Approximately 1.5 years ago, Sutliff Private Stock (SPS, a division of Altadis) came out with their first production line of tinned tobaccos (a second one followed a year or so later).  Most of them were designed to be replacements for some long-lost classics which were no longer made at that time.  Great Outdoors was one of those tobaccos.  Something drew me to try that one first.  While I never had the opportunity to try the original Philip Morris version of Field & Stream (F&S), which debuted in September, 1963, I had tried the version produced by the House of Windsor company (HOW), which is no longer in business. Perhaps it was the image depicted on the tin and the lore of an old-timey-type blend (Former President Gerald Ford purportedly smoked this tobacco almost exclusively and in Kaywoodie pipes).  Like I’ve said in a former post, there’s something magical about nostalgia (at least for me);  sometimes our palate can be influenced by it..sometimes..not always, like from any form of advertising.  Here’s a case where my deep love for  ”all things old” will prove to be agreeable with my palate.  Before ever trying F&S I’d heard that it had licorice flavoring and a soapy quality to it.  Being that I didn’t/don’t even like Licorice per say, I wanted to try it, so I did.  Without rehashing the quality control issues of the now defunct HOW, let me just say that if I were to try and describe the flavor/aroma of the sample I tried, it was akin to a soiled cat litter box that had gone 2 weeks past its changing date.  Need I say  more?  I had an inner conflict-I wanted so much to like it for what it stood for, but it just didn’t cut it for me.  It wasn’t just the licorice essence, but an ammonia-menthol-like quality to it…horrid, simply horrid! Fast forward three years or so and along came another incarnation of Field & Stream: Great Outdoors (GO), from SPS.  You’d think from my former experience, I’d steer far away from this.  It wasn’t the case, I’m glad to say. I still have some old dried-up F&S from the HOW on a shelf where I display tobacco tins.  As far as the cut is concerned, the HOW F&S is kind of chunky, but not cube-cut per say..maybe granular cut; that seems appropriate.  GO is primarily a wide ribbon cut with some larger chunks.  While the HOW version appears to be all burley, I’m fairly certain GO has some virginia in it along with the burley and perhaps some cavendish (see pic below of “Great Outdoors”-it’s available in 1.5 oz. & 8 oz tins-also included are a few vintage ads. from the late 60’s and early ’70’s…geeze, times have changed-talk about political correctness…the feminists of that era must’ve “loved” these!-what was once considered mainstream methods of advertising, would be considered brazen male chauvinism now!).

The tobacco was a little on the moist side when I first cracked the tin nearly one year ago.  I still have some from the original 1.5 oz tin! (I don’t smoke that often, and I have other tobaccos in my rotation).  The tin aroma was quite subdued.  I knew it was an aromatic, albeit a light one.  I decided to load up a 60’s era Kaywoodie estate “apple”..perhaps Gerald Ford had the same one!  Wow!  As fire met weed I knew this was going to be something special.  There was an explosion of flavor/aroma.  There’s definitely licorice in there, but something else I can’t quite put my finger on, perhaps several other things.  The original purportedly had licorice, maple, clove and other natural flavorings.  While I can’t say if GO does, it’s very refreshing and unique.  Similar in some ways  to Mixture 79 sans the birch flavoring (which I’m convinced that tobacco has), it’s goes beyond that.  The only thing that comes to mind is “synergy.”  It seems to be greater than the sum of its parts and no one taste stands out alone (except for the Licorice…at least for me, anyway).  Perhaps of the same ilk as the Lakeland District-type flavorings, but not soapy, if that makes any sense.  To put it simply, there’s real tobacco flavor in there (primarily burley) that’s complimented, but not covered-up by the casings/toppings.  Definitely anachronistic in nature, even though I can’t specifically peg the ingredients, my heart and soul say this is a smell/taste from the past (even though I’m only 42, I’m an old soul).  The room note is splendid and it doesn’t hang in the air.  It’s simply refreshing; like a breath of fresh air, and one-of-a kind.  This is a good thing, as my “man cave” and laundry/storage room are one and the same; and my lovely wife hates the smell of pipe tobacco…any pipe tobacco..even aromatics!  Ain’t I lucky?  I recommend a slightly firm pack, but not tight with this blend.  One light and you’re off to the races!  Burns down nicely to a fine ash.  In closing, sometimes not knowing what makes up the blend is part of the magic…like a black box of pleasure..you can’t see what makes it tick, but you know you like what it produces.  And like I said previously, the nostalgia and my palate agree..wonderful stuff..the best of both worlds!  Take a walk back in time in the “Great Outdoors” on a crisp autumn day with this lovely blend!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do-all the best-Happy Puffing-Joe G.