Peter Stokkebye - Optimum pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 29 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
Arkie	04/10/2013	Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This mixture tastes a bit like Sillems Black Label. The Zimbabwe leaf gives it a slightly exotic taste and the trace of vanilla sweetens it slightly. I'm undecided if I will put it into my regular rotation but I sure don't regret buying the pouch of it.
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slashes	01/02/2013	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Very nice aromatic to smoke when you want something light, has a light nutty taste with vanilla. Burns cool and doesnt bite.
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David Peters	11/18/2012	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
An inexpensive blend that tastes very similar to 1-Q with pleasant vanilla and caramel flavor. Needs additional drying as my dottle is very damp. Also the last third of the pipe loses its flavor and takes on a dull ashy taste.
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Bluefox	10/15/2012	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Not really sure what to think of this blend. The aroma and taste was good and it burns very dry for an aromatic which is great. The problem I have with it is my tongue is not happy. I cant quite make out if it is spicy or a bite. Leaning more towards spicy which doesnt belong in an aromatic because I have yet to be bitten by a stokkebye blend. I recommend B&B instead.
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ruffinogold	08/23/2012	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Theres one thing that bugs me about this site .. Reviewers .. lol . If you " rarely smoke Aros because they do nothing for you " .... why waste space that people will have to read through to get to a real review . Anyway , this is a good aro in the PS fashion . Like many of the cased Aros , if you like the flavor , you'll at least like the blend , given it lights and smokes well enough ... which this blend does . I have this blend jarred and smoke it now and again . The room note is very nice and the flavor , I cant quite make it out [ I rarely can unless it's labeled :) ] but it's nice . Smokes cool and the wife smokes it as well .
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Jaysown	05/24/2011	Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant
This one is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I know I shouldn't like it, but on the right occasion it's a real joy. It's a mild aromatic blend, cased with just the right amount of vanilla. The vanilla doesn't overpower the tobacco but adds a bit of sweetness and depth. Overall, the taste is very light and smooth and I find it goes perfectly with a cup of good coffee in the afternoon. It's certainly not a tobacco I could smoke all the time because it's just too sweet but once in a while it's very enjoyable. I'd only recommend it as an occasional smoke, and the room note is one of the most pleasant I know of so perhaps a good after dinner pipe when in company.
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Brown Pipeman 1940	03/02/2011	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
If you are looking for an aromatic that is full of fruit and vanilla flavor, look no further. The sweetness only becomes more pronounced the further down the bowl you smoke it. It smokes cool, won't bite your tongue, and leaves no scraps at the bottom of a bowl, just a nice gray ash. It has a delicious aroma and I've never once had any non-smoker make a negative comment about the smell. Quite the contrary! The smell of this pipe tobacco reminds me of the smell of this small tobacco shop I used to pass by as a child. It was as if honeysuckle and some berries from elfland had been tossed into a fire and the aromas were wafting through the air. The pleasure that smell gave to my senses is one of the main reasons I am a pipe smoker. And you cannot beat the price! Thank you, Stokkebyes!!
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Peppino	08/07/2010	Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Optimum, is what it is. No pretense just a nice lite aromatic tobacco that won't get you kicked out of the house. As well as give your palate a chance to cleanse itself while an ODA stuffed with stashed 965 is laying in waiting! Peter was a great guy and made some great tobacco's,and was one of the nicest men in the industry. We all need a break sometimes and this fits the bill! Happy puffing!!!!!
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The Pipesmith	04/17/2010	Very Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant
I think this is a fine, light aromatic, and its my favorite aromatic from the Stokkebye line. I see the aromatics get dinged a lot in the reviews which is unfortunate, and its typically the blends with latakia out the wazoo that get the highest number of reviews and high marks. My favorite tobaccos are not aromatics, but when I want one this is it. When I'm working in the yard, I can get a large pipe of this going once and then forget about it as I puts around. Its pretty mild, a bit too mild I suppose, and doesn't bite when I'm concentrating on other things. It burns with no tending or tamping. The flavorings are not so over the top that its a sticky mess to work with. It will burn down about two-thirds of the way before going out at which time it is usually best to dump the remains. And yes, it is a bit gunky at this point, but not nearly so bad as many other aromatics. Its a good crowd pleaser when I'm in the mood to mingle and actually care what other poeple think of my pipe smoke. It has gotten more compliments from strangers than any other tobacco I've ever smoked. Period.
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Spizzo	11/19/2009	Very Mild	Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant
Average, cheap American aromatic type tobacco. Bought it out of curiosity and although I do not usually like aromatics due to tongue bite, this tobacco did not bite. I will not be buying this again but, it is not terrible. Packs and lights well, smokes easily and not as hot as expected. Taste is almost all flavoring. Typical, generally sweet taste. Gets a bit acrid the further down the bowl you get.
