House of Windsor Country Doctor

So here I was the other day, driving around Las Vegas and as I was sitting at a red light I look over and see an old Smoke Shop, I try to hit up every one I see hoping for a long lost goldmine. On a whim I turned in and entered the store, in a ray of sunshine, sitting on a dusty shelf staring at me is a filled shelf of vintage House of Windsor 10 ounce tins! I purchased Barking Dog and Country Doctor to start leaving Revelation, Field and Stream etc for next time.Opening the bulging tin the aroma of berries and matured tobacco, my preferred traditional OTC cuts (cubed and short ribbon ala Carter Hall) in various dark shades of both brown and black leaf. I immediately packed a bowl as the leaf was dry but not crumbling and settled in for a long smoke. Wow I have not smoked CD in a decade (or more) and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it for the simple OTC cut and flavor yet also complex. Aging has done wonders both on lack of bite and sweetness. I tasted the perique more when it was fresh but it's a Burley forward blend and as others have stated the condiments are there in salt and pepper amounts which is great. HOW was never known for it's leaf quality but maturing the Virginia has really elevated CD and I truly wish it was still available, the matches never give me the same satisfaction (Edgeworth match excluded) and the tin art was magnificent. I will purchase all he has left and put the other tins up on Ebay for the price I paid ($20 for 10 ounces) so others can try and enjoy these lost HOW blends.

Someone said this would be their "desert isle" tobacco. I wouldn't go that far but I do like this very much. It is a good medium English type blend without any soapy taste or burning twig flavors that sometimes are associated with that type of blend. I do like Revelation a little better than Country Doctor due to relative strength issues. On the strength meter I would give C.D. an 8 and Rev. a 6 or 7 out of ten.

This blend is no longer produced by Philip Morris, and is now being made by House of Windsor. I recently purchased tins of all of the House of Windsor re-released tins featured in the Summer 2003 P&T magazine.

Country Doctor has easily moved into the top-5 of my all-time favorites! I was shocked by this, but what a blend it is! This tobacco features wonderful cube cut Burley in the foreground, with Virginia, Latakia and Perique in the background. There is some sort of elegant fruit topping that adds a sweetness that is indescribably delicious.

Country Doctor can be puffed on all day with no bite and no palate overload. The Latakia and Perique are so far in the background that they can easily be overlooked. Yet, there is just enough condimental leaf there to rev up this blend.

The aroma in the tin and at the match is also heavenly. My palate craved this stuff and I smoked three consecutive bowls while recently watching a 2 hour movie on the tube.

And fear not you nicotine addicts (of which I am one), this has enough to keep you happy.

I cannot tell you just how highly I regard this Country Doctor. He'll get plenty of visits from me!

now this one i should be careful reviewing,, i bought an estate sale pipes from ebay and a fourteen ounce tin was thrown to the lot, i have to be honest when i say i was attracted to the name as a veterinary pathologist the doctor title got my interest "little that i knew, how old this tin was" i just popped the seal and it is 1967,,good LORD. this aging must have done alot to the flavoring however simply the fresh smell of figs and fermented dates slapped me in the face. the virginia and perique taste is obvious non the less hints of latakia is very weak, to be honest the latakia and oriental are weakly participating still it is a perfect blend, burns smoothly and finely with a reasonable strength and acceptable room note. if the new batches is any where near this one then it shall be my all day smoke

Along with Revelation this is one of the better blends by HOW, simple and satisfying. I can't tast the latakia much, but the perique is noticable although subtle. This is another blend where, after I'm done smoking, I go outside for a short time and then come back to savour the pungent but pleasant aroma.

It can bite if smoked too hard/quick, but it packs, lights and smokes very well.If you want a decent "drugstore" blend, you have to try this one.

An excellent blend, half-way between an aromatic and an English. I was intrigued by the name ("Country Doctor") and the hokey picture on the can, so I just had to try it. Turned out to be a very good smoke. Some nicotine punch, mild on the tongue, and with a bare hint of that English spiciness. This is a good choice for the aromatic smoker looking for something different that is substantial, but without the unpleasant characteristics of the English blends. It is a perfect all-day or frequent smoke.

With Country Doctor billowing from my bowl, I see myself at the racetrack, straw skimmer atop my head, as I puff away on a straight briar. The humidity is marked by the growing stains under my arms, but the daily racing program makes a convenient fan for my face. The young lady accompanying me sports a wide brimmed hat, with a white lace band and a navy blue satin bow. The clouds of smoke I send into the air are forgotten as the field thunders by, my horse on the rail, gunning for the win.

