Manufacturer Description:
A pipe tobacco from bright Virginia grades and gently-sweet Black Cavendish, matured under addition of wild honey and soft-bodied red wines of the "Colli Senesi" in the south of Tuscany, subtly flavored with a pinch of fragrant bourbon vanilla. An experience for the most discerning palate and nose.
Characterisation:
The Da Vinci is a Mixture uniformly dark brown interspersed with brighter and dark brown shares. The smell of the freshly opened tin surprise with an alcoholic sweetness that is probably due to the honey-wine flavor, although it does not remember it directly. Even the vanilla used slays not at the first sniff, as it is like the case with flavored blends. The flake bits contained are relatively coarse rubbed and the little soaken paper cover seems to come from a too high humidity, but the tobacco feels dry and can possibly be pre-dried just short to be plugged.
Plugging:
Pay attention, as with any Mixture, of good mixing, then the Da Vinci is easy to stuff: down starting soft and tighter becoming upward, but not too tight or high, because the tobacco expands under heat.
Light up:
The Da Vinci requires only one or two flames for a constant glow until the end, it should be carefully tamped because the partially compressed tobacco straightens under the flame.
Smoking properties:
The Da Vinci offers a lush smoke which is unusually hot and can therefore act a little sharp on the tongue. A tendency to gargling is not noted, surprisingly in this context. Are efforts made to keep the pipe cool the sweet aroma is less dominating, but tobacco spice and toasty aromas. Overall, the mix is less sweet than expected at first sniff. The Da Vinci is not a sweet “honey bomb” but more reminiscent of bitter caramel. To stay with the image of the manufacturer: a rather dry Chianti as Lambrusco dolce.
Redolency:
The Da Vinci is described of non-smokers despite of the only light sweet taste as pleasantly sweet in the room and tolerated as such.
Conclusion:
The Da Vinci is a brown Mixture with bright, dark and Ready Rubbed shares. The scent is sweet and alcoholic, but these flavors in smoke are keeping in the background. So not getting it too hot an attentive handling of the pipe is advisable, then the not quite inexperienced smokers can taste the Da Vinci like a lush, yet not strong, dry red wine. It will less patronize the sweet-beaks, but lovers of light flavored tobaccos, where the aroma does not cover the tobacco, accompanies harmoniously and highlights their particularities.
Copyright © 2013 by TECON GmbH
with friendly support of Dennis Hübel
