PASDECHANCE

Reviews


Larsen - 1864 Perfect Mixture 100g
Get it out of my face.
This is not a good blend and I have nothing redeeming to say about it. It smells and tastes like dry grass in a way that becomes an annoyance. There's also this dusty element it brings to the smoking experience, like your mouth gets covered in the dustiness that comes off the tobacco on every inhale. This was just an all around very unpleasant tin having laying around and one that will never be finished before being disposed.

Erinmore - Erinmore Flake 50g
I just like it is all.
It's simple. It's consistent. It's reliable. It never protests against your pace or comes with stipulations. I like it a lot. And you know what else? I like to blend in some creme brûlée or some LL-7 or whatever other aromatic I have laying around to experience a new but still simple, consistent and reliable aspect of Erinmore Flake.

Cornell & Diehl - Black Frigate 2oz
I cellared it as per the instructions
Bought this just over a year ago along with a dozenorso other tins I picked up once I learned you could "cellar" tobacco, having picked up a 'bacco pipe for the first time about two months prior to that and simply wow. What a beautiful tobacco. My only regret is that perhaps I should have waited another year or two before popping the tin but I suppose I can do that with one of the few 8oz tins I'm ordering now. The tin note is a deeply rich, woody, leathery, smokey and just all around fine tobacco with the Latakia and turkish leaves throwing their weight around but there's an ever so slight hint of sugary sweetness floating about, the cavendish probably, all set to rest in an immure of 80 proof rum. As a teetotaler, getting my nose good up in the tin along with a deep breath in was enough to put me on a buzz but for the average partaker I don't believe it would be too much. The cake crumbles so nice, it's a bit "spongy" like an actual cake too, I love it. Upon setting it to a flame I found the Latakia and turkish were mostly all talk as the rum soaked Virginas take center stage and the Cavendish plays second fiddle, which was surprising because off the tin note I didn't think there was much Cavendish in the blend to make such a presence. There's also this elusive sweet fruity/berry thing going on during the initial light as well that vanishes before you can pin it down once the ember takes root and the Latakia and turkish leaves make their debut. It's the kind of Latakia I like, the woodsy earthy kind rather than the smokey campfire kind while the turkish leaves deepen the range of flavors in that peppery spice way they like to do, especially with the Cavendish which I think takes on a creamier, nuttier profile because of this. Putting stress on the ember and raising the heat on this one pisses the Virginia's off which become very tart and the alcohol content gets scorched so best to enjoy this in a relaxed setting, preferably with a coffee/iced tea or libation of the partakers choice, enjoying oneself.

Rattray's - Old Gowrie 50g
I really really really
Update: really changed my mind. Came back around to this tin(now jar) a couple weeks later and I like it quite a bit actually. The scent has dramatically changed. What once was a chaotic fever dream of fleeting memories is now aged fruit leather, cherries and prunes, with a bit of spice and a wheaty/bready undertone. Also a floral scent, not a simple sweet note but a more mature bud, like roses or freesias. The lingering pond algae is basically gone and the mouthfeel doesn't coat everything anymore but still has a body to it that's quite pleasant. Very easy smoke, light but also deep and full bodied, it billows and I really like that. A bit of sweet but a bit of spice and some tart in there too. I could really drag on it and get no bite. I had it all wrong. Definitely getting another tin to throw in the time capsule. Original: really wanted to like this. And perhaps as others mentioned it needs time to age but I just couldn't get into it and I'm rather morose about it. I popped the tin and wowoow. So many aromas taking me so many places. Fresh bailed hay, an old cold cellar in the spring, tanned leather, the sterile waiting room of a doctors private practice, Spanish moss in old oak trees on a dry summer night, that first malt beer you had at 16, slightly charred mesquite wood chips. Very enticing, very inviting. The cuts are very coarse, I like that, packs really nice. Smoke was thick, I like that too but it leaves a film in my mouth, a coating that sticks and it's not pleasant. And the flavor of that film... I don't know what happened and I don't know how to put it except that it tastes like how you'd expect pond algae to taste. The Virginia is there and the peppery perique but there is this lingering bleh taste that just hangs around and was very off putting. Tried to put in a bit of black Cavendish to maybe cut it but alas, there it is. Unfortunate. Maybe I'll pick up another tin and give it a couple years or 3. Maybe

