Wilke Pipe Tobacco Wilke No. 72

(3.10)
Composed of Burley, two cuts of Virginia, Latakia and Perique. For those who enjoy true natural tobacco flavor, one of our most popular lighter English blends.

Details

Brand Wilke Pipe Tobacco
Blended By John Brandt
Manufactured By Wilke Pipe Tobacco
Blend Type English
Contents Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ready Rubbed
Packaging 2 oz. bag, 4 oz. bag, 8 oz. bag 16 oz. bag
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.10 / 4
3

5

2

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 04, 2016 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The smoky, woody, earthy, floral, vegetative, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia takes a small lead. The burley is toasty, nutty, earthy, woody, sugary, and lightly molasses and vanilla sweet as an important supporting player. The Virginias offer some tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, sugar, floralness, light earth, wood, tangy darker fruit, and spice. They play back up to the Latakia and burley. The earthy, woody perique is mildly raisiny, plummy and spicy, and is just above the condiment line. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the mild mark, while the taste is close to the center of mild to medium. Has no harsh or dull spots, and won’t bite. Hardly has a rough note. The tobacco is a tad moist, but doesn’t need dry time. Well blended with a little complexity, it burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a fairly smooth, sweet, smoky, floral, nutty, mildly spicy, mostly consistent flavor. Requires few relights as it easily burns to ash. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste and a mildly stronger room note. An all day smoke that was smoked by famed CBS newsman Walter Cronkite. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 18, 2011 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
Like the majority of P&W blends, The "American English" #72 is made from a quality grade of tobacco and arrives a bit too moist to be smoked right out of the pouch. Although P&W describes #72 as a light English, I find it to be more on the medium side in the taste department. #72 is fuller in flavor than most blends in the light English department. This would make a great all day smoke for smoker's of English blends. There is a touch too much burley in it to be a rotation regular for me. Those that like some burley in their English blends should find a lot of enjoyment with #72 as its another well made blend from P&W. Recommended.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 22, 2020 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
My first experience with Wilke Pipe Tobacco. From my past smoking experience, this blend has a main flavor reminiscent of Peterson 965 and Dan Tobacco's Balkan Blend. The blend has a certain "toning down" throughout, as others have described it. English, Balkan, (oh, I'm confused. I mean, it tastes and smells like that.) ... Well, it has those flavors, it's light, and the smoke is smooth as silk. A blend that I would describe as "light" but still doesn't lose its complexity. The ribbon cut makes it easy to pack and lighting a pipe. And as for my overall preference, I love blends that are simply smoking, laid back and design a nice day. Blends like Sutliff's "Ready Rubbed" and "Revelation" for example, and I love them in tobacco rotation. For me, No. 72 falls into the category of these and I immediately fell in love with 72.
Pipe Used: Blue Room Briars 3/4 Bent
PurchasedFrom: Wilke Pipe Tobacco
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 11, 2010 Mild Extremely Mild Mild Pleasant
This seems to be a toned down version of #400, which is now a staple in my rotation. Where #400 was hugely flavorful and complex, the flavor and complexity is muted here, making this a perfect morning smoke for lovers of #400.

The whole time I smoked this, the old Tinderbox staple of "Sherlock's Choice" kept coming to mind. This one does taste like Sherlock's, but it asserts its individuality with a light blending touch from the perique jar. Whereas SC was lightly sweet and soft and mild, this one was lightly sweet, soft, mild and MUCH more interesting. This is one of those blends that could be an all-day "set it and forget it" smoke, or you could sit in your easy chair and contemplate the various flavors. Where #400 forces me to delve into the complexities of the blend because of its assertiveness, this one can go either way. If I smoked the pipe all day, I'd prefer this one. Since I don't, I prefer a tobacco with more body and flavor.

My usual routine is to recommend tobaccos based on my personal taste and, to maintain consistency, I do that here. However, recognizing that this may not be the fairest way to judge, I have to say that this is a 3 star recommendation for my tastebuds and a 4 star recom for others. Why? Because I think everyone should try this once. It may be too mild for you, or too soft or too whatever. Then again, it may be perfect. I could see this blend as being The One that makes some people decide that they no longer need to sample every tobacco in the world. It didn't do that for me, but it may for you! More blending genius from Carole Burns!
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 02, 2010 Mild None Detected Mild Tolerable
A mild & smooth English blend. A little too mild for my taste. A very solid 2 stars.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 04, 2023 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild Pleasant
Perhaps it's due to its burly base, along with several Virginias (details alluringly unlisted), that Mixture 72 is so enticingly sweet. This wonderfully pleasant, virtually bite-free sweet-note combines beautifully with other classic English components