To get right to it, this is a worker man’s tobacco and by that I mean it’s a no frills, straight forward Virginia/burly tobacco. Heavy on the Virginia and just enough burly to smooth it out. This is an old tobacco that has been around at least 30+ years and just recently the verbiage on the back of the tin has changed to say that it is a Virginia and Perique mix and that ‘burly’ was a mistranslation from the manufacturer. Hard to believe that for over thirty years a mistranslation has existed on their product packaging. In my research though, I have noticed that there is no mention of perique in any of the reviews, articles or conversations prior to the ‘correction’ on the tin. Perique is a pretty identifiable tobacco and I am most certain that with the extreme popularity of this tobacco over the years, someone would have questioned the ‘burly’ notation on the tin. Wouldn’t you agree?
My personal opinion on this is that there is no perique in this tobacco. I am VERY sensitive to perique tobacco. It does not sit well with me. There was however, one occasion that it did and boy, did it sit well with me! You can read it about it here.
The aroma upon opening the tin is one of strong hay. It’s a very clean scent to me. I smiled when I popped the tin and the aroma wafted its way up to me. The perfectly thin sliced flakes appeal to my OCD nature and you can feel the smoothness of the cut on the flat side of the flakes. They hold up under their own weight as you pick one up. Simply rub one between your palms and it clumps together but not tightly. Fill the pipe as usual and light. I have on occasion, simply folded the flake and bent it over itself and shoved the ‘stakes’ lengthwise into the bowl much like what shoving tree limbs into a barrel would look like.
Lighting it was simple and easy. Charring light and puff, puff puff. Tamp a little then light again and enjoy. The flavor is all Virginia and like I said above, the burly rounds it out and makes it much smoother. It is a very clean taste and is not overpowering at all. The room note is very pleasant and well, I quite don’t know how else to say it but it’s a very clean, refreshing (fresh) flavor and taste. It does not have that cigarette smoke scent that a lot of burly infused tobaccos have. The aroma and the flavor work well with one another to make this an easy choice to be an EDS (Every Day Smoke). You will not get tired of this tobacco. It simply is the ‘go to’ tobacco on those occasions when you cannot make up your mind on which tobacco to smoke or when you have no desire for the rich savories of latakia or the fruity sweetness of an aromatic blend.
Go ahead, keep three, four, five hell, 10 tins of this tobacco at the ready on your shelf. You’ll be glad you did.
A Man's World 