W.O. Larsen Old Fashioned

One of three available pipe tobaccos in the tax-free shop at Gardemoen Airport, Norway. The other two are MacBaren Navy Flake and Scottish Blend.

Opening this box, I found the smell very enticing and bringing back some hazy childhood memories of caramels and grandparents. A somewhat odd comparison but thats what I got.

Happily pursuing the task of loading up a Parker Zulu to partake in the promised goodness. Loading accordingly to Child, woman, mans hand adage and lighting it up, reflecting on the wetness of it.

What horrors, what horrors, it took my tongue straigt out with numbness in the mouth and burns so bad that it made cold water feels blistering as well as ruining the pipe by burning out great chunks of the interior walls. I gave it some time and tried it again, with the same result and another scorched pipe.

Having pondered the problem, I gave it another go, sipping v-e-r-y slowly and the tobacco gave in, and released a rather good smoking experience with many tasting nuances developing throughout the bowl. Another bowl and the impression was furtherly enhanced, then being somewhat enthusiastic, mouthblaster and pipe burning again.

At this point I more or less gave up on it, but revisited after about a fortnight, primarily due to tobacco prices in Norway. The Old Fashioned had dried out considerably in that time and was somewhat easier controllable.

I loaded another pipe with it, that I did not get to smoke in two days and marvellous things had happened with it, a mellow and truly satisfying bowl was experienced. This bowl was the reason for me to keep working with it.

Then I did some work as to drying it out and to me it seems like the Old Fashioned need some serious drying out, before it comes into its own.

I have kept it in its pouch, but leaving the pouch top opened and ruffle the content every now and again, for a fortnight seems to leave it at its best.

Smoking it in a large bowl Falcon seems to take away the excessive amounts of moisture this tobacco contains, as the Falcon have the humidity trap thing in its construction and smokes dry.

The WØ Larsen Old Fashioned tobacco is quite nice, if you have the patience to go through the hoops, but as it comes from the factory, I would say that it is more of a raw product than a finished one, but if you have the time and patience to tame the beast, it will give good results.

My experience is based on two 100 gram tins. The 2 star grade is based on the wetness, if you hit the spot, drying it out, Old Fashioned is easily worth a 4 star ranking. Personally, I would like a tobacco to be good to go from the shop, not needing to be treated like a toddler to deliver what I have paid for, a good smoking experience.

This is a well executed aromatic with a nice tin presentation and the tobaccos used are top notch. My main problem with this tobacco is not how it smokes or tastes, it is that this is extremely close to Lane 1-Q.

Old Traditional is just better executed, and not by much. But that still does not make up for the price difference. If you're thinking of trying this save your money try Lane first if you do not like it you are only out a few dollars. Save the rest or stock up on one of your regular smokes.

I so wanted this tobacco to work for me. I brought back a 100mg tin from Europe at the Duty Free shop. The aroma is great: vanilla toffee, but the bite is almost unbearable, even for the seasoned smoker. There is also little body or strength to justify this being for the sophomore and not the beginner. To be fair, I tried drying it out to give a second and third chance, advancing it in my rotation to the second or third bowl of the day, alternating pipes: all for naught. It's not a bad tobacco, just not a great tobacco.

Upon opening the wonderfully illustrated 100g tin of W.O. Larsen Old Fashioned I was treated to a pleasing bouquet which warmed my senses with nostalgia. It threw me back to a simpler time. As a child we would visit my Nanny and Popa's two or three times a year. After the hugs, pinched cheeks and remarks of " oh my how you've grown " I would make a mad dash to the dinning room. Across from the dark Hienztman upright piano stood a walnut stained maple table setting hutch. The far left cupboard of the hutch housed a bounty of tongue tantalizing treats. Nestled among the scotch mints, rosebuds and all-sorts were tins of butterscotch hard candy. These were the sort which required a quick prying with Popa's pocket knife to open the paint can style lid before revealing the powdered sugar dusted drops of delectable delights contained therein. Among the sweets was a smoky pressed glass dish which held my Popa's somewhat sour and stale stash of peanuts. The butterscotch, poorly aged peanuts and a hint of old funiture maple wood from the hutch combined form a poweful nostalgic cocktail. The tin waft has a very natural subtelty to it rather than the overwhelming synth - perfume smell of some aromatics which will remain anonymous

---

To remain fair I will take another kick at the can....or tin rather, in hopes of being captivated by the elusive taste match to the lovely scent. I am committed to giving every tobacco time to develope on my palate and my reviews shall be updated to reflect this.

