R.I.P. Watch City's "Rouxgaroux" R.I.P.

You can tell right away that Ernie put time into Rouxgaroux, sourcing quality leaf, applying his casings, playing with aromas, arranging and rearranging the chords. The man is an artist. These tobaccos are all very nice, expertly blended to form a smooth, flavorful harmony. You cannot dispute the quality. I was troubled, however, by the blend's overwhelming acidity. The tin note is almost pure vinegar/acetic acid. Acetic does something very interesting here, besides acting as a preservative/antimicrobial. It adds a feeling of significant strength and body without coating your whole mouth in tar and nicotine the way stronger blends do. It's rather brilliant. (Cheers to Ernie, I have not seen this done before. He's the Heisenberg, a.k.a., Walter White, of boutique micro-blending.) The acid makes the smoke feel "fuller", adding weight and texture, giving it such a substantial mouthfeel without blowing out your palate. Dousing your tobacco in vinegar is something of an acquired taste — every single puff tastes like it has salad dressing on it, and it does ghost the pipe — but it is not a gimmicky innovation. Vinegar has been used in pipe tobacco for a long time, having featured prominently in many of the "codger blends" cherished by generations of Americans in bygone eras. Look to Cringle Flake, for example. Sutliff uses vinegar as a flavoring agent in that one, paying homage to blends from the 1800s which used it as a preservative. I was not a huge fan of Cringle Flake the first two or three times I tried it, because I couldn't wrap my head around the notion of vinegar in my pipe, and I'm still not wild about it today. But Sutliff uses a lot less vinegar than I find in Rouxgaroux, so Ernie is up to his old bold tricks again. Maybe my pound came from the bottom of the stock, but it is *f u l l* of vinegar. Just one bowl left acid burns on my tongue. This is not the classic tongue-bite, but genuine epithelial damage from concentrations of acid too high for my body's preferred pH levels. The burns were not deep and they didn't last more than a day, but it was still rather startling to wake up in the morning and see my tongue in such a state. The Virginia blend has some great nuance, definitely something to ponder and contemplate. The Perique was a bit on the lighter side for my taste, and I kept finding myself wishing for more. We don't get a components list with Rouxgaroux but I detect some light Cavendish in the mix, which is a good choice, a nice support to the main characters. Overall, it's a sophisticated, eccentric, wild-man type blend, which, I am learning, is what we should expect from Ernie Q. Despite the burns, I like it. I'm going to play around with a few approaches to solving the acid problem, then I'll really be able to enjoy it. I'll start with filters, balsa, charcoal, meerschaum, etc., and I'll experiment with drying time. When I break it down into smaller jars for aging, I'll leave a couple unsealed for a day or two to see if I can get some of the acetic to dissipate or evaporate. When I have some news I'll revisit and update my review.

Absolutely one of the best VaPers' I've had (and I've been smoking a pipe since 1966!). The panalopy of flavors is constantly changing from, plum, fig, tart wine, sweet hay, a little vanilla at times, and this is fresh from the bag! The Perique is perfect - just the right amount of peppery retrohale, and it married perfectly with the Virginias. It's magic! I can't wait to taste this with a little time in a Mason jar - from my experience with other Virginia based blends - it should get even better with age. Since it was my first successful order (I tried twice before but it was sold-out too fast) I only ordered 8oz...it will hopefully last until October (I'll have to ration it). You guys hit this blend out of the park. I just wish I could order more than a pound at a time! Outstanding!

As my first true experience with a full Virginia blend, I don’t think I could’ve gotten any luckier, and very well may have ruined myself for lesser offerings. This is for people who want a great punch of flavor in their smoke, and those folks will not be disappointed. Tangy and dark stone fruits stewed with a dash of vinegar deliver maximum satisfaction and absolutely zero bite. This is beyond delicious!

I absolutely love this stuff! Can’t wait for the release twice a year, I just hope I have a chance to place an order before it’s all gone!

I bought 16 oz. of this signature Watch City blend and it exceeded all my taste expectations right out of the bag. Flavorful, fulfilling and smokable, this is one of the few of the recent onslaught of “small batch” offerings by nearly every blender that lived up to its hype. I just hope one pound will be enough until the next offering. Ernie Q. hit another home run.

Great tobacco and excellent service

This blend is top notch. The deep-flavored Virginias are the star and the Perique plays an excellent background role. This is the best Virginia Perique blend I have smoked, no doubt about it. I heard about Watch City from a friend, and by providence checked out the website for the first time days before the Cajun Werewolf was let out of the cage on April 1st. I bought 4 oz. for a first time purchase, some to smoke and some to cellar. I'll buy a pound on Halloween. I tip my hat to the Boston boys for this blend.

Desert island smoke.

A very nice blend consisting of both Roux ribbon and pressed Garoux leaf. The bag smell reminds me of a gothic barnyard full of spicy snails, and meatballs. The flavors are dominated by the Roux (grass, dried fruit, cured meat, okra) with the garoux (plumb, spice, pepper, lychee) mostly in the background, ebbing and flowing like my Irish temper. The Anchovie casing adds some umami and the grape topping reminds me of waking up in jail after drinking far too many Nehis in college. While not everyone will appreciate the addition of real bacon in this blend I find it quite pleasing. Mine came FULL of plume and usually you have to wait years for that. If you like fish and grass and grape and bacon, with hints of animal waste, meatballs, dried rhubarb, and anger, you should probably get a tattoo of Rouxgaroux on your face. Also Birds aren't real. And Epstein didn't kill himself. WATCH CITY NOT- @SPILLPROOF Will be returned to "The Home" shortly. I assure you a,, there is no Bacon, Anchovy casing or any other strange ingredient in Rouxgaroux. It is cased with spirits, sugars, food grade acids and love.

Package note of spices, pungent sour and sugared raisins. Tobacco is mostly ribbon cut of dark brown, black and a little light brown. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of tart and tangy dark plums, savory, sugary spices, floral, fermented vinegary sour, peaty vegetation/hay, wood, stewed sweet fruit, mildly spicy, bread, rich earth, a zesty tangy citrus background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias are leading with Perique supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.