J. Paul Tucker's Oxmoor Smoke Shoppe Holy Smoke

J. Paul Tucker's, Oxmoor Smoke Shoppe is located in Louisville Kentucky at your run of the mill suburban city mall. But, that is not to say that this is a gas station/kwik-e-mart smoke shack that hires it's staff from the nearest head shop or bulk tobacco barn. This little hole in the wall sized store with it's up front counter displaying all it's pipe tobacco's and fully stocked humidor is one of the best in the city. The staff is knowledgeable, and friendly (which seems to be a rarity in the tobacco world) to all. A far sight from some tobacco pervuyers who cast a disdainful eye at their customers if they aren't sporting a three foot grey beard or five piece suit. If your in the area do yourself a favor and check this place out!

The smell from the bag or tin of this tobacco has a hint of raisin or a plum pudding which I believe to be the casing for this blend that makes it sweet but not sickening. The taste closely matches the aforementioned description in that it is a sweet aromatic, but without the problems that plaque this group of tobacco's. It dries easily if it in fact needs drying at all, it doesn't bite even if you're the kind of person to puff vigorously (however I haven't tried to give myself tongue bite by going all out on the blend), and it has a taste that doesn't make you feel like this was some over the counter tobacco that has been fermented with Betty Crocker frosting. Theirs some actual meat to this blend almost as if it had a little latakia added to it for depth (although I can't be certain that this is in fact a part to the blend). The lighting is easy with a minimal time taring and it smokes evenly throughout with a little tamping, leaving a very nice room note.

The only problems with this blend are minimal in my opinion. First, even though the taste is good it seems that it could be stronger and sit with a little more oomph in the mouth, you start to get the taste of fig's, raisins, plums, and the faintest bit of incense before "poof" it's gone leaving you to think that it may be a little flat. Secondly, the nicotine level seems very low which in turn to many may not even be that bad of a thing.

All in all this is a great smoke to have around if not at least try once or twice. The only reason that it does not get four stars is because the actual strength of taste seems to fall just short of perfect.

Based on the Professor's review below, I decided to order a sample of Holy Smoke from J. Paul Tucker's Oxmoor Smoke Shoppe. First, I want to say that I am impressed by the friendliness of the staff and the customer service of this Kentucky pipe shop/tobacconist. I will definitely order from them again.

The initial aroma when I opened the zip-lock bag my order came in was delicious - but I cannot describe exactly what the very sweet smell reminded me of. Raisins? Caramel? Butterscotch? All three? Of all my aromatics, this one definitely smells the strongest and sweetest. I am sure some reviewers would label it as "cloying," though I found it pleasant and it reminded me of more "old-fashioned" blends. The scent was ever-present in the smoke, and vaguely reminded me of the smoke from the incense censers Catholic priests wave around during funeral masses. A wonderful room-note sure to get compliments.

The nice, thick ribbon-cut packed nicely and despite its seeming overly moist, it did not burn hot or goopy. If smoked gently, there's no bite. Unfortunately, as with most aromatics, the flavor of the smoke seems to be mostly from whatever flavoring has been added, and not from the actual tobacco which seemed to have a charred taste. Not necessarily bad, just not ideal. Holy Smoke leaves a good aftertaste, also the result of whatever the sweet flavoring is.

If you favor aromatics, Holy Smoke is definitely a blend to try. It is too bad that Tobacco Reviews does not have two separate review sections, one for aromatics and one for non-aromatics. If I was only rating aromatics, this one would get three stars, but up against non-aromatics/English blends, it warrants only two.

I've been a pipe smoker for forty-five years and enjoy mild to medium English blends as well as some aromatics. I do not like heavily cased aromatics and those that leave an after-taste in my mouth.

I picked up a four ounce container of Holy Smoke, went home and packed my pipe, and the first thing I noticed was how easy it was to load my pipe to just the right firmness. I lit up and could hardly believe the exquisite taste from the first few puffs. I just knew something this good could not continue down the entire bowl. I smoked about a third of the way down without a relight when a neighbor rang my doorbell. I left my home office to answer the door and was gone about ten minutes. When I returned to my office I caught a whiff of the most magnificent fragrance of any tobacco in recent memory. I picked up my pipe, lit it, and continued smoking all the way down. It was heavenly. I did not need another relight and it smoked cleanly all the way to the bottom of the bowl without getting harsh or bitter. When I emptied my pipe, all that was left was a fine gray ash without any dottle whatsoever and the pipe was dry as a bone. No goopy moisture was in my pipe at all as is so common with many aromatics. I don't think you could get tongue bite from Holy Smoke even if you puffed like freight train. It's one of the coolest smokes I've had in a pipe. Congratulations to Keith Martin and J.Paul Tucker for the quality of their tobacco and their expertise in blending.

I highly recommend this tobacco to those who enjoy aromatics as well as those who like a light English blend or crossover blends. The people at J.Paul Tucker's are wonderful to do business with and very accommodating. They ship their tobacco all over the world to people who will not settle for inferior tobacco. It's evident that only the highest grade tobaccos go into this blend. This is a blend that can be smoked all day long with each bowl smoking just as good as the first bowl. I'll be ordering much more of this tobacco in the future.