P.S. How on earth are you supposed to chew this stuff?

Those tall, small diameter bowls (stacks) are the best for this sort of cut. If the bowl is wider than your pinky finger then it's probably too wide.

Other reviewers have described the smoking experience very well. This is strong tobacco with no frills.

Burley was introduced in the mid 19th Century, at about the same time that the British discovered "Oriental" tobaccos. When the Dutch found that burley admitted flavourings more easily than any other tobacco, they learnt to blend with it, and burley found a place in Continental Europe. But cased pipe tobacco was illegal in Great Britain until 1986, so there was never much call for it there and Burley never caught on in England, or throughout the British Empire and Zones of Influence. Thus, the shag that Sherlock Holmes is said to have smoked was certainly not Burley shag!

Most of the tobacco smoked thoughout the world before, or indeed after, World World I was certainly not burley, but Virginia.

FIVE BROTHERS is pure dark-cured burley, and thus quintessentially American. This type of burley is usually used to give body to certain blends. Smoked alone, it is potent. I like it. I never smoke it, because you can't find it in New York. In a corn cob it does not taste harsh, and since corn cobs are small...Try it with some Tennessee sipping whiskey why don't you. Boccato di cardinale!

In a pipe, this is a very powerful and strong tobacco. The taste and room aroma are very cigar like. It is definitely one of the strongest tobaccos that I have ever tried. In the pipe, it is a pure nicotine hit. If you are trying to cut down or quit cigarettes, this will help. It is not necessary to inhale to get a full dose of nicotine. In fact, it is too strong to inhale unless you want to knock yourself out. If you smoke cigarettes, there will be no need to reach for a cigarette after smoking this. There is nothing esoteric to this blend. It is a pure cigar like nicotine loaded power bar. If you make it to the bottom of the bowl, you will find nothing but a dark gray ash. It is inexpensive and may be worth sampling to see how powerful, and strong a tobacco can be.

Aroma: Thae aroma is straight burley, almost a hay smell with some richer, but unidentifiable component.

Packing: The tobacco packs easily in small pipes. I have not tried it in larger pipes, and probably will not.

Lighting: Lights almost too easily because of the fine cut.

Initial flavor: Strong and sharp flavor, almost like a cheap stogie.

Mid-bowl: Not much changes in the middle third. Still strong and tends to leave my mouth quite dry.

Finish: Even stronger, but the pipe stays dry. This is probably because it's drying up my saliva as I smoke it.

Tried in the following pipes: Several cobs, several bowls on a Falcon.

Summary: Possibly OK when a short smoke is needed, but generally not recommended for daily consumption. If this is what pipe smoking was like before WWII, it's surprising that the habit survived.

This was, and is, a string cut, or shag, largely from bottom leaves. Also known as "bird's eye" because of the method of cutting keeps stems in with the tobacco. See the Sherlock Holmes stories for the descriptions of shag tobacco. If moist and fresh, it can almost be smokable; not fragrant and flavorful, but smokable. If dry, it is Satan's blow torch.

Assuming that the pouch you obtain is fresh, you will find that the tobacco leaves the pouch in long strands, packing easily with just that spring in the bowl. I prefer a smaller bowl, perhaps a cob or clay, a meerschaum will also work well. The first light or two is sufficient to bring large blue-gray clouds in the room. That's a tobacco aroma, bitter and full. Five Bros has a characteristic nicotine "kick" that appears about 1/4 into the bowl, discernible but not overwhelming. By the 1/2 of the bowl. you may develop a tightness in the chest which will pass, leaving you w/ hiccups. Sipping water or coffee while smoking alleviates this sensation. 3/4 bowl and the full effect comes into play. You are now fully aware that you have been smoking a real tobacco. The mouth may be dry, or drier than you've become used to, your clothes are now imbued with the tobacco aroma, and the bowl is left with fine white/gray ash. This is what smoking was really like before WWI, which is why so many of the early 20th century pipes had smaller bowls.

AS said, not for the frail or the weak- intentioned. I could never smoke more than two bowls a day of this tobacco, and certainly never consecutively. It is, however, great to rescue pipes that have had crummy aromatics smoked in them.

Others in this family of high nicotine string cuts were Honest, Ivanhoe, Cutty Pipe, and Penn's Best. I have smoked them all and I cannot recommend them to any but experienced smokers because of their burn and noxious qualities.