Lane Limited - LL-7
Salvating on the stem, fetch a towel.
My review basically reflects GothGirls, plus/minus a couple details. Let's start at the mailbox which we're opening and sure enough. The mailbox note is what they all say it is, s'mores. It's savory, it's rich, it's deep, it's velvety and all it needs is the campfire that's kindling in your pipe chamber. And so we throw this bush on the fire and you're 8 years old again, marshmallow ablaze at the end of a stick and your face is basically just a grin.That first 3rd of the bowl is a toasted 'mallow, sweet and fluffy with caramelized bits and I swear that virginia yeasty-ness comes through and acts the role of the graham cracker as the ember works it's way down. Did Lane plan for that? I have to assume they did. Second 3rd of the bowl and the chocolate makes it's debut both sweet and bitter, 70% dark I'd like to put it at and boy I tell you what if there ain't a damn s'more in your pipe and you're gaining weight through combusted vapor, it's basically witchcraft. The final 3rd of the bowl arrives and ngl it's my favorite part. The campfire is now smoldering and you're basically left alone with this mostly bitter but quite sweet dark chocolate and for me, for some reason, it is a very salty chocolate which makes that bittersweet delectable treat soooo very savory and my pipe stem is now steeped in drool as I suckle upon the teat of heaven. The secret to enjoying this aromatic to the fullest, as it is with most of them, take the time to dry it till the wet gloss is gone and it has that bouncy dry feel you know what to look for with enough experience. Do that and the most mess you'll make is a slick sheen at the bottom of the bowl that can easily be wiped away.

Rattray's - Limited Release II 50g
It's good pipe kindle, however
And this is oft an issue I regularly have with Rattray aromatics and that is, out of the tin it feels a perfect consistency to burn and boy does it pack into the chamber like a silk handkerchief into a chest pocket. But this always deceives as I find myself having to relight at least twice if not 3 times over the course of the bowl. And if not that, the son'bish got some bite to 'em if your ember is more than just alight. In this regard I tend to agree with Clebinger's review, Rattrays both their arro's and their traditional blends fair a bit better having been untinned and jarred up for a week or so. The smoke itself is quite enjoyable with my only complaint in this regard is on the initial, idk say first 1/5th of the bowl, the strawberry flavoring is very "essential oily"/floral. Reminds me of dryer sheets but it does subside and its a quite a treat once it does.It also disappears after some time out the tin and in a jar.

Filters & Adaptors - White Elephant 6mm Filters - Meerschaum (45 Pack)
Ehhh it does what it's supposed to do.
But in a head to head vs coal the meerschaum just seems to soak up moisture to capacity much faster than charcoal. It works but I burned through the pack.

Filters & Adaptors - Rattray's Charcoal Filters - 9mm (50 Count)
Please keep these in stock
Of all the charcoal filters I've tried these seem to be the best value simply because they can keep going. Most 9mm you can barely squeak out a second bowl but these things can tank 4 before needing to change in my experience, generally running a poker with ~1.6 depth .75 diameter or thereabouts.

Sutliff - Creme Brulee
Vanilla custards good..
But I brought home 4oz of this along with the 8 I usually get of the custard and I tore through this stuff before even reaching for the custard. Good on it's own or blended, very enjoyable smoke, after setting out on parchment paper overnight for a dry that is.

Filters & Adaptors - Brigham Rock Maple Inserts (8 Pack)
Got tired of carbon filters
I have loved tobacco for as long as I can remember but since picking up a pipe one thing I cannot stand is the oils leeching into my mouth. The rock maple soaks it up like a sponge, and being able to take it out of the stem, wipe it clean and set it to dry for the next bowl is going to save me so many charcoal filters it's hard to actualize.

