Over the months since my last post, I have been enjoying a number of new (to me) blends I have found. Meistermischung blends are produced by Kohlhase & Kopp and I suspect that at one time they had fancier names. Meistermischung translate to English as “Master Mix” and there are at least 10 different blends ranging from Nr. 11 to Nr. 110. While seven of these are aromatic, there are also two different English blends and one Virginia Flake.
Unfortunately, these blends are not available for purchase in the United States. I found them on the Esterval’s website: http://www.tecon-gmbh.de/index.php?language=en).
I bought 100-gram tins of Nr. 11, Nr. 22 and Nr. 66. The Nr. 22 is a cherry blend and Nr. 66 is a mélange of tropical flavors (I mainly smell black currants which I don’t consider tropical.).
Meistermischung Nr. 11 is what I would have called tropical because it has discernable aromas of rum, honey and plum. The manufacturer says, it’s “a basic mixture of Danish Dark Cavendish mixed with normal and width cut Virginias that is improved with aromas of honey, Jamaica Rum and Plum.”
That description gave me pause when I was deciding on my order. Were they really saying, “The tobacco isn’t good enough to smoke without heavily casing or topping.” In the end, I did buy a 100-gram tin found the blend to be an enjoyable smoke.
The tobacco is moist and supple but not clumpy. I loaded both a clay pipe and a cob and let them sit for about 30 minutes before putting flame to the clay pipe.
It took a few puffs before I started tasting the fruit and the rum was also lightly present. I think I was smoking too fast at first because as I slowed down the plum and rum showed up more. The honey was also light in the beginning but became more dominant on the second half of the bowl.
The tobacco itself played fourth and fifth fiddle to the flavoring. While the honey, rum and plum stayed in the forefront, there was a nuttiness that I normally associate with burley in the background. I didn’t notice the Virginias in the first bowls I smoked.
The tobacco itself played fourth and fifth fiddle to the flavoring. While the honey, rum and plum stayed in the forefront, there was a nuttiness that I normally associate with burley in the background. I didn’t notice the Virginias in the first bowls I smoked.
