Hookain - Gray Mind - 200 g

Gray Mind is a tribute to the classics, and you can taste it. The grape is bright and sweet, without dark depth, more like freshly picked table grapes. The mint sits clear and fresh on top without getting icy. The two interlock, and that's exactly the strength: there's no moment where one component knocks out the other.

To me, this is the flavour you hand to guests when you don't know what they like. Grape and mint are familiar, and yet the blend is drawn more sharply than a lot of what merely imitates this pattern.

In the phunnel I put 12 to 15 g. I fluff the tobacco, let it fall loosely into the bowl and smooth the surface without pressing. Mint loves an open airway, so I leave a small gap between the tobacco and the HMD or foil.

In a multi-hole bowl I use 10 to 12 g. A level, even fill is enough. Make sure no hole is covered by tobacco, otherwise the smoke draws unevenly and the cool feels patchy instead of round.

Because the flavour is fresh and light, I forgive it a slightly flatter pack. Better a gram less than a gram too much.

I start with two natural coals at the edge and let the bowl warm up in peace. The first pulls are deliberately short and gentle. Once grape and mint are both there, I'm in the right window.

If the mint turns sharp or bitter, there's too much warmth in the bowl. Then I take one coal off and wait two or three minutes. If the grape goes thin and the mint watery, I move one coal a little closer, but never to the centre.

With mint flavours I often only notice after 20 minutes that heat has built up. A quick look at ash and distance helps more than any extra coal.