Borkum Riff - Bourbon Whiskey pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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FLChrisC	01/05/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Strong
I recently picked up a pouch of this stuff from the local smoke shop. The owner himself said it was one of their best sellers. I have no idea why..The minute I opened the pouch, it reaked, somewhat like that of cigarettes (no offense intended, I jut absolutely hate cigarettes). I packed the bowl full using the Three- layer method. I just couldn't keep the stuff lit. After every couple draws, it would to out (I used 2 charring lights, an initial light and 2 tampings). It tasted very strong. The only thing that comes to mind would be cigarettes..again. Unless you're looking for a cigarette-like smoke in your pipe, stay away. I couldn't even taste or smell the "Bourbon Whiskey" supposedly infused within the tobacco. This deserves probably 1/2 a star, rather than a full star.
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BigNick	01/04/2010	Extremely Mild	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable
all i can say is YUCK, terrible!!! I threw up after half the bowl, it hit my stomach and boom. very displeased. first it was to dry, then no flavor of any kind, and the tobacco flavor was sickening. after a day or so i tried another bowl, lightly packed, and i didn't upchuck but it was still the same nasty crap, it truly deserves one star mabey less!
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colt25314	11/26/2009	Extremely Mild	Very Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Manyyears ago this was a classic. Now it is typical of drug store tabackey. It is not cheap and thre are plety of better offerings for much less. look to C&D or Lane. Just don't look for Borkum Riff. It is goopy, wet and vegital in taste by mid smoke. Too bad. A once fine blent destroyed.
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Modulus	11/24/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Unnoticeable
I'm very new to this hobby, and I don't have a lot to compare this to, but I'll do my best. I wasn't terribly impressed with Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey. Seems to me first of all that the flavoring was caked on pretty thick. It almost seemed like a sort of syrup had been applied to this tobacco. It wasn't overly stick or anything, just had a slightly unnatural quality to it that indicated to me at least that someone had added something to this blend late in the manufacturing process. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that at some point this tobacco was on a conveyor belt - under spray nozzles. My wife puts hides her nose behind her shirt while I smoke this, so I'm going to assume the room note is not very good. In my limited experience, once I begin smoking, it's difficult to get an idea of the room note... Either due to inexperience or because my senses are deadened after taking it into my mouth. The rating system here does not allow you to indicate a tolerable yet unpleasant note. Only it's intensity, not it's actual appeal as a scent. Someone should revise the rating system. This blend bit my tongue quite a lot... it burned hot for me. I'm a novice however and probably have a tendency to draw all of the tobaccos I try a little too frequently in an effort to keep the bowl lit. There's got to be better tobacco's out there... Don't bother unless you're really curious or want to try it to just get it out of the way.
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Demetri	11/22/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Ah, memory lane... I see we have two Borkum Riff whiskey blends here on TR being reviewed. I suspected they were the same with pouch styles leading to confusion. I am not going to clear that possible state up in the least. And I am going against the flow of the earlier reviews here with my opinion. Two days ago, while refilling an Rx at local supermarket I wandered over to tobacco shelves as I waited. There rested a single, lone pouch of Borkum Riff Whiskey in front of a full facing of BR Whiskey pouched as the image above. This lone pouch was in the familiar black and white with a red ribbon denoting "Whiskey". This was the package I was familiar with; I would never have bought the others. (Lesson for the power of visual branding in marketing). I bought it without hesitation despite panning reviews here. Back in 1970, when I once ran out of my #965 while on campus I went to local pharmacy to get something to smoke until I could get home to Tobak- Va Beach for 965 replenishment. BR was something new. I bought it. I smoked it. I liked it. (I know...heresy for an English fan). Later, upon return home I found this in a handsome tin and bought it as the trade-off smoke to my 965. I'm not sure why I quit it. Perhaps the Dunhill appealed more then, it certainly does now. Back to present day: I got home and grabbed my Kaywoodie billiard - a coincidence that this was the same pipe I used in college to smoke this. I lit up. Yuck. This couldn't be the same stuff I used to enjoy. Is everything "better in the past"? No, it was my pipe. After two bowls which gave me an astringent, chalky, almost bitey experience I set the pouch aside for storage and mentally prepared another panning review for my friends here. This afternoon, however, on a whim, I tried this in another pipe I keep for aromatics - a little used, but very clean, dry Brebbia and ...the pipe was the problem. This blend was as enjoyable for me, in small batches as I used to smoke it, as ever. Now, I wouldn't be buying more and I think there are both better and worse whiskeys available now, but I enjoyed it enough to (shock) rate it 3 stars (and Kaywoodie is in dry dock)
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NobleRot	10/20/2009	Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I know BR products usually get ripped on reviews, even though most pipers enjoy some drugstore brands whether they admit it or not. My tobacconist carries a few blends and I picked one of the Bourbon Whiskey just on a whim. I was pleasantly surprised. I packed it tightly and it was low maintenance from there. Stayed lit for the whole bowl. I enjoyed the cool, easy smoke, no bite. The Bourbon flavor is evident, perhaps just north of a suggestion of flavor. For $4 or so, grab some. Wife liked the Room Note. My pouch was right on with moisture and did not leave my briar goopy at all.
