Rethinking Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey

[12pups]

Tastes change.
Tastes change for a pipe smoker, I think, as he/she matures in technique (or as taste buds die, too, I guess).
I started out hating Borkum Riff. Period. But especially Borkum Riff Whiskey. But when I guy looks in his truck stash and realizes he left things in the garage while he was cleaning out his vehicle, he tends to give whatever *is* there a second chance.
I'm sure it's because the way I smoke -- having been in this site now a while -- has improved. My technique is more mature, more educated. So many, many of the tobaccos I passed on earlier now appeal to me.
And that's what's happening lately to Borkum Riff.
Why did I hate it? Tongue bite. Taste too severe for me. Why did I change?
Well, when I took to "sipping" tobaccos instead of sucking them, I got to really enjoy their flavors. And Borkum Riff has a nice flavor to me. In fact, when I start, even though I have learned to go slow, I can't wait to get toward the bottom of the bowl. It finishes so nicely. Down there at the bottom, for me, is the best stuff. The taste doesn't turn ashy as it does with some others. It gets a tad salty (only way I can describe it), just enough to taste and try to isolate as a taste. And then I realize my mouth hasn't been "coated" as it is with some other blends. My mouth is still my mouth. But the front... oh... quarter?... of my tongue is enjoying this little lick of saltiness.
In my technique, I'm finding I'm having to light it several times. But each refresh gives me better flavor than what I was just smoking before.
I can't describe the flavor very well, only that it is distinct to me. It's like none of my other tobaccos. I find that, again "for me," Captain Black wears out toward the bottom. But Borkum Riff leaves me disappointed when it's gone. It was "just getttin' good!"
I'm going for another bowl now.
What's been your experience with it?

 

[mso489]

I find several so-called over-the-counter blends tasty from time to time. My sister sent me two pouches of Borkum Riff Whisky from

The Netherlands with the tax stamps in Dutch, and over time, I have enjoyed them. Not bad at all. How closely this resembles the

brand as it is sold in the U.S., I don't know. I also enjoy Granger, Half-and-Half, Prince Albert, Five Brothers, and other less exalted

brands from time to time. They aren't my 965, Nightcap, GLP, CD, or Nat Sherman (etc.), but they are enjoyable. You can can also

tweak them with Cavendish, burley, Virginia, etc., for a nice change. I think folks react against these old time blends when they

discover the more refined tinned and bulk tobacco available. Suddenly, the old brands make their gorge rise, taste like burning

newspaper, make the dog howl, etc. But there is a reason our grandfathers smoked these blends with considerable satisfaction. They

weren't fools.

 

[conlejm]

If you like it, that is all that should matter. It's great to be able to buy an OTC pipe tobacco that you enjoy at a local grocery/convenience store. I remember enjoying Borkum Riff Whiskey blend back when I was in college and as a young adult. I haven't smoked it in years, but I am only recently come back to pipe smoking after 25 years of cigar smoking. I am tempted to give it another try after reading E. Roberts review in the Pipes Magazine tobacco review column:
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-tobacco-reviews/smooth-sailing-with-borkum-riff/

 

[papipeguy]

I smoked BR Whiskey when it came out in the 1970's and the rest of the line up. They were all horrible and I have not tried them in over 35 years. They smelled great but smoked hot with little taste. I've read some good reviews so maybe something has changed?

I happy that you're enjoying them now. I've strayed very far from aros so I'm not inclined to try the fresh stuff but BR has a lot of fans which explains their longevity. Happy Pipng to you and Happy Smoke Rings.

 

[JimInks]

I think the quality of this blend is much improved from when I smoked it back in the 1970s. It was less whiskey tasting and burned hot back then. I think much of the change is that it's not made by the same company now. I smoked some of this a few months back and enjoyed it, though some times, I got a little chemical taste.

 

[mso489]

Once you discover the expansive choice of tobacco blends, you can find those that appeal to your taste

in a specific way. That makes you fussy. We're spoiled ... and that's a good thing. In a pinch, a bowl of

Borkum Riff will do pretty well.

 

[kibo]

I have wondered a great deal about that horrible reputation that Borkum Riff has, especially since I heard a well-travelled acquaintance mention that BR is apparently rather popular in a few European countries. I've entertained the thought of trying it, but wasn't sure about it being worthwhile. I know my father's father smoked a BR blend(not sure which) until the '90s...that alone made me hesitant.

