Dan Tobacco Old Ironsides

I was expecting a Lat bomb here but got much more. At first light I got Latakia and Orientals. Almost balanced. The Lat has a slight edge. A few more puffs in and the Kentucky shows itself with a nice earthiness that is easily discerned. Slowly a very mild sweetness starts to come through from the Virginias. There's just enough sweetness here to make this blend work. If there were just a little more this would reach 4 star status for me. Never quite gets there. It's a bit of a dry smoke. A beverage within reach is a necessity for me. There is a fair amount of spice in the smoke that I found to be very nice. Overall a very good smoke.

Medium in body. Medium to full in taste. Burns well. Ready to smoke right out of the tin. Probably not for everyone, but I enjoyed this tin. I'll stash a couple more.

A Very very flavorful mixture. Really enjoyed this, comes in a broken flake. I rubbed it out slightly, packed and smoked it immediately no drying time. Smoked wonderfully right out of the tin.

Has a super rich flavor, not your average latakia mixture by any means. I think the kentucky has a strong role in developing this taste, but not overbearing on the other components.

Smoke this last if you plan on sampling other blends in your session as it will seriously leave an impression on your palate that you can't shake off. I consider that a good thing though.

Sweet, cool, smokey, thick, long smoke. Just plain savory and delightful.

Dan Tobacco - Old Ironsides (American History Mixtures).

The flakes are starting to break apart, yet not enough to justify the name Broken Flake. The colouration resembles tiger stripes: the way the lighter and darker leaves run vertically forms a pretty appearance. The moisture was perfect when I first opened it.

Although the Lat' creates a heady smoke, it doesn't monopolize the smoke, entirely. It seems to me to be a flavour where the Kentucky's second in command, so it's not just woody-smokiness from the Lat': the Kentucky gives a sharper, fiery, note. It's this that raises my rating of the taste from full, to very full; and also removes a star from the final recommendation. I get the least enthusiasm from the Virginia, maybe a gentle sweetness, but the others are too formidable to allow something with the word Gentle in its camp to share much of the action! It burns evenly, giving, like it says in the description, a cool smoke.

Nicotine: strong. Room-note: full, but I don't find it totally abhorrent.

Don't get me wrong, Old Ironsides is a well made blend, but it's just a touch too heavy a taste for me to give it full marks:

Recommended.

Beautiful presentation in the form of roughly broken flake. This stuff is smooth smooth smooth. Hardly any sweetness compared to a lot of other "lighter" English tobaccos (like, say, Squadron Leader or Frog Mo). More like a cup of coffee with no sugar. Can be smoked all day with no fear of bite.

Room note: Old coffee and maybe maybe a touch of spilled beer.

I like this stuff better than Penzance in taste and in leaf style. Not a clone, but in that ballpark. If you expect to require your sense of taste for about 6 hours after, don't smoke this stuff. I can just see a wine-tasting now: Lovely ruby colour, bouquet... Latakia. Taste... Latakia. Finish... mm hmm, more latakia.

Wow, this is tobacco time machine! A sort of "dual" blend, It starts as English and evolves in a spicy balkan, a full flavour flake.

Old Ironsides is the only tobacco I fell in love with after the very first bowl. Strong, with a full, nutty, crispy and smoky taste that just push you dreaming of a london night, back into a dark and smokey tavern on the river Thames, in the mid of the 18th century! I packed an entire flake down my small Peterson and had some little trouble keeping it lit, as it was just out of the tin, but after all, what a great flake!

The generous amount of latakia it contains comes from great leaves along with the base. It doesn't stun, obviously it doesn't bite and smokes veeery quiet and slow. As you proceed down the bowl, a certain deeper spicyness, that makes me think of perique or matured red virginias, shows up and stays there, enriching the taste with some more complexity.

The mildly sweet Cyprian Latakia provides a wealth of musty, leathery smoke, earth, wood, some herbs, floralness, and light spice as the lead component. The mildly sweet and fairly sour dark fired Kentucky offers plenty of earth, wood, herbal vegetation, floralness, some spice, and light nuttiness as an important supporting player. In the third slot is the earthy, woody, floral, spicy, vegetative, incense-like, herbal, mildly sweet and rather sour Orientals. The Virginias produce some tart and tangy citrus, vegetative grass, bread, sugar, floralness, and a pinch of spice in the background. The strength is at the center of medium to strong. The taste is a couple of steps past that mark. The nic-hit is a notch below the overall strength level. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, but there is a mild roughness present. The flakes are moderately moist and pliable, and as always, I did not dry them. Burns cool, clean and slow with a very consistent, deeply rich, sour, floral, spicy, mildly sweet, savory campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The potent room note might isolate you from your family. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Not an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

-Jiminks

As a huge fan of Bengal Slices and Penzance, I was looking forward to this one - though a bit suspicious of the added Kentucky. Upon opening the tin, I thought I was in for a treat, because the Latakia really smelled high-class.

The texture and cut however, is quite different from the crumbly Penzance Krumble Kake etc. This one is quite rubbery like Full Virginia Flake. But when rubbed out, it is as if the charred "dust" from the Latakia separates from the other tobaccos. It is also very hard to light and keep lit.

Unlike Penzance, Bengal Slices and Krumble Kake, the other tobaccos used here does not support the Latakia, and the flavors does not blend at all. Therefore I got this unbalanced and disharmonious smoking experience of smoky Latakia and strong acrid Kentucky. The other tobaccos; VA and orientals were totally absent.

I consider this a rough and crude attempt at a Latakia flake - not good, not good at all...

***** Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark *****

Old Ironsides will ram you, boys! Even lovers of most Latakia infested blends will surely cry "uncle" with this one. Whew! I needed to brush my teeth for a week after smoking Old Ironsides before my wife let me back in bed. Seriously, this is quite strong as well as full of flavor. The Virginia element was a little overwhelmed by the Lat bomb within, but I think I did taste it some. The Orientals never had a chance.

I gotta get more of this stuff!

Smoky and leathery full-frontal Latakia mixture which you can tell from the moment you pop the tin. Smokes cool and dry. Has medium strength and medium weight although taste is very full and mostly Latakia. Orientals and Virginia sure play a part but they are not really discernible per se. For me they just add the cushion upon which Latakia sits and add a small variety.

It’s not as complex or as refined as Penzance but it really has similarities and the Latakia used here is of high quality and very reminiscent of that found in Penzance.

It is dry tasting, with no harsh points but does not have any juiciness or sweetness which, if present, might make Old Ironsides an even better blend. In larger bowls it may become overwhelming, but I think it can be smoked, if not all-day, at least quite a few times a day, as it is not a really strong blend. Room note is very intense though.

Flakes are very dry but as I said they smoke cool and I didn’t try to rehydrate them. However while rubbing a significant part of the Latakia crumbles to black dust. Not to mention that my hands get dirty from it.

3.5 stars from me, it’s a fantastic tasting Latakia. Highly recommended as such.

If you are not a Latakia fan please stay clear of this one. If you love Latakia, order you a tin asap! Excellent smoke-- smokey sweet Latakia with a side of Virginia and just enough dark Ky and oriental to make a winning combo. Tin note is excellent and the moisture damn near perfect. Rubbed out easily and packed well. Stays lit throughout with few relights. Goes really well with a pint of Guinness extra stout as well. While this is not an all day everyday smoke for me it will become one that I will smoke several times a week, most likely as my last smoke of the day or night.

A very creamy, sweet, rich and full Latakia Flake. Burns very cool and slow. For me it is the best Latakia Blend i smoked so far. Highly Recommended for Lovers of a very full Latakia Mixture.

This is the strongest Latakia tin note I have ever experienced...MMMM alotta Latakia. The broken flakes are easy to rub out, dry and pack (do let it dry or it has a tendency to bite). Once lit the smokey Latakia hits you between the eyes, but not overbearing. Sweet and smokey. I get a chocolate like flavor, not from a topping, but the sweet Latakia with the DFK and Orientals blend into what my palate describes as chocolate. Very consistent flavor down the bowl and leaves a grey ash. I got the sense from other reviews that there is a big nic-hit with this. I did not get that at all...and I am fairly sensitive to nicotine. Great after dinner smoke.

