Gallopers War Horse Bar The A -Bomb of Nicotine Hits

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condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,448
29,913
New York
Mr Lowercase very kindly sent me a sample of Gallagher's War Horse Bar or as we in the US would call plug. I will post a few pictures this fascinating piece of history so that everyone can see what this tobacco looks like in the flesh. Upon unwrapping the package I was confront with a dark brown bricket of tobacco. I immediately transferred it to a new clean mason jar and added a sterilized moisture stone that had been soaking over night in a glass in the fridge. I left the two alone in the jar for a day and noticed that the War Horse was rather thirsty so I re-soaked the stone and put it back in the jar. Before closing the jar I sniffed it and I was greeted with a faint smell of licorice and some fruit essence. This smelt very promising and I thought another day in the jar would probably bring the tobacco to a cuttable form. After lunch today I took the War Horse bar out of the jar and examined it very carefully and it seemed soft enough to cut. Using a very sharp pen knife I shaved some slithers of the bar very carefully until I had a small pile sufficient to fill my smallest meerschaum 'cutty' pipe. I rubbed the tobacco out and I was surprised how easy it was so I filled my pipe without leaving not one crumb on the table. Lighting the pipe took about two relights with the first charing the tobacco and after tamping down the tobacco the second light got everything burning evenly. The smoke was a steel grey color but it took a good five minutes before I was hit with the dense flavors of fruit, licorice and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on at that precise moment. Ten minutes into this bowl I was amazed by the strength of the tobacco and started to have nicotine hiccups, War Horse really can kick and it took even a harden Condor smoker like myself by surprise. I smoked half the bowl and I am leaving the rest for after dinner tonight. In my estimation this is an epic tobacco and if you ever get the chance to sample the stuff grab the opportunity with both hands as it is a life affirming experience. I am saving the rest for my birthday in January and I shall now be searching the internet to look for more of this stuff. Thank you Mr Lowercase for one of the best gifts I have received in many a day - I hope you enjoy reading the review. This is one tobacco that is in a class of its own and should never be mixed with Condor unless you have a defibrillator on hand!
war_horse_02_zps9c3ebe6d.jpg

war_horse_01_zps379b5b92.jpg


 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,448
29,913
New York
No regular War Horse. I don't how old this one was but it certainly caught even me off guard. The 'Sweet Honeydew' you mention I think might still be around but I know for a fact that I have never smoked it. War Horse is a very dark tobacco and I think it was still around in the early 80's as I have seen reviews for people who have smoked it in the last 20 odd years.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
37
Wow!
Friggin' awesome review here!

I knew you'd deliver the goods!

:puffy:
..and the Galloper's title always gives me good giggles,

such a fine pun!

:P
For those unfamiliar yet interested in the history of this blend, this epic thread by Klause explains a good deal of it all, and in fact, this bar was a gift from Klause which I decided to pass along to Condorlover as I knew he'd be able to fully appreciate it...

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/warhorse-bar
He's sent over some truly incredible generous gifts and this one just blew my mind,

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/bro-jason-from-ireland-dropped-a-bomb-in-my-mailbox-again
I could not bring myself to cut the bar in half as I had originally planned, so I shaved off a couple of bowls for myself and sent it Condor's way in its full glory as a fully intact beautiful artifact because he definitely deserves some gifting for all of his tireless work of spreading the Condor gospel as well as providing members here with all those yummy UK baccies that we can't so easily get a hold of.

Three cheers for Condorlover1 !!!

:puffy: :puffy: :puffy:
The review here does justice to this olde baccy and confirms the magical powers of Gallaher's!
They made this stuff up until the 70's, but finding any that's still left would be a difficult task. The current owners of Gallaher is Japan Tobacco International and they have no interest whatsoever in expanding their pipe tobacco market --- when I wrote to them asking if there was any slight possibility that Condor could be exported to the USA they flatly told me NO. The Gallaher factory in Ireland is the only remaining big baccy manufaturing house left in the UK and I guess I should be thankful that JTI ain't closed it down and that they still make Condor --- but, the catalog of old Gallaher recipes and processing methods is a true treasure trove of untold delights and if JTI were motivated they could really make a big splash in our small pipe tobacco market,

dammit!

How I wish they would bring back some of the classics!

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,448
29,913
New York
I think it is an incredible tobacco and I would just love to know what went into it. If I was to hazard a guess I would think licorice and some form of molasses or treacle and whatever they add to Condor. I would assume it was pressed with a very powerful steam press and the tobacco was exposed to extreme changes in temperature. Outside of that I am at a loss although I might have a friend of mine who works at laboratory take look for me and see if he can figure out whats in the stuff. In this day and age the smallest sample should suffice to tell me whats in the stuff. Watch this space for more developments.

 

hawke

Lifer
Feb 1, 2014
1,346
4
Augusta, Ga
Condor.... Your item was delivered at 10:41 am on August 6, 2014
FYI: Condor likes Levi Garrett chewing tobacco and cant get it easily where he lives.

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,569
19,806
SE PA USA
Living History all around.

