Semois Impressions / Review Thread

[ajpl]

Do we have a thread anywhere to talk about our impressions of this tobacco?

There is now, Wayne. Thanks for the idea.

Go forth and taste, gentlemen (and lady)!

[sam a]

i got mine yesterday. smoked a few bowls. it was good. i will smoke a few bowls today... and tomorrow. i should have bought more. the end.

[wmolaw]

i got mine yesterday. smoked a few bowls. it was good. i will smoke a few bowls today... and tomorrow. i should have bought more. the end.

What! Come on, give us a review!

[ajpl]

Blender: Vincent Manil
Blend Name: Val Ardennais - Réserve du Patron

Description on Package: None, unless you count the giant Belgian “smoking kills” warning label. The packaging is otherwise very attractive, to my eye.

Leaf: Long ribbons, mostly nut brown in color, with some tans and lighter shades of brown. The leaf is very dry to the touch, which is apparently how it’s supposed to be, although it’s still fairly springy.

Package Aroma: I get a grassy, earthy, almost cigar-like aroma. It has a very raw, natural tobacco smell to it, significantly more so than anything else I’ve smoked.

Taste: the pre-light draw and the first light both present some slightly herbal notes. I’m expecting to tamp and relight after the first match, but the semois stays lit by itself so I run with it. The smoke is smooth and velvety, and the flavors are fairly strong and savory. I think the herbal / floral notes are still there, but they move to the background. It doesn’t taste at all like a cigar, despite the package aroma. All in all, it’s pretty unique and hard to describe, but it’s good. Really good.

However, the semois really shines when retrohaling. I don’t even know how to describe the flavor that comes through when I push the smoke out of my nose—it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The best description I can think of is burnt sweetness, like caramel, mixed with rained-on earth, or something like that. It’s sublime.

Smokability: the tobacco burns really well—it lights and it stays lit. I could probably get through an entire bowl with a single match if I kept up with tamping to keep the ember insulated. Because it’s so dry, it burns quickly, although it never gets too hot and it never bites. And I mean quickly: I packed my first bowl normally and rocketed through it in about ten minutes. Subsequent bowls were packed extremely tight and they lasted about as long as an average bowl would.

One interesting note: the semois leaves my mouth nice and moist, which I’m not used to. Most tobacco leaves me pretty dry, but this one seems to encourage saliva production.

Thoughts: I smoked this out of a corncob, and ended up smoking three bowls in a row, which I never do. It’s a good thing I bought as much as I did—I have two quart-sized mason jars stuffed to the lid and I don’t know how long they’re going to last me if I keep smoking it at this rate. I’ll have to try a briar and see how it behaves.

All in all, this is a fascinating tobacco, like nothing I’ve ever had before. As far as comparisons to other tobaccos, it’s subtler than your average Latakia blend, but that uniquely delicious retrohaling flavor makes it much bolder than a Virginia or even a Va/Per. If you can get your hands on some, do it.

[Ocelot55]

Okay, first impressions:

Nice smell out of the pouch:sweet, woodsy aroma. Tobacco is very dry but doesn't crumble like I expected. As ajpl noted, it's a bit springy. I put the pouch in the humidor. I think it could use a little more moisture. Judging by the packaging, it has certainly dried out some on the way over here.

Filled up a morta pipe and off we go. Flavor is more like a cigar than any pipe tobacco I've had; it's a little sweet with some sharp herbal notes and perhaps a bit woodsy. It burns really fast and heats up the morta quickly. No relights. I've got to take it easy on this one. I can feel a little bite developing. It feels like it might also have a little kick to it. I'm getting that tickle in the back of my throat that is indicative of stronger tobacco.

Overall impression: definitely unique and a change of pace from the run of the mill blends. Was I blown away? Absolutely not. So far I'm a bit underwhelmed, but I have a lot of tobacco left. I'm eager to see how it smokes in different pipes as well as how it behaves when it has a bit more moisture.

[wdteipen]

Thanks ajpl.

My first impressions:

Like others noted, my Semois is a long, thin ribbon cut tobacco that is very dry but springy. The "tin note" is of dried mushrooms and peat to me.

I smoked the first bowl in a new SMS half bent lattice billiard about group 5 in size. This pipe has never been smoked before. I wanted to taste only the tobacco. I found the springiness and dryness of the tobacco made it a bit difficult to get a tight enough pack which resulted in the tobacco burning faster than I typically like. It burned very well but required frequent light tamps to keep the ember lit. I only had a couple relights towards the end of the bowl.

