Tobaccos Just For Him - Old Toby (Middle Earth Pipeweed)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	blindmansleeps (4)	2014-01-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Having had (and loved) both Shortcut to Mushrooms and Ruins of Isengard, I had high expectations for Old Toby. I initially smoked this blend in a MM Corncob. While the tobacco tasted pretty good, it was nowhere close to the fullness and body of STM and ROI. In all honesty, I think I tasted the Perique once in the first half of the bowl. Once I got to the bottom, the stoved tobacco tasted more like Perique; in fact, the tobacco tasted quite, quite good at the bottom of the bowl.

So, I gave this tobacco another shot, and changed pipes. I chose one of my wood stem churchwarden from FloggleWerks, and it made the tobacco come alive a bit. It could have been the longer stem, or an added wooden accent from the bowl, but the tobacco opened up. The whole bowl was sweet and peppery. Still not as wonderful as STM or ROI, but darned good.

I've smoked four more bowls of Old Toby in my churchwarden since then to great enjoyment. Out of curiosity, I smoked this blend in another one of my Bent Briar pipes (a Ropp), and the taste just wasn't the same. Something about this blend really comes alive in my Churchwarden.

Purchased From: Just for Him Online

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2009-07-03		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

I recently received the Middle Earth series of pipe tobacco from Just for Him (a gift from a fellow reviewer who wanted me to try them). I started with Old Toby and if this tobacco is any indication of the others, I'm not going to be quick to load up.

I really tried to like this tobacco but it is to mild, to tasteless and to boring to enjoy.

On the positive side, it did burn well.

5 people found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I purchased the Middle Earth tester pack and Old Toby is the second one I've tried. It doesn't smell as sweet as Longbottom Leaf, which was the first I smoked. I found it to load easily, light quickly, and smoked to the bottom with ease.

Old Toby is smooth, slightly sweet, but not overly so, smokey, earthy, and a little nutty. It was a joy to smoke, and the flavor lasted from first light to ash with no fade. It even left a pleasant aftertaste when the bowl was done.

I was a little sad when this bowl was finished, and I definitely plan to purchase next month in bulk for the cellar. I like it enough to dedicate a pipe to it.

May 2011: I guess everyone has different tastes, but I do not understand the one star reviews on this blend. I still enjoy it and have added 1/2 lb to my cellar. I'm smoking it now in a Wiley w/a large conical bowl. Mmmm

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Christrom (34)	2014-07-10		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is nice... It has an alcoholic smell to it, a little bit like sherry. The perique comes through perfectly and I found it a pleasant smoke. The only downside is that it bit a little, I'll perhaps dry it out a bit and try again later.

Pipe Used: Mr brog

Age When Smoked: new

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Liam Tyr (22)	2016-02-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Ahhh Old Toby..... It is a simple and relaxing blend. I think if you go into looking for something as complex as "shortcut to mushrooms" you will be disappointed. It is slightly sweet and has a subtle peppery kick to it that makes this a wonderful everyday smoke. I tried it in several different pipes, but found that my larger diameter bowls seem to help this blend come out of its shell. I usually smoke smaller bowl'd pipes like a bing's fav or one of my canadians, but for this blend I tend to go for larger bowls like this of my Comoy's pipes. It really allows the flavors to shine bright and the virginia's can really stove nicely towards the bottom of the bowl. After about half way you get a really pleasant sweet tang that leaves you satisfied. These guys at JFH will let you buy tiny little samplers.... GO GET ONE!!! You owe it to yourself to try out Old Toby and the other middle earth blends, they are all pretty good.

Pipe Used: Comoy's Blue Riband Billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Just for Him online store

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Papillon6 (24)	2015-08-17		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is the fourth in the MEB series I tried. Being a fan of Perique I was already looking forward to this blend. It definately tastes of Burley with the hint of Perique building towards the end, first a little peppery then near the last quarter or so it really is just right. The Virginia is overshadowed quite a bit by the Burley and Perique. It is very smooth, no tongue bite. It stayed lit after the first light/tamp/relight as the other Middle Earth blands did. Definately a good to high end choice of ingredients. Plenty of rich sweet smoke the whole time. Could be a go to blend if you like Burley with a hint of Perique.

