Jim's Revised Astley's No. 109 Review.

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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,272
563,861
There's a light topping of some kind that added a light citrus/sugar note, but it tended to fade as I smoked. The raisin hit I sensed when I opened the tin also seemed to fairly much vanish. The Virginias offer a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, hay and grass, bread, earth, wood, mild vegetation, tangy darker fruit, light sugar, spice, acidic lemon, and floralness. Not very complex, but it isn't meant to be that way. The strength is in the center of mild to medium. The taste level is a step past that center. The nic-hit is a notch less potent than the overall strength and body. Won’t bite, but fast puffing may result in a harsh note. Has a few small rough edges. The flake is easy to break apart. Burns a touch warm, clean and slightly slow with a very consistent flavor from top to bottom. Requires a few relights. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. The short lived after taste and room notes are pleasant. Can be an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

UPDATE 6-2022: The changes in this blend are similar to other recent K&K products that I have smoked. The main differences are the elevation of the tart and tangy citrus, floralness and the sour lemon, all of which are more potent now. The tangy dark fruit, earth and wood are barely evident. Even though it’s not visually apparent, the amount of red Virginia was cut quite a lot with orange Virginia which accounts for much of the changes. The sugary citrus topping is stronger now as it has a little more than a moderate effect, and does not wane. I also sense a light syrup note which was not present before as well as a little more acidity. Burns a tad harsher now. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are a notch higher here. The room note is a little stronger, too. All of the other previous observations of the earlier manufacture still hold. I deduct half a star because of the extra acidity, so I rated it at TR as a three star blend.
 
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pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,137
7,550
Terra Firma
The question I'm left with is this: since the opinion of numerous experienced pipers is that these blends deliberately, and since most of the recent discussion of this revolves around Kohlhase & Kopp, are there manufacturers who have been known to not fiddle with blends? The fact that HU didn't know their blend had been changed makes it sound like K&K has gone rogue. As someone still building a cellar, I'm looking for manufacturers with some consistency, ignoring differences due to crop year and the human element of the blenders.
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,272
563,861
The question I'm left with is this: since the opinion of numerous experienced pipers is that these blends deliberately, and since most of the recent discussion of this revolves around Kohlhase & Kopp, are there manufacturers who have been known to not fiddle with blends? The fact that HU didn't know their blend had been changed makes it sound like K&K has gone rogue. As someone still building a cellar, I'm looking for manufacturers with some consistency, ignoring differences due to crop year and the human element of the blenders.
Mac Baren is the most consistent. They have a giant warehouse with tobaccos going back to at least the 1970s, and blend various crop years to create consistency. Sutliff, C&D and Lane are generally consistent.
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,272
563,861
When was the change made? I’m curious because the tin I’m smoking now was made in 2020. The acidity is not apparent to me, but my palate is that of a noob. ?
I don't know when the change was made. I heard about it from a couple of people who complained about it a few months. It could have been any time before then.
 
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krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,133
18,278
Michigan
My cellar’s stocks of K&K manufactured blends start in 2016, with some being purchased periodically up to the present. Sounds like I’ll hit the switch point in a few years when I open those “new” tins. At least I came to F&T Special Brown Flake late, so I only know the new stuff, which I like just fine.

I am worried about my Marlin Flake. I have a lot of that’s 5 y/o and older, and a lot that’s only a couple of years old. ?
 
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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Thanks for the review Jim. Just yesterday I opened a tin of 2015 Astleys 109. It was a dark wrap around flake that looked almost exactly like the old Wessex Brigade Campaign. The flavors of stewed fruits was there. It had some nice fig flavors and is the most bite free Virginia I have come across. I began smoking this blend back in 2001. I still have a couple of tins left from those days.
I smoked a bowl as a first of the day and enjoyed it. It has the molasses sweetness of other blends and thankfully I taste no grass or hey or citrus flavors. Just rich dark Virginia that age has smoothed out and it smokes great.
 
Feb 12, 2022
3,449
47,837
31
North Georgia mountains.
That's all that matters. The version isn't bad, it's just different. That's all the review describes.
This is good to point out for those who haven't tried the older versions of some of these blends. Could be easy for newer members to pass up on a blend because they think it's bad, when really it's just different. There's some that I prefer the older stock of, but that doesn't mean the new stock is bad.
Nice review Jim