Tobaccos Wilke Pipe Tobacco - Vermont Maple Cavendish

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2017-10-10		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The Virginia and Carolina tobaccos offer some grass and tart and tangy citrus as the base of the blend. The fermented black cavendish is a little toasty with some brown sugar as a supporting player. The sugary rich Vermont maple topping is mildly applied as it tones down the tobaccos to a moderate extent. The strength is a couple of steps past the mild mark. The taste level is a couple of slots past the center of mild to medium. Has very little nicotine. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a consistently rich, sweet flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste, and room note. A very easy going all day smoke that works best at a comfortable puff rate.

-JimInks

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2013-12-28		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Pouch note is soft, sweet vanilla; sugar; and light maple. Tobacco is the typical Pipeworks & Wilke ribbon. Like all Wilke aromatics, Vermont Maple Cavendish is of the finest quality, taking a match well and burning evenly - not fast or hot - with a minimal amount of Cavendish goop.

The maple here is applied gently and the effect (unlike an in-your-face maple burst such as with Autumn Evening) is a soft, elegant sweetness with the maple and vanilla perfectly intertwined. And, while I find Autumn Evening to be an excellent aromatic, there is more complexity and layering of flavor with Vermont Maple Cavendish. This is not a cloyingly sweet tobacco. Rather, there is subtlety of flavor here that puts this blend heads and shoulders above other offerings in this genre. Further, there is no bite whatsoever to this blend. The room note, as expected, is exquisite. You can puff this like a freight train, if you are so inclined, and there is simply no bite. None. Zero. Not sure how Carole accomplishes this. That said, as always, a calm, determined cadence will bring the most flavor.

My only criticism is that the flavor flattens out and becomes a bit ashy in the final third of the bowl. The balance of flavor unravels a bit with the sugar fading to the background and the vanilla disappearing. However, when sipped slowly in the final third, the delicate maple is still detectable.

Overall a resoundly superior aromatic, the equal of No. 191 and Rumcake, in my opinion Carole's best aromatic blends. Aromatic lovers really need to sample the Wilke blends - they are among the best available anywhere and the clear superior of most tinned offerings. Having lived with Wilke aromatics for a few years, I simply cannot imagine looking anywhere else when I feel like smoking an aromatic blend.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-11-04		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

It's been said already... this is the pinnacle of Maple flavored aromatics and the only one I have tried that sustains the natural Maple taste into the smoke. Nothing artificial about this, just a warm, comfortable aromatic blend, perfect in the morning.

Smoke it fresh. I noticed that the flavor from the maple topping fades rather quickly even in a sealed jar.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-04-30		Mild	Medium	Full	Very Pleasant

This blend is absolutely wonderful. Some say too much maple and others complain not enough. Remember, this blend is not brought to you by The Log Cabin Syrup Company. It is, after all, a pipe tobacco. What is really important is not how much maple you taste but whether what you taste is good or not, and this is delicious. The aroma exceeds the taste. The blend sends forth wonderful plumes of heavy, rich, aroma, right down to the last ash. I can't imagine an aromatic pipe smoker who would not like this blend. My regular smoke is Lane's RLP6 and right now this is the only blend in the same ballpark - for me. I would not suggest this for a new pipe smoker. I think this brands Rumcake blend is a better starter, or Lane's 1Q. But as soon as the tongue and mouth are broken in don't walk, but run, to this blend. When I first smelled it in the pouch it reminded me of the maple blends the old men smoked when I was a kid, 50 and more years ago, but those blends then could not hold a candle to this. This blend is made from really quality tobacco and not soaked in chemicals. Yes, I absolutely loved it!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thepipehunter (43)	2021-03-01		Extremely Mild	Very Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

From the sample I received, the tobacco came fairly moist and sticky. The tin note was very sweet with the aroma of maple and brown sugar.

The maple used is very strong and takes the lead. I also taste cinnamon, what I would identify as bakers spice, and a touch of vanilla. The VAs are fairly muted by the maple but are bright and grassy with some citrus. The black cavendish has a lot of brown sugar and rounds the blend while also taking the edge off of the VAs. The maple gets lighter halfway through but is remains present. Other than that this blend is consistent from start to finish.

