House of Windsor Barking Dog

Update 6/10/2020

I've been smoking quite a bit of this lately, from a couple of different era's. True to its claim of never biting, this is one smooth OTC-style latakia blend. Absolutely no bite and yet it has a nice flavor burst on the tongue. The burley and latakia compete for the lead but due to my latakia sensitivity, the lat wins. Someone without that issue would probably say they are equal partners. This is a great OTC and I wish it were still around. Sutliff made some match attempts that failed miserably (I know... shocking!) and I'm down to less than 2 oz.

Original Review 1/27/09

I experimented with a full can of this, smoking it moist, dried out to various degrees, re-humidified, etc. I absolutely loved the flavor of this! It was very tasty... that is, when it would hold a light. For some reason, I had to relight this several times during a smoke. I tried different packing methods, different pipes, different types of pipes (briar, meerschaum, clay, cob) and in every instance, the smoke was compromised by the fact that I just couldn't keep it lit.

It's true that I'm not used to a pure cube cut and that may be part of the problem. I'm used to flakes, broken flakes and ribbon or coarse cuts. I spoke with others that were more knowledgable about how to load a cube cut into a pipe, I followed their suggestions, and I just couldn't make this stuff work. Some other reviewers have had similar problems and some haven't. Hopefully anyone reading this has better luck than I.

Recommended for taste, not recommended for the effort required.

Beautiful package, but inside is lackluster burley with a harsh flavor. Tough to keep lit, and pretty bitey. Too bad.

Get Prince Albert instead.

I am a voracious applauder of Morley's Best so looked forward to this mixing of the burl and the lat. The Latakia here is delicious, rich and smooth. I prefer it to the more chunky Latakia in the Morles. The Burley, however, is a bit bland (as others note) and the mixture doesn't quite add up to my Morleyiana-adoration-song.

Images evoked include a Darwin-Fish, with legs, being roasted on a spit over a barely-flickering propane stove on a hungry and hollow night. Where are my propane accessories?

I opened a small tin of this a couple of years ago, and it's been aging since. The other day I decided to smoke this in a cob. It reminds me very much of Walnut. An Americanized English blend, with burley dominating the smoke with a little Latakia for a condiment. After smoking a few bowls, I feel it almost doubles for Walnut. I remember paying $ 6.00 for the small 2 oz tin, not really worth it. I bought a large tub of Walnut for $ 18.00. Stick with Walnut.

Based upon the variability that I've found with this blend, my rating would be more like 1.5 stars, not two. The tin note has varied from the "butterscottish" to boring that others have noted. My last tin started drying into a mixture with a positively evil, chemical smell that was rather disconcerting (probably due to some odd Latakia they scrounged from somewhere). What Latakia does seem to be in the blend is pretty sparse and essentially buried in the topping and Burley. I didn't find the strong Latakia taste some have noted. There is some bite, but a bowl generally reduces down to an ash, not a sodden goop.

Compared to other blends (Old Lodge, Squadron Leader) it really isn't much of a bargin although I suppose its nice to see a "retro" blend still in the marketplace.

A good deal, a fair price. I would consider it a mild latakia blend. If you like that go for it! Buy American!! Its CHEAP..

I used to enjoy this, but HoW has some serious quality control problems. The cut varies wildly. The last batch I bought had no top dressing, and tasted mostly of Latakia. The Perique was totally MIA. I now limit my purchases to a handful of small scale blenders because of this sort of thing.

At that price you couldn't expect a wonder, and no wonder you get! What you get is an honest tobacco, tasty and not refined, with just a pinch of topping (I think anise, but I'm not sure). It doesn't bite, as declared on the pouch, it burns fine and can be smoked bowl after bowl. You can definitely find better blends, but it's good.

I have tried Barking Dog over and over again, having purchased a pouch a few years ago, and received one as a gift from one of my daughters a year later. I have to wonder whether my desire to continually give this blend another chance is because of the Boston Terrier on the package, like the pathetic looking pup in the pet shop window, or that looks at you through the bars of the pound. The pouch aroma is very pleasant, and when I can manage to get the doggone thing lit, it's got a great flavour, and leaves a pleasant aroma hanging in the room. Then I have to keep re-lighting it, and that's when it tends to give me tongue bite. It's a very chunky tobacco, and I have never had any luck with chunky tobacco, I know it has to do with not packing it right, but as there are a great many chunky cuts around, and very popular, I have to envy those pipe smokers who have been more successful with this blend than me. Perhaps it has something to do with the breed of dog on the label. Terriers are a nervous-bladdered dog, and, like Barking Dog, are apt to go out more than we'd like them to.