Milan Tobacconists House Blend Reviews

[cpmcdill]

Blend: Reflections by Milan Tobacconists
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticated straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Ribbon cut, more than 50% very dark/black, another 40% medium reddish brown, and the balance some light yellowish. I infer that it is mostly cavendish and burley, with a condimental amount of Virginia.
Pouch note: On first sniffing, my general impression was something of a butterscotch topping. The description at Milan say it is "vanilla, caramel, sweet cream, nutmeg, and gentle spice" and seeing that I can understand how that might add up to butterscotch. Anyway, the fragrance is very pleasant.

It took a flame very easily, and I had a few puffs before allowing it to go out again. The initial smoke carried the distinct black cavendish flavor, as well as many of the flavors from the topping. A sweet, nice tasting blend, is the first impression.
After setting the pipe aside a few minutes, I re-lit and this time the toppings were less prominent in the flavor, but still distinct in the room note. Mostly, as I'm giving it a slow puffing cadence, I'm finding it to be a cool-smoking, sweet cavendish flavor. It's quality stuff. Sometimes cav-based aros taste like nothing, which makes me feel like I'm smoking for the benefit of others than myself. But this stuff has flavor.
The tobacco stays burning very well. Relatively few relights for an aromatic. The tobacco in the pouch feels moist, and that moisture is a presence in the pipe, though this pipe I'm using is highly resistant to gurgle. There are however a lot of sizzle sounds coming from the bowl. Next time I'll try leaving some out to dry a while, to see how that affects things.
Anyway, it burned right down to ash with minimal dottle. It wasn't until afterward when I sipped a beverage that I discovered I might have gotten a smidgen of tongue burn. Might have been puffing a little faster as I approached the finish.

For the most part, I'm not an aro smoker. But sometimes I find aro blends that hit the spot. This was a satisfying smoke, and I'll enjoy these two ounces while they last.

[cpmcdill]

Blend: Hazelnut by Milan Tobacconists (review #4 of 5)
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticated straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Ribbon cut yellow and dark brown, with the darker color somewhat dominating.
Pouch Note: Hazelnut and cavendish, with a subtle hint of Play-Doh.

Preamble: A reviewer I highly respect over at tobaccoreviews.com voiced a suspicion verging on certainty that this, rather than being a Milan house blend, is just Lane Limited's Hazelnut bulk blend. I have not had LL's Hazelnut, so I'll try to judge this on its own merits, whatever its source. A few years back I got myself in a bit of hot water with the proprietor of 4noggins when I speculated that their Three Blind Moose blend was Lane LL-7. Further scrutiny of those latter two confirmed to my senses that the 4noggins blend is superior, though similar.

It often happens on the charring light of aromatic tobaccos that I do get a strong hit of the flavors in the topping. In this case a big dose of hazelnut and possible some vanilla flavor, but little tobacco. Oddly this didn't go out after the initial light, and so I just kept puffing along. Some of the flavor is still coming through at the first quarter mark. Not sure if it's something in the tobacco, but I find myself salivating heavier than usual. Can't really clench this, or I'll drool all over myself.

I suspect what I'm puffing out is more steam than smoke. Yet halfway in, still no relight, tongue burn or gurgle, but the pipe is feeling really hot. The tobacco flavor seem mostly cavendish. Can't really distinguish any Va flavor. I like Nutella spread, but I never really cared for Hazelnut coffee. When it comes to eating actual nuts I like peanuts, almonds, cashews and sometimes Macadamia. So I have mixed feelings about the use of Hazelnut to flavor things.

At about the third quarter, the flavors goes off in a more sourish direction, and the flavor's getting more like some expired OTC pouch you buy from a gas station when you are travelling and can't find good tobacco. So at this point I'll just call it quits and clear the remainder out of my pipe. I'd say this is a perfect tobacco for those who enjoy goopy bulk one-note aromatics, and knowing that this category far outsells English, VaPers and Va Flakes combined, there will always be those who'll make Hazelnut their all-day staple.

