Dan Tobacco Old Ironsides

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 ...

I can't say I liked this blend. I found it somewhat monochromatic. That is to say it lacks complexity. From beginning to end the flavor is consistent and overwhelming. I usually like dark English flakes but this one doesn't seem to have much to recommend it. The latakia predominates in a way that is just overpowering and I can't get any other flavors to come through. Even when slow sipped there is but a single taste. Not my cup of tea. If Latakia is something you can't get enough of this might be your blend but for me Latakia is and should be a condiment tobacco and in this blend it's dominant.

I managed to get 8 ozs of this after much searching as it has been discontinued.

While it is not bad, I was disappointed in that I have heard Lancers Slicers compared to Old Ironsides.

To me Lancer's Slices if far superior in taste and fulfillment.

One thing I will give Old Ironsides, is that it is the easiest Flake Tobacco that I have ever smoked to keep alight.

But for me something is missing in the flavor. Maybe I need more nicotine kick and more Latakia

OIS is back. I just received a few tins after a long hiatus of unavailability. This was the first Latakia blend that I tried some years ago and was my favorite for a long time until it went dormant.

I'm not sure if my tastes have changed or if the blend has changed, but I find the new OIS fairly mild to the point of boredom. It may be the former as I've probably smoked a half pound of Penzance and another half-pound of Squadron Leader in its absence, but it seems to lack the underlying rich taste of these two. It is now what seems to be almost a pure Latakia taste which to my palate is almost a 'menthol' taste.

From the start, it appears different in the can. Instead of the finer grain that it used to be, it's now a nicely packed stack of slices like Penzance used to be. In fact, it looks like the old Penzance. Perhaps in the old packaging they crumbled the slices up, but it looks different. Given the cut I think it would be better packaged in a rectangular can rather than a round one. However, the aroma in the can is exactly how I remember it to be; that very smokey smell of Latakia. Cosmetically, the can now has an orange circle around the logo instead of the yellow one. Not sure why, but maybe to indicate that this is a slightly different blend. ??

Again, it may be my changed tastes, but this new OIS seems rather bland. A strong Latakia taste, but almost nothing underlying it to support and compliment the Latakia. A bowl full of OIS leaves me longing for the old Penzance.

Old Ironsides is just what the package says: a Latakia lover?s dream. It is all Latakia, all the time, with no messing around. Oh, I suppose they blend it with something or other just to keep it interesting. And sometimes, late at night, in a big bowl, this is just what you need. But it lacks the complexity to hold interest over the long haul. There?s a useful contrast with Penzance: the latter sacrifices just a bit of firepower in the interest of greater diversity of flavor, but the result is that Penzance is a great tobacco while Old Ironsides is simply very good. The cut is nice: like a flake that's been pre-rubbed -- very convenient! If you like Latakia, I?d recommend keeping some on hand for a broadside every now and then. Luckily, it ages particularly well.

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!

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.

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...

One dimensional latakia delivery system without a lot of fullness nor much else in the way of character. The quality of the tobacco itself is good and the smoke is cool. This latter point is important because the tendency for me was to smoke it rather fast in search of some flavor as it is surprisingly weak on the tastebuds for such a latakia heavy blend.

There is a flavor in this that almost seems like licorice, although I cannot place it properly.

The blend is somewhat moist in the tin. It does dry upon exposure to air, which really seems necessary in order to smoke it. I rub this out, but despite my best efforts, the resulting texture is overly stick-like for my preference. I try to rub flakes out to long soft strands, and that just isn?t possible with this blend from my experience. The tin design itself is to be commended, as it retains a seal nicely despite having been open for several months.

This blend just does not call to me from the shelf.

October 2002.