Public Profile

GEORGEB

Badges

Reviews

Sutliff - Match Sunrise
Beat English I have found!
Previously my favorite English blend was Skiff Mixture. Ran into issue of not being able to get it, so I wanted to try EMP and the price vs this for a couple of oz was big enough I figured I would try this. I love this, its light/mild with just enough Latakia that makes you smile! I eventually got a tin of EMP and actually prefer the taste of this Match blend better...

Cornell & Diehl - We Three Kings 2oz
High expectations, disappointed once experienced...
The flavor description what grabbed me, I favor the holiday style aromas/taste so this year when "We Three Kings" was offered I jumped at the chance... Once the tin arrived, I opened and took my first smell and I could not really tell the allspice or cinnamon and could not smell any of the vanilla at all. Trying to not be judgmental due to the tin note, I noticed that this was dryer than many of the other C&D blends I had purchased (it did have some stems and pieces in the tin which is abnormal in my previous C&D experience). Filling the pipe and lighting up, I did not get any of the flavors, just tobacco although the room note was pleasant, it was not the notes that was promised. With there being less and less Christmas blends as there were in the past, I had high hopes and was very disappointed. I smoked another bowl the next day to see if my thoughts changes, they did not. I have jarred the rest of this and will try it again after it ages to see if anything occurs after time passes. If it's the same when I try it again, into the trashcan this goes... I may have gotten a bad tin, and in my heart I hope I did... Looks like its Sutliff Christmas Spice again this year!

Cornell & Diehl - Autumn Evening 2oz
Nice, mostly maple
Tin note was mostly maple to me, the room note was a very nice and I can see where this blend gets it name. Taste wise I was not happy or sad, I can see me finishing the tin and possibly buying more later, but was underwhelmed by the flavor... Maybe its C&D or just me (am newer pipe smoker) but it seems that all the C&D blends I buy have great tin/room notes (even when I can't smell the advertised flavors) but in tasting, the flavors seem subdued or missing, but the tobacco flavor is present and pleasant, which I don't get with other brands (e.g. - Sutliff). This makes me sad as I really like buying tobaccos in tins vs bulk in a plastic bag for both convenience, display and storage.

Cornell & Diehl - Haunted Bookshop 2oz
Nice blend, was not as impressed as others by their reviews
The name, the blend description, the reviews left by others, I was expecting something outstanding... I was a bit disappointed with the actual experience of smoking this. Was it bad, defiantly not! It was a nice blend that I will happily finish the tin, but probably not order again or wait a couple of years and give it another shot as my palate changes with experience. I didn't get the pepper notes, but nice flavor and easy to light/smoke with a bit of tongue bite at times (I am still learning to slow down).

Cornell & Diehl - Golden Days of Yore 2oz
Sadly disappointed
I love the Christmas blends, and try as many different ones as possible. The description of this blend made me excited and this possibly caused some high expectations that were not met and lowered my scoring as such. The tin note was good but underwhelming, room note was nice but underwhelming, the flavor is what fell most for me.... I did not get the wonderful flavors described, the tobacco taste was nice and will finish the tin, but I wanted the spices, chocolate, etc and I was unable to taste them. Maybe it was a bad batch, or maybe I just need to try next year, but was not satisfied with this one.

Mac Baren - HH Pure Virginia 1.75oz
Great tobacco for cigarette smokers starting with pipes!
When I first started smoking a pipe, I got many aromatic blends, but was not very happy with the experience. This is coming from a cigarette smoker who was trying to transition to pipes. I spoke with someone who recommended this as something more similar to cigarette tobacco than the aromatics. I enjoyed this flavor and taste, also I liked the cut better than the bulk cut blends I had previously purchased. After smoking this for awhile, I started trying more aromatics and was able to appreciate/enjoy them as well (I truly like the room notes of the aromatics and it takes me back to older days memories)... The only negative I have is some of the tins after the initial opening, did not seal well. If I didnt smoke as frequently as I was, this may cause an issue with humidity for others, unknown if I got some bad tins or if this is common with this type of tin (remember I am new at this hobby).

Sutliff - Buttered Rum
Bland
Tin note - nice, easy to smell creamy/rum. Room note - disappointed, the tin notes were not present. Taste - bland, little/no "buttered rum" taste, not unpleasant just missing flavor. Misc - nice cut, this has been the driest blend from Sutliff I have tried, ironically it was hard to keep lit. Will not buy again, probably will not finish bag, still on the hunt for a nice rum blend...

