What did I like so much about this blend?

The crumble cake - it wasn't a flake, but it came in the shape of one. The tobacco disintegrated into the bowl. It was a soft cake not unlike penzance.

The note in the tin was like none other. To me it smelled like red wine, but it wasn't flavored, just earthy tobacco. It had a tartness to it that I can't describe or find in another tobacco.

The smoke varied for me between cedar-like burley notes a la MacBaren London Blend and a spicy perique-ness. The tin note also translated nicely to the side stream.

The nicotine hit was sufficient. It was one of the most unique tobaccos around, and I will remember it fondly.

I know I sound like a wing nut but this was good s**t.

Kingfisher is a really nice krumble kake. The tin art is really nice and classy and the blend is a true winner.

This blend is pretty dark in the tin, and can appear to be a little moist, but in my experience it performs flawlessly without any drying time. This is a vaper I think...er maybe not...a burley?..er.. Well whatever it is it is really nice. I cant really pick up the perique, and the Virginias are not a high note sweet type, more like a earthy dark Virginia, like Wessex campaign flake.

The flavors here are really comforting. Nothing really sticks out but this is a nice warm feeling blend. It has a wonderful genuine tobacco flavor, and I for one think as subtle as this blend is it is really quite complex. This blend also pairs amazingly well with single malt scotch, especially the islay's, laphroig to be particular.

This blend seems to be getting hard to find. If you can get your hands on some snap it up.

Recommended

Subjective: I like this blend. The perique is not that prominent, more of a burley blend with the virginia supporting it nicely. A good smoke and a nice change from the heavier Englishes I usually smoke.

Soli Deo gloria.

Thank you for your correction, friend. I was the person I added, by mistake, these incorrect information about the Kinfisher manufacturer. I was adding these note to the Butera Pelican and then, repeat it was not my intention, I pasted it to the Kingfisher, too. Peace.

Stoved VA with PER and a pinch of BU.

VAs and PER alternate and the Per peppery taste becomes dominant during the last third. The stoved VA leaves a bittersweet chocolate taste every once in a while, after puffing, for 5-6 seconds then vanishes.

The nicotine punch is above average. Worth the try.

Kingfisher is a well made, high quality blend that every Virginia/perique smoker should try. It can be hard to find at times, but I will pick up another couple of tins when I can find it. My tin had a few years of age on it and I smoked through very quickly.

One caution is I would not let it get too dry. It seems to smoke well right out of the tin. I usually dry my tobacco more than I do with Kingfisher. It's my favorite tin label as well.

Turns out it was. I could probably live a full and relatively happy life if I’m naught able to get anymore, but I’d prefer it if I were able to. I noticed a few reviewers did mention something I thought was weird too, the tin wasn’t really sealed, I mean I got the lid off with my bare hands and one of them in a sling at that. Still, the tin presentation was fantastic, that figgy smell of aged Virginias, or of aged Virginias like Hal O the Wynd ( That vinegary ketchup smell of Mc Cleland Virginia always puts me off a bit) Chocaltely krumble kake flakes with flecks of gold, and all still pretty moist. I rubbed out a few flakes and let them dry. My most curious dog kept sniffing at my fingers and licking them (some tobaccos he cowers from like he cowers from Gin or Vodka. It’s Va/Pers and Beer for that dog).

I smoked the first bowl in a fairly large Castello Sea Rock billiard, not usually my first choice, but the doc said rest your shoulder, so I had a long movie and only one hand to watch it with. The slightly dried krumble kake burned well and the taste stayed interesting, not complex, but interesting, more like Casablanca than Donnie Darko (sorry, be told to rest for two weeks now, watching a lot of movies) familiar and engaging, but not surprising. I half expected the burly to ruin it for me as I’m not overly fond of burly, I don’t hate it, it just reminds me of hot sauce, something used to cover the poorer quality of the ingredients. No, it acted more like a Bass guitar in this trio, underlining the beat, not taking a solo.

This is the Va/Per equivalent of Special Latakia Flake from Germain and though I didn’t research as the gentleman before me, if I were wagering on taste and presentation alone I’d say this blend was made by JF Germain. Not to step on any sacred cows here, but I think Special Latakia Flake may be the best latakia flake out there for combining strength and balance. Certainly the best that’s hard to get a hold of. Again, not having researched as Sounds7 (who may not be a gentleman after all, I mean that in the objective sense, not as an insult) it is out of sheer optimism that I expect we haven’t seen the last of this blend or the other fine blend from germain.

I’ll also confess that one of my main motivations originally for hunting Kingfisher down, besides the reviews here and idle curiosity, was the tin art. Even with limited space and forcing myself not to get all pack ratty, it’s a tin I’ll keep.

The second bowl was smoked in a fairly narrow, tight, and small Tim West Dublin. Burned well, maintained my interest still. I have yet to find a pipe in my rotation that won’t smoke this tobacco well. I’m giving it for stars, one star is for the difficulty of the routine; finding it. Although loathe to recommend solely on my tastes alone, I can’t imagine anyone who enjoys a Va/per and has a curious palate regretting having this in their cellar or rotation.

