Golden Blend Tobacco Co. Blue Train

I bought this tin about a year ago and read some of the reviews and decided to open it up and try it. The previous reviews were pretty much on the mark. It burns hot, slight peach flavor then no flavor and burns out fast. Had to relight numerous times. I would spend my money on something else.

Originally, I had managed to coax some "peach" aroma from the lit bowl, but I have not been able to recreate the experience with future bowls. Having returned to this blend a few times, I have to admit that the previous reviews were spot on. It imparts a unique flavor profile, but it will sully your pipe with unhappy ghosts, while leaving you with little satisfaction on the front end.

I preface my remarks by saying that my palate does not tolerate too many aromatics; I get a scratchy, bitey, irritating sensation all through my mouth with most aromatics, and most flavored tobacco reminds me of bad perfume and too much of it.

With that being said, Blue Train is aging in its pretty tin for the time when I want another go at it. It's the anti-desert-island blend for me, or rather, if all I had to smoke was this stuff, I'd have to quit.

But the tin art is pretty, and that's really why I bought it, aside from being curious about the taste and the expensive-sounding aging method. I'm sure this is someone's favorite and probably rightfully so, as it may be a fine tobacco. Just not for me.

O.k., I like trains, (yep I'm one of those people) passenger trains in particular, especially blue trains (go B&O royal blue!). So I laughed when I saw this and ordered a tin.

burns a bit hot, it's got a bite, I do like the hint of candied fruit. maby thats what everyone else is calling peach. Bit of citrus.

I wish I had seen the reviews before buying the 100g tin. This was a true case of expectations being built up, and then severely let down. The tin art is gorgeous. The moisture level in the mylar resealable bag inside the tin is optimal. The tin aroma is enticing. It packs well and is of long ribbon cut strands. The charring light gives you a quick bright white puff of VA leaf smoke and some notes of peaches and pinot grigio. This starts to look very promising. Then it grows HUGE SHARP TEETH. BITE! BITE! BITE! BITE!

I thought maybe I had gotten over eager and puffed to hard or fast. Or maybe it needed to be loaded into a larger pipe. Hell, I tried every pipe in the rotation just about. All it did was BITE!

This would be a fine tobacco if I could just find the right moisture level and packing technique to keep it lit! This blend always goes out on me when it's just getting interesting. Definite peach scent upon opening the tin. Slight peach flavor while smoking - the natural Virginia flavors seem to take center stage throughout. Just use caution, this blend will bite if you get too excited.

The thing about aromantics...hum...maybe this is not a fair review cause I manage to get through only half a bowl. You see, arommatics needs to know where it is going with the added flavors. Like the MacBaren old familly (Plum Cakes, Vanilla, Black Ambora..etc), they are nice. But this is odd, like if the peach flavor is just thrown in there for no apperent reason. It is a bit too new for me. Sort of like the new MacBaren card board familly. But I am sure the person sitting next to you would find this enjoyable.I find that the quality tobacco leaves and the flavor don't blend together at all. You see M & M taste pretty good. And a burger with fresh onions and tomatoes taste good. Maybe putting M & M into a burger can be a dish appreciated by some folks, but definitely not for me.....

Agh, it burns, it burns!

I must confess I bought this tobacco purely for the tin art. (thank heavens I can order tobacco from the US, which has not yet disfigured its tobacco tins with signs saying 'MURDER, DEATH, KILL,' etc on them as we have here in the UK).

However, on first smoking, I very much enjoyed the taste. But as the contents dried out, it seems to be smoking hotter and hotter. If I try it now I get tongue burn that feels like I've drunk scalding coffee, even if I smoke very carefully in a Savinelli filter pipe.

That said, I am an infrequent smoker anyway so perhaps my mouth just can't take it. I would say it would probably appeal to the more hardened smoker.

The room note is VERY pleasant. You can certainly smell the latakia and some peach flavourings, which brings to mind a diesel lorry loading up fruit in the country. I don't think I would have detected the wine taste unless I had read about it on the tin. Taste is much the same as the room note. But as it burns like the Devil himself, I doubt I will be smoking it much in the future.

Blue Train is probably the "nicest" tobacco of any I have bought. Wonderful packaging, pretty tin, obviously a lot of pride is taken in the product by Golden Blends. The box and tin alone are worth the price I paid for it.

I am a Railroader by profession, so I wanted very badly to like this tobacco. I first tried it after smoking a bowl of Odyssey earlier in the day, and I nearly set my pipe on fire trying to get this stuff to perform...all I got was a vicious bite, and not much else. I knew there had to be more to it than this, so I tried it the next day with a clean palate, and I got a myself a good lesson in pipe smoking.

Taking great pains to do a good job of packing and lighting in a pipe I know very well, I smoked very slowly and methodically, paying good attention to what I was doing.

Folks, Blue Train is exactly what the tin claims it is...Along the way I found all the items listed. A hint of peach, white wine and latakia. They all showed themselves independently, and also blended together for a great smoke.

This is not a tobacco for the new smoker, as it will bite like a pet coon. It is however, a smoke to be enjoyed when you have nothing to do but concentrate on the matter at hand, your pipe.

Give it a try....even if you don't like the weed, you will like the tin, and you can send me the tobacco. I'll be keeping some of this around, for an occaisional visit.

The moisture of Blue Train was just right out of the tin.

The cut of Blue Train makes it very easy to load. The bowl stayed lit and produced a wonderful amount of smoke.

The tin makes note that Blue Train been "Aged in Oak barrels, the blend is enhanced by the exquisite aromas of natural peach and vintage Fumee Blanc from the Pearl Valley, for an Irresistible bouquet" I was unable to taste/smell any of those attributes in Blue Train.

I have tried this blend a few times and have yet to find a pipe combination that produces the wonderful smoking experience that I desire.

I will continue the quest but for now can find nothing except the smoke plumes and the tine art to give this blend higher ratings.

Just not for me....