Barclay-Rex Vincent's

Vincent Nastri was Barclay-Rex' legendary founder, c. 1910. ("Barclay" because the shop was then on Barclay Street. "Rex" was Mr Nastri's giant Schnauzer.)

This is a perfectly decent, mild-mannered English blend, no frills, light-medium.

If I were a normal person working at the NYC financial district, instead of a tobacco snob sampling hundreds of blends I hate, there is no reason why I wouldn't regularly pick up some of this pleasant, inexpensive stuff. Generations of smart people have done precisely that, let me tell you. A common-sense choice.

Tasty,full strength blend.Latakia forward,but not too forward.The other component tobaccos play a part as well.Mine came today VIA UPS.I also ordered 8 oz of the maiden lane mixture.If you are smoker of Latakia mixtures,I recommend trying this one.Barclay-Rex only does over the counter,and mail orders.No internet sales.

Fermented Virginia is the star and very mellow and smooth. A dose of Latakia is just for the smoky condiment. The Oriental is a little bit tangy and makes Vincent's so lively and vibrant. I think there is some unsweetened black Cavendish in there.

Overall a very good all day Virgina based blend.

Three stars.

During a recent trip to New York City I visited the Barclay-Rex store on Lexington Ave. The Manager, Bill, was very gracious and patient while I purchased a beautiful Tim West pipe (for a very fair price) and offered me a bowl of Vincent's blend.

The tobacco has a nice visual appeal and a wonderful aroma. The blend is composed of Latakia and Orientals in a coarse ribbon cut with a generous amount of stoved Virginias as large pieces of broken flake. The moisture content was OK and the blend packed well into the pipe.

First impression - this stuff is pretty good; a great balance of the smoky Latakia and tangy Orientals with just the right touch of natural sweetness from the stoved Virginia. As I smoked down the bowl the flavors deepened and matured but did not change significantly or get bitter. The tobacco burned well down to a fine grey ash.

I like this blend and would not hesitate to smoke it on a regular basis. The flavor is reminicent to me of the "original" Rattray's Highland Targe with a bit more Virginia presence. I have since smoked a couple of ounces of this blend and I think it will get added to the regular rotation.

I was looking for something with a little more flavor than Early Morning Pipe as a breakfast blend. Tried Presbyterian, but I think the nic-hit on an empty stomach was a little too much for me. Vincent’s checks many boxes for me. Nice notes of sweetness, touch of stewed fruit and a hint of smokiness. The classic and classiness of the brand only adds to the charm. Definitely needs a little drying.

This is one of a few pipe tobaccos still blended by Barclay-Rex itself. The Latakia component is very substantial. Good quality Virginias, Orientals, Burleys,and a small amount of Perique complete the mixture (Perique was a traditional part of many or most English-style mixtures blended in NYC). An excellent English-style blend.