House of Windsor Union Leader

I used to like this, but I have ruined myself by smoking Burley blends from Wilke and Peretti. This stuff is just too harsh for me these days.

I sooo wanted to like this...Not because I dropped $16.00 on the 12oz tin, but because I loved Revelation, was in the historical, OTC, Gimme the piping heritage zone. So when this burned me the first time- I thought "Ya know- I thought it felt dry, I packed loose...What happened?" So I healed....Tried it again- new pipe, 24hr dry out, gravity pack- Burned again... I tried it moist, dry- Tight pack, loose pack, 3 different pipes- different shapes- sizes- you name it. Acidic, nasty biting, crapola. Gave 10 oz away. Try at your own risk- But remember life is too short.

Straight burley leaf, that is all. I tasted an earthy almost soil like flavor. Not bad, but not for me. This is what I would assume tobacco tasted like in the early years of the american colonies.

If I recall correctly, I think Vice President Al Gore's mother smoked this in a cob while holding Al as a baby and singing, "Look for the union label..."

No reason to like or trounce this, but I am sure it has its deserved place with some liking this genre.

This is a nice, lightly flavored, ribbon-cut Burley mixture. It will probably not set your world on fire, but it's a comfortable, honest smoke, good for summers, and probably just fine for an all-day smoker. The price is very good, and this blend smokes as well as many tobaccos costing much more. I find this blend a bit boring if I smoke it in a large bowl, or more than once a day. It excels as a "working smoke," though--something to puff on where you're otherwise occupied and not looking for a demanding or complex blend.

Sampling notes: I smoked a two ounce tin of this blend in a variety of meerschaums, cobs, and briars. It smokes about the same, and that's pretty well, in just about any pipe. To my taste, it does best with some drying and airing. Union Leader can be smoked, apparently, at just about any humidity level--I've smoked some that was cinder-dry and it smoked just fine.

A very good, quality, reasonably-priced, "workhorse" tobacco. I thoroughly enjoy every bowl of this tobacco, but wish it had no topping.

This is not to say that the topping is over-powering: it is very subtle. However, I do believe that its absence would improve this blend.

In any case, this is very nearly "Highly recommended". Any fan of blends with little or no casing/topping should find UL to be a great all-day smoke.

For burley smokers, this is a real treat. This has a very subtle honey casing and packs and lights easily. The honey remains in the backround while the natural burley flavor comes to the fore. It sings wonderfully in a cob. A tasty smoke at a reasonable price for burley lovers.

This is a tough tobacco to review, in a number of different ways. Union Leader was a burley-based, crimp cut. It was a favorite of the 1930s through the early 1970s, pretty much without any alteration to its basic character. Dark redfoil pack, golden eagle logo; pride of the United States Tobacco Company. It was sold in a pocket tin but I never did see that version. The package said it all: For cigarettes and pipe. It was a uniformly mixture of browns: light to golden brown, some darker chocolate brown cuts, very much like Prince Albert in color and texture. While PA had, and continues to have, a slightly sweet aftertaste, UL was a true burley base w/o casing or adornment. It had a warm coffee and bread taste when fresh. Easy to fill your pipe, just cup your hand around a pipebowl, leaving enough space to pour out the crimp cut into the bowl, then jam the tobacco w/ your thumb. Draw once,use wooden kitchen matches which last longer, and blue/gray clouds of smoke are emitted from nose and mouth. A medium sized bowl always worked best for me, for a shorter smoke. The room presence was striking, like burning autumn leaves. In a closed automobile, the aroma could be lethal after a while. But, there was a sense that you were smoking a "classic" blend. No bite, no moisture, but no real flavor either. This blend was as complex as a brick, and slightly more flavorful; small bowl or large, the flavor was consistent through the smoke.

It was a unique time for these crimp cut blends. Many companies had a crimp cut (so-called because the leaves were 'crimped' or pressed together and chopped, but not confused with granulated like Bull Durham or Plowboy), but they also offered a fuller cut tobacco. There was PA with George Washington Rough Cut, and Velvet with Granger Rough Cut, but UL never had a fuller cut. Sad, really, because UL was not a bad tobacco, just unexciting and serviceable.

You will note that I used the past tense. I have not had much recent success in finding any foil packets of this blend, and I'm not adventuresome enough to but a large can.

Heres a great burley blend for you to try. I found Union Leader not to have that usual burley bitter taste at the bottom. A definate step up from the other "drug store" blends. As others have stated its hard to see why this blend was discontinued while others have lasted. This tobacco is a great "working" tobacco. I work outside for a living and this one fits the bill during those hot S. Florida days, as it doesn't require alot of relights or attention. Seems to smoke best in a cob as well. Be warned however: While reading another review of a HoW product the reviewer had mentioned differing quality from pouch to pouch. I too have had this happen with Union Leader. My first can was excellent. Prompting me to buy another. It was not so good. It was bitey and bitter. Wishing to get another can like the first, I purchased again. This 3rd 2oz can was good again. So I promptly returned to the store and bought the large can which now resides unopened in my "cellar". I do hope they are from the same batch. 11/10/04