I have never tried the original with PER, only the Ready Rubbed version still available in the UK, but that was years ago, so i do not know if it was with PER or DFK.

One thing is certain. This is one solid offering. I am wondering if that is why Orlik has replaced the PER with DFK. To make Three Nuns even better than it was.

Golden Va coins with some darker core, the smell is sweet with barely a touch of smokiness.

I was a bit concerned when I saw the light coloured tobacco, but this barely bites and, when it does, it is because I have puffed too hard.

The flavour, and its increase in richness, builds as I smoke down the bowl with great pleasure and satisfaction.

This is good tobacco, mates.

I had never tasted a tobacco with Kentucky in it. I have to say that I felt much more the presence of the Virginia as I still don't know how Kentucky should taste like. However, the "other" taste was absolutely fabulous blended with high quality Virginia. I really would not know how to describe the taste, but it is very pleasant. This tobacco is really top quality and I just loved it.

The smell from the tin is fruity, and I thought, hmm, is it going to be aromatic? Thank goodness it wasn't. Just a nice dry and cool tobacco. My pipe and my taste buds are happy!

However, this version is still a pale reflection of the previous blend that had perique instead of Kentucky. Why in the world this reformulation was made, I have no idea. Until the change, this was my all time favorite tobacco and as many know, a very legendary blend. That mixture had more strength and spice, all perfectly balanced to give the smoker great pleasure. Some people say it was not an all day smoke, but for me, it was. There have been several attempts by other companies to replicate this mixture, and all have fallen short of the mark. While I have quite a number of the older version tins stashed away, I sure wish the manufacturer would go back to the previous formula. I'd pay current prices without complaint to stock up if they did. 4 stars for the older version? That's an understatement for me. This current version only gets 3. I'm just glad I have enough of the old tin version to last me for a few more years.

Btw, stay far away from the rubbed out pouch version. It's awful in darn near every way. Burns too fast, has a flat taste, and just doesn't taste good.

After bring this fine blend back to life the tin aroma is a little like shoe polish in aroma, very much like some of the black ropes made today. It is a dark broiwn mixture composed of mostly little round cut disks and one rehydrated they are full and fluffy in appearance. This blend loads easily into the pipe, and once lit, it emmits a very pleasant aroma and a soft full taste on the plate, very much like a dark fired VA with some spicyness, most likely the perique in it. It just tastes so wonderful that my taste buds watered and I savored the smoke all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. It burned well and clean leaving just a fine ash in the bottom of my bowl. I could smoke nothing else until I fisnished this entire tin. It is just a wonderful smoke, has a rich full spicy flavor that just works! Why this blend is no longer made is a real shame as it is one of the best i have ever smoked and I would most likely make this my blend of choice if that was an option. For sure it would be in my top five list. The brown tin with the golden lettering along with white says "None Nicer" and I have to agree. if someone could come even close to reproducing this blend, I would be a devout smoker of it and I am sure many others would agree! If you ever get a chance to try it, do so! No matter the price, it is worth every penney of it!

This is Christmas pudding in a pipe. It is very raisiny and very mellow. This is a "Hall of Fame" tobacco. It is slow burning like a yule log, as contrasted against Carter Hall, which is like burning dried bamboo in a chiminea.

I had some of this about 7 years ago. I honestly cannot recall if it was the curly/coin cut back then, but it was a lot better than the current incarnation that I ordered, smoked and immediately binned yesterday was.

The stuff I had back in 2005 was from a 25gm packet and consisted of a much darker leaf than that of today's mixture, which is a very bright looking springy ribbon cut. Back then it smoked like St Bruno without the soap, and with a hint of musty spice.

What I tried yesterday was awful. In the packet it smelt promising, sweet raisins and figs. It came at a dryish consistency which packed and took to the flame very well. Unfortunately that's where the positives end.

In short Three Nuns 2012 in a 50gm plastic packet smokes like a cigarette. The smoke is very voluminous, but not in the nice thick/silky way pipe smoke should be. It's more like the consistency of cigarette smoke, and behaves in exactly the same way.

