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BriarWorks - Smokehouse 2oz
Something special
If this was the only stuff I could smoke for the rest of my life, that would be alright by me. Tangy, fermented red wine, bbq smoke, from the beginning and a spice eases into a crescendo as you smoke through the bowl. Utterly fantastic. A rich savory delight that does a tango on your pallet. Not only is the blend brilliant and complimentary to itself, but the broken flake is perfect for it. If you are into aging, no need to buy a jar either!

Stands & Pouches - Economy Folding Pipe Stand
Easy, affordable, it works
Great to throw one of these cheap stands in my pack when camping, or in my pocket, or just on my desk next to my keyboard. Someone said it won't fit all pipes which is true, but it's fits pretty much all normal ones - even my Vauen oom paul sits in it rather properly. Plus, if you lose one while out and about, it's easy and affordably to get another.

Orlik - Golden Sliced 100g
Undeniably high quality
Despite myself discovering that I am just not a huge Virginia person... I can tell that this is a Virgina lovers dream. It's packaged and cut with the utmost care, the quality of the leaf used is superb, and the tin note is so bright and fresh. My personal tastes aside: this is obviously very very nice tobacco. I still throw a little bit of it into blends that may be a bit too heavy or unbalanced in other ways. To be this impressed by something that's not particularly my cup of tea should say something.

Seattle Pipe Club - Plum Pudding 2oz
delicious, but a weird consistency
From the tin note to the flavor, I find this utterly wonderful. It's savory and rich. The only thing holding me back from a perfect rating is the consistency. It goes from plug to a weird particle crumble that doesn't appeal to me for pipe packing. It's more like dust crumbs than pieces of leaf. The flavor is absolutely marvelous..but this proves to me that the cut is nearly as important as the quality and taste of the tobacco.

Vauen - Ranger (4353) (9mm)
Useful, and compact
I love this pipe. I’ll say it again - I love this pipe! It’s the only pipe I’ve bought more than one of and honestly, I’d be happy to have 5 more of the exact same. Oom Paul’s as a shape in my opinion usually lean towards being these huge pieces, but the Vauen Ranger 4353 is compact enough to fit in a shirt pocket. Wonderful pipe for clenchers like myself as the angle is very upright, the stem short, and the entire piece is lightweight. The pipe can fit a 9mm filter or can be used without. I personally wish that Vauen would make this exact shape in different color ways. If I had to pick one pipe to smoke for the rest of my life… the 4353 shape would be it. (Review update) Lowering my rating. I have one stunning example of this pipe, but recently received another 3 (2 from here, one from Germany) of the same model (because I liked it so much) that was off in the same way. Each one has variations however they should all still have a bowl that is level. This one looks like it was put on the lathe by dr. Seuss after a few too many drinks. Hopefully Vauen stands by their craftsmanship and sorts this out. Until then.

Rivertown Tobacco Works - Sunset Velvet
Surprisingly nice!
Bought this on a whim, and forgot I even owned it for a couple months. However, trying it in my Vauen Ranger left me nothing short of surprised. As someone who tends to like cavendish, but gets pallet fatigue from straight cav, but tends to find straight Virginia blends just missing something… this hit well. Very easy to smoke, and I find the taste to be very nice. Kind of like hot Dr Pepper (referring to previous reviews). Honestly, I really love this blend and that surprised me.

Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Coffee Caramel
Rich Cavendish
I love my coffee and I love my tobacco. There's rarely a more perfect pairing of smells and tastes. Right out of the bag, she definitely needs drying. At least a half hour, but in my case closer to an hour. Well topped, and smells of sweetened black coffee, or even toffee right out of the bag/in the jar. Room note is nice, and comes across as a warmed up version of the jar note. Taste wise - the cavendish comes through and the coffee takes a back seat - but it's still in the car. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Coffee Caramel rewards patient sipping AND patient retro. Letting the smoke gentle into and out of the mouth rewards with the caramel noted sweetness/sweet cavendish. It's not bad at all - even better with a cup of joe mingling with the flavors.

Rivertown Tobacco Works - Custard Conspiracy
Good with just about everything
As a cavendish lover, and a vanilla lover this hits the dang spot. So easy to smoke! (Same with the Vanderberry) The ribbons are thin as can be. It’s a little wet out of the bag but because of its thin-ness it takes very little time to dry to a good point. The vanilla is distinct, and goes so so well on the cavendish leaf. It’s rich in the room note, and apparent in taste. If smoking down in a very deep bowl like my Edward’s oom Paul, it can start to be a little one-note. However, I love mixing it with others. RTW custard conspiracy + RTW Vanderberry is like smoking tobacco ice cream. I also mess around and mix it with others. If I try a blend that’s maybe too heavy on the burley for my usual taste… a pinch or two of this changes the entire experience. Give it a try!

Tampers & Tools - Rubber Pipe Bits (2 pack)
Great for a clencher
Got these hoping to spare my stems from getting chewed up. They do the trick! Even on my really wide stemmed Edward’s Hungarian. For that it was a tight fit to get on there, but it works very well. A+. (Would really like if SP offered larger packs of them)

Per Jensen - Legacy Collection: Harbour Dreams 2oz
like your grandpa's old navy stories
Even though I'm beginning to discover that I'm not much of a burley person... this is undeniably a fine tobacco. any flavors or scents are understated, but undeniable. lightly pecan, lightly chocolate, very smooth and nice. Depending on the pipe I put it through, sometimes I get a bit of white pepper. It tastes and smells like a classic, and even though you don't smoke the tin art - it's packaging is very well done, and I appreciate the tasteful statement upon opening the tin. Very nice, very classy.