Pipe Used: Kaywoodie drinkless Billiard style

Age When Smoked: Fresh opened from sample pack

Purchased From: Just For Him

Similar Blends: Stands on it's own really like the other Middle Earth Blends from JFH.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Landsurfer (11)	2013-09-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As a new pipe smoker (2012), this was my first taste of Perique, and I have to say it was very enjoyable. This blend burned cool with no bite, and got more flavorful as the bowl progressed. Earthy savouriness with a hint of sweet spiciness is how I'd describe it.

Update (2022): This one aged so nicely! A real pleasure to smoke after almost a decade in my cellar! Very tasty to the bottom of the bowl.

Pipe Used: MM Diplomat

Age When Smoked: 9 years

Purchased From: Just For Him

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Right Reverend (36)	2013-04-27		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Going throughout the Middle Earth Sampler I left this for last because of all the low reviews. Except for STM I did not find anything in the series that really struck me. Surprise! I loved Old Toby. It was mellow with a good amount of smoke. It lit and burned easier than the rest of series and left the usual fine white ash. It was mild in taste but the perique did poke its nose in every so often. Altogether an enjoyable smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	samcoffeeman (33)	2012-12-28		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Easy to pack and light. Stays lit no problem. Very bland. I taste some artificial sweetness, then some stale musty flavor, reminded me of my grandparent's house. Perique is very mild here, which i don't mind. My rating: Meh.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fiorano (13)	2011-06-29		Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I have tried a few of the Lord of the Ring series tobacs from Just for Him, and this was just okay. i was hoping for some perique but did not experience any, nice nic hit. This does display the characteristic JfH smoothness and creamy thick smoke they are good at making. It was fairly bland to my palette, but never terrible. This was easy smoking and often i would catch a hint of something but not enough, the Ruins of Isengard is such an outstanding blend this misses the mark in comparison, but OldToby is still better than many drug store bores. I really wanted to like it and saved my review after i finished the packet from the sample, alas- it wasn't my favorite.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Uncle Burl (7)	2011-03-11		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This bacca has not gotten the recomendation it clearly deserves. It's amazingly good!!! My first bowl I felt unimpressed, but in fairness I smoked several bowls of different tobaccos from the Middle Earth sampler before it. While a common mistake, it is like overload at the perfume counter where after several nothing smells right. On my second try I actually "got" this pipewed!!!! I packed it a bit better than usual and it developed in unique smells and flavors increasingly through the bowl. When the perique kicked in I enjoyed the buttery/ black peppery flavors. I actually plan on adding this to my rotation. As the bowl burned down it just got better and better!!! Burly, Virginian, Perique.... Yum!!! Thanks Just For Him for yet another LOTR tobacco winner!!!

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Kissphantom05 (22)	2010-02-23		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This tobacco is pretty good. I ordered this and Longbottom Leaf, but to me, this is the inferior of the two. I recommend it to other smokers and have no problems at all with this tobacco. I imagine it would go good with some ale, or maybe Lembas bread.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (250)	2009-08-24		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Nothing wrong with it, just doesn't grab me. Grabs my tongue when I puff too hard trying to get more flavor. On the other hand, VA/burley blends aren't my thing. (3-30-11 Let me qualify that: I like VABURS like Erinmore Flake and OGS, but this one may be too burley-ribbon heavy for me. Look below, however-opinions can change!) I will probably have this around for a while, so if it strikes me better in a year or so, I'll revise my opinion.

1-16-10 A Tolkien quote: Gandalf: "Come, sit down! And if you have any pipe-weed, we'll bless you." When (Barliman Butterbur) came back he brought them enough to last them for a day or two, a wad of uncut leaf. 'Southlinch,' he said, 'and the best we have; but not the match of Southfarthing, as I've always said, though I'm all for Bree in most matters, begging your pardon.' (LOTR Book Six Chapter Seven.)

This weed is not the match of Southfarthing, whatever that may be; but if I had just returned from a long quest and could get no better, this blend would be just the thing: especially if it were gifted. Not bad, not bad at all.

3-30-10 Still smoking from this very old 2 ounce sample. This bowl is really pretty good, and pairs nicely with the Islay (Bowmore 12 yr.) Scotch I am drinking. I have never jarred this, the only tobacco in my extensive collection I have not put in a jar. Even after a year and a half in a ziploc in my desk drawer, it is still a pleasant occasional smoke. Perhaps the crispiness makes it better, who knows? I will not buy a pound, but it still pleases in different ways every time I smoke it. I'll give it another star for retaining my interest, though I reiterate, this is not a rotation blend for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhantomWolf (41)	2017-04-28		Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not a huge VA-Per guy, but they have been growing on me as I continue developing my palate. This one however, left me wanting. This is Old Toby for Gods' sake! A blend inspired by he the most venerable of Hobbits and supposedly one of the most popular blends in The Shire.