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Thompson Schuz	10/03/2009	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
I purchased an ounce or two of this from the tobacconist after getting a whiff of the rum and/or vanilla others here have noted. Stokkebye's English Luxury is a standard for me, and I ventured to this light aromatic to keep up patronage. Smoking with Johann, a cigar smoker who had recently picked up the pipe, I quickly realized the odor of the casing did not translate to taste. As mild an English as Luxury is, its taste is quite a bit more substantial, and, it being my daily, I was not prepared to step down in intensity of flavor. Comparing Burley to Burley, were one to soak Prince Albert in his can with rum, afterward letting it dry, I can imagine it approximating Optimum. As much as I dislike the former, I think I would choose that route before again attempting Optimum. One might imagine Jonathan's response, he accustomed to the cigar; to him, it was like smoking nothing. We offered it to his girlfriend for potpourri, but, I hear, she discarded it.
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pandabearzx2	09/28/2009	Mild	Medium	Mild	Pleasant
Like everyone said, it can burn a little too hot. So watch out for that. I must disagree about the taste though. The first 1/2 of the bowl is good and sweet. The last half is very ashy and not doesn't have much taste. Its a decent aromatic, but only smoke half a bowl.
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Russell	02/01/2008	Extremely Mild	Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Tolerable to Strong
This smelled so good in the jar at the tobacconist that I had to try it. Oh boy... sip this one slowly or you'll end up with a mouth of blisters. The other reviewers' warnings about this smoking wet are an understatement. It says it is supposed to be cased with fruit and vanilla on the jar tag. The vanilla is pretty strong, the cavendish gives a brown sugar/maple flavor and aroma, but the fruit if it is even there I cannot detect any, short of the slightest hint of peach and raspberry which I really have to hunt for. Room aroma despite the vanilla smells like Quaker's brown sugar & maple oatmeal. I personally do not like this smell very much. And it is rather heavy. I'd suggest some of CAO/DAN blue note over this for a vanilla and fruit flavored tobacco. If there is one thing I hate about tobacco it is the ones that won't dry out, making me unable to get them to the right moisture level. Since it is an aromatic and not doused in propylene glycol to the point I cannot dry it, I'll give this one more star. It's not a terribly bad tobacco, the flavoring is simply not very well applied: the vanilla masks everything. Ultimately though, there isn't much to mask. It's not a direct hot air smoke thanks to the virginias, but it is close. If you like aromatics give it a shot, but only get one or two ounces to try it.
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renaissance man	03/28/2007	Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant
This is a great experience as long as you are not the one smoking it. Great in the jar and in the air. But in the mouth its a little overwhelming. I think it actually gives me a headache. A milder version of this would do well if they cut the flavoring by 2/3rds or something. Something closer to Virginia Q. Bad part is I really wanted and tried to like this stuff but I don't think my tongue would survive. Yeeeooowww!
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Maimonides	08/26/2006	Very Mild	Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
Whoa, a blend of many synthetic flavors that smells great. It taste like marshmellows and I actually felt a little ill- like when you eat too many oreo cookies..... good for young novice.
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huffnpuff	12/17/2005	Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I bought an ounce of this blend and it smelled nice. The taste is there if you smoke more of it, but I dont want a hot smoke. Though I did get a wet smoke. The room aroma is nice and my wife liked the smell.I got no tongue bite and it lit well, but it lacks the flavor I look for. I probably wont buy this one again.
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CaptnDan	12/06/2005	Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant
I thought I might be in the mood for an aromatic - not a mood that strikes very often. Optimum smelled OK in the jar, but I wish I had stopped right there. A typical bulk aromatic, it was over-cased and no matter how much I tried, it smoked wet. I really wanted to like it, as I would love to have something to smoke in less-than-smoker-friendly environments. If you can get past the flat Black Cavendish flavor and the topping, you will have something that won't run innocent bystanders off. Keep a very good supply of pipe cleaners on hand.
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Darth 69	07/21/2005	Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
I was in the mood to like this but not to be. when I first heared about this blend it was supposed to be flavored with rum and vanilla. But when I checked the website it now says fruit and vanilla. That may be my problem. I noticed blends that have noted to be flavored with a similiar scheme don't appeal to me. The taste is odd and a little sickningly confectionary. Mostly a black cave base that tastes flat with a smidgen of lighter tobaccos.It may also be the vanilla flavoring which I don't like, perhaps a vanilla extract or vanillian that tastes a little unpleasantly "synthetic." Some real vanilla flavorings don't have such a character and in combo with that flat and lifeless black cav. tastes like a marshmellow, blahhhhhh. Not recommended
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DUPE.1512	06/26/2005	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
Yuck! Never again.
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Argo	06/25/2005	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
As others describe, unlit, it does smell promising, but alas, a promise it does not keep. Very mild, decent for beginners. Nothing more can be said about this tobacco that has not been already mentioned. I am nearing the end of my bowl now, and once my 2 ounces if spent, it will unlikely be another purchase of mine.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 29 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >