ATTENTION: CB Pipe Tobacco Review Bombing Run Version 2.0

[Horsefeathers]

Details:
Date: 4/11/2015 & 4/12/2015
Name: Horsefeathers
Tobacco: C - Pink (VAC) G&H Dark Flake Unscented
Pipe: Missouri Meerschaum Huck Finn Cobb
Indoor / Outdoor: Outdoors (Garage)

Observations & Examination (how it looked, felt and smelled): The tobacco was vacuum sealed. Upon opening, it very much resembled a stick of beef jerky. Closer examination revealed it appeared to be 3 flakes firmly stuck together. I manged to free one flake, but others were too well pressed to pull apart without deconstructing the flake. The color looked dark brown, almost black until it was separated. Once separated / broken down a bit it was a mottled dark brown with small tan spots. The smell was very interesting. I was initially hit with a very strong mint odor, with a little bit of chocolate in the background (think girl scout Thin Mint Cookies). The smell didn't change much until I let it air out for a few minutes. After it aired out the chocolaty / minty flavor was still present, but a distinct barnyard aroma presented itself, along with a noticeable figgy smell.

Preparation (how did you prepare and pack it): I took the loose bits of tobacco from the vacuum seal and put those aside. Then I took the one flake I was able to separate and loosely pulled it apart / crumbled it into smaller chunky strips. I combined both the deconstructed flake and loose bits and filled the pipe with a basic three step method (which was more like two and a half due to the size of the strips). Checked the draw and noticed no interference with the air flow.

Burn: The burn was...an experience. Being a new pipe smoker I'm still feeling my way around the proper moisture level for pipe tobacco. That being said it was noticeably dryer than other tobacco I've smoked, so I thought it should be good to go. I put flame to the tobacco and it took about four lights to get a solid charing light, and I thought I was off to the races. Instead it kept going out repeatedly. I put flame to the bowl about 20 times over the course of 15-20 minutes. The bowl had only decreased about 1/8th of an inch and I decided that maybe it was just too wet (or I'm terrible at this) and I'd let it sit for a day and resume the following evening.

A little over 24 hours later and I'm back in the garage putting flame to it again. I flat out could not get it to light. I recalled that sometimes dumping the ash may be necessary when smoking so I broke up the top layer of dried ash and dumped it. Low and behold that seemed to do the trick, and at least get it going. I had much better success than the prior evening, but still had to relight about 10-12 times, also dumping the ash an additional two times. It was a fine ash all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

I will say the smoke was cool dry and I couldn't imagine this would bite your tongue, as I was really chiefing on the pipe trying to get this bowl to burn. I also smoked both times about 4-5 hours after I'd eaten lunch and before dinner, and was not affected by the nicotine in the slightest. The tobacco was paired with glass of water on both days.

Flavor: It tasted nothing like it smelled. The flavor was initially very mild, and built a bit after the repeated relights into a very perfumey floral character. The taste and smell very much reminded me of when I was a child at my grandmother's house, and after taking a bath, she would use a soft puff a dab me with a scented powder all over (I'd guess this was talcum powder, but don't really know). The retro had produced a slight tingle in the nasal cavity, and an interesting, yet fleeting, sweet bakery flavor. Sort of like an under cooked sugar cookie. I didn't taste any pepper, but my tongue had the same sensation as if I'd smoked a peppery cigar. My wife was able to confirm the scent. She was also not a fan.

Day two it was as if everything and nothing changed. The flavor on day two was just as day one, but seemed much less intense, and more harmonious, than the prior day.

Comments and Conclusion: I found the flake interesting and the "tin note" greatly enticing, but ultimately I can't say I much enjoyed the taste or the lit smell. Getting the tobacco to burn was a frustrating experience, but at this point it could be (and probably is) as much my fault as the tobacco. If a floral / perfume flavor is your thing I can't see a reason (other than possible burn issues) that this wouldn't be right in your wheelhouse. Although it's definitely not in mine it also wasn't offensive enough that I wont finish smoking the samples that have been sent to me, and will be interested to see how this may change with more drying out time / age.

