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"There has been a lot written about the Lakeland style of tobaccos over the past couple of centuries. Perhaps nothing else in the tobacco world is quite as polarizing, tending to segregate folks into camps of loving it or despising it with uncharacteristic vehemence. This month’s inspection of an American rendition of the Lakeland style will add just a few more words to the volumes that have come before, but in the interest of topicality I’ll avoid the larger debates, histories, and comparisons, limiting our purview to the experience of this blend alone. Though it’s the earliest hint of an impending spring now, I began sampling this tobacco in the fall. At first, it was mild and pleasant, lightly aromatic, and earthy in a very appealing way. However, when winter’s foul weather hit, I moved on to other tastes. Through no particular fault of the tobacco, it just didn’t fit for my tastes at the time—as is often the case, and, I’m sure, an experience shared with the vast majority of pipe smokers out there. But now the world is thawing, and the faintest scent of the re-emergence of all things growing is in the air. Unscrewing the jar of Catawba River once again, I am treated to a soft and slightly sweet aroma perfectly concomitant with the weather and my mood. “McCranie’s Catawba River is a lakeland style aromatic tobacco. Notes of honey and berries give the blend an outstanding aroma. Comprised of cavendish, burley, and a dash of perique. A singular mixture sure to entice every aromatic smoker.” The first thing to note is an appreciation for the McCranie’s Choice Reserve blends being offered in full 2-ounce glass jars, as it’s the surest way to keep them properly intact when shelved for longish periods—I naturally have a predilection to hopscotch around between a dozen or so open blends at any given time before finishing the tins, and this saves me the trouble (which I admittedly rarely do anymore) of transferring them to a truly airtight container for safe keeping. It also affords a gander at the leaf before opening; in Catawba River’s case a nicely balanced mottle of dark and mahogany brown interspersed with the occasional raw umber-toned leaf. The first thing to note when opening the tin is the rush of rich aromas: milk chocolate and cherry predominate, with a defined floral tilt; sweet fringes of honey and melon; even hints of a complex background note of root beer or sarsaparilla, likely the telltale sign of Perique in the mix. It’s not a cloying sweetness, and is rather transparently layered atop the earthy and acrid tobacco smell. It is a fine balance, and the leaf is as soft and supple as the aroma. If one is expecting or searching for it, yes, there is the intimation of a baby-powderish vanillin tone, but in all respects it functions as any other Cavendish-forward aromatic blend. In the bowl, Catawba River certainly has an amenably lazy flow to it, much like the river itself flowing through McCranie’s hometown in North Carolina. As noted from the bouquet, the added aromatics are layered rather transparently over the tobacco, accentuating rather than masking or overpowering the natural taste from coming through. Allowed a short drying time, it lights easily and releases the aromas and flavors in warm tones, rich and substantial. The tenor of the Cavendish predominates, with an excellent pillowy mouthfeel to the smoke and a smoothness on the palate. The floral sweetness translates directly from the aromas, and adds the woody, earthy notes of the tobaccos perfectly—the soil, oak, and leather of good tobacco is the star here. Perique, then, is the guest star: in turns offering its deep stewed-fruit aspect and then evincing a spiciness that tickles the nose, always fluttering in the background with wavering spice. Floral notes remain in the range of tuberose and rosehips and honeysuckle, with sweet clover honey lining the edges. Retronasal olfaction is equally as smooth, and the room note is reported as “sweet and homey”.  Puffing through to the heel requires a relight or two, owing more to a faltering of attention span that the properties of the leaf. But how “Lakeland” is it? This is surely the question on the tip of every reader’s tongue. While it’s only been a couple months of tasting, no appreciable ghosting of pipes has been noted, aside from the vague remnant of aromatic-ness one would expect. As too often happens with my reviewing efforts, I think of the burning questions, as it were, far too late—but fear not, a conference call with the blender is scheduled, so there will be an addendum to this write-up forthcoming. My suspicion is that Catawba River is just a good Cavendished blend that relies on garden-variety tobacco casing and saucing, along with the intrinsic flavor of the Perique, to impart an American impression of the Lakeland style, rather than an importation of the ancient and secretive Kendal sauces. No ravening and long-deceased grannies arose unbidden from the bowl to clobber my senses with candy bowls and urinal cakes; no, it was altogether a pleasant and promising early-Spring smoke that made an afternoon of repotting some plants an absolute delight. EDITORIAL UPDATE: Matthew McCranie was kind enough to take some time from his day to answer my questions last evening, and I’m delighted to share the revelations. First, Catawba River does indeed contain Kendal-processed leaf in addition to its locally processed components—meaning, of course, that this is truly and definitively a “Lakeland” blend, albeit from our very own shores. He further explained that the McCranie’s Choice Reserve blends were precisely that—choice, small-batch blends, made by hand from purchases of the small quantities of the best leaf available to him at any given time. The downside of this, of course, being that when the ingredients run out, it’s up to the caprice of the marketplace to find some more to restock. He assured me that Catawba River and the other blends […]"