EN
JA
ZH
All New Pipes
Thomas W.
Reviews
Reiner - Blend No. 71 100g
Salty Goodness
For a flakophile as myself, this is something you'd want to always have around. A coarse, well-pressed flake, medium in its shade of brown, this flake has a most unique taste of something like salted caramel (albeit very mild). The moisture is perfect, and it's plyable enough to fold without crumbling, and it rubs up well, if you prefer. I'll be sure to always have a tin in my home, and this has found its way into my Top 5 flakes.
Solani - Green Label - 127 50g
Solani Rarely Goes Wrong
I love Solani. Silver, Burley Flake, Virginia Flake - and no, aromatics aren't really my thing, but I do love apple flavored tobaccos. This one is way too wet, burns way too fast, and seriously stinks up the place with just the tin being open.
Sillem's - Blue 100g
Lime and acid
All I could taste was burn on my tongue. The lime overpowers any other taste, and the acidity is just too much for me. There's nothing else to report but pain.
Samuel Gawith - Brown No. 4 Rope 50g
No Problems for Fast Puffing for Me
The nicotine is very strong here. That being said, I found with substantial drying and cutting coins - the taste is a nice straight-forward tobacco. Definitely worth the hassle of prepping the twist.
Samuel Gawith - 1792 Flake 50g
Yay! No Lakeland!
This is a savory tobacco, with the tonquin bean really being the defining characteristic. It comes very wet, and needs a day or two of drying (in my experience). I have to rough it up a bit to get more air going through it into the bowl, but it's got a good taste and a strong dose of nicotine.
Peterson - Irish Flake 50g
Strong and tastey.
This is indeed a strong one, but deliciously haylike. If you have a high tolerance to nicotine (I've smoked cigarettes for ages), you can do this (and University Flake) as an all-day. The taste warrants it. You won't tire. It's well-tempered, burns pretty cool.
Peterson - 3 P's Peterson's Perfect Plug 50g
Give a plug a go!
I'm a hugh Peterson fan, and this one does not disappoint. I love the presentation. The plug is gorgeous out of the tin. Cut it into flakes, cubes, rub it up...I prefer flakes and cubes, but it makes a great smoke no matter how its prepped. Well, I suppose not so much so if you cut it horizontally. Great nicotine punch with a bit of sweetness, and no bite.
McConnell - Folded Flake 50g
An amazing flake.
This is another all-day smoke for me, with a great nicotine kick and an interesting contribution of flavor from the Kentucky with the Virginias. The Perique is light, but meshed well. It folds good, cubes good, rubs up good. I never get bored of it, and it always satisfies my taste buds.
Vauen - Black Pepper 50g
They're Confused
I think they've confused black pepper with "acidity." This is painful to smoke, way too dry, and poor in quality.
Troost - Special Cavendish 50g (1.75 oz)
Good scent, bad bite.
I'm not a fan of aromatics, so I'm getting that out first. I love the room note of this - a sort of chocolatey/vanilla marshmellow. It just burns too hot, and is hard to get it not to bite.
Presbyterian - Presbyterian 50g
Puzzled
This tobacco came highly recommend to me, and I had very high (and disappointed) expectations. I have nothing to say other than it came as a very dry, London-type blend that smoked way too fast and hot.
Peterson - University Flake 50g
My all-day.
This is hands down my favorite flake, even though I typically smoke VaPers. I can (and do sometimes) go bowl to bowl on this one. I love cubing it, but it folds great too. A nice burley taste predominates, and I haven't been bit yet.
Orlik - Golden Sliced 50g
Not much to add.
A good everyday smoke. I tend to smoke fast, and it doesn't do me wrong. The nicotine level is nice, and leaves me satisfied, and its just got a nice, clean virginia taste. I only detect anything citrusy from time to time.
Fribourg & Treyer - Cut Blended Plug 50g
Quality, but boring.
I found little going on in this one. It's well tempered - smokes fine and no bite. Nicotine content is medium, and would serve all day. I just wasn't into the taste, as it was hard to pick any up.
Esoterica - Ramsgate 8oz
Blackpool with umph
I really like the extra flavoring in this. It has more than Blackpool, and this does require slow smoking, or you'll get bit. But the taste is very unique to me, and I enjoy a break from time to time from my burleys and virginias. Licorice? Every now and again. I'd say marzipam moreso. Don't try to light it without several days of drying.
Esoterica - Blackpool 8oz
I've got my tastes backwards perhaps.
I'm one of the few who prefers Ramsgate, as I find this to be a great smoke, but missing Ramsgate's punch of flavor. I pick up marzipan more than licorice, but there's an occassional whiff of it. The tobacco can frustrate you if you don't let it do some severe drying first. Don't even bother with it fresh out of the bag. Nonetheless, the taste it great.
Dunhill - Flake 50g
I was bored
I was let down as Dunhill manufactures the finest cigarettes I've ever smoked, and that was all the experience I had with them. This is a one-dimensional virginia flake (and I love virginia flakes) with far too many others out there to spend the time and money on this. Burns well. Good quality. But nothing to it from start to finish. If you smoke cigarettes, try their "International" for a better taste.
