Precisely. Just like Louisiana Flake and Stonehenge.
Tobacco Reviews Website Down
- Thread starter Old_Newby
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
I loved Stonehenge and still have some.
Always wanted to try LA Flake. Now I realize that I have, under a different name -- great!
I've also wanted to try St. James Flake -- is it also the same?
TR is/was sort of interesting since it reviewed certain blends that were available at the time but now are out of production. I remember someone reviewed the original Gallaghers War Horse Bar on TR since they must have got their hands on some early 1980s product when it was still being manufactured and distributed in a haphazard way. Other reviews on TR are as @Chasing Embers rightly says highly subjective and since blends change hands the composition of them changes. Think 'Three Nuns' which tastes completely different from the stuff sold in British Rail tobacco kiosks in the early 1980s on a wet Thursday morning! The Gawith line has changed since nothing remains the same for ever. As to TR since we are entering the brave new world I often wonder how long before some minion claims to it is a marketing tool and we have to worry about the Children reading it and starting smoking!
I treat TR the same way as I treat movie or restaurant reviews. Even if I have personal experience of the product being reviewed and consequently disagree with any particular reviewer about their opinion on the product, there still are the occasional nuggets of insight that are worth reading. Therefore I am loathe to totally dismiss reviews out of hand. I know I don't know everything. Yet.
I believe most tobacco reviews are pretty useless. The perfect example can be found by actually reading the reviews. The worse thing you can do in a review is to say all the things you taste. Again, just read the reviews.
I guarantee that if you add up all the "tastes" people mention for one blend, it would be in the many hundreds. Taste is subjective, and what YOU taste is not important in most cases. Observations like "sweet", "tart", "good tobacco", "musty", can be helpful because these tastes usually are tasted by all.
But when it gets to "grass, lemonade, cherry blossoms, oregano, dirt, mud.....", the listing of 36 "flavors" gets lost on most people. Which again, can be easily observed by reading the reviews.
Anything more than price, availability, moisture content, and overall impression is just fluff in my opinion. For example, Steve Fallon (Pipestud) does great reviews in my opinion. "Perfect moisture out of the tin, burns evenly, this is what good Old Belt Virginia is supposed to taste like....4 stars". Now THAT'S a tobacco review that let's you know what's up.
Because if you read a review and want to taste dirt, leather and a dirty jock strap, you may be disappointed when you don't taste what another dude does.
Just my opinion....and I know I'm not alone.
I guarantee that if you add up all the "tastes" people mention for one blend, it would be in the many hundreds. Taste is subjective, and what YOU taste is not important in most cases. Observations like "sweet", "tart", "good tobacco", "musty", can be helpful because these tastes usually are tasted by all.
But when it gets to "grass, lemonade, cherry blossoms, oregano, dirt, mud.....", the listing of 36 "flavors" gets lost on most people. Which again, can be easily observed by reading the reviews.
Anything more than price, availability, moisture content, and overall impression is just fluff in my opinion. For example, Steve Fallon (Pipestud) does great reviews in my opinion. "Perfect moisture out of the tin, burns evenly, this is what good Old Belt Virginia is supposed to taste like....4 stars". Now THAT'S a tobacco review that let's you know what's up.
Because if you read a review and want to taste dirt, leather and a dirty jock strap, you may be disappointed when you don't taste what another dude does.
Just my opinion....and I know I'm not alone.
Drumsandbeer, Steve Falon and StevieB are my go to reviewers. I have discovered many dozens of new blends thanks to them. I think TR is a fantastic source. I didn’t know “jock strap” was a flavor, much be a new limited released by STG
.
.
I mostly use TR to check availability for blends I am interested in when they're not on SP. And it's not like I have any problems ordering from a smaller outfit like LJP or WCC, just SP has a huge selection and makes it easier.
I also use it sometimes to confirm the contents of a blend, but I use multiple sources for that as sometimes they're not always accurate.
I think looking at reviews, as long as you take them as subjective, there's nothing wrong with that, seeing what the majority says can be helpful, like if you're specifically looking for a cherry blend for instance and you look one up and nearly everyone says it doesn't have any cherry taste, that can be helpful... but at the same time you should also just try it anyway. Lots of reviews dumped on Sutliff's Apple #208 but I loved that blend for example.
I also use it sometimes to confirm the contents of a blend, but I use multiple sources for that as sometimes they're not always accurate.
I think looking at reviews, as long as you take them as subjective, there's nothing wrong with that, seeing what the majority says can be helpful, like if you're specifically looking for a cherry blend for instance and you look one up and nearly everyone says it doesn't have any cherry taste, that can be helpful... but at the same time you should also just try it anyway. Lots of reviews dumped on Sutliff's Apple #208 but I loved that blend for example.
@sardonicus87 This is exactly how I use it as well.
I don't fanboy over a blend that someone gave 4 stars and I don't write them off because someone gave them 1.
I don't fanboy over a blend that someone gave 4 stars and I don't write them off because someone gave them 1.
When it got discontinued I found an unopened box of pouches at a cigarette store. The clerk asked how many pouches I wanted and I answered, "Yes".
Generalissimo Franco is still dead…
Ive seen some pretty crazy things people have tasted in their tobacco on TR.Drumsandbeer, Steve Falon and StevieB are my go to reviewers. I have discovered many dozens of new blends thanks to them. I think TR is a fantastic source. I didn’t know “jock strap” was a flavor, much be a new limited released by STG
I believe most tobacco reviews are pretty useless. The perfect example can be found by actually reading the reviews. The worse thing you can do in a review is to say all the things you taste. Again, just read the reviews.
I guarantee that if you add up all the "tastes" people mention for one blend, it would be in the many hundreds. Taste is subjective, and what YOU taste is not important in most cases. Observations like "sweet", "tart", "good tobacco", "musty", can be helpful because these tastes usually are tasted by all.
But when it gets to "grass, lemonade, cherry blossoms, oregano, dirt, mud.....", the listing of 36 "flavors" gets lost on most people. Which again, can be easily observed by reading the reviews.
Anything more than price, availability, moisture content, and overall impression is just fluff in my opinion. For example, Steve Fallon (Pipestud) does great reviews in my opinion. "Perfect moisture out of the tin, burns evenly, this is what good Old Belt Virginia is supposed to taste like....4 stars". Now THAT'S a tobacco review that let's you know what's up.
Because if you read a review and want to taste dirt, leather and a dirty jock strap, you may be disappointed when you don't taste what another dude does.
Just my opinion....and I know I'm not alone.
I tend to agree. The most effective modus operandi I have discovered is to find a reviewer who has tastes and likes similar to mine. That's a much more sure way of ending up with a new blend that I'll like and minimizing the risk of buying a dumpster fire. YMMV.
Over the years I have learned what I like, so tin descriptions tell me all I need to know. Tin descriptions have not let me down yet.
Tobacco reviews only apply to me to find out how the tobacco comes.....too dry, too wet, too many stems.....which really can be subjective too.
Haven't checked out drumsandbeer but I love the other two. We need @pipestud to update his reviews, though.Drumsandbeer, Steve Falon and StevieB are my go to reviewers. I have discovered many dozens of new blends thanks to them. I think TR is a fantastic source. I didn’t know “jock strap” was a flavor, much be a new limited released by STG