House of Windsor Bourbon Street

I first tried Bourbon Street a couple of years ago, before Willian Serad's review in P&T magazine. I had never smoked Bond Street, but had seen adds in old magazines & the pouch of this on a store shelf reminded me of it, so I thought I would try it. My first experience wasn't good. It was dry as could be & about a third of it had turned to dust, but that floral (soapy) smell was overwhelming. I smoked a few bowls of it and pitched the rest. After The House Of Windsor reviews in P&T magazine these tobaccos showed up in the local discount tobacco store in 2 oz. cans. Something made me try Bourbon Street again. This time around I didn't find it so offensive. The floral smell seemed more subdued in this can compared to the pouch I had previously, plus there wasn't a lot of tobacco dust. I have smoked the whole can and find it OK. It smokes cool & dry to the bottom of the bowl leaving a light grey ash. MY wife has even commented on the floral smell favorably. The House of Windsor website describes this tobacco as "A unique traditional aromatic blend of quality cube-cut Burley and Virginia flake. A small amount of Latakia and Perique". I couldn't taste the latakia & perique myself. Just aromatic burley to me. "Absolutely Different Pipe Tobacco" it is. If you like to experiment, give this a try.

Cut and moisture is like most of the HOW offerings, a dry cube cut which is well behaved in the pipe.

The aroma in the tin is only slightly flowery. But upon lighting this weed up, the topping overwhelms in a taste which I can only describe as being something in between a Glade Air Freshener and a bar of scented soap. It was actually nauseating.

After the first third of the bowl, this taste backed down and the tobacco itself came through, but not in any memorable or outstanding way.

Won't bother even finishing the tin.

This was the very first H.O.W. blend I tried and I went through the large tub last summer like candy! I started out in aromatics as a young smoker and moved to naturals later, and this is the best of both worlds. I get the natural flavor of tobacco and also the powerfull taste of....of....oh well it's yummy thats all I know. This blend led me to try many more H.O.W blends And makes me wish I lived in a part of the country that had this in every drug store.

BS has a most unusual pouch aroma and taste. I can't even draw a comparison with any other tobacco I have smoked. The tobacco is very dry and yes, it does have a soapy taste. I smoked this on occasion back in the 70s when it was known as Bond Street but I think something has changed

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for the worst.

Here is an old drug store trobacco, of pretty good quality. Of course, it was formerly "Bond Street", and Bond Street's claim to fame was that it stayed lit,and I believe it had latakia? This is Burley, good burley, cube cut burley almost as good as C&D's Brigadier (which I prefer). The aromatic agent is strange,but very good and not over powering at all.This actually tastes like good tobacco. It burns down all the way to the bottom,and isn't sticky sweet cloying or wet at the bottom. I seldom had a bite, and it held it's good flavour all the way down the bowl.A very good Burley blend that is really worth a try.

As a new pipe smoker (under a year full time) I am still learning the fine nuances of rating a tobacco. That being said, I wanted to start adding my two cents' worth.

I have smoked Field & Stream before Bourbon Street and find that I prefer Field & Stream to this blend. They pack similarly and smoke the same. There is no bite and both have a somewhat soapy flavour (at times but you actually get used to it). If you regularly smoke Virginian type tobaccos then you will really notice the difference if you try either of these.

Bourbon Street smells like fruity prunes when you open it up. The flavour is not the same, however! I leave it to the others above to discern the particular flavourings and toppings etc...but suffice it to say that the room note of this tobacco is good. I had a few positive compliments when I smoked this enjoyable offering. I'm not sorry I bought it, but it is not one of my favourites...and that's o.k. I think.

Wow! that was the first expresion I had when I first lit Bourbon Street. This was one flavorfull tobacco. This tobacco was a throwback to yesteryear. A traditionally made, American tobacco, by House of Windsor. Until I smoked this tobacco, I thought you had to use heavy flavor casing to a cavendish style tobacco, to obtain, aroma, and flavor like you do from this tobacco. I was very wrong. When you first open the container, you are enveloped in a wonderfull aroma, which best can be discribed as orchard like. A cross between a flower shop, and orange trees maybe? I don't know, but it was very nice. the tobacco, is cut in my favorit way, cube. Cube cuts for me, seem to almost pack themselves. When I placed fire from my lighter to the tobacco, that was when the "WOW" factor kicked in. It was almost overwhelming. The flavor was great, to great maybe. I just sat there, smoking, thinking I should stop, but I couldn't. So I continued, I continued till about halfway through the bowl, then the tobacco, turned. This is not a mild tobacco. It has a lota omph, and the nicotine became very noticeble halfway through. The flavor also stopped, being replaced with a rough tobacco flavor, almost as if the remnants of the original flavoring, was mixing with the tobacco flavor, causing it to become almost sour. I had to stop about two thirds down, and dump the bowl. I was disapointed. A tobacco that turns on you, can feel like a betrayal. Like when a dog turns on the master. That was how I felt about Bourbon Street. I still smoke it on occasion, but like a turning dog, I keep my distance. I just smoke it halfway down. I won't let it turn.

Anyone want to smoke a stick of incense in their pipe? This stuff is definitely floral and soapy too say the least! Their is some tobacco flavor but as Pipestud points out it is definitely cheap. I think the history of this blend and its very unique casing makes this tobacco relevant, but that's about it. I doubt I'll be able to finish the whole pouch.

Here's a blast from the past from The House Of Windsor. Although, I do not normally smoke aromatics, there are a few exceptions. This is one of them. The pouch aroma is loaded with flowery aromatics. In appearance, there are little chunks of what may be the Burley along with some small bright flakes, and some darker little chunks. At first, I was concerned about smoking this heavy aromatic. I filled a small Meerschaum and applied the flame. Ah! Welcome to smoking just for the fun of it. I do not taste the aromatic in the smoke. I taste tobacco, on the sweet side, but good tasting tobacco none the less, with a good amount of strength. And then comes the magic. This is one of the few blends that I can smell the aroma while smoking it. The aroma is pure magic. People in your presence will find the aroma just as enjoyable as the smoker. I find myself doing heavy puffing on this one, generating large clouds of wonder. No matter how hard I puff at it, there is absolutely no bite. There are two other fun aromatic blends that I smoke, and both are similar to Bourbon Street. One is again from The House of Windsor??-Field and Stream. The other is Pennington Gap from Cornell & Diehl. A caution is in order. Smoking any of these blends can create a very large smile, that if not careful, may cause the pipe to fall from your lips. Give this a try just for the fun of it. All I can say is Bourbon Street: Welcome Back.