Despite the moisture of the blend, Vermont Maple Cavendish smoked dry and slow. It stayed lit very well, and smoked cool with no tongue bite. It was very light in the nicotine, and consequently one could smoke this blend all day. It has enough flavors to stay interesting yet mild enough to smoke while going about your day. 3.75 out of 4 stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (395)	2020-05-07		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is another 20% off blend I ordered. The tin note is simply amazing. The ribbon cut was a little moist but I am not picky. It loaded nicely and smoked very pleasant. I have been smoking this the past two afternoons. This tastes like a desert. I find myself even wanting to eat the smoke, well not really but I think you get my point. The missus could smell it inside and started wanting pancakes the aroma was that enticing. Not much more to say except I found it a more natural aromatic. I will probably save this one for the cooler fall weather.

Pipe Used: Oldenkott Porsche

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Wilke Pipe Tobacco

Similar Blends: C&D Autumn Evening.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2014-10-31		Mild	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I have been smoking this blend since 2004 or so and it ages extremely well. I have had Carole adjust the maple topping + and - over the years depending on my views on aromatics at the time. Although I like Autumn Evening's maple topping better, VMC blows it away with the variety of leaf in the blend and it is top shelf all the way. Nary a bite, smells heavenly and tastes like Pancake stacks with butter and syrup. I had just given my GF a nice Creampie, went out to the living room to light my pipe with this and when I went back into the bedroom she said I smelled like delicious waffles! Pipeworks tobacco's are getting a bit expensive but you do get what you pay for... Carole is nice enough, occasionaly I get a one word reply to my emails and she sometimes is a little short on the phone but not more than say calling Peretti's...

Please do try her blends as she has been doing this for quite awhile and I am sure that retirement cannot be that far away. A real pipe tobacco mecca up there in Vermont and no one compares...

Similar Blends: McClelland - Townsman Cavendish Blue, Cornell & Diehl - Autumn Evening, Sutliff Tobacco Company - Tobacco Galleria - Rum and Maple.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MyPipeAndBook (9)	2013-03-14		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I received a sample of this blend when I placed my order for other tobacco's from pipeworks & Wilke. Although I didn't smoke a lot of it, what I did smoke was pretty tasteless. When I opened the pouch, I kinda knew that would be the case because I couldn't detect the smell of maple much at all. I couldn't really understand why, because the tobacco was extremely wet and I thought to myself there was way to much casing on this tobacco to have no maple smell or flavor. When it comes to maple, I will stick to Cornell & Diehl's autum evening.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-06-09		Mild	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

No bite, occaisonal bursts of an enjoyable sweetness. One can definately tell that high quality tobaccos are used in this blend. An excellent choice; I find satisfaction in this blend and will order again!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-02-04		Mild	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is my favorite blend. Mild. Pleasant. Tasty. Absolutely no bite whatsoever. Amazing room note. This is simply a wonderful blend. I'd like to say more, but I'd rather just end here and light another bowl. I can't wait!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piper4ever (11)	2010-01-27		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Another of the P&W's great blends and one of my favorites in fact, good taste specially after coffee at any time of the day and before a "healthy" breakfast, a must!. If you smoke pipe for any other reason than relaxation and sense's pleasure this blend is not for you but for the rest of us, this is an excellent day's starter and I highly recommend it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-02-01		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

In the Tin/Pouch or Mason Jar:

Very moist with an almost overpowering smell of maple syrup. Could mixing, mostly darker tobaccos. Sticky and nearly gummy in the fingers.

Had to let it dry out in the room for around 90 minutes. This dried it nicely and did much to almost remove that gummy quality.

Packing and Lighting:

Packed light and easy. On initial charring light saw that it was still moist and swelled considerably. Could have probably dried another hour to no ill effect. Took a couple more lights and judicious tamping but it finally got and remind even till the bottom of the bowl. Occasional sizzles and pops suggest the extra drying would help

First Impression:

Sweet, sweet, sweet. Had a morning cup of stout strong coffee which really helped. Might have been too much sweet without the drink. GF complements the room note and said it made her crave pancakes and breakfast sausage. She actually stated she could enjoy eating right next to me while smoking this blend. Clouds of thick sweet smoke and they too carried a strong maple essence.

