Weekly Email – July 15th, 2015

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1st – Prepare yourself for a day of fun as ASWcelebrates the official “hard” open of our Espinosa Lounge! (Remember the “soft” open we enjoyed back in March…? This will top it!) In attendance will beEric Espinosa himself, who will be debuting some fantastic new blends, and of course the customary outdoor attractions of tasty food, good company, etc. So be ready for a helluva good time, ’cause it’s heading our way! Mark your calendar now!!

We received a big load of wonderful pipe blends from McClelland today, including some old classics like Yenidje Supreme, Frog Morton on the Town,Tudor Castle, and Bombay Extra…as well as a couple of others which are fairly new: Wilderness and Legends. We also have plenty of swell bulk tobaccos such as Just Plain Nut, New Cherry, Dark Navy Flake, and that perennial favorite, Red Cake. Come on down and load up on your favorites!And read on for Jeff’s review of another fine McClelland blend (and incidentally my favorite song by Crosby, Stills, & Nash).

The McClelland Personal Reserve Seriesoffers up this week’s pipe blend selection, Dark Star. As ominous as it sounds, the tobacco itself is easily an all-day smoke.

Dark Star is born of bright Virginia and Carolina leaf, and the good folks at McClellend know just how to press and stove these leaves into a solid black block of sweet, sugary goodness!

Presented as a broken flake, it’s very similar to their #2035 Dark Navy Flake, but only in appearance. The tin note is classic McClelland (in which some detect vinegar or ketchup), but in reality that aroma is just screaming good quality Virginia tobacco…possibly the worlds finest. Some initial drying may be required, but loading and packing is easy and forgiving even for novice pipers.

First light reveals a sweet and mild smoking experience that many find pleasurable in the summer heat, subtle hay notes with stewed fruit moving forward most often. This is literally a sweet blend; many new smokers come in asking for their first tobacco to be sweet and tend to move toward flavored aromatics – which is fine, but I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an easy to smoke, complex and very sweet pipe tobacco.

A cool drink and a briar or cob loaded with this dark stoved Virginia is as American as apple pie and baseball in this reviewer’s opinion, and I’m giving Dark Star a full five pipe rating for this week’s review. Puff On!