W.O. Larsen Selected Blend No. 50 Maple Mixture

EDIT: I up this to two stars, after a little air has gotten to it. Still I find it very tangy and a little less stingy. It does have a solid Danish taste. But I won't buy it again.

I really don't like to give hard working businesses a rough time. I generally give most blends 3-4 stars. I like pipe tobacco, any tobacco blend is worth a try in my opinion. But really this blend is stingy and bitey beyond any other I have tried, and I've tried about 50 odd blends. Maybe it's just my tin, it's got 2 yrs age on it, was super dry when opened, but it still stung like hell, added a moisture button for a week, improved, but still stingy.

One of the best Danishes I have tried is Curley Cut Flake no.32...simply Danish, and simply wonderful. No.50 has a similar honey and woody flavor...but with all that sting...what's the point...really I'm amazed this blend has even 1 star from anybody!

I can only conclude I have a super stingy tin, maybe it just doesn't agree with me!...That said, I have tried some other Danish blends very similar in taste and result. I guess Danes are just into having that Scandinavian sauna affect with their pipes too. 0 stars....zero. It will go back on the shelf for a year, hoping either it or I will change for the better, failing that, wish me luck blending this one into something smokeable.

I had high hopes of this tobacco based on reviews here. I bought a 50g tin and I've smoked it several times but not posted a review because I don't feel there's that much to say about it unfortunately.

Presentation is excellent - classy tin, ruffled paper, card top. Delightful sweet toffee aroma in the tin. Packs and lights easily. Burns evenly down to a fine ash - not goopy at all. It's very sweet in taste but unfortunately that's it, nothing more to it - therefore I find it a bit boring personally. If sweet aromatics are your thing this is a quality product that you probably should try.

I found this tobacco to be very similar in both presentation and taste to A & C Petersen's "Caledonian" but minus the boozy topping and I also reckon Caledonian has a very small amount of latakia to add interest.

Incidentally this is no longer called "Light & Sweet", it is now simply "Sweet Mixture"

Well, I don't smoke a lot of aromatics and although this doesn't ring my bell much, it's made of top notch leaf and is the crowd pleaser an aromatic ought to be. It starts to pick up a little strength after half bowl and the bite is minimal compared to similar blends. Tin aroma is great and the comments from people around are very positive. I would heartily reccomend this to mild aromatic smokers, but not to VA, VAPer and English pipesters

Tin Opening-The tin aroma is a light fruit, no one in particular, just fruity/floral. Appearance is mostly brown marble with a few dark strands.

Packing-Packed well into my Savinelli freehand.

Lighting-Two matches and a tamp

First Impression-What first impression? It doesn?t seem to make one. I had to puff a few times to make sure it was even lit because I didn?t taste anything until I hit the ¼ bowl mark

Mid Bowl-Now it?s settled into something that?s very smooth, mild in taste and has no tongue bite! This blend defines aromatic mellow with some chocos present in the taste and the aroma. Even though the bowl feels a little warm, none of the heat hits the tongue. In fact, its so cool, you have to puff more so that explains the heat. Through the mid bowl, it?s a fairly one note blend but the note works.

Finish-Slight hits of wetness arrive towards the end of the bowl and it gets more intense but it remains the one note wonder that it is.

Over all-I was all set not to like this given that the last Larsen aromatic I smoked was horrible. Overall a very good smoke for when the occasion calls for something lighter. It doesn?t have enough flavor for a day to day smoke but it is good and well made without being great.

Selected Blend N° 50 is very similar to McConell´s Black and Gold, and to Petersen & Sorensen?s Danish Mixture. Golden Virginias, sugary by nature, mid brown matured Burleys (very smooth and discreetly applied) and a sweet toasted Black Cavendish with a flowery taste, combine to produce a very tasty and smooth mixture in the best Danish tradition. It has the aroma of freshly baked pastry and if you like that kind of taste, it is very savoury without being syrupy or goopy.

Like all Larsen´s, the tobacco is of the highest quality. Ribbon cut, and a bit more moist than other similar blends from the same house, it never the less pack very easily, it burns smooth and it smokes clean. The aroma is highly appreciated by non smokers and ladies. Unlike Selected Blend N° 80 (which using similar components, manages to deliver more strength and a more defined tobacco flavour), the aromatic components in this one are more evident and tend to dilute the natural taste of the leaf . It is also milder and more than two or three bowls a day can lead to a certain amount of tongue bite.

As a change of pace within the aromatic range, this one may be an excellent choice. It is entirely different from most drug store blends and IMO far superior than many other Danish aromatics. I still prefer, though, Selected Blend N° 80.