Super Value Bourbon Whiskey

I received a good sized sample of this from a friend and had very low expectations. Now the sample was of good size, but only really made three bowls as I used three extremely large bowled pipes to smoke it.

The first bowl was my Altinok Canadian (Meerschaum). I smoked this and thought it terrible, lacking in flavor and told my benefactor so. He assured me I was full of crap, noticing later in the day that I had sinus problems forming I started to believe him, but would not let him know until I could rule out the fact that it may actually be him that is full of crap.

The second bowl was had last Saturday, and for that one I used my extremely large Randy Wiley Feather carved Freehand (briar). I lit this up and smoked it amongst many stops while running errands in the morning and I must say I really enjoyed it. Very nutty and very sweet. I was starting to believe that my friend may have been right, that I may have truly been full of crap. Well, at this point, I had nothing left to do but blame the pipe, so it must be that it just burns better in briar than Meer.

Fast Forward to my last bowl in my large Baki Volcano (meer). It is confirmed, I was full of crap. This is a very good aromatic. I also take back my earlier statement to my friend that I preferred Borkum Riff's Bourbon Whiskey to this. This is, indeed, a better smoke to my tastes. It will not overwhelm you with complexity, but I doubt anyone buying this would even expect it to.

It is nutty, biteless and pleasantly sweet. I am not sure if this is a true whiskey taste or a sweet whiskey flavored syrup, but it doesn't matter as it tastes good and is not over applied. This one is not goopy and I am sure anyone looking at it would expect it to be. For the dollar amount and depending on the smoker, this could easily go four stars, I am giving it three as I have had Aromatics that I think are much better, but this one is deserving of three stars.

I had pretty low expectations when I ordered this, but the reviews were pretty favorable. Wow, talk about bang for the buck. It is not as refined as most tobacco's - a few stems, etc. The flavor was a great surprise. I have consumed a bit of bourbon in my day and the casing on this is realistic as I have tasted in a whiskey blend. Does it overpower the tobacco? Well, yes, but is that always a bad thing? If I had wanted the strong tobacco flavor I would smoke a blend without casing. I think I will buy the big bag next time.

Given that I am working from home due to COVID (it will be a year in March), I have had the benefit of being able enjoy my pipe smoking throughout the entire day. It kind of reminds me of the old days when I first entered the work arena many years ago, where it was not uncommon to see people smoking cigarettes, herfing stogies, and of course pipe smoking in the facility/offices all day long. However, as you can appreciate partaking pipe blends of “le tobacco connoisseur” ranks at the volume and frequency of causal leisure smoker can get rather expensive quickly. And for me, when smoking quality luxury blends, I want an experience that is relaxed and enjoyable, not while I’m struggling trying to figure out how to concatenate two cells in MS Excel.

In response, I stopped by our local discount tobacco barn and scooped up a handful of the cheapos. You know the ones. Pipe aficionados commonly refer to these brands/blends as the old codgers or OTCs. Low profile, unassuming, inexpensive in cost. Because we all know you get what you pay for right? Not always is the lesson at the end of this day.

I wanted something fun, amusing and frugal. An aromatic that was lively enough but also provided a tolerable causal smoke. I like the taste of quality bourbons so I set my sights on a couple of blends created in the vain. Borkrum Riff Bourbon Whiskey @ $7.99/pouch and SuperValue Bourbon Whisky @ $3.99/pouch, (produced Sutliff). Two identically badged tobaccos, in theory, mixed to offer comparable smoking experiences. No sir! Much to my chagrin the more expense (over-priced) BR product fell way short of the SV despite its taller cost.

SuperValue Bourbon Whiskey really surprised me. It turned out to be a very enjoyable well crafted aromatic that far surpassed my widely held pretenses and notions about el cheapos. It is affordably priced, nonetheless. In terms of a quality, well crafted blend it stands toe to toe with more expensive comparable luxury aromatics that I’ve smoked. Good buy for your buck on this one.

The pouch note, at first sniff, about knocked me over with bold profuse smell of rich bourbon. I stepped-back for a re-sniff a couple hours after opening and still strong as the bottom of a bourbon barrel. The Burley and Virginia aromas themselves are full and inviting as well. SV Bourbon Whiskey is ribbon cut mix of Cavendish, Burley and Virginias; generously topped with whiskey and sugar I believe. A nice palette of dark Burley leaves, autumn colored Virginias and deep ebony Cavendish. The room note produced by this blend smells really, really nice and full of character.

The moisture level right out of the pouch proved to be an easy drop and burn, no set-up or extended drying necessary. The tobacco burn cools and evenly. Absolutely no tongue bite as one would expect, says something about the quality of the toppings used. The BR was horrible in that respect comparatively.

Right out of the gate the taste of whiskey is in the forefront, nicely melding into the dominant deep complementing woody, nutty Burley notes and sweet hay-like tang tones of Virginia. Felt like I was sipping on a Jim Beam and Coke while riding is an old wooden hay wagon. I also picked up a molasses-licorice mid-note that tied in superbly. The taste is wonderful, rich and full hands down. Best to sip and retro-hale to experience the true nature of this blend. Again pleasantly surprising given the cost and class of this product. It stayed true all the way to the finish of the bowl. I was impressed with the quality of the discount-marketed tobacco.

Strength and nic-hit are definitely mild and gentle. An easy smoke, producing a hearty and nonetheless, full-body plume.

I smoked this tobacco fresh out of the pouch multiple times in both a cob and a briar. It tenders much better through a cob. The full character of the blend shines richer.

Bottom-line: Try this one on it will not disappoint you given the price. A good all day smoke that won’t break the bank.

Post note: Borkum Riff, nah. Don’t waste your eight plus bucks.

Wow I was not expecting to enjoy this blend as much as I did! $4 price tag at the very expensive Davidoff store in a Casino on the strip was sending me a bad vibe since the tins are $20 but I plopped down my $5 and got change back! It's weird they dont seal these pouches, no ziplock or adhesive etc.. Aroma is nutty and slightly alcoholic but nothing is over the top, chunky ribbon / OTC rough cut in various browns and black. Didn't burn hot or bite, great room note and tasty! Make sure you get the gold pouch, these new pouches are much better leaf than the giant super value bags.

Smells of whiskey infused cigars, musty candy.

The flavor is of sweetness and vanilla, typical of the Cavendish in the blend and of Bourbon. Good as a budget/value blend, but not interesting to the more discerning smoker who isn't terribly restricted by budget.

You can see my video review of this blend here:

https://youtu.be/4Umv-an83HE

Very sourmash/"KingCobra" smell in the bag. Reasonable amount of whiskey flavor transfers to smoke. More sour/whiskey kick than "Smoker's Pride" Whiskey, but doesn't burn as harshly sharp. Its an interesting smoke. More flavor than "Whiskey" by S.Value, although I like that product also. Room note wasn't really commented on as either good or bad. Did NOT smell like I spilled a shot of whiskey in the room to the mizzeruz. If you truly like whiskey, I'd recommend this one to you over either S.Value's or S.Pride's "Whiskey" flavor tobaccos. I'd also recommend this quite high over Borkum Riffs Whiskey personally. For the record, a mixture of this S.V. Bourbon Whiskey at say 65%, with 25% Black Cavendish (S.Value or S.Pride, doesn't matter), and 10% S.Value "English" blend is a phenomenal smoke. I started off with a 5 finger, 3 finger, 2 finger pinch blend in a zip-loc, loved it so much , I blended about 10oz of this for my endtable canister. I smoke it daily too and fro work.