Comparison of Components: The Boyz do Burley

Post by **Capn Jimbo** » Sat Jun 14, 2014 5:50 pm

Now we're havin fun...

Note: This thread based on an agreement to test and review the main components of the nearly endless blends,
in a quest to better understand them.

I ended up with three burley based to try, two OTC's (Grandpa Burleys) and one that made Pipe & Cigars recommended burleys to try: in this case the H&H (Home and Hearth) Classic Burley Kake (correct spelling). Now I started with the Carter Hall, then the Prince Albert and finally the P&C choice, the latter Burley Kake.

It turns out there's a lot of old timers who like the Carter Hall and the ubiquitous Prince Albert, the old standards, available everywhere, a drug store tobacco now. The difference: the CH is Burley based but with a bit of Virginia thrown in, while the PA is Burley backed up with some Cavendish.

Middleton's Carter Hall

Considering its cost and OTC availability, CH is very well received. It's reported to be mild, with very mild nutty Burley notes. It is. The pouch aroma is lovely and includes some nice dark fruits, think fig, dark plum or raisins. Sue Sea would say "like a Fig Newton". It lit easily and stayed lit. Burning reveals a light nuttiness, and a very light fruity sweetness, simple and easy, and quite pleasant. No real tongue bite, just a very pleasant light Burley note.

Most of the reviews recommended a cob for this one. I used a new one. BTW, CH is widely recommended for building an initial cake in a new pipe, and I can now vouch for that. Some reviewer feel that smoking burley, and the CH might be an alternative to a mild cigar. I can see that. It leaves a lingering room note of light cigar.

Nice, simple, and very pleasant - not the least bit challenging.

Middleton's Prince Albert:

Another famous old OTC tobacco, but with a bit more oomph than the CH, more Burley forward, and no Virginia in the background. The pouch note is lighter and features the nutty Burley, without the deep, dark fruit tones of the CH, rather a distinct cacao or coffee note. Burning it reveals more Burley nuttiness, and a sort of black coffee effect and just a hint of sweetness, very balanced. It gives an earthy effect that reminds you that this was made from a ripe, fermented plant. The Prince Albert seems more authentic, just like a good cup of dark roasted black Columbian coffee.

Cobs were recommended and I did. PA is used by many to tone down or to stretch other blends. So far PA is nuttier, and more authentic if that means anything, while the CH is sweeter and heading toward being a very light aromatic. Neither is. Both have the same lingering, cigarette like room note. At one point I set my pipe down, a ribbon of smoke wafted over and darned if I didn't smell rye toast. Lovely.

One reviewer strongly recommends: gravity pack VERY loosely. Light touch with the tamper. Gentle light. Always sip. I found this true, especially for the PA and CH. I rubbed out the Kake for the same effect.

H&H Classic Burley Kake:

This was P&C's recommendation for a medium bodied example of Burley. Tobacco Reviews calls it an aromatic; two Burleys (Kentucky and Tennessee) and one Virgina. Flavors include anise, cacao and rum. These must be top notes though, because I got little of these in the burn. The flavors I got was a rich Burley nuttiness, warm and toasty, pure and with a light Virginia sweetness. Of the three Burleys here, this Kake was by far the most rewarding. The other two border are rather light and mild in comparison, while the Kake expresses itself more fully, but without overpowering, still pleasant. Pouch note: deep nutty cacao - like the PA but fuller.

The warm, toasty, nutty notes prevailed over a distant cacao/coffee background. Like the PA but better, fuller, richer and warmer, more interesting. According to one review, it's the bolder Kentucky Burley that accounts for this. Another thought of a baked almond cookie and I know Sue Sea would find that.

Very nice, and still a very affordable bulk tobacco.

Of the three, the Kake is by far my favorite, though I will revisit the CH and PA. I liked and enjoyed it. BTW the Kake's room note is MUCH nicer, think coffe/cacao. The other two could be mistaken for a cigarette or cigar smoker's. One final note: all three of these Burley's were great for me as a beginner as like many, many reviewers noted, it's easy to light, burns readily and rarely needs a relight.

This easy and dependable burn allowed me slow and easy sipping, and for me was perhaps the first time I really understood the value of light sipping insofar as really "getting" the available flavors and aromas. Reviewer's point out that all of these do best in a cob, light pack, very light tamping, slow and easy smoking. Very lightl and subtle aromatic.

The bullets...

1. I learned that for me, Burley has a rather natural, nutty and toasty taste, bit of natural sweetness. The two most notable pouch aromas was a deep nutty, coffee/cacao. It appeals to me as a cigar smoker.

2. Both PA and CH are listed as "non-flavored", the Kake brand has only very subtle aromatics, but is very Burley-forward.

3. I was amazed at how easy and simple Burley is to pack and light. It burns so smoothly and easily that re-lights or strong puffing were pretty much unnecessary. Thus, all three of these made light sipping possible and preferred, making them burn free, lengthening the smoke, and maximizing flavors.

4. The pro's say that Burley has good body, creamy smoke. A nutty cacao is a common descriptor for taste. The "Old Codger" PA and CH are also used and added to other aromatics or blends to tone them down, or to extend them.

Who's next on Burley?

*******
http://www.notsoboringlife.com/food-and ... e-tobacco/

da'rum · Post by **da'rum** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:16 am

To come... solani aged burley flake and macbaren hh old dark fired. Asap.

Dai · Post by **Dai** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:18 am

I like Mac Baren Navy Flake it's a good Virginia Burley mix for me.

Post by **Capn Jimbo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:41 pm

Ibid...

This was the first good tobacco I purchased, based entirely on da'Rum's strong recommendation. I really had no idea then of the notion of "component" tobaccos, nor that this would actually be a good example for this section, so I'll taste it again, with Burley in mind.