I remember lighting up a bowl of this while driving down the interstate a few years back. Within minutes I was reeling from the punch this packed! Old Ironsides is said to have over 40% latakia and you can believe it. The latakia taste stayed in my taste buds the entire day and also lingered in the pipe for quite some time. If you really love latakia then this is for you. Smoking this at home around any living persons would not be recommended. I have used this for blending and it did compliment some weaker blends that needed more back end. It's just to much for me on it's own.

I was puzzled by the one or maybe 2 other Reviewers who mentioned Old Ironsides as a 'late night' blend. In theory, this makes sense; by the end of the day, our tastebuds have been somewhat numbed or taxed from receiving, for most of us, a broad variety of flavors, thereby it takes a little more intensity to make 'em "sing" with pleasure.

In addition, I found that when I did try Old Ironsides late at night, I was greeted each time by, yes, Old Ironsides firmly imprinted on my tongue first thing the following morning. What that eased that effect somewhat the most recent time was a good brushing on the tongue with toothbrush and paste right before bedtime, a good way to cleanse the pallet for the next morning in general (and a typical practice in India as a general means of oral hygene/breath freshening, as I understand it).

Also, my schedule doesn't seem to permit a nice full meal and then an evening of relaxation most nights. It is with no doubt in my mind that I tell you that a hearty meal in the belly is what's required for me to enjoy a blend like this! Whoa Nelly!

I am indeed a fan of Latakia. But I suppose even my fanaticism has its limits. The strongest blends that I've enjoyed in the past include Timm's London Blend 1000 and the currently available Balkan Sobranie (European pouched edition, not available in the USA). I've gotten enjoyment from those fine blends, usually in small bowled pipes with enough shank/stem length to add a bit of coolness. But Old Ironsides...*whew*...I guess this sailor is just not enough of a 'manly man' to handle this intensely smokey flake. Not sure what to do with the remainder in the tin...who knows, maybe it will grow on me? I'll Zip-Lok the tin and give it a few more tries ...

The U.S.S. Constitution (aka Old Ironsides) is the 'oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world'. The battleship has been celebrated with honours, including being the namesake of Dan Tobacco's blending inspiration (perhaps the ship's greatest achievement besides its age). Blended for C.A.O., Old Ironsides is a Latakia flake-based weed that I rather like. I have been critical of tobacco in the past for being uniform in taste. In this case, oddly, I like the fact that the flavour is basically unchanging from the beginning of the bowl to the bottom. There is a charm about its unvarying flavour. I am not a fan of flake form, but Old Ironsides would lose some of that charm if it were not a flake cut. The fact is that I noticeably like packing this flake in my larger pipes. The raw peat-like smell of the weed is welcoming but second only to the taste. In this case, it is a full and smoky experience without an abundance of nicotine. The latter, however, is just about right--enough for a kick but not too much to cause a headache. This stuff produces bellows of grey smoke and burns to a nice similarly-coloured ash. And I enjoy greatly the lingering aftertaste. What prevents Old Ironsides from getting another star (besides the War of 1812 against Great Britain--even if that was the ship and not the tobacco) is the fact that its flavour can become slightly harsh, but that harshness can be avoided. Significantly, it must be smoked gently and that is difficult to do due to the desire to enjoy abundantly and puff profusely (or at least faster than usual). That aside--and in mind--this is a satisfactory solid smoke that occasionally reminds me of a fine cigar (although I no longer smoke them). Latakia is my favourite component in tobacco, but if it is not yours than admittedly you will not like Old Ironsides. If Latakia is a requirement for your smoking pleasure, find your way to the Navy yard and cruise aboard the U.S.S. Constitution with this dreamy delight--you will certainly not be disappointed.

