Tobacco: Jose Gener La Escepcion

Pipe: A Cob and A Irish Whiskey Pete

Prequel: Continuing on with the three review series, I decided it was cold enough here that maybe smoking a little Cuban leaf may just warm me up! I have smoked 3 bowls of this stuff and had to switch up pipes at one point to make sure that my pipe wasn't ghosted by something because I was skeptical of what my taste buds were telling me!

Tin Note: Very strong cigar leaf scent, not robust but definitely cigar leaf. Nice hints of leather and earthy aroma, everything that I would expect to smell in a Cuban leafed pipe tobacco.

The Smoke: Perfect to smoke straight from the bag. Zero problems packing or lighting. Once lit was very easy to maintain and to keep smoldering. Was, however, a very quick burner and required more tamping than I thought it would! Light wispy smoke that left a semi "slick" mouthfeel. The tobacco burned down into a flaky black and grey ash.

Flavors: Right from the start I noticed a typical, but noticeably lighter, cigar flavor. A lot of earthy goodness and leather. But then something odd hit me on the tail end. A flavor that I can only describe as geranium. Lakeland. Very odd. It was something that I wasn't at all expecting. As the bowl warmed up and I was well beyond the half way point, there was a lot more earth and at times a peppery zing that was quite enjoyable. All the way through the remainder of the bowl the earthy tobacco and twang notes reigned supreme, but the sweet geranium always seemed to there on the aftertaste.

Conclusion: Well, a very interesting tobacco indeed. So interesting that I had to go back and smoke this in a different pipe, just to make sure that I hadn't accidentally selected a cob that I had smoked a Lakeland blend in. After switching up to a Peterson that I know I had never smoked anything tainted by essence in and still receiving the same results, I knew it was the tobacco and not the pipe for certain. Overall, I actually really liked this tobacco and I didn't find it harsh to smoke at all. It is something that I think I would smoke again, if not for it's character and individuality alone. It almost reminds me of a Dark Birdseye but with less strength and more of an earthy taste...I may be alone on this one, but I think it was quite good.