Smoker's Haven - Cognac Mixture pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 7 of 7 reviews of this tobacco
SteelCowboy	05/20/2011	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Every so often, I find a alcohol flavored tobacco is a nice change of pace. I have tried many different alcohol flavored blends, but Cognac Mixture is the very best of the best. The big brother to Esoterica's Pembroke, this blend has a much deeper taste and more Cognac than Pembroke (by the same blender). Cognac is a rich with thinly cut ribbons that meld wonderfully in the pipe. Although I prefer smaller bowled pipes, this blend really shines in a nice large bowl. Cognac arrives moist and with the strong tin aroma of Cognac. The taste is that of a typical Esoterica English made with high quality leaf. Cognac packs easily and burns very cleanly, but make no mistake, the cognac flavor dominates the show. As a result, the blend is quite sweet and becomes sweeter as it ages. I'm down to my last eight ounces and after close to two years of Smoker's Haven's inability to obtain more from Germain, it appears that this wonderful smoke (and most of the Smoker's Haven blends are really wonderful) may be gone forever. If you are a fan of rich English blends with a lot of alcohol, this is the holy grail. Those that only enjoy a small amount of spirits in their tobacco or those that don't like any at all should skip this blend. Highly recommended!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
CPT/VSG	03/25/2010	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Cognac has the characteristics of the other Germain-made Smokers' Haven English blends--a thin ribbon cut of Virginias, Orientals and Syrian Latakia. Like the others, it burns slowly and cooly, leaving a whiteish ash. Cognac has some topping, ostensibly Cognac, which, for this reviewer, detracts slightly from the fine qualities of the source tobaccos. Consequently, I give Cognac 3 stars rather than 4. But, overall, a fine tobacco.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Big bad Jon	02/07/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I tried this blend after some pleading from a friend. I had actually won a tin of this twice at a pipe show and because Premil of Smokers Haven is such a great guy he traded me any tin of my choosing at the show. I really wish I would have kept the tins now. I think this blend is the Exotica blend with the Cognac added to change up the taste a bit. I can not say that I would have ever thought that was a good idea, but it just works!!! THe Cognac is sweet and slightly spicy but does not detract from the excellent "real tobacco taste". It also helps in the room note department. The Latakia is somewhat diminished by the casing but it is still very much in play here. I absolutely recommend this blend so any English smoker, but also encourage all aromatic smokers to try and venture out of the shallow end of the pool and try this hybrid blend. A note to all aromatic only smokers: your tobacconist is holding out on you. Just kidding, cheers.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
peakbagger	06/05/2008	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
My all time favorite blend is Smokers' Haven "Our Best Blend"; this is OBB with a light touch of Cognac. This is similar to Esoterica's Pembroke (which I also like). All of Smokers' Haven and Esoterica's blends are manufactured by the estimable J.F. Germain & Son Company so there should be quite a similarity. Cognac is to Our Best Blend as Pembroke is to Margate. There are taste differences between the two brands and these two mixtures. One difference between Esoterica and Smokers' Haven is the use of Cyprian (Esoterica's) vs. Syrian (Smokers' Haven) Latakia, another is the moisture content. All of the Esoterica's blends I've tried come a little moist while Smokers' Haven mixtures are perfect right out of the can, this might be attributed to the size of the tins as Esoterica's are the generic 50g round tin and Smokers' Haven comes in a larger pop-top 8oz size, both tins are vacuum sealed but the tobacco is not as compressed in the larger tins. The tin aroma is nice, mostly English but with a slight Cognac tinge. The Syrian Latakia used here is less sharp and more nuanced in flavor then its Cyprian cousin it is also stronger in Nicotine. The Virginias are sweet and the Turkish is there for depth and fullness. The Cognac doesn't overpower the blend but is mostly in the background. The room note is enjoyed by my wife. 9 out of 10 stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
emmbee	05/10/2007	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
This is much better than Krumble Kake. I actually enjoyed this stuff. It's a cross between the 1820 and Royal Jersey. I don't think there's really any cognac in this, but if there is, thank goodness, I couldn't taste it. I generally hate liquor and tobacco blends. To be sure, it's a Germain product, and they did well for Smoker's Haven. Only problem is, they don't sell this in smaller 2 oz tins, then I would've bought some at the Chicago Pipe Show. I don't like it enough to purchase an 8oz tin at $25, as I like smoking a variety of different products and don't commit solely to one. If SH will package this in smaller quantities, I'll buy some. Three of five stars ------------------------------- 2007 update - Revisited this one as well, and I?m still not crazy about it. I love the retro tin, but that?s about it. It?s smoky but it nips the tongue. If there is cognac, I don?t taste it. Again, my general low opinion of boozy blends continues. Two of five stars
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Philo Beddoe	04/06/2007	Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
I do sometimes enjoy cased tobaccos, but not this one. I am not a cognac drinker, so I cannot say if this smells like cognac or not, but if it does, I won't be drinking cognac anytime soon. The good base tobacco was drown out by the casing, which I did not care for. Might be tasty to those who enjoy cognac.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Minz	11/24/2003	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
OK, so I took a while to review this blend. And boy am I glad I did. This stuff is gooodd! The pouch aroma is delightful, although my coworkers think it smells like iodine. No accounting for taste I guess. Upon opening you can definatly smell the liquor casing. Packing is a bit tough in smaller bowls due to the stringy virginia, but nothing to hard. Upon lighting you are greeted with a burst of flavor. The cognac seems to rush out of the pipe, followed by the almost sweet nutty syrian latakia. What an expirince. I've had a bowl or two seem kind of thin on occasion, but I think that was mostly me not having it lit well enough. Three or four matches seems to be pretty standard for this blend. As you progress down the bowl, the other aspects of the blend make themselves know. The virginas add to the sweetness of the blend, chiming in wonderfully. The turkish seems to peek in now and again, bringing a spicy tang to the tobacco. Nearer to the end of the bowl, the virginas really kick in with a round rick sweetness. The casing never dispates completly, but cetainly settles down after a bit. I've smoked this in big and small bowls, and enjoyed every bit of it. The only bad thing about this blend is that its not made anymore. So, if you see a can of this some where, buy it. A rare and deliscious smoke. 11/24/03 I just got a note from the Smoker's Haven. They have contracted with Germian to begin supplying this blend again. Too cool. Gonna run over there one afternoon and give it a try.
Showing reviews 1 through 7 of 7 reviews of this tobacco