As a Latakia lover, I wanted to try some blend with the emphasis on this dark and fascinating tobacco, something different from my usual Dunhill London Mixture and Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture. Well, I went for advice to Mr. Bollito (a tobacconist in Turin, one of the best in Italy) and he suggested this. Well, his experience couldn't have been more valuable. Upon opening the small tin, I was rather shocked by the huge and thick black broken flakes: being used to the small cut of my other favorite latakia tobaccos, this was a surprise. The smell was very strong, very smoky and dark: like Balkan Sobranie, but stronger and deeper. I was uncertain on how to pack this stuff, but I decided to stuff the flakes in my Savinelli without crumbling them into little pieces. I just broke the hugest ones, pressed with my finger and then lit. Lighting proved itself a challenging task: this stuff doesn't want to get on fire! Not because of wetness, just because of the size of the flakes! This made me fear for the worst about relightings, but I was wrong. This tobacco is hard to light, but then if you puff regularly it never extinguishes. The large cut of the flakes is very helpful indeed in keeping the smoke very slow and cool: the pipe gets noticeably less hot than with Dunhills or Balkan Sobranie, and this is great. The smoke comes out at the perfect temperature, allowing you to taste the aroma without scorching your tongue or overwhelming you with excessively intense clouds. But what about the taste? In my opinion, it is very good. A bit monochromatic, perhaps, in comparison to the aforementioned Latakia monsters: straight, sincere, but enormously satisfying. The intense smokiness of Latakia is the dominant taste, for an in-your-face dark experience, with all the usual nuances one has to expect. Hints of licorice, of burning wood, of salt... Mmmmm, this tobacco makes my mouth water!!! It can get too salty at the bottom of the bowl, but never harsh. If only it were a bit fuller in body (maybe adding some orientals and red virginia... but then again it would be easier to smoke another blend!)... In spite of this rich taste, this tobacco doesn't seem too strong: the nicotine content is just right for me, and the overall strenght is OK, definitely lighter than London Mixture or Balkan Sobranie. For me it is a great choice when I want something less complex than my usual favorite Latakia blends, but be warned because I found that it can be very nasty and unplesant to non-smokers who should happen in your presence: they often complain that its pungent smell reminds them of burnt horse dung!!!!!! But so they say about Balkan Sobranie, which could be interpreted as a huge compliment to Old Ironsides...

2011 Update (after 6-7 years): Well, I hadn't tried this tobacco since a long time ago, so I got a new tin. Bad surprise... it has changed considerably, even from the looks of it. Much softer and larger flakes, not as dark and leathery as they used to be. And the taste disappoints too: no longer the strong Latakia blast of old, no longer as stout and licoricey. Should have stocked up the old version...

2021 Update: With the change of production from CAO to Dan, it has become a recommended blend again. Still not as dark and rubery/leathery as old times, still not as "thick", but at least once again very flavorful. Great juicy sweetness with added smokiness, like a nice barbecue sauce. Simple, but enjoyable.

A fairly dark semi broken flake with yellow stripes...not too moist, not too dry... just about ok to smoke out of the bag (yes I ordered 250g). Nevertheless I let it air dry for sometime before packing.

Tin note: Latakia smokiness combined with some spicy and sweet aroma.

Firstly, let me tell you that I am still finding my Latakia bearings and although this blend is Latakia heavy I was captivated.

The smoky, mildly spicy, floral Latakia is in the lead throughout the smoke but very very nicely complemented by woody, earthy and mildly nutty Kentucky. Some notes of leather are present past the 15 mins mark.

The orientals and Virginia show their presence on sipping adding the tangy, zest and fruity sweetness.

As the bowl progresses, it gets creamier without compromising the above mentioned notes and some coffee nuances.

Retrohale is fantastic throughout with notes of white pepper blended in a creamy sauce.

Note: the spice and tang will be overwhelming if one puffs or sips too hard on this blend

It makes the mouth slightly dry because of the generous amount of Latakia present in the blend but I didn't find it off-putting.

A cool, dry smoke with minimal relights and burns into fine ash. 

The strength is medium with a fuller taste and strong room notes.

Not an all day smoke for me but something to have in the rotation for sure.

4 stars.

Age: 5 months Pipe: savinelli dolmiti poker with 9mm balsa filter

If you gravitate toward English/Balkan blends, you will surely like like. Well balanced, flavorful and cool. I’d put it up against any English tobacco. Pair it with a nice bourbon and have an enjoyable evening.

Old Ironsides - Dan Tobacco

Thick flake fills the tin in oily tightness,

Strong and full, from the ashes of Erebus

Intense smokiness, lingering sweetness

Caveat fumator: latākia bomba est!