In Praise of the Classic SWRA

[OverMountain]

Had a few hours travel today after a funeral and after the service I went to my car trunk and open up my can of SWRA. Taking the lid off of this year old, and half consumed can I could smell the surprisingly delicious notes of this well known codger blend.

Sipping it brings the best flavor. And today did not disappoint. SWRA was my grandfathers blend, and I remember seeing his pouch in a mason jar with his Grabow blue collar pipes when I was a child.

There’s a reason this blend has so far stood the test of time. Here’s to many more good bowls of SWRA.

 

[Servant King]

Well composed. Funny you mentioned sipping...this was the blend I used to "train" myself to sip, and every now and again when I "forget my training" (more often than I'd like to admit), I will often come back to ol' Walt to reinforce the basics again. One of these days, it'll take, and for good this time!



Errr...not that Walt. Although similarly effective...

 

[OverMountain]

Well composed. Funny you mentioned sipping...this was the blend I used to "train" myself to sip, and every now and again when I "forget my training" (more often than I'd like to admit), I will often come back to ol' Walt to reinforce the basics again. One of these days, it'll take, and for good this time!

View attachment 330224

Errr...not that Walt. Although similarly effective...

SWRA is a time honored classic although I heard some rumblings online that the taste has changed due to manufacturer processes. Anyone got any intel on potential SWR/SWRA recent changes? My tub is a few years old.

 

[Hutch Piper]

I have not had the good fortune to try vintage SWRA but the new SWR seems to have much more of a vinegar taste as compared to the old.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I have not had the good fortune to try vintage SWRA but the new SWR seems to have much more of a vinegar taste as compared to the old.

so has it become closer match to St Brunos?

 

[OverMountain]

I have not had the good fortune to try vintage SWRA but the new SWR seems to have much more of a vinegar taste as compared to the old.

@JimInks is the institutional knowledge on SWR change over time. Hoping this venerable blend is not being monkeyed with by the manufacturer!

 

[kcghost]

You're kidding right?? Every manufacturer in the world seems to think when they buy a brand they have to "improve it".

 

[JimInks]

@JimInks is the institutional knowledge on SWR change over time. Hoping this venerable blend is not being monkeyed with by the manufacturer!

I've tried SWR every decade from WW2 until production moved to another country. I have not tried the current version.

I have smoked SWRA off and on since the mid-1980s, and still have some older tubs. They did change it at some point after 2005, but I couldn't put a date on the change. The version I have cellared isn't as cocoa heavy as the 2020 and 2021 productions were, and the tobacco flavor was tad more obvious back then. The older version occasionally made me cough, and the smoother 2020 and 2021 manufactures didn't. I don't know what it is like currently since its production is done elsewhere.

 

[LeafErikson]

As a regular smoker of SWR, I would say that the regular version has changed more than the aromatic version has in the past few years. The regular is slightly more cased with whatever that vinegar flavor is sitting underneath the anise. To my palate, the aromatic has remained almost 100% unchanged.

 

[Sig]

Of all the strange things, SWR and the aromatic version are two of the few blends I've never tried. Every time I go to the smoke shop, there they are. But I have yet to grab a pouch. Ive grabbed all around it....H&H, Carter Hall, Five Brothers, PA......but never SWR.
Maybe next time I will grab a couple. It's the only brand besides FB that still comes in a pouch here. All the others are in $25 tubs. It would take me a lifetime to smoke a tub of Carter Hall or H&H.

 

[OverMountain]

Of all the strange things, SWR and the aromatic version are two of the few blends I've never tried. Every time I go to the smoke shop, there they are. But I have yet to grab a pouch. Ive grabbed all around it....H&H, Carter Hall, Five Brothers, PA......but never SWR.
Maybe next time I will grab a couple. It's the only brand besides FB that still comes in a pouch here. All the others are in $25 tubs. It would take me a lifetime to smoke a tub of Carter Hall or H&H.

Make sure the pouches are fresh. All the pouches I bought in Alabama in years past was just pure dried out leaf. The tub makes a big difference.

 

[LeafErikson]

Make sure the pouches are fresh. All the pouches I bought in Alabama in years past was just pure dried out leaf. The tub makes a big difference.

Yes I would advise against the pouches of SWR... the tins are much more fresh. The pouches of Carter Hall have that aluminum kinda seal which keeps it fresher in my opinion. SWR pouches are just plastic with a little sticker.

 

[OverMountain]

Yes I would advise against the pouches of SWR... the tins are much more fresh. The pouches of Carter Hall have that aluminum kinda seal which keeps it fresher in my opinion. SWR pouches are just plastic with a little sticker.

They make a great wet weather “wallet” or pouch, but that’s about it! Get the tub and be satisfied.

 

[Lumbridge]

How much does this vinegar flavor translate over to the taste in the new production SWR?
That would kill it for me, as vinegar is not the type of flavor I'm looking for in these codger burleys. I might have to pick up a pouch just to see for myself.

 

[Lumbridge]

The pouches of Carter Hall have that aluminum kinda seal which keeps it fresher in my opinion. SWR pouches are just plastic with a little sticker.

Yeah, I miss the Middleton pouches, which actually kept the tobacco reliably fresh unlike the standard plastic folding type.

 

[OverMountain]

How much does this vinegar flavor translate over to the taste in the new production SWR?
That would kill it for me, as vinegar is not the type of flavor I'm looking for in these codger burleys. I might have to pick up a pouch just to see for myself.

Also curious about changes to original SWR.

 

[mortonbriar]

I have enjoyed SWRA enough in the past, but I found it had a very similar taste to Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake...and I prefer the flake, partly because it looks so pretty in those squares of folded swirls of colour.

 

[FurCoat]

Also curious about changes to original SWR.

I'll never know. I have enough 14oz Georgian tubs to last me a lifetime.

 

[OverMountain]

I have enjoyed SWRA enough in the past, but I found it had a very similar taste to Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake...and I prefer the flake, partly because it looks so pretty in those squares of folded swirls of colour.

Man, what a treat it would be to have a SWR(A) flake!

I’m surprised it’s not offered, doesn’t it simplify the process? Does a flake vs cut change taste?