Didn't get too aggressive with the puffs as the sweetness called for some restraint. Still, never got too hot or attempted to bite.

Overall:

Prefer the Wilke Cherry Cav over this. This was just so sweet. Might try to blend it down with something more neutral and totally lacking in sweetness. Great for breakfast with a strong hot cup of coffee. Pleases your companions, or at least pleased mine. Worth a try if maple is a taste you like.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-12-26		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

I really like this tobacco. Actually, I like it the more I smoke it. I ordered it a few months ago and have been enjoying it through the late fall into the just-started winter. The pouch smell is incredible, with maple flavor hitting you happily in the nostrils. The taste of maple is somehwat subdued and actually could be stronger. It is much more noticeable in the room aroma. Overall a very nice, easy to smoke, non-tongue bite, aromatic. I can see this being a staple for me.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-12-17		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I liked it more at first now it leavs me kinda dry. Not a bad blend, kinda lite on the Maple, and a dry finish.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sailorjack (57)	2008-12-04		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I read all the rave reviews about Carole's deftness with aromatic blends and I love maple. Seemed like a natural fit. I don't smoke a lot of aromatics but when I do, I like the topping such as here to be more that just a whisper or a suggestion of maple. I want to be hit square between the eyes with the flavor of maple. You can't be all things to everyone. If you're going to be an aromatic than dammit go with it. Nothing bad about this blend but nothing to float my boat.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-10-30		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I would like to see more more maple flavoring in this blend as well. The maple scent is there in the pouch, but when it is smoked it is hard to taste. The burn quality is great. Burns all the way to the bottom of the bowl and no goop. The room note is pleasant to tolarable. If there were more maple flavoring like in Town Topic, this blend would be a homerun.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-08-12		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Pleasant

It takes a pretty special aromatic to make it into my regular rotation and VMC is such a blend. The pouch note of this is a very full maple smell, and the appearance is appealing with light and dark brown flecks mixed in with the black cavendish tobaccos. Firing up a bowl, you first notice how much the tobacco tastes like the aroma in the pouch, something that doesn't happen a lot in aromatics. The only difference is that the sweetness of the smoke is less than that of the pouch note, something that suits me just fine. I don't care for overly cased tobaccos and this one isn't. The maple taste remains fairly constant over 2/3 of the bowl, then starts to fade away as the smoke ends. It generally leaves a bit of dottle in the bottom of my pipe, as do most aromatics. You will make a lot of friends with this one, as the room aroma is VERY pleasant. I find myself smoking this one every other day or so, which for me is unusual for an aromatic. Four stars for Vermont Maple Cavendish.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2008-06-30		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I am going to "ditto" what other 4-star reviews have said about this blend. It is a nice aromatic that does not leave your pipe with gunk, is cool smoking, does not bite, and has a nice maple flavor. I find it burns well and becomes especially flavorful mid-bowl to bottom. This is not a one-dimensional tobacco, but develops a host of nutty and maple flavors.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-07-01		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Tobacco quality is never an issue with P&W aromatics. You're always going to get a good or better grade of tobacco to go with your choice of flavoring(s).

The aromatic smoker need only find the right topping to be happy with these fine blends.

I found the flavoring in Vermont Maple Cavendish to be on the week side (although it did seem to amp up a bit after baking in my glove compartment for a week).

This isn't my favorite P&W blend but it might be yours.

1/2

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	aadelma (67)	2005-12-13		Extremely Mild	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

While this is an unusually well behaved cavendish with a nice aroma, it has so little flavor that I lose interest less than 1/2 way through the bowl. Like many extremely mild blends, I also found it to taste pretty nasty at the bottom of the bowl. I may mix it with some burley to give it some legitimate tobacco flavor, otherwise I'll pitch it. If you like aromatics, Wilke's own Bohemian Mixture is far more worthy of your attention than Vermont Maple Cavendish.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	runswithdogs (41)	2021-06-18		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Pleasant

A truly awesome aromatic blend! I understand not everyone likes aromatics (and my desert choice would be McCranies 1983 Red Ribbon), but if you are looking for a change of pace, or lean towards aromatics, this blend is a must to try. Fabulous room note, light nic hit, easily an all day smoke.

