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...