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James H.

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Reviews

Sutliff - Ready Rubbed Match
Takes Me Back
My dad smoked the original back in the 50s and 60s and when I started smoking a pipe in the late 1970s, I naturally gravitated to what my dad smoked. I remember the original being a bit more robust, but then again it's been a long time since I smoked the original. But the sutliff product is damn close in flavor profile and strength. It is a straight forward honest burly with just a light old school topping that brings out the nuttiness of the burly while adding a little bit of molasses to the flavor. The cube cut of the sutliff product is similar to the original as well. Although the moisture content is slightly higher than the original, I have no trouble keeping it lit and if you take your time, there is no tongue bite. All in all, this is a great smoke and I recommend it to all burly fans.

Cult - Blood Red Moon 50g
Surprisingly Good.
This is a rather unusual find....A cherry flavored tobacco in a tin, that doesn't give me dragon mouth or make me gag. Many years ago as a novice pipe smoker, I tried my hand at smoking various over the counter cherry flavored tobaccos. All without exception burned like a grass fire in August and tasted like cherry cough drops. They were horrifyingly awful to say the least. As years past I started smoking Lane's TK-6 which is not terrible on it's own but becomes a great aro when blended with a few other tobaccos. Cult Red Blood Moon reminds me very much of my TK-6 / BCA / LL-7 mixture. The Cult offering smokes cool, has a pleasant taste and delightful room note. Upon opening the tin you are greated with the artificial odor of cherry flavoring, but don't let that fool you. It tastes and smokes much better than it smells in the tin. If it wasn't for the fact that it is so similar to my usual blended mixture I would definitely buy it again.

Lane Limited - BCA
Good Straight or as a Mixer
BCA is one of my faves. I smoked it straight out of the bag for years but more recently I have used it exclusively as a condiment tobacco for blending with my favorite aros. I find it goes particularly well with some of Lane's other offerings such as 1Q or TK-6. I usually blend as a 25 to 30% BCA to my various mixtures. It smooths out the "other" aros and allows them to smoke very cool while enhancing the overall flavor. As primarily an aromatic smoker, I have come to rely on this product for a pleasurable smoking experience. I suppose if BCA were to suddenly disappear from the market, I would have to find a suitable substitute but I'm not really sure there is one out there as good.

Lane Limited - HGL
Never Disappoints
HGL is one of my go to blends. It is probably my favorite aro/English crossover blends on the market today. It has the great taste of a burly and black cavendish, vanilla aromatic with just the right amount of latakia smokiness added. It smokes cool and never bites no matter how hard you push it. For me it's the all day smoke that you will most often find in my tobacco pouch. I would give it 5 stars but I never rate anything as perfect. But that being said, as far as inexpensive bulk tobaccos go; HGL is about as close as it gets.

Cornell & Diehl - Pegasus
Nostalgia in a Pipe.
First let me say that this review is a copy of my review on another site.....The aroma of this blend takes me back to my childhood. My grandfather smoked Grainger, my dad smoked Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. I had an uncle that smoked Bond Street. This blend falls right in line with those venerable old classic American O.T.C. tobaccos. The only difference is I think this stuff is a little smoother and it's probably the addition of the black cavendish. When I started smoking a pipe in my teens, I smoked what my dad smoked...I think a lot of us older pipe smokers started that way, so I'm no stranger to burly based tobaccos. This blend is not one of my all day smokes but it is a nice change of pace when I'm feeling a little nostalgic, and I can say with all honesty, that this is a damn good one. It burns clean and consistent from start to finish and never really overpowers the smoker. While it can be a little harsh at times, if you are not careful, it has a quality that only an old fashion pipe tobacco can give...it is satisfying like a good cigar and goes well with a nice strong cup of evening coffee. I will definitely keep this on hand right next to my Match Edgeworth Ready Rubbed.

Lane Limited - 1-Q
Damn Good Aro
First let me say that I have been smoking a pipe for about 40 years off and on and in that time, I have been very partial to aromatics and English/aro crossover blends... That being said I also know that tastes in tobacco blends are varied and many times it is based on preconceived perceptions and worst of all, nose in the air snobbish elitism. The truth of the matter is tobacco taste is more a factor of the olfactory senses rather than that of actual taste buds and as with most odors, the perception and impression can vary wildly from person to person... Lane's 1Q is the quintessential vanilla aromatic and I have smoked it under it's various monikers for decades...and I can say with considerable experience that it is the vanilla/caramel flavored aromatic most copied by almost every tobacco blender in the world. While there are plenty of similar blends, from different companies that are just as good, there are really none that stand out as noticeably better. At least not according to my pallet, but your mileage may vary. The obvious truth, like it or not, is that 1Q is an enduring blend destined to be an all time classic. It smokes cool (for an aro) it's not too wet as some Lane tobaccos can be and the taste is pleasant and most of all, consistant from batch to batch. It has an appealing and enjoyable room note that doesn't overpower the senses or linger for too long. It can be smoked in it's unadulterated form or you can mix it with something like a black vanilla cavendish for an even milder and more flavorful smoke...It also remains to be said that if you are a heavy English smoker you will not enjoy this mild friendly aromatic as it has almost no nicotine hit. But if you are an avid aro smoker and haven't at least tried 1Q, then I really don't know what you are waiting for. It's a damn good aromatic.

Kramer's - Blend for Danny Kaye
Smooth, All Day Smoke
I've tried both the Blends for Danny Kay and Cary Grant and both blends are similar. But in my honest opinion the D.K. blend has just enough of an edge to make it the superior blend. There is just something about it that makes it smoother and tastier. Unlike the C.G. blend I experienced no dry throat or mild sinus irritation that I sometimes got from smoking the C.G. That being said, they are close in flavor profile and smoking performance. The tobacco combination and mild topping all work together without one overpowering the other. Nicotine hit is very mild, room note is pleasant and tin note is satisfying. The only criticism I can level is the cut..as someone already reported, it can be irregular with hard or larger pieces mixed throughout the blend. This can make for unnecessary relights and packing problems in pipes with smaller chambers. But otherwise I am pretty satisfied with this blend from Kramer's and will definitely order it again.

Tampers & Tools - Rubber Pipe Bits (2 pack)
I like Them Now
Years ago when I was a young man I hated pipe bits. They were displeasing to the eye and having them between my teeth was like chewing on rubber bands. Unfortunately when I was younger I used to actually chew through acrylic pipe stems and forget vulcanite, I would chomp through those in no time. I quit pipe smoking altogether about 20 years ago but I recently picked up my pipes again as I realized I was missing something that the occasional cigar didn't even come close to providing. Now that I have gotten older and wiser and my jaws seem to have lost some of their bite strength, I started using this product and so far I'm pleased. I've gotten used to the texture and they are pretty comfortable. They sure as hell beat having a pipe with a slippery acrylic stem sliding around between your teeth. Now most of my pipes wear this product and so far so good. What the long term prognosis will be in terms of durability remains to be seen but they are cheap as dirt so who cares.