Purchased From: Wilke

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Michael D (29)	2020-07-12		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Wilke must love pancakes and waffles because they surely have the right Vermont Maple Syrup for them. This is the best Maple I have tasted in a blend to date. The Virginia, Carolina tobaccos come through with the slightest of citrus tingle and the Maple sweetness is not overpowering. Just pure goodness. mild nic-hit and pleasing results.

Pipe Used: Bent Spigot

Purchased From: wilkepipetobacco.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piping Padre (4)	2016-12-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I must disclose that I am not an aromatic smoker. I had a sample included in an order of supplies from Carol and needed to clear my palette of all the latakias I have been smoking. Anyway, I was drawn from the smell after opening the bag; the smell of tobacco shops of yore! Upon the charring light, I was impressed that the blend tasted as advertised. It really does taste like maple! Not too much to be sickening- it is just right. As a maple lover I kept puffing away, thinking of a tall stack of pancakes dripping with true maple syrup. I never got the tongue burn I was expecting, which is one reason I don't smoke aros. No, this one stayed smooth and cool through the whole smoke. A very pleasant change from my uber-intense smokes. You had better stock up aro smokers as Carol is retiring from blending in the very near future. This is not my nirvana blend, so I am not giving it 4 stars. But it might be yours!

Pipe Used: Peterson 1987 Pipe of the Year

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipeworks and Wilke

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DocGuinness (11)	2016-08-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is an edit to my original posting. Date of this edit is 2018-05-19.

This is still my favorite aromatic blend. I'm a huge maple fan and have enjoyed this blend from Carol for many years. I ordered this recently from John (who has taken over the blending for Wilke tobaccos ). I contacted him via facebook and asked him if he could increase the maple topping on this blend, which he did.

I received this in the mail and was not disappointed. Fantastic aromatic blend. Top-notch all the way. The tobacco quality is there, like it's always been, and the increase in maple topping set this above the rest ( for me anyways ).

Very happy with John and I'm so glad he has continued the Wilke recipes. Thumbs up all the way.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Hercules

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: www.wilkepipetobacco.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2012-02-03		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

On my recent journey though aromatic tobacco's I have been pleasantly surprised by the high quality of a number of US shops that are selling store made bulk aromatics (Not renamed blends from big companies). Pipeworks and Wilke is one of those places. Initially, Maple Vermont Cavendish didn't win me over like a lot of Carole's other aromatics as each time I smoked it I got a lot of sweet, but not a lot of maple flavor. I finally slowed my cadence and found the maple flavor I was looking for. In a shop with lots a great aromatics (and English blends too), it's not my favorite P&W aromatic, but I would happily buy it again. Recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-20		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is another one of my favorite aromatics, and absolutely my favorite Maple. Very rich with a room aroma that pleases all but the most ardent anti-smokers.

I was smoking Vt. Maple outside the car dealers while I was getting my car repaired when one of the employees came out to ask me what I was smoking. I asked if it was disturbing her, she said "No, but it is making me hungry!"

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-11-06		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I really like this blend. Mild but has some very good flavor. Good quality and no bite. It also burns very well.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dov of the Galilee (32)	2008-08-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a peculiar flavor to start off with so finding maple flavored tobacco is not so easy. I would have liked to had more casing to really put the smell over the top but from what I understand that is possible to ask for in the future. The one thing that is different for this blend being an aromatic is that it burns so perfectly almost like an English blend. I would recommend this one for certain.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hemlock (65)	2007-12-23		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Unobtrusive, smooth smoking and consistent burn. This isn't the same as smoking a jar of maple syrup (that would be hot and taste truly of maple). The flavour is dominated by the cavendish throughout the smoke. I can't say I got much of a maple flavour-- maybe my maple senses are dulled from regular consumption of the syrup. I could not get to the same true-tobacco taste that comes from the base red VA in C&D's Autumn Evening. All in all, a good aromatic, but it may not be as satifying for those whose tastes tilt more towards VA than cavendish.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2006-10-05		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I much prefer this to its distant cousin Rum and Maple. I agree with lustra: this is tasty, to the point you could almost eat it, without it being overdone. Sure enough a couple of friends may point out: are you smoking a pipe or eating breakfast? Who cares? A good Cavendish blend, mild yet not prone to tongue bite, "cozy" and friendly. I imagine the use of Virginias helps to keep the maple flavor at bay (I'm not sure if the Cavendish comes from Burley?)

