Dan Tobacco Old Ironsides

This is an unusual blend for me and one I only want occasionally. Frankly, I may only finish the tine I have and never get it again. It's nice, it's full, and if you love a little tobacco with your latakia, this is for you. Latakia overload is the perfect thing once in a while. That it comes in flake form is what attracted me to this blend. I can barely sense the Kentucky -- the latakia overwhelms all!

WOW!!!!! A Latakia flake! This is on par with the wonderful Penzance.It actually burns a little cooler and milder.The flake needs to be rubbed out and takes about 3 lights to get going,but when it does, this is latakia heaven!It lacks the complexity of Penzance but is truly a close second.The flavor is rich and creamy.The burn is cool and leaves no residue,and no gurgle.This is for the Latakia purist.3.9 of 4 stars (only Penzance gets 4!)

one word of caution here; if you do not like strong latakia blends, don't even consider this one! a notch below pirate kake, this tobacco still hits you right between the eyes, from the time you touch a match to it. personally, i like latakias, so i get along very well with it. it seems to be a little harder to keep lit than it's milder cousin, patriot flake. this is not the one to bring in the house if your spouse has an aversion to the smell of non-aromatic tobaccos or good cigars. the flavor stays consistent from lighting to the bottom of the bowl. i think this is a tobacco that would be good for a cigar conniseur who has decided to try out the delights of bowl and pouch, who would also not be too put off by the premium price. this is not an everyday smoke for me, but i did enjoy it. 3 stars.

The tin says it correctly, "A Latakia Lovers Dream". Old Ironsides is a crumble cake similar to Esoterica's Penzance in form and taste, but stronger in the latakia department and produces very thick smoke and lot's of it. I like great billows of smoke and this blend affords that with out any tounge bite. Burns very slow, cool and crumbles out nicely, packs well and burns evenly. The flavor stays consistent from lighting to the bottom of the bowl. This is truly a Latakia lovers dream and definately not for the timid smoker or aromatic fancier.

I?ve been opening up some aged tins for the first time and trying them whereas I am used to smoking only newly opened tins. At only 4 years, aging has served this blend very well.

Tin Opening-Musty, Leathery. English ? Latakia definitely present but not as overwhelming as with a new tin.

Packing-I needed to cut it up to pack it well.

Lighting-Required two primer lights and a final light.

First Impression-I remembered when I first tried Old Ironsides; it was like a Latakia punch in the face but this is more subdued and mellowed. The Latakia is present but the aging has merged the other tobaccos bringing them more to the front.

Mid Bowl-By mid bowl, this has settle into a wonderful full smoke that is smooth without being heavy. The Latakia is dancing in the background but Virginias and Orientals make themselves more known. It's more complex than I remember but still smokes with the same coolness and without a hint of tongue bite or wetness.

Finish-Stronger, richer and even more flavorful at the finish, this is a delightful smoke.

Over all-I was surprised at how much time as changed this blend. It has certainly mellowed over time and the tobaccos have married well into a more refined version of the newly tinned version.

Recommendation Buy it and stash it!

I love this blend, although I must admit that there are alot of other latakia blends that I prefer to smoke over this beauty. Fortunately, when I got into pipe smoking, I was exposed first to Dunhill's 965 and shortly there after became a huge fan of latakia. Old Ironsides will quench the latakia craving in any smokers heart who has an appreciation for the greatest "black" commodity to come from the middle east since oil. At the opening of the tin you'll get a blast of deep, rich, earthiness that will give you visions of smoked beef and fertile soil. The cake is sliced and is easily rubbed out into a fine composition that appears to be annointed with dark cocoa powder. Don't let this description be misunderstood though, there's nothing sweet and chocolatey about this blend. Old Ironsides burns really clean and cool. I like to puff aggressively, and I haven't been bitten yet. As others have stated, this blend is best appreciated outdoors or in the company of other pipe smoking bretheren. All said, if you love latakia Old Ironsides will sail you away on the seas of extacy.

It's fitting that my review comes immediately after the one posted by the gentleman who sent me a generous sample of Old Ironsides.

I love Latakia. I've smoked top-grade Latakia on its own. I know the stuff. When it's used well in a blend, there's nothing like it. When it's either misused in a mixture -- or if the rest of the blend doesn't agree with it for one reason or another -- Latakia is like fanning the flames on a pile of burning tires. Luckily, the latter is not the case with Old Ironsides.

Describing this blend as Latakia-forward is not enough. This blend owns every house on Latakia Lane. It's a one-way ticket to Latakia Land! While the room note is fine to me, you can bet your ass that it'll offend every man's wife in a five-mile radius.

