Admiral's Choice Vanilla Cavendish

remembering that this is a modern day OTC, i must say that it is a surprisingly good smoke--

i had sworn off the "druggie" blends, but found myself in "one of those situations"--the PG content in the tobacco is way below what i have encountered in other modern OTCs--

it is much drier than i would have expected, although a bit more drying will help--after multiple bowls, in several pipes, i found Vanilla Cavendish to light easily and stay lit, with possibly one re-light toward the end of the bowl--

i can actually taste the tobacco; the vanilla isn't overpowering--the pouch aroma and room note are quite nice--

as a stand alone smoke it is more than adequate, considering what it is--i have found it to mix well with PA and CH, which was part of my rationale when i bought it--(stretching the tobacco dollar has become important of late)--

it could easily be an all day smoke, with little or no attack on the tongue--it might become boring to some, but my tastes aren't that refined i suppose--AND if you find yourself out of pocket and out of tobacco, you can find yourself a CVC pharmacy, buy a pouch of Vanilla Cavendish and soldier on without missing a step--

Love it! Browsing my local tobacco store, I noticed an old map on a package, and, as a collector of old maps, I immediately picked it up. Bit of an odd start, but I bought it for very cheap, resisting the urge to smell the pleasant vanilla aroma issuing from the bag all the way home. Lit up a good cob full one I reached the safety of my abode, and was instantly impressed. The sweet, almost buttery undertone of my pipe and the strong, vanilla flavor made for a very good taste, and I ended up smoking three small bowls over the course of the day. Delicious, smooth, and cheap. Highly recommended, especially with a good corncob.

When I want to sit down and enjoy a good smoke, there are many good high end tobaccos to chose from.

When I'm working outside or otherwise puttering around, this tobacco is just right for an all day smoke. For what it is, it works for me. This price is right too.

Went to my local CVS today looking for something else which they didn't have so picked up a bag of this to give it a try. Not bad. Kind of soupy when it is being smoked and have decided that it would probably be better once it is dried a little and plan to do that overnight. Is difficult to keep lit in its out of the bag form. I was unable to get this to bite as some others have stated that they did. Certainly not the best I've ever had but for the price it gets the job done. Nowhere near the worst I've ever had either. Will not be in my regular rotation. However when the budget is tight or the CVS is the only thing which is open. I could see Myself picking this up again. And will probably give their black & gold a try sometime as well.

Not judging this tobacco against the obviously better and more pricey brands, I have chosen to review it for what it is.

This tobacco is an Altadis production made specifically for CVS stores. Much like it's Walgreen's counterpart, it is a bulk bagged, cheap tobacco. The only difference in this and Walgreen's Golden Burley is that this product doesn't have the spicy flavoring. Just plain vanilla and not very good vanilla at that. It contains a lot of humectant and has a tendency to bite.

If you just have to have a cheap, drug store aromatic then it's probably as good as you're going to find in the price range. Otherwise, it's really not worth buying.

Wow! This is the most vanilla I've ever had. I'm not sure there's any tobacco in it. This is a real candy flavor. I can't complain because I got an 8oz tub for less that a 1.5oz pack of Capt Black goes for. I plan to use this to sweeten up some old pipes. It may be ok cut with something. If you've got a real sweet tooth and are on a budget, this is for you. Its too much for me! 1 star **** Update 11/2016 - I tried this again and am upgrading to 2 stars. It used to be black & tan and sticky, now its an even brown and highly PG'd. For the price point it is ok, though I'd still suggest Mac Baren Vanilla Creme or Lane MV1000 (close in price) for Virginia based vanillas, or even Stokkebye PS6 Sweet Vanilla if you require a burley base.

I really like this blend for the money. I don't find it as goopy as the Super Value brand and better than Smoker's Pride. It's a great all day smoke. Smoke it slow and it's very enjoyable. Doesn't require constant re-lights.

I thought it was going to be like many drug store blends. All syrup to go with the bite. Yes this has unwanted chemicals added to the tobacco. This very fact makes it appear as if it was a typical drugstore blend. However, the room note surprisingly smells like "vanilla." For once a tobacco drug store tobacco that smelled like what it actually advertised. The taste and flavoring was mild, not super overpowering like many candy tobaccos. This is best in a cob and is a great mixing baccy. Its not the best, but good for beginners and a "go to" for the seasoned aromatic pipe smoker. Plus its cheap, so you can't go wrong with this one.

Very inexpensive tobacco, figured I would give them a try. Nice odor in the pouch always seems to translate into poor taste in the pipe (least been my experience with aromatics) but was this was not the case with this tobacco. Very wet stuff, absolutely has to be dried a bit before smoking. Delightful taste, casing is very strong but the tobacco is overpowered quite a bit. No tongue bite even with heavy pulls on the pipe so very forgiving stuff. This is a great tobacco for novices, if you want to get someone into pipes, give them a cob and Admiral's Choice vanilla &/or cherry. You must keep this stuff airtight, it loses its flavor quickly. I have mixed this vanilla with Admiral's Choice Cherry and it tastes great. I also added some Prince Albert for more a kick and it is my new every day blend. I keep my nice tobaccos for when I have time to really sit and relax, I use this when driving or for a quick smoke since it is cheap enough not to worry about getting a few puffs then dumping the bowl. Good on it's own, much better when blended, definitely a good starter tobacco!!