thoughts on SWR and Ryback

[exterminatewho]

Okay, so it seems my addiction for pipes and tobacco has reached a new high. I literally started maybe a month and a half ago, and I've already spent close to $450-$500 dollars on pipes and tobaccos. That's neither here or there.
What I really wanted to talk about was my recent purchase from Pipesandcigars. I bought a 14 oz can of Sir Walter Raleigh (wanted to try an OTC blend, and decided on this), 2 oz. of Daughters and Ryan Ryback Gold, and 4 oz. of Luxury Navy Flake (LOVE PS flakes right now).
I wanted to ask what peoples thoughts were on Sir Walter Raleigh (and otc blends in general) as well as the D&R Ryback Gold if people have tried it. Right now, my favorites are luxury bullseye and luxury twist flakes from PS. Been in love with it since the first light. But I wanted to expand my horizons and try some cheaper OTC blends to kind of round out my experiences with different tobaccos.
So again, what do people think about SWR and D&R Ryback?

 

[newbroom]

SWR was my learning tobacco and I'm smoking a bowl right now. It packs easily, burns well, and tastes great.

Ryback Gold is a little trickier, due to its cut. I think it may have more nicotine too, which may or may not be an adverse factor to you.

 

[exterminatewho]

I know it seems I may have been a little too eager buying a 14 oz can, but the price was on point, so why not? Also, newbroom, is Ryback more of a cigarette type tobacco just labeled as pipe tobacco? I've read on the forums that D&R is mostly RYO just relabeled as pipe tobacco. If that's the case, how different will it smoke to something like Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe?

 

[sablebrush52]

I like OTCs. SWR is a good OTC, but SWRA is fantastic! H&H Chatham Manor, which is Russ's version of Carter Hall, is another great smoke, one that I've been turning to more and more often. It's nice to be able to pack a pipe without any fuss, and enjoy a flavorful smoke.

 

[JimInks]

I like them both. My favorite OTC is SWR Aromatic, closely followed by Amphora Brown. But I have a few tubs of SWR here as well of Chatham Manor, which I highly recommend.
As for D&R blends, several serve double duty as pipe tobacco and RYO (Three Sails and Two Timer being the best examples among others), but some, e.g. Athey, London Dock, English Hoopla, all the VaPer Rimboche blends, the raccoon series, and Cockstrong are pipe tobaccos.
English Hoopla is a durn good English blend. Here's my review of it:

The Cyprian latakia is smoky, woody with a mild sweetness. The Oriental is woody with a slight sour note, a little earth, and toward the finish, seems to have a spice note in a support role. The Virginia is grassy, citrusy sweet, and acts as the base for the other components to play off. It’s the least noticeable of the three tobaccos. Even though the latakia takes the lead over the other ingredients, it doesn’t over take the Oriental and Virginia. The anisette and vanilla toppings are lightly applied, with the former being a little more obvious than the latter. Both are smooth with some creaminess, and they do not detract from the flavors of the tobaccos. Won't bite or get harsh. Has a moderate nic-hit. Well balanced, it burns at a reasonable pace with very few relights with a cool consistency, and leaves virtual no moisture in the bowl. Needs few relights. Has a nice after taste, and is an all day smoke.

 

[mso489]

I like most OTC to some degree, but SWR is one of the few blends I just can't taste. I gave a way a pouch, eventually, then bought another thinking the first might have been bad, and still no flavor at all. But many enjoy it, so it's just a flavor blind spot for me. For tub tobaccos, I really like the PC Midtown series, and especially the only non-aro in the series, Chestnut. Well priced, and it sometimes goes on sale besides. Another good blend is Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, an aromatic with great base tobaccos. Another is Edward G. Robinson, a fine traditional blend.

 

[JimInks]

MSO: As you know, I always recommend EGR. Three Star Blue, too. Have you tried SWR Aromatic? It might be something you'd like.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I will keep this SWR Aromatic choise in mind,,

 

[indianafrank]

I like SWRA.

 

[weedsnager]

My OTC is Prince Albert

 

[mayfair70]

I regularly imbibe SWR and am looking forward to sampling SWRA. Today, I bought my first pouch of Prince Albert and am enjoying it immensely so far. Carter Hall tastefully gets the job done. Can't smoke Paladin cherry anymore, it just disagreed with me after the first pouch. Captain Black doesn't do it for me. Borkum Riff is horrid, and is used as tinder to start more fires in HELL where it came from.
Never tried Ryback Gold, but Three Sails is pretty good, if you sip slowly, and don't mind the very fine cut. ::

 

[newbroom]

I'll have to try swra.

PS 702 is a nice tasty burly in this vein.

mso, once you 'get' the flavor of swr, it is very similar to err, imho. more subdued, but very similar.

 

[exterminatewho]

I just bought a pouch each of Sir Walter Raleigh (got the tin for this actually, which should be here tomorrow), Half & Half, Prince Albert, and Carter Hall. I've been smoking mostly bulk blends and tins. Now with that said, I wanted to try the OTC blends, hence why I bought four of the more popular brands (I tried Captain Black, didn't like it too much). I guess I still have to try some Velvet and Granger too. I'll post up my thoughts when I get them in the mail.

 

[exterminatewho]

BTW ("by the way" for some of you old timers here, JK or should I say just kidding?), how is SWRA exactly? I was afraid to get it because I didn't really like Captain Black, another aromatic OTC. I really did enjoy Molto Dolce and some other Sutliff aromatics however. Also, does SWRA smoke hot? B/c I felt like Captain Black was getting WAY too hot, even as I was smoking slowly. The only other blend that kind of burned my tongue other than the Cap'n was LBF when I smoked it too fast (but once I learned to smoke slower, it was heaven).

 

[Chasing Embers]

I enjoy SWRA from time to time, and don't think it burns hot at all.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I literally started maybe a month and a half ago, and I've already spent close to $450-$500 dollars on pipes and tobaccos.

It gets worse, wait until you are tempted to spend that much on one pipe. 8O

 

[unkleyoda]

I'm not a fan of burley blends. So for my go to price point blends I go for the Peter Stokkebye English blends. You can't beat the prices of these for a good English.

 

[exterminatewho]

Got my tub of SWR a couple of days ago. Smoked maybe 5 bowls of it so far, and I have to say, I like it. It's not heavy on the flavoring, but I get that nuttiness that people talk about with burley blends. I really enjoy that. The pouch aroma (or tub aroma I guess) is really unique. It smells like a sweet liqueur or something close to it. Someone on tobaccoreviews.com said it almost smells like cranberries. I won't say that, but I can see where he's coming from. I mixed it in with some of my creme brulee and it was actually pretty good. Aromatics are something that I smoked a lot of in the last month, but in recent weeks I've been going heavy on english, virginia, and latakia blends. I really enjoy the smokiness in the latakia, so SWR at first felt really lacking. Overall, it's a smooth smoke and not complex from what I can gather. I'd give it a solid 3.5 out of 5. Can't wait for my CH, H&H, and PA to arrive this week. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions here.

 

[dcrguns]

I have been smoking SWRA for the last couple of days from a 14oz tub and have been enjoying it. It smokes well in the pipes I have tried it in. It has a nice room note and is flavorful for an aromatic. I got it because Jiminks likes it and gives it a great review. Not sure about the pouch version but out of a tub it is very good.