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Lii	10/10/2009	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
BR Bourbon with coffee in the morning is a great day starter.It does not bite, it is not goopy and it does have great Bourbon flavor if you just slow down. I will be happy with a tin of BRB and one of CBW to cover my daily "drugstore" blends.
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Old Northern Smoky	10/02/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Danish-made for Swedish Match. Well its a darn site better than the Cherry Liqueur! Giving BR a second chance I doled out the $60 for a 200 gram container (yes, $60!!!, Canadian Federal and Provincial Governments tax tobacco to death). To me the raw aroma is that of a mild whiskey topping but the scent of pure tobacco is not completely erased. Once lit the room note is just slightly aromatic......not as pleasant as CB Royal, but nice enough not to get kicked out of the house. It packs fine and lights easily and burns to a grey ash nearly all the way down. The last bit is just too moist to burn. The taste is typical BR which means I don't taste much of anything and if you push it a wee bit it will bite. The first half of the bowl is pleasant to smoke though but the last half seems to get a bit harsh for me and makes it unpleasant to continue. Lots of gurgle once you get past the first half bowl. All in all its an OK tobacco in a small bowl but I'd rather spend my $$ on CB any day. I won't buy this again but that's just me.
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Sciz	08/30/2009	Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
NEW update: as my pipe smoking skill gets better...i found a way to reduce the unforgiving tongue bite from this blend. we only need to puff it VERY LIGHTLY, just like taking a sip from a drink. but what really ticks me off is the CONSTANT RELIGHTING!! if u tried to make the amber stays lit, you'll turn your pipe into a furnace and the gurgling will start and everything will be nothing but unpleasantness. i only keep puffing this blend just to get more the feel on pipe smoking, but after i finish the pack, i'm sure that i will not buy this blend ever again. ================================================================= OLD review: i started off in this wonderful hobby with a wrong tobacco! the reason i bought it bcoz i didn't read the reviews in here before and i was attracted to its smell in the package! but the smoke was nothing like a the unburned one!! my impressions about this particular blend: 1. IT BITES!! 2. almost no taste (mostly due to no.1) 3. constant relighting 4. not a good choice for a newbie (like me) 5. it's not from a good tobacco u might wanna argue on the last point for a newbie to put a bold statement like that. i know what a good tobacco bcoz i was a hardcore Djarum cigarettes smoker. when i torn 2 Djarum cigs and loaded it into my pipe, the smoking experience was like heaven and earth compared to this blend. i know that taste is just a matter of preference, but it's definitely not for me...and i'd recommend new pipe smoker to steer off from it. for those who likes it, i'm happy for you. happy puffing!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
The German	08/21/2009	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
I got a taste of this concoction about a week ago; it was a complete desaster. I felt I was being overly harsh, having had bad experiences with Swedish Match's other blends under the same brand, so I gave it another try. Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that I had not been overly harsh. This blend fills easily enough, lights readily, and from that point on, you're on your own. The taste is of... I don't know; to me, it tastes lightly of tar and something sweetish that would probably do better in a cigarette blend; the aroma is not really something I normally associate with pipe tobacco, and even if generous, I cannot say that smoking BRBW gave me any pleasure. I miss any hint of Bourbon in either taste or aroma, the stuff is quite expensive (especially for a brand which is notoriously positioned on the cheaper end of the price scale where I am), and for the same price, I can get really good tobacco which does not need any flavouring to taste of something. 'nuff said before I go overboard.
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Blade One Star	08/21/2009	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I tried this a long time ago and I remembered that it wasn't anything special, but I got suckered into buying another pouch just recently because of the whiskey flavoring. Once again I wasn't impressed. I can't taste the whiskey and it tends to bite the tongue. This coupled with the high price makes me recommend that you pass on this tobacco.