It's true that there is little to no bite, and it doesn't burn that hot. But neither does a cigarette. I had bought this from the memory of what I had smoked in 2005. Whilst that may too have been ready rubbed, it was certainly nicer and darker than the god awful stuff it is now.

I can only assume that there have been even more changes to this once hallowed blend since it was changed from curly/coin cut (whenever that was).

Don't waste your money.....

Why on earth have Orlik done this? As far as I know, they do have Périque in stock - cf. Nightcap, Deluxe Navy Roll and so on and so forth.

Okay, so let me rename this blend to Nee Thruns and get on with my review here.

This comes a bit too wet out of the tin, so I let it dry for six hours. This did the trick.

I do tend to stick too smooth VAs; you know, flakes with that natural sweet cookie-like aroma. This is dry, stout and peppery, but also musty and heavy further down the bowl. Nee Thruns is not sweet at all, and the pungent dried fruit aroma, from Three Nuns by Bell's, is no more.

It has this leathery cigar-like touch to it and I really don't like it. Actually, there's nothing "niceness" (to use hip lingo) to this blend, except for the high nicotine level. It does handle, pack and burn like a dream though.

If you like Three Nuns, don't try Nee Thruns.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

However, the name issue aside, this is really a good tasting tobacco and I love it, even with what seems to be a little manually added sweetness. "Three Nuns" quickly dries and I prefer it fully rubbed out and sipped in a small bowl. It's very good out of the tin, but the Virginia's age wonderfully and on that basis, it's Highly Recommended!

I bought my first and last tin at a tobacconist's whose main pipe man claimed that this blend were pretty close to the even more fabled Escudo. I already had doubts about that even while he was speaking, as Escudo contained generous amounts of Perique. But I did expect quite a bit from this blend.

What a disappointment I ran into after opening the tin!

The leaf is a classic roll cut, similar in size to MacBaren's offerings. The tin aroma is mellow, leathery, creamy -- nothing out of the ordinary.

The coins rub out easily, stuff easily, burn easily, still nothing out of the ordinary. The taste is smooth and creamy, sweet and leathery notes in there, all very average. I seem to detect a slight top-flavour that is not objectionable.

Were this blend priced any more reasonably, I would probably rate it with three stars; it is an easy-to-maintain, enjoyable smoke without being in any way exceptional. Except for the rather excessive price. I can't get over that, sorry. For the same unit price, I get 150 per cent the amount of Stockton, which is a purely great and outstanding tobacco IMHO. So, sorry to go against the grain here, I can't give more than 2 stars.

-- addition: I once swore that I would never down-rate any blend because of its price. But this one is so hugely over-priced for what it gives that I am taking a time-out for this one only.

Where to begin? It is very traditional in its construction and very bold with its taste. This is not a blend for Aromatic-only pipe smokers and perhaps not for beginning pipe smokers. To paint a more allegorical picture: it is like asking a person, who only drinks his/her tea with lots of sugar and milk, to drink straight tea.

In Japan, the price is around 2,000 yen which is about the same as 20 US dollars. It does sound expensive, but you are paying for quality and it does not fail in this area. Here in Japan it is available in the 50g tins and by Odin's eye I am thankful for that.

On opening the tin there is indeed a unique sight that hits you; that all of the tobacco is sliced into coins. These are wonderful for people like me who enjoy the ritual of picking out our tobacco and rubbing it into the consistancy we desire.

On smelling the tin, the strong smell of something akin to Jagdwurst of my native Germany or for others - dried deer sausage. A "gamey" smell, if you will allow the term. This smell continues with the tobacco even as it is dried out further or even aged.

Smoking is a wonderful experience, but be careful! Too fast and too strongly of a puffer, if you are one, will result in a nicotine over-drive. It is to be smoked gently and calmly, just as a good clergyman would do while reading some sacred text.

The taste is full and natural and I, personally, highly recommend it for those of you with a taste for the English blends.

I just rub the curlies and stuff it for a small pipe and fill them on top of each other in bigger bowl.

In my rotation for long enough and i'll just keep it that way.