Posting Tobacco Reviews

[seanv]

I figure most of the users of this forum have an account and do post reviews on tobacco review sites. I read reviews often enough and I have a few questions

How much of a specific blend do you smoke before posting a review online?
Why do you post reviews of pipe tobaccos online?

I’ll answer first. I feel like you need to smoke at least close to a full tin to understand a blend. This is of course subjective and will vary person to person.

I post a few reviews here and there mostly for fun. I don’t take it too seriously.

 

[virginialover]

For the 1 and 2 stars reviews, I smoke no more than three bowls, I usually know right away but I like to give 1 or 2 more chances. For 3 to 4 stars, I write a review after 5 pipefuls and I come back to it if things need to be changed as I smoke more.

 

[shanez]

I don't post there but I like to post thoughts on a blend here after the very first bowl. I creates a type of reference for me to go back and look at after later bowls. Plus it allows others to provide input as well which is also nice to review after more familiarity.

Kinda like that high school English teacher who always assigned the "compare and contrast" homework. It makes things interesting.

I leave the more in-depth reviews to others over there.

 

[didimauw]

I don't post reviews ( unless specifically asked my opinion) and I don't read reviews.

I never taste grassy, cirtus or hay flavors. And barely ever taste any nuttiness of burley. I have no sense of smell, so my taste buds are lame. Hence reviews mean nothing to me.

 

[3rdguy]

I smoke the entire tin before I post. Many times it would be a negative review until I am halfway through a tin then it turns to a liking.

 

[Jaylotw]

I’ve only posted a few reviews, but most are for blends that I’ve smoked more than a 2oz tin of, and smoked over the course of a few years. A few blends I’ve formed cohesive opinions of quicker, after 5 or 10 bowls. Some tobaccos, I’m still trying to understand.

 

[Paul 3.0]

I usually only post things I like, if not I'll pass it along or trash it, or if I feel it has potential I'll jar it up and set it aside for a few years. The ones I do like I know pretty much immediately but will smoke most of the tin before reviewing and leave my opinion on it after. That way I feel like I know enough about it to leave a review.
One stand out was Sam Gawith's x blend which at the time was a tin I sat aside for 12 years and it was just bloody awful, but also limited to 500 tins. I still have the rest in a jar and sealed up......brutal.

 

[BarrelProof]

I’m about to start. It’s gonna be geared towards the rank amateur. Meaningful shit we can actually use.

Spoiler alert - here comes my review of Boswell’s Paradise.



Smells like cookies. Tastes sweet and kinda fruity.

TLDR: Smells like cookies. Tastes sweet and kinda fruity.



You’re welcome, fellow noobs

 

[logs]

There are so many reviewers that describe a blend better than I can that I don't bother any longer. DK's reviews usually nail it on the head, so far as I'm concerned, and his reviews have become my standard.

 

[pappymac]

I used to post reviews on the tobacco reviews website but then I realized that tobacco reviews in my opinion are like movie reviews - I disagreed with more than I agreed with.

I only go to that website now to read everything before the actual reviews.

(The exception is when JimInks does a review. I find his to be factual and trustworthy.)

 

[mso489]

I've only posted reviews on Forums, and I try to keep them short. I rely on jiminks for an objective, deeply experienced, analytical opinion, and I don't mean to flatter. He does his homework. I post short reviews when I'm moved to it, feel like I have something to say, even if I am new to a blend, sometimes after only two or three bowls, mostly more. I think I usually make it clear when a blend is new to me.

 

[ray47]

I don't post reviews because like didimauw my senses are dull and I don't have the words to express my thoughts.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I’m about to start. It’s gonna be geared towards the rank amateur. Meaningful shit we can actually use.

Spoiler alert - here comes my review of Boswell’s Paradise.



Smells like cookies. Tastes sweet and kinda fruity.

TLDR: Smells like cookies. Tastes sweet and kinda fruity.



You’re welcome, fellow noobs

And that would sell me more tobacco than five paragraphs.?

Taste is too subjective for a review to be useful to me. I only visit TR for blend contents and who blended them.

 

[karam]

I usually write something after the first couple of bowls. I haven't seen my liking of a blend change much during smoking the whole tin. I know if it is something I will want to cellar or throw away pretty much instantly.

 

[jaytex1969]

I write a review when something really stands out to me.

It happened more often when I started because it was all new to me. Now, the bar inches higher.

My reviews are most often "First Impression" write ups after a bowl or two. I enjoy writing on occasion and don't care how useful it is, only that I like the final result, literally.

So far, I only post them here.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I post them after a bowl or two, mostly just to practice describing tobaccos, and as an outlet to release some of the pressure to always be writing something without having to commit to poetry or prose.

Probably why my rambling reviews contain such heavy doses of self indulgent descriptions of the experience that are not tobacco related, hahaha. Sorry.

I really don’t care if anyone reads them or not. It’s just to practice my own descriptions, stave off boredom, and purge my brain of the need to write a little something.

Why post them? Well, this is the only source of people who can relate in any way to the subject matter, and I like hearing different people’s thoughts on the same blend. I find a review a more creative and fun way to incite those opinions instead of just starting a thread that says “Hey what does everyone think of Joe Tobacco’s Super Deluxe Navy Cut Premium Extra Mild Double Stoved Barrel Aged Hot Pressed Slices?”