It's not over till it is over, so after an unplanned hiatus due to travel and its concomitant upper respiratory illness, I am finally (mostly) back in fighting form.

Today I had a bowl of Number 10 in a cob. 10 smelled like maple or vanilla in the bag, more to the maple than the latter. There is cavendish in this one for sure. It was very moist and could have used some drying time, but lit well enough. I have found that aros don't take to drying like other blends.

Anyway, Ten lit very easily and stayed so through the bowl with occasional tamping. No relights here. It showed no bite, even when pressed. Burn-wise it did very well. But flavor? I definitely get the cavendish in this blend, and the topping sees more maple than vanilla, but both seem muted there. Sometimes I get maple from vanilla forward blends, and this could be one. What was missing was tobacco notes. Good aros taste like baccy blends with the aromatic complementing them. Peterson and Dan Tobacco do this very well, IMO. This was not of that ilk. It was the "flavor and steam" family of aros for sure. Like hookah tobacco in my pipe. Not unpleasant, but not my cup of tea. Or bowl of leaf, as it were.

In the end, this wouldn't be a bad gateway blend for a new Piper not already steeped in cigars. It needs more body for this demented lover of Tambolaka and rope tobaccos though. Even though I really appreciate a good aro, this needs more punch for me.