3 Star Tobacco Blends

These are excellent tobaccos. They're one step down mostly due to being too rich for regular smoking, or for some other minor quibble that may or may not make any difference to anyone else.

GL Pease Barbary Coast - I'm not normally a fan of burley tobaccos. Having said that, I think this is a truly impressive one with a rich, nutty flavor that had me blinking at first. It was quite bizarre and others have commented much the same reaction on their first puff - it was like expecting to shake someone's hand but having them instead throw a live lobster at you. However, once I got over the first impression, the blend eased into a smooth smoking rythym and presented a unique burley experience. The cube cut tobacco burns easily and evenly and behaves a lot like C&D's Pennington Gap for me, also sharing the disadvantage that the tiny cube pieces can get stuck in the airhole or sucked up the stem easily during lighting. There is some Virginia content in this but I can't pick it out, although the Perique stands up and says hi. An excellent all-around smoke.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Cornell & Diehl Cross-Eyed Cricket - This one is a real surprise to find on this list, because I don't normally like aromatics and this one is very much so. It's totally different from every other tobacco on this list, and is such a unique taste experience that I'd urge anyone to try it at least once, just for the experience. According to the tin, it is flavored with "rum punch", whatever that might be, but in smoking it produces a very friendly and flavorfully sweet taste, with an almost tangy flavor. It reminds me of some mad combination of tangy candy and fruit punch... which normally would make me gag to think of as a tobacco blend, but this one doesn't. In fact, it's tremendously enjoyable, and one of the first tobaccos I'd reach for to give to the beginning smoker. It does turn a bit moist on me as I near the bottom of a large bowl, but it's very well mannered indeed compared to most aromatics out there. Worth mentioning is the great smelling smoke, which not only pleases crowds but sometimes makes them ask for more!
May be purchased from:
Cornell and Diehl Tobaccos

Cornell & Diehl Pennington Gap - This one has a very crumbly, cube-cut texture which makes it a very even burner, and it smokes dry and clean to the bottom for me - in this respect outdoing its cousin Cross-Eyed Cricket, although CEC has a more flavorful taste. There's a noticeable bourbon flavor which gives it a unique smell, but which isn't overpowering at all in the smoke. Perique is noticeable, and the burley rounds out the offbeat flavor to a very enjoyable finish. This is an understated tobacco for me... When I first tried it, my reaction was muted, but with each subsequent smoke it has become better and better.
May be purchased from:
Cornell and Diehl Tobaccos

Cornell & Diehl London Squire - Here's a tobacco that's so polite in its Englishness that it's in danger of going unnoticed. To the eye, it looks like a black and tan beer, with wide cuts of latakia predominating. It's a very simple looking mixture with a very simple, enjoyable flavor. The fun of the tobacco comes not from any unique taste or zany flavoring, but instead from its almost reserved consistency and friendliness. It's much more like a friend with whom you are so comfortable that you don't feel the need to speak, instead of one who is always engaging your responses. The hefty cut of the tobaccos makes it slow burning, and sometimes hard to keep lit, but the payoff is a very mellow smoke. I got curious to see what this would smoke like if cut into smaller ribbons, and I diced some throroughly to see what effect it would have on its smoking characteristics. I like it very much. The burn is better and easier, and the flavor seems clearer, oddly enough. I'm sure a certain amount of my reaction is the placebobo effect (the psychological benefit of hitting a clown in the face with a pie...), but I do like it better. It's hot on first light, though, but quickly settles into a smooth burn. It truly has everything in its favor - mellowness, comfort, affordability, and ready availability.
May be purchased from:
Cornell and Diehl Tobaccos

Cornell & Diehl Odessa - Here's a colorful tobacco, with bits ranging from pale yellow to dark black. The advertising claims it's a copy of Balkan Sobranie "White", but my taste buds can't find much relation between the two. I think Odessa is better, really, as evidenced by the 2 Star placement of BSW. It's a medium-strength smoke, with a dusty smell that reminds me of old libraries. It doesn't have the bite that Balkan does, and is a much smoother and mellower smoke. If it has faults, it's that, despite this mellowness, it can still be a little rough when compared to the 5 Star tobaccos. Also, the taste is good, but not exceptional - it's a hearty meat & potatoes supper to Winter's Tale's Chicken Madras.
May be purchased from:
Cornell and Diehl Tobaccos

