House of Windsor Field & Stream

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.

I guess if I was on a desert island and this was the only pipe tobacco, It would probably make do. But, in the real world with so many blends to choose from, Field and Stream falls into my mediocre/boring column. I smoked it once and threw the rest away. Life is too short to waste on a mediocre smoke.

this tobacco is easy to pack, and lite. taists outdoorsey. appears to be a burley base. try p.pesandcigars.com to find it. i am not really crazy about this tobacco.

You have to dry this out if you don't like the soapy taste. Let the tobacco sit out on the table in an open container for a few days or a week and it smokes just fine. The flavor is OK. I probably won't be buying this again as there are so many others I like better. I didn't mind trying an oz though.

when I first tried this blend (from the pouch) a few months ago, the "old lady perfume" smell was a huge let down, especially with the great picture on the box. I stuck it away and didnt even think about it, until an older fellow told me to rub it completely out, and use a cob...well I took his advise and I can say its allot better. the casing is less pronounced and the burly leaf comes through well. Overall I sort of like Field and Stream now, for a change of pace, and the fact that its the only HOW blend that acually has nicotine in it, Im sold...Two stars says I...and perhaps I'll even finish the pouch!!

It took me a while to get hang of this blend. While FS is Sweet it is yet very smokey. Sort of like a drugstore Cigar with the wrapper being sweet but the cigar smoke itself being harsh,very 1940's Americana. Now once you relize this approach you will then understand this pipe tobacco better. Years ago a man smoked cigarettes Daily, Cigars for special occasions(or a night out with the fellas), and pipes on the weekends or after work to relax. All their tobacco needs were purchased at a local 5 & dime or candy store. The smokes were generally very close in taste. As to not sway you away from one or the other. Now as for FS the taste is close to a sweet cotton candy or sweet cream corn. FS burns fast no matter how slow you smoke it. You can go through a bowl quickly. The room note is alright but the aroma is closer to a sweet mildew aroma. A Good smoke to think about life during the old days. The one thing that I really like about this blend is the cut of the tobacco. Very easy to fill a bowl no matter how much falls on the floor.

07/19/2004 This one I didn't like initially. It tasted like soap the first time I smoked it. I put it in the "to give away" area of my various blends. A later encounter with this pouch found the soap taste barely noticable. In fact, I started to like this tobacco! Now when I light this blend it tastes like an honest smooth rich cubed Burley. I had no problems with tongue bite, maybe because it is strong enough flavored to not require any heavy puffing. Update 11/06/2006: No longer smoking this very often. Have found better Burley blends and have had some issues with consistency. Still a better than average "drug store" Burley.

Decent Burley, with a strong licorice topping. Not destined to be one of my favorites, but not bad. (Unless of course you hate licorice) It can be tough to light at times.