BTW Dai, in case you missed, the idea of examining the components is to explore good examples of tobacco which feature a particular component, and to post our personal aromas, tastes and experiences with each, so please do post your own impressions...

da'rum · Post by **da'rum** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:46 pm

Bugger it. Phone post it must be.

Lets start with Mac barens HH 'old dark fired' It's a Burley flake with Virginia to add a bit of mellow to it.

I have a love hate relationship with this flake. At first I loved it and now the love has faded somewhat but we are still good friends. It is a quality blend without question it is steam pressed and topped with some kind of topping to stop it being sour. That topping has a slight salty smell to it. The tobacco out of the tin smells like leather, wood and deep dry grass. After 10-15minutes of drying it's ready to pack. Now I've cubed, folded, rubbed and stuffed this flake and I can honestly say whatever method I chose made zero difference in taste. The rubbed version did make it easier to smoke though. So now to flavours. A slightly sweet earthy mix with a healthy nic kick but nothing head spinning. The flake lacks a little in complexity and can be , to borrow a descriptor from snow mutt, astringent. This lack of complexity and slight astringency is what turned me off it a bit. I like my bowls of tobacco to develop and intensify as it burns down, this doesn't. It also becomes dusty on the palate at times if smoked without a drink. It goes well with a mild and slightly sweet coffee or a Pussers or Appletons etc.

What saved our relationship. We decided that if we wanted to continue seeing each other we would have to try spice things up. So my usual method of troublesome tobacco relationships is to try a threesome. I blended this with Orlik golden sliced which is a VA with a slight almost imperceptible PER. This is what saved us. The addition of OGS added a complexity and largely removed any astringency. It is a great pairing. Sweet spicy OGS with some earthy nutty strength from the Burley. Would I buy this again? Only if I was starved for choice. Solani aged burley flake is much much better and I'll talk about that next.

Cheers

Post by **Capn Jimbo** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:16 pm

Nice review, and a lesson in home blending...

I tried my MacB's Navy Flake again, stuffing it as a folded "plug" (no rubbing). The light up was very nice, but then it was an extended period of different levels of tongue burn, interspersed with a few truly wonderful moments. But it's hard to trade a few moments for mostly tongue burn.

d... I see that you dry your flakes (and boy does MacB make stunning and accurate flakes) for 10-15 minutes. After lots of reading, confusion still reigns as there are smokers that swear aromatics, Virginias, sugar, alkalintiy, acidity, ad nauseum are either the problem or the answer. As much as I seem to be able to tweezer out of all that research is that moisture (steam) may be the real culprit - both burning and delivering less than pleasant tastes and aromas.

Then the flake issue of whether to fold, cut/cube or rub (and to what extent) remains, with evidence mounting that a "rub", followed by drying may indeed help prolong the light AND lower the burn.

Grrrr. It was so bad I was driven to a bowl of Lanes BCA, which was entirely pleasant.

da'rum · Post by **da'rum** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 1:46 am

That's strange as I have experienced very little tongue bite from McB NF. I was originally convinced that all tongue bite was caused by steam because I experienced tongue bite more often when I didn't let the tobacco dry properly. I am not so sure now and now think it is a mixture of the particular tobaccos PH as well as steam. I have only smoked maybe one or two blends that delivered tongue bite regardless of dryness or smoking tempo. Most tongue bite can be beaten by slowing down or even putting the pipe down for ten minutes and letting it settle.

da'rum · Post by **da'rum** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:41 pm

Late night computer attempt.

Solani Aged Burley Flake.

The write up.

A skillful mixture of three aged Burley's - dark brown Burley from Kentucky, light Burley from Brazil, and white Burley from Malawi - Southeast Africa. A very natural blend with absolutely no additives or flavors - a true Burley blend.

I believe there is sugar in the form of cocoa or chocolate sauce of some sort in the ferment but it is only light. This flake is also toasted.

This is by far the best Burley I've smoked. It is rich, slightly sweet earthy and complex. It smells wonderful out of the tin and can be smoked with a minimum of air time. It starts off delicious and intensifies as the bowl burns down. You get the usual Burley characteristics a light leather woody, nut profile but has a lot more subtleties to it. Don't get me wrong this Burley isn't 'busy', it is a Burley but with just enough tricks up it's sleeve to keep you remarking at the slight changes in profile as you smoke it. I can't help but remark on the quality and class of this flake every time I go back to it. It goes well with a nice coffee.

Would I buy this again? A resounding yes, in fact there is a tin on it's way to me now.

Cheers.

Post by **Capn Jimbo** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:21 pm

Sounds great...

I'm far from deciding what kind of tobaccos or blends I like, but so far my best experiences have been with Burley, in particular my Sutliff Classic Burley Kake (sic). Your Solani sounds honestly, very attractive. The things that Burley does: burn well, woody/nutty/cacao flavor hits my personal sweet spot. And I like flavor without bite, emphasis flavor.

Now I know I really liked my "Kake" and you obviously dig your Solani, so of course I looked it on Tobacco Reviews, to discover that it has one of the highest ratings - by far - that I've seen there, a "3.5" out of four. This is quite amazing. Indeed, as a group many of the other Solani's are rated as high or higher.

The next thing I noted was that both the Solani and my Kake have one thing in common: Kentucky Burley, which is reputed to be a darker, richer, stronger burley. Ergo lots of taste. Looks like I'm going to have to order one...

da'rum · Post by **da'rum** » Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:07 am

You will pay a bit extra for Solani but the couple of dollars is soon forgotten. I ordered a batch of new tobaccos last night and along with the ABF from Solani I thought I'd try some of their other blends especially one I've been meaning to try for a time. The Solani Silver Flake. I also bought Solani White and Black.