Mick McQuaid Square Cut Pipe Tobacco Reviews

Dark brown with orange and reddish tones, but with some lighter flecks, this tobacco comes in short flakes, about 1" long (about half the length of the typical flake). It rubs out quite easily and has the heavy, rather aromatic, fermented pouch aroma of many old-style British blends.

The flavour is that of well matured Virginia through and through. It is less aromatic however than many other of the more popular heavy Virginias that come to mind - Condor, Saint Bruno and Erinmore. This is very strong (lots of nicotine) with a straightforward, uncomplicated matured Virginia flavour that attains a kind of neutrality in that it is neither harsh nor sweet.

The smoke's body could be described as somewhere between medium and heavy. Although it's reasonably smooth on the tongue, the smoke rising from the pipe itself is quite sharp as it hits the nostrils.

I've been smoking this in a bent Peterson with a bowl that is fairly close to my nose and I think it might have been a better choice to smoke it in a pipe with a bowl further from nose's reach. I find its strength and simplicity make it the perfect end-of-the-night smoke when I'm not craving any particular aromatic or latakia flavour but desire a very relaxing smoke.

This means that it's ideal for anyone who enjoys well-matured Virginias, but sometimes finds them too sweet or heavily flavoured. It burns very well, so it could be easy to smoke this a little hot, but it's generally a fairly cool smoke. At the end of a smoke, which I find very pleasant, you are left with a small quantity of dry greyish ash and an old-fashioned room aroma.

However, it leaves a strong burnt taste in the pipe that is quite difficult to get rid of.