War Horse War Horse Bar

Wow, this is good!

A lot has been said of its great attributes. But let me add my 2 cents' worth.

The plug is firm and you gotta slice it. I sliced it thin across the grain and it rubbed out easily.

It is good and full, in the same way the old St. Bruno and Condor tobaccos were good.

If you love those traditional and storied tobaccos, you will love War Horse Red.

Sip gently for full enjoyment.

Looking forward to trying War Horse Green.

Ah War Horse Bar... yes... *stout*. That's the word that sums up War Horse Bar. *Stout*. In taste, in strength, in everything. It's a stout blend. And I quite like it. Upon opening the tin/jar... the scent is quite potent. Smells are an interesting thing. Like Proust and his Madeleine cookies... smell brings back memories we sometimes didn't know we had. War Horse Bar has a topping that is very "old fashioned", at least in my mind. It brings me back to some nondescript 1980's setting for some reason, and I can't explain why. It's an amalgam of sweet floral anisette (vanilla also, maybe?) and maybe fruity/tonquin bean (although I've never smelled tonquin outside of a pipe tobacco flavoring). It's a wonderfully sentimental smell, though I can't say why. The plug is fairly solid, but easy to slice and easy to rub out. First few puffs... a stout Burley blend. Quite Burley-forward, with notes of sharper Kentucky adding complexity and even more *stoutness* and richness. The Virginias are there to add a natural sweetness and some tang... but the main stars are the Burley and the Kentucky. And the interesting topping works really well with the richness of the earthy Burley and sharper Kentucky. It has a pretty hefty amount of nicotine too, so be aware... and smoke on a full stomach.

Bottom line: Nice strong Burley/Kentucky blend. Has an old fashioned feel that I really appreciate. Great blend, solid 3 stars.

First things first: this is not a crumble cake, nor is it truly pressed like a plug. It's like a block meant for slicing into flakes, left unsliced. Still soft and easy to tear or cut. Fresh, "manly" scent, like a mild and clean old time aftershave, in a perfect amount. Very much an Oulette aromatic; that master of burley has a definite style no matter who he blends for. The tonquin in combo with the other notes comes off more vanilla and less exotic than in 1792. Anyway, the Virginia is sweet and the burley is quite present, smoothing out the Kentucky, which isn't as strongly present as I expected. Yet while being smoother and a touch milder in taste than I expected (still a boatload of flavor though), it still has a serious nicotine content. Better to use a narrow flake pipe and not your XL Peterson. If you reclose the tin but leave the little plastic disc thingy out, it will delightfully scent the room.

A Haiku Review: War Horse Bar

This tobacco is….

pretty weird I have to say

Unicorn, not Horse.

Equal parts flowery, almond, spice aromatic and knock you on your a$$ burley, this is blend is wonderfully strange. And will leave one heck of a mythical unicorn ghost in your pipe.

Here's another potent one! A long time ago, I used to split a block of the original Gallaher's War Horse with a friend that worked at the tobacco shop. That tobacco was a special order, and the guy who ran the shop would be adamant that we were going to buy this if he was going to order it, because nobody else in their right mind would smoke it! And this was a shop that used to carry all the Irish ropes too... The old War Horse used to come in a solid brick with the word "War Horse" stamped on the top, and it used to take some muscle to split one of those bricks in half. The current version is a little easier to manage out of the tin. It's hard to recall after all these years, but whatever flavoring they used to use is pretty well mimicked here on the new one... it's a bit of an indescribable and unique flavor. I've had somebody describe it as "mothballs", and in that case I've always wondered how you could get those tiny moth legs apart to smell that 😜.... it may be an apt description though, despite the fact that maybe mothballs might not be the most appetizing way to put it. Not quite vanilla, not quite clove, maybe a slight anise note in there as well. Whatever it is, it's not like any other tobacco I can think of, except maybe Bosun Cut Plug. With the Bosun you definitely pick up clove, with War Horse, it is a little harder to tease out all the flavors. Both War Horse versions were very strong tobaccos, and even with the top flavoring you definitely get solid tobacco flavor... the older variety was that strong Irish tobacco, the newer version is maybe slightly more mild, I'm assuming using currently available tobaccos. Definitely nicotine here as well. Once it's well rubbed out and correctly packed, it needs maybe an average number of relights, and you might get a gurgle or two depending on your cadence. I like St Bruno; in comparison, War Horse is a good deal more formidable all around. This is one of those modern recreations that comes pretty close to the original, the big difference being you really can't get those exact tobacco varieties they used to use nowadays. Highly recommended for those of you that like potent smokes!

