I purchased two tins of Russ Ouellette’s Series Acadian English in August 2016 and opened the first tin about a month later. I smoked it at least once a day after that, so I’ve probably had about 15 or 16 bowls before writing this review.
The tin note is enticing. I get the sweet, smokiness I associated with Latakia mixed with the a unique sweet maltiness from the Yellow Virginia which were processed in the perique manner. In fact, this blend is comprised of the Acadian Gold blend and Latakia. There is no casing that I know of but I did get just a hint of cocoa from the newly opened tin. Now, with it having been opened daily for about 2 weeks, the cocoa isn’t there for me, but the sweet smokiness is.
It was a little wet at first, but I’ve let it dry out and now I can load it into a pipe and pretty much smoke it to the bottom of the bowl without re-lighting. I like it better for sipping in a cob, but I have also smoked it clinched in a briar and just slowly puffed. No bite to speak of except one time when I smoked it too fast.
In my opinion this starts out as a medium strength blend and slowly builds up in strength as I get to the bottom of the bowl.
The aroma and taste most noticeable to me is the sweet smokiness with dry hay. Overall I think it is a nice, clean smoke which reminds me of smoking a good mild to medium cigar. In fact, a couple of times it has left me with the same mouth feel and aftertaste of a cigar. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
This may not be my favorite of Ouelette’s Acadian Series – I prefer the Acadian VaPer – I am glad I bought two tins of this and will be ordering some more of it for my cellar.