The Bowl: It burnt well and dry with little bite, but that's all the praise I can really give it. The toppings came across as muddled to me and amounted to little beyond mildly sweet vanilla. I also had an off note to mine that I have seen others mention in their reviews. An almost moldering tinge.

I will be reordering 'Shortcut To Mushrooms' from JustForHim.com (because it's great) and I may grab another Oz of this while at it, just to see if I got a bad batch. I really do want it to be great. If not, there are other 'Old Toby' blends waiting to be smoked.

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh from Bulk

Purchased From: JustForHim.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Corvus (36)	2016-04-24		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

There seems to be lots of excitement about this series, and I was not immune to its charms myself. I bought this very early into my pipe smoking career, and used this blend to first explore the vaunted world of Perique. Unfortunately, it nearly put me off that Prince of leaf.

This blend was dank, muddy, and dark. Bitter and earthy, like a decayed log. Cased, low quality leaf. I've had worse, and there's nothing wrong with this blend as a concept, but the execution is lacking. Look elsewhere.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-08-07		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

YIPPY! Old Toby was the winner for me.

I am a Perique fan, so that's why this was such a hit.

It is a very mild smoke, great for a wake up pipe.

The Perique really makes this blend shine. If it weren't present, I'd hate this.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-09-08		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am new to this Va/Per + Burley tobaccos. However I dont get how this can get 1 or 2 stars, It is definitely a very very pleasant smoke. It is not an aromatic. Virginia tastes good, not too much nicotine and the perique or what i think it was the perique kicked in after a little bit giving some extra tastiness too it. There might be better for sure but I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Will I get more? Probably after trying some other stuff.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-12-16		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought the LOTR sampler and I disagree with Bilbo ... this is not the finest leaf in the Southfarthing .... I like Mushrooms , Ruins and Treebeard much better , I wanted this to be my favorite but it just isn't. Perhaps it is the aromatic lover in me biasing my opinion of this blend but I just didn't care for it as much as I wanted too. I just ordered more of Mushrooms , Ruins and Treebeard ... I did not order more Toby and Longbottom.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyMcPiperson (119)	2011-01-28		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I enjoyed this smoke, for me it became a go to in college after a nice sauna! It is a mild va/burley/perique blend and I feel that all of those tobaccos work together in good harmony in this blend, just a dash of Va and perique nicely complement the soft smooth burly taste, could definitely see sitting in the shire with Bilbo Baggins puffing on a bit of this in a churchwarden! Good smoke!

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-11-30		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

this i definitely smoked too fast the first bowl i had, and that has shied me away. it has a somewhat strong taste and if you smoke this low and slow your in for a treat. i especially enjoy room note. drives the Mrs. wild

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-10-11		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This came in a sampler i wouldnt buy it again but it was a nice smoke.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This tobacco was a bit hard to light at first, but once lit it stayed lit the whole bowl. The first 1/3 of the bowl all I tasted was Virginia which was nice. This blend produces a good amount of smoke which is also great for those partial to smokeplay like myself. Halfway through the bowl the Perique started to come through. It tasted nothing like the first 1/3, I could no longer taste the Virginia because the Perique was overwhelming it with a very pleasant smokiness. The perique is very lovely. This smoke gets better as it burns, at first I was only going to give it a 3 stars but once the perique started coming through I upped it to 4 because I love perique. I must've got lucky because my sample from JFH was loaded with perique. I will definitely smoke this again and would probably buy it in bulk. The last 1/3 of the bowl the smokiness has lessened and has been replaced by a spicy flavor. The smoke leaves a nice feeling in the mouth, and I detect notes of creaminess that weren't there before. Definitely notice the nicotine, it is very nice compared to some weaker blends. I would highly suggest trying this blend. It just keeps getting better as I'm smoking it. Other than being a bit difficult to get lit I have absolutely no problems with Old Toby, actually I could see smoking this every day. Great for Smoke rings. Towards the end I am left with a creamy taste combined with a definite sweet burley flavor which is rather pleasant. So 4 Stars from me. I loved this tobacco.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	krg1000 (183)	2010-03-19		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I must agree with the majority on this blend. Having tried several other blends in the Middle Earth Series and rated them highly, I am disappointed totally with this one. Just does nothing for me, the only saving grace is that there seems to be a decent amount of Vitamin N here. Thankfully I only purchased a 2 ounce sample. Unfortunately, this may very well get to Sir Dumpster's lair as is, unsmoked.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-07-18		Strong	Strong	Full	Very Pleasant