Excellent for those early autumn-morning-strolls, and to make friends wherever you go.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-09-13		Mild	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

At Pipeworks&Wilke they are completely unable to blend a bad tobacco. Simply, they can't. I've tried many so far, and no one has been even the least disapponting. This one is another marvel, and trustworthy reviewers before me said it all. Living in Italy, I'm not familiar with maple taste, but if this is maple I'm going to order tons of maple syrup! It's just too good (and I'm a Balkan blends type of smoker...)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-11-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

In the small world of maple-flavored tobaccos, this blend is king. Really delicious, but not overdone, rich with natural tobacco flavor, yet sweet and toothsome in a pancake-y way. This is one of the best sweet tobaccos I have ever smoked, and people around you will beg you to smoke it. Not for the Latakia fan, or even for the natural Virginia die-hard, but if you like something of quality that is sweet and nearly perfectly done, you can't miss with this tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bassicallybob (6)	2023-03-20		Mild	Very Strong	Very Full	Very Pleasant

This is one of the best aromatics I've ever laid my hands on. It's scent is incredible and evokes some old wooden maple forest. Unlike many aromatics that seem to only focus on scent, this one packs a punch with flavor.

It comes fairly damp, and doesn't light particularly well, so let it rest on some paper for a bit, then cellar it. Once properly prepared, enjoy.

Pipe Used: Vikings Assens Evening, Dr Grabow Freehand

Similar Blends: Autumn Evening.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brunello (140)	2023-01-25		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Since mine arrived quite moist it initially took a bit of effort to establish a steady burn rate. I found that significant dry time, as in five hours on a paper plate, helped, though it was still moist enough to tell that it had been sprayed with something to control burn rate. But as long I don’t taste any deleterious effects, I’ll look the other way.

At its best I feel that this could warrant a three-star recommendation, with the understanding that it is a simple, one-dimensional, comforting, soft-focus kind of Cavendish blend. However, I recommend a modest size bowl (something like my Stanwell 139) so you can finish it in one go. The problem for me being that the flavor always fades by the end of the bowl, enough that at that point I’m only going to give it two stars.

One thing’s for certain, despite all the glowing reviews, this is not a four-star blend for me. This is an important part of using TR – finding a reviewer whose palate seems to be similar to your own, and also: look at more recent reviews, not reviews that are a decade old. Things change.

What I’m looking for is 1) lots of flavor, which this has; 2) that has layers of flavor to keep my interest since I’m not really into mindless smokes just to have a pipe in my mouth, and this is kind of a one-note song; and 3) something that maintains its flavor from start to finish, which this doesn’t. Additionally, the maple flavoring is on the mild side, what I get is mostly brown sugar and generic BCA kind of taste.

For me it comes down to the fact that I have firmly in mind certain reference points in each genre which are unmovable anchors in how I rate blends. In this case, not even considering four-star blends, there are two aromatics, Thomas and Choctaw, which I have both recently given three stars to, and this one simply falls short of that mark.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sojang (13)	2006-10-01		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

High grade, smooth, rich, excellent. Another of Carol's great blends. Smokes cool and dry right to the bottom. Everyone loves the room note.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-09-22		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Pleasant