MLC, do you have any links in the Legacy Tobacco library to War Horse? My cursory search yeilds nada.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
37
MMh_VN_G_MMh_VN_G_war_horse.tiff.jpg

Nada for me too, not much useful Gallaher stuff there even though they have their own little category.
I would reckon that Gallaher has a company historian, but navigating the labyrinth may be impossible?

http://www.jti.com/our-company/where-we-operate/europe/united-kingdom/english/overview/
I think it is an incredible tobacco and I would just love to know what went into it. If I was to hazard a guess I would think licorice and some form of molasses or treacle and whatever they add to Condor. I would assume it was pressed with a very powerful steam press and the tobacco was exposed to extreme changes in temperature. Outside of that I am at a loss although I might have a friend of mine who works at laboratory take look for me and see if he can figure out whats in the stuff. In this day and age the smallest sample should suffice to tell me whats in the stuff. Watch this space for more developments.
Holy shit!

That's awesome as all get out and I will keep my peepers peeled for spectrum analysis 'n such stuff,

sounds way cool!
War Horse was definitely a workingman's treat, strong and affordable...

Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 1968
It was also commonly used for chewing...

1985 N. Ireland Official Report of Debates
...speaking of chewing, I recently scored a 1/72nd of a lb. 2d foil packet of Franklyn's Plover Pigtail that is in excellent condition, I'm excited to try it. I know nothing of Franklyn's nor Plover Pigtail, but a cursory search most noted its popularity with miners up North, and that it was usually chewed.
Souvenir sighting,

a War Horse fridge magnet!

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/F1089-GALLAHERS-WAR-HORSE-TABACCO-METAL-FRIDGE-MAGNET-/260568771478

8)
I love those green uniforms the Gallaher Girls would wear, how could you not fall in love with a sweet bird who came home smelling of such luverly baccy!

MMh_VN_G_aprons.jpg


 
May 31, 2012
4,295
37
Gallaher's Irish Cake sighting!
http://hobopipes.blogspot.com/2013/03/tonights-main-smoke_19.html
2013-03-15+22.47.36.jpg


2013-02-28+22.04.52.jpg

http://hobopipes.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-last-ever-irish-cake.html

 

darwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 9, 2014
820
6
Now this is really annoying. In the Hobo Pipes blog comments someone mentioned that Mars Cigars has, not the Gallagher, but rather H&G Dark Plug. Popped over to Mars and tried to order a 500g box but the bloody place doesn't accept MasterCard. Double phooey.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
37
Mars is great.
Do a search for mastercard tobacco and this is perhaps why they don't accept MC?
Policies and campaigns designed to destroy tobacco sales are nothing new to merchants who deal in cigarettes, cigars and loose tobacco. Stringent government regulations, soaring taxes and nonstop, federally funded advertising campaigns have been part of the business for years.
But now, with internet sales of tobacco increasing, merchants who make their money from non-face-to-face tobacco transactions are facing another challenge.
MasterCard has announced new tobacco registration requirements, and they are sure to create new headaches for merchants.
Here are 6 tobacco registration requirements you should know and what they mean to distributors who sell tobacco over the internet, via mail order or on the phone:
1) In the United States, merchants who sell tobacco products over the internet and display a Digital Wallet Operator (DWO) mark must register every domain URL with MasterCard. Even if each URL directs buyers to one primary website, each URL must be registered.
2) Distributors of tobacco now have to identify all non-face-to-face tobacco product transactions using the merchant category code 5993 (which is commonly used for Cigar Stores and Stands) and TCC T.
3) For clarity, merchants can find out if they are required to identify their transactions using the merchant category code for cigar stores and stands (MCC 5993) can refer to MasterCard Rule 3.3.
4) When a distributor registers a merchant, the operator (or acquirer) of the merchant must be sure that the merchant’s business activities comply fully with all laws. This includes each and every law that is applicable to MasterCard, the merchant, the Issuer of the card, as well as any and all prospective customer of the merchant.
5) There are many ways to verify that the business transactions are legal, including obtaining a written opinion from an independent and highly qualified lawyer or law firm or securing accreditation by a third party organization that specializes in legal matters related to the sale of tobacco products.
6) When a merchant is registered in accordance with MasterCard’s tobacco registration requirements, the acquirer takes on all liability for ensuring that the merchant (or URL that has been registered) is doing business in agreement with all applicable laws.
Once a distributor registers the URLs with MasterCard and provides verification that the merchants are legally doing business, the distributor has to keep verification on hand indefinitely and repeat the process once a year. Then, if MasterCard requests a copy of the verification, it must be provided “promptly.”
Make a mistake and it could cost a business more than their ability to accept MasterCard—it could result in fines ranging from $25,000 to more than $100,000.

 

darwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 9, 2014
820
6
This is a major bummer not just because it sucks for me but because it can't be that long before all the credit card companies adopt this crude blackmail. Are these MC regs already in place? First time I've had this hangup when ordering tobacco with a MasterCard.

 
May 31, 2012
4,295
37
I guess it depends on the individual retailer,

but it has all been brewing for a while now,

from several years back:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/has-mastercard-joined-the-smoke-nazis
and last year, here:

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/disappointed

 

darwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 9, 2014
820
6
Well if I decide I can't do without I'll just go snag a Visa prepaid card. That should work until Visa joins the jihad.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,066
447
Well if I decide I can't do without I'll just go snag a Visa prepaid card
Those kind of suck as there's a 7$ charge per month just for having it, and I around a 4$ charge everytime you use it.

 

drzgonzo

Lurker
Oct 19, 2014
1
0
Hi everyone,
I recently bought a quantity of treen items from a flea market, and in the collection of items was a small wooden jar, with a block of this War Horse tobacco in it. It looks to be in very good condition, and there is just over 18 grams there. It has the WAR HORSE logo embossed into the bar. I was going to put it on ebay, but you guys seem to be looking for it.
Any offers?
Thanks
Phil :)

 
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