This is my first bowl since Feb 1 due to freezing weather so I thought it would be an excellent time to try something new since my palate is fresh. I decided to crack open my first ever try of Semois. La Volute - the XXL cut. So I pulled open the super dense package and found...this. This is XXL cut for Manil? Sweet Moses! What must the regular cut be like, superfine graphite dust? Apparently, just like Cracker Jack, there must be a surprise in every box. Mine was this branch. I can't call it a twig. That's a branch sans leaves. i'll keep it around in cause I ever have to replace a rafter. So I loaded up my Autograph. While doing so, I fondly remembered the newby advice from days gone by of pack it with a little spring in the tobacco. Except when you pack this tobacco, there is no spring, just a "crunch, crunch, crunch". 'Oh great" I though "Here comes a 30 second bowl". Seriously, I can't express how dry this tobacco is. It makes most Daughters and Ryan tobaccos, formerly the benchmark in dry tobaccos, look like watermelon. After packing, I went back to seal up the bag. But there is no seal. Apparently Vincent thinks "Why seal a tobacco when it has less moisture than Death Valley?" All right then. As you may surmise, this stuff doesn't make a good first impression. Until you light it. Any worries are lifted at the match. It smokes dry but very well and is pretty flavorful. Much better than any plain Burley i've ever tried. It's one dimensional but that dimension is very good place. Some have said this is cigar like. Kinda. It is similar but only in the same way that Lizzo and Audrey Hepburn are both technically women. (ok, I admit, that was more of a shot at Lizzo than cigars. I like some cigars however I don't like any Lizzos) It's rich without being heavy. The closest thing I can compare it to is GH&Co Dark Birds Eye but it is its own tobacco. I may have only smoked one bowl but this stuff is a keeper and well worth trying. I'll update if I notice any changes going down the brick. That wasn't a typo, this stuff isn't in a tin. It's a brick. If you had mortar and enough packages of this, you could build a wall...that would fall apart at the first rain but still...