It is a pity that the health warnings spoil what was originally a beautiful tin with a horse on a red background, which is now reduced to the upper half of the container (at least the one that touched me). Tin contains a dark brown block of tobacco. Although the plug is dense it crumbles easily and the not too high moisture content allows it to be loaded directly from the tin.

I agree with other users that it is a full-blown aromatic and that I also had a hard time getting real tobacco flavors under the coverage. This coverage is quite scented and in my perception the ingredient that stands out is anise. Sometimes it has a certain aftertaste of medicine, especially in the first pipes I smoked. Then I got used to it and it reminded me more of certain spices or medicinal herbs. Of course, it behaves frankly well in the mouth, with absolutely no tongue biting.

In general it is too aromatic for me to repeat but I understand that there are people who like it, since it cannot be denied that it has its virtues, and among them is the originality of the mix.

01/30/2021: I have continued to smoke this tobacco sporadically and although I am not a fan of aromatics, I have liked this more and more and I have enjoyed it as the typical “change of pace”. Add that being a tobacco very different from what I had tried so far, at first it seemed strange to me, but now it is precisely that difference and originality that I like, so I would recommend trying it and not staying with the first pipes, but giving it a try. chance smoking a full tin.

02/08/2022: I would also like to add that one year after opening the tin, the Kentucky is much more noticeable, without the coverage being able to overshadow it at any time.

01/17/2023: Definitely, the passage of time improves this tobacco a lot, increasing its virtues and reducing its "defects", (IMO).

Well put together blend, I'm a new pipe smoker since March 2018. I've experimented with over a dozen different blends, I have found I'm not too fond of aromatics. I have tried pirate cake and it's not too bad I've tried White Knight pretty good. I've also tried GL pease Abington it was pretty good as well didn't care for the Peter stokkebye luxury twist too much. Just for experimentation I bought some of the perique for mixing just to see what it would taste like straight I liked it pretty good smoke straight I was able to smoke 2 bowls back to back and I found out what my first nicotine hit was like WowWee it was a hit also LOL. But when I try this War Horse bar, this is the first tobacco that I have tried in the pot so far that will definitely be a regular for me. It's strong it's potent it's got a good flavor that I just like. This is the first tobacco i've smoked that I could actually taste the nuttiness in it. I'm not sophisticated enough yet or experienced enough yet to pick up the other flavors. All I know is this this is the best darn tobacco that I have ever smoked it is well put together and I highly recommend it I'm by far and expert by any means. But to me this is good stuff very good stuff. It is become my everyday smoke after work and it pairs very well with a strong cup of coffee. I enjoy this tobacco so much I ordered more.

Sutliff Tobacco Company
War Horse Bar

Blend notes: “Made of dark-fired Kentucky, dark air-cured and matured red Virginia.
From P&C's web site: War Horse Bar is a plug tobacco made in the tradition of the long-missing Irish tobacco. Made of darker, earthier leaf, War Horse Bar has a singular top note added, and the tobacco is pressed and cut into plugs. The flavor and body are astoundingly stout, and is definitely meant for the experienced pipe enthusiast. If you love robust and bold pipe tobacco, War Horse Bar will become a staple for you.”

I don’t think strong tobacco, on its own, is something to be lauded. War Horse Bar is certainly strong with a serious nic-hit but it is essentially uninspiring. There is a smattering of added flavors with (what seems to me) a clear presence of propylene glycol. Though it’s a blend by Russ Ouelette who (in our Club) says he does not use prop glycol, so it may just be a blend which simply did not speak to me.

The added flavor tastes a bit like perfume on top of dark Virginia tartness. The added flavoring does not rise to an aromatic. It is strong leaf. It felt (tasted) a bit like I was smoking a maduro cigar. But your palate will be different.

I understand I am a minority view re WHB. The always-positive crowd equates strength with character. I want something more complex than War Horse Bar.

2 of 4 stars and that’s being generous.

This tobacco has been given a name that, to older English pipe smokers at least, has ancient associations. The old Gallaher War Horse bar was like a stronger and much more pungent recension of Condor long cut. This tobacco is IMO nothing like that, and has only the name in common with the original War Horse. This one is all right, though: strong, full-bodied, slow-burning and cool, with a traditional 'Lakeland' flavour profile. If anything, it's reminiscent of Gawith & Hoggarth Bosun plug, only rather stronger. I think that, in using the War Horse name, it's sailing under a false flag, and for this - perhaps foolish - reason I give it three stars instead of four. I recommend it, though, to people who like a muscular, old fashioned smoke and don't mind all the foreplay necessary to prepare a bowlful for the pipe.