Borkum Riff Ruby

"The cherry is strong in this one."

Not being a huge fan of heavily topped aromatics, I got this pretty much by accident - needed some pipe tobacco as I was running out and could not easily replenish, the only place that had any and was still open was a gas station near Stockholm, and the only brand they had left was this. Only knowing the basic Borkum Riff line (the "bronze" as it's now called, and the "sungold" I'm not touching) I already guessed by the "Ruby" denominator that I was taking a bit of a risk and that I would probably be treated to some cherry flavour, and I wasn't wrong. The cherry is there and boy, is it there - already opening the pouch is like cutting into a big fresh steaming cherry pie made of dark, somewhat over-ripe cherries, and that promise is not failed by the taste! Even the room note probably smells a few hundred feet upwind of a large vat of cherry jam being boiled.

Unfortunately, like all heavily laced aromatics where an otherwise nondescript mix of cheap tobacco is made to smell and taste in a certain way by the liberal use of spices and chemicals rather than careful selection of quality tobaccoes complementing each other and then spiced just that little bit necessary, the taste never quite achieves complete wholesomeness, and always remains feeling just that little bit fake.

Not a regular smoke for me by any means but funnily enough, the overall experience is not that bad once you get used to it - if I ever feel the urge (and sooner or later, I probably will) to treat myself to some cherried pipe tobacco this is the brand I'll go for.

I have chosen this as my first cherry aro and i have to say that I have mixed feelings.

Up on opening the pouch I was greeted with a warm, natural cherry scent, the tobacco in side is of a perfect moisture level to just pack and light. With my first proper draw I get a most agreeable sweet, strong cherry flavour that while enjoyable takes total control of the experience. Yes I also get a smattering of creamy vanilla and if I concentrate I can detect the underlying tobacco but both are thrust to one side by the overbearing cherry. It's a nice cherry don't get me wrong but it left me feeling as though the whole offering is slightly unbalanced. Maybe this is the way of the cherry aro, maybe I'm missing the point.

Past the half way point and the sweetness is joined by a slight sour edge that helps to avoid the whole experience becoming too sickly and stay this way to the bottom of the bowl.

Will I be finishing the pouch? Most definitely, though I will be sticking to a small bowl as I think for me a large bowl may become too sickly. On the upside a friend of mine has told me how agreeable the room note is.

It certainly tastes like cherry and is very sweet. At first, this might actually be enticing, but after smoking it several times I got tired of it pretty quickly. When you open the pouch it smells a little like a candy store. What I don't like about it is that the flavoring tastes a bit artificial. I still think it might be a good aromatic for beginners as they may find the sweet candy-like note appealing. Room note is definitely very nice though, your better half will love it

This is my first try from the Borkum Riff's tobaccos. Didn't try others although I want to. It leaves a very pleasant smell in a room. Everybody liked it (I mean the smell). The nice thing is that is not that strong and as a result your mouth doesn't smell after. Very light and not everything is perfect rather than the smell. One time thing.

It's smell like a cherry marzipan/almond and has a kind of chemical aroma, the flavoring for me and a people around me a little bit strong. In the taste that kind of strong smell doesen't feel. This tobacco likes bite my tongue so i recommend to realy slow smoke.