Sutliff - Creme Brulee
Great smell, lacking flavor
Very moist tobacco, tin/room note were pleasant and was what was expected from advertised. The taste was a bit lacking (wasn't bad, just not "there" - low flavor)... No tongue bite, had to keep relighting

Tampers & Tools - Peterson Tamper - Sherlock Holmes Pewter
Awesome, goes great with Sherlock pipe!
The details on this are great, in person it is better than the pic on the website. One piece, solid, extremely pleased with this item!

Sutliff - 208 Apple
Missing Apple Flavor
Maybe I got a bad bag of this, but there was no "apple" in the tin/room note or in the flavor. No tongue bite. Was not hard to stay lit, mild tobacco taste, was really happy to get an apple blend but this one fell flat. Will not finish rest of bag and will stay on lookout for a decent apple blend.

Sutliff - Spiced Rum
Missing Raisin Flavor
Nice tobacco, tin note was good with rum noticeable but not the raisin. Room note was pleasant, again no hint of raisin. Taste was nice and smooth, a bit moist but even without drying it out was able to keep lit easily. I really didn't get any rum or raisin taste, but it was nice with no tongue bite. I will finish this but will not be ordering it again.

Sutliff - Z92 Vanilla Custard
Smells good enough to eat!
Opening the bag and smelling it, I wanted to eat it instead of smoking it, it smells that good! The room note is mostly vanilla, unlike the tin note. Smokes really easy, was worried as it is a very moist blend but I didn't have to dry it to smoke it with no issues keeping lit and no tongue bite at all. Wished there was more vanilla in the taste (I got more out of the Christmas Spice blend). Very happy with this blend and will buy more in the future

Stands & Pouches - Brigham 1 Pipe Bag Combo - Vintage
Nice 1 Pipe Pouch!
I wanted something to carry my pipe/lighter/etc in, but I didn't want bulky (why went with 1 pipe) or something hard (why went with leather)... This was the perfect option for me! #Appearance - True leather, brown (darker than item picture, but not a true dark brown) with black-rustic accents, making this very visually appealing. The stitching is straight with no noticeable defects. #Protection - This will keep your pipe from being scratched (smooth nylon inside pipe area, not felt) and will give some protection against falls but will not stop your pipe from being bent/broken if it is crushed or bent as it is just leather with no hard material to give it strength in the pipe area. #Utility - The back pocket will carry 7-8 pipe cleaners flat, you can add more but they will "stack" on top of each other making it easier for them to catch on things (the top part of the cleaner sticks out even when inserted all the way). The front pocket has enough space to carry a lighter, tamper, keys/change and is secured via 2 snaps so larger items will stay, anything small may fall out. The top pocket has enough space for about and ounce or a bit more of tobacco with a plastic liner that has 2 "rods" inserted at the top to make a seal to keep your tobacco in but it is not air-tight. There is a quality zipper to close it as well further keeping the tobacco inside and from drying out quickly. The bottom pocket is for the pipe itself, my straight pipes fit fine (I carry a Peterson Christmas 2017 87), I also have some larger bent pipes (Nording Signature, Peterson Sherlock Watson, etc) that will not fit (length is fine, the pipe bowl is too tall/wide) so be aware when purchasing this as you may want to contact SmokingPipes to see if yours will fit if not traditional/straight style. #Value - I guess this is the subjective part, as money/value is different for all, but for me I found this item is attractive with quality material and does what I want, I am very happy/satisfied with this purchase.

Sutliff - Christmas Spice
Room note + Taste = Best Christmas Blend
I love the Christmas blends! There is something about smell that actually reminds you of the time of year and enhances your feelings. I have tried many of them, and I keep coming back to this (to the point its in my regular rotation of tobacco). The bag/room note are both present, of medium strength and the taste is what makes this the winner! There was no tounge-bite and I had no issue with keeping it lit after drying it out before smoking (although it's not hard without this step). Taste is subjective to each individual (I get lots of vanilla and spice), with the cost of this tobacco, it's easy to try it yourself and see. My only complaint (if I have to list one) would be I am not a fan of bulk tobacco and would rather it be in tins, or at least this be an option for additional cost.