Adam J. Smith
Liner Notes: A product of the House of Samuel Gawith & Co. Ltd - Kendal, Cumbria, England. From the Website: The first of a collection dedicated to Samuel Gawith the First, Chocolate Flake is a luxury blend of Virginias, Burley and long-leaf Latakias. To complete the luxury a rich, dark chocolate has been added after cutting. Excellent smoking qualities with a good smoke and a delicious room note. Medium strength.

Normally when I set out to review a tobacco, I choose a blend that is new to me. The reason for this is two-fold. First and foremost, I like to approach the blend with no pre-conceived notions or ideas…or, at least as few as possible. The other reason is that I take a clinical, almost sterile approach to reviewing tobaccos; something that doesn’t lend itself readily to the peaceful bliss I seek when smoking an "old friend" as it were. That said, blends that I review often do end up finding a home either in my active rotation or in my cellar - however there are a few blends that I smoke regularly that I keep for just that - smoking.

E. Roberts & Kevin Godbee
The 2012 John Cotton Throwdown event just completed moments ago at Pheasant Run Resort at The Chicagoland Int’l Pipe & Tobacciana Show. The winner that came the closest to the original John Cotton’s blend, decided by the expert judges is Dick Silverman, Chief Catoonah and the winner of the "People’s Choice Awards", which is the blend with the most votes comparing the three contestant blends, is Leonard Wortzel, Lane Limited. The judging scores had the contestants placing as follows; 1st Place - Dick Silverman, 2nd Place - Steve Books, and 3rd Place - Leonard Wortzel.

E. Roberts
When I first joined the New York Pipe Club, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I considered pipe smoking to be a rather solitary and sedentary pursuit, and envisioned a group of laggards like myself—gruff, quiet introverts—sitting placidly as grazing cattle. I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging it was to learn from my peers, be exposed to new tobaccos and pipes as well as new perspectives, and to simply enjoy the company of like-minded fanatics; finally, here were people who could really understand my PAD and TAD. My involvement with the club has increased my passion for the hobby a hundredfold, not to mention my education in it, and even encouraged me to partake in the wider community by contributing to PipesMagazine.com. As I became more involved in the pipe world, I realized our club’s membership included veritable luminaries in the hobby like Vernon Vig (recently inducted into the Confrerie de Maitres Pipiers in Saint Claude, France) and Peter and Jon Guss (architects of the Balkan Sobranie and John Cotton Throwdowns [along with their brother Matt Guss of the Seattle Pipe club]).

Adam J. Smith
Tin Notes: Distinctive flavourful blend, darkened tobaccos with Perique. From Altadis Website: Perfect for Fans of Elizabethan. We can thank the Golden Age of Exploration for introducing the Old World to Perique. Perique lovers everywhere will marvel at this distinctively flavoured mixture combined with Turkish, Burley, Black Cavendish and Virginia.

When I first approached the Sutliff Private Stock blends, I expected to find nothing but heavily cased, flavoured aromatics. Of course, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that nothing could be further from the truth - while applied flavours do play a large role in many of the Sutliff blends, there are also offerings for those who seek the more "traditional" tobaccos; albeit they are produced with propylene glycol as a humectant.

Adam J. Smith
Tin Note: Balanced Smoking Tobacco - Cool with a rich flavour. From the Website: A robust English blend with character. Plenty of Latakia, Pressed Virginia, and Burley provide the base.

This blend surprised me - but in a very good way. With a very ambiguous tin description and a post-modern abstract label that would look at home on a cigarette package, I really wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I popped this tin. Expecting a cased Burley (perhaps something minty from the "cool" descriptor used in the liner notes), I was quite taken aback when I first popped the seal and raised the tin to my nose.

E. Roberts
The Borkum Riff line of tobaccos has a pedigree that dates back to the early 1960s. It was formerly produced in the Mac Baren factory on an exclusive production line for Swedish Match. Now it is produced in-house at STG’s Orlik factory after the two companies merged in October 2010. Burley-forward Cavendish blends, they still enjoy prominence in the mass-market, or "OTC", pipe tobacco category, and with good reason. Five blends were sampled for this review, and all of them offered smooth and consistent smoking, genuine tobacco flavor, and varied Danish-style aromatic casings that distinguished them well.

From the Editor: With the change in production of Borkum Riff now being produced in Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s own Orlik factory, a few items are note-worthy.

Adam J. Smith
Tin Description: Soft and Aromatic Blend of all AAA Burleys. From the Website: Prior to 1864, Red Burley was the type of Burley grown in Kentucky. The Civil War was raging and because of the scarcity of seed, George Webb purchased what was available. This new variety, White Burley, proved to be superior and forever changed smoking history. This soft and aromatic blend of all AAA Burleys is testimony to that fact.

Kentucky. Noted for bluegrass, whiskey, barbeque, and, above all else, tobacco. Located smack-dab in the middle of the vaunted U.S. tobacco belt, Kentucky has played no small part in shaping the direction of modern tobacco blends; garnering fame for the creamy and nutty Burley leaf that at one time made up the state’s largest export.

Cyndi Dollins, Photos by Paul Arms
The tin says this blend is a mix of Broken Virginia, Black Cavendish, and Golden Virginia with orange, chocolate, and honey flavors.

When I opened the package, the aroma smells really sweet. It’s made of mostly broken leaf with dark ribbons threading throughout. It has a pleasant moisture ratio—it’s moist enough to feel spongy without being soaked like many aromatics are when you first open the can; however it’s dry enough to smoke right away.

Before lighting, it has a faintly sweet and totally natural Virginia flavor. The first light has a faint spicy flavor through the sweetness but I was never able to pinpoint the spice. In a different pipe, the top notes included chocolate, coconut, and a sweet candy-like taste.

Adam J. Smith
Tin Notes: A blend of specially selected and aged Cyprian Latakia, rough cut Burley, and bright Virginia Flake. Heavy Latakia

Living in Canada, one has to accept winter as a fact of life. While it is true, we on the South-West coast are blessed with the mildest weather in the nation, the endless months of cold, rain, and snow have played just as large of a role in shaping our collective culture as the icy winds of the prairies, or the deep, drifting snow of the tundra.

And when that winter arrives, I find myself seeking strong, bold, and simple flavours. Stick-to-your-ribs meals, stout beers, and peaty scotch to warm the bones when the icy chill sets in. It was with this in mind that I decided to pick-up a tin of Cornell and Diehl’s DaVinci blend. Reputed as having one of the highest Latakia contents on the market, I expected this to be a simple, mono-chromatic smoke that satisfied the craving for the vaunted dark-leaf while providing a decent kick of nicotine - and while I wasn’t disappointed, this tobacco is so much more than just another Latakia bomb.

Adam J. Smith
Tin Notes: A special blend of sugary bright Virginia and aged, mellow red Virginia, seasoned with a good amount of rare Yenidje and a touch of Syrian Latakia. Ready to smoke, but designed to age beautifully.

When I hear the word "Orient", I am immediately swept back to my days in Hong Kong. Although I was but a young boy (or, perhaps because of it), I have very vivid memories of the city. The sights and sounds; somehow familiar, yet so different to the ways of Western society in which I was raised. Navigating ones way through the sea of concrete, literally awash with masses of people jostling and shoving for position with an almost manic energy. The glow of neon and the clack of the omni-present Mah-jong parlour, the cacophony of voices and the throngs of vehicles.