Bell's - Three Nuns Original pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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Holy Smoke	07/17/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
If this was once one of the great blends, it certainly isn't now. After reading the reviews of the ready rubbed form of TN I wasn't expecting anything profound, and in this respect I wasn't let down. In most respects TN RR is similar to St. Bruno RR, albeit with the addition of a touch of perique, some chalky lime thrown in and most of the richness removed. This is an enjoyable blend and one that I will revisit again but, it is nought in comparison Dunhill?s De Luxe and many other VaPers.
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Flyboy	04/15/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
IMHO,the tobak is "THE" benchmark for all Va/Per blends! With only 2 tins remaining it will be brought out only for special flights to destinations only known to you in search of more "coins". Enjoy the journey!!
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Steerpike	04/02/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I recently ran out of tobacco, and picked up a pouch of the ready rubbed at a tobacco kiosk at the local market. It's not the dissapointment I expected after reading the reviews here condemning the ready rubbed, I find it quite a pleasant smoke. In the pouch, it's a long stringy ribbon, mostly pale brown, with a little bit of darker fragments of flake. I detect no smell of "fired" tobacco, just a neutral Virginia sort of sweetness, with that slightly raisiny scent some pale virginias have. No casings apparent. It lights with absolute ease, and burns evenly, with a pleasant taste of unflavoured, natural tobacco. It can get a little warm if not smoked gently, but doesn't really "bite". The flavour is fairly constant, not changing an awful lot through the bowl, but occaisionally surprising me with a whiff of sweetness, a natural sweetness straight off the tobaccos, similar to that of St Bruno. The room note is nondescript, tobaccoey, but not at all unpleasant. On the whole, I find it quite enjoyable, but nothing exciting at all. I think that this blend would be an ideal starting point for anyone changing from cigarettes to a pipe- smokes with ease, medium but not excessive strength, and a flavour that isn't wildly different to that of a good quality cigarette tobaccco. This is perhaps the only unflavoured pipe tobacco that is available at many off licences and such non specialist places of tobacco buying in the UK- compare to Clan (sweet aromatic) St Bruno (scented flake) and Condor (strong scented flake). As such it's a good choice for anyone who dislikes flavoured tobaccos who gets stuck without smokes. I look forward to trying the famous coins.
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ex20adayman	02/12/2007	Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a good simple smoke. One up from St Bruno ready rubbed in my book. You can buy it in 25g pouches here in the UK. Made by the same people as St Bruno (even though it is marketed as "Bells") I believe and packaging very similar - simple plastic pouch. It is lighter in taste and appearance than St Bruno RR however but burns just as well. More stringy to pack but no way a chore. Not as rich a smoke but more nutty and interesting in taste. A good virginia tobacco to have in your rotation as it does little wrong. Recommended.
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Pipepundit	02/06/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I enjoy Esoterica`s Dunbar greatly, and Escudo and Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls only slightly less so. Somehow my tastebuds have never reacted very well to either Elizabethan or Three Nuns. Three Nuns was one of the first tobaccos I tried - and that was more than forty years ago. Once every eight or ten years I try it again, but it never works. The latest trial has been no different. There is nothing wrong with the product: the craftsmanship is immaculate, and the nicotine levels satisfactory. It is just bland.
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Casper	02/04/2007	Mild	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable
Have a few tins from trips and gifts. I dedicated a Savinelli to this blend as it is sooooo mild I couldn't taste anything. In trying to get some flavour I was stung by the virginias - save your money and try something else. If the old version was something, ( I never tried the old version), this is not what it was. Tin aroma is nice if nothing else.
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Semois	01/16/2007	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Nice smoke. Could be a bit stronger. Not that much of perique in it. Doesn't bite at all. A bit to moist in the beginning and therefore not burning that well, but after some drying out it's ok. The taste is a bit stronger too when dried out.
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BEN	12/27/2006	Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
After much searching, I acquired 2 tins of Three Nuns on Ebay. Both tins are at least ten years old. I have never smoked Three Nuns before, and having missed the opportunity when it was readily available back in the early 1990's, I was looking forward to the experience. Now, I lucked out and bought these tins for $25 a piece,(the same tin as the picture above) and seeing how much some are paying for the same, I thought it a very good deal. Upon opening the tin I was greeted by the many small spun discs of tobacco that I have heard so many good things about...and seeing the sugar crystals that have formed on the discs, I knew I was in for a treat! I rubbed the discs out and filled a old Peterson "K Briar" and sat back and lit up. Ladies and Gentleman, this has to be the finest Va/Per I have ever smoked! The flavor remained consistent all the way down the bowl and required few relights. It burned to a fine white ash and left me wanting more! Now I love Escudo, but this is a whole two flights of stairs up, IMHO! I am just sorry this fine blend is no longer readily available! Highly Recommended!!
