So yesterday I wandered into the local grocery store and after going through the checkout I walked past the locked cigarette case on the way out. Normally I no longer pay any attention to it as I walk by as I kicked my 18 year cigarette habit about 4 years ago (along with the occasional flirtation with chewing tobacco...sacrileges I know).
However, on this particular visit I happened to look down as I walked past and saw something that I had honestly never noticed before. Two full shelves of OTC pipe tobaccos! They had it all too, cans and pouches of all the "greats." Everything from Captain Black (and their assorted varieties) to Prince Albert to Half and Half and Sir Walter Raleigh. The entire line of Borkum Riff, Carter Hall, Paladin, Middleton Cherry, and last but not least...Velvet.
Now, I'm a pretty big fan of Captain Black and Prince Albert and have plenty of both on hand. These are my "stuck in traffic / doing yardwork" tobaccos. Tobaccos I smoke when I want to smoke, but preoccupied with other things and not able to give my full attention that more expensive tobaccos deserve. Seeing those two was not a big deal. The others on the other hand were drug store tobaccos that I have only read about. The drug stores around here only seem to carry CB and PA (ironic huh?) And the few B&M I have visited carry none of them.
Suddenly I was hit with this overwhelming desire. I had to try one out. For reasons I cant explain, I have always wanted to try Velvet. Maybe it was their claim of being "America's smoothest smoke." Or perhaps it was that godawful off purple colored box complete with ad design that hasn't changed in 30+ years (Hey Velvet! 1974 called, they want their package design back!) Or it could very well have been the $4.24 price label. Either way, I had to have some.
At home I pulled the box out of the grocery bag and stared at it trying not to giggle. Seriously, this box looked like it walked off of a 1970s porn set (or maybe its just me...moving on). I carefully opened the "hermetically" sealed pouch (read: glued), stuck my nose in and took a big sniff.
Wow! I thought, this smells kinda good! Funny thing is, the first image that popped into my head upon smelling Velvet was that of Redman chewing tobacco. Velvet smells almost exactly like that. It's also a great example of how our tastes and sense of smell can be influenced by our environments and past experiences. Not just what we literally smell. In the case of the latter, I would literally describe the smell of Velvet as being that of licorice and amaretto. If you take several huge whiffs of the pouch, the nuttiness of the burley punches through.
I packed a bowl and proceeded to light up. I packed it a tad tight but it didnt seem to hurt anything and after the initial charring light, I settled down to see what would unfold.
My first impression was that it tasted like any run of the mill aromatic. I'm not the greatest at describing what I taste while smoking. Suffice to say it reminded me of equal parts CB White and PA. As for their claim of being America's smoothest smoke, I'll have to get back to you on that one. Because I inadvertently packed it a little tight, I ended puffing on it a tad too much. As a consequence, it burned rather hot and their was some mild tongue bite as a result. Their was some gurgle towards the end, but it smoked down to the botttom of the bowl with no real problems.
Here's the scary part. While my first impression wasn't great, it wasn't bad either. A perfectly acceptable substitute for CB I thought. But, as I got towards the end of the bowl, it just started tasting better and better. It almost seemed as though the hotter it got, the better it tasted. Yes, there was some bite to it, but nothing that I would call a deal breaker. Those licorice and amaretto flavors really started coming through at the end. When I finished, I couldn't wait to pack another bowl and try it again. After waiting a few minutes for my pipe to cool, I did just that. Lit up and it was much the same, rather boring to start, but ended with a wonderfully rich taste.
I want so much to dislike this tobacco, but I can't. I didn't even smoke it that well the first time (packed too tight, puffed like a freight train) and I loved the result. I'm going to play around with this Velvet for a little longer but suffice to say, I think I may have found another drug store favorite!
(Not the most glamorous review I know. But I was bored and figured I'd share my experience rather than a proper review with you guys and gals. Besides, I'm willing to bet most of you have already smoked Velvet at some point in your life and could really do without me waxing poetic about the wonders of Velvet.) :D
However, on this particular visit I happened to look down as I walked past and saw something that I had honestly never noticed before. Two full shelves of OTC pipe tobaccos! They had it all too, cans and pouches of all the "greats." Everything from Captain Black (and their assorted varieties) to Prince Albert to Half and Half and Sir Walter Raleigh. The entire line of Borkum Riff, Carter Hall, Paladin, Middleton Cherry, and last but not least...Velvet.
Now, I'm a pretty big fan of Captain Black and Prince Albert and have plenty of both on hand. These are my "stuck in traffic / doing yardwork" tobaccos. Tobaccos I smoke when I want to smoke, but preoccupied with other things and not able to give my full attention that more expensive tobaccos deserve. Seeing those two was not a big deal. The others on the other hand were drug store tobaccos that I have only read about. The drug stores around here only seem to carry CB and PA (ironic huh?) And the few B&M I have visited carry none of them.
Suddenly I was hit with this overwhelming desire. I had to try one out. For reasons I cant explain, I have always wanted to try Velvet. Maybe it was their claim of being "America's smoothest smoke." Or perhaps it was that godawful off purple colored box complete with ad design that hasn't changed in 30+ years (Hey Velvet! 1974 called, they want their package design back!) Or it could very well have been the $4.24 price label. Either way, I had to have some.
At home I pulled the box out of the grocery bag and stared at it trying not to giggle. Seriously, this box looked like it walked off of a 1970s porn set (or maybe its just me...moving on). I carefully opened the "hermetically" sealed pouch (read: glued), stuck my nose in and took a big sniff.
Wow! I thought, this smells kinda good! Funny thing is, the first image that popped into my head upon smelling Velvet was that of Redman chewing tobacco. Velvet smells almost exactly like that. It's also a great example of how our tastes and sense of smell can be influenced by our environments and past experiences. Not just what we literally smell. In the case of the latter, I would literally describe the smell of Velvet as being that of licorice and amaretto. If you take several huge whiffs of the pouch, the nuttiness of the burley punches through.
I packed a bowl and proceeded to light up. I packed it a tad tight but it didnt seem to hurt anything and after the initial charring light, I settled down to see what would unfold.
My first impression was that it tasted like any run of the mill aromatic. I'm not the greatest at describing what I taste while smoking. Suffice to say it reminded me of equal parts CB White and PA. As for their claim of being America's smoothest smoke, I'll have to get back to you on that one. Because I inadvertently packed it a little tight, I ended puffing on it a tad too much. As a consequence, it burned rather hot and their was some mild tongue bite as a result. Their was some gurgle towards the end, but it smoked down to the botttom of the bowl with no real problems.
Here's the scary part. While my first impression wasn't great, it wasn't bad either. A perfectly acceptable substitute for CB I thought. But, as I got towards the end of the bowl, it just started tasting better and better. It almost seemed as though the hotter it got, the better it tasted. Yes, there was some bite to it, but nothing that I would call a deal breaker. Those licorice and amaretto flavors really started coming through at the end. When I finished, I couldn't wait to pack another bowl and try it again. After waiting a few minutes for my pipe to cool, I did just that. Lit up and it was much the same, rather boring to start, but ended with a wonderfully rich taste.
I want so much to dislike this tobacco, but I can't. I didn't even smoke it that well the first time (packed too tight, puffed like a freight train) and I loved the result. I'm going to play around with this Velvet for a little longer but suffice to say, I think I may have found another drug store favorite!
(Not the most glamorous review I know. But I was bored and figured I'd share my experience rather than a proper review with you guys and gals. Besides, I'm willing to bet most of you have already smoked Velvet at some point in your life and could really do without me waxing poetic about the wonders of Velvet.) :D
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