging by the smell. It’s really dry and if I didn’t know the source I’d wonder if it had been left lying around in an open tin too long.

Latakia blends are my favorite. I’m a sucker for them so I’m already thinking this could be good…. But the dryness and random cut make me a little skeptical.

I’m already halfway down the bowl and trying to find something to say. It burns fast because of the dryness, but for some reason needs quite a few relights. The Virginia is a little harsh, bitey, and cigarette-like. It kind of tastes as cheap as it looks. There’s a little interest coming from Orientals, I think - some lemon and earthy flavors. But if there was such a thing as a Latakia OTC this would be it. Just a generic English blend. Like fast food.

Not that it’s bad at all – after all it has Latakia and Orientals! It’s smokable and may be good for someone who smokes multiple bowls a day and wants something English, cheap, and unchallenging (like Adele…. sorry!). I’d smoke it if I ran out of my other English/Balkan/Scottish blends (which tend towards McClelland, SG, Dunhill and McConnells'), or if it were the last one left after a tobaccapocalypse, but don’t think I’d reach for it otherwise.

Now watch, Tobias is going to tell me it was some H&H masterwork with a wonderful reputation.... At least I know it's not Penzance!

Numbers 19-24 are the Hearth and Home samples; everyone received one. What you smoked was H&H Distinguished Penguin:

[IMG]The name existed before the blend. One of our employees suggested that we make a tobacco called “Distinguished Penguin”, so we took the challenge. As you might expect, this is a light/dark mixture (technically, it’s considered a Scottish blend) of Carolina and Virginia flake-cut, with Stoved Virginia, a light amount of Latakia, and a bit of unflavored toasted black Cavendish - a mild and slightly sweet smoke with character.[/IMG]

[c.ortiz108]

Numbers 19-24 are the Hearth and Home samples; everyone received one. What you smoked was H&H Distinguished Penguin:

[IMG]The name existed before the blend. One of our employees suggested that we make a tobacco called “Distinguished Penguin”, so we took the challenge. As you might expect, this is a light/dark mixture (technically, it’s considered a Scottish blend) of Carolina and Virginia flake-cut, with Stoved Virginia, a light amount of Latakia, and a bit of unflavored toasted black Cavendish - a mild and slightly sweet smoke with character.[/IMG]

There's a lesson to be learned here about naming a blend before it exists....

Thanks again for all this, Tobias - it's really fun and cheering up my post-Brexit weekend!

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By the way, anyone know what Carolina actually is? A kind of Burley or ?