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Maimonides	11/04/2006	Very Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
If you are dying to try a discontinued in US famed legend, you will have to go through a few hoops and pay fantastic shipping rates. 'SYNJECO' will ship european tobaccos right out of their swiss mailbox. Look up 'Three Nuns Tobacco at Yahoo, It comes right up. This is a good Va/mild per blend. Its unusual charecteristic to me is that it carries a good bit of 'power' yet remains smooth as if it weren't. I am not likely to spend so much to obtain when hundreds of VA/per blends are readily availible, but if you must- as of this writing, it is 9.92 US to a 50g tin. Shipping varies by location on the globe. Good Luck!
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gho	08/30/2006	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
These curlies are a treat. I would describe the taste as sweet, compact, spicy and well belanced with a hint of cinnamon. Three nuns is simply outstanding.
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Pipesmoking101	05/16/2006	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
I unfortunately was not able to obtain any tins of this, so, after an extensive battle of conscience I relented & bought a pouch of the ready-rubbed variety now avaliable. I think that something was undoubtedly lost in transition from tin to pouch if the reviews here are to be believed. I found this blend to be a fairly pleasant & easy smoke that requires little to no maintenance to imbibe, but it does have a slight bite to it. The flavour (what there is of it) is quite pleasant, but is so mild as to take the tobacco dangerously close to bland territory. I do detect some of the nuttiness, but it is not consistent & fades after the first half of the bowl. The smoke can also quite easily become hot, but this can be cured by exercising more self-control! I am sad that I have not been able to smoke the original tinned tobacco as to try this tobacco without rubbing out would possibly have cured all the bad points listed above. In conclusion, I would say that this is a satisfactory smoke that caused no offence, but didn't really excite me either, so I must gve it only 2 stars. I read that this pouch version had 'the same smoking characteristics' of the tinned version. Looking at all the reviews below, I think that I may have been hoodwinked. I may keep some of this around, but I think that it will be kept for emergencies only, when nothing better is avaliable. Average.
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sasha	02/06/2006	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I've been told that in the past this was one of the best spun cut tobaccos available: unfortunately I never tasted some of the old version, but this recent tin (Danish made)was a nice smoke, though not exceptional. The coins are small and not very damp, easy to rub and pack: it's easy to smoke too, so much that I decided to break in a new pipe with it, and enough dry and cool if not rushed. The taste? Well...I've sampled many better VAPER blends but it isn't bad, it just loses flavour going down the bowl, ending with a messy burnt taste: had it kept the flavour till the end it would have deserved a superior rating.
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Lochinvar	01/27/2006	Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is one of the great classics of the pipe tobacco world that, since its departure, has never been duplicated. It still amazes me that this is not available, of course in the good old days if you had said Sobranie, Cotton & Three Nuns would cease production and Dunhill, Rattray and McConnell would be made on the Continent you would ahve been laughed out of the tobacconist. Anyway, this is a great VA/Perique flake, sweet and stewed fruit/pruny on the palate, with an earthy hint to the taste and aroma. I am never quite able to accurately describe the taste or smell, it is just something unique. Almost worth the flight to Europe for.
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Collezionista	10/07/2005	Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
If the current incarnation of Three Nuns isn't up to snuff, as many of the old hands on here suggest, than the original must have truely been heavenly stuff. I've smoked my fair share of vapers over the last couple years and Three Nuns stands up to the best of them. Its strong, slighty sweet and full of flavor. Everything I look for in a vaper. Perhaps its not the most subtle blend out there but dammit it's tasty! Maybe I'm just a sucker for brisk baccies but this stuff is just plain good in my book. Highly recommended for the vaper lover, if you can get your hands on it (I had to get some from a friend in Belgium).
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Paddy	09/23/2005	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
About a year ago I took two tins of TN of unknown age which had been given to me in a dessicated condition and rehydrated them. I smoked a bowl (it was outstanding) and placed the remainder in a bail top jar where it has remained untouched ever since. When I opened the jar and took a whiff, the tobacco smelled exactly like a box of raisins, not raisiny, exactly like raisins. The tobacco had darkened considerably compared to a newly opened tin of TN. The smoke was a treat. I am a perique lover. It reminded me of Escudo far more than other bowls of TN I have recently smoked. If I could get hold of this TN on a regular basis, I would smoke it everyday. I have a stash of the newer version TN tins on hand, and I am hoping that age will create what is now in the jar. If not, I will dry it completely and rehyrate it to see if that works. It delivers a smooth, sweetened Va. flavor laced with mouth watering perique. I have heard that the newer version contains no perique. We will see. Meantime, I give this version four stars. Paddy.