P.S. I went inside and popped open a Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout right after smoking this the first night. The combination of the taste was akin to the toothpaste orange juice flavor combo. The flavor of this tobacco will ruin a good dark beer. Not recommended, hahaha.

P.P.S. Pete thanks again for the samples! I'm looking forward to reviewing the next one, which will be U - Pink, as chosen randomly by my wife.

[bluenoser]

Details
Date Apr. 12/2015
Name Bluenoser
Tobacco Green "O" Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake
Pipe Brindisi Briar
Indoor / Outdoor

Observations
Packed tightly into sqaures in package. Aroma seemed very familiar but couldn't %100 place it, kind of like licorice. Still new to pipe smoking and different types of tobacco but I believe this would be Flake? Great looking tobacco once pulled apart and ready to load.

Preparation
After pulling enough off of the block to load I did a noobs attempt at fold and stuff with it. Loaded into the Brindisi well, though once trying to light I noticed I had missed a "clump" and had to pull some out to rip it apart and re stuff it. Noob mistake, can't blame the baccy. The cat (Willie) always comes to supervise my loading, and he lets me know when I do it wrong...

Burn
Had alot of troubles getting this lit. I again can't entirely blame the baccy since I only smoke outside and there was a bit of wind blowing in a little rain storm as I was getting underway. Once lit it burned perfect, tamped when needed but didn't need a relight. Wasn't able to get it to the bottom of the bowl as I was rained out but I was well below the final 1/4 when I let it go out. Nice burn and didn't need to dump ash at all either so did enjoy that.

Flavor
As for flavor it seemed no two puffs were quite alike. It started out woodsy with a hint of sweetness that transitioned into an almost maple flavor with some spicy/pepperyness in the retro hale. As I moved further through the bowl it seemed to increase in spicy/peppery flavor and the sweetness cut back. There was another flavor in it though that I picked up throughout the whole bowl I couldn't quite grasp, "smoky"?. I came in craving some beef jerky so maybe a deli meat of some sort? Was enjoying a cup of coffee with it that seemed to bring it all together amazingly. I'm not usually a fan of spice/pepper but it was a rather nice smoke.

Comments and conclusion
Really looking forward to revisiting this and seeing if I can get any better read on it with another bowl. Since the rain storm was coming in fast from the west I was puffing a little faster than I'd usually prefer but this offered only a slight bite, so I look forward to, and will update this review, when I can get another go at it.

[Emperor Zurg]

As promised, here's a pic of the damage...



Green B looked like a nice, tasty, broken flake so I opened that one up and shook out a small pile to dry... but smelling it, I'm having second thoughts. What an evil smelling weed this is. It positively reeks of some acrid perfume with an underlying scent of cinnamon or tonquin or something. The stink completely masks any scent of tobacco. Pot smokers should mix this odor in with their dope to throw off the drug dogs. I'm going to have to scrape around to find a cob I dislike enough to risk putting this stuff in it. It smells so strongly of cheap perfume that I'm less afraid of cancer and more concerned that it might give me the clap.

I picked up a bit of the flake and torched it with a lighter to get an idea of the room note. It reminds me of an old lady wearing too much perfume and smoking a cigarette, while attempting to cover the smell in the room with incense.

[Tobias Lutz]

Alright gentlemen...I'm a little behind my own deadline because I've been busy with the kids, and some writing, but I will commence judging this evening and promise to:

A. Announce our two winners tomorrow
B. Edit everyone's reviews so that the name of the tobacco you smoked will be placed in bold beside the identifier you posted.

[Tobias Lutz]

At Pete's request, I've copied all the actual reviews from the original thread into this one in the Pipe Related Reviews Forum. Enjoy!

[GWBowman]

At Pete's request, I've copied all the actual reviews from the original thread into this one in the Pipe Related Reviews Forum. Enjoy!

Very cool. Now I need to read the different reviews on the same tobaccos. That will be interesting.

