Manufacturer Description:
"Now he smokes again, thank God!" (by Wilhelm Busch) - Mature Virginia, Perique and Black Cavendish with a subtle touch of English in the background are combined in the form of Cubes, Ready Rubbed and Loose Cut. A tasty casing of sweet licorice is added and ensures a mild, full-bodied smoking pleasure, as appreciated by friends of natural tobaccos.
Characterisation:
As the manufacturer indicates, Fred the Frog is a Mixture of three different cuts. These are represented very evenly and vary in color. The Ready Rubbed shows a rich mid-brown hue, the Loose Cut is dark brown in color and the Cube Cuts are composed of light to medium brown tobaccos. The scent is sweetish and smoky and you can not help wondering if this might not be due to the licorice aroma, but perhaps suggesting Latakia as well. The content of moisture of Fred the Frog is so good that it can be stuffed right away.
Plugging:
Due to the very different components, it may happen that the pipe is stuffed too tight and so a bad puffing is created. Therefore, you should plug the tobacco rather loosely at least at the beginning and also make sure not to make the pipe too full, especially since the pressed tobacco components under the flame expand a little. Also, you should make sure to choose a not too small pipe, especially as the Cube Cut makes the tobacco portion a bit voluminous. But if you have gained a sense of how to deal with Fred the Frog with a bit of practice, the plugging does not cause any further problems.
Light up:
As with plugging, one should consider the different components of Fred the Frog when lit, and after a first extinction, gently smooth the straightened tobacco fibers with the tamper until a regular surface has been created. If you give fire again evenly, you get a reliable glow.
Smoking properties:
The Fred the Frog produces a luscious smoke that seems unusually spicy, considering the flavor. In addition, toasted bread notes and also a fine nuttyness are to taste, how they are owned by good Virginias. Harmoniously integrated is a sweetish note that reminds one of incense and then again of delicate salty liquorice. Again, there is the suspicion that the Mixture could contain Latakia ... This aroma and its interaction with the natural tobacco notes delivers until the end a varied smoke, only on the finish line the spicy notes are stronger, until the tobacco goes out and only coarser ashes remain with unburned crumbs and little condensate.
Redolency:
The flavor of Fred the Frog is despite the flavoring for tobacco and spicy, so more suitable for tolerant or smoking society.
Conclusion:
The Fred the Frog is a braided Mixture of Loose and Cube Cut with Ready Rubbed portions. Just as interesting, as the merged different ingredients, is the liquorice aroma used, which is already to smell cold and which one also tastes in the smoke. Although the manufacturer does not indicate Latakia, one means to sniff this tobacco and to taste it as a spicy incense note - possible that this is the "subtle English touch in the background" ... For the aroma this is already just a plus. The salty, tart sweetness harmonizes good with the strong roasted bread notes and the natural tobacco flavor, in which results of an unusual mixed tobacco an unusual smoking pleasure, which is not stressful in flavor and strength, too. So Fred the Frog is suitable for every smoker who does not want a flavor bomb, but a balanced flavored tobacco, whose casing does not whitewashes the natural flavor, but supports it and this is fulfilled in Fred the Frog almost in perfection.
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with friendly support of Dennis Hübel