I'm a pipe newb, so take my side of this series for what it's worth. If there's a tie, or any question in your mind, you'd probably be better served to go with Rev's opinions here.
Horse hockey! First, you are not a newb to fine tobacco, just the pipe. Second, maybe the old smoker's palate is jaded and stale. Reviews are good for giving a perspective to a tobacco, and opposing reviews are excellent to compare differing palates. Not everybody likes the same stuff. For example, this is the first blend made by MacBaren that did not react negatively with my palate - normally the bit me like a rabid dog. I personally look forward to your reviews and comparing our thoughts!
Regardless of my experience, I am eagerly anticipating doing this series of eleven (or more) reviews with the Rev. We will be reviewing the same tobaccos from the same pouch in most cases. Some are brand new and some have more than a decade of age. This will be a great opportunity to calibrate and refine my tasting. I hope you enjoy this series. I know I will benefit a lot by concentrating and doing these.
I am too am anticipating doing this. Some of those tobaccos I have not had open in a long time, so it should be fun to smoke these blends. And, aged tobacco is just so enjoyable to smoke.
So, here goes:
This is a review of the current incarnation. Listed as Virginia with dark Kentucky. No Periques. Smoked in an old Kaywoodie supergrain with the stinger intact.
2) Pre-light Construction: I dried this bowl for two hours. That was too much. It was easy to pack, if a bit too dry. I folded and stuffed the coins with ease. They crumbled, packed and lit easily. No casing or flavorings are detected. This is non-aromatic. Score is partially based on prior experience with this tin.
Score for Pre-light construction:4.5
And it maybe is a good thing to have more than just one smoke of a particular blend before doing a review. And even better if done from a couple different pipes. I will probably revisit this blend and add to the review from the experience in other pipes. By the way, I smoke my first bowl in a Peterson Tankard.
3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: Smoked evenly, somewhat hot, but that is my fault for drying too long. Other bowls I have smoked were very cool smoking, even when getting carried away puffing. The ash is salt and pepper, turned white on relights. Very fine ash cap. There is some gurgling, but not as much as I have experienced with other tobaccos. As soon as I feel a gurgle, I disassemble, blow out the stem and run a pipe cleaner. This is my normal procedure.
Score for post-light construction:4.0
I am going to interject here, nothing about the reviews, but some advice to new pipe smokers. DO NOT DISASSEMBLE A PIPE WHILE STILL SMOKING AND/OR IF BOWL IS WARM!!! While nothing adverse MAY happen, a warm pipe is much more delicate than a cool one. Of course, a Kaywoodie with stinger is a different beast - which is why I always remove the stinger insert. But, even with the intention to unscrew and screw together, they are delicate smoking instruments.
I rarely take my pipes apart, even after smoking. I only do so when the come up for their total clean and ream, which happens about every 15-20 smokes.
7) General Comments Good any time of the day smoke. Highly recommended.
Overall score for the tobacco:4.38
8) Recommendation: Would you recommend this blend? Highly Recommended
If you remember the old Three Nuns, clear your mind. This is obviously not the old one. Try it for what it is: similar in name only. I would assume if you like VA/Burley blends, you'd probably like this one. It is no secret that this is one of my faves. Curious to hear your thoughts on this one..