House of Windsor Field & Stream

This classic from the House of Windsor is one that I think most of us have just had an urge to try since the excellent P & T article. That being said it is also nice to search out tobacco that is not only of good quality, but also cheap and available. Not a bad combination at all.

This particular blend was somewhat unique. The cut in the little tinfoil pouch was a rough cube cut. Very good for outdoors smoking. It lit easily and stayed lit well. It smoked dry and clean.

The taste was what set me back. I suppose I was not thinking of Lakeland floral when I bought the tobacco, but that is what I got. Or at least a hint of it. For some this is a prize to find, for others not. I fall into the latter group.I like the floral offerings from SG and HG. This blend too I found pleasant. The floral notes were not over-pronounced nor was there any hint of bite. A cool smooth smoke when you dont want an overpowering tobacco or something fussy. All in all I would recommend giving it a try.

***And editoral addition here: This blend will leave its esscence behind in the pipe, so be careful to clean it well or dedicate a pipe to it.

This one is another winner from the House of Windsor. It is the only pipe tobacco I ever smoked that seemed to be mentholated and I liked the effect more than I would have normally thought. It did remind me of Bourbon Street which I didn't care for one bit. This ,however, has a delicious tobacco taste underneath all of the topping. A very unique tobacco I will come back to in the future!

I have really been impressed with the House of Windsor blends that have recently been re-released. I tend to steer away from heavily flavored aromatics, especially ones that have a perfumy aroma in the tin or pouch. I was very surprised by this blend. I smokes very cool and dry for as much flavoring as it has. It is very flavorful and has a great room note. When you light this stuff up, even the most ardent anti-smoking zealot will thank you for lighting up. This has been a nice change for me and I will continue to smoke it.

I have never had the original Phillip Morris Field and Stream so this is a review on the strengths and weaknesses of the HOW blend and some comparisons to the Sutliff Match Field & Stream. This was a gift from a friend and this package was from 2006.

When I opened the Humidor I was greeted by a strong, almost overwhelming perfumey aroma of Licorice with a mild earthy background that also consisted of light wood, a whisper of vanilla and a touch of liquor. The perfumey Licorice almost drowned out the other aromas. NOTE- The MATCH does not have this perfumey artificial Licorice aroma, it has a natural Anise/Licorice aroma and flavor. The Tobacco was a bit dry when it arrived and I re-hydrated it over several days and it was perfect for smoking.

Filling the bowl it seemed to be an odd assortment of chunks, ribbons and pieces just like the match. The tobacco seemed to burn pretty evenly except some of the chunks took longer to burn. It burned down to a nice gray ash with the perfumey licorice wanting to bite and it would definitely bite if pushed. I sipped this slowly. The smoke was nice and billowy even though I was sipping this slowly to savor the flavor.

Upon lighting the flavor of the perfumey Licorice that was somewhat pleasant and slightly overpowering appeared and briefly overshadowed the background flavors. NOTE-THE MATCH BY SUTLIFF has a natural Anise/Licorice flavor and aroma that is pleasant and balances with the other flavors and aromas in a much better manner The Burley was a beautiful medium strength and full flavored and smooth. I could taste a hint of liquor, light citrus and a touch of grass with a nice earthy and pleasant woody taste with a drop of honey in the background also and it became a bit more obvious after the original perfumey Anise/Licorice burned off a bit. This was however, a sweet tasting smoke just like the Match, but the Match was a bit more pleasant. At halfway the Perfumey Licorice declined a bit to a more natural licorice/anise flavor and A slight Soap taste with a touch of floral came through. The taste did not get harsh like some tobaccos and remained smooth and pleasant. When done there was a medium amount of moisture in the bowl. Average amounts of re-lights.

There was a pleasant aftertaste that lasted a hour or so after finishing this bowl. The room note was a pleasant though somewhat perfumey.

I do like the House of Windsor version of Field& Stream and found it to be a nice smoke. However, the main difference between it and the Match is this has a artificial perfumey Anise/Licorice and with Match Field & Stream it is a much more pleasant natural flavor that I believe matches perfectly the flavor in the HOW version with the exception of the artificial perfume flavor in the HOW version. THE MATCH does a great job at reproducing this with a natural flavor. While this will bite, the match won't. If they had used a natural Anise/Licorice flavor this would rate a 4 stars out of 4 stars like the Match. But, the perfumey Licorice causes a imbalance at first in the flavors and aromas, but as it burns off it becomes a wonderful smoke. A pleasant long lasting aftertaste during and after the smoke. This burns at a faster pace which combined with the perfume can cause a bite if puffed.

Having tried this and the Match gives me a deeper insight as to how a perfumey flavor can cause tongue bite, a perceived difference in flavors of these two blends when the only difference I found was the rate of burn and in the perfumey taste This gets a 3.3 out of 4 stars.