TOM August 07 Drugstore Blends

[kheffelf]

This is the place for everyone to put your reviews up on the drugstore blend that you chose to vote for.

[Alpedhuez55]

Well, I could not find the blends in either CVS or Right Aid. Lucky for me I found some of these in the Grocery Store. I grabbed Half & Half, Prince Albert and Carter Hall for about $5 total for the three pouches.

I decided on trying Prince Albert first. When I opened the Soft Luxury Pouch it smelled sweet and nutty. Kind of like Pralines with a burnt caramel. It packed fairly easy. I chose a cheep Meer for the job.

It lit up nice and easy. There were some nutty and sweet undertones but it was also pretty earthy. It burned a little hot, bot not too bad. I would call my tongue mildly seared but not burnt. All in all it was a pleasant smoke. It is an OK Burly Blend. If I were in a pinch, this is very smokable that is pretty easy to find. There are other Burly blends I like more, but this was better than I expected.

[Big T]

I decided to vote for Prince Albert this month as I felt that this one of those brands that everyone "should" try at least once if we're going to call ourselves pipe smokers. I've had three bowls over the last week and found it to be very consistent. Upon opening the pouch, I really didn't get any aroma at all (unlike Half and Half which has a strong cinammon flavor). I was kind of under the impression that I'd be smoking a bowl of cigarette tobacco. This was definitely not the case. It took me a few minutes to get used to the flavor as I've been smoking a lot of sweeter VA's lately. Although not a complex taste by any stretch, it had a pleasant nutty flavor with a small hint of chocolate. The flavor got stronger about 1/4 of the way through and remained constant throughout. It packed and burned easily and didn't require a lot of re-lights.
Although not something I would reach for all the time as I generally prefer something a little more complex, I would definitely smoke this again when I'm in the mood for a straight up burley.
I think this is a great choice for beginning smokers. It's easy to pack and light, and the flavor is good enough to keep them intersted in pipe smoking. The lack of bite won't scare them off either.

Tasso

[kheffelf]

Ok just had my first bowl of Carter Hall. Picked it up today at a Tobacco Shop/Cigarette Outlet for $2.59 for a 1.5 ounce pouch. Lady at the counter was laughing at me when I handed it to her and asked "Are you a pipe smoker" I told her yes and buying this was kind of a joke. On the box Carter Hall tells me that it has great taste-aroma-moistness-freshness-mildness-no bite-even burning-satisfying-good price. I agree with a couple of those like moistness-freshness-mildness-even burning- no bite-and good price. So after lunch I decided to go outside and have a bowl in a brand new cob I picked up as well. It lit really easily and stayed lit the whole entire time. Never had to relight it once. The flavor was very very mild basically it really didn't have any flavor. The aroma couldn't have been bad but I really didn't know since I was outside. The nice thing is that it didn't burn hot and it didn't bite. I was hoping to like it more than I did because of how cheap it is. As of now I wouldn't buy it again, but I am going to try a couple more bowls to see if it grows on me. I have never been as bored as I was smoking the pipe before. One of the reasons why I wanted to try it because the people at smokersforum raving about it and I don't see how. This stuff is for people who just want to smoke and that really isn't me. I smoke because I want to enjoy it and Carter Hall doesn't do it for me. I think I am going to go back and pick up some more of these drugstore blends and try them out. Maybe I can find one that I like.
I just looked at tobaccoreviews to see what Carter Hall had and I couldn't believe that this tobacco has a 3 star rating.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_...PHA=C&TID=1092

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by kheffelf

I just looked at tobaccoreviews to see what Carter Hall had and I couldn't believe that this tobacco has a 3 star rating.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_...PHA=C&TID=1092

I read somewhere that a lot of people blend Carter Hall with Prince Albert. I will try Carter Hall over the weekend. Prince Albert was nothing spectaculart, but nothing bad either.

[smokehouse]

Originally Posted by Alpedhuez55

I read somewhere that a lot of people blend Carter Hall with Prince Albert. I will try Carter Hall over the weekend. Prince Albert was nothing spectaculart, but nothing bad either.

Good Luck with that Half and Half that you got too. Can't wait to see what you think.

[Nutiket_32]

just had my second bowl of PA. It isnt complex but it burns wonderfully and has a pleasant enough taste. Smell is tolerable as well. I think ill keep some on hand for times i just want to smoke without thinking about it. Great for a newb

[EvanS]

Originally Posted by smokehouse

Good Luck with that Half and Half that you got too. Can't wait to see what you think.

BAITER!!!

[EvanS]

Prince Albert
First off upon opening the aroma is of pure, clean unaffected tobacco. Soft and fluffy to the touch and a joy to work with. Smells darker than it looks to me. Still one of the very few tobaccos that I personally have been able to open, load and light with virtually NO preparation. This is a godsend to a new smoker IMO (although I still think it benefits from a little airing out, if not drying).