Right now I?m alternating between G&H?s Bob?s Chocolate Flake and HW?s Country Doctor. Basically, I?m using Country Doctor (CD) as my all day choice and treating myself to Bob?s Chocolate Flake (BCF) once a day.

CD is one of those old fashioned American blends that reminds me of Grandpa puttering in the garage on Saturday mornings back in the 50?s and 60?s. It is frequently called a drugstore blend, but in my neck of the woods (Westchester county, NY, about 50 miles north of Manhattan) the only pipe tobaccos one ever sees in drug stores are stale pouches of Captain Black, Half & Half, Prince Albert, and Borkum Riff along with those store brand bulk pouches of God-knows-what. So it took some time to find CD on the internet and receive a 4 oz. tin in the mail.

The aroma and texture upon opening the tin is rough but pleasant. The tobacco is cube cut and dryish, and the casing is fruity in an old-lady-coffee-table-candy kind of way. One does not get the impression of highest quality tobaccos here. But the over-all impression is positive. Thank goodness it?s not vanilla Cavendish!

CD packs in the bowl like a dream; just right every time, even if you plunge the pipe into the tin and scoop the tobacco into the bowl with your index finger (like Grandpa did). It?s dry and separate, but not dry as in brittle and stale. Lighting is a snap. One match will do it, but I always use two just to make sure.

The smoke is even and smooth, strong yet not overpowering. There is just enough latakia and perique to be barely noticeable, and the casing does not get in the way of the tobacco flavor. This tobacco is good; very good. That being said, it must also be mentioned that it is somewhat rough. But not in a bad sense; rather in the same sense as certain beloved English cask-conditioned ales. Maybe a better word than rough would be ?rustic?. The flavor is strong and consistant down the bowl, getting perhaps a little more piquant toward the bottom. It burns well, seldom needing to be re-lit. There is no juicy gurgling in the bottom of the bowl, and when carefully smoked, the dottle is small and fairly dry.

One negative is that on those occasions when it is necessary to let the pipe go out and cool, on re-lighting later on, the taste is rather acrid like other less expensive tobaccos. A re-light of a cooled bowl brings all the roughness mentioned above to the fore. So if I fear that I may not have time to smoke an entire pipe, I?ll just fill the bowl half way and knock out the leftovers when I?m done.

I am a somewhat brisk smoker, no doubt from long experience with tobaccos that go out if you ignore them for more than a fleeting moment or so. Yet even at a brisk pace CD does not wax hot; it remains cool and does not bite at all. It also stays lit so that relights are seldom necessary. Therefore, it is a good tobacco to help one develop a relaxed, slow smoking speed. It?s also good when engaged in conversation. You can talk for a bit and come back without fear of a dead pipe. All in all, CD is a good every day tobacco that satisfies and leaves room in your heart for special treats like G&H?s Bob?s Chocolate Flake.

(8-9-03) From the very first bowl of this wonderful old tobacco, I was intrigued by something that kept bringing back to smoke another bowl. I recently finished smoking fifteen straight bowls of this with no other tobaccos in between. I am truly hooked on this stuff! I still don't know what it is that intrigues me but the more I smoke this tobaccy, the more I want to smoke it. The aroma upon openning the container is simply yummy. Obviously there is some kind of fruity topping in this blend but it is not too sweet or yucky and it doesn't carry through to the smoking experiance. It is a cube and ribbon cut tobacco, about 50% dark brown with a little black and 50% light brown, tan and a touch of yellows. It packs easily and care should be taken not to pack this stuff to tightly.

Without question the burleys dominate the flavor profile. The virginias, latakia and perique are always there too but never up front. Like I said, the burleys dominate but as each of the others tobaccos take their turn trying to come out, it creates a flavorful and nicely complex smoking experiance. There is a fair amount of nicotine present and this tobaccy does get a little spicier as the bowl smokes down, but plesantly so. It is never bitter! Note: I am an aggressive smoker and so far, I have never been bitten by this tobaccy.

I'm not sure how long this blend has been around and yes, I guess it can be considered a high-end drug store blend but who cares. This tobacco has with-stood the test of time. It's still here and from what I can see, it's making a strong come back against all those overly priced boutique blends that many of us charish and talk about all the time. If you haven't already done so, give this blend a try. No matter if your favor virginias, english, balkans, latakias, etc. you won't be sorry! This is good stuff and a definate all day smoke, if your looking for one!

I favor smoking this blend in a meerschaum pipe! I rate it ***** Flakes out of ***** Flakes!

JohnnyFlake