The pipe itself smokes like a dream, with an easy light and satisfyingly even and thorough burn. There was virtually no dottle after I finished the bowl. It draws smooth and cool, and responds well to varied puffing speed and strength.
The leaf is good; as noted it contains a bit of Havana leaf which gives it the nose of a Cuban cigar. The flavour is medium; not quite as strong or pronounced as I would like, but we'll see how the leaf ages. The reviews I've read indicate that it improves significantly with time.
My only complaint was that the bowl smoked a bit on the moist side, but I think I can safely blame part of that on the thick fog down by the lake where I was smoking [smile]
Overall I'm very happy with it and can't wait to show it off around the pub Friday night. I'll have to bum some of the Cade's Cove Cavendish off my mates and see how it smokes in this pipe.
