Thanks to the generosity of a BOTL, I just tried some of this legendary blend. Smoked in my trusty old Comoy's Academy Award pot.
As a new pipe smoker I don't have lot to measure this by, but I will say damn! - this really is excellent stuff! I definitely get the creaminess people talk about, but it's also very woody. Strangely, I don't mean burning wood but more like fresh cut oak in damp autumn leaves. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of sweet casing - just a little vanilla maybe? - but it's very light. Maybe that's the "secret" part of the "secret recipe". The latakia is very up-front as expected and the aftertaste of campfire is strong, but I find this is also a very Oriental-forward blend. The VA seems to just play a supporting role, maybe bringing the lat. and Ors. together and adding some sweetness. But I don't find this a harmonious smoke in the sense that it's all one seamlessly blended flavor all the time - it seems to keep shifting between the flavors I described, keeping things interesting.
I found it easy to smoke even though I only let it dry about 5 minutes. There was no harness and no bite, even though I kept finding myself fiending on it. Not because I was searching for flavor as with some blends, but because I was enjoying it so much. It's just as well that it was lighter in the nicotine department than I'd expected (though no slouch, either).
While I wouldn't pay crazy after-market prices for it, I'd definitely buy it at retail. But I also won't mourn the fact that that might not ever happen! Yes, it's pretty great and I understand the hype (those flavors combined with that smoothness!) but I think there are probably equally great blends out there. From what I've smoked so far, the closest i could compare it to would be a combination of Nightcap (the heavy lat) and McConnell's Oriental (the creaminess and the strong Or. presence). I've heard of guys mixing EMP and Nightcap, and I'm wondering if that would result in something comparable, too.
I have a few bowls left, so am going to save the rest and try another bowl every few months as my palate and experience develops.
