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All New Pipes
David D.
Reviews
Carter Hall - Carter Hall 14oz
The stars aligned
Whatever it was the blender at RJ Reynolds got it right. All the big cigarette manufacturers had their “in house “ pipe mixture. The star was Phillip Morris and their proprietary Bond Street mixture which was a bourbon enhanced burley/Virginia but with a fatal flaw. They topped it with the awful soapy potpourri topping that blenders experimented with (Field &Stream) hoping pipe smokers would warm to it. We never did. It f...ed up any blend they attempted to pair it with. The blender at RJ Reynolds got it right. Burley.....Virginia.....bourbon....cocoa. What could go wrong??? The answer is a resounding NOTHING!!! I have never not enjoyed this tobacco blend. It is, for me, the quintessential pipe smoking experience. It is the lover you will cheat on but always return to. They just got in right. Like the prodigal son, I always return.
Tabac de la Semois - La Brumeuse 3.5oz
Wow!!!
This tobacco is excellent! Never had anything like it in a pipe tobacco. The cigar overtones often mentioned are more than just overtones. This is a very cigar like experience. And by that I mean oscuro/maduro not claro or sun grown. Rich, earthy, and pungent in the most pleasing way. New world burley raised on Belgian soil and drinking Belgian water. Astonishingy delicious result. Try it immediately!!!
Sutliff - Sugar Bucket
Frankly, not even close
I have conflicted feelings about this review. If I’m to be honest, I actually wasn’t a huge fan of Middleton’s Sugar Barrel. I bought a tub in 2000 and liked having it around as a vintage blend of yesteryear, but Middleton’s Sugar Barrel laid it on thick. I go so far as to say that original SB is the exalted godfather of all of the sickly sweet sticky PG laden aromatics that now dominate. They owe it all to SB. The blend took a drastic step away from what “aromatic” had always meant. Which had always been tobacco “with a subtle essence of “ and decided to go as literally as possible providing the smoker with an experience as advertised on the tub. Don’t get me wrong, the smell in the tub was amazing. The room note was amazing. The feeling in my mouth was awful. I kept it around for the sole purpose of sniffing it in the tub. I moved a few times since then and lost it along the way. Sadly the window closed and the old blend is no more. Except that the “match “ is called bucket not barrel which makes me wonder if the blend will make a triumphant return as a limited run. Why else would Middleton hold on to “Barrel “ ? At any rate Middleton would do well with a revival. The “match” isn’t anything like original SB. SB was dark and sticky with bright twinkling Virginia flakes. The match looks nothing like it. I feel like they managed to reinvent Carter Hall but with much more Virginia flake. I can tell you that SB was much much more than Carter Hall with extra Virginia flake. The top note is nothing like it. SB was maple, honey, molasses and confectionery sugar. The match is......well....Carter Hall, but you get MORE Virginia flake!!! Not a match, but an imitation of a completely different tobacco.