Borkum Riff - Original pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 30 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
Revolted	01/27/2013	Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
When I first began pipe smoking this was my first tobacco. Back then it seemed nice. But recently I went to buy another pouch of Borkum Riff because I was out of tobacco, didn't have much money on me and I was curious about it,to see if the pleasant memory I had was real. It wasn't. The tobacco seemed perfectly fine, for a low end one, but when I lighted it it was terrible. I recall there were tears coming to my eyes. The synthetic taste was so overpowering I did three or four puffs, took the tobacco of the bowl, cleaned it very well, and put the pouch of BR right in the first garbage can. Will never bought this tobacco again, unless I hear it have changed. If you're a new pipe smoker and don't want to spend much money on your first tobacco, and want a mild but pleasant smoking experience, buy Amphora Full Aroma instead, because this is a genocide for your taste buds.
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Philosopher	12/22/2012	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is a perfectly pleasant tobacco. Nice vanilla aroma and taste, no real tendency to bite. Maybe not up there with the greatest, but nothing much wrong with it in my opinion.
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grimpeur	12/19/2012	Extremely Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
It's not often I write a review of a tobacco I doubt I'll purchase again, but it's not so much a review as a note to my future self should I be tempted again... Based on a prior experience, years ago, with one of Borkum Riff's cherry blends (it's always a bad sign when the tobacco reeks through the sealed pouch, and a worse one when it's so moist it needs more to be wrung-out than dried-out) I haven't bothered with their offerings since. Oh, temptation! I added a pouch to an order. Upon lighting up, the first few puffs were a revelation! Tobacco! The taste was somehow reminiscent of cedar pencil shavings, in a good way. Then the additives kicked in, and took over the whole experience. I found little tobacco satisfaction, mediocre flavouring, and next to no nicotine kick. And as the reviewer Craig noted, the bottom of the bowl proffered a very unpleasant chemical experience. If this is your thing, enjoy. I think that, for me, there are too many aromatics of much higher quality, in the same price range, to bother.
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craig	07/01/2012	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Well looking at the reviews of this its been pretty much panned, now im not going to do the same. It is a nice tobacco dont get me wrong the aromas and taste are nice, nice vannila slightly chocolatey tang to it, but do not try and rush this one if you do it wont take prisoners and it will knack your tongue, but smoke it slow and it will reward you. Not a bad tobacco but not amazing, would be happy to buy it again as a change of pace or if it was gifted to me but i wouldnt make it my exclusive smoke. Also towards the end of the bowl and i do mean the last 3-4 draws on my pipe it does get a bit tarry and chemically.
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ruraldean	06/25/2012	Mild	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant
It's interesting to see just how subjective reviews may be, ranging from "fireproof" to "quick-burning", "tasteless and weak" to "too strong to smoke pure". I haven't reviewed here before but felt moved to defend the blend on the basis that I'd avoided it for years, even joked about it, based purely on negative reviews here. In fact I recently braved the blend and find it to be a great all day smoke with a unique taste. It burns well, but not supernaturally fast, packs well and for me is a one-light smoke. it seems to be readily available and, as has been pointed out, is extremely popular, which crappy blends tend not to be. One friend smokes nothing else and I get that. My daughter remarked on the lovely chocolate smell although she said it started to smell ashy when nearing the end of the bowl - fairly astute for a 25 year old non-smoker. In all I'd recommend that anyone who's put of by negative reviews try it. As an aside I paid 4 euros 70 cents for 50 grammes in Spain, so if you're on holiday or live there you have virtually nothing to lose. Recommended.