[JimInks]

I didn't know this was going on, or I'd have signed up, though I have smoked at least a couple of the blends. Good to see more reviews though.

[Haebar]

I didn't know this was going on, or I'd have signed up, though I have smoked at least a couple of the blends. Good to see more reviews though.

Jim, PM me your address and I'll send you half of mine.

[droy1958]

Website: Pure Pleasure (Aromatic) Pipe Tobacco
A unique combination of Virginia and Cavendish tobaccos gives this blend a sweet orange flavor with hints of vanilla.
---------------
Pipe was my aro nose warmer.
The website description is pretty much it. It had a light orange/tangerine taste and a faint sweet finish. It gave my tongue a citrusy tingle, but no bite. I let this one dry out for a few hours before packing it, and it burned down to 3/4 when I put it down. This one was ok, but not really my thing. Like the others, it burned very clean for an aromatic.....

[Haebar]

Milan Tobacconist Black Gold:

This blend has Cavendish, Burley, and black Cavendish. This is quality leaf; there are no stems or midribs to speak of. This tobacco also has some vanilla casing; it takes considerable time to dry it out for smoking. With only 30 minutes air time, my first bowl was good and interesting. Interesting in that the second half of the bowl was better than the first. First lighting is tough, as the blend is moist. First impressions are of the smell of a fruit basket, briefly. The black Cavendish provides the structure and backbone of the flavor; the burley fills out the body with a little nicotine muscle, but not much. Impressive is how dry this and the other Milan house aromatic tobaccos have smoked for me, in spite of feeling damp when loading the bowl. I only had to use one pipe cleaner per bowl smoked in briars and no pipe cleaners with the Missouri Meerschaums.

[Cool Breeze]

Impressive is how dry this and the other Milan house aromatic tobaccos have smoked for me, in spite of feeling damp when loading the bowl. I only had to use one pipe cleaner per bowl smoked in briars and no pipe cleaners with the Missouri Meerschaums.

I have noticed this as well. They seem to smoke much drier than most aros.
I definitely think these are very high quality tobaccos.

[cpmcdill]

Blend: Old Dominion by Milan Tobacconists
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticate straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Described as "rough cut" at tobaccoreviews.com, that's pretty much what it looks like in the pouch. Lots of small bits of various shapes and sizes, not like a standard ribbon. Color is various shades of brown. It is apparently an all-burley blend, and that's pretty much what it looks like.
Pouch note: Tobaccoreviews says it is a maple aro but my nose finds more of a sweet figgy note, somewhere in the ballpark of Carter Hall. My nose detects a cavendish note, so maybe the burley was steamed and pressed awhile?

I am using the same pipe as before (and may continue to use for these reviews) because it is a well-seasoned pipe that plays very well with aromatics and to some degree highlights their virtues.

Old Dominion is not on the Milan website for some reason (or if it is, I could not find it) so I wonder if it's something they only sell in the shop, or if they recently discontinued it.

Initial charring light, first puffs, and relight indicate to me that this is pretty much in the family of certain popular OTC burley pouch tobaccos, like Carter Hall, Granger or Velvet. I don't like Velvet, but I am partial to Granger and Carter Hall. The casing or topping didn't come through in the flavor, though it's in the room note. Nothing about it evokes maple, so I do suspect it's more like the Carter Hall topping, but more natural and a little sweeter. It demands a slower cadence than CH, but rewards with a better quality of flavor. The burley has that mild-neutral flavor that often goes with this genre, a sort that does little for the taste buds, but is pleasing on the retrohale.
I put the pipe down and left the room to do some things, then returned and found the lingering room note quite nice. The smell is natural and warm and pleasing. No odd chemical elements to it, like some OTCs seem to convey.
Getting toward the end, the sweetness tapers off, and the burley flavors pick up a little. I only re-lit twice, and that was due to putting the pipe down for a while each time.
No moisture or gurgle in this, and when I was finished there was mostly ash with a small amount of dottle.
Overall I'd recommend this to pipers who like their OTC burleys but want to upgrade to something of better quality. I liked this, and I have no reservations about finishing off the 2 ounce sample I was given. My first pipe tobaccos were OTCs and some Lane bulks, and though I've moved on, this touches a nostalgic note, of the enjoyment of those early times, but in a more refined way as the flavors of this blend are superior.

