Wilke Pipe Tobacco Wilke No. 191

The tart and tangy citrusy Virginias are minor components, and save for light grass and bread, are easy to miss. The same can be almost be said for one of the black cavendishes, which mostly seems to acts to offer a little sugary smoothness. The other black cavendish was topped with some honey and more noticeable vanilla bean topping. The matured Kentucky burley is slightly woody, lightly nutty, earthy and floral. The toppings mildly tone down the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are mild, while the taste level is just short of the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh. May need some dry time, and will require a few relights. Burns fairly cool and very clean. The very consistent flavors meld well together in the proportions they were designed, and never weaken. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Burns to ash, and has a very lightly lingering pleasant after taste and room note. An all day smoke if you wish it to be. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

Aromatic tobaccos have been mostly absent from my rotation since discovering English (natural) tobaccos around 9 years ago. It was around then that I realized that aromatics, while smelling nice in the room, mostly tasted bad in the mouth. Periodically I have since tried various aromatics, hoping that this one would taste as nice (not necessarily tasting the same) as it smelled. But each time I have been bitterly disappointed. Well, I have to say that Wilke's No.191 is the first tobacco to break this otherwise hard and fast rule. An all around excellent blend!

For the trial by fire I brought out a 50s Masterson's freehand (group ~4 bowl size) that I keep handy for new and exotic tobaccos. Being more used to flakes, I felt like a bit of a novice again with the moist ready rub presentation. So I left it packed on the lighter side. It took a few matches to get his going evenly, but once lit required no re-lights throughout the bowl.

My initial impression was fairly benign: “It's an aromatic, nothing special”, I thought. But as the smoke progressed a few things became apparent. The casing is very smooth, a delicate honey. I'd rather call it honig (setting off fond memories of Württemberg). In the beginning, the tobacco seemed very muted, overshadowed by the yet subtle flavoring. But after a few minutes, at the time I usually start bracing for that typical acrid, turpentine-like condensation that always betrays the aromatics true composition, that of cheap leaf soaked in the unrequited hope that all flavorings transition gracefully through burning—yet, here, there was nothing of the sort. I couldn't believe it. The smoke continued pleasantly, a testament to well chosen tobaccos married to a masterfully proportioned, pyrophilic casing.

About midway through the bowl the natural tobacco flavors started to rise up from the background. A hint of spice, I suspect from the burley; but otherwise smooth Virginia sweetness. By the end, the natural tobacco flavors equaled that of, and complimented, the delicate topping. Truly, I find this blend outstanding among aromatics. Zero tongue bite. It burned evenly all the way to the bottom, to a fine grey ash. The room note is subtle and pleasing—and not at the expense of a terrible tasting smoke and a sore throat.

While this is not my favorite tobacco (I am more of an English flake fan: à la Penzance), no. 191 still deserves 4 stars for being among the highest quality blend in its class.

If you like aromatics but have been bitten in the past, give this one a try. This is a blend made by a one women operation that really knows how to blend aromatics. First off, this is a mixed blend of light, medium, and dark leaf tobaccos with a rough cut and smells wonderful in the pouch. It packs very easily and lights up with the first light as it is not too moist. It stays lit and fills the room with a heavenly aroma. A sweet, fragrant full room note that even my son, the antismoke law student says he likes. I have had many nice comments on the aroma. It has a full sweet taste, vanilla but not overdone, but the honey comes into play on the tongue as well. I also taste a touch of cherry in this but not in any way a cherry blend. It does leave a sweet smell on my clothes and mustache and beard but in a pleasant way. This blend has the lowest bite factor of any other aromatic I have smoked. The only way it will bite is if you try too and then it's hard to get. This is easily an all day type blend. It burns down to a grey dottle and ash at the bottom of the bowl. It will leave a slight ghost in the pipe but it burns off with a smoke of something else.

This is a very nice blend. I wish it were not so expensive compared to most other aromatics, but worth it.

About 90% of the time I smoke English/Balkan blends or VaPer's. When I take the rare journey into aromatics I look for a clean, sweet smoke that doesn't turn my mouth into a blast furnace. Carol at P&W has a lot of great blends so its no surprise that this one is top notch. I can see how this might be an all day smoke for those that enjoy flavored blends and a great "go to" for those that are just looking for a change of pace. #191 is smooth, sweet, burns dry and more importantly, cool for an aromatic. It does come wet in the pouch, so plan on ample drying time. It's no mistake that this is so highly recommended. If your an aromatic smoker this is a must for the rotation and if your not, it's worth a try anyway.

