Tobaccos BriarWorks International - Bacon Old Fashioned

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2017-09-24		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The very smoky, woody, dry, spicy dark fired Kentucky is the lead component by a mile. The grassy, citrusy gold cavendish is amply present, but not very forceful at all. The orange topping is light while the lightly sweet and sour bourbon is the dominant topping. The essence of bacon is not quite what I would classify as “bacon” per se, but they made a good attempt to replicate it. It’s not strong, and is amplified by the smoky dark fired Kentucky. The topping do tone down the tobaccos a bit. The strength is a tad closer to medium than it is to mild. The taste is medium. The nic-hit is almost in the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite, but fast puffing will get you some tongue tingle, so I recommend a slow pace as it burns a little warm. Has a mostly consistent mildly sweet and savory flavor and burns at a slightly slow rate. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs a few relights. The after taste has a little bitterness. Two and a half stars rounded down to two because of the potential for bite and tongue tingle.

-JimInks

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pinko (52)	2016-07-10		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Canadian Host, orange peels, liquid smoke, and Virginia tobacco. My problem is that I like to drink an Old Fashioned occasionally, so trying to smoke one seems counterproductive to start with.

I smoked samples of this before I bought a jar of Pete's Beard, and was immediately turned off. I've had more terrible whiskey aromatics than good ones anyway, without the awful addition of smoke flavor and way too much citrus. Somehow Briarworks managed to replicate the taste of cheap whiskey the morning after. I wanted to brush my teeth and shave my tongue while I was smoking.

Between the two blends, I'm pretty well soured on Briarworks. No offense to whoever loves this stuff, you can smoke it all, I won't be competing for jars of it.

Age When Smoked: fresh

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigPete (4)	2016-02-18		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I had high expectations from this, as an avid bacon afficionado. Delivered in a cool self-sealing mason jar. When opening, I get a strong smell of citrus and not much else. Maybe a slight hint of smoke.

When smoking, there's a dominant flavour I can't really describe. Not unpleasant; I'm just not sure I like it.

After a while, a hint of smoky bacon appears at the back of the mouth. A little bit weak for my tastes. I would have liked more bacon flavour. It's a really nice and pleasant smoke. The room note smells of citrus, and that touch of bacon. The more I smoke, the more dominant the bacon smell in the room becomes.

Not bad at all :)

Highly recommended if you want to try something different. But I think it's 50/50 if you will love it or hate it.

Pipe Used: OF Billiard, SH Baker Street

Age When Smoked: Very Fresh

Purchased From: 4noggins.com

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (184)	2016-11-04		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

When I purchased this a few months back I gave it a try and to be honest with you I didn't have much hope for the blend. The jar note was kind of unpleasant and I really didn't get the taste either. So I took it out of the original jar, put it on a plate and gave it a good mix up. I rejarred it in a larger mason and put it on the shelf. A couple of days ago I decided to give the ole drunk porker another try. The tin note was still like cheap whiskey and an old smokehouse. I loaded up an old Omega and fired it up. Much to my surprise it hit me, the bitter sweet flavor of an old fashioned, the bourbon, the bitters, the sugar and even the orange came in loud and clear. Pleasant aftertaste and it left me wanting another bowl. Pretty good smoke I think. Have had several bowls over the past few days and the effect has been the same. I have found the flavor is enhanced fo me with a cold RC cola over ice. The tobacco itself seems to be of good quality and the cut as one reviewer stated was typical C&D, all over the place! I think that this will be one of those love hate blends though. If you want a bit of a different experience you should give this one a shot.

Pipe Used: Dr Grabow bent Omega

Age When Smoked: New and 2 months

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2016-04-18		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Another small sample from Pete, this one is a "C&D cut"... that is, the cut is all over the map. I found long narrow ribbons, short wide ones, some cubes and some chops. Weirdest bag note ever - a sort of cross between woodsmoke, booze and something I couldn't identify. Closest I could come is baby vomit. And yeah, that wasn't appealing but I soldiered on. Came dry and smoked dry.

Smoky flavor? Yes, this has it in spades! All the blends on tr.com that reviewers have thought as "smoky" have nothing on this one. HUGELY smoky! It was indeed sort of a smoky bacon flavor but it struck me as more woodsmoke with the booze flavoring close behind. This is not your typical goopy aromatic, as the flavoring took a backseat to the tobacco. By taste, I can't tell if the base is burley or Virginia, as it doesn't have any Virginia sweetness and yet it doesn't taste like an earthy burley. This is one that I'd like to experiment with further. On its own, it doesn't quite do it for me, as it needs a lot more natural sweetness. But the flavoring is downright intriguing! I think it has potential. A must try, even if only to show you what can be done with aromatics so that the flavoring and goop doesn't bury the tobacco taste.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-02-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

For some reason I was expecting a maple topped blend due to the name and Russ Oulette's Bacon blend and not having read the description (I follow them on Instagram and when smokingpipes starting offering it I just loaded up my cart) but after looking up the classic cocktail "Old Fashioned" I appreciated BOF much more. The jar is a very neat and original container and once opened releases a light aroma of smoky Orangey / Citrus that enticed me to dig in. Easy to pack ribbon in various browns and some black strands, no sticks or logs which is awesome. Very mild on both strength and toppings, do not expect a maple syrup full on aromatic (for that mix Autumn Evening with Old Dark Fired, its great!) but for what it is supposed to emulate, I think they hit it right on the head.

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Chris Moore (2)	2019-02-07		Extremely Mild	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

You know when you are so sick you throw up and it comes through your nose. And you can taste it like a retrohale? That's what this taste like. Vomit

Pipe Used: Cob

Similar Blends: Nothing I've ever had.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	st.Hellvis (5)	2017-08-01		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

To make this short, this is the worst tobacco I ever get smoked! I find the taste far from "bacon". It reminded me of being a young student again, smoking some ciggy-butts from the day before, the morning after...

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2016-01-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

I must admit, I generally find anything with added bacon better than it is without added bacon! With that said, I had some issues with Bacon Old Fashion as it related to the balance of tastes. There is an ample amount of what would be described as a smoky bacon flavor, but not much of the “Old Fashion” as the spirit component was lacking. Dry to the touch, it burns cleanly for an aromatic but lacks the sweetness that one would expect with an aromatic. This leaves just tobacco and bacon flavor. In fairness, my two bag sample may have lost some of the added flavors because it was stored in a sample bag. So there is a chance that fresh out of the cool jar that this arrives in, that your results will be better than mine.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2019-03-29		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Strong

BriarWorks International - Bacon Old Fashioned.

Hmmmm, not one for my rotation!

As it says, it is indeed a ribbon cut blend. However, sitting underneath the cap to mine was a tobacco leaf about 2 inches long. Huge! It's mostly a medium brown, with good hydration, and a perplexing aroma; peaty, sharp, citrusy, whiskey!

Messy; this word suits the flavour for me. Out of the tobaccos the Dark Fired leads, giving a deep smokiness. The Cav' isn't anywhere near as strong in the smoke. The tobaccos are ok, but the topping doesn't compliment them well, at all. The smokiness is a contradiction to the sharp citrus and acidulous whiskey, so the taste becomes a mess. On the plus side it burns well, back on the lower side of things it bites me.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: rank.

Bacon Old Fashioned? LOL, I'll stick to having my bacon on a sandwich, not in a pipe! Not recommended:

One star.

Pipe Used: Altinok Lee Van Cleef: My Friday pipe

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeavyMetalPiper (64)	2018-06-15		Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The smell is strong, heavy on citrus, like an orange peel. It smells a lot like the cocktail it's meant to represent.

I think this is an accurate representation of a simulation of smoking an old fashioned. It takes a few bowls to get there, to be sure, and the first couple are very stongly an odd citrus flavor. It kind of feels sometimes that the flavors of the Kentucky are fighting the flavors of the casing a bit. There is a non-zero nic hit with this one.

So far, this is the most "love it or hate it" blend I've encountered. Give it a whirl and don't give up after one or two bowls, it could grow on you.

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Carolina Gent

Age When Smoked: 4 Months

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jpiper33 (9)	2018-03-20		Mild to Medium	Extra Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend is just flat out bad. If you do dare to smoke this, I would highly suggest you smoke it in a cob. This blend will leave an orange skid mark in a briar.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2017-12-11		Medium to Strong	Strong	Medium to Full	Strong

10/1/2021 - update---

I found the rest of the jar from below... 4 years later. I decided I'd brave another bowl to see if age ad somehow done anything to improve this blend.... umm.. no.

2017 Review

The jar note took me back. The first thought was old socks or something rotting. I decided to go ahead and give it a smoke. It was not as bad as the tin-note but the "old fashioned" flavor was missing and all I got was "liquid smoke".

I tried it again a few days later to be sure it just wasn't a bad day on my part and had the same exact experience.

I don't know if I mix this in with something else if it can be saved, but I'll never buy another jar for sure.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Smitty's Cigar and Tobacco

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pappymac (10)	2016-06-30		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

As proof that each of us have different palates, I am going to have to disagree with some of the other reviews on this. Bacon? Where? I only occasionally found myself, okay there is something vaguely reminiscent of bacon.

Upon opening the jar and sticking my nose over it, I smell cheap whiskey. Actually what I get is that smell of a whiskey on the rocks that didn't get finished and sat on the table overnight. It's recognizable as containing whiskey but that's about it. After loading it into a pipe and testing the draw, I do get a whiskey taste that is better than the aroma though, so that's something.

As for smoking it, I have tried it in a new clay pipe, a meerschaum, a briar and a cob. By far the tobacco was best in the clay and the cob. It was good in the meerschaum. With the briar, which is also relatively new and I've just broken in, the tobacco was lacking in flavor. To be honest though I've only smoked 6 bowls of Bacon Old Fashioned and feel I am still trying to determine what I'm smoking. I have decided that it will probably be one I only smoke in the cobs though.

Pipe Used: Clay, Cob, Meerschaum and Briar

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: gift

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Count Doppelbock (1)	2019-06-04		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

UPDATE 08.29.19 I'm actually going to bump this up to a four, partially just to help offset the - to me - undeserved hate this blend gets. I've actually smoked this just about daily for a month and it keeps on growing on me, which I think is partially the result of some breathing time fluffed up in the jar. The whiskey/orange/smoky taste is actually quite well done and, with proper drying time, is rather flavorful in topping and tobacco, as well as a bit creamy. The problem is is that it is somewhat inconsistent and a bit finicky, which I mainly attribute to the cut, which is quite a potpourri and, like another reviewer, I, too, found a piece of leaf about two inches long in my jar. Despite this, I'd say this blend achieves what its creators set out to accomplish, which is a lovely smoke that carries some of the flavors of a citrus-y, smoky old fashioned. Definitely my favorite aromatic behind Lakelands and I will likely repurchase, which wasn't in the cards initially. Can burn somewhat fast and the nicotine can be a bit of a creeper.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: This tobacco doesn't get a fair shake, being kind of an oddball. That being said, I get none of the advertised bacon (for which I am grateful), which I think is what gets it all the attention. What I do get is a fairly mild whiskey topping with a bit more orange essence interwoven. Unfortunately, there is the occasional "bile" note that others have mentioned, but I find it's fleeting and usually quickly transitions into orange. Overall, this is rather creamy and smooth and, I think, achieves what the blenders set out to accomplish - a tobacco that (as near as possible) tastes like an old fashioned. Though maybe one from an airport bar. I found the nicotine mild leaning towards medium when smoked in the morning, more towards mild at other times. Again, kind of an oddball, but not unpleasant and worth a shot by all but the most close-minded. I would say more like two-and-a-half stars, but I'm rounding up.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Less than one year - six months maybe

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: Davidoff - Scottish Mixture, Cornell & Diehl - Blockade Runner.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jevverrett (106)	2022-12-08		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I bought this bc it was suggested to me to try. I liked the packaging, the components are on point for me, and the label art. And who doesn’t like bacon? I have been waiting to write this, because it’s hard to describe what I experienced.

Aside from being nice looking, this one was rough for me. I’m sure some folks like this, or it wouldn’t exist. The base of the blend would be an unremarkable sort of manly all day blend. That said, the fruit topping is like an orange liquor and the bourbon is reminiscent of old crow. Which is a whiskey best drunk under a bridge. The combination is bizarre. It’s smoky and sour with a fruity note that doesn’t come through as sweet. The bacon smokiness is kind of chemical, like liquid smoke for barbecuing. I’ve never had an old fashioned cocktail, so maybe I’m missing something. Not sure what else to say. Sample with caution.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local b&m

Similar Blends: Nothing.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rmsva (16)	2022-09-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is by far the most unsmokable blend I’ve tried. The tin note is awesome. Bacon, smoke, citrus, yum. The taste is like MOLDY old books (not in a good way) and smoky vomit. In fact, the first time I tried it, it was a jar a friend of mine had for a long time. I figured he didn’t store it correctly. Turns out he did. It just tastes that way. Very disappointed considering Briarworks makes one of my all time favorite blends (country lawyer). Most of their blends are so-so. But I’ve not come across one I couldn’t finish… in any brand really. I’m considering throwing out the contents so I can use the jar for something else.

Stay away. Grab some Briarworks unsweetened tea or country lawyer instead! Those are great!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CarlC (18)	2020-10-24		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

One of my favorite smokes.I like the flavor,and smokiness.Don't know what the flavoring is,but it works for me.I noticed it has gotten low ratings. Well,I like it.So there.

Pipe Used: Smoked new,and five years old

Age When Smoked: Only my John Enge pipe for this

Purchased From: New,and with 5 years of age

Similar Blends: Nothing I know of..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	manxman (82)	2022-12-26		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like this and would buy again. Not usually a fan of Dark Fired, but I like that the tobacco flavor comes through. I'm kind of immune to nicotine, and don't find it, even though I inhale. No tongue bite for me. I also don't taste the citrus that others mention. I also like that it's already in a jar.

Pipe Used: meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes

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