All that being said, I wasn't too impressed with Old Ironsides. Yes, it has a boatload of Latakia. And while that's nice, Old Ironsides just doesn't hold its mud in the company of the classic Krumble Kake from Smokers' Haven (the recipe that spawned Penzance). Krumble Kake and its Penzance offspring also serve up boundless helpings of rich Latakia. But more importantly, they offer the one thing I missed in Old Ironsides: depth of flavor (known to some of you as complexity). Old Ironsides just didn't excite me.

Old Ironsides is full, but not too heavy or nauseating. I've smoked some pretty big bowls of it (for example, in a virtually bottomless Ser Jacopo Maxima and in an astonishingly cavernous Paolo Becker Oliphant) in single sittings with no ill effects.

I gave this the "Might try this again, but will not keep it on hand" rating because I will finish the nice sample I received. However, buying more is out of the question. I would like to once again thank my esteemed cohort for allowing me to experience this tobacco, even though it didn't make the cut.

Menacing. Dark. Foreboding. The Dick Cheney of the tobacco world. Empty stomach? Fugeddaboudit. Standing up? I don't think so.

Old Ironsides is a much more manageable flake than Penzance (a natural comparison), and is loaded with more latakia than that already heavy blend. It burns very slowly (thankfully) and is quite cool. It compares well with Nightcap and Red Raparree, but if you think it's just too overbearing, I won't disagree. Still, it may just fit the bill for a late night treat for lovers of powerful, heady smokes.

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...

I love latakia blends, but for some reason I don't rate this blend as highly as many other folks do. It has a wonderful tin aroma, everything a latakia should be but when I try smoking it, I like it but don't love it as much as some other latakia mixtures. It definitely is a quality tobacco, and I will finish the tin I have, but I won't be reaching for it as much as others and don't think I'll be buying this anythime soon,

I got this blend one evening at a rare tobacco store that stays open until 10pm, so I could swing by and get on while coming home from my second job. I had run out of latakia tobacco and only had the lighter stuff at home, and for my last smokes of the day, I want it strong. So, I got this, and sure enough, it is a latakia lovers dream. What surprised me was how full it tasted also, as blends with this much latakia seem heavy in aroma and taste, but often that taste seems a bit thin, but there's obviously just enough oriental to add fullness. Another surprise was seeing it in slice form, which I normally don't like, to me it can make a smoke bite (for me anyway), but it smokes very cool and dry. It's a smoke for one kind of smoker, but if you are that type, this is perfect. It's replaced Dunhill Nitecap as my favorite late night and after dinner smoke, and my only objection is it's higher price.

I'm mainly these days a Burley fancier. But I still enjoy the smokey Latakia from time to time, and this my friend is LATAKIA!!! The tobacco is pressed in to cakes and cut into flakes,and looks like Tar Baby.(anyone remeber that?) It breakes up easy, but takes a few lights to get it going. Once lit you get some very delightful creamy smokey lucious tastes. My wife says "it smells better than a lot of those camel poop tobaccos you smoke".It does taste good,and is very relaxing. It's definetly not for land lubbers, and those who haven't been with a pipe long. Smokey and salty, like a good Islay Scotch.

The tin says it correctly, "A Latakia Lovers Dream". And that it is! I love Latakia and have yet to find a blend that has to much. If you love Latakia this is a blend for you. I am a hard puffer. I like great billows of smoke and this blend allows me to puff until I am blue in the face with out any tounge bite. My bowl only got slightly warm no matter how hard and how often I puffed. I will be smoking this on a regular basis.

If you love latakia, as I do, this should ever be on your list. I smoke it straight in a small bowl, but will also add it in to other blends from time to time if I want to "kick it up a notch". Although the smell is strong, the smoke is surprisingly mild.

As with hot pepper sauces, proper manners when offering Old Ironsides to a novice would be to give full disclosure, but offer it nevertheless. If he loves it, you know he has the heart and soul of an Englishman. If he hates it, then there is nothing to do but hope for his eventual conversion.

