Benson & Hedges - Mellow Virginia pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 37 of 37 reviews of this tobacco
Plunket	05/06/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Interesting reviews below: this is available to me on every street corner, which is why I avoid it like the plague, especially when there is much more to offer in London. Benson & Hedges of Bond Street were once a force to be reconed with in pipe tobaccos and for a number of years I enjoyed smoking both their Cut Plug and Virginia Flake. As a note of interest, Orlik still blend a virginia flake under the B & H brand Sadly, MV is now delivered by Gallaher and it's not as it was when first launched B & H; it's harsh, insipid and unpalatable. No recommendation here - It would need to be the last in existance, before I could contemplate the thought of a purchase.
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Pseudo Nim	07/17/2008	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Blend did they say ? but with what I ask ? all I get is gob fulls of soap a burnt tongue and pallate, it doesn't smell bad in the pouche (where it should be left) lights easy and burns well, the tobacco, your tongue roof of mouth and tonsils if you have them, if this is B+H's attempt at an English lakeland soap then they would have done better to leave out the kerosene topping. This is an easily available offering in England and there are those who do like it, I for one many years ago, oh how times change. Count me not amongst their ranks today. I just can't beleive this is recommended for new pipe smokers, it must be some sort of test.
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Dubinthedam	05/08/2008	Medium	Strong	Full	Strong
This is my second EDIT and I up it to 4 STARS. This is by far the best packet/pouch baccy I have ever smoked, I can only buy it back in Dublin at ?6.50 for 25grms....I shall be stocking up regardless of price next time when I'm back in the fair old city. This is a Lakeland perfume blend, this will ghost a pipe worse that the sweetest vanilla aromatic you've ever smoked. I still give it four stars, why? Well I like a wee bit of English soap, but for me the definitive English soapy VA is Irish Flake by Peterson's of Dublin, ironic or what! A wee pinch of this into Irish flake - I have yet to try, but it just might be one of the most amazing smokes I've ever had. Mild on nicotine, max on lakeland perfume, little tongue bite...and I just wish the Dutch could appreciate a good English soapy...but alas no, that would require them to think outside the box..and that is never possible. I have a source for St. Bruno in Naarden...another famous standard English lakeland....I will buy a few tins of that one too.
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Scottish Steve	03/23/2008	Mild	Strong	Mild	Tolerable
"A rich blend of pipe tobacco for a mature, satisfying smoke" ? DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH! This is horrible stuff. I used to smoke MV a long time ago and either its got really really bad or I was a complete pillock then. I smoked two half-bowls of this and threw the rest away. It tastes of perfume, has no nicotine and the texture of the "tobacco" itself is wierd and unsettling. Stay away from it. (the only supermarket blend I've tried that I rate is St Bruno, which seems honest and of real quality. It's just a shame I don't like Cavendish)
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Quoll	02/13/2008	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Easily available as a newsagent/supermarket/corner store product in the UK. Branded Benson & Hedges (a cigarette brand) and made by Gallagher I think. For a 'high street' tobacco I find it OK. Pouch presentation is a coarse ready rubbed with a distinct caramel topping. First light is easy and I get a biscuity flavour over the tobacco. The tobacco itself does make itself known though - medium nicotine and some earthy Virginia flavours. Overall though, I am left with a slightly coarse, cheap impression. I suspect this isn't really high quality stuff. Popular with my (non-smoking) other half though. For me, this is fine in small doses, but could not be a regular all-day smoke.
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Bigbadbun	01/31/2008	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I picked up my 25g pouch of Mellow Virginia at a local supermarket. As noted by other reviewers, it is indeed a commercial offering, which explains why it is stocked in most supermarkets here in the UK. As an aside, it is produced by Gallaher, who also make copious amounts of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Anyway, Appearance: a well-rubbed out brown-gold tobacco, with a few small 'chunks' of flake. Pouch Aroma: rich, caramel-like, fruity and sweet. It is not unlike Amber Leaf hand-rolling tobacco, however, that Gallaher offering is much more acrid and acidic in aroma. Packing and lighting: it is easily packed, lights easily and, moreover, stays lit reasonably well. First half of the bowl: a mild-medium strength with a flavour of caramel and stewed fruits. Delicious! Second half of the bowl: oh, what a change! The tobacco becomes stale and bland, not unlike over-chewed chewing gum: you still get hints of sweetness, but the overall flavour is close to zero. It remains mild-medium in strength and I wonder if the staleness is due to the burn-off of the delighful flavouring, leaving an insipid base tobacco. It leaves some dry dottle. To sum up: cheap-ish, widely available and pleasant enough for a commercial product (cf. Gold Block). I just wish the flavour would last.
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tockus	12/16/2007	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
For an easily obtainable tobacco (in U.K.) this is quite good. Mild to Medium strength with a pleasant room note. Seems a bit 'sweetish' at first. With present litigation who is going to notice the aroma anyway, apart from your nearest and dearest! Tried it in briars, cherrywood and corn cob, and good in all of them. Cheap enough to experiment with and recommended.
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Pipepundit	11/27/2007	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Not at all bad! Mellow Virginia is rather a decent tobacco, to my palate at least bearing some resemblance to Stokkebye virginias, with a biscuit like taste. The nicotine content is satisfactory, the room note quite pleasant and light and the flavour simple without being boring. It is a trifle heavy on the stomach, otherwise it would make an excellent first smoke of the day. It would be a mistake to write it off as being negligible. Well worth a try.