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Pipey	09/05/2005	Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
I had seen the Three Nuns around for years when I was a youngster, and like all things that were everywhere years ago, they are nowhere when you finally want them! Luckily a good friend and unnamed online pipe dealer and pressed tobacco expert sent me a tin from his own "Private Stash" as it is readily available in Europe (Which is where I am not.) Needless to say, I was eager to pop the seal. Upon opening, the tin has an interesting sort of warm leathery smell, with a little zingyness from the perique (Which is not the dominating aspect of this blend IMO). I would call this a VA with a hint of Perique to be honest, but its excellent nun the less (Sorry, couldnt resist :))... The tobacco is very strong, but this isnt imtimidating, its a cool and flavour filled mixture that could be a nightcap or an all dayer, and seems to satisfy my needs whenever I decide to imbibe. I do find the rounds are best in a think walled group 3, packed whole and with rubbed out bits between the rounds sortof in layers, and its a little wet in the tin. I usually take a few rounds in a leather tobacco pouch with me and let them sit in the pouch overnight prior to smoking. Definately not for the faint hearted, this tobacco can get quite strong in the deeper regions of the bowl, hence my smaller pipe size recommendation, but you owe it to your self to try this. To be around this long The Three Nuns have to be doing something right! Delicious - cellar lots.
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The Keeper	08/13/2005	Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Some tobaccos have attained legendary status for good or ill. I have been considering a shot at Three Nuns and was recently gifted with some (Thanks, J.) :). The details of this tobacco have been discussed at length. I can only expand upon them. This is elegant. It has a bit of the sweet refinement of Esoterica's Dunbar and Dorchester - but a slightly earthier taste. The topping - which is in fact very mild - is an enhancement. It does not detract from the subtle yet flavorful taste. The perique lends a sweetness without too much zing; the cut and texture is lovely and dense. I recommend this tobacco highly. Do I recommend spending huge amounts on tins of it? I am not sure I am going to go out and bankrupt myself to stock up - but I know I would never turn it down. Some of the C+D attempts at homage to this blend (Three Friars) are good, but not quite at the unique aged taste. Dunbar may be a favorable substitute... but there is something unique about this blend that makes at least trying it worthwhile.
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RickPiatt	07/14/2005	Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Again at the recomendation of so many on ASP I purchased a tin of this weed and gave it a good try in a number of different pipes. I found nothing interesting in it at all. Please note I don't care for blends with Perique (I learned that after testing far too many tobaccos with perique ... process of elimination taught me that perique is yucky to me). The VA's do come through but not with that typical VA sweetness I would have expected leaving me wanting more true VAs. It does bite back! Ok, you've been warned ... smoke it if ya like it, but my recomendation is that you look elsewhere for a better tobac.
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Joe Patterson	03/22/2005	Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Ah, how does one review such a classic? Well, for me it started by blowing quite a wad of cash on some 10 year old tins, all with perfect seals. Then there was a sunny, yet cool, Sunday afternoon with a good book, dogs under foot, and my porch. I smoked two bowls of this fine blend: The first in a straight Checkmate Jacono dublin that I have dedicated to only Va/P blends and the second in a giant straight Cherrywood Ardor ? a great pipe for anything that contains Va. Tin aroma: Sweet, musty, figgy, dark, dried or rotting fruit. Tin appearance: Small to medium sized ?coins? ? These remind me of those in Escudo, though these are smaller and much, much darker. First Bowl: I fully rubbed out this weed for the first bowl, loaded it and fired it up. Wow, I must say that this is indeed a classic worthy of its reputation. I notice instantly that the back of my throat is starting to tingle, which indicated that there is something powerful in the bowl. The flavor is somewhat more muted than what I had expected, though there was plenty of smoke and a great aroma in the air. The perique is evident and the Va takes the backseat. The bowl smoked all the way down to the heel only during the last five minutes or so becoming bitter and hot. Second Bowl: In the Ardor, I decided not to rub out the coins, but rather pack them into the bowl and topping off with some crumbs in order to make lighting easier. Once lit, tamped and relit, this weed really starts to sing. Not rubbing out the flakes it the way to go: The flavor is much richer, deeper and the volume of smoke just doesn?t want to quit. I must admit that about half way through this bowl, I noticed that I wasn?t starting to feel well ? I can only attribute this to the strength of this blend. Conclusions: I feel that to have had such an excellent well aged classic, I am lucky. However, I also feel that there are some modern blends that can hold a flame to this, but only time will tell. Most notably, Solani 633 has very similar burning properties and I suspect will age in a similar way. Aged (3 years plus) Escudo follows this line as well. I?m glad I bought these tins, and I want to finish the one tin I?ve opened. But as to ?missing? this blend, I don?t. I will get to the other tins, in time, but there is a good chance that 2 or 3 may end up on a reputable auction site.
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FiveRings	02/22/2005	Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Extraordinary. IMO Three Nuns is one of the very best blends -regardless of components, one can smoke. Sweet, tasty, complex, slow burning with magnificent flavor that stays with you to the very end. A top favorite blend, that I will cellar as much as I can.
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