Highly recommend Old Toby, especially any products located at The Tobacco Cellar. The flavor is marvelous, and the complements from people I have been around have been very good. There tobacco products are very well crafted and I have had wonderful experiences with them. Check them out.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-07-07		Medium	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

Opening the bag gives a very solid straight forward smell of Burley and VA/Per. The description hints that its 3 componants or more to the blend, I'd say from sight and smell its probably a burley ribbon blended with a VA/Per flake as not all the flake is rubbed entirely out. More importantly the strong ketchup smell leads me to believe its McClelland x-10 with McClelland 2015. There may be other burleys in the mix and I may be wrong about the exact McClelland tobacco used but there is no mistaken that ketchup smell.

Like a lot of JFH blends this one is on the wet side. Its not drenched but a little drying wont hurt it. That being said, this is one of the easier blends to keep lit. It handles abusive puffing like a champ and just refuses to go out, even when not dried a bit.

This blend also has no bite, even when I tried to test the limits I was not able to produce any tongue bite even at the point the pipe was to hot the handle.

The flavor is top quality but simple. The VA/Per is not complex and the burley is well...burley. Most of the reviews here have disparaged this blend because of this, I find it to be one of the qualities that make this blend great.

The combination of how easy it is to keep lit, the lack of bite and the simple flavor that doesn't require constant attention to appreciate is the reason I love this blend so much. Most of the reviews here seem to indicate the lack of complexity as the reason for sub par reviews and they are right, if your looking for a blend that you can sit and smoke and spend 2 hours contemplating the various subtle flavors involved...I would suggest Golden Cashmere as a appropriate blend from JFH. This is the blend I smoke when I'm fixing the car or working on the yard. It tastes good and if I puff wildly while throwing tools across the yard it wont complain.

In summery This blend isn't the prom queen, but she's still a good lookin prom date and you know how the night will end.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Dave_in_desert (5)	2009-07-02		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first batch of this stuff was wonderful. I couldn't get enough of it. It smoked very well with no tongue bite or dottle. My second batch was labeled Old Toby, but the cut wasn't the same and neither was the taste. It was very bitter and bit back like a rabid dog. I think that they made a mistake or was trying to fool me with something else, because that was nothing like the first batch. I let it be for a couple of months and it became tolerable, but was still a bit rank. I'm going to try one more batch, but if it comes out like this one, then I'll have to bury Old Toby in the back yard next to Old Yeller. Unfortunately not the same stuff. I do not recommend asking for this tobacco.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-01-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was a very unpleasant smoking experience. It doesn't particularly taste good an starts to bite about 1/4 into the bowl. If I had to sum it up in one word, that word would be "nasty".

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	strongirish (249)	2009-01-07		Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

If the last few puffs in the bottom of the bowl were the taste of the rest of my test smoke then I would say this was a tolerable tobacco but for almost all of my smoke I was...well...bored. I detected a little of the bland black cavendish flavor in here and that might be the burley, but for the most part this was flavorless. I never got the perique at all and never got the natural sweetness of the virginias. It was just...smoke. It did burn well all the way down on one light and left just a white ash. While I really like the JFH folks, I just can't recommend this to anyone. I will mix it with something else most likely.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-01-05		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nothing good to day about this blend. It tastes horrible and bites. I dumped the pipe at mid bowl it was so bad.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-01-10		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Well, a little weak for me, but great to have around to mix with those that are too strong. It burns a little wet and just can't stay lit near the bottom. Maybe this one needs to be packed lighter. Not likely to order more of this though.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-12-10		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I,as a new pipe smoker,thought this blend to be very mild,kind of boring but still maintains the aura of the South Farthing! I think this blend does well by Tolkien enthusiasts such as myself. It tastes very natural and smooth. Well done gentlemen at Just For Him. Well done.

