Torben Dansk Black Velvet

I have smoked some Virginia's and some English tobacco's, yet favour the aromatics by far. This tobacco seems to be the closest to an English and latakia I can get before I find them unpleasant. This is surprisingly one of my favourite smokes considering it's major competitors: W.O. Larsen's Signature Vintage Blend, Solani's 131 Red, and Lane's Black Cordial or Z-50.

I find it burns somewhat hot in the pipe and the mouth, yet smoothly down to fine ash at the bowl bottom. Full flavoured yet some sweetness. There is a good tongue tingle in the first quarter of the bowl. The more I smoke this, the more I become aware of hints of the stout and champagne throughout the smoke, yet never together.

A good after dinner smoke leaving the palate clean and fresh.

This blend i was worried about to be blunt......i had read some reviews and i worried this was going to be another brutal bulk blend mimicking flavours and sub par baccy.Upon opening the cheap celophane bag,i found the pouch aroma to be divine, it reminded me of fine espresso, anise and good dark chocolate. The cut reminded me of a crimp style similar to the prince, not to wide or thick(perfect in my books) it packed in the bowl well not too wet or too dry(perfect in my books again) upon lighting the flavour was exquisite and full bodied, the flavour was that of caramel, heavey cream(possibly condensed milk)and a hint of clove,the topping didnt inhibit or digise the flavour of this full flavoured quaility tobacco....lovely. It didnt burn hot at all, and i tend to smoke it a little fast. Mid bowl flavours such as roasted pecans and orange zest came through and the rich heavey smoke was once again complimented by a really nice tobacco flavour which most cased blends lack(cheap ones that is) I couldnt detect any latakia or anything exotic.It burned cool and dry to the bottom with no dottle or complaints, the smoking experience was memerable and satisifying, and under $20 a pound it will be a regular in my pouch.

Let me begin by saying that this is my second experience with aromatic English tobacco. When I opened the tin there was a licorice-type smell to me. I love black licorice and the smell made me hungry for the candy. Don't worry, the licorice is only in the initial opening of the tin. Now, my wife and I live in a rather small apartment, but she says that she could smell the aroma of the tin while in another room. The tobacco packs nicely and the moisture level is just right. The cut seems a bit coarse, but that seems to help with the burning characteristics. I only needed one match to get it going. The first thing I noticed was the sweet taste and the illusion of sparkling on my tongue. I love Guinness and the stuff certainly delivers the taste as you get going. The balance of flavors is perfect and slow puffing allows you to savor all that this stuff has to offer. The smoke is thick and creamy. And, when the smoke has left your mouth the after taste is truly like a beer! I would not have thought that such a thing was possible. The sparkling sensation abates about mid-bowl and the full flavor of the beer and tobacco comes into its own. The tobacco is top quality and the Latakia not over whelming. It simply adds to the overall effect. The Virginia tobacco is nice and is perfect for what this blend is trying to be. This is not simply mediocre tobacco with flavoring sprayed on it to hide the true quality. If you like full-bodied English or Balkan smokes, this will seem too light a fare. If you are an aromatic smoker looking to branch out into English, I would start here. Anyway, the smoke never loses its taste all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. What about the ash? Well, let me just say that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. The pipe is left clean and, believe it or not, unflavored by the tobacco just smoked in it. The Nicotine level is medium to me and the after-taste is very pleasant. The room aroma didn't win approval from the wife, but I have yet to experience the Latakia blend that could even stand a chance. However, I thought it smelled like a real pub with a mixture of strong tobacco and the scent of good brew. I would like to thank all of the reviewers here that turned me on to this stuff. Honestly, since my rather unfortunate bout with Cross-Eyed Cricket, I was turned off to such blends until now. For me, the count is 1 and 1 and I am ready for the next participant to step up in the Aromatic English genre!

As a U.S. Marine in April of '82, I stayed in London for a few weeks and came to appreciate Guinness, at room temperature no less! All the British men were down in the Falkland Islands at the time and this is when I became a pipe smoker because I couldn't find my brand of cigarettes.

As an English smoker almost exclusively, I'm not crazy about aromatics. But this one caught my eye and I ordered a tin. Now I have a pound to refill my tin as needed. This is now my afternoon smoke with a bottled Guinness (still at room temp).

This is the kind of stuff that makes you glad you took up pipe smoking. Very tasty and the spices linger on your tounge for hours.

Just another Dan tobacco that is wonderful and highly recommended. No description necessary...minus the fact that they chose the best beer around(Guinness Stout) to make the wonderful tobacco. 4/4 stars. I could never imagine disliking any Dan Tobacco.

The smell in the pouch was of dark chocolate and stout coffee, very much like Guinness itself. I did not realize it had been sprayed with Guinness as I was smoking it but it certainly seems obvious now. It does taste, as other reviewers have said, about as close to the beer as tobacco is going to get. The room aroma was of burnt coffee, not exactly a wife pleaser.

Although I very much enjoy the beer I didn't really enjoy smoking it, I will keep my Guinness in the glass.

Black Velvet is a great smoking pipe tobacco that my girlfriend bought me for an early xmass present this past November at a pipe show in Albany, New York. It was a hit with my fellow pipe smokers at the shop. It has a nice roomnote and it has a very full taste. It is a little strong at first until you get towards the middle of the bowl, which would be the latakia in the mix. To describe this best, I would say its like drinking a Guinness Stout. I believe it would be best smoked in the fall. I will keep this in my private stock at all times. HAPPY SMOKING! MozzMann'06

Have been an English tobacco smoker for many years (Lots of C&D "Sherlock Holmes" style tobaccos). However recently Dan Boswell of Boswell Pipes sent me a few samples of aromatics that he thought I would like. I had to travel from Washington State to San Antonio TX. Did not bring enough tobacco to cover the trip. My brother a non smoker who lives in S.A. took me to a local wine/cigar store. The only pipe tobacco they had was Dans, two flavors. This one and some other one....Being that that was all there was and I liked the color scheme of the Black Velvet label better then the other one; ended up with a $10.00 50gm tin (ten bucks for an ounce and three quarters of tobacco, ouch, but that is ANOTHER story) At first I thought,, well Blaaah. Then after the tobacco setteled in the tin a few days, it was more of an ummmm. Now I buy it in the 8oz packet. I find this to be a medium bodied not to sweet, evening smoke. A bit tastier then Blue Note, and most comfortable. Burns cool, smokes to a fine ash. Has not quiet converted me from the Oriental/English blends but it is a nice start. At least now IM willing to admit there may be SOME value to aromatic tobaccos 🙂 In that this was my first experience with primium tinned tobacco (oh what a pandoras box) it was good luck that lead me to grab the black and red tin, instead of whatever the other one was.. I think.. well one will just never know will one.

JiGB