Just For Him Shortcut To Mushrooms

Alright this is one I just couldn't resist being a Tolkien fan. That being said I was skeptical of this pipe weed series and just really thought no way is this good total toy gimmick right?! Well I can totally stick my foot in my mouth sometimes and this is one of them. Shortcut to mushrooms is a simple blend of Latakia and black cavandish... Why didn't I think of this first? Just for him did a great job on this blend absolutely delicious smoke great room note and I just find myself wanting more of this blend. The lat once again gives it an English feel but the black cavendish comes through for the aromatic feel. I would recommend this highly to anyone! But if you get some you better share with me! Also as I smoke more and more of this blend I think its more an aromatic I think the black Cavendish has some type of topping on it but just havent pin pointed what.

This is a very unique blend, at least in my experience. I like Balkan/English style bleands, with Va/Pers a second, aro's a distant third.....this is not an english blend, at least in the traditional sense, but an aro spiced with latakia. The black cavendish latakia combo does lend an earthy/mushroom-esque quality to the smoke....it has the room note and sweetness of an aro with just enough latakia to keep it interesting and spicy...a very enjoyable crossover blend that could be an everyday smoke for the latakia lover and an intro to english for those who love aros....and it's certain;y a baccy that will be accepted by those who don't smoke as the room note is great.....

Well worth trying - and, as I said, might just become your number 1...

The first time I tried this, I thought I had inadvertently packed a bowl of E. Hoffman's Distinguished Gentleman. While the two are very similar, I find STM's flavor to be a bit more subdued. Shortcut to Mushrooms seems to be a bit more moist than DG as well, so a modicum of drying may be in order. Predictably, as someone who absolutely adores Distinguished Gentleman, I really like Shortcut to Mushrooms. The earthy flavor and sweet, smokey undertones blend wonderfully for a truly manly smoke. Which probably explains why my wife hates it. While the name may be a bit off-putting to some, rest assured that this tobacco tastes much better than any mushrooms you may have smoked.

Update 12/05/2013:
Maybe I really was smoking mushrooms when I wrote my original review; this is nothing like DG. In fact, maybe I should apologize for the comparison.
The more tobaccos I try, the better this gets. The flavor is unique and gives lie to the old expression "You can't have it both ways." STM has become both my favorite aromatic and English blend. This wonderful blend smokes surprisingly cool and dry and, like a faithful old hound, never bites regardless of how many times you step on it.
I just bought a pound and already wish I had bought more.

I absolutely love this stuff, I was mostly smoking English when I first tried it and I was hooked! I swear I taste mushrooms when I smoke it, but maybe that's just because of the name... Anyhow it is a unique aromatic and the smoothest presentation of Latakia that I've smoked to date! Try this one, you won't regret it!

Upon first lighting this fine blend up, I noticed it tastes something similar to Frog Morton by McClelland, which for me is hardly a bad thing. It burns down to a fine ash and leaves the pipe dry and not a gurgle to be found. It produces a nice amount of smoke and the Vitamin N is in the right portion for me. The room note (always a negative if the wife is on the floor gagging) seemed pleasant enough for me. I haven't really had any complaints about it, so it goes down as "pleasant." I definitely think this will be something to keep in stock. I recommend this very highly.

STM is a nice, full-bodied blend, with a pleasant amount of Latakia added to what I gather is a VA base. It's got a slightly sweet flavoring (perhaps vanilla?), which when combined with the musty/smokiness of the Latakia, gives the blend a nice earthy note. Of course, there are several more subtle flavors that come thru, and although they tend to be difficult to single out, they add to the character of STM, making it one of the more pleasurable blends I've had the chance to enjoy.

I highly recommend this to English smokers who enjoy a side trip to the aromatics on occasion, as it's certainly not sickeningly sweet; or to those (like me) who are just starting to explore the English blends, as the rich - but not overpowering - Latakia is essential to STM without being so upfront that it turns you away.

I plan to keep this in the rotation for some time...

One might wonder "pipe tobacco & mushrooms, how can that be good?" TRUST ME, IT IS! If you've ever had sauted mushrooms, and enjoyed them, you will love this tobacco! It is by far the most unique pipe tobacco I've ever smoked. A great afternoon or after dinner tobacco, this wonderful aromatic is one worth checking out. It is smooth and creamy, and as others have noted, smokes very cool. Great tobacco for smoke rings!

Great subtle aromatic. I don't know if I would taste the mushrooms if not for the name, and from the tongue-in-cheek reference to Farmer Maggot's mushroom garden in LOTR Chapter Four, would guess that there are none in here, and that the flavor comes from the blend. Great stuff though. I have some left from my 2 oz bag, since I really need a VA flake or blend for everyday. You can puff this continuously and blow Gandalf smoke rings all you like, and it will not roast your mouth.

Just smoked a big bowl of this after a long hiatus of 3 months or so. I have only two bowls or so left and will certainly get a few more ounces before too long. This tobacco's merits, and the Tolkien connection, have made it impossible for me not to write more. I think it has been confirmed by now that the mushroom taste comes from the light application of vanilla to a light complement of Latakia. But how did Just For Him get this blend so right? Forget mushrooms. I smoked a large bowl packed so tightly you would think it was done by a man smoking pipe tobacco for the first time, and indeed with most other blends this bowl would not have burned at all. But this smoked cleanly and even elegantly all the way to the bottom. This is the most forgiving tobacco I have ever smoked. I like to inhale once in a while, and with my usual Virginias get an inevitable trade-off of burning lungs and sinuses. This blend, however, is almost medicinal! I don't really have the desire to inhale this, though; just find pleasure in blowing it out of my nose from time to time.

This seems like a blend hobbits would like. If you want to know what hobbits would like, you need look no further than Tolkien himself, since he modeled hobbits on himself; the non-scholarly parts, the parts that liked to enjoy a pipe and a pint among good friends. In a biography of Tolkien which I once read, he was said to like Kentucky cured. Pretty general. On the web, I saw mentioned that he liked Erinmore and Capstan flakes. Unreliable. I would love to know for sure. If hobbits did smoke aromatics, and had access to vanilla, I'm sure they would use it just as judiciously as Just For Him has done here, in this beautiful "subtle aromatic." Hobbits were, as anyone who has read Tolkien knows, a rustic people. "They love peace and quiet, and good tilled earth."

Get this stuff while you can. The orcs are afoot, and who knows how long we will have the convenience of ordering pipeweed online and having it delivered to our door. This seems like an aromatic that cellars well, as my sample has not changed appreciably. (i.e. it has not improved like a good Virginia, but has not deteriorated either.)

Don't know why I waited so long to write this baccy up. Guess I was hoping that no one else would catch on as to how good it was. My current supply is 2 years old now and just gets better and better.

This baccy is hard to describe because it seems to be in a class all by itself. I 'think' it has some Virginia, but I wouldn't swear to it. It really seems to have mushrooms because the taste is so uniquely mushroomey. Latakia is there but it is so subtle that it just enhances the overall taste. I'm pretty certain that there is Burley present because at about 1/2 bowl, a Burley bitterness sneaks in but not enough to distract. Overall, the taste is rather bland except that it is so unique and pleasant that it absolutely holds my attention.

As received, this needed a few hours of drying out. It is slightly coarse but easy to pack. It lights easily with one false light and stays lit to the end leaving a very dark, dry ash. Never a hint of a bite but if leaned on, can smoke a bit hot. No bad after taste or odor, either in the pipe or the mouth.

This stuff is soooo good that I don't smoke it often, just to keep me from getting too familiar with it. It is right up at the top of my favorites and I consider a pipe full now and then to be a real special treat.