Borkum Riff Black Cavendish

I went to the grocery store to pick up some flints for my Old Boy. I probably have six or seven flint packages lying around the house but I couldn't find a single stinkin' one of them.

I got to the store and asked one of the employees to please unlock the glass case where all the tobacco products are kept. I looked around to make sure no one was looking and grabbed a pouch of this Borkum Riff Black Cavendish as well as some flints.

I got home and decided to try this stuff. Half a bowl later I decided that I should have loaded my pipe with the flints.

The flavors of chocolate and caramel were mostly what was obvious to me. I did get a little burley taste, and because I was looking hard for it, a hint of Kentucky. I also got some vanilla from the black cavendish. But, I had the usual bite problem that I almost always encounter with Borkum Riff products. I smoke at a very moderate rate, so the problem lies not with my technique, but in the product itself. Sipped very slowly, you'll avoid much of the bite, but it's really not worth the work. There's much better and easier smoking blends in this genre. Burns moderately well. Has little nicotine.

-JimInks

This stuff is good, really good, the kind of good that can be packaged in a fancy tin, sold at twice the price, and people would rave about it. Instead, it comes in a pouch and sold locally, so most people bash it while they smoke it in the middle of the woods so high society won't find out.

The pouch aroma is delicious; smells like chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of ripe fruit. Not chemical at all. The cut is another big plus for me, which is a very thin ribbon, not exactly a shag cut (in the proper term) but very close. While I indiscriminately smoke plugs, ropes, flakes, etc. I tend to favor a fine ribbon cut because it is easier to pack and light.

The cut of this blend, as well as the moisture content (being on the dry side) lights easily. The flavor is sweet, chocolatey and nutty, and yes, the tobacco comes thru. Some have said it tastes cigarish, I don't think so. While this stuff is not super full bodied, it isn't ultra mild either, and if you are used to smoking very mild tobacco then I can see how the actual tobacco flavor might surprise you, but it does not taste like a cigar.

The aroma is quite nice too, a dark kind of nougat and tobacco, and a sweetness hard to pin point, could be the hint of ripe fruit I get from the pouch smell. The blend burns a little fast due to the very fine cut, but not hot and does not bite.

Being locally available is a big plus for me, and the quality is there. I will definitely keep this stuff handy and only wish it came in tubs.

Definitely worth a try, you might be surprised.

After almost 2 years of pipe smoking i look the past and i wonder...how was i able to smoke this blend???maybe because i wasn't experienced enough and the smell of the tin when opened was something good between chocolate ,vanilla and nuts..the blend moisture is high.packs ok and needs effort to light..several relights are needed while smoking.while burning the only tobacco flavour is some nuts from the burley..i didn't get any Kentucky flavours..i got only a bad mix of the topping flavours wich bites a lot...the nicoltine level is low.the room note is somehow pleasant compared to other B.riff blends.the moisture while burning is high ,accompanied by lots of dumbness.another disappointment..not recommended for consumption.

I think this one takes a bit more stick than it deserves. Yea we all puff on some far superior baccys, but if you’re out on a pinch and need something readily available; grab a cob and pack it with a bit of this. It might surprise you.

I’m not sure if they’ve paid a bit more attention to it since STG took over, but I find the cut really nice and even. It packs, lights and burns really well. Easy all-day puff. I sometimes forget I have a pipe in my mouth with this stuff; especially during the daily hustle, when I use my corn cob as a vice while doing admin.

Jar it with a boveda pack and it smokes a little bit smoother, voiding the potential of an over-dry smoke. This won’t replace most of the stuff in our rotations, but I do like it from time to time. Happy smokes.

I tasted some bad tobacco in my life, but this is in the top two, or three, but with an added cheap perfume taste added just for good measure, to really kick it in your balls and let you learn a lesson:

"You get what you pay for, bud."

Besides that, it made me sick after a few puffers, was only 1/3rd into the bowl before i just threw it out.

Additionally, as if it wasnt bad enough, the gut started to feel sick an hour or two afterwards, and for kickers, the room note is a cheap machine-rolled cigarillo sprayed with Febreeze, so bad that you gotta try hard to find ones this bad, looking for em at cheap gas stations you wouldnt refuel your car at.

Oh, and did i mention the stench of the ash is horrendous, of which now I have to clear my pipe of.

Cheers.

Never pay less rhan 13$ per bag is definitely a good start.

Hellish; ghastly; bad beyond badness - it'll leave your tongue a palpitating blackened stump. Another truly revolting offering from Borkum Riff, How DO they do it? It tastes all right, in a sense, but it burns so hot and so quickly that it seems almost to have been devised as an instrument of torture. '[A] premium quality tobacco'? I don't think so. Avoid this, and live out the remainder of your days with functioning taste buds.

I really wish I would like this tobacco, but it was not like that.

Some mention that this is the best of the brand, or at least the least worse. But it does not seem to be the case.

The problem is simple, tongue bite no matter how I smoke it, it always bites.

Borkum Riff - Black Cavendish (Mixture Recipe Black Cavendish).

I bought this whilst on holiday in Portugal and I'm not sure whether or not they've changed it from the original recipe or something as I can't for the life of me fathom out all the one/two star ratings; clicking the 'where to buy' link on here brings up a picture that's identical to my pouch. Granted, it's not in the league of some blends, but it's a decent enough smoke.

The pouch smells quite aromatic, but not too pungent. The burn generates a large quantity of thick smoke. To me, the added flavouring has a little more life for the first five minutes; it's a lot sweeter, and slightly fruity, while the burn's settling. After that period it mellows and I'm sure I can taste chocolate. Although this has a medium to strong casing it's not too heavy or sugary; it can be smoked without that yuckiness that strong aromatics can sometimes implore.

The room-note's very nice, albeit a bit full-on, and the nicotine's mild.

As I pointed out, it may be a different blend now, I'm not sure. But whether it's different or not, I like it.

Recommended.

I don't want to offend this otherwise tolerable tobacco, the former long (though not always faithful) companion of my youth. But I think that the wording like "masculinity" and "seriousness" in the official description is an offence of both masculinity and seriousness. What masculine and serious did they find in a highly aromatic pack of sourish Cavendish?

Saying that, I don't wanna be unfair to this blend. It's the least offensive of the Riffs. And when you are invariably limited in your choice just to Borkums (as I have been far away and long ago) then definitely choose this one, not another.

Giving two stars I don't mean I "Somewhat Recommend" this. Not at all, I won't recommend Black Riff to anyone. But since it's more neutral and less aggressive than the rest of Borkum Riff concoctions, I put not one star but two.