The consistent cut of this tobac makes it very easy to work with...no rubbing, no folding...just grab genbtly with fingers and let it filter into the bowl. To me this is the perfect cut with which to practice your 3-step pack.
The bowl lights and burns easily with a normal tamp required as there is no excessive blooming upon initial light.

The flavor is a straight, medium tobacco flavor,with a slight nuttiness and some caramel...again a little darker tasting than I would have expected based on looks. Burns evenly and smoothly. But one of the things that made PA very interesting to me is how you can modulate the flavor over a fairly broad range by changing your puffing pace. Sip slowly and you get the smooth, mild/medium straight Burley. Pick up the pace though and the flavor went thru a burnt caramel thru to "raisin" flavors. And this can be done without much risk of it getting sour. Kinda fun to play with in this respect. I get the feeling that this is such a simple blend that there is no "delicacy" that can be caused to fall apart by over heating, up to a point anyway.

The required tamp stayed consistent thru the bowl and it burned all the way down, only requiring a relight at my usual last 5-10 puff point (normally after I decide it's time to dump ash towards the end of the bowl).

I actually lke this tobacco very much, especially for what it is - readily available and cheap. I will likely always keep some on hand, very likely in the truck as it is a great driving/errand/runaround smoke as it requires no special attention and burns so fuss-free.

I still wish this had been my very first pipe smoke. I truly believe I would have had a much easier time of it in the beginning.

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by smokehouse

Good Luck with that Half and Half that you got too. Can't wait to see what you think.

Well, I was not impressed my the H&H. I tried a couple of bowls. It packed easily and smoked reasonably cool. It smelled nice in the pouch, but there was no real flavor to it. I mean there was flavor, but the sweet spicy scent in the pouch was replaced by almost a chemical taste in the pipe. PA was much better.

Late but not too late this month has been one for the books. I must say the selection of tobaccos was perfect for the hectic 1300 mile move this month.
All these were smoked in cobs.

Half & Half
H&H is my youth(more of which i lose tomarrow) it was what my dad mainly smoked when he still took to the pipe. The number of empty can it his basement attest to this fact. From my first whiff to the room note around me it takes me back.

This tobacco smells like cloves to me and is loaded with a ton of PG (it will never dry). Really i understand why its named Half&Half because it you look it up on the Swedish Match website you'll see that its only half tobacco. Yikes. Anyway it lights easy as all burleys seem to do and stays lit fairly well. Taste started with chemicals and stayed that way for half the bowl with burley in the background. At half way it seemed to me that things just got super mild and didn't change at all. I was hoping for a little more of the burleys harshness to pick things up but i think the bright virginias may have knocked this down. Overall the visions of growing up are better than this blend.


Sir Walter Raleigh

I didn't get to spent as much time with this blend as i would have liked with the move and all. The biggest thing was when i bought is pouch at the store i had to direct the cashier to the package and all she could say was "OH lordy".

Good looking burley, not too wet, and smells of fresh bread. Taste is nothing to write about as it is kind of plain but that might be the lack of time i had for it, i just couldn't get a handle on it.


Edgeworth Ready Rubbed
Now before anyone says i don't reveiw anything as good let me tell ya about ERR. Got a can on a wim one day at JRs and wish i'd gotten 2. The cube cut is perfect for burley, slows the burn rate and lets you enjoy a good long bowl in a cob. LIke SWR this stuff smells of fresh bread. First couple of puffs give a tad bit of chemical before MR Burley shows up with some powerful muscle. Burley nut with some sweetness in the back ground with a great aftertaste. This is a sit down and enjoy tobacco for those of us who are nutty about burley (EvanS) I enjoyed this stuff so much it was the only thing i smoked as drove the bigazz moving truck across the country.


Prince Albert
What to say about al that hasn't been said already. Its a great quick smoke that you don't have to think about. It doesn't mind some DGT and burns really good if not too fast. Fruity topping comes through more after some drying time. Also Al is great to blend with as it will tone down some bitey stuff and help with burn issues.

[IHT]

props to root. he seems like about the only one who posts in ALL these TOM's.

i was gone pretty much the entire month in non-smoking hotels...
what's on tap for Sep?

[Big T]

Originally Posted by IHT

props to root. he seems like about the only one who posts in ALL these TOM's.

i was gone pretty much the entire month in non-smoking hotels...
what's on tap for Sep?

I believe it's Escudo for September. Just cracked my tin, so I'm looking foward to it.

[IHT]

damn, Escudo, never had it. guess i'll have to find some.

btw - i'll get to that PM reply about a trade, big T.