W.O. Larsen Signature Vintage Mixture

An exemplary aromatic that is moderately flavored, just a little sweet, with natural tobacco flavor and a sublime room note. It is also quite cool for the genre and I am able to smoke bowls back to back and have a happy tongue. It smokes dry and leaves no dottle. Burns to near white ash.

I am going to guess that the predominate flavorings added are cherry and licorice, but who knows for sure except Stokkebye?

This is a re-purchase, and I will happily smoke this without aging.

In the pouch this smells like a fig newton, with a touch of vanilla. Once lit it tastes of light vanilla and carmel with a slight hint of fig. A delicious blend for those seeking a tobacco they can smoke around mixed company, as this would offend no one, and you would likely recieve many compliments on the pleasant room aroma.

For aromatic lovers this is a four star blend.

General impression: I well-made Danish aromatic that has both the smell and taste of dried apples & tobacco. Not complex but incredibly tasty and NOT cloyingly sweet at all. Unlike some aromatics, it maintains it flavoring all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. Unless smoked very quickly it does not cause bite.

Who should buy this stuff: Anyone who enjoys good quality aromatics that actually still taste like tobacco will love this blend and ought to run down to their local shop to get some. It is a nice alternative to the many super sweet bulk aromatics.

Final notes: As others have noted, drying this out a little does help its burning qualities and taste. To prevent an unpleasant sourness I would avoid smoking this blend super fast and give it a rest now and then.

I have to say this is the best aromatic on earth!!! When you open the tin the wonderful aroma of vanilla and chocolate embrace your senses. A tobac the begs to be sipped slowly and passionately. Smoke it too fast and you will find yourself with mouthful of bitterness and bite. But smoke it slow and you find yourself in heaven. The room note is one of the sweetest and most pleasing aromas in tobacco. I have smoke many aromatic blends from the stand by Captain Black to fine Dan's Davinci. and hands down this is one of the best on earth.

Final Review: I tended to be disappointed. I left it stand for some time and guess what: After some prolonged "breathing" its moisture level went down, its taste became very mellow and the room note superb.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - BUT YOU HAVE TO LET IT STAND AND DRY FOR ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS MINIMUM...

I leave my initial comments (see below) - if any one is interested. I will just add two things:

Late at night, I often find myself reaching for this blend - but it does not give me as relaxing an experince as other smokes do. The toungue bite is almost negligible - which I like.

The sourness I mentioned is there but I tend to accept it and I gradually start liking it. It has not gone away with time - not significantly anyway. Overall, I will go through the tin and probably not bother with this again - just because it is not my kind of flavor. It is a good blend however.

(March 15, 2007): Last night I tried it again. I smoked very slowly trying to synchronize some gentle puffs with my relaxed breathing. I did not go too well. Anyway, after about 5-10minutes I had to interrupt.

I picked up the pipe again this morning. I am sure you realize that this in effect brought about DG (Delayed Gratification) conditions. WHAT A SMOKE! WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT SMOKE IT WAS! The sourness of the flavoring was gone and I could appreciate every minute nuance of the blend's taste!

INITIAL COMMENTS

Not truly decided yet. Reminds me of Captain Black but this is at least 10 times as good. I am not sure whether I will buy another tin though.

One thing is for certain: The first bowls (when the packaging is just recently opened) are just tolerable in terms of taste. The "strawbery" aroma makes it somewhat sour. I hope that it weakens as time goes by. Perhaps I will change my mind then...

Revised 7/3/23: After a couple of years of trying all kinds of tobaccos, I settled on English tobaccos as my favorite. The only aromatic I continue to smoke is Davidoff Danish Mixture.

Original review:

This is what I call a European Aromatic, as opposed to an American Aromatic. The added flavoring is present but it does not overwhelm the essential flavor of tobacco. That is an excellent quality.

If you usually smoke English and similar tobaccos, and want a change of taste for variety, then this may be a good choice for you.

This tobacco benefitted from being rested in a humidor for a few weeks after opening the tin. Allowing it to dry for an hour or two before packing the pipe also improves it (to my taste).

The tobacco is not sold in a conventional resealable round tin. You will need to move it to a jar or humidor for storage.

This tobacco is similar in flavor to Sillem's Black, and in my case, having one or the other, but not both, makes the most sense. They're both equally good.

Of the European Aromatics, I prefer Davidoff Danish Mixture as being the best.

I got a small free sample of this from my local tobacconist and fell in love with it! It's got a very subtle berry flavor with hints of a rich coffee taste. I hated aromatic blends because smoking soap is not my style, but after smoking this I have decided to give them one more chance!! Good work W.O. Larson, absolutely brilliant tobacco. I HIGHLY recommend it! You might not love it, but you can't hate it!

This is one of the best aromatic tobacco I ever smoked. I mean, if you would like to avoid aromatics, this is not for you. Otherwise, it is one of the best in its genre. Room note really good as well. Strongly recommended for pipe smoking beginners.

I agree with smokepiper, I would never encounter this kind of tobacco. It is so smooth, so good, enough to smoke bowl after bowl... the flavor a wonderful...

So to say, this is one of my favorites.