Milan Tobacconists House Blend Reviews

[cpmcdill]

Blend:Buttered Rum from Milan Tobacconists (review #5 of 5)
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticated straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Ribbon cut, a pretty even melange of medium brown and yellowish tobacco.
Pouch Note: A lovely smell. I guess this is sort of like a pipe version of a hot toddy. I once had a hot toddy during a week-long blizzard when all of the power had gone out and all that remained functional was the propane stove and the fireplace (well the water was still running and the pipes didn't freeze, so all good eh?), but only after finishing off the Bailey's so my recollection was kind of fuzzy.

Preamble. This is another blend my respected source says is probably a commercial bulk rather than a house blend. In this case Sutliff Buttered Rum (also one I have not personally tried), and I have to admit some of my early better experiences with Aromatics came from Sutliff blends, so I reckon I could be biased pro-Sutliff. We shall see.

Before smoking this, I needed to cleanse my palate from the previously reviewed Hazelnut blend. C&D Star of the East did the trick. Also had to rest and clean my poor abused Grabow pot. One of my oldest and trustiest smokers, I sometimes push it too hard. Some day I will give it a full Viking funeral.

Okay. Thank you Star of the East. My palate is now reconsecrated with your light and bliss. On to the last aromatic in my obligatory series of reviews. As a soundtrack to my smoking experience, I had some difficulty deciding between medieval lute music and dubstep. So I'll just alternate tracks in my media player. I don't have any rum, so this smoke will be accompanied by several fingers and a thumb of Old Crow.

Initial light gave me all the warning signs I need to keep a slow cadence. This is a potential tongue-biter. First impressions are of a vanilla-honey note with cavendish flavor. The pouch and probably the room note are not in the smoke. Feels pretty wet/steamy. I find it paradoxical that wet tobaccos like this often keep a light better than many drier, less cased blends.

Right around the bass drop of Matta's "Release the Freq" (1/3 into the bowl) I'm feeling a distinct tongue bite. Slowing down the cadence even further, surprised this stuff is still burning. Not a single relight yet. Getting some crackle and sizzle sounds in the bowl, so there's definitely some moisture accumulating.

The lute tune by Rolf Lislevand, "La Mascarade/Rondee" had such a mellow tempo that my cadence lowered enough to bring forth more flavors. Until the fire went out. At the 4th quarter I have to relight for the first time. I've managed to protect my tongue pretty will despite the dangers of this blend. Got it right down to a bit of ash and minimal dottle. I deserve a gold star.

At the end of my quest, I have still not found a new holy grail. I am not prejudiced against aromatics, and I am always open to trying new ones. For me, the best I have found always included some Latakia, like Frog Morton's Cellar, Moonshine Pipe Co XXX Blend, Two Friends English Chocolate, or GH Bob's Chocolate Flake. But it's just a matter of personal palates. I'm in the minority, and most pipers smoke aros so their wives will let them smoke indoors, or some such similar reason. These Milans were not bad, but I wish they'd also shared some of their non-aro and English blend to be reviewed.