I guess from looking at my past reviews, I am either a "love it" or "leave it" pipe smoker. Well in keeping with all other P&W blends, this is a "love it" type blend. I am mostly through my second 1/2lb order. I will be getting more for the upcoming leaf-raking season. The pouch aroma is absolutely splendid and its appearance is very nice. It is a little moist and does benefit with an hour or two to dry out, but is not entirely necessary. Packs well, but this blend seems to be easily overpacked if you are not carefull. The three match method works well to light it. Copius amounts of delicious white fog billow from the bowl. Maple runs right up the pipe and smacks you in the face. Shortly thereafter, the amount of smoke decreases...in part because I puff gently to prevent excessive heat. Stays lit and is otherwise well behaved for an aromatic of this sort. One, maybe two, relights are needed. Tobacco flavor develops well through the bowl and comes through stonger as you get to the bottom, very similar characteristic of P&W Rumcake (of which I also need to order more of...). I cannot say enough about this blend. Want a world class aromatic...well this is it.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-05-18		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I have been on the search for the Holy Grail of Maple blend tobaccos for about two years now. For about six months, I was happily smoking C&D Autumn Evening, thinking it was the best I was going to find. I wasn't quite happy and even followed the advice of an ASP friend and began blending Autumn Evening with another tobacco. Then... on yet another one of the sites I frequent, thank you God for my internet pipe smoking pals!, someone mentioned Carole's Maple Blend. I ordered 4 oz. about six months ago, and it is now a part of my happy weekly tobacco allowance. (W.T.A.) It is a true Maple essence to it, never burns, smokes pleasantly all the way done. What more can you want? If you don't want to make a big initial investment- order a sampler.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-03-09		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A wonderful and habit-forming aromatic that tastes best smoked before the palate is taxed by a heavily flavored meal. VMC takes no effort to produce clouds of incense for contemplation. The underlying tobaccos are quality and can be enjoyed along with the maple topping.

This is less complex than 191 while remaining interesting throughout a bowl. Heating this up with hard puffing obscures the subtle flavors.

If this tastes flat to you, take a break from smoking, give your tongue a rest and start-up again with VMC. A perfect substitute for dessert.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-01-14		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This tobacco is superb. The flavor is wonderful and the room note is extremely delightful. The maple is not at all overwhelming, but is excellently balanced to create a very pleasant, and almost ambient, room note.

A noticeable quality of this aromatic is the total lack of tongue bite. Kudos to Pipeworks & Wilke.

Overall this tobacco makes for a truly enjoyable smoke that will have you coming back for more.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-01-12		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A wonderful blend.Slightly sweet and aromatic.The flavor is somewhat complex.It starts out with a great maple note, than switches to toffee and back to maple.This maple blend is really great , and worth a try. And burns to a clean gray ash it's a winner.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OSR (78)	2006-01-02		Mild	Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Enough has been said here extolling the virtues of this tobacco. The one thing I'll say that amazed me about this blend is the lack of bite. Even though the blend is very mild, it produces copious amounts of tasty, sweet smoke and never gets hot or cloying.

Perhaps a better aromatic than Captain Black "White". And to me, that's saying something. Highly recommended aromatic, mild with great flavor.

Want to juice this blend up? Mix this half and half with Royal Yacht. I keep a small humidor of this concoction and really do enjoy it when I want an aromatic change of pace.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-10-30		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Yet another excellent aromatic from P&W. I was surprised at the pouch aroma, or rather lack of it, given the impressions of several other reviewers. The maple element is subtle, and there is a natural tobacco note. No pancakes or butter experiences for this reviewer.

I did not experience anything mystic whilst smoking this pipe-weed, but there is something unique about the way the maple taste stays with the smoke for at least the first two-thirds of the bowl. A quality tobacco taste is readily found, and dominant, but the maple is always lingering.

I'm not able to give it a four-star rating due to a tendency to smoke on the hot side. I've tried different packing strategies, and smoked it rather slowly, but the heat is a bit too much. Also, I find the last third of the bowl to deliver a charcoal or ash taste I don't care for. For several smokes, I just dumped at that point. On other smokes, I stayed with it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-09-14		Mild	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Wilke Vermont Maple Cavendish Delightful. opening the Pouch smells delightfully, and i smoke a bowl full a non biting mixture, Virginia and Carolina tobaccos fermented Black Cavendish are mixed with a Natural flavors from Vermont maple syrup tobacco delightful. burn cool all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, if you like Vermont maple this is the tobacco for you. i love it I'am puting This in my tobacco cellar,

I smokes it in any pipe,I Love This Tobacco it is charming

A.) I like it's taste delightfully a nice aromatics

B.) I like that it's not biting.

C.) It is easy to smoke, and maple flavor stay thougt out the bowl.

D.) The Wilke Vermont Maple Cavendish lasts and lasts. the aroma in the room is delightfully,

this is a wonderful tobacco, and i give it 4 star

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-07-21		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I decided to try the Vermont Maple blend in a vintage Wilke pipe. This is such a change from the English, Balkan, and Virginia blends I've been smoking. It's a "black and brown" blend - some brown Virginia and black cavendish with a lighter gold component as well - perhaps the Carolina? The tobaccos are high quality - not sticks and stems stuff. The pouch aroma is pleasant tobacco with a hint of maple. I lit up with some trepidation, fearing that this one would be too sweet and goopy an aromatic for me. I need not have been concerned.

