Ole Shenandoah Barrel No. 76

The burleys are nutty, earthy and toasty with a little molasses as the most obvious component. The black cavendish offers a little sugar in a small support role.The cocoa, brown sugar and vanilla toppings cover up much of aspects of the tobaccos, while the honey and nuts are a little less noticeable. The taste level is a step past the center of mild to medium. Has little nicotine. Burns clean and cool with no bite at a reasonable pace, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. Needs an average number of relights. Has a pleasant after taste. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

I'm on my second tin of 76 and, thus far, am well satisfied with this blend. It has a pleasant tin aroma which is a combination of raisins and brown sugar. When I read this was a Lane product, I was skeptical that 76 would be a sticky, overly flavored tobacco that left dottle and would not burn or burned too hot....happy to report, I was wrong. 76 has just the right amount of moisture, packs great, lights easily, burns fairly cool and stays lit. It requires little attention and produces a heavy, thick smoke with a sweet room note. This is easily and all day smoke that will leave you hands free to perform other tasks. You can sit your pipe down and come back after a minute and it's still there, ready to go. I would have to say, this is fast becoming my favorite aromatic.....

It's been a while since I've put a mild aromatic into my pipe, and I have to admit my palate is a bit out of practice. My first impression is a sweet flavor with hints of cinnamon or nutmeg, as though I caught the gingerbread man and shoved him into my pipe.

I should have read the other reviews before opening the tin, since this is clearly not a summer smoke. While the smoke itself is very mild, every element hints at winter, fireplaces, warm blankets, and carolers. All things inappropriate for 80 degree weather in June. I closed the tin and labeled it, "Do not open until Christmas." When the yuletide comes around, I may be able to give this tobacco the review it deserves.

A great aromatic, all things considered. The first thing that entered my mind after lighting the first bowl, was Boswells Christmas Cookie. I immediately questioned whether this was simply because I smoked a fair bit of CC through this pipe prior to this. I then packed another bowl in a different pipe. Yup, still Christmas Cookie. There is a slight difference, but it is marginal. It honestly seems as if someone attempted to copy J.M. Boswells recipe and got it about 85% correct. I still favor the "original", but for those not local to Boswells this would present a good budget minded substitute. Lot's of sweet notes of vanilla, a bit of chocolate here and there, and a touch of liquor, maybe rum.

Overall, I would consider this likely the best tinned aromatic I've had. At the price I paid for it, about $4.50 a tin, my only regret is not buying 8-10 of them.

Ah yes. Tobacco sales chicanery at it’s best. This is actually Scotty’s Butternut Burley re-named and tinned. Even the description is the same word for word. See my review on that blend for details.

This blend was fairly new to me. It had a nice aroma when opening the tin. Very little moisture and was just about right. Easy to pack and stayed lite after the first charring light. I packed a good sized bowl and it burned evenly through the entire bowl with no dottle in the bottom. Produced a nice rich thick smoke. A nice blend of Burley and Cavendish with no bite. Reminds me somewhat of Sutliff Molto Dolce but in a milder form when smoked. Would be a great starter blend for someone new to pipe smoking. Plan to smoke it regularly. Also thought it was reasonably priced.

This is a Cavendish a burley blend that is flavored with cocoa and vanilla. While it is an interesting try, it is not really unique. That is all there is to say.

I purchased a few tins of this because it sounded like it was worth a try and the price was right. Overall it's not bad, has a pretty good choc/vanilla flavor that lasts through to the end. It burns good right out of the tin without drying. Its mild on the nicotine so enjoy a big bowl if you wish. Not really any doddle at the bottom at all, doesn't gunk up your pipe and most importantly no bite! This is a great aro for someone starting out for sure, and an all day smoke for the more experienced.

Ole Shenandoah. Hmm.

The reviews I read about this tobacco were off the charts! Rave, rave, rave. Sounds awesome. And I'm not snooty. I like English, Balkan, Aromatics and plain ole smokes too. So I thought, "hey! I'll try this one...and since it's on sale, I'll grab 15 tins!" Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought it and the compulsive person in me left the train station without me.

So there I was now waiting to get my hands on this tin. They arrived. I finally got around to opening one about a month later. Sort of smelled pleasant in the tin. It had the vanilla scent, but maybe I expected a bit more of it. But that's OK too. Then I packed and smoke it. Hmm. Not a lot of vanilla flavor. Not a lot of tobacco flavor. What the heck did I just smoke? Was the cob pipe funky? I got zilch out of it by way of flavor. But I figured it was just an off day. Then about a week later, I took the tin out for a round of golf. I figure, it would be pleasant enough to smoke around others and this is supposed to be a great winner, so let's take it. Again, zilch. Not much to it. I smoked it. I had it with me and I continued to smoke it, but it wasn't satisfying. In fact, I was starting to think what I was going to be able to do with the other 14 tins!

The folks around me though did like the smell of it, but I had to ask them if they did. Sometimes when smoking a pipe on the course, folks will edge closer to smell the smoke and comment about how they like this or that or how it might remind them of someone. But they did like the scent here, so there was that.

So I came back, popped it all into a pint jar and said forget about it. Done with this stuff. But a couple of months later, curiosity got the better of me and I opened up the jar to catch a whiff. It smelled better. Fuller. It smelled like it had smoothed and grown into itself. Here's to a new bowl of it and to giving it another chance. I packed it up and lit it up. It was indeed smoother and fuller in flavor! The vanilla was coming through and the tobacco tasted richer. Nothing to write lasting songs about, but it was tasty and smooth. It also gave me hope for the remaining 14 tins!

No nicotine hit to speak of. No bite either. It was a smooth smoke and alright in its own right. If continued cellaring brings out the remaining flavors in the tobacco, both from the leaves themselves and the marrying of the flavors, then this could be raised to 3 stars.

I may be double dipping as I thought I had just reviewed this blend -

I had fun tasting all of the Ole Shenandoa blends (easily gotten at pipesandcigars.com). They have great tin art and really nicely put together aromatics with crisp, tobacco taste, yet with aromatic agents that are not too sweet.