I owe Byron Oost of The Liquor Store in Kentucky with getting me started in a good way with this potential volcano of a tobacco. I had contacted him via a review of Five Brothers I had read, and he took the time to discuss with me this and other tobaccos he carried. I am so glad he did.

This is one of my favorite pipe tobacco's.

**How to extend the burn time and enjoyment of this toby** I enjoy it straight in a good sized cob. The ritual that Byron taught me is to take a pipe full amount of tobacco, and hold it in the cup of your hand. Then get you mouth close to the tobacco and breath lightly on it. Kind of like an 'aaahh'. The same as you would breathe on your eyeglasses to create a fog so you could wipe them clean. Once or twice will do it. It will absord just the right amount of moisture. Then pack it into your pipe. tight. really press it down. I pack this twice as tight as any other tobacco. Don't worry. It will burn just fine! right down to a fine ash that just pours out of you pipe. This usually doubles my burn time.

If I want a quicker smoke, I just pack it tight straight from the pouch. Love it! Pack it like you normally would with a fancy tin, and this will burn like a forest fire. This is just a great 'old codger' burley with no bite at all that I had seen on my great-grandfathers porch.

To me this is not overwhelmingly strong, but has a good body. YOu know you have had a smoke. Where it also shines is as a blending toby. add it to whatever to stoke it up a bit, or burn better. I like to fold and stuff a flake of Petersens Irish Flake, and then sprinkle a little Five Brothers on top of it as kindling to get the furnace going!

(Have not tried the STG product just yet, still working through my stash that I acquired before the acquisition from Pinkerton.)

Also, if you have a pipe with a bit of ghosting, or from a goopy aromatic, just burn a bowl or two of Five Brothers will usually clean the pipe right up.

My favorite blend with this that I keep on my desk is one part (by volume) Five Brothers to one part Carter Hall with 1/2 part Perique. Great smoke. Good Vitamin N, flavor of real tobacco that burns with no attention required to a fine ash. This is an outdoor mix though, my adult daughter stated that this mix smelled like a "Shreveport Casino". oh well, sure is enjoyable and keeps the mosquitoes away!

Upon opening the pouch I notice a very faint hint of raisins and I believe this may be some sort of topping. Nothing intrusive and it only comes out in the smoke in the slightest bit and only accentuates the pure tobacco flavor. This is a very thin string cut with birdseyes present and is acceptable for RYO although much better in my pipe.

Loading is easy directly from the pouch with no drying needed at all. Lighting poses no issues and from the start there is a toasty burley flavor with pure tobacco being upfront. Hints of the aforementioned raisin flavor pops in if smoked slowly but certainly a tasty addition to the pure tobacco flavor. There's no frills or complexity to this smoke and I truly enjoy that. Nicotine is manageable and not anything like Petersons Irish Flake which has been the only tobacco to make me uncomfortable. I certainly recommend this for burley lovers but others may be a bit apprehensive about it. I'd say give it a try anyway, you may be surprised!

I believe this is not everyone's cup of tea by itself. However, it is great to experiment with to see if it has a condimental effect or enhances the burning qualities of the other tobaccos you smoke. I like this periodically mixed with Other OTC Burleys as it seems to draw up some of the excess moisture in wetter pouch blends. 3 stars.

My only real problem with it was that I couldn't pack enough in my pipe to last more than 10 minutes or so.

P.S. I rolled up a cigarette from this, and while it isn't bad, I prefer Bugler or Drum if I"m going to go Mexican. This stuff is best in a pipe, no question.

It does have high level "N"...and while I prefer a strong Virginia shag...I like the occasional trip down "Burley Lane". Pinkerton Tobacco use to manufacture this and they may still...however, my most recent purchase says it is imported by STG who owns Lane, Pinkerton,...etc.

As with all my shag cut tobaccos, I keep shag moist and smoke it in group 5 and larger size pipe. All-in-all, a very nice smoke!

...a pipe is to be savored...

As mentioned above, my experience thus far with pipe tobaccos has been with aromatics. However, I do enjoy cigars (maduro fanatic here) so this isn't my first-first experience with straight up tobacco. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I picked up the 1.5 oz pouch at my local liquor store for a reasonable price. So "reasonable" that I was preparing for a disappointment, but my budget was tight this week due to vehicular repairs. So I will offer a categorical review of this tobacco -

Pouch Aroma & Appearance: The smell was, I have to say, delicious - yes, delicious. Ive smelled enough pouches of aromatics in my time as a pipe smoker but I wasn't expecting this surprise from what is otherwise nothing more than air-cured shag burley. Warm apple juice and raisins! As for appearance, dark golden-brown hay and scraggly as is to be expected with shag-cut tobaccos.

The Smoke: Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco. With a hint of black pepper. Sort of like wetting your finger with a basic blackening spice and tasting it. If you enjoy a mild spiciness and a pure tobacco taste, it is for you. In a good briar pipe it tastes pretty fantastic, honestly. The package isn't lying, either, when it says "potent". After a smoke I feel the same buzz I feel about half-way into one of my stronger cigars, this is a pull-up-a-chair tobacco only for me! As for the room note, you aren't going to receive any praise from your non-smoking friends. It is tolerable, but on the strong side.

The Burn: Fast! A fair-packed bowl of the stuff lasts me a consistent 15 minutes. But for such a fast-burning tobacco it burns quite cool. I smoked two successive bowls before my pipe even changed temperature (although my pipe is fairly thick-walled, so mileage may vary).

Final Thoughts: For the price this is an exceptional steal. Good flavor for a good price. Some may not like the simple flavor it offers but it packs a punch and what flavor it does have is nostalgic and I imagine it is what you'd expect American pioneers and woodsmen to smoke. So, in that respect this is more of a "baccy" than anything - but that's a good thing! My only complaint is that it is a quick smoke, a very quick smoke and you'll power through a 1.5 ounce (35g) pouch fairly quickly if you like it. However, for a break from your more expensive stuff or just looking for an inexpensive hit of the ol' Vitamin N without breaking the bank, I recommend it.

To be smoked gently to keep tongue biting at a minimum level, this tobacco, surprisingly, smokes rather slowly (maybe because I pack it really tight in one of my corn cobs?)

No complex flavours, which is to be expected from an all BU blend, but again, I like it.

Good nicotine level too. I hope I will be able to drop cigarettes once and for all with this one.

If you are a fast, heavy puffer, stay away from Five Brothers.

Not much taste, but oh, the nicotine! As a blender: the only thing I'll blend it with, is the egg shells and coffee grounds in the trash basket.

Not recommended as a pipe tobacco, but maybe it will work in the compost heap.

Great blend; apart from burning faster than a fire cracker, it exceeds expectations in every respect. Great taste, good strong kick, and an amazing after taste. It has a certain resemblance to Old Joe Kranz (harsh, bitter taste, powerful hit), but it is less complex.

I can now understand what some of the posters here mean when they write about codger burleys, and what pipe tobacco used to be like.

Not an all day blend, but certainly one to ignite the spirit for the day or flatten it out prior to sleep.