The moisture level seemed just about right, it lit easily and burned evenly. The pipe never got hot, and it seems to smoke cool. Mild, but flavorful, and that flavor is not overpowered by maple, almost more like an ongoing undertone. Not at all overly sweet. I had smoked a vanilla tobacco in the past that was always difficult to finish off well. It got steamy and wet. Vermont maple finished down to ash without any of that. This is a cozy sort of smoke, not cloying. It could be smoked all day, but what a wonderful breakfast/morning blend. Goes very well with a cup of coffee.

I have 8 ounces, and before I'm through with it I'm sure I'll be ordering a pound. I might even ask Carole to add just a smidgeon more maple (She uses real Vermont maple syrup - not some artificial junk). Nice that you can ask for such things from this blender.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-07-05		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

In a money and space saving attempt to limit myself mainly to four tobaccos (a burley, Virginian, English, and cavendish) the first one to make my permanent list is Wilke's Vermont Maple Cavendish. As someone else has noted, this is the first cavendish tobacco I have come across where the actual taste mirrors the exquisite odor of the pouch -- and it tastes and smells like syrupy pancakes. No one will ever complain about the smell of your pipe with this one. My over-active imagination thinks it even detects melted butter on the cakes. Puff as hard as I can, I can't make it get too hot; it burns down to a fine white ash with no dottle and the smoke is copious and moist in the mouth. This tobacco would be perfect for dieters as it will satisfy your sweet tooth at zero calories. The only drawback in this area: It creates in me a craving for hot cocoa, because that's what I like with my pancakes. I smoke this in a large bowl, because I want the experience to last, and it isn't until the last of the bowl that the maple taste dwindles to be replaced by a nice tobacco flavor with no after taste.There is no nicotine affect at all, so it makes a perfect late night smoke, one that I will enjoy every night into the foreseeable future.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-06-29		Mild to Medium	Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I love Wilke tobaccos and this is no exception. It is very mapley(? is there such a word?). It is good,but not great.I feel a better choice would be C&D Autumn Evening.Very pleasant offering.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cutlasss (2)	2005-03-09		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I have to agree with the previous reviewers on Wilke's VMC. This is like having breakfast -ALL DAY-- The pouch note is redolent with real maple, not a chem-maple as with other bulk produced blends. The great part is that this tobacco does not deceive, you taste the maple in the smoke, and it is rich and satisfying.However, it does not gurgle due to the casing and burns cool and tasty. I smoke this and Wilke's Rumcake regularly along with three other Wilke blends and the colleagues at my office can always pick this one out by the pleasing room note. Carole, the tobacconist is a great person and I asked her if she would add a little extrta 'topping' of maple for me on my last order. She gladly obliged. This kind of service is only available from someone like her who blends to order in small batches. Whatever she did, it is absolutley right-on! Just the right amount of flavor and richness. If you are a fan of Carolina and VA cavendish, this is a must smoke! Four Stars without a doubt!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	UncleGar (110)	2004-12-11		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I came across this while looking for a tobacco for my neighbor. He told me he used to smoke a ?pancakes? blend no longer sold; he now smokes the most godawful little cherry cigars. I planned on giving him some of this and begging him to smoke it instead. (Insight to those of you who have people begging you to smoke something..) Well, I still haven?t given it to him. The official reason is that he no longer has a pipe. Actually, this stuff hooked me.

The flavoring is actually complementary, not all that much sweeter than most straight Virginia tobaccos I smoke. The blend is mild, as one would expect, and I puff it mercilessly to get more flavor. No bite! Oddly, heat is not an issue, either. And lo, the aroma! Indeed, it is pancakes with Vermont maple syrup. Easy to live with when the wintry blasts require closed windows.

I am a fan of a number of various types of tobacco, including balkans. This is the diametric opposite of a balkan, just as Gilbert and Sullivan are opposite to Willie Nelson. Yet both are found in my CD player at the moment. Schizo tastes? Maybe, but I know what I like. Try this. Double dog dare ya.

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