Wessex - Burley Slice 50g
Great Quality but a little hot
You have to be careful how fast you smoke this one. It's given a sting in 4 different pipes I've tried. But a patient smoke yeilds a marvelous burley experience. High quality leap in a nice bright flake. A great room note which manages to avoid the cigarette-like scents of lesser burleys.
Erinmore - Erinmore Flake 50g
The taste is gonna gonna move ya.
As many note the Juicy Fruit taste is rather strong. I don't like aromatics, but I love this taste. The tin has a pineapple on it. I'm assuming that's sort of the taste they're going for. It's nice and fruity, and leaves a crisp Juicy Fruit taste in your mouth for a good hour after a bowl. You can smoke it pretty fast as well with no bite. Definitely my favorite aromatic.
Cornell & Diehl - Habana Daydream 2oz
Meh
It's a quality blend, and it's lame of me to throw in a nod to another in a review of this one, but it seems like it went for Fox's "Banker's" and failed. If I'm looking for a superb Cuban/VA, I pass on this one. The advantage is the cost. This is 4 dollars cheaper a tin than Banker's. So it gets some points for that, but it's only occassionally I want a taste like this, so on those rare occassions, I flip the 4 extra bucks.
Cornell & Diehl - Haunted Bookshop 2oz
It's okay, I guess.
I've read several reviews, when discussing which tobaccos have the highest nicotine content, and this would repeatedly come up. It does have a high nicotine content, but other than that I don't have much to say about it. It tastes fine. The blend un-exceptional - the taste follows suit. This isn't to say it's a bad smoke, though. It just seems to have one purpose - hit you with nic, and it does that pretty well with a decent burley nuttiness and a whisper of almost undetectable Perique.
Captain Black - Original 1.5oz
It's an OTC. Take it slow.
I smoke this tobacco in places where people would find my normal VA's and Burleys offensive. It's reasonably priced, and always available. It seems to have that scent that most people associate with pipe-smoking, and so I get less static around others with it. That's really its only upshot for me. Yes, it bites like nobody's business if you don't smoke it slow. Yes, the tobacco quality is pretty bad. The nicotine is almost non-existent. But it's a staple of OTC pipe-smoking and worth at least a try once.
Butera - Royal Vintage: Blended Flake 50g
A good broken flake
I like this one a good deal, and prefer it to the other McClellands. "Butera" or not, it's got that McKetchup scent that I actually enjoy. It rubs up fine, but I prefer to cube it. The taste is very similar to McClelland's Boston 1776. No bite. Decent nicotine. A very nice, consistent VaPer, with a nice dash of oriental for a twist. I can smoke this all day, as it's not too heavy and leaves my tongue alone.
James J. Fox - Bankers 50g
A must!
This is one of my top five favorites, and I usually don't like pipe tobacco with cigar leaf in it. This, however, is the exception to my rule. Seems like a London Blend/Cuban Leaf mix. Great room note. Burns cool with a good after taste. I can smoke it all day long without getting bowled over, but the nicotine level is still good.
Hearth & Home - Namaste 1.5oz
Ouch!
It bit me like a rabid dog. "Citrus" notes were more like citric acid. I didn't detect anything floral about the mixture. Tobacco tastes low-grade, and came dry as can be.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Brown Irish X
Great!
If the rope is not preferred, there is the sliced. Either way, you can't go wrong with this hearty meal of a tobacco. It burns clean, and not to hot (provided you take care in how you dry it and how fast you smoke). It comes a little moist, but I leave mine out overnight, and all's well by morning. The taste is amazing, and it's great for breakfast as sleep depletes our nicotine storage!
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Black Irish X
An odd one
The taste of the tobacco is rather unique. While it sounds disgusting, there's something about it that honestly smells and tastes like an over-cooked steak. Smokes well, though, and has a good nicotine kick. I prefer the brown, as its scent isn't nearly as pronounced, but this one's a good one nonetheless. Of course, as a rope there is the usual hassle of preparing it, but it's fun to play with prepping variations.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Ennerdale Flake 50g
Fouling up your pipes and mouth
I really don't like giving bad reviews, particularly considering how subjective they are. But for those who don't like the taste if soap...let this be a warning. I really wanted to like this blend. I assumed many reviewers were right in claiming 'soap' is the wrong word to describe this Lakeland flavor. I thought that maybe the bad reviews confused the the scent of soaps with the taste of the bar. For my part, growing up foul-mouthed I had soap in my mouth many times. That is exactly how I experienced the taste of this tobacco. I almost gagged. Worse, it lingered for ages. I tried other blends, mouthwash, a meal... the soap stuck to my tongue stubbornly for about two hours. But many people do swear by this, and it does feel like it's one of those blends controversial enough to see what all the hubbub's about. I have. It faired poorly for me.
James J. Fox - Squires Mixture 50g
Why berries?
A most deceptive tin description, there is no mention of the blueberry (?) casing that greets you. If you like that taste, by all means, go for it. The leaf itself is top quality, it burns great, and the nicotine is moderate, but satisfying. However, I was very put off by the flavor, and thought it ruined a blend that'd stand up well as pure leaves.