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Alguhan	08/06/2009	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Tolerable
I've smoked this in early 90's, before I found out that the tobacco world in fact is a big one. It's a mild boring aromatic tobacco. I'll smoke it again maybe in my next life just before discovering the real tobacco world!
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Dr. Tongue Bite	07/26/2009	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I've been smoking this off and on since the 1990s. Mildly aromatic, but would not recommend for those who lean towards aromatic. It will bite and requires re-lighting often. Having said that; its the best smoke for me. Room note is OK, but thats not why I smoke a pipe anyway. Highly recommended as an everyday smoke. Although I like to try other tobaccos, I always come back to my Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey.
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Percy Dovetussel	05/28/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
In 1969 I tried my first pouch of Borkum Riff tobacco in a pouch that cost .35 cents for 2 and 1/2 ounces. I had a corn cob pipe (I was 14 years old). At the time, the mixture was very moist and well matured. I thought it was the greatest pipe tobacco I ever smoked. I nearly went through the whole pouch and often would spend evenings like Sherlock Holmes, piling large quantities of smoked portions on a table along with a gallon of iced tea to cool the tongue. I always considered this blend to be the "Marlboro" of the pipe tobacco industry. The mixture became very popular later much to my dismay because the quality began to decline in that the moisture content vanished, the quantity was reduced, the tin version discontinued, and the sudden propensity of different flavors led to diffuse enjoyment as the company ventured into Cherry blends, Congac, Champagne, Rum, etc. All for naught. However, the brand still is around and is popular to this day. I abandoned the brand long ago in favor of others and in the long run had stopped smoking for a period due to the ill health of one of my children. When I returned, Caesar Borgia was available and I thought it's amphora like qualities were a notch above returning to my old habits. There is no doubt that this is still a prince of tobaccos and you will find it a decent "everyday" blend.
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jwne	05/04/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
When I was still a child (late 60s/early 70s) I remember my uncle smoking this blend. I would pick up his pouch and gawk at it cuz I thought it looked cool. He would snatch it from me before I spilled it or something. You always knew when uncle Pete was near- by cuz you would catch a whiff of that unmistakable BR bourbon aroma. When I was old enough I tried the pipe and this was the first tobacco I ever bought. Despite being green and sick for days I was determined to make the habit a part of my being. This is not the best pipe mixture in the world but its not too bad either. Experience eventually leads you to far better tobaccos. But I do have a fondness for BR bourbon and simply cannot bad mouth it and I always keep a pouch of it with my stash. Now that Swedish Match has come out with the 40 year anniversary pouch depicting the old school graphic I bought two pouches. I don't intend to smoke them, but keep them as they are cuz that graphic may never be seen again.
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Arrostos	04/27/2009	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
This one is a very expensive tobacco here in Greece (it costs 13 euros per pouch), so I usually order it from abroad. I have found it a very good choice thanks to its pleasant room note and its tender feeling (with a little bit burning) in mouth and nose. Maybe not the best one (because you sometimes find yourself being bored) but a nice one to put your trust in, when you do not have in the cupboard your perfect ones...
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robvolume	03/17/2009	Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong
A decent smoke for the price. It never seems to burn well, even in my well-seasoned pipes. The taste is a little harsh. I can not taste any notes of bourbon whiskey, but there is another unpleasant taste that I can't put my finger on.
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gourmet	03/03/2009	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Do not like anymore, it bites and gets boring
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Harpua0077	02/24/2009	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
As far as Whiskey blends go this one is pretty decent. It is nice that it is available at the local grocery store here in my small town. Infact the Whiskey is the only blend of Borkum they carry. Tell you the truth I am not sure why I only give it two stars perhaps because so much outshines it. Perhaps because it really gunks up the pipe. Whatever the reason I like this only as a rare smoke and it is unlikly to see its way into my rotation more than once or twice a year. My Personal notes rating is about 5.3 better than average but not worth getting to often.
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doc'spipe	02/16/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
I tried this one years ago as I was always attracted to the aroma when a fellow piper was smoking it. I had to smoke it slowly as it burned hot and would most definitely bite if puffed too hard. None of that delectable room note was ever present for me as I smoked it, and its overall flavor was way too mild. I always enjoyed it when it was in someone elses pipe, but not when in mine. That translates to 2 stars for me. UPDATE 7-18-12: Picked up a 200 gram tin from JR Tobacco last night and must say it was better tasting than remembered. Still a very beautiful room note. All in all, raising it a star to recommended.
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