Cigar Bum Drugstore Pipe Tobacco Reviews

[Bruck]

I'm beginning to see a pattern with the Borkum Riffs

[GWBowman]

Borkum Riff Original Mixture
date on the pouch 2-19-13
Smoked three bowls in three different briars

In the pouch it smells of chocolate, cherry, and dried fruit. It wasn't very hard to light. The first few draws have the cocoa flavor mild but at the forefront with dried fruit in the background. Not far into the bowl the flavors start turning chemical and then completely dissipate. At least the last half, may be more, is a generic smoke, warm air flavor. Every now and then a little Virginia tang or Burley nutty taste will sneak in but disappear as quickly as it arrived. Surprised to say I never got bit by this but believe it could show it's teeth if abused. I've smoked a little of the Bourbon and the Cherry Liqueur flavored Borkum Riff. While neither one of those was impressive, the Original falls short of them. Thanks for the opportunity @Tobias Lutz . I have wondered about this one. Now I know.

[Nature]

Captain Black Gold

Ribbon cut, slightly damp but not overly moist. Bicolored medium and light golden brown.
This is not a flavored tobacco but smells of sweet tobacco with over notes of rum and vanilla.

I smoked 3 bowls of this for the review; 2 in a MM Legend cob, and 1 in a briar.
The first bowl had no preparation, taking the tobacco straight from pouch to pipe.
The smoke output was adequate, but was light in mouth feel. The flavor was mild.
As I began to progress, I noticed that if I pushed it and got into a hurry, there was a nipping tongue bite.
I must have hit a sweet spot in my pace about halfway as I began to taste a very strong sweetness and nutty flavor in the back of my mouth with a hint of vanilla, reminding me of syrupy pecans.
The pecan flavor was transient, but the sweetness continued to fade in and out in varying degrees.

For my 2nd bowl, I prepped the tobacco by packing my MM Legend before work, where it sat in my car until the end of the day.
The flavors were not as pronounced, but the sweetness was still there in lesser degrees.
The nutty flavors did not make much of an appearance, but were there in hints.

My 3rd bowl was in a briar, but prepped similar to the first in pouch to pipe as I wanted to see if i could get that pecan flavor again.
This bowl was between the two in flavor character and intensities with a vague nutty presence.

The moisture level straight from the pouch seems just about right. Slightly damp but not too moist. I required very minimal relights, primarily only in the beginning and once when I laid the pipe down to tend to errands.

I feel you are most rewarded with more pronounced flavors by smoking it slightly damp as it comes from the pouch and taking it slow.
The flavors became a bit more harsh with a nip of tongue bite if the pace is pushed.

Average bowl smoke time was about 45 minutes. Strength was mild to medium.
I was disappointed I couldn't quite get that syrup pecan sensation again, but was still an enjoyable smoke.
The room note was very pleasant with vanilla undertones.

This would be appropriate as an everyday smoke, suited for when you don't want to pay a lot of attention, like standing on the shore of a pond, casting out a line.

Thank you Tobias for granting me the opportunity to review this tobacco and open my eyes to another OTC blend.

[johnnyflake]

I am not a review kind of guy, but one of you who is, should try out one of the all time great "Walnut". It has been a mainstay pipe tobacco, like almost forever!

[tmoran]

I am not a review kind of guy, but one of you who is, should try out one of the all time great "Walnut". It has been a mainstay pipe tobacco, like almost forever!

I'll post one up, along with my Borkum Riff Special Mixture 8. I have some open now, so might as well. I agree, it is a classic, and was one of my favorites. The Chestnut is a pretty good replacement, though.

[Bruck]

@Tobias Lutz , I seem to recall you bought a couple of metric tons of VA Gold about the same time I did - did you include the VA Golds as part of this set of reviews?

[Tobias Lutz]

@Tobias Lutz , I seem to recall you bought a couple of metric tons of VA Gold about the same time I did - did you include the VA Golds as part of this set of reviews?

unfortunately, no. I jarred all that for blending- I only mailed pouches

[Bruck]

unfortunately, no. I jarred all that for blending- I only mailed pouches

I did the same, except one of my 2-qt jars is full of VA Gold still in the pouches.

[Tobias Lutz]

I did the same, except one of my 2-qt jars is full of VA Gold still in the pouches.

Sounds like you're volunteering to do a review

[commonsenseman]

Troost Aromatic Cavendish

I've smoked 5 bowls of this now, in a few different pipes.



It's somewhere between a ribbon cut & a broken flake, medium color with some dark stuff too. Fairly sweet smelling in the pouch with a chocolate/anise aroma. Needs a little bit of drying time, but then it burns quite well. It burns a little bit fast for my taste, but it just requires concentration to slow it down. It can certainly bite if you're not careful. The flavor is quite good, like a very mild virginia, with a little bit of black cavendish added. It's satisfying though & the room note is excellent. I could see this becoming a daily morning smoke for me.

Thanks for the pouch Tobias, it won't last long!