UPDATE I have revisted this blend several times to no avail. I'm afraid I must remain true to my og claims. Tongue bite is practically unbearable and certainly inescapable. I have great news though. If one mixes Smoker's Pride BC @ 3pts BC to 2 pts WOL Old Fashioned (or 60/40) all I can say is WOW.

Update ***Eureka***

I found it. I've had this tin for a couple of months now and I loaded up my Pete's Ebony Sherlock - Watson XL. 6 full pinch packs and absolutely rammed the last 2 of the 6 and dropped a hole. I put more than an 8th of oz in there. I smoked for about 35 minutes before the sweet 'n' buttery flavour came out. I didn't even get a nip on the tongue. I'm still smoking it now and it's very tasty. I swear somebody switched it. Give it a whirl.

I'm a bit confused by some of the previous reviews. This is far from an English. There isn't any Balkan, oriental, or latakia. And this is certainly far from any cigarette tobacco! Ignorant Rubbish! This is simply well-aged Virginia/Burley cut into beautiful ribbons, with a truly sublime creamy topping. This is one of the few aromatics that taste as creamy as they smell. I agree with one reviewer that the smell reminds me of butterscotch.

I will say this, however: I compared Larson Old Fashioned with Captain Black Gold and found that CBG was not only a bit tastier, but cheaper by the ounce.

Another W.O. Larsen fine smoke. Tin aroma is great. Room note is great. Packaging is beatiful, with a gold foil pouch inside. Burned quite nicely. Seems to have a bit more nicotine than other Larsen tins. Smoke it slow or get some bite.

A nice, buttery caramel flavor! This is one of the 3 or 4 finest "true" aromatics I've ever smoked. I let it dry out to the point where I felt no moisture at all in the tobacco. That did tend to make it burn a little hotter than straight from the tin but that is how it performed at its best. Too wet, and the tobacco became steamy and the pipe gurgled. Dried out, this smoked almost like a straight virginia with just a hint of that caramel taste.

As others have mentioned, once you become enchanted with unflavored tobaccos, it's hard to spend a lot of time with aromatics, even one as well developed as this one. This one, as good as it is, still strives more towards the flavor of caramel than the flavor of tobacco (indeed, my definition of true aromatic is a tobacco that tastes more like its flavoring than like tobacco). However, this is one that is reasonably satisfying and can serve well as a special occasion or "dessert" tobacco... something for those times you just crave something extra-sweet! If you like aromatics, you cannot afford to pass this one by.

What a wonderful aromatic. Sweet, but not too sweet, just enough flavoring to let you know it's there and not overwhelm the senses. I only smoke a couple of aromatics and this is one of them for just that reason. If you haven't tried Old Fashioned, you're really missing out.

After the first bowl I thought I'd give this tobacco only one star. But, like an inquisitive tongue repeatedly revisiting a sore tooth, I kept on reaching for it, bowl after bowl, in an attempt to discover its mysteries.

After some time, I began appreciating the very thing that had originally put me off: its understatement. Old Fashioned is an extremely mild tasting and mild smelling tobacco. The pouch aroma is of extra-light raisins. When lit, the taste is of tea-like Virginia and the slightest hints of caramel, hazelnut and apricot. This is a tobacco for when you are in the mood for something light - for when your senses are so sharp that you don't need a slap in the face to appreciate that you are alive. It's akin to looking at a tiny, wimpy organism under a microscope and discovering its complexity. A pleasant surprise is the fullness of taste in the second half of the bowl: it changes from tea to coffee.

Throughout, nothing about this tobacco is overbearing. The taste is subtle, the room note is delicate - it smells of light Virginia, tea and caramel - and the aroma does not cling to the room. The volume of smoke tends to be small, which makes it a polite and gentlemanly tobacco to enjoy in the presence of non-smokers.

Not a regular smoke for me, but quite enjoyable on the rare occasions I find myself in the non-animal realm. Two stars because that doesn't happen often. Old Fashioned gets two stars too.