[cpmcdill]

Blend:Buttered Rum from Milan Tobacconists (review #5 of 5)
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticated straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Ribbon cut, a pretty even melange of medium brown and yellowish tobacco.
Pouch Note: A lovely smell. I guess this is sort of like a pipe version of a hot toddy. I once had a hot toddy during a week-long blizzard when all of the power had gone out and all that remained functional was the propane stove and the fireplace (well the water was still running and the pipes didn't freeze, so all good eh?), but only after finishing off the Bailey's so my recollection was kind of fuzzy.

Preamble. This is another blend my respected source says is probably a commercial bulk rather than a house blend. In this case Sutliff Buttered Rum (also one I have not personally tried), and I have to admit some of my early better experiences with Aromatics came from Sutliff blends, so I reckon I could be biased pro-Sutliff. We shall see.

Before smoking this, I needed to cleanse my palate from the previously reviewed Hazelnut blend. C&D Star of the East did the trick. Also had to rest and clean my poor abused Grabow pot. One of my oldest and trustiest smokers, I sometimes push it too hard. Some day I will give it a full Viking funeral.

Okay. Thank you Star of the East. My palate is now reconsecrated with your light and bliss. On to the last aromatic in my obligatory series of reviews. As a soundtrack to my smoking experience, I had some difficulty deciding between medieval lute music and dubstep. So I'll just alternate tracks in my media player. I don't have any rum, so this smoke will be accompanied by several fingers and a thumb of Old Crow.

Initial light gave me all the warning signs I need to keep a slow cadence. This is a potential tongue-biter. First impressions are of a vanilla-honey note with cavendish flavor. The pouch and probably the room note are not in the smoke. Feels pretty wet/steamy. I find it paradoxical that wet tobaccos like this often keep a light better than many drier, less cased blends.

Right around the bass drop of Matta's "Release the Freq" (1/3 into the bowl) I'm feeling a distinct tongue bite. Slowing down the cadence even further, surprised this stuff is still burning. Not a single relight yet. Getting some crackle and sizzle sounds in the bowl, so there's definitely some moisture accumulating.

The lute tune by Rolf Lislevand, "La Mascarade/Rondee" had such a mellow tempo that my cadence lowered enough to bring forth more flavors. Until the fire went out. At the 4th quarter I have to relight for the first time. I've managed to protect my tongue pretty will despite the dangers of this blend. Got it right down to a bit of ash and minimal dottle. I deserve a gold star.

At the end of my quest, I have still not found a new holy grail. I am not prejudiced against aromatics, and I am always open to trying new ones. For me, the best I have found always included some Latakia, like Frog Morton's Cellar, Moonshine Pipe Co XXX Blend, Two Friends English Chocolate, or GH Bob's Chocolate Flake. But it's just a matter of personal palates. I'm in the minority, and most pipers smoke aros so their wives will let them smoke indoors, or some such similar reason. These Milans were not bad, but I wish they'd also shared some of their non-aro and English blend to be reviewed.

[Tobias Lutz]

These Milans were not bad, but I wish they'd also shared some of their non-aro and English blend to be reviewed.

I totally understand not being of the aromatic persuasion, but your comment made me realize something needed to be clarified. Milan had nothing to do with this exercise, or I'm sure they would have offered up a different variety. I have always smoked their aromatics, and I purchased these bags from them without any mention of what they would be used for. I'm sorry if there had been an implication that they were somehow in on this as a promotional thing.