Cornell & Diehl Oriental Silk - I've doen a total about-face on this blend. Initially I didn't like it, but it won me over. It's many things I normally don't like in a tobacco- pale, golden, sweet, grassy, and heavily Virginia, but somehow all the components blend together into a fascinating harmony. It's very finely cut, and is easy to smoke too quickly - I wouldn't recommend it for a beginning smoker, lest he bite his tongue or crack his pipe. Given relaxed puffing and slow savoring, though, it comes into its own with a sweet and very pure taste that always reminds me of a summer evening.
May be purchased from:
Cornell and Diehl Tobaccos

Esoterica Tilbury - Here's one that's been in my cabinet for quite a while. This is another offbeat tobacco for me. It's a sweet and clear tobacco, with an odd flavoring that's as hard to describe as that of Oasis. I think Oasis is a superior tobacco, but Tilbury is very likable, and burns very cool and smooth indeed. It tastes a little weird from my latakia-soaked briars, but I've found that it delivers a nicely clear and crisp taste in a meerschaum. It's another blend of different Virginias and a little Burley. It's too different for me to smoke night after night, and thus will likely remain a "change of pace" tobacco, only being refilled when I happen upon it, but I'd certainly recommend it to any curious soul or Virginia fan.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Esoterica Penzance - I'll likely get burned at the stake for ranking this below 4 stars, but I've just never been as impressed with it as popular opinion holds. It's a delicious tobacco, no doubt, and combines pungency with a delicate balance of ingredients for an excellent strong smoke. I do find it to smoke a little hot for me, as well as wet, and this counterbalances my enjoyment of the taste enough to keep me from reaching for it commonly. It's very, very good, but the best of the F&P blends combine equal flavor with superior smoking characteristics, IMO.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

McCranie's Red Ribbon - (Reviewed by Jeff Folloder) First off, let me state that there are two schools of thought on Red Ribbon: thems that love it and thems that don't. There is very little, if any, middle ground. This tobacco is tinned by McLelland for McCrannies and is made from "prime 1983" Red Virginia. My tin was sealed in 1998 so there must be a *lot* of the 1983 stock in supply. The tin aroma is distinctive and sweet, like most Virginia, only deeper with some slightly sour notes to mix with the glazed berry aromas. The ribbons are fairly uniformly cut and range from mahogany to almost black maroon with a few flecks of medium brown. The tobacco starts out moist and I've been hard pressed to see it dry out. I attribute the moisture to the fact that this is a matured Virginia that is high in natural sugars, has been steamed, and lightly sauced. Lights with little difficulty and produces copius smoke. Here it gets interesting. The room aroma is very distinctive, unlike anything else I've smoked, including other Red Virginias. Although ribbon cut, this is still a Virginia and must be smoked slowly lest one get a nasty nip on the tongue. Rich caramel, and raisin overtones combine with sweetness, spice bread, and steeped cider in the thick smoke. It tastes unusual because it is truly unlike anything else. The saucing must be some form of raisin or berry essence. Again, a distinctive taste and aroma that will forever change any pipe it touches, so be warned. The smoke is lingering and you will find that it still lingers in the room (or your car) the next day and will make you say "what is that?"! I would recommend that if you are interested in trying it, get a bowlful from a friend and try it in a pipe that you can handle having to "re-flavor" in case you don't like it. I give it *** out of five.
(Trever's Comments) Jeff and I veer wide on this one - I tried a tin of this stuff and found it hideous. Like most Virginias, it leaped around upon my tongue like deranged battery acid and tasted much like smoking a chunk of fruitcake (What IS fruitcake, anyway? Does anyone know? It only crawls free at Christmas...). Definitely not for me - I'd have put this one at 1 Star, most likely.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Dan Tobacco's Limerick - This tobacco is an interesting example in perspective. I've heard from many committed Virginia flake smokers that they don't like it or find it too odd, while the Latakia fans seem prone to enjoy it. Perhaps its identity lies in being a "bridge" tobacco, somewhere between the rich Latakia world and the Virgina world. It's obviously not strong enough in the qualities that the Virginia fans enjoy, but I find it very nice, even rich at times. In the tin, it smells exactly like chocolate-covered cherries but thankfully does not smoke like them! The flavor is subtle (to me) but just present enough for enjoyment, with a nice even burn and some great smoking qualities. It does not fry my tongue off like many Virginia blends, which was a pleasant surprise. I would recommend this as the tobacco to try for any Latakia smokers curious to cross over to that wacky plane of Virginia fans.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Dunhill Standard Medium - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson) Here's some good stuff. I certainly like it, and it's never unpleasant. I also like the cut very much, it's the same as 965. While a good companion that definitely grows on you, it's not an overwhelming taste experience. Perhaps that's the point. While I certainly will want more of this down the road, I think I'll get some more Elizebethan or Nightcap next-- but I will be getting more of it...
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Bengal Slices - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson)Oh, man, do we have a winner. If it's latakia that you want, it's latakia that you'll get! This is a rather crumbly flake that is mostly... (sniff)... yup! Latakia! One of the nice things about this is that it's not at all abrasive. Very herbal nose, and there's a pleasant smooth sweet undertone that makes this throughly enjoyable, albeit in ocassional doses.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

