Borkum Riff’s Bourbon Whiskey

[eazye77]

I got a pouch of this for my birthday on Sunday, Feb. 3rd from my roommate. I was very leery about trying this blend and I see why! This stuff was not to my taste at all! It tasted as though I lit a cigarette. Dried my mouth out and it took awhile for the taste to go away. Nothing enjoyable about this at all.
What are your thoughts about this blend? Is it better to let this stuff age or what?
Thanks!

 

[05venturer]

A friend of mine smokes it exclusively, I always like the room note, I tried it a couple times found it not horrible but not my favorite either
and happy belated bday :puffpipe:

 

[papipeguy]

BR is one of those love it or hate it blends. Most hate it. I remember smoking it back in the 1970's. Nice package smell and that's where it ended. Age will not improve it. The other stinker to avoid is Middleton's Blend 79. Everything else is fair game. Good luck.

 

[Perique]

I must say, at the risk of offending anyone, and only since you asked, that this gets my vote for most vile mass produced tobacco blend of all time. It's amazing to me that this stuff is even still on the market. So I guess some people love it?

 

[brdavidson]

This was the first tobacco I smoked (only a month ago) and it made my stomach churn and I had the worst taste in my mouth for 2 days after. I threw out the 10gm sample I had after that one bowl.

 

[eazye77]

So I'm not crazy! :crazy:
Okay. I just couldn't figure out if it was the tobacco or if I was just being to picky. Thanks so far. I agree, why is this still on the market.
And thank you 05 for the b-day greeting! :mrgreen:

 

[05venturer]

if anyone wants to get rid of Borkum Riff I would gladly take it off their hands. :wink:
shoot me a pm

 

[puffy]

Really Bad..It smoked Hot for me.

 

[jbbaldwin]

My father smoked this when I was a youngster, so I tried it when I started smoking a pipe. As a result, I almost immediately stopped smoking a pipe. It was not for me!

 

[instymp]

I smoked BR in the 60's & liked it then, but not anymore. Just my taste.

 

[jwp159]

I enjoy BR on a regular basis, I find the whiskey to be a good smoke it's 65% Va and 35% black cavendish. But I guess I,m kind of like Mark Twain, blends that others rave about most I don't like, blends that others hate I find most enjoyable. So smoke what you like and like what you smoke. It's still on the market because it has a large following, my tobac store has a hard time keeping it.

 

[fnord]

Eazy:
I smoked a ton of BR when I first started on the pipe a long time ago and enjoyed it very much. But, tastes change and evolve.
On the road a couple of months ago and out of tobacco I found myself in a small town in the middle of the nowhere Kansas. I walked into a small grocery store that was well stocked with OTC (Over The Counter) blends. I grabbed a pouch of Carter Hall and, after a few bowls, was annoyed that I'd looked down my nose on these drugstore tobaccos for so many years. It's a long way from the English blends I usually smoke, but the taste was good: simple, straight forward and true. It burned well and left me feeling satisfied.
I can't say that Carter Hall has made it into my regular rotation, but I've enjoyed a few pouches since then and I can truly understand it's popularity. Any honest, unpretentious tobacco is worth trying, pal.
Fnord

 

[mlyvers]

i enjoy br whiskey, i

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s ok if you do not care borkum riff. your not crazy. i admit that i think br whiskey has changed over the years. there is a new borkum riff tobac out in a tin version. i think it is 100g tin, it is and aromatic, i read a reveiw stating you can taste tobacco in the blend. i want to try it. i normally don`t smoke to many aros these days.
mike.

 

[cigrmaster]

BR is loaded with PG and flavorings so much so that is comprises 35 percent of the weight of the pouch. It is not even allowed to be sold in the UK for that reason. There are so many better blends out there. I would suggest grabbing a tin of Escudo for a Virginia Perique classic and a tin of Dunhill Flake for a nice sweet Virginia. Both are readily available.

 

[undermidnight]

Yeah, not a big fan. I got a pouch of it from Lane during their free tobacco special. A couple bowls and that was it for me. Captain Black is better for an OTC brand (IMO) even though it is not similar.
My wife's uncle loves the stuff so I will be giving it to him.
Jason

 

[captainsousie]

To me, BR Whiskey is the stuff of nightmare. If you love it, great. It's just not for this puffer.

 

[pstlpkr]

I feel your pain Easye.

My Dad smoked it exclusively for years... I think it has a room note that was tolerable to my Mother.

I have purchased a "can" or two over the last 20 years... just to remind myself how rough it really is.

::

 

[mso489]

I received two pouches of BR bourbon for Christmas and it's been a very mild but pleasant smoke. My gifts came from Holland direct (were purchased there) so they may not be sourced the same as what is available in the U.S.; I don't know. Other over-the-counter tobaccos that are satisfying to me in rotation are Granger and Prince Albert. I bought some Sir Walter Raleigh in Missouri to go with a Missouri Meerschaum and it was almost tasteless -- maybe a really old pouch. Now back to my Dunhill 965.

 

[guerillapiper]

I purchased a pouch about two weeks ago out of curiosity. The first couple of puffs were okay, but then it tasted like ash to me. So many better options out there. Plus, I feel that the tobacconist, while offering those better options, also deserves my money more than Rite Aid or CVS.

 

[mso489]

Good point, guerillapiper. I'd rather spend the three dollars extra in price for a tin of my favorite upscale

tobacco at my local independent pipe shop than buy it online and buy at a lower price but spend six or

eight bucks for shipping. I give the online pipe sites plenty of business, and my local pipe chain, but

I feel most protective of my local independent shop. The proprietor is the best source for information and

firsthand pipe shopping. And I can smoke a pinch of the bulk tobacco before I buy anything. You can't do

that online, and the chain franchise isn't up for it either. Long live the independents. About Borkum Riff,

as I said earlier, tasty to me as a change of pace but not a principal blend to keep on hand. Maybe the

Dutch stuff is a little better, or fresher (mine was from Holland, a gift).