 

[12pups]

Thank you, Conlejm, for posting that link to the reviews! I was pleased throughout reading it that what they so expertly described, I had so ignorantly experienced. Nice!
Noted, too, that all my bowls are burning to the very bottom. No dottle. If you can't refresh your light, tap out the ash: it's done.
What I have personally noticed, too, is that I want to keep the ash thin on top. I tilt it out several times during a bowl. Instantly recovers its even ember and full flavor again. I don't get an ashy taste to signal this, but weaker and weaker draws. Once I tilt it, I get full volume puffs again.
I've been smoking it in wide chamber bowls. With a nod to Russ and to the reviewers, I'm going to try again later with a smaller pipe. I have a hunch I'm going to like it even better in a narrower chamber.
Here is that link so no one has to scroll up to find it again:
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-tobacco-reviews/smooth-sailing-with-borkum-riff/

 

[andrew]

I think the sitting in a car in a pouch allowed the blend to mellow out alot, try a fresh pouch and see what you think.

 

[zekest]

I think the sitting in a car in a pouch allowed the blend to mellow out alot (sic)

If sitting in a car helps an OTC blend to mellow out a lot, then I am all for storing Borkum Riff, Capt Black, and heck, even some Middleton's Black Cherry age in the trunk of my '82 Monte Carlo if I had one.
I am currently aging many tins of Dunhill Elizabethan because the fresh tins I received from both P&C and SmokingPipes taste like crap fresh, but with six months in the closet taste fantastic. Maybe I will move them to the hatch of my crappy little commuter box to speed things up!

 

[cuchulain]

I always wonder if the widespread distaste for drugstore aromatics stems from the fact that they're often a beginner's first smoke and are smoked with the common rookie mistakes, too fast, too tight, too wet.

 

[12pups]

cuchulain -- I think you're dead on, there. I bet that's it exactly. A lot of what I "hated" I find now ain't that bad at all. I had thought maybe it was like onions. Hated them as a kid, but grew up to appreciate them raw, fried, deep fried, baked, grilled.... Suddenly they were wonderful - though still not for everybody.
But with pipe smoking, no, I think you've nailed it. It was what we first smoked "wrong." And we attributed harshness or tongue burn or overheating to the tobacco and not to our technique.
Andrew -- tried a fresh pack last night. (I think it was fresh. Seemed unopened. A friend here on the website had sent me several pouches, not liking it himself). Same dealio -- Good flavor, fine ash, a relight or two as I smoked it, tilted ash out from time to time, and... I was smoking it in a narrow-chambered little pipe (I didn't notice a difference from wide-chambered, but maybe I have to smoke them side-by-side to tell).
Not probably going to be my go-to tobacco (still liking my Comoy no. 1 a lot, and bouncing back and forth between that and Crown Achievement, and probably will for a while yet). But so many people have shared tobacco with me now, I just have to keep working on the puff pantry.
And finding out that Borkum Riff isn't on my no-no list anymore, that was a pleasant discovery.

 

[snagstangl]

I have found that BR Wiskey tastes like a watered down version of Old Dublin. Not as complex but I think it is pretty good.

 

[cuchulain]

I bought a pouch of BR Whiskey today, figured I would see what the fuss is about. I hadn't tried it in the past, as my brief foray into OTC Aro's consisted of some CBW when I was 19 and more recently some CBR, which I tossed after one bowl. Ghosted the hell out of the pipe too, had to do three salt and alcohol treatments before it went back to neutral.
Very moist in the pouch. I suppose I should have allowed it to dry, but I'm a philistine who prefers minimal preparation. Packed easily enough. Expanded hugely on the charring light, but I tamped it back down and the true light went well.
The initial puff only served to remind me how little I cared for Cavendish, but I kept on with it. First half of the bowl was decent, very little tongue bite, mild flavor, and a heavenly room note.
Halfway through the bowl it changed. As 12pups already noted, it gets much better. More flavorful smoke, and an excellent flavor at that.
Definitely will finish the pouch. I poured the rest into a swing-top jar to allow it to dry a bit more. Should be good.

 

[12pups]

I liked it fine ...
Until I tried Erin Go Bragh Irish Whiskey and learned what whiskey-flavored tobacco *could* be.
Isn't that the way? The next big thing is tops until ... the next big thing. But at least I learned it's not as bad as I misperceived it to be!
Also learned that... there's a *way* to smoke each tobacco. That's what I'm off to post now. Maybe we should match ourselves to the tobacco rather than other way round?

 

[yaddy306]

I bought a 200g tin back in 2008/2009. I guess that would be the Swedish Match version?

Never opened it until 4 months ago.

It was dried out completely, stuck together in one big chunk.

I broke it up and rehydrated a little bit to smoke it.
It was hot, harsh and not at all my cup of tea. I've only smoked 30 or so different blends in my short time smoking, but Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey has been the worst I've tried so far.