Peter Stokkebye 1882 Mixture

This old classic was always a favorite of mine. The spun discs of Virginia and Black Cavendish spritzed with a delicate touch of French Cognac made for a delightful smoke, particularly when sipped slowly. The leaf burned cool and dry right down to the bottom of the bowl. And unlike many blends with an alcohol essence, I could actually taste the top-shelf cognac in this one. As a staple or a change of pace, 1882 hits the spot.

Maybe you have a fighting chance to taste some of the tobacco if it's dry, but the only reason to buy it is for the taste of French cognac which dominates the tobaccos. The Virginias provide a little grass and earth, and touch of dark fruit and citrus. The unsweetened black cavendish offers a little brow sugar. Has a mild nic-hit. Burns a little slow and needs to be sipped so you don't risk tongue bite or harshness as it will warm the inside of your mouth. The flavor is consistent, though fairly one dimensional. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and needs a few relights. Not quite an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Ofcourse I'll agree with much of what has been said of this "complicated" mix. But having tried it after a few weeks of airing-out in a glass jar (with a few nail holes in the top for breathing), I will say a positive thing. At times the smoke is more like Cognac than it is smoke; it is unique in its ability to create this liquid illusion on the tongue, and while not my favourite puff, I can say that it inspires patience and contemplation in anyone who opens its secrets. It is a smoke for someone who needs a distraction, rather than just a reassuring background. 1882; the year Charles Darwin died, and the year James Joyce was born.

Not one of my favorite Stokkybe blends. As stated by others, the Cognac topping is over the top. Let it sit, I waited a year, and the Cognac dissipates and the tobacco flavor comes out. Smoke it carefully - it never actually bit me, but I always had the impression that it was about to.

I happened to find amongst my "stash" of pipeweed a silver 42g pouch of tobac that was labeled CORPS EXPO 2001, "The Odyssey Blend", Presented by Peter Stokkebye, Int. which was used in that expos "Name the Tobacco" contest. I don't recall what the winning name turned out to be, but I had to open the little pouch to see what gives. Yes, it was still very much smokeable. The pouch aroma, to me, was just good 'ol VA tobac that looked just as the above description says it does; black/brown ribbons and/or small bits with fingernail sized discs here & there. Loaded and lighted good, smoked nice, burned well. Very little moisture trouble, burned to grey ash. I thought I'd e-mail Stokkebye to see if they could tell me what this stuff is; this is not bad at all. Brian at PS just got back to me & tells me this is PS-53, 1882 Blend. Checked again on the website & the visual description matches but I would not have guessed there was French Cognac on this. I don't think my nose or palate is that messed up, but I thought I was smoking VA mixed with just a bit of black Cavendish. Never would have thought there was a casing if I had not seen it in print or knew it was a PS blend. Anyway, this was mild & cool smoking with just slight sweetness & VA tang, and I can only assume (should never assume) that the flavoring dissipated w/time even though the pouch was still sealed. Nuff said, this is, apparently, a nice lightly flavored aromatic, the tobac taste comes through, and unless I have something different from the other esteemed reviewers or there is some confusion somewhere, the blend has very possibly metamorphosed into 1882. Not bad though.

After a couple of pulls of the briar, my wife bitched about this blend from the foyer next to my closed-door study. She hates it!

Failed the wife test.

The gurgling moisture made itself audibly known by the first 10% of the bowl contents. Not a good sign!

At this point, my tongue burned.

The taste of the tobacco is passable but not remarkable.

I've let this age about six months and still enjoyment of this bowl is eluding me.

Images evoked while smoking include a bleached femur atop a swarming anthill.

1882 must be the temperature of one's tongue when smoking this blend. Although the tobaccos are top shelf, the cognac ruins the blend and adds the bite of a rabid dog. Thanks but no thanks on this one.

I am in the process of making friends with this blend. It has good stength without whacking you over the head with flavour. It tastes like a good Virginia blend with a splash of Cognac for flavor. If you don't know what Cognac tastes like or don't like tobaccos with spirits in them, avoid this blend. I have had this pouch for a few months and revisit it from time to time. I like it better each time. I give this three stars for now and will update in a few months if my impression changes.11/15/2004

Update: As the cognac flavor dissipates, the blend gets better. If you have a pouch of this and find the flavor too bold, let it air out a bit. I agree with another reviewer, I wish they made this blend without the cognac. Two stars when fresh, three stars after a year or so of age.

This is good blend I like the aroma when I open it. The cuts of leaf are a little moist when fresh but once stuff gets aired out it gets better and better. I find that sipping on the pipe helps cause it has a little bit of a bite , or maybe I am just a newbie still. The room note is very pleasant to my wife and I also. The cognac does make the tobacco sweet and tasty,I find myself wanting to eat the smoke rather than puff it. The discs I call them flavor blasts ,mmmmmm. very good.

This is a beautiful looking tobacco. Neat discs, cubes, and ribbon cuts make it look like a complex, promising blend. But unfortunately it's soaked in flavorings that all but obscure any tobacco flavor and cause it to smoke incredibly hot.

After searing my tongue on the superheated casing vapors for a few bowls I gave up on it.

I wish Stokkebye had an uncased version.