Does ANYBODY actually like Borkum Riff?

[cajunguy]

I tried it recently. I was at a party and someone offered me a pinch...
Anyone remember the movie "Bachelor Party," when the Weird Al looking guy realizes the hooker is a man and ends up trying to scrub his skin off in the shower?
I did that to the pipe afterward.

 

[shawn622]

I was sent a pouch of it so i gave it a go saturday. Not the greatest, but not nearly as bad as i expected.

 

[clyde]

My problem with BR is everything but the pouch note. It's odd because it is dry as dust, yet difficult to keep lit. I suspect thats because of the cut it is hard to pack the layers evenly. Despite the pouch aroma it isn't very hearty on flavor yet seems to irritate the mouth. Once you have found your preference in tobacco and try it again that's when you wonder why people still buy it and like it. On the other hand I'm glad the BR fans still have it available. Many of my favorites have gone by the wayside over the years but BR still has its niche. Go figure. 8O

 

[jallen49]

My theory is why buy BR when there are other fine OTC's such as CH or PA? In addition, most decent tobacco shops carry at least a few decent non-OTC's. For example, in about every tobacconist around my city, there is nearly always a tin of Orlik Golden Sliced or a tin of Erinmore Flake. Both of those tins are just a few bucks more than BR, so why not just go ahead and get those??
My own personal smoking philosophy is quality over quantity. I'd opt for one bowl of Erinmore over 5 bowls of BR any day.
However, to each his own indeed.

 

[seanavan]

My Dad smoked a pipe very briefly while I was young and apparently Borkum Riff Whiskey was one of the tobaccos he bought. Several years later when I was about 12 or 13, I found a couple of his pipes and an old half-smoked tin of the BR Whiskey in a box in our basement. One day when I was the only one home, I went down in the basement, packed the bowl, and fired it up. While it smelled decently in the tin ~8 years later, it did not taste very good. My tongue was not happy afterward and I had a headache. For better or for worse that was my one and only experience with it. When I picked the pipe up again in college, Captain Black was where I started. I admittedly considered BR due to my Dad having smoked it and it having been the first blend I ever tried. But that memory of it tasting horribly still lives in my head. Very likely some of the unpleasantness was due to the age and condition of the tobacco. Even so, I've never felt the need to suffer through any more of it when there are blends out there that taste so good.

 

[bgbarcus]

The sales rep was at the St. Louis pipe show back in February giving away pouches of Borkum Riff. I already knew I did not like the whiskey blend but when there's free tobacco I'll give anything a shot. I took a pouch of "Original Mixture" and it turned out to be a nice smoke. The trick seems to be to pack it very lightly and smoke slow. It has a 'barely there' mild flavor but I am happy to have it around for when I want a light smoke.

 

[colcolt]

I never realized so many were adamant about BR. Back when I started the pipe in the 70's I thought that was the best thing since peanut butter. After all, it was advertised in Playboy so, it couldn't be that bad, right? :D I still smoke it periodically and it makes me want to put on a smoking jacket with matching ascot and slippers.

 

[sparroa]

I've always passed it up in favour of Sail or Captain Black.
Since I started with better tobaccos, I'll probably never pick it up.

 

[roudoudou]

cyndi mentions in a post (about Mixture 79 if I can remember) that she uses it to stuff chairs she doesn't want the cat to pee on.

Since some neighborhood cats shit in my yard, I'm thinking of getting some as a repellent!
But my B&M is Blatter, so I would feel like a complete idiot if I asked Robert Blatter: Do you have BR? :crazy: