Brown & Williamson - Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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DK	02/27/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
A bit of an unusual aromatic. This I received as a sample in a trade - somewhere just short of 2 oz. Upon sniffing the contents, I got an overpowering aroma of sweet fruitiness. I wasn't encouraged. However, the taste is of straight burley with a moderate amount of sweet casing. Don't trust the nose, I guess. This narrow ribbon burned brilliantly and did not leave a wet heel. I got nothing even close to tongue bite. The flavor did not dissipate down the bowl. And therein lies the only real problem I found with this blend - the flavor. I just did not like it. It tasted like a sweetened Amaretto or something (isn't amaretto supposed to be bitter?) and it just didn't sit well with me there. It wasn't horrible - it just wasn't a flavor I enjoyed. A lot of aromatic blenders can learn a lot from this blend, such as how not to overdo the sauce and how to make a pleasant blend that smokes the same down the bowl. If the flavoring were something more to my taste, this would be an incredible aromatic. And so, my rec of 2 stars is for my personal taste only, as is my custom with reviews. As a blend, however, this is something every aromatic lover should try to see if they like it. It's extremely well made, and represents the aromatic genre splendidly.
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rattdogg	02/21/2011	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
This is another blend I had not smoked in many years. Picked up a pouch a couple of days ago to see what I thought of it now. It's still pretty good for the price. ($3.59 in my area) It seems a bit milder then I remember but it's likely been twenty years since I last smoked it. A little sweet but not over the top. I never had any problems with it biting before and I still don't. It's kind of hard for me to put my finger on the flavoring but I guess vanilla spice comes to mind as a fitting description. This tobacco has been around for a long time and will remain for years to come. It's a bargin folks. Give it a shot! You won't be disappointed. Update: After smoking more pouches of SWRA I'm compelled to add another star bringing it up to four. This is good stuff and is quickly becoming my favorite aromatic blend at any price.
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Thesir	01/11/2011	Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
I picked up a pouch of Aromatic simply because it's not that much more expensive than Sir Walter Original around here. I was a bit surprised to see the cut of the leaf when I opened it but the smell wafting up comforted me that this was going to be just as good as most reviewers seem to think. I was not disappointed. In my briar pipe, it had a satisfyingly tasty aroma and taste. Although it wasn't a strong taste, it caught on every taste bud and held on to my attention. Everybody in the room found the smoke to smell excellent and it was only moments before everyone had a cigarette lit. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good tobacco with a good taste with little danger of biting.
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Arkie	01/07/2011	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Update: After considering the price, I've decided to give this stuff another star. SWR aro is much better than the old standard SWR. It is a pleasant smoke but it does have a very slight bite. The casing gives it a subtle hint of chocolate liqueur. Of all the domestic blends, Carter Hall and SWR aro are the only two I would recommend. All the rest are either like cigarettes or they are smothered with sickeningly sweet gobs of artificial flavoring. My local tobacco shop has a house blend that is my favorite day-to-day blend and I smoke a pipe of Pembroke or McConnell's Oriental as a nightcap treat but I could be happy if SWR Aro was the only baccy available.
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Rikowrites	12/07/2010	Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
I am smoking my 5th bowl of SWRA in a Butz Choquin large billiard. The pouch aroma is reminescent of butterscoth and stays lit quite well. The blender says there are 3 liquers in it. I like the result. I have not tried regular SWR but I will pick up a pouch for comparison. I think this is an underrated aromatic that deserves its time in the sun!
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pipe row19	11/20/2010	Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong
Ok so i bought this cause i had heard alot about it. It has a very nice tin note sadly thats the only good thing about it. This has a very broing and harsh taste,resembles cigarettes. There are alot more drugstore blends out there worth trying any of the Captain blacks, cater hall, prince albert, maybe even Borkum riff. Try it if your into burley. This just inst for me but burley fans you might like this
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hockey01	10/25/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
There was this older clerk in my Army unit who smoked this blend in one of his goofy looking metal pipes that looked more like a slide harmonica than a pipe. Maybe that's why I never liked the blend until many years later: it was probably his pipe that smelled so bad, not the tobacco itself. Anyway, I'm with one of the other reviewers who was curious to know which liquors were used to flavor this blend. When I inhale the aroma deeply from the cannister (I have a 12 oz. one), I get a sort of a chocolatey liqueur whiff from this blend. The room note is identical to the aroma in the can AS LONG AS you smoke slowly; otherwise you will get a gaseous, chemical-like odor to the smoke which is not at all pleasant. Not sure why that happens, but it does. The fine ribbon cut burley packs easily and burns right down to the bottom of the bowl and, as with all burleys, no real bite as long as you smoke it slowly. For a "drugstore" tobacco, you could do a lot worse, amigo.
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mtnhkraz	10/06/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable
I purchased this because I saw a pouch in a local shop. I am new to pipe smoking but I do like a strong smoke. Burley is favorite so far, and this has that for sure. The liquor casing sounded interesting to me so I figured what the hey. I open the pouch and on the first bowl I wasn't impressed at all. Tasted chemically and just not pleasant or enjoyable. I let is sit for a couple of weeks and tried a bowl again last night as I walked the dog. It tasted a lot better but still not what I am looking for. I guess I am just no the aromatic type when it comes to this.
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pipe smoking country boy	07/19/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
apon opening the tub i was greated with what i discribe as a egg nog smell. tried to smoke it but there was a heavy chemical taste. put it in mason jars revisited it 3 years later loved it. packs,lights,smokes well. recomend to and one on a budget.
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feedsasquatch	07/16/2010	Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
An interesting blend. I really, really like burley, but this doesn't quite do it for me. It packs and burns very well. No moisture or dottle. A good clean smoke. The flavor is ok. Whereas I enjoy the natural flavor of burleys, what comes through in SWR aromatic is the casing. The liquor doesn't taste much like liquor, just a general bitterness. It's still sweet, but not the buttery/nutty sweetness that you get in other over the counter burleys like Carter Hall. If you like burleys, and you like aromatics, this is just the tobacco for you. Tobacco doesn't get much cheaper than this stuff.
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krg1000	07/11/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant
Having tried SWR awhile back, i decided to give this blend a whirl. I find the taste is rather appealing and it leaves a very nice room note. The ribbon cut on this is about the same as SWR and it packs and lights easily enough. I find that this does burn down to an ash with alot of dottle in it, as is the case with many of the OTC genre. It does produce a nice amount of smoke though. I must say that it does have a nice amount of Vitamin N to it, which is a good thing. The price isn't too bad either. All in all, I would recommend this blend to newbies, as well as those wanting a change of pace from their regular smoke.
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Storm Watch	05/04/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Bit of an odd taste here. It's not bad but not good either. One of those "I can take it or leave it" blends. At least it's not overpowering. If you like aros you might like this. There is at least a hint of the original SWR in the smoke and that's about all that kept me smoking it until the pouch was empty.
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PeteSavinelli	04/23/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
If you are a Burley fan (and I have to tell you, I'm really not) you really should try this blend. I bought two pouches on a recent trip to North Carolina and put the contents of both into a glass jar. My first two or three bowls were not all that enjoyable. They were fine, not terrible, but nothing that really inspired me. But since then, probably 3 or 4 more, it has developed into quite a nice smoke. I am still pretty new in terms of pipe smoking so I am still finding my way and discovering what I like and don't like. For comparisons sake, I really did not like C$D's Haunted Bookshop. It was just "too" Burley. SWRA, tho, has developed into a mellow, tasty, Burley smoke. It burns clean and dry, with maybe one relight halfway thru. As for the flavor/casing, at first I thought it seemed thin and even almost non-existent, but again, that too has developed since the initial few smokes. In conclusion, with all of that being said, I would give SWRA a solid 2 1/2 stars. I can't go for a full three stars on my own personal scale because I find that I am more of a Cavendish/VA smoker (e.g. Lane BCA/1- Q). I probably won't buy SWRA again because there is just a little more of that Burley "ashey-ness" than I personally care for. BUT, if you are a Burley fan, I think you might find this in the 3 - 3 1/2 star range.
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Robert	04/11/2010	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Being a fan of SWR regular I really wanted to like this. It has fallen a bit short for me though. Have only tried it in the pouch so far so maybe things will change if I get a can of it. I tend to think the "three imported liqueurs" is what makes it so un-enjoyable to me. Don't get me wrong, I like my booze but it belongs in a glass. I have yet to find a tobacco flavored with any kind of alcohol that I really like. Doesn't matter if it's a drug store blend or a top of the line mix. It may be great for you but only gets two stars from me. Update: 7/1/10 After finishing this pouch and being away from it for a week or so I decided I had to have it again. It just sort of grew on me. A much longer smoke than most other drug store blends. A single bowl lasts about twice as long. Just don't let it go out and try to relight it the next day. It can get rather nasty that way.
