Tobaccos Golden Blend Tobacco Co. - Blue Train

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2008-09-27		Very Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I bought this tin about a year ago and read some of the reviews and decided to open it up and try it. The previous reviews were pretty much on the mark. It burns hot, slight peach flavor then no flavor and burns out fast. Had to relight numerous times. I would spend my money on something else.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KinnScience (30)	2009-04-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Originally, I had managed to coax some "peach" aroma from the lit bowl, but I have not been able to recreate the experience with future bowls. Having returned to this blend a few times, I have to admit that the previous reviews were spot on. It imparts a unique flavor profile, but it will sully your pipe with unhappy ghosts, while leaving you with little satisfaction on the front end.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2005-06-20		Mild	Medium to Strong	Very Full	Tolerable

I preface my remarks by saying that my palate does not tolerate too many aromatics; I get a scratchy, bitey, irritating sensation all through my mouth with most aromatics, and most flavored tobacco reminds me of bad perfume and too much of it.

With that being said, Blue Train is aging in its pretty tin for the time when I want another go at it. It's the anti-desert-island blend for me, or rather, if all I had to smoke was this stuff, I'd have to quit.

But the tin art is pretty, and that's really why I bought it, aside from being curious about the taste and the expensive-sounding aging method. I'm sure this is someone's favorite and probably rightfully so, as it may be a fine tobacco. Just not for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Johan (3)	2014-02-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

O.k., I like trains, (yep I'm one of those people) passenger trains in particular, especially blue trains (go B&O royal blue!). So I laughed when I saw this and ordered a tin.

burns a bit hot, it's got a bite, I do like the hint of candied fruit. maby thats what everyone else is calling peach. Bit of citrus.

Pipe Used: Nording free hand

Similar Blends: W.O. Larsen - Edition 2013 but only similar.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Davetopay (43)	2008-02-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I wish I had seen the reviews before buying the 100g tin. This was a true case of expectations being built up, and then severely let down. The tin art is gorgeous. The moisture level in the mylar resealable bag inside the tin is optimal. The tin aroma is enticing. It packs well and is of long ribbon cut strands. The charring light gives you a quick bright white puff of VA leaf smoke and some notes of peaches and pinot grigio. This starts to look very promising. Then it grows HUGE SHARP TEETH. BITE! BITE! BITE! BITE!

I thought maybe I had gotten over eager and puffed to hard or fast. Or maybe it needed to be loaded into a larger pipe. Hell, I tried every pipe in the rotation just about. All it did was BITE!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LondoMollari (11)	2007-03-04		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This would be a fine tobacco if I could just find the right moisture level and packing technique to keep it lit! This blend always goes out on me when it's just getting interesting. Definite peach scent upon opening the tin. Slight peach flavor while smoking - the natural Virginia flavors seem to take center stage throughout. Just use caution, this blend will bite if you get too excited.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-10-17		Mild	Strong	Mild	Pleasant

The thing about aromantics...hum...maybe this is not a fair review cause I manage to get through only half a bowl. You see, arommatics needs to know where it is going with the added flavors. Like the MacBaren old familly (Plum Cakes, Vanilla, Black Ambora..etc), they are nice. But this is odd, like if the peach flavor is just thrown in there for no apperent reason. It is a bit too new for me. Sort of like the new MacBaren card board familly. But I am sure the person sitting next to you would find this enjoyable.I find that the quality tobacco leaves and the flavor don't blend together at all. You see M & M taste pretty good. And a burger with fresh onions and tomatoes taste good. Maybe putting M & M into a burger can be a dish appreciated by some folks, but definitely not for me.....

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-07-07		Medium	Medium to Strong	Full	Pleasant

Agh, it burns, it burns!

I must confess I bought this tobacco purely for the tin art. (thank heavens I can order tobacco from the US, which has not yet disfigured its tobacco tins with signs saying 'MURDER, DEATH, KILL,' etc on them as we have here in the UK).

However, on first smoking, I very much enjoyed the taste. But as the contents dried out, it seems to be smoking hotter and hotter. If I try it now I get tongue burn that feels like I've drunk scalding coffee, even if I smoke very carefully in a Savinelli filter pipe.

That said, I am an infrequent smoker anyway so perhaps my mouth just can't take it. I would say it would probably appeal to the more hardened smoker.