Lane Limited - RLP-6
Subtle taste, pleasant aroma
A respectable aromatic, with tin and room notes of vanilla, a light red fruit. Taste is less detectable than the smell, but it is definitely there. The lighter the sips, the more taste I detected. I let it dry before smoking for about 30 minutes, but probably should have waited a bit longer. A fair amount of relights, but still overall pleasant.

Rivertown Tobacco Works - Sir Vanderberry
It's good bargain tobacco
I like the very thin slice, and the tin note (or ziplock bag note in my case) was what got me excited for this. It smells of black raspberry ice cream. It's a decent enough smoke if you let it dry quite a bit before your session, and the taste is ok. I wouldn't write home about it, or try to impress anyone with it though. There's nothing bad about it other than, it's a bit bland. The room note is ok, but nothing that's going to stop someone in their tracks to ask about what smells so good. Granted, if you just want something that's decent enough, and you want some variety other than Captain Black (who will always be one of my favorites) this ones good to have in rotation. In fact, as I'm writing this I'm beginning to think that Sir Vanderberry mixed in with some Captain might end up being really nice together if you're into getting a little experimental.

Rattray's - Limited Release I 50g
An Aromatic that impresses
The tin note is delicious, and the tin I received was just a tad wetter than ideal for smoking right on open, but letting a few good pinches set for about 45 minutes helped. Personally I don't mind that at all. Taste did not give me any notes of orange, but definitely experienced something like fruit but not in a candy overloaded way. I can sort of get a bit of the chocolate described in the taste, but again, not in a candy way. More of a powdered cooking chocolate way. Dark, and almost sweet - but not. That part of the profile stops just before the edge of becoming bitter cooking chocolate - that's where the fruit/cherry lives. As far as cinnamon, I'd say more of a white pepper taste, which is not at all a complaint. It's really only noticeable about halfway to the bottom of the bowl, which is a nice way to round out the smoking session. Room note is A+, This is where that fruitiness really shines through. If you can imagine something like black cherry incense that's what I'd liken it to. The only thing I wish is that the room note was actually a little bit stronger, because it smells so nice! This ones going to be a repeat purchase for sure down the road. Nice job Rattray!

Cornell & Diehl - Billy Budd
Strange in a VERY good way
Right out of the bag, I was a little overwhelmed by the pungent smoked leather that dominated the box of a wide assortment of tobaccos even before opening the ziplock bag. I purchased this based on reviews, despite it being nothing like anything I'd ever tried before. Well, I've got to say, this is a very pleasant smoke. Don't be intimidated by the first whiff, even if you're a regular aromatic smoker. The tobacco is obviously very good quality. In the 4 oz bag I ordered, while it is a ribbon cut, there are some beautiful thick chunks of almost flake. Despite it being an English, I find the room note very delicious. This is no vanilla, fruity flavor smoke. (Although there's nothing wrong with them, and like those myself as well. Life is too short not to smoke whatever you enjoy.) This is something unique, and special. Upon light, I was worried that pungent smell would also be the taste, but every note of the Virginia, latakia, burley, and cigar leaf goes together like a sultry blues melody on a humid summer night. I may be in New England, but a bowl of Billy Budd transports me to humid nights eating boiled peanuts bought by the roadside on my Grandads porch in deep Georgia in July. Nic is strong - as someone that usually tried to smoke lighter blends, this was apparent fast. But honestly, do yourself a favor, even if you're strictly an aromatic lover, and give this one a shot. It's different from everything - and that's why it's fantastic.

Captain Black - Original 1.5oz
Oldy but a Goody
Cap' Black is a classic for a reason. From that first whiff after opening to bag or jar, first light, and last puff - it's a winner. The Room note is always a crowd pleaser, and it has tastes of vanilla with a thick richness of smoky cream. Captain Black was my first, and I am never disappointed by it.

Warped - Saint Espresso 2oz
Unique
The tin note is so good you could eat it. Very much like a Baileys infused hot coffee. The flavor is much milder than the smell, but it’s a very nice mild hint of coffee. The room note certainly has that coffee note to it as well, however if you’re expecting that to mask most of the tobacco you may be disappointed. Still a very nice smoke, and one that I might get again to smoke with guests as a treat.

Kopp - Caribbean Blue Bellamy 50g
Refreshing!
Definitely different from your grandfathers pipe tobacco. The tin - which is beautiful - has a delicious note of honeydew Mellon, with a secondary note of banana. Smells like a freshly made fruit smoothie with an extremely faint hint of clear rum. Upon light, the smoke tastes what can only be described as fresh. Not minty, not perfumy, but bright. If it was a photo editing software, the lightness would be tuned up, and the shadow levels raised. Midway down the bowl the light fruit aroma and flavor notes begin to take a parallel seat to a light spice. Near the end, there is more spice, but it is still light with undeniable brightness from the fresh Mellon. The aroma sticks to the bowl, and I’d recommend at least letting it sit empty for a day or two before putting anything else through it. Side note: the tin took a small act of god to open. Extremely tight with a good seal. This was smoked through an Edwards Oom Paul, and I definitely enjoyed it! I do prefer richer blends usually, but this is a delightful “pallet cleanser” and a sure conversation starter. Good stuff.

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