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Fellow traveler	04/11/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
The three liqueurs topping smells like brown sugar, and is very nice. The smoke is a bit harsh with rough edges, smells similar to the topping, not your typical nutty burly flavor. In fact, it has the tasty harshness similar to the virginia Danish offerings of Peter Stokkebye or Borkum Riff. I would bet there is some virginia in it. Smoke it reasonably and it will not bite, the aftertaste is pleasant. For me it is a rough burly, or a middling blend of burly and virginia. Either way I feel more enjoyable blends are available, especially considering the current price ($30 for a 12 oz tin). On its own *, value for dollar spent . Try it, if you like it, try the Peter Stokkebye bulk blends, you may like them more and save some money. Add 20% to 50% black cavendish and it becomes a very nice smoke, mixed flavors of vanilla and brown sugar, smoothes out the harshness and becomes a lot like Stokkebys Nougat. I won't buy more, but this was an easy salvage.
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CenTex	03/01/2010	Medium	Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I bought in the pouch, haven't tried a tin yet. I find it a little too damp when first opened. Hard to keep lit and a little harsh towards the bottom of the bowl. However, given some time to dry out, very much improved. Easey to keep lit, good flavor. As someone else said, tastes like it smells. I would recommend this to any aromatic smoker. In my opinion, better than many of the much more expensive blends.
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wosbald	12/06/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
The tin aroma is of sweet caramel and coffee with a touch of grassy burley. The cut is a very fine, short ribbon; almost a shag. The topping is dominantly syrupy and thick. Liberally sweetened, golden cavendish burley comprises the base, and magnifying the candy effect is a modicum of rich red VA and a few odd flecks dark cavendish. A thoughtfully constructed blend, Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic delivers the goods in that it smokes like it smells. Though an amiable smoke, I found it sweet at the outset and tedious over time. This will definitely ghost a briar and went well in a chamber of any gauge.
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ruffinogold	11/06/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
Where I live in Gods country this stuff costs $ 3.33 and is probably the best " drug store " blend out there .It's got a ribbon cut, burns clean ,smells nice and gets a little heavier near the end. I don't know if you can get this stuff hot ... burns real cool for me and the liqueurs flavor is there to almost halfway through the bowl then go bye bye. Easy to light and keep lit.The end of the bowl ends w/a little more burley flavor than virgina w/ just a little mositure. Good smoke .Update : Thought about it some more and for 3 .33 $ It should have 4 stars though it's a 3. Ya know what ? I'm gonna stock up on this blend and others ... i think the government bastards are gonna hike up the tax on pipe tobacco ... thanks obama supporters ....
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strongirish	10/02/2009	Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I was shopping and spotted this on the shelf and as I have never tried it, and as rare as it is getting to find new blends on the shelf, I bought it to try. I am a big fan of SWR regular and I was hoping that this would be an aromatic version of that. it is not! It in no way is like SWR regular. The cut is more of a cigarette RYO cut, it does have a fabulous pouch aroma but in a Danish tobacco way. But, I figured if it tastes half as good as the sweet smell in the pouch, I might enjoy it. It is an all brown leaf and packs veery easy in the pipe. Upon lighting, it fires up with one light and maintains the light in a smoldering, constant way. Upon lighting up, it is very mild to the palette but the room note is great. It does gain flavor pretty fast but is not overwhelming in any way all the way down. It has a sweet and a tiny bit of soapiness to it but as I like Highland tobaccos I never found this bad. It just never blossomed into a tasty blend in any way, just too mild for my palette. I really thought with the SWR name, it would be a more beefy smoke and it never developed into that. It's worth a try, but I can't give it more than two stars as it does not excite in any way. I wish that blends within a name would keep the good points of the main blend or just change their name completely.
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bearzerker	09/24/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Overwhelming
I'm a big fan of aromatics and I a fan of SWR regular. I am NOT a fan at all of SWR aromatic. It smells interesting in the pouch. Loads well, lights well no relighting necessary. First light the flavor was ok but after the initial puff it was one of the weirdest flavors I've ever encountered. To me it has a musty, mediciney flavor. Kind of like somebody dumped Nyquil on some burley and kept it in a warm damp space for a few years. Further I smoked the flavor turned to SafeGuard soap. I'm glad I smoked this with a corn cob and not one of my briars. I'll stick to regular SWR. This one just isn't for me.
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