The room note is VERY pleasant. You can certainly smell the latakia and some peach flavourings, which brings to mind a diesel lorry loading up fruit in the country. I don't think I would have detected the wine taste unless I had read about it on the tin. Taste is much the same as the room note. But as it burns like the Devil himself, I doubt I will be smoking it much in the future.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2005-10-15		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Blue Train is probably the "nicest" tobacco of any I have bought. Wonderful packaging, pretty tin, obviously a lot of pride is taken in the product by Golden Blends. The box and tin alone are worth the price I paid for it.

I am a Railroader by profession, so I wanted very badly to like this tobacco. I first tried it after smoking a bowl of Odyssey earlier in the day, and I nearly set my pipe on fire trying to get this stuff to perform...all I got was a vicious bite, and not much else. I knew there had to be more to it than this, so I tried it the next day with a clean palate, and I got a myself a good lesson in pipe smoking.

Taking great pains to do a good job of packing and lighting in a pipe I know very well, I smoked very slowly and methodically, paying good attention to what I was doing.

Folks, Blue Train is exactly what the tin claims it is...Along the way I found all the items listed. A hint of peach, white wine and latakia. They all showed themselves independently, and also blended together for a great smoke.

This is not a tobacco for the new smoker, as it will bite like a pet coon. It is however, a smoke to be enjoyed when you have nothing to do but concentrate on the matter at hand, your pipe.

Give it a try....even if you don't like the weed, you will like the tin, and you can send me the tobacco. I'll be keeping some of this around, for an occaisional visit.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OlFacty (11)	2005-02-27		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The moisture of Blue Train was just right out of the tin.

The cut of Blue Train makes it very easy to load. The bowl stayed lit and produced a wonderful amount of smoke.

The tin makes note that Blue Train been "Aged in Oak barrels, the blend is enhanced by the exquisite aromas of natural peach and vintage Fumee Blanc from the Pearl Valley, for an Irresistible bouquet" I was unable to taste/smell any of those attributes in Blue Train.

I have tried this blend a few times and have yet to find a pipe combination that produces the wonderful smoking experience that I desire.

I will continue the quest but for now can find nothing except the smoke plumes and the tine art to give this blend higher ratings.

Just not for me....

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2005-02-26		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The previous reviewer, Carlo, characterized Golden Blend's "Blue Train" as a "semi-aromatic" and I have to agree with this. This blend falls into a category which is not well-represented at the present when compared to the two dominant categories of "English" and "Aromatic" blends. In my opinion Blue Train is a superlative example of a true "semi-aromatic".

Blue Train has a light, fresh tin aroma of natural fruit and tobacco with none of the overbearing properties of some heavily-cased aromatics. If you can imagine the smells of a peach orchard on a warm afternoon just before harvest, you will have good idea of the tin aroma.

The long, thin, confetti-like cut of this blend can make it a challenge to load so I find it best to tear it up a bit before loading and packing. Moisture content is just about right and comparable to most English blends I have tried, packing similarly.

A couple of good charring lights and you will be on your way to a pleasant smoke. As the other reviewers suggested, go fairly slow with this blend because it can burn hot - although I have never experienced any tongue bite. You will likely need a few re-lights along the way but, all-in-all, Blue Train burns well.

The taste of this blend is very representative of the tin aroma, which would seem to indicate a good marriage of casing and tobbaco as well as proper aging. The room note is light and pleasant - garnering neither compliment nor complaint from my better half. The Latakia is not at all evident in the room note though it will throw you a quick, passing wave when blown through the nose. The smoke is exceptionally pleasant in the nose and one can also begin to acquire a li'l nicotine buzz that way as well. A have categorized this as medium-strength, but it borders on strong when blown through the nose.

In all, I think Blue Train is a great blend. It has a wonderful tin aroma, good composition, nice burn, pleasant room note and the natural Virginia tobacco flavors are not drowned in a heavy casing. Blue Train is my choice for the first smoke of the day and the only one that I have found that actually compliments a light breakfast, whether before or after I smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-11-11		Very Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

TIN AROMA: Upon opening the beautiful tin (this blend could be purchased for the art work alone!), one is greeted by a wonderful natural peach aroma. Because this aroma is so natural, it's difficult to tell whether the subtle 'earthiness' is part of the fruity smell or the caskiness of the white wine barrel in which the mixture was aged. Possibly it's a bit of both. There is a well rounded mature virginia aroma but it definately plays second fiddle to the peach. Although the blend contains Latakia I could not detect any in the tin aroma.

ROOM NOTE: A very pleasant 'semi-aromatic' aroma which can only be described as a warm peach/sweet virginia smell; light and friuty but not at all sickly. No Latakia element could be detected in the room note.