I love latakia, but not just any latakia. This blend has done a superb job in blending this to a rich, smooth, and sweet smoke. The flakes rub out easy (yes, latakia in flake form), the moisture was perfect on my tin dated from 2002. It smokes very cool with no tongue bite whatsoever. The smoke is very thick, you can almost chew it . It will scare away your significant ones though with its room note, unless they love latakia. The flavor is consistent all the way down the bowl with just a slight increase of richness toward the end and leaves a medium grey ash with no dottle. The only draw back to this blend is that it is so rich, that you will need to rest your tastebuds for a few hours before your next smoke. The tin looks small for the price, but it smoked so slowly that half a bowl in my ashton xxx sovereign billiard lasted an hour. Regardless of the cost , this tobacco is an excellent example of masterfull blending. Highly recommended!!! Update: 9-25-03 I just opened a fresh tin and realized that the previous tins in my possesion were well aged. This fresh tin was definitely a little "raw" and smoked a little harsh. I definitely recommend that you age this blend as it is tastes much better when aged. Rating 5 out of 5 points (when aged) By the way, did I mention that you should age it? Enjoy...

Old Ironsides- love it or hate it, it is undisputably one of the heavy hitters in the Latakia world. I love it. As my teenage daughter would say, "its the BOMB!" (Actually she hates the room note, even when the room is outside.) This is NOT going to win friends, aroma-wise, but that is not why we smoke anyway, right? OI is to tobacco what Laphroig and Ardbeg are to single malt scotches: In-your-face smoky, skanky hardcore stuff with a sharp attack, huge body, and lingering aftertaste that really only appeals to those with an acquired taste for such things. That is me, I guess, but I can see how you could really hate this product...

OI officially comes in flake form, but my tins thus far have contained broken flake at best, really more like shredded flake. No problem though, I just stuff them in the pipe w/o further rubbing, except for a little finer consistency for the top light.

This stuff looks and feels like leather. It even smells like leather- like one might expect a smoke-tanned Indian tipi to smell. Its the real thing. Being that it is somewhat moist (and pliable) it is even harder than many latakia-heavy blends to light. In fact, I sometimes sprinkle a little Commonwealth Mixture on top to facilitate ignition. It will also go out if neglected, but it is such a cool, satisfying smoke that it encourages steady puffing.

Some have commented here that OI is rather one-dimensional, and that is a fair evaluation of this weed that I notice each time I smoke it. Though the constituents listed include Kentuky, Virginia and oriental, they are overshadowed by the looming latakia. The thing is, I LOVE this particular dimension! It is among my all-time favorite tobaccos, though I could not smoke it every day. It would lose its specialness.

The downside of this tobacco is the price. Even at Internet prices, it is pricey, and not available in bulk (that I know of). I also seem to burn through 50 g faster than I do with almost any other tobacco. This is contrary to my experience with other flake tobaccos; my half-tin of Marlin Flake seems to have lasted for ever. Maybe it is because the experience is so enjoyable that I puff harder and the bowl is finished sooner. At any rate, compared to wine, scotch, cognac, and various illegal substances, even expensive pipe tobaccos remain one of life's most cost-effective pleasures. Thats why I always try to have several tins cellared. Who knows when natural disaster may strike?

I would HIGHLY recommend this tobacco to anyone who considers him or herself a latakia fan.

Ok, I admit, I love Latakia, I mean I realy like the stuff. Lets face it, most pipe smokers either love it, or hate it. I am reviewing based upon my love for the stuff. I have smoked many latakia blends. For a while I was searching for the perfect English. It must be cool, rich, easy to light, and flavorful. I found many that had the flavor, but burned hot. Had rich tobacco overtones, but where was the Latakia? Found some to be cool, but again, no taste of the smokey stuff, or very little. I was begining to think no one could blend the perfect English. I was wrong. Old Ironsides was found! It is cool, rich, and has flavor. I mentioned staying lit, well three out of four isn't bad. This is a hard tobacco to keep lit. Nevertheless, It is my all-time favorite tobacco. Leave it to the Germans, to blend an English, using tobacco from all over the world, with Cyprian Latakia at 70% and naming it after an American ship, of the Revolutionary War. Go Free Trade!

One of the monster Latakia blends. This is one of the best , seemingly having a touch more virginia than Penzance making for a slightly different experience, but overall latakia rules O.K. which is fine with me. I would guess latakia is getting on for 66% or more. I like to smoke these blends in a big pipe, weekend size. Not an all day smoke but great when the mood dictates. The only rub is its only available in tins which makes regular consumtion questionable as Penzance is virtually the same, but half the price in bulk form.

This is a SUPERB blend. Nice, dark flakes. FULL of latakia. Latakias are generally nice and SMOKEY tasting. Some don't like it, but THIS piper LOVES it. Very sweet tasting, very smoking, VERY RICH. A perfect winter smoke. This is truly a latakia lover's DREAM. It's one of my favorite latakia tobaccos.