[GWBowman]

My third review


Details
Date 4/13/2015
Name GWBowman
Tobacco C-green G&H Dark Flake Unscented
Pipe MM Cob Legend
Indoor / Outdoor Indoors

Observations
Examination
Flake that has to be cut in half to fit in a 8 ounce jar. Dark brown with lots of light brown spots. In the jar it has a sweet barnyard smell. A little bit of old or musky. Feels fairly damp.
Preparation
I rubbed some and let it sit for a little over fifteen minutes. It rubbed out to thin strings that had a sweet hay smell.
Burn
The tobacco lit easily and burn fairly well. I had to dump off some ash and a couple of times the cob got very hot, almost uncomfortable. There was a decent amount of smoke.
Flavor
On the light, it had a waxy, musky mouth feel. The musky taste fades but the wax stays. The initial flavor is burning grass that quickly started to sweeten. The taste is strong. Through out there are sweet and sour/citrus notes that come and go, almost playing back and forth. The nicotine is strong just a short way into the bowl. There was a building menthol feel, opening the pores of my tongue, without a menthol taste. A spice/pepper taste start getting strong about half way through. Going into the second half, a slight fruityness comes and leaves.
Comments and conclusion
This is not a tobacco I would be and don’t see it as an everyday smoke. It would be of value to up the nicotine level in a milder tobacco.

[BryGuySC]

Details
Date: 4/13/15
BryGuySC
Sample “Yellow C” G&H Dark Flake Unscented
Pipe - MM Missouri Legend
Outdoors, after the rain

Observations
Examination: The flakes are dry to the touch, dense, and stuck together. They are dark and leathery. Striated dark and darker brown, mottled with light brown spots.
Preparation: Broke up the flake and dried it out for an hour or so.
Burn: Lit with one match. One match relight after letting it go out.
Tin Note: In this order. Slightly smoky, sweet, cocoa flower?
Flavor: initial light is “soapy” and something that's hard to put my finger on. I then got hints of bitterness and burnt paper. Along with this lovely aroma, I also had some waxy feeling coating my mouth. The smoke is making my mouth really dry. The retrohale is harsh and I there is also a harshness settling in the back of my throat. On occasion, I did get a few nice hints of a mild cigar. The smoke volume consistency was very nice but the burning in the back of my throat did not go away.

Comments and conclusion
I’ve heard others mention certain tobaccos reacting adversely with body chemistry. If that is true, I think this tobacco was doing that with me. It was rough.
I’m interested to learn what this is. I suspect it may be of the lakeland varieties.
Through all this, I did get a nice nic buzz, though! Not sure it was worth it.

[Branzig]

Date: 4/14/15
Name: Branzig
Tobacco: Orange J Vac Sealed G&H Louisiana Flake
Pipe: Capitello pot & MM General
Outdoor



Observations

Examination: A lighter Va colored flake speckled with dark spots. Quite moist from the package with a light coating on it. Deep and rich chocolate smell. Very bold cocoa followed up with typical fig Va scents. No Lakeland odor whatsoever.

Preparation: Smoked 2 bowls rubbed out and 1 fold and stuff. All between 1 and 2 hours of drying time.

Burn: Very easy burning tobacco. Required little maintenance when rubbed out and burned down to a light grey ash.

Flavor: Judging from the tin note, I was really hoping to get a nice blast of cocoa and earth notes from this tobacco. That did not happen. What I did get from the initial light was the standard GH&Co Lakeland essence. Albeit very light, but it was there. As the tobacco began to heat up, the familiar tingle of spice made itself present which leads me to believe that there is some perique in this blend. Getting into the mid way point of the bowl, the floral characteristics take a back seat to the sweet Virginia leaf. The combination of light Lakeland, sweet Va, and perique make for an interesting and tasty blend. There is also a faint something else on this flake that I just can't pick up...but I am sure it has a topping of some sort other than Lakeland Snot. I just hope I didn't ghost my pipes with it!

Comments and conclusion: A great quality flake made up of some excellent leaf. I would be shocked if this wasn't a Gawith offering. Each bowl was enjoyable and I would smoke it again. The nicotine hit was light, and the flavor profiles medium, so I would classify this as a tasty morning smoke.

[Tobias Lutz]

If you have reviewed anything up until this post, go back and look to see where the tobacco name has been revealed