Blending - Smyrna

I partook a bowl straight from the baggie to get a feel for its basic characteristics and was surprised by its natural smoothness. Tea like and almost minty, and held its own with no harshness or bite whatsoever. I experimented by adding one part (in lieu of my regular one part of Latakia) to two parts Ole barrel #76 and about one half part blending perique (for an extra zest). It lit well and stayed lit with little fuss and provided smooth, mellow, all-day smoking characteristics, with some complexity, but lacked depth. I’m thinking the the depth could be developed with the addition of a splash of Latakia. I avoid Virginias due to their inevitable bite, but may experiment further with Virginias to coax a bit of sweetness. All in all, the Smyrna added a mellow, musty character to my personal concoction to provide a satisfying all-day smoke. I’ll keep experimenting in search of that perfect morning smoke (paired with coffee) experience.

A friend recommended it to me to enhance other blends. I use it with some capers, and it's tea note together with a gentle mint flavor really makes a humdrum vaper come to life!

As is my habit with blending tobaccos, I like to smoke them straight initially to get an idea of how they behave, their flavor and sundry characteristics. It’s pretty easy to do with this one. Purchased May 2018 and left alone in the sealed plastic bag until November 2018. It had dried a bit so I rehydrated it and let it sit for a couple of days until the texture/moisture felt about right. This morning, I loaded a bowl in a favorite and well understood briar and lit up. It took a couple of try’s to get it burning well but once I did, keeping it lit wasn’t a problem. It’s a nice large ribbon cut, uniform in color and without much aroma in the bag. It’s a mildly flavorful, not noticeably sweet smoke. It burns cool and produces copious quantities of smoke. The room note is modest. Burning time in this pipe was about an hour, about what I’d hoped for. I smoked it to the bottom. It never got harsh or hot throughout the entire time. Without trying to describe the flavor, I’ll say that it should work well with things like Latakia to add aroma and maybe a small amount of Virginia to add sweetness...not too much as it could bite. Could tone down stronger Burleys, making them less strident...I’d like to try a tiny batch of PA with this just to see how it affects a well known favorite. Meanwhile, I’d say it would make a good foundation for an English blend...mostly Smyrna with a bit of Latakia and a touch of Virginia...May blend a batch just to see if my hunch is correct, realizing that this is usually a minor component in Virginia/Latakia heavy blends. I think it could be a featured player. It’s OK on its own but doesn’t have much character.

Right out of the just delivered, just opened bag in a short little London made Prince. First impression for sure...pouch aroma is nothing special. It’s a brown chopped ribbon with smokeable moisture content. Lights and burns easily, stays lit. Gentle on the nose and tongue, smooth flavor with no sharp edges. It’s a very good mild, cool smoke on its own, neutral enough to make me wonder what sort of blend would be good with it. A very natural tobacco flavor. Very pleasant.

This tobacco made every other tobacco, I blended it with, a much better smoking experience!! I'm kicking myself for not trying this years ago.

Very aromatic and tasty, with the musky description being accurate. Spicy comes to mind also. A little harsh out of the bag when I tried it straight. Maybe needs a little age. For me it wasn't mild in anything but nicotine. Medium maybe.

This is the first time I have used Smyrna in my blending. So far I like it. It adds a little different taste, which I like.

Not as buttery and rich as I had hoped. Intended as a blending condiment, this particular Smyrna smokes very well on its own. I smoked a full bowl straight up and actually enjoyed it. A mild to medium flavor I would describe as dry and musty. Dry meaning dry as opposed to sweet.

I added a trace amount of this to a lifeless, one dimensional Norwegian Pipe Cut blend. It worked wonders.

This is a very tobacco with a very musty, dank flavor that blends well with sweet virginias. I probably won't order this again.