Tobacco Reviews

GL Pease Key Largo

Enjoying Cigar Leaf in one’s pipe is more difficult than you would expect. Everyone’s first instinct is to deconstruct a cigar, load it into your pipe, and enjoy the creamy, heavy cigar smoke with all the convenience of pipe smoking. This isn’t going to be pleasant. The burn will be wonky and the taste will…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Dan Bill Bailey’s Balkan Can’t Be Beat

Though I became a pipe smoker in 2014, it wasn’t until two years later I found myself in a real pipe store, Iwan Ries in the midst of Downtown Chicago. It’s a beautiful store, full of warm wood and delightful aromas. I was served by a dapper gentleman who was a devoted smoker himself. He…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation Evening Flake is Great “Factory Fresh”

When McClelland closed its doors in 2017, there were numerous blends that became objects of veneration, from their annual Christmas Cheer release to the Frog Morton line, to their incomparable oriental blends. What was lost with little fanfare was their bulk blend #2015, Virginia-Perqiue, aka VaPer Flake. This humble offering combined the illustrious McClelland Virginias…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Rattray’s Exotic Orange Delivers Both Flavor and Aroma

Despite their image as what pipe tobacco is in popular culture, aromatic blends are among the most troublesome and divisive categories of blends. The primary issue is the inconsistency between smell and taste. These tobaccos smell rich and sweet, infused with the aromas of confectionery. But for most smokers, in most pipes, most aromatics taste…

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Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture

English pipe tobacco has an incredible depth and breadth. There are smoky Latakia-driven monsters like Esoterica’s legendary Penzance, C&D Star of the East Flake, and Hearth & Home  10 to Midnight. There are tamer, more balanced blends like Presbyterian, Peterson 965, Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader, and Peter Stokkebye’s Proper English. The spicy English is a…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Wessex Brigade Original Scores High for Malty, Salty Sweetness

Every spring and every autumn I get a yen for apple-flavored tobaccos. Something about the crisp fruity taste matches the mood and weather just right. However I’ve yet to find an apple-flavored tobacco  that doesn’t taste synthetic. But so far I’ve liked every Wessex I’ve had. Wessex is a small subbrand from Kohlhase and Kopp…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: C&D Engine #99 Could Be the Best Smoky Bulk Blend Ever

Every year, without fail, when winter is at its nadir, I crave smoke —smoky scotches and smoky tobaccos in particular. While there are several entry level scotches which deliver the heavy peaty smoke I crave, I am still on the search for something that reaches the smoky heights of the ever elusive Penzance but at…

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Five Brothers Is a Terrific Smoke With a Deep History

With a pedigree lasting 155 years, Five Brothers Pipe Tobacco is a living classic. It is a shag cut pure burley blend with a legendary strength. This high nicotine sets it quite apart from some of the more well known pouch tobaccos. With its unassuming label, pure tobacco flavor, and strength, Five Brothers is primarily…

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Peter Stokkebye PS 41 Cube Cut

Peter Stokkebye PS 41 Cube Cut is an old fashioned burley forward bulk offering. Cube cut is made by heating then pressing Virginia and Burley in the Cavendish process. This yields a hard plug that is then chopped into hard, dense little nuggets. Michael gives a brief overview of PS 41, its production, and components….

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Pipe Tobacco Review: Sutliff Cringle Flake 2019 Has Great Flavor But Doesn’t Stay Lit

Cringle Flake is a small production Virginia Flake, limited holiday release started by Sutliff in 2019. It appears to be an annual tradition as this was followed up with Sutliff Cringle Flake 2020, a Virginia-Perique Flake. This is fantastic news for Virginia fans who had looked forward each year to McClelland’s Christmas Cheer. Christmas Cheer…

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