Comoy’s – Cask #4

I have always had a unique relationship with Comoy’s tobacco.  The first two Comoy’s of London tobaccos I ever tasted were the Cask #2 (Portwood), and Cask #7 (the Coin Sliced).  I found myself enjoying those two quite a bit.  I smoked through all my open tins fairly quickly.  For some reason though, I remained doubtful of Comoy’s.

Whether it was the basic artwork on the outside of the tin, or the paint can stye tin itself, I don’t know; but I was just not motivated to smoke Comoy’s tobacco any more than I already did.

One day earlier in 2015, I was traveling to my local pipe smokers club at my favorite B&M.  It just so happened to be that Erik Stokkebye (4th generation Stokkebye tobacco blender for Comoy’s of London and owner of 4th Generation Tobacco) was in town and joined us while traveling through.  I was telling him about my struggle’s with their tobacco.  Through this long conversation, he inspired me to buy a few more Comoy’s tins and being smoking them again.  It wasn’t until this point that I finally decided to try Comoy’s #4.

First Impression

While it is rather an odd way to package pipe tobacco, the paint can style tin of Comoy’s of London its quite playful and fun.  I ended up enjoying that style of packaging.  It also keeps the tobacco fairly moist, doing an even better job than most American style pop on lids.

I don’t know if I was sick or stopped up when I smelled this blend, but I had a difficult time getting any scent from the tobacco.  It was incredibly light scented.  The little bit I could smell was of pure hay and maybe a little bit of fruit.  But honestly, it was hard for me to pick out much else in this blend.

Cask #4 is a a Navy Flake tobacco.  In this case, I thought the tobacco held together fabulously.  If you prefer to roll your flake up, instead of rubbing it out, this blend will stay in tact better than most.  I did notice that it is rather thick and a little moist, so while it is easy to pack whole, it is difficult to light.

This blend is made entirely of Virginia and Perique tobacco.

Smoke

I had a small problem with getting it lit: it tended to be a little moist.  I suggest letting it dry our for about an hour.  This should help ensure that you can get a good solid light without burning through an entire box of matches.

The flavor of this blend is fairly simple, but dense.  The flavor of hay and citrus like fruit take the cake in the flavor department.  The thick flake cut Virginia offers this loved hay taste, but it isn’t a loud, bold flavor of hay.  It’s more of a film of flavor that encases the overall taste.  There are definite hints of citrus laced throughout, but more than anything, you can taste the tobacco; which is rather pleasant.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep a bowl of flake tobacco lit.  This was not the case.  I found that once this tobacco was lit, it tended to stay that way.  This also allowed the tobacco to produce ample amounts of smoke.  Because of the decent flavor and how easily this blend stayed lit, it is the perfect tobacco for smoking slowly and relaxing.

Room Note

The note on this blend is much more pleasurable than typical Va/Per blends.

This blend has a very mild fruity aroma and a medium strength farm aroma.  While this note is not necessarily good or bad, I think it all depends on your preference.  Some will find that they love the aroma, while some are appalled.

Pairing

This was such an enjoyable and tame Va/Per blend that I think it could be paired with many different things.

I enjoyed mine with a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  I tend to prefer far eastern wines, and mine was from New Zealand.  The mild/medium bodied flavor of the Sauvignon Blanc pairs very pleasurable with a tobacco with this body.  I also think that a green or fruity tea would pair well also.

Strength

This blend is one of the more tame Navy Flakes I have personally had.

This is a mild/medium strength blend.

It is nice to know that this blend doesn’t have the ability to overwhelm with flavor.  Many pipe smokers who prefer mild, more tame, blends are often hesitant to try a good Navy Flake.  Cask #4 offers people a chance to smoke one without being overwhelmed.

Overall Score

The list of problems with this blend is fairly short: a little wet, has a small amount of flavor, and isn’t very unique.

That being said, this blend is very enjoyable and can be smoked by just about anyone.  For this reason, I suggest you to try this blend.

I give Cask #4 a score of 7 out of 10.

Normally I wouldn’t give a rather basic tobacco a score this high.  But in this case, I really appreciate just how smoothly it smoked.  I am sure that once you try a bowl, you will see how smooth this tobacco smokes.

Pick up a tin of Cask #4 at a great site such as TobaccoPipes.com.

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Pictures provided by TobaccoPipes.com and Comoy’s of London.

 

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