This tobacco tastes, to me, like a cross between a burley and an oriental. It has a sweet, nutty, baked bread flavor initially but with a unique herbal note. It also has a very faint floral after taste that only came through for me faintly on a handful of occasions throughout the smoke. The dried mushroom aroma presented itself as the bowl developed as more of a peaty flavor that reminded me of a good peaty scotch but without the bite. About 2/3 it started to taste more like a cigar like burleys typically do for me. It burned to a fine ash with no dottle and ended before I realized it. It was a quick smoke for such a large bowled pipe. Overall it was interesting and different but, as I'm primarily a Va smoker, I wasn't wowed. I'm not much of a burley smoker and I like my orientals with a healthy dose of Va. That being said, I'm left wondering if this tobacco wouldn't benefit greatly from a bit of rehydrating. I'm curious to see if a lot of the flavor is lost with the dryness of the tobacco. It does burn fast although, strangely enough, not overly hot. We will see but the verdict is still out for me.

[Sasquatch]

Really interesting. I can't tell if I'd love this stuff or hate it, but it sounds worthwhile.

Great reviews guys.

Especially Sam.

[d.huber]

Okay, first impressions:

Nice smell out of the pouch:sweet, woodsy aroma. Tobacco is very dry but doesn't crumble like I expected. As ajpl noted, it's a bit springy. I put the pouch in the humidor. I think it could use a little more moisture. Judging by the packaging, it has certainly dried out some on the way over here.

Filled up a morta pipe and off we go. Flavor is more like a cigar than any pipe tobacco I've had; it's a little sweet with some sharp herbal notes and perhaps a bit woodsy. It burns really fast and heats up the morta quickly. No relights. I've got to take it easy on this one. I can feel a little bite developing. It feels like it might also have a little kick to it. I'm getting that tickle in the back of my throat that is indicative of stronger tobacco.

Overall impression: definitely unique and a change of pace from the run of the mill blends. Was I blown away? Absolutely not. So far I'm a bit underwhelmed, but I have a lot of tobacco left. I'm eager to see how it smokes in different pipes as well as how it behaves when it has a bit more moisture.

My first smoke was very much in line with yours. I'll try a few more bowls and then I'll give a full report here.

I absolutely freaking love the bouchons. So far, they've provided all of the excellent features that ajpl described in his review of the pipe tobacco with none of the harshness that I experienced with the pipe tobacco.

[Massis]

Just a small heads up on the moisture: yes, please do add some moisture! But also keep in mind that this Semois tobacco is supposed to be alot dryer than most tobacco you smoke, so don't get it too wet!

The Semois tobacco is shipped as dry as possible to prevent mold and other nasties, but especially after being on the move for 3 weeks, it'll be rather dry. As you'll probably have noticed, this tobacco does not come in airtight containers, but in old school paper wrappings, which don't really add to the tobacco's moisture...

[snapper]

I thought it might have been too dry but it burned fine. I'm not a sophisticated tobacco reviewer so all I can say is that it tastes like a fine cigar! I split it among 8-1/2 pint mason jars and stashed away seven. With the last one I rehydrated half of it and mixed it with the dry half. It now seems to have a decent mositure level. The flavor is still that of a fine cigar. Glad I got some!

[wmolaw]

I smoked one and a half bowls this afternoon.

Impressions:

First, when I opened the package the smell ALMOST named itself right away, then I lost it. Sweet, almost vanilla, but with a little hint of menthol in the back of the throat after awhile. Strange, not sure i have ever smelled 'baccy like it.

I got the thick cut, and it was dry as a bone. Didn't fall to pieces, but was not "springy" as others noted. It packed alright, but because of a lack of moisture not sure it was packed in the manner it should be. Am going to have to hyrdrate it some, for I believe more will come from this tobacco with a bit of moisture in it.

I smoked it in a Moretti, about a grp 5 or so. It's my general, go to pipe. Great smoker, no gurgle, ever. It gives a good, true taste. Going to try it in one of Rad's pipes tonight.

Lights easily, stays lit (so dry?) I generally try to keep tamping to a minimum, and did so here as well. Some sweetness, in the background, nice, clean tobacco taste, different. Like Jesse, didn't knock my socks off, but I sensed there was more too it, quite a bit more, than I was getting out of it. A bit more moisture? Different pipe? Going to try some different variations. I'm hoping it's just the moisture content. I have found that, many times, tobaccos underwhelm when they are very, very dry.

[pipedreamer]

SAM great review.

[d.huber]

Having my second bowl of Semois right now and am smoking it in a wide diameter chambered pipe. I have to say, it's A LOT better in a wide chamber than in a narrow. That cutting sharpness is drastically diminished and all I'm getting is fantastic flavor.

My first smoke Semois was in a flake pipe with a very narrow and tall chamber.

[the rev]

I liked it, but it was a bit lighter than I am used to. I would like to try a thick cut.

man does it burn fast

rev

[wisemanpipes]

smells like mushrooms dipped in chocolate with some cigar leaves. nice aroma. it was exceptionally dry, like noted, and "springy". burned fast etc.... like everyone else said.

bottom line: I like it. will I get more? probably not..... bouchons? YES!!

im glad I get to change up from my normal; Lux Bullseye flake with 1792 mix

-evan