Russell's Quintessence No.1 Pipe Tobacco Reviews

This Danish-made mixture - "a super mild aromatic Black Cavendish bulk cured for several weeks," as the tin says - is the kind of tobacco I think a new smoker should start out with if s/he plans to start with aromatics rather than natural or English blends.

And because it's all good-quality tobacco, it would make an excellent all-day smoke for an experienced smoker too, provided of course that s/he is inclined to smoke aromatics. It's a rich, fairly cool-smoking blend due to its black cavendish base, perhaps 60% black, maybe more, mixed with some light Virginias to liven up the flavour a bit. Of course it contains a fairly heavy vanilla flavour like most black-cavendish blends, but it's not a cheap taste.

It is a sweet smoke, (how could anything with a black cavendish base be otherwise?), but not excessively so and not at all syrupy. It smokes quite dry, surprisingly so for a black cavendish blend, and burns very well to a practically non-existant grey ash.

The dryness, sweetness, and medium body of this blend make for a very good balance. It's one of the few aromatic blends I've tried so far that I could imagine smoking in a big pipe over a long period of time. The smoke has a nice body, that typical black-cavendish smoothness, but I suspect that the light Virginia in the mixture would be fairly sharp on its own.

When I blow the smoke out my nose, it's just a bit more perky than I expect from a smoke in which black cavendish dominates. Unlike a number of black cavendish blends I've tried, this one is quite satisfying, and I suspect it is the light Virginia component that makes it so.

Here, I'm referring to a mellow kind of satisfied feeling, sort of like a much lighter version of the effect that latakia blends can have - not the kind of nicotine rush that some burley blends produce. And, unlike some aromatics that just come off as too light for my palate, I don't get the urge to smoke this one really fast or to inadvertently and automatically inhale it. I would never have tried this mixture had it not been for a most enthusiastic gentleman whom I chatted with during a visit to The Smoker, in Albany, NY (one place where this tobacco is available).

This is his favourite tobacco (or one of his favourites) and he insisted that I try it. So, before leaving the shop, he left me with his half-smoked tin of the stuff. A big thank-you to him for the kind gesture and good tobacco!