Brigham - Tundra (22) (Rock Maple Inserts)
'Tis a fine pipe
Picked this pipe up because I was too curious to try rock maple inserts and have become a fan of both. Good, thick, quality briar. A bit on the heavy side and imo a lot of that is actually in the stem material which is also quite thick so it made it kind of a pain to get it in a comfortable clinch. Eventually I got tired of positioning my jaw and just took a damn 3in' palm sander to the acrylic bit and got to work taking some material off, careful not to possibly ruin the filter system by taking too much. Then kept sanding that up to 2500 grit which buffed out like new with some compound. Yea the stem and nub were made with Shaq in mind but once I got that where I needed it, this has become a very prominent pipe in the rotation.

Rattray's - Year of the Dragon 100g
The serpent's sour bite
The first bowl fresh out the tin did not go well, burned hot and was very bitey. Dumped the bowl and left the tin ajar for awhile to come back to it after some drying out. The following bowls went thusly: Nice subtle vanilla on the initial light up that fades away 1/4 through the bowl. Sometimes get a sense of rhubarb, mostly on the retro if at all. Then the Virginia is bright bright bright and sour sour sour. Super sour. Could never muster through the second half of a bowl on account of the tartness as well as the bite kicking up. I love Rattray's but this is a flop imo. The tin is nice though.

The French Pipe - Marinière Smooth (5) (6mm)
Truly a fine whistle.
Wow, I've paid twice the price for a much inferior pipe than this. The briar is of exceptional quality, completely without flaw and the grain is simply splendid with a flame pattern encompassing the bowl with bird's eye along the rim, in the heel and in the shank. Smoke's like a dream. Do yourself a solid and consider getting The French Pipe and at such a bargain!

Molina - Alba Smooth Light Brown (MV3) (9mm)
Quite disappointed with the quality control and stem functinality
UPDATE 9/25: It's a totally different pipe now. Chopped the shank off at the stem, not wholly horizontal but with a bit of forward cant, back filled with some aviation grade epoxy that can handle the heat and re-drilled the mortise, affixed a brass collar and fed a 3.5in wood rimmed black lucite straight saddle into it. Slimmed up the profile by taking some meat off the thick posterior and made the forward cant a bit more aggressive by steepening the angle of the heel, restained, waxed and buffed. Unlike before it stays sitting now and looks like it'll kill other pipes with speed and violence. Wish I could share pics.// Decided on this pipe on a whim, seemed to be quite the chunk of briar and at first glance that's exactly what it was. Didn't seem to be any fills or faults and the wood appeared well cured with a very aesthetic grain pattern. The first bowl was enjoyable but problems developed from there especially when fitting it with a charcoal filter and after a few days of this thing biting me with every tobacco I fed it, I tossed it on the bench in the garage and made merry with the pipes that don't give me sass. A couple weeks had gone by before I spotted this desolate thing and decided to see if I can't help it along./ Prodding around the internet as to why it would taste so awful and bite me, no matter the tobacco, I was instructed to inhale strong and long while empty and listen for a "whistle type noise" and I'll be damned it whistled. Upon inspection of the mortise the culprit was the chamber hole which was drilled at the angle where mortise met the shank so the steep curve in there with a filtered tenon on top was heavily restricting air flow. With that I got to work with a drill and a bit size 9, 8 and finally 7 which opened her up well enough to clear a filter fitted tenon. Problem solved, so I thought because once the ugly stem was attached the air flow puckered up like a cat's bass again./ Turned out the stem that can occupy a 9mm filter tapers abruptly into a size ~30 hole just behind it and that follows the length of the stem. I wanted to crush it in a vice but instead I merely fastened it in place, fuming but calm and got to work with a pencil grinder, opening the width of that damn hole the whole length of the stem, curve and all and FINALLY the pipe does what you'd think it was supposed to do all along./ All that said and done, I paid $95 for a lemon I had to be Mr.Pipe Specialist for. The botched hole leading into the chamber is one thing, okay but I wish the stem sucked because that's what a stem is supposed to do 'cept this one is piss poor at it's intended function. idk if this is indicative of Molina but it's not a very good first impression for me and cannot recommend based on that.

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