Ted Swearingen of Smokingpipes,com had this to add : "No reason to think that this isn't being made by Germain. Consider that of all the blends offered on Butera's own line, the two made by Germain have been consistently unavailable and one (Kingfisher) just happened to return with Esoterica and Germain offerings from the same distributor. I don't think it's a coincidence."

ted.swearingen@smokingpipes.com

To read more here is a link: http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe- forum/285382-kingfisher-question.html

Based on this information I have requested to tobaccoreviews.com that the description be changed to reflect the truth about this fine tobacco product.Oh and speaking of the truth, yes it is still being made and all the talk of it being discontinued is just that-"talk"

As for kingfisher and my thoughts/ratings: it is a wonderfully smooth, brilliant tasting tobacco made from old tried and true processes by a British company known for such classics as Esoterica Stonehaven,Penzance and Brown flake and Special Latakia Flake. Kingfisher ranks up there with all of them IMO and is a very unique obacco experience. it is no wonder it is so rare and hard to find. 4 out of 4 stars

Packing: I let this dry just a tad. It packs very easily. I was careful not to over pack. I left some of the chunky bits chunky.

First Impression: I was surprised by how much of the flavor is actually from the burley. It is quite nutty, with a good bit of VA flavor there too. Well balanced and very tasty. If there's perique here it's not coming through very strong.

Halfway Through Bowl: This is some real tasty stuff. It's not very complex, but there is plenty to keep me interested. Seems a perfect marriage of VA and burley. It is the platonic form of a vabur, as far as I am concerned. Maybe there is some perique, but it's contribution is as an undertone.

End of Bowl: Surprisingly, this did not get harsh at all. It is a cool smoke (thanks to the burley, no doubt). It is pleasant all the way to the finish. Typical levels of dottle, and not excessively moist dottle at that.

Room Note: Probably OK, but hard to say.

Likes: Great flavor - nutty and a little sweet. Well balanced. Burns well too. Avoids harshness.

Dislikes: I'm out of it. I need to get more with my next tobacco order, no doubt.

Its a burley base with Virginia and some Perique in there for good measure, and thats really about it. The burley takes the front stage with a good nutty/woody flavor to it, with the virginias and the perique coming in to have a few words edgewise, but the star of the show is definitely the burley.

I like this stuff and I was lucky to grab a tin of it at the B&M a while back, considering that I often see it sold out on so many other sites.

Well, I decided to re-visit after many months of it sitting in its tin. It was very dry, and as a crumble cake, well, it was already in a state of crumble. I filled a pipe full and lit up. It wasn't bad, and I managed to snag 3 more tins of it (now out of stock all around). I'm still holding to 2 stars. I wish the wonderful tin note translated into the smoke as Kingfisher is basically a bland smoke with very little flavor. The only thing it has going in the way of flavor the is the pepper-like quality from the Perique (which I don't like at all in this blend), but no more.

UPDATE 2-27-13: On a whim I just opened a half smoked tin that I got fresh and first opened 2 years ago. The tobacco was bone dry and the kakes were all crumbled. Tin note, although less than when fresh, was still present. It loaded like dry crumbling cereal and if squezzed too hard would turn to dust. This time around it was way better than previous which deserves another star from me. I have two unopened tins that I was going to sell, but now I think I'll hold on to them since I believe it is no longer being produced.

I still believe this is mostly burley and I think a nice nutty smoke is the intent. But the VA is really a nice teaser, and the blend is chameleon-like from bowl to bowl and less so as the individual bowls progress. In fact, this is a tobacco that changes the most from bowl to bowl of any I've smoked. Some bowls tasted like straight burley and some tasted like a solid VaBurPer. I never knew what to expect, and that has a certain excitement to it. No overabundance of perique in this one, to be sure!

Generally, this is a "set it and forget it" blend that has few surprises down the bowl and that might be a little TOO nuanced for a lot of smokers. I don't see myself buying this again, at least not on a regular basis, but I did enjoy my time with it. If you want something different and you like to concentrate on your smoke and really bond with it, this is recommended. Perhaps for the perique newbie.

First, the cut is magnificent - the tobacco crumbles neatly into a bowl and has a supple texture that allows a few slices to simply fall into the bowl and reduce to rubble. It lights better than anything and instantly rewards with a peppery how-do-you-do from St. James Perish.

This tobacco is best smoked when well packed. On the light it will be coy and subtle - almost nutty. Then as I smoke it, the flavor dynamic darkens drastically. I find myself always tamping it down and being rewarded with ever increasing depths that are exquisite in the back draft and sinuses. Some have noted a musty character in this blend and I think that's quite accurate. I am reminded of a fine cheese when I think of KingFisher. I have always smoked this in my cheap but reliable small-bowl, well caked, bent-apple Duca Carlo. Some other reviews indicate that a well caked small pipe helps this one achieve its full potential.

It's got a satisfying smoke and a wonderful texture that keeps me coming back for more. I can not speak highly enough of this tobacco. It's the only thing I've given four stars to.