Craven Craven Aromatic (Original)

Tastes just like Clan to me, a tobacco I dislike intensely. Craven came dry in the pouch as though it were some fossilised form of sugar which had begun to break down from indifference or lack of attention. One to avoid. Seriously.

Oh dear, where should I begin on this... The smell from the pack is actually OK, smells like caramel/molasses; nothing too interesting. The smoke itself is cool but it has some tongue bite and the taste is just flat soooo flaaaaaat. I actually had the taste of really old banana with this stuff. Just avoid this stuff please. This goes as one of the worst tobaccos I have ever tasted. Runner up to Brokum Riff tobaccos.

I have a lingering affection for the Craven name, and a sort of forlorn hope of one day stumbling upon a fully satisfactory Craven Mixture sub (any suggestions?); so I thought I'd give this a go to see if it's any better than the Craven Ready Rubbed that has been so soundly thrashed elsewhere in these reviews.

Bleccch! The man who invented or blended this abomination ought to have been boiled in oil; or, even better, made to smoke it. I confess that I haven't smoked much of it; but I didn't need to. I bought some at Tesco's, took it home and lit up. Shortly afterwards, Klio (cat) left the room with a reproachful look and went outside to bother some mice; I was left alone with this apology for a tobacco. SWMBO was out, fortunately, or I should have been in real trouble.

This is desperate stuff. I feel much more strongly about it than previous reviewers, for some reason. Like its ready rubbed brother, Craven Aromatic is in my view dreadful: coarse, cheap, nasty, and an offence to all right-thinking nostrils. It's admittedly cool and slow-burning; but if ‘aromatic' means ‘smells fit to render you senseless', this is aromatic and then some. Smoke it, and death will lose its sting, but you won't have any friends. This is the worst kind of mass-produced supermarket floor-sweepings, with added smell.

I see that it has its devotees. Well, best of luck to you, says I; each to his own, etc.. Strange, how tastes can vary. Personally, I wouldn't put a match to this sorry concoction again for all the rice in China. A 100% no-no, as far as I'm concerned: awful, awful, awful.

This, along with Clan, was one of the first pipe tobaccos I bought - being readily available in 25g pouches. As soon as I opened the pouch I figured something was wrong, although it smelled OK it had the consistency and dryness of loose tea. I smoked about four harsh bowls of the stuff and was going to bin the rest but thought better of it and sent it back to BAT. They replaced it with a new pouch - see below.

The tobacco is moist in the pouch with a sweet mild fruit smell. Easy to pack in the pipe and burns well. However the flavour is pretty nondescript and the smoke has a peppery aftertaste that irritates the back of the nostrils. It doesn't offend but if you're looking for a readily available aromatic seek out Clan or Erinmore as they are much more tasty. This is pretty bland and rough.

Good room note as it says on the pouch - "appreciated by the smoker and those around him"

There's not much that can be said about Craven Aromatic: it's just another one of those middle of the road 'supermarket' aromatics.

This is a rather dark mixture of pressed virginias, lighter ribbon and rough-cut leaf. It's scent is not very distinct, being a mix of dried vegetable with a flat fruity note.

Sadly Craven doesn't manage to clearly distinguish itself when smoked. Having a slightly limey back and a generic summer fruit casing that dominates the centre, that is common to countless aromatics.

Nothing to write home about, or to write any more about.