Comoy’s – Cask #7

“A blend of ripe Virginia tobaccos spiced with pure Perique.  The center of Black Cavendish smooths out the taste in this slightly aromatic blend.  Select 2-3 slices, rub gently by hand and fill the pipe, then enjoy.” – Comoy’s of London.

Don’t be fooled by the name of this brand. Comoy’s of London is actually a blend operated and owned out of Denmark.  Owned by the acclaimed Stokkebye family, who now live in the U.S., Comoy’s is a very traditional brand and has been making only the finest tobaccos for decades.

The Cask #7 was a pleasant surprise.  Typically I do not like to smoke coin tobacco.  I don’t really prefer the flavor density of heavier tobaccos that are typically used in coin.  However, at a local smoke shop, I had the opportunity to meet Erik Stokkebye, 4th generation of tobacco blenders in the family, and enjoy a few bowls of his families tobacco with him.

As I began telling him why I don’t generally like coin tobacco, Erik told me that his Cask #7 doesn’t fit into the same category.  “It is a really pleasant blend that I think you will enjoy,” he told me.  With that, I decided it was time to take home a tin and see if it is as good as I was lead to believe.

First Impression

The immediate tin note of this blend is of nothing by Virginia and Perique, exactly what you would expect.  Surprisingly, there was not a large presence of fermented smell from the Perique; it was quite tame.  What I guess is that the Black Cavendish in the blend battled part of the Perique aroma and they cancelled each other out.

As we just mentioned, Cask #7 is made up of Virginia, Perique, and Black Cavendish tobaccos.

This blend has been rolled, pressed, and then cut into coins.  This tobacco should be very gently rubbed out before being packed into your bowl.  One thing I really appreciated about this blend was how the Black Cavendish tobacco was packed into the center of the coin, not just dispersed randomly throughout.  What this tells me is that Comoy’s cares greatly about their tobacco.  The time and finesse it takes to accomplish something that honestly adds so little to the tobacco is a true testament to the quality of this blend.

One thing I noticed about this blend is that when rubbing it out, I could really feel the oil and the nicotine collecting on my fingers.  It reminded my of Mac Baren Bold Kentucky and how I got a nicotine buzz from just absorbing the oil on my fingertips.  Cask #7 was not nearly that bad, but it was most definitely an oily tobacco.

Smoke

As with most coin tobacco, if you don’t rub out and pack Cask #7 perfectly, then you will find yourself lighting the tobacco over and over again, and possibly still not even making it all the way to the bottom of the bowl.  This isn’t a mark against this tobacco, just the reality of smoking coin, especially one that is very oily.

For me, the flavor profile of this blend was not very complex.  I seemed to taste the unadulterated Virginia tobacco very well and, and a mixture of the Black Cavendish and Perique, which basically ended up being a diminished Perique.  I thought that maybe I could taste a bit of licorice as well, but wasn’t sure.  As I read other reviews of this blend, I saw that they also tasted licorice, so there must be some legitimacy to that.

One thing I really loved about this blend is how cool and dry it smoked.  With a blend that had a cavendish element and was oily to start out with, I expected this to burn hot and to possibly bite my tongue.  But it actually smoked very well.  It was beautiful and tasteful.

Room Note

I really thought that the room note was tolerable.  There really wasn’t a sweet or desirable smell in any of it, but it also wasn’t repulsive.

I did notice that the smell lingered for longer than usual.  After a few hours, it just continued to smell very ashy and spent.  So not a good or bad room note.  Just so so.

Pairing

I personally enjoyed smoking this bowl late at night while sipping on a glass of Pinot Noir.

I thought that the dry red worked really well with this blend.  It seemed to cleanse the palate very nicely and allow the next draw of tobacco to be enjoyed from a clean slate.  To be honest, a good red wine almost always pairs well with pipe tobacco.

Strength

This blend may have been oily, but the nicotine content was much lower than I expected.

Cask #7 is a medium strength blend.

There could have been more flavor, and there could have been more potency in the Perique.  With that in mind I honestly think this blend was crafted quite timidly and could have very well been elevated to a higher strength while maintaining its high quality.

Overall Score

I was happy to be smoking Cask #7.

It was not a blend that blew my socks off or enlightened me.  It was just a good blend that I think sets the standard for Va/Per blends.

I give Cask #7 a 6 out of 10.

I feel as though a six is a good mid-level score; a score that allows no detrimental flaws but at the same time leaves much to be improved.  I think this describes the blend well.  However, you need to smoke it.  It is a blend that will deepen your understanding of how tobacco works.  It will teach you what it means to smoke a Va/Per blend and a coin sliced blend.

Pick up a tin today from a fantastic online retailer such as TobaccoPipes.com.

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