Nording Retriever

I bought this blend mistakenly for the Pointer blend of the same blender. Upon opening the tin, I was greeted by a rush of sweetness...chocolate mixed with caramel (I double checked to make sure I didn't buy a Milky Way candy bar instead). The tobacco was somewhat damp, so I let it air out for a few days before I put a match to it.

After day three of an open tin sitting out, I decided it was not going to get any drier (I now prefer drier blends) so I packed it in and lit up. The description on the tin suggests this is a light aromatic with VA/cavendish tobaccos, although right away I detected mostly cavendish...which, I can only assume nullified the few parts VA that were packaged in this tin.

The first bowlful was quite pleasant, with a flavor resembling that of a burley blend. It burned clean with almost no gurgling, and no bite. However I cannot say the same for the second. The first half of the bowl was much like the first, flavorful but mild with no gurgling or bite...the few days of drying must've worked...or so I thought. Gradually, a weak gurgle turned to a consistant gurgle, so I put it down for a bit. I fought through goop and gunk to relight about two hours on. The pleasant flavor had morphed to an ugly, sour monster. This was an A-typical, full blown aromatic.

My pilgrimage from cased aromatics to natural blends has taken a sharp detour with this one, however, I might try adding a pinch of this stuff with a straight VA blend to give it a little more kick every now and again.

Just a so-so blend for me. I really wasn't impressed by it, but YMMV. This was at the right moisture level for me to smoke right out of the tin. It smoked well and I had no problems with lighting it up or keeping it lit once a lighter is put to it. Like I say, it just wasn't my cup of tea. Recommended to give it a go no matter, it may well be what you are looking for.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why this one is no longer in production. Retriever (the correct spelling) is about as bland and boring as an aromatic gets.

There is some kind of very sweet casing that is difficult to identify.....maybe vanilla + something else. Retriever is not offensive in any way, it burns cool without bite. It also happens to be devoid of tobacco taste. If I didn't see smoke exiting from my mouth, I'd swear that my pipe wasn't lit.

Like canopener, I'll add some Virginia to this in an effort to salvage the tin.

If smoking warm, sweetened air is your thing....you'll love this one.

My latest favorite tobacco is Nording Hunter Blend Pointer. I like it so much that I hadn't opened the tin of Retriever until I finished two tins of Pointer.

On opening the tin, I smelled a very woody chocolate smell. I was concerned that the tobacco was too moist. But I packed my Nording Hunter, and started to enjoy the blend.

The tobacco crackled like frying bacon in the pan. The taste is very light. The tobacco does a fairly good job of stying lit despite the best efforts of the moisture content. It reminds me of a few of the other aromatic cavendishes I have sampled.

Mid-bowl, the flavor has become even milder. The crackling is gone. I would say this is a very non obtrusive blend with a nice room note. It would be very tolerable around non smokers.

Bottom line, I still prefer the Pointer blend.