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ROMMER	06/26/2007	Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant
Thank god for this tobacco. Unlike nearly all of the pipe tobaccos youre going to come across who claim to be 'mild' this one actually is and that is a rare thing indeed. If like me you are quite sensitive to harsh tobaccos then this little beauty could be the answer. A cool clean smoke with a pleasant aroma that does not leave any nasty lasting taste. The sort of thing you can smoke all day and not really notice a after taste. A good, cheap, well burning and reliable brand. Go for it. And I dont work for em either :)
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ex20adayman	02/14/2007	Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable
I was looking for a mild, readily available, virginia to break in a new pipe I recently bought. Read the reviews on this and thought it might fit the bill. Wrong. Smoked in the new pipe it was tolerable at best. Initial taste a bit like Dunhill EMP I thought but that was where the similarity ended. The rest of the bowl was unpleasant - smoked hot and harsh IMO. In order to not discount the tobacco completely I smoked two or three bowls in my regular virginia pipe and amazingly it tasted worse than in the new pipe! To add insult to injury the wife thought I had been smoking fags again such is the aroma this tobacco gives off - that'll be the B&H touch no doubt! Not recommended, try St Bruno or Three Nuns if you're wanting a smooth readily available UK virginia.
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Air Commodore	03/10/2005	Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I used to smoke this regularly in my youth. It has changed and is not the same as it was 24 years ago. It used to have a lovely caramely taste and very sweet aroma. I find it quite harsh now and gives a hot smoke.
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Tantric	03/10/2005	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant
Mild Virginia is an excellent choice when looking for a cheap, uncomplicated smoke. In spite of its name, it has nothing to do with the bygone excellent Benson & Hedges pipe tobaccos, such as Cut Plug, Sullivan?s Mixture or the wonderful Original Virginia Flake (IMO one of the best tobaccos there ever was). This is a more commercial product, blended by Rothmans or Odgen?s of Liverpool, and together with St. Bruno, Clan, and Erinmore, it can easily be found in any news stand or Deli, anywhere in England. Ready rubbed, the tobacco is mainly light brown, with some darker strands thrown in, very soft and silky (not syrupy). It is easy to pack, it tends to burn cool, and it has a nice, nutty flavour. The room aroma is quite agreeable (to the point that non smokers would actually praise it) and subtle, dissipating quickly. For more experienced smokers, this tobacco would be a trifle bland, and not at all a memorable smoke. Then again, it is an excellent choice for beginners. Think of it as an upgraded Gold Block, or the English version of American drug store blends. (N.B.: for some reason my Tantric ID was obliterated from my review, the first one for this tobacco, so I have posted it again)
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Capulet	09/30/2004	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
This was my first tobacco, being extremely popular with the pipe-smoking fraternity in the UK. The smoke is clean, uncomplicated but not drab, a little bit of tongue bite with it. Anyone starting out, this is a cheap good all-rounder.
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	03/04/2004	Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
Mild Virginia is an excellent choice when looking for a cheap, uncomplicated smoke. In spite of its name, it has nothing to do with the bygone excellent Benson & Hedges pipe tobaccos, such as Cut Plug, Sullivan?s Mixture or the wonderful Original Virginia Flake (IMO one of the best tobaccos there ever was). This is a more commercial product, blended by Rothmans or Odgen?s of Liverpool, and together with St. Bruno, Clan, and Erinmore, it can easily be found in any news stand or Deli, anywhere in England. Ready rubbed, the tobacco is mainly light brown, with some darker strands thrown in, very soft and silky (not syrupy). It is easy to pack, it tends to burn cool, and it has a nice, nutty flavour. The room aroma is quite agreeable (to the point that non smokers would actually praise it) and subtle, dissipating quickly. For more experienced smokers, this tobacco would be a trifle bland, and not at all a memorable smoke. Then again, it is an excellent choice for beginners. Think of it as an upgraded Gold Block, or the English version of American drug store blends.
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Pipestud	10/16/2003	Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I recently ordered this one from across the pond along with some St. Bruno and Mick McQuaid. It comes in a pouch, is ribbon cut and easy to load and smoke. And while, as the above reviewers indicate, this is a milder type of smoke it is not bland. (Not in the American sense anyway.) I rather enjoyed the unique taste of this Virginia/Burley mix. Just a hint of some discreet flavoring made the experience even more enjoyable. B&H Mellow Virginia burns cool, does not bite and leaves a rather dry dottle. I certainly shall order another pouch in the future. Perhaps not as elegant as the blue blooded St. Bruno and Mick McQuaid, but still, a dadgum nice batch of weed for this simple country boy.
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Bluebottle	10/12/2003	Medium	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
A rich and (surprise, surprise) mellow VA blend, thinly cut could possibly be hand-rolled. No surprise since here in GB B&H are most famed for their cigarettes anyway. I found a tendency to burn hot - but I'm used to cooler Cavendish blends, so probably puffed too hard! Sweet and very nice room note - that pipe smell, very traditional. Obvious choice for regular student smoke here in GB due to low price and extremely good availability... Packs and lights with the ease normally associated with ciggies or cigars. Could become a staple in my tobacco diet due to above reasons.
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Flatcap	08/07/2002	Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Tolerable
One of the most readily available 'ready-rubs' here in the UK. I would echo Tantric's review above, to the letter. For the novice its a reassuring blend, which adds confidence by lighting (and more importantly staying lit!) easily and offering no hint of harshness or the dreaded tongue-bite. But as your tastes develop I'm sure like me you will find this bland and uninspiring. Still if you're on the road and miles from your favourite pipe shop it's better than total abstinence.
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