D & R Tobacco Two Timer Gold

This is Two Timer with Virginia, and with that exception, the smoking qualities are the same. The earthy, woody, double toasted burleys are toasty, and very nutty with a little cocoa as the lead component. The Virginia is a little grassy with some tart and tangy citrus, and a touch of honey in a support role. While it may be used as a RYO, it does well as pipe tobacco. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium, while the nic-hit is a slot below that level. The taste is medium. Puffed at a moderate rate, it’ll mostly keep its flavor and you'll avoid a harsh note. Puffed fast, it’ll have some cigarette notes, and possibly a little loss of flavor. It won't bite. Has no casing or topping. Burns fast, but not hot, and very clean with a consistent flavor as it easily burns to ash. Leaves almost no moisture in the bowl, and requires very few relights. Has a nice, lightly lingering after taste, and slightly stronger room note. An uncomplicated all day smoke that does even better with a light hydration.

-JimInks

The reason why I bought this tobacco in the first place was to see if I could have a go-to or everyday substitute for my CD burley/virginia blend, which I would normally mix myself using their own proprietary blending components. I have been doing this for years now, but the D&R's price tag is rather enticing, so I wanted to give it a go. Well, let me tell you what, I am glad I did it. The virginias seem quite sharp and citrusy, whereas the burley leaf is nutty with a nice chocolatey or coconut note to it. I think there is a good balance between the burley and virginia leaf. The smoking experience is a little bit run of the mill, similar to many of those great American blends (Carter Hall, Half & Half, etc.), but without the topping. This is not necessarily a bad thing if all you want is something to pack your pipe with and puff your daily troubles away. In the same way I would not drink a Rioja Gran Reserva in every meal, as an everyday blend, this tobacco is good enough. The leaf is presented to you quite clean, and the tin note is kind of bready and mellow with sort of hay notes to it. And of course, I can see how it will improve if cellaring time is given, but this is a great smoke straight out of the bag/tin. I am not giving up on buying CD blending components as they can be fine-tuned and adjusted to my own personal specifications, but I can see how this tobacco has a place in my rotation.

Edit 22 October 2020

By "run of the mill" I mean this tobacco lacks the complexity of other DR blends such as Ramback Balkan or Vengeur, but that does not mean "low quality." Just to be clear, the tobacco grade DR uses in all of their blends is off the charts. Therefore, "run of the mill" means "everyday smoke." I do explain this in my review, but after reading it, I thought the term was ambiguous and open to interpretation: hence the edit.

TTG is packaged in a standard size 2" high x 3" diameter pop top aluminum tin, at an ideal moisture level (though some will think it's a bit too dry.) Despite the 40gr. net wt., it takes some compression to re-pack it in a ½ pint Mason jar. I only recommend the tinned version. The bulk product is too dry -- even for me; and it may get crushed during handling and easily broken into something approaching dust.

This basic ribbon cut Burley blend is as nutty as I have ever tasted, and the Virginia sweetens it to perfection. It has medium strength; great mouth feel; good body; great smoke volume; and a pleasant, long lasting finish.

I give it four stars because it is the epitome of what it intends to be: the quintessential American Burley blend. Great as the first smoke of the day; as an all day smoke; and as a luxurious after dinner treat. Quality leaf.

D & R Tobacco - Two Timer Gold.

I noticed this on offer from Smokingpipes.com at $5.35 and I thought it's no big loss if it's rank. So, here's my thoughts:

When I removed the lid my initial reaction wasn't good: too dry. The blend's made up of mostly brown ribbons but there's a few light yellow ones too. They're medium in size and the tin's redundant of any chunks or twigs.

I get a lot more flavour from the Burley, being very nutty and toast-like. The Burley also has a mild chocolaty taste. In comparison to the Burley the Virginia seems rather supressed, adding very little character. I get no bite but the temp's too high and it goes like the clappers; the dryness wrecks it.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: I don't like.

Two Timer Gold? The state it arrived in makes it worth only two stars; not a bad tasting smoke but a mechanical write off. Maybe your tin will differ?

Two stars.

D&R - Two Timer Gold

Bought this one on a whim and rumor, based on reviews I expected this to be drier than a dog turd out in the sun, was I surprised to find this ready to smoke, considering especially that this tin was from Aug2018, purchased nov2020.

Word has it D&R is now gone with many blends getting the axe under new management.

This blend smoked great even when pushed, slightly sweet Va, slightly nutty Burley. Overall a great lazy afternoon blend just enough to keep my attention and I know what I can expect from this.

Two Timer with the addition of the same Goldens that are in Ryback Gold. Same result. Bites me very hard.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor.

While this does smoke well in a pipe, being very high quality leaf with no additives and junk, I would suggest this is very much, primarily, a tubing tobacco. This is the only tobacco I know of which is extremely close to the old world Lucky Strike blend. Anybody looking for an MYO tobacco to recreate Lucky Strikes from 60+ years ago before the tobacco quality dropped and cigarettes all began to be laced with huge amounts of chemical additives needs to try this. Real double toasted Burley blended with some high quality flue cured Virginia. Adding a little proper Turkish/Oriental leaf to this blend can help soften the edge and round off the flavour even more, especially as I am pretty certain that old Luckys were not just double toasted Burley and Virginia. Almost all cigarettes used to use at least a tiny bit of good Turkish in the blend, but this is just something to experiment with and find your own ideal. It certainly is delicious as it is anyhow, but might disappoint pipe only smokers. For pipes the regular Two Timer, straight double toasted Burley, is the better option for blending. For the pipe I usually hydrate D&R blends a little more by just throwing 72% boveda in the tin or bag and leave it sealed for a week or so, by then it's perfect and much more supple. I also do this anyway before blending because you do not want to blend more than a couple of grams even for tubing at the moisture level you want for smoking - always hydrate them further to make them more supple for handling and to allow for any loss of moisture while blending them in the open. If you live somewhere very humid then you can do the opposite and just leave the tobaccos out for a short time before handling them too much.

I'm enjoying it right now. Not much I can add to the positive reviews that proceed this. No bite for me. It is not as dry as other slim-cut tobacco, but then again this is a thin ribbon as opposed to other D&R blends that are shag. It has a slightly sweet nutty taste, that stays consistent down the bowl. Quite mild and a no brainer while your doing "All" of your sons chores around the yard. I usually have no re-lights and it burns a little quicker than average.

I recommend this one, but it won't blow anyone's sock off!