McClelland St James Woods - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson) This is a very nice matured Virginia/Perique flake. It has a nice Va sweetness that works wonderfully well with the perique. This tobacco is often my choice for early mornings. It's definitely one to smoke a whole bowl of, though: It seems "just ok" at first, but gets much more interesting as the bowl progresses.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Balkan Sasieni - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson) This is a very tasty English, with rich "bright" notes and some latakia. Lots of Orientals give it light tone with still enough body that it is engaging and very interesting. While this did take my pallete a little work to find, once I had located the "sweet spot", I started to enjoy this one quite a bit. It's definitely worth keeping a little of this around.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Gawith Perfection - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson)Hey, neat! This is a cased mixture, but the casing shows the wonderful naturalness and excellent judgement that I am seeing is typical of S.Gawith's blends. As near as I can tell, it's just an exceedingly pleasant natural vanilla. Period. I don't know that for sure, of course, but I do know that it burns very well, and is superbly processed. I suspect just enough latakia in a base of various stoved tobaks, cut into somewhat thick and fairly short ribbons. It's not the slightest bit syrupy, nor is it too sweet, but there is a detectable vanilla-note that I find pleasing. A winner in the quest for quality aromatics! I'm not sure what others think of this, but it will get a road-test soon.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Gawith's Grousemoore - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson) Probably the single most understated aromatic that I've yet tried. The leaf is nearly complete uniform in appearance, a thin ribbon-cut of extremely pale very, very thin leaf. This sort of excellence in processing has "Samuel Gawith" written all over it! The tobacco's actual flavor is difficult to articulate. The casing is extremely light-handed, but definitely present. The tobacco itself has been processed in such a way as to render its flavor also very uniform, but between the two there exists a sort of genteel pleasantness that I've grown to like. [I'm going to have to smoke some more of this before finishing the review-- it's a tricky one to pin down! But it's tasty in a most unusual way. Also, along with S.G.'s 1792 Flake, this is one of the most *atypical* aromatics I've tried!]
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Dunhill Durbar - (Guest Review by Jesse Williamson)Yum! This is an incredibly rich tobak. In the tin it's at a great moisture level, and appears very predominantly dark. There's definitely latakia, and I see a few shades of brown and also some tan flakes in there as well. I'm told that the rest of the mixture is primarily Turkish leaf, which would perhaps explain this blend's very unique character. The flavor while smoking I find reminiscent of buttered toast or perhaps roasted cashews. It's very, very rich and quite to my liking, and rather different than any other blend that I've yet tried. The flavor is quite dark overall, and strong. This blend's got a fair kick, in Dunhill terms similar perhaps to Nightcap but less than Royal Yacht, I would describe it as medium-full in both taste and nicotanic strength. I would not mind having more of this around, though I've yet to finish my tin.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Butera's Pelican - A really delicious tobacco. It's extremely dark and rich, with a luscious flavor that glides over the tongue like Bailey's Irish Creme. It's smooth and easy-burning, and like its namesake bird it is very graceful for its sheer volume. Smoking a bowl of Pelican is much like having a nice meal of Jerk Chicken - very filling and nicely unique. The only Achilles' Heel it has is a certain sameness - after I'd finished 3/4 of the tin it was getting old, and it wasn't fun to come back to over and over again. I couldn't begin to guess why I can always smoke Dunhill Standard or Three Nuns, but this didn't have that universal enjoyability... again, like Jerk Chicken, it was really good but not something you'd want to eat every meal. Highly recommended as a change-of-pace tobacco!
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

Solani #633 - This one is a sweet Virginia/Perique flake. Unlike many blends of this sort, it has little bite to it and is a pretty friendly Virginia tobacco though it can still get you if you're not careful. The Perique really livens the blend up and gives it some added interest over the various pure Virginia blends of this sort. It's very bright and clear, and would be well-suited to an air-cured Italian pipe.
May be purchased from:
Pipe and Pint, (336) 218-8610 Greensboro, North Carolina, USA