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J.Wellington	06/11/2012	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Hello folks! This particular Borkum Riff is probably of the most neutral tobaccos I have tried, with a slight vanilla flavoring, that, at least to me, is noticeable enough! It is better than SKANDINAVIK Vanilla, but slightly reminds me of it, and its strength is mostly Mild. The only reason why I put 'Mild to Medium' is because it somewhat affected my throat (more cough etc), and because it overheats easily! I mean, not only had I tried the first 3-4 draws, when my tongue was bit, and the pipe was almost heated(and although I lack pipe experience, this seldom happens to me at the very first draws of my pipe 'sessions')! It might be that my tobacconist hadn't preserved it appropriately, but I don't think that's the case, because he keeps all tobaccos in a humidor, and most of the pouches I have bought, are fine! I recommend it to beginners like myself, because it is highly aromatic, pleasant, and the others around you might as well love its odor and not complaint about your smoke!
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albfneto	05/31/2012	Overwhelming	Medium to Strong	Overwhelming	Very Strong
As other Borkuns, this is from origin of Sweden, but now is made in Denmark. Is a mixture of Virginia-Burley. very dry,burns hot and much faster that desired. I dont detected aromatic flavour or taste. I tastes and smell as bad tobacco! for comparison,is related to "Half and Half" type but much less aromatic e and much stronger,much lower quality. If fact, a very low quality tobacco, terrible! Too strong fo regular smoking, So strong that is impossible to smoke it pure! may be good stuff for compose housewold mixtures. Reported here as Bite, yes, it is slighly Bite, but it is expected a caractheristic of the Burley.
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Steden	11/05/2011	Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
I dislike rate a blend with just one star but in this case I can’t do otherwise, I can overlook the boring lack of body and depth: this is not the worst blend I’ve smoked so I could give two stars except it is almost fireproof, that’s too much!
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kislyu	08/03/2011	Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant
A friend of mine smokes this one every day, so I get a pouch. Never ever again!
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MaskedMerganser	06/21/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Well, well, well ... First time on this board, and I have to say I'm gobsmacked at the negative comments of my favourite brand. Sad to say, there is probably not a stockist within 50 miles of my location, it's the ONLY brand I would smoke if it was readily available !!! I like aromatic tobaccos, as I accept that secondhand smoke is not appreciated by everyone and one may as well be kind to one's audience!!! Borkum Riff Original, in my opinion, is the most favoured aroma in my 30 years of pipe smoking as long as you use a 'clean' pipe ...
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Unsal	10/11/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Somewhat Recommended
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bertalanffy	09/30/2010	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
In the pouch, it smelled very fruity and rich. Smoking it almost made me throw up -- it tastes worse than can possibly be described. Repeating the experience ever again would be pure masochism. If you want to know what it tastes like, but don't want to waste money on it, crush some cigarettes in an ashtray and mix with asphalt to make your own Borkum Riff Original.
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damtender	08/06/2010	Medium	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
I'm an OTC burley smoker. A friend gave me a sealed pouch of this stuff. On opening the aroma was OK. The moisture seemed a bit lacking but not to dry. I filled and lighted a medium size Stanwell that smokes most anything well. I have a pretty heavily seasoned mouth, 50+ years with the pipe, but this blend not only bit me,it made my lips numb. Guess there was some sort of flavor to it but nothing pleasant.There is a little nicotine present. Maybe when the last tub of Prince Albert is gone from the last shelf in the last drugstore I could manage to smoke this but it would be a dark day indeed. It's no good and glad I didn't pay for it.
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mr_beard	06/28/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Avoid
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DrDyson	06/06/2010	Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
The Borkum Riff people really could sell water to dolphins! They've done it again (on porpoise, no doubt): made a tobacco that is purely and simply rubbish, yet managed to create a market for it. How DO they do this??? "Strong but soft to smoke with a neutral light aroma"? Everything in this sentence is untrue. BR Original is awful: hot, tasteless, characterless and a waste of money. Smoking this worthless dreck is a complete non-experience. I have yet to come across a BR tobacco that is worth a damn. This one is beyond terrible.
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Logwood	06/06/2010	Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Tolerable
Just Don't!
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Shawn_M	02/24/2010	Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
I only did this to myself once, and it's not an experience I care to repeat.
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KahveDelisi	01/25/2010	Extremely Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
don't do this to yourself...
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
sagesmoke	01/22/2010	Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
FALCON	12/04/2009	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 30 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >