Borkum Riff Champagne

I got very little Champagne taste in this blend, though the feel of an alcohol topping was present. The earthy, woody burley was slightly nutty, and the Virginia was dull and grassy with little tart citrus. The flavor was very consistent. It was extremely mild in strength and taste. Had little nicotine. Burned fast, hot and would usually bite even when puffed slowly. Left little moisture in the bowl, and required few relights. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

When i broke the seal i said hmm this blend should be good..a nutty alcohol smell popped out wich was really good.the good things end here.the moisture level os ok,packs and lights easy.no relights needed because it burned so fast i thought i was smoking a cigarette.while smoking the flavour is dissapointing...the topping flavour is not overpowered and disappears after a few puffs.some nuts and grass comes out rare.generally before the middle of the bowl the taste becomes flat.the nicotine level is low and the room note almost pleasant.burns very hot and leaves a lot moisture and dumbness in the bowl.more desent than other B.riff blends but generally not a desent one.can be an all day smoke though not recommended.

This blend was bought from bulk from a shop around here. It was very dry and unkempt. Not a shop I would buy bulk from again...

This probably had a negative effect on this tobacco. Besides the tongue bite, the unnatural champagne taste wasn't actually that bad. They almost caught that bubblyness which i'm not sure was a good thing.

I wasn't a fan of the taste, but the room note wasn't bad. For such a cheap blend, not a horrible buy, but not one I would try again.

Shocked to see someone would rate this with 4 stars. There are so many wonderful tobaccos out there that deserve that rating, this is not one of them.

If Borkum Riff was substantially cheaper than other baccys, I could maybe justify buying them. You could try Cap Blk or Alsbo and have a better experience for roughly the same price. I would even suggest the Pipa Blend that comes with the cob (although the cob is worthless) BR just always seems to have a very cheap tobacco leaf with a super synthetic flavoring.

I think the only thing that's good about this baccy is that it's better than the Whiskey version. But that's nothing to be too proud of.

Just because a tobacco doesn't give you tongue bite does not mean you should immediately make it a recommended blend for beginners. I would never recommend this blend because it would most likely turn someone off to pipe tobacco and deprive them the chance of trying one of the aforementioned 4 stars.

I would avoid this.

I couldn't detect any casing while smoking this blend. The quality of leaf is so-so and it is not a bad blend for an OTC. I haven't seen a pouch of it available for over 20 years and I would be surprised if it isn't discontinued.

Verus amicus est tamquam alter idem - the Latin motto used to be the most attractive part of the Borkum Riff range. In the new incarnation the Latin is gone, and the pride of place occupied by the heraldic lions rampant has been taken by a ship. The tobacco is now made in Denmark.

I was gifted three of the new range over last Christmas. The other two are Malt Whisky (the absence of the `e` indicating Scottish provenance) and Vanilla. The Champagne is not very evident. It is difficult to imagine how it could be evident. Just as well, since the lack of casing allows the taste of tobacco to come through. The tobacco taste is not particularly distinguished in any way, but nor is it execrable. This is a definite improvement over the previous range of Borkum Riff and would not make a bad introduction to mildly aromatic blends. Cautiously recommended.

It seems the Borkum Riff range is now being blended in Denmark (unlike before, when blended in Germany). They have added at least one new blend: Scandinavian, which I eventually hope to review.

I recently bought a 50g. pouch of Champagne. It still is a very mild tobacco (basically, like all others in the BR range, a Virginia/Burley mixture), with that semi-ribbon, semi-shag cut, and a rather low moisture level, meaning it's a tobacco that if smoked too avidly it can lead to a sever case of tongue bite. But there is a noticeable improvement in the flavor department.

In my opinion the taste in the new Danish version is rounder, mellower and more refined. I get a stronger tobacco flavor in this version than in its previous rendering (i.e., this seems to be a topped tobacco, rather than a cased one), with a darker register at the end of the bowl. Though you can perceive a certain "bubbly" wine flavor, the taste is closer to real tobacco. I don't know if they changed the Va/Burley proportions, or if the Burley used is of a stronger variety, but I get a more defined Burley presence in these mixtures than before.

As with the new Whiskey version, I don't feel the aroma is as pungent as it used to be. In fact, it provides a very nice and enticing room note; one, at least, that doesn't linger on your nostrils or palate, and it doesn't pervade in the pipe. Except for the Cavendish varieties (specially the Cherry blend), Borkum Riff tobaccos were never too goopy. This is a quality you also find in the new version.

Without being an extraordinary tobacco (Borkum Riff still is a drug store/airport brand), there is quite an improvement in the Danish rendering of this and other BR blends. . So, if you don't mind a slightly aromatic and very mild smoke, give this one a try (specially if just picking up a pipe). I don't think you will be disappointed.

I really liked this tobacco.Found it nice & smooth & mildly sweet,with no tongue bite at all.Perfect for anyone new to pipe smoking & very easy to light.Infact very easy to live with all round.But if your a regular pipe smoker who prefer's stronger taste then I'm sure this would not be strong enough.But again I must say "Good" for the new comer or person with mild taste.(You could do far worse) In it's own category. 3 out of 4 star's.

I refuse to make any comment on this disgusting tobacco.

I will only mention that I had a very bad experience when I tasted it.

I will not give not even one star.

The first few smokes with this tobacco were really disappointing. Among any other things there was a prevailing "stingy" taste (that now I know to be a Borkum Riff's trademark), while the champagne taste was completely absent or not-recognizable. With time it improved a bit, giving sweet notes (probably from the Virginia component, and some (rare) puff that vaguely reminded champagne. Overall, this tobacco confirms the extremely light topping of Borkum Riff series (a good thing for many smokers, not for me)and their tendency to "sting" with Burley. Not completely bad, but for sure not interesting for me.