No tongue bite. No goop. Just a smooth,creamy smoke.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-01-21		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well...this blend has been railed on quite a bit here, but sorry guys, I think I'll break the mold a little here.

Old Toby is by no means anything fancy, or extra special. However, just like all of the Just for Him tobaccos that I've tried so far, it is a well blended, quality tobacco. Extremely mild and almost flavorless, it is nonetheless a solid and even smoke. A tiny bit of drying out helps (as will all the other JFH tobaccos), but after that its a smooth burning, pleasant smoke. Honestly, I'm not buying it again; but that's because I enjoy much more flavor in my blends, preferring Frog Morton on the Bayou or Shortcut to Mushrooms, Ruins of Isengard, and Treebeard (from the JFH line). But...if one who enjoys Captain Black or the other simple blends without much complexity (or in this case, any), won't likely be disappointed. A quality tobacco is always going to be a quality tobacco, even if it's not as rich or flavorful as most of us would like.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-08-28		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

My well-meaning bride of 7 years (Good heavens, SEVEN years already???) bought me this stuff. She knows I'm a Tolkien enthusiast, and... Well, she was hoping Old Toby would hit the spot.

Sad to say, I don't like it, really. I wouldn't smoke it again. It's really not altogether different than prince Albert, or Captain Black. There's nothing noteworthy about this blend, and considering the price she paid for it, it was... Really not worth it.

God bless her, and her sweet heart, but this stuff isn't any good. (Of course I told her I liked it, but I also told her I wouldn't buy it.)

Fair winds,

DJM

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kylepoet (18)	2006-06-20		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

'How Old Toby came by the plant is not recorded, for to his dying day he would not tell." (JRR Tolkien) I'm not sure which corner of the Shire Uncle Bob gathered this leaf, but I hope he follows Old Toby's example, and not tell anyone where he grubbed this from. If this was what was shipped to Saruman, I'm positive Old Toby, or his descendants,laughed all the way to the bank with pouches full of gold.

I hate giving JFH a less than "outstanding" or "excellent" review, considering the usually terrific quality of tobaccos they blend, but Old Toby doesn't make the same grade. I've done everything possible, short of kiln-drying, to tame this leaf. It stll gurgles regardeless of pipe, cleaners, Q-tips, or suction vac, takes its own sweet time to light, and refuses to stay lit. I've opened the jar and left it exposed to Texas heat; maybe that'll help.

My most recent bowl was in a wooden McQueen "Siren". I thought a change to a more traditional "Midle Earth" pipe might help. No such luck. Old Toby remains unistructural, uninteresting, and off the mark. Southron Star, or a good 1470, this is not. I think there's a casing, and it could be vanilla, or hazlenut, or miruvir, for all I can tell, but it never stays dry enough, nor lit long enough, to really determine what's going on here.

Thye caveat here is: I love Virginias, and I'm partial to Perique. I'm not a Burley fan, and the Burleys in this blend seem to tame it far too much. I can get the Virginias to come out, if I work at it, but the Perique is an elusive wraith.

I wondered what the gaffers smoked in LOTR. I think I've discovered it. It's enough to keep them busy, but not enough to stop them from chatting at the pub, then getting a good night's sleep. If they want to stay awake past bedtime, and still want an "English aromatic," Longbottom Leaf and Treebeard are more suited to their tastes

My apologies to JFH, as I've sucked down their other "Middle Earth series" offerings, and will be ordeing more Mushrooms and Ruins, but for now, Old Toby (may he rest in peace)... deserves one star, bumped to 1 1/2 for the kindness and promptness JFH provide.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-04-23		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

As I have found with the other blends from Just For Him, Old Toby could use a bit of drying out before smoking. Just a tad bit damp, in my opinion. Not wet or goopy though.

OT is semi-sweet, very mild and unassuming. The Virginia never really asserts itself; it seems to stay muted by the Burley. The Perique comes on slowly, and is more felt than tasted. Like the other tobaccos in this series, there is not much in the way of complexity with Old Toby. It?s pretty one-dimensional and unremarkable.

Old Toby would be good for those just getting acquainted with Perique. Real fans of the Louisiana leaf will be left wanting. I could say the same for the Virginia.

As mild as it is, this could be your all-day smoke. As long as your technique is Virginia-friendly without effort, there is no great need to concentrate on this one. This is good tobacco, but I prefer something a bit bolder for even my all-day smoke. I won?t go out of my way to replace this when it?s gone.

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