PACKING: Although packing seems very easy initially, it soon becomes apparent that in order for the blend to burn well, you have to pack it on the light side of springy. But not too much on the light side or it will bite!

LIGHTING: As mentioned in the packing section, you have to pack it a little on the light side or the mixture will not take the flame well. You'll just get lots of wonderful white virginia smoke and then the pipe will go out instantly! I found it took a few matches and tampers to get it going; even then you have to be light on the tamping or you're back to square one. Sometimes the pipe nail is required to break things up a bit. But after the initial difficulties it burns well and evenly, although a little fast which is to be expected being a virginia blend. Burns very cleanly to a very fine white ash.

APPEARANCE: An attractive mixture with bright to medium brown virginia leaf flecked with occaisonal black Latakia; a broken flake that ranges from pieces of flat leaf to an almost ribbon consistancy. Can have the odd clump which needs to be rubbed out a little. Moisture content is on the dry side of perfect IMHO, although it acts as if overly moist when it comes to taking the flame.

SMOKING: Once the mixture is smouldering well, this really is a well rounded and satisfying smoke. Although the peach is definately the dominant flavour it never overtakes the wonderful natural flavour of the aged virginia leaf. Being a lover of English and Balkan blends I think the Latakia content is far too mild for me to detect any Oriental flavour, although maybe it contributes to the overall mellow character of the blend and also helps to cool things down a bit. Also, I could not detect any white wine or oak barrell flavouring but perhaps my palate isn't sensitive enough! Being a virginia blend, careful and measured drawing is required or it could bite. Having said that it's remarkably cool for a virginia, even at the bottom of the bowl. The flavour never deteriorates into harshness and the peach flavour is detectable and pleasantly sweet to the end. This blend is full bodied enough to give satisfaction in the evening but light enough to be a good all day smoke. A well balanced, quality semi-aromatic that has proved to be very versatile indeed.

PROS: A mellow, full bodied but light and refreshing mixture that can be enjoyed anywhere at any time. It has a splendid natural peach flavour that never gets out of hand; a semi-aromatic that burns cleanly and evenly. Excellent quality.

CONS: Can be difficult to light. Requires careful packing and is a little high maintenance at the start. Has a tendency to burn a little hot and fast with the potential for tongue bite and throat burn. However, this can be rectified with careful drawing.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-05-19		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Usually I prefer non-aromatic ("natural") tobacco taste, but the image on the tin was irresistable for me. The blend is billed as Virginia with "a touch" of Latakia. The bottom of the tin carries a more detailed description in both German and English. The "Virginia" tobacco is from South Africa, and the blend contains a bit of "natural peach" flavor and is aged in oaken casks, presumably once used to age wine in the Paarl valley. The landscape depicted on the lid may be South Africa, but no identification was present.

Upon opening the tin, one finds a sturdy laminated plastic film and foil pouch, which can be rolled down to reseal the tobacco. Aroma emanating from the freshly opened pouch is of rich Virginia tobacco, with a definite overtone of peach and Sauvignon Blanc wine. Neither of these flavors was cloying or excessively sweet, but they were definitely there. The Virginia tobacco aroma did not have the sweetness associated with Old Gowrie, for example, but it was clean and sharp. The tobacco was light colored in crumbled flakes, which I found just right for packing. Moisture in the tin was just right.

The charring light raised a slight crown and yielded copious white Virginia smoke. A light levelling tamp and a second light and this stuff burned all the way down to the bottom without additional relights.

The Virginia taste is a bit astringent. I wouldn't call it "mellow" at all, but it was a good solid Virginia flavor. Slow and easy smoking is the way to go here. I can imagine that this would bite pretty sharply if smoked too fast. The peach and wine flavors seemed to dance around, more or less in the foreground, then fading against the Virginia. If there is Latakia in this blend, it is definitely below my personal Latakia threshhold. I could not detect it. Even if I could, I am not sure that it would be welcome with the excellent natural peach flavor. This is a "spicy-fruity" smoke as opposed to a "rich-savory" smoke.

As the bowl burned down, the Virginia flavor intensified, but at no time overpowered the peach top-notes. At the end, the ash was fine and gray.

In summary, this is a fine tobacco with excellent packaging. If you are in the mood for a high-quality aromatic without overpowering sweetnes, this may be for you. It must be smoked slowly to avoid becoming too hot. All told, I was pleasantly surprised by Blue Train

Puffer

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