Finck's Cigar Company Finck's Golden Cavendish

The Virginia cavendish is grassy with a little honey and citrus. The mildly nutty burley plays backup. The topping reminds me of a floral, kind of sour anise, which I found distracting, and seems more obvious as you go along. The sweetness lessens in the last third of the bowl, and gets a little bitter. Has a mild nic-hit. Burns at a moderate pace, fairly cool, and requires few relights. Leaves a tad of moisture in the pipe. Has a sweet and sour after taste.

-JimInks

I never would of tried this tobacco if it were not for the untimely death in the family of an avid pipe smoker. Nearly two pounds of this stuff was willed to me when they were cleaning out his home. This was the only tobacco in his house and now I know why. I wasn't given any of his pipes but I may of gotten something better, my new favorite everyday smoke.

I had previously had tried a couple of Finck blends and they were pretty decent particulary when factoring in the low price.I didn't have very high expectations but then again it was free. I am usually very afraid of any blend with Cavendish in it's name. Thankfully there is none of the dreaded black stuff in here. It is an all light to medium brown shag cut mixture.In the bag it smells of mainly sweet tobacco to my nose.Upon lighting I was taken aback how good this stuff tastes. Mostly I taste sweet Virginias with the condiment Burley just poking out its head occasionally. There is a sweetness here that just seems to be natural but if you told me that there was a topping or sweetener added I would believe you but frankly I don't care.

As good as this stuff tastes it smells even better. I don't really notice any additive here just the aroma of good sweet tobacco. I love to just puff slowly and exhale it through my nose. Nirvana! This is not a complex blend.Just a good simple tasty tobacco that I can smoke bowl after bowl of without getting bored.It is also very well behaved and you have to puff very aggressively before the Virginas start tingling your tongue. The strength is on the mild side of medium and the nicotine content is probably not going to please those looking for a serious buzz. It's just right for my tastes.

I'm not going to tell you that this is the best blend to ever come down the pike or that it is going to replace your Pease or Gawith favorites anytime soon. I have much more expensive blends that I don't enjoy nearly as much as this.If you are looking for a very tasty , simple, satisfying everyday economical blend then I think you should give this one serious consideration. At $18.95/lb. this is my nominee for best value on the planet.

There are NO ORIENTALS as stated above.That is just a typo. This is mostly Virginias with a litte added Burley.

Easy to pack, light and smoke, this Peter Stokkebye blend created for Finck's is a typical Danish lightly flavored cavendish that has more Virginia flavor than one might think. The Burley presence is there but deep in the background. I wasn't really smitten by this blend but for those who like a Danish flavored blend that won't cost an arm and a leg, this one might fit the bill. Just remember that cheaper is not better. Stokkebye saves its better leaf for blends under its own name.

I bought an entire pound of this based on a cheap price ($22.50/lb f.o.b. San Antonio) and the hope that this might be something interesting to add to my non-English collection. My first bowl was in a briar in which it did not showcase well. There was some lurking bite and little taste. However when I loaded this into a Missouri Meerschaum cob, it shined. I have no idea if it is cased. Yes, it is sweet but I pick up no distinct flavoring. My impression was that it is a base for the aromatic blender to add casings or topping. In appearance it reminded me of Lane's 1-Q. Smoking characteristics outside of flavor was similar. But it's not Lane, but Peter Stokkebye. Could be Stokkebye's Natural - the descriptions are similar. The Va's and burley live well together here. I jarred up the entire remaining pound and MIGHT use it to cut Lane's Very Cherry down from Cherry Bomb status as this seems well suited for that. Just enough nicotine to let one know one actually smoked something. A blend for those times when I can't decide what to smoke; maybe a first bowl of day. Not bad at all. Not an all day blend, but a keeper nevertheless. My stockpile of non-English/non-VaPers is now complete.

Thanks to Sailorjack for the sample.

In the bag, this smells fairly strongly of topping... vanilla I thought, but on sticking my nose right in... Anise. More on this later.

This is surprisingly strong tasting stuff - it looks and smells like a typical black-cavendish burley affair, but under the match this has a lot more punch than most of the "lighter" aromatics. This smoke a bit more like a topped Va/Per, with a slightly peppery attack and a heavy presence throughout the smoke.

The anise is detectable to me throughout, and in a clean (new) pipe, I felt that this tobacco almost offered a lakeland-like scent. This leads me to believe that the topping is more than just a splash of licorice.

All in all, this reminds me most (although it is by no means identical) of Sail, with it's licorice notes and spicy "dutch cavendish" background (and Sail has an oriental component if I remember right). So if you just can't stand Sail, I guess this Finck's product is not going to be your cup of tea. But if you like the basic idea of Sail tobacco, and want something a little heavier, here it is. Super Sail.

Smoking properties are excellent - no gurgle, no glop. Nice friendly tobacco, but I think it would be too much for a novice. An interesting blend, great with a cup of tea.