this tobacco is simply incredible. real tobacco taste is present. the honey and vanilla comes out to play alternately. the big difference is i'm told by carole at pipe works and wilke that vanilla "powder" is applied and honey "powder". this makes for an incredibe tasty smoke. no goo. will not bite, and can be a long smoke by packing just a little more tightly. at first, about 3 or 4 bowls, it was an ok smoke. but i was breaking one of my cardinal rules. do not judge a tobacco until you have gotten all the residue and oils out of your pipe from previous tobaccos. it took about 4 oz's to accomplish this in a bari pipe that i have had since 1972. only after the 3 0r 4 oz's were smoked, is when this tobacco really started to shine. and i mean shine. will not be without it. i now order a pound at a time. you will receive positive comments on the room note. i enjoy smoking my pipe at a bar. very few will let you. i usually don't ask, just light up. all the cigarette smokers, the bartender, other patrons ect give positive remarks. it's hard enough to smoke anywhere fellas, why make it harder on our selves with foul smelling tobacco in public? i have smoked probably over 75 % of the tobaccos in this data base, and spent a fortune doing it. do your self a favor. try this tobacco and please don't post a review until you have dedicated a pipe to it, and you have smoked about 6 oz's. i guarantee you'll be ordering by the pound also. one other thing. i have now got into the habit of taking my pipe everywhere. sometimes just holding it, other times clenched between my teeth. why? because if we all band together {the pipe smoking community}, i feel we can make a difference. but instead we hide. were letting the goverment take everything away from us. band together and be proud of our habit, or hobby, or whatever you wish to call it. most folks are tolerent of pipe aromas. i would make these same statements even if i was a non smoker!! this has become more than just down right silly. it's just not right. we have a right to live our lives the way we wish. band together and be PROUD. THE BOSS

This is the best aromatic that I have ever smoked and one of very few aromatics that I keep in my regular rotation of mostly Va. blends. Carol at P&W is a master blender and I have nothing but the highest of praise for her efforts. No. 191 tastes of high quality burley with a little Va. and a light casing of vanilla and honey. A perfect autumn smoke for the park or at a gathering where even the snottiest of the anti-smoking nazis would have a hard time finding an objection to the odor. I love this stuff.

Exceptional!!! Think of everything you would want in a Vanilla flavored aromatic and you have this...Number 191 Honey-Vanilla Blend. This tasty treat probably ended my quest for a quality vanilla blend. After drying this out and lighting up, I was simply overwhelmed by the aroma, sweet taste, mildness & burning characteristics. Burned great with nothing left but white ash. Sampled in a new pipe and still delivered. I can't add anything more to all the other praise this blend received except treat yourself to some...you'll be glad you did. I've already placed another order & will be jarring and cellaring a large quantity of this stuff to have on hand at all times. The sweet flavor is still lingering in my mouth thirty minutes later. Therefore, IMHO, this blend deserves nothing less than my rating of four ****s!

The owner was gracious enough to send me a couple of ounces of this free with my order, asking me to let her know what I thought. Of all that I ordered, this was the best of the lot! Perfect blend of flavor and aroma, burned nicely ( I only had to re-light once because I got to talking!) No tongue burn unless you really REALLY work at it. Overall, a wonderful blend that will be at the top of my next order. I highly recommend, especially for newer pipe smokers like me.

There seems to be any number of aromatic blends with the word "vanilla" in the name. This is one more, except its not. Too often the promise of vanilla turns out to be a pipe dream (forgive the pun). This blend gives you what you paid for. It tastes like vanilla and it smells like vanilla, sweet vanilla. Additionally, the blend is mild on your tongue. The only bite you'll get will be due to packing or puffing too aggressively. It is a blend I might suggest for a biginner, although I think this brands Rum Cake would be a better choice. It burns well, tastes and smells good. Vanilla is obviously popular in aromatics and I think this is probably as good as other vanillas I have tried and I think better than most. I can not imagine anyone looking for a vanilla aromatic who will be disappointed with this blend. Update: Several bowls later, my view of this blend is somewhat changed, but not fundamentally. Simply put, I like it even better. The aroma is what really gets to me. Towards the end of the bowl it becomes a bit less sweet which is just fine by me. It also smokes right down to the absolute end with nothing but white ash at the bottom. Although the blend came a little on the moist side, no gurgling. No matter what you think of this blend, one thing is absolutely sure, the quality of the tobaccos used is first rate. This is not commercial junk. First class, as are all the blends (4) I have smoked from P.W. Wilke.UPDATE: After smoking this blend for a couple of weeks my opiniom of it has changed again. It is great. This is without a doubt a top shelf aromatic.

This might be the Holy Grail of aromatic pipe tobacco. It tastes wonderful. There is a nice balance of honey to vanilla, but it never gets too sweet. You can taste the tobacco and it works in harmony with the flavoring. It doesn't burn hot and smokes dry to the bottom. Yum.