Dan Tobacco Sweet Vanilla Honeydew

When I look to satisfy a sweet tooth, Dan aromatics are hard to beat. The quality is outstanding--not your average cheap cut Burley sauced in buckets of chemicals to mask poor tobacco from the consumer. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Mixture 79, Captain Black, and Three Star Blue.

Still, using finer tobacco varieties can prove problematic. Virginias are considered by many to be poor choices for aromatics due to their high sugar count..which may yield a nasty, hot smoke with an applied casing.

And if you're going to smoke a quality blend, you normally don't opt for a sugar coating. You want to taste the natural flavor of the tobacco. So I guess that's why I like this aromatic series by Dan. It's unconventional. It satisfies my need for a classic taste with a twist.

So I appear to get along fine with Dan blends, and I've tried quite a few--Honeydew, Da Vinci, and that other one that seems to spark a lot of controversy, Blue Note. I like them all.

Now don't misunderstand. These are not regular, everyday smokes. But they're handy to have around when you need a break from the serious tobacco.

"Sweet Honeydew" pretty much hits the mark straight on. The flavor of the blend instantly invokes its name. My only complaint is the rather weak nature of the blend. It's not tame, but I like to add Perique to bolster the strength. Call it a sugar Vaper or something. I don't know, but it works.

This ready rubbed mixture is the only vanilla flavored pure Virginia blend I know, which makes this tobacco somewhat special.

The tin note is very sweet and pleasant, almost like custard with underlying haylike scent from the Virginias.

The pipe should not be filled to tightly. Lighting is quite easy.

Despite the strong top flavor, the aroma of vanilla is not overpowering and appears supprisingly inartificial. Underneath the casing, you can still taste the natural caramel sweetness of the Virginias with a slight spiciness that seems to become more pronounced towards the end of the bowl. In other words, this aromatic still tastes of tobacco. It's a smooth, creamy smoke, as long as you enjoy it coolly.

The room note is very pleasant even for non-smokers.

This has to be taken for what it is: a ready rubbed Virginia with a strong Vanilla pudding casing. It is a welcome change to the millions of Black Cavendish based aromatics. Due to the VA base, it has to be smoked extra slowly, or it will bite. The Vanilla flavor stays nearly until the end of the bowl, where you get a hint of the VAs, which seem to be Dan's standard Mysore type. It will ghost a pipe, so dedicate one, or more, to it, if you want to add it to your rotation.

I grew up on vanilla-flavored aromatics. Even today 1Q and BCA hold a special place in my heart, and I smoke them on rare occasions. I like this one better. For years I silently hoped for someone to figure out a way to make a vanilla aromatic taste like vanilla AND tobacco all down the bowl, and smoke dry. Hope fulfilled.

I got this as a sample from a pipe buddy - perhaps about 2 oz. It wasn't the typical ribbon aromatic cut, looks like it may have started life as a broken flake. I did have to rub it out somewhat. Nice mahogany color and an overabundance of aroma. I was not hopeful. But the flavor was both heavier on the vanilla than the Lane's blends as well as more tobacco-y. It was still more vanilla than tobacco, but I got the impression that this was what Mac Baren was trying to accomplish with their Vanilla Creme, and they failed miserably. I found this one to be an exceptional vanilla aromatic. For those that enjoy this type of blend, wait no longer - jump on this one. Smokes very dry, very tasty and full of vanilla flavor, and the flavor doesn't go awol on me at half-bowl. Someone finally conquered the venerable vanilla aromatic - it's about time!

I reviewed 2 tobaccos today and gave the aromatic a higher rating than the latakia blend. So far the sky is not falling but it may yet!

A nice light smoke with a non-overbearing sweetness. No fake syrupy vanilla when smoked and even the first wiff of the tin is healthy, but not gag worthy. Aside from the obvious vanilla, I could also sense a slight hint of rum. It would be a great desert smoke since it leaves a sugar aftertaste in the saliva.

It had a good meaty broken flake cut that packed well and required little to no relights.

This was a far superior vanilla blend to the Mac Baren Vanilla I tried a month ago.

This is a very good tobacco. I was sent a hearty sample of it a while ago and just finished the sample. This blend is not for the novice IMO as it took me a while to figure it out. My first question was, "is this an Aro or a Virginia? a secondary question may be what does this matter? It mattered mostly for me to decide what pipe to use.

I started to try it as an aromatic in the pipes I typically use for them and was not too impressed as the ghosts and such really didn't help the smoke. In my Meers, the flavor was lost completely which is a sign that it may be more a Virginia blend than an aromatic blend. Indeed, the look of golden leaf and the scent would signal to the experienced that this is a straight Virginia.

I started smoking it in my favorite Virginia briars and immediately fell in love. The flavor of the Virginias rang out and the topping took that sweetness in a different direction. It was a great smoke. So IMO this is a Virginia blend with a slight topping and should be treated like a straight Virginia for the best results.

If you like blends like C & D Interlude, then you will enjoy this one. The topping is light, Much lighter than, say, Luxury Twist Flake by Peter Stokkebye. A good smoke. I recommend it.

I was at my local pipe club meeting the other day and the topic was briefly brought up about aromatics. I guess there are two camps, those who love them and those who don’t. I enjoy Latakia, VA, etc. but also like aromatics. I remembered this one I had tried some years ago and still had a jar from around 2015. I bought 2 ounces and a few of us tried it. I liked it but had been smoking some heavier blends and tried some more today with a clean palate. I dug up my 2015 jar and noticed that the tobacco was darker than my batch I had just bought and also had a stronger Vanilla smell out of the jar. I smoked this one first and had a nice flavorful aromatic experience. I took a 30-minute break and tried the new stuff and while it was mild and still had the sweet Vanilla flavor, I definitely noticed a difference between the two and preferred the 2015 batch. So, this leads me to one of two conclusions, it tastes better aged or the blend is different than the one I purchased four years ago. Not sure which but I would give this one a try regardless of the age of the blend.

This was a gift from a friend. The tobacco is a tan/brown mostly rubbed out flake. Mine came a little dry in the baggie, and I smoked it as delivered. The pouch note is a fairly heady honey and vanilla.

Smoked, this is one of the better aromatics for my palate. The flavor is honey with a hint of ripe fruit - think peach and not plum or citrus. The vanilla is there but does not overpower. The Virginia base adds to the sweet and gives a grassy foundation to it all. It was fairly light on nicotine.

This was a very pleasant smoke, and the room note is good. There is much to recommend this blend.

This has been a fan favourite since opening the tin. Especially love it's mild sweet taste with a cup of coffee in the morning. It's warm and sometimes nutty cinnamon flavour keeps things interesting and pleasurable. A go to for the beginning of the day