Alsbo Gold

My wife picked up a pouch of Alsbo Gold at last year's Las Vegas pipe show because she is a pistacchio lover. Just recently I grabbed one of my pipes reserved for aromatics to give it a try after dinner. A very mild blend and I never really tasted pistacchio. I did get the sort of flavor I get after a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Maybe I should have smoked this one for breakfast. Mild, sweet, cloying, and a very wet dottle. Don't puff fast while trying to get to the flavor or you'll get nipped. Honey Nut Cheerios never did that to me.

I didn't mind the old Alsbo Black, so I thought I'd give this a shot thinking that it would be in the same kind of area. Meaning, I thought it would be cheap, easy to get my hands on, and not too horrible or memorable. The first two things are true - it cost next to nothing and I can get a pouch without really trying, but after that things started going downhill.

The sscent when you open up the pouch is not unpleasant, but it is a little sweet and fruity for my liking. It packs into the pipe as would be expected from the oddly fine cut, and it lights easily and stays lit. This, however, is probably because it gets so darned hot that it would be night impossible for it to go out without being doused with a bucket of water.

Golly-gosh it was hot to smoke! And it burns so quickly and harshly too! So much so that it's hard to really say much about the flavour because I was a little too busy burning my tongue to taste much. To give you an idea of what I mean, I'll tell you that it burns so hot and fast that when I packed it into a pipe that I can usually puff at for about forty or so minutes my smoking session was over in about twenty five.

What I will say about the taste is that there's not much of it to be found apart from a sort of harsh soapy chemical bite that hangs around for the first quarter or so of the smoke. After that disappears it just becomes bland and extremely hot.

All in all, I can't recommend this tobacco. It's not a pleasant or releaxing smoke, and I think it might be a chore for me to get through the remainder of my pouch. I will definitely not be ordering this again.

Well... it's like $1 per ounce.

I know, I know, it's not a glowing way to start a review. Honestly, I am disappointed and confused by this tobacco.

It makes a thick, black smoke that gives me a stomach ache; I think it's so heavily cased with cheap flavoring I want to swallow the smoke. There is a slight note of burning plastic in this blend, that only sometimes overpowers the vanilla and pistachio.

I am disappointed and confused, because it tastes like it does not need to be as bad as it is... It's so-close-yet-so-far to being good. Maybe if there was less flavoring... Maybe if it was not dripping wet... I don't know how to fix it. Sometimes, I can say "hmm, I was way to harsh on this tobacco... it's pretty good", but then, a couple puffs later, I want to gag.

There was a sale of this tobacco and so because it was an aromatic I decided I couldn't go wrong for the price. Upon opening the pack there is a very strong aroma...you can smell a nutty sweetness but there is also a kind of chemical kind of scent as well. I have tried it a few times and the chemical scent mixed with a kind of hazelnut does not appeal to me. It also coats my teeth and tongue. What I will do is let this stuff sit and age a bit and come back to it. I am confident that it'll get better. Fingers crossed. For the price I would recommend to try as your taste may not be the same as mine. But I will probably not buy this again unless my experiment with aging makes it better. I will come back and re review.

UPDATE 11/19/11: This tobacco is unfortunately not worth the $2/1.5oz price I paid for it. Obviously, that's saying something for such a cheapo deal.

The tongue bite is nothing short of "weirdly incredible."

Last night I NURSED one single bowl of AG with the intent to give it a chance and to avoid tongue bite. ( I tried this blend a month ago with a similar experience.) I woke up today with my tongue numb, again, from smoking this stuff. Forget about tongue bite here or there, the entire front half of my tongue was numb. I have never had this happen with ANY aromatic or english blend. I was looking forward to starting today with a nice english blend but because my tongue was numb I figure I better take some time off. Kind of humorous actually.

Rarely have I thrown a blend I didn't like in the trash. Usually I pass it on because my dislike is someone else's favorite. This might be the blend that goes on the ash heap of history. File this under: You get what you pay for.

FURTHER UPDATE 11/29/11: Well, I have figured out how to make this stuff smokable. I left the bag wide-open on my desk for 10 DAYS and VOILA the tongue bite is basically gone and it has become a tolerable smoke. I cringe to think of all the chemicals that had to dissipate to make this smokable.

A mild, almost flat virginia blend with a supposed pistachio flavor (undetectable) and an almost as weak vanilla. Has considerable tongue bite for such a light blend - "dry & stingy" is the overall characterisation that comes to mind. A bland smoke that lights & burns easily.

Will not be buying again although would smoke this on a desert island. There are just so many better virginia blends around and for those who like vanilla, there are equally many blends with proper vanilla taste to bother with this one.

The body of the tobacco is extremely light and with little added flavor there isn't much impact on the palate. It burns a little bit hot, but I didn't get any tongue bite from it. It isn't something I would recommend to a regular pipe smoker. However, it may be good for a brand new smoker or someone who needs a tobacco that doesn't stick to their clothes if they smoke during work break or something like that.

Alsbo: Gold Pipe Tobacco (1.5oz pouch) [P&C]

Star Rating = 1.00

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst Pouch Note = 2

Room Note = 2

Flavor = 1

Bite = 1

Burn = 2

After Taste = 2

Raw Score = 10

Rated Percentage = 17%

Comment = This is a bitter harsh blend, devoid of any Flavor, huge Bit, this is an awful smoke

This is a very common Virginia. The Vanilla and the Pistacchio flavours cannot be scented. Also, it burns fast and so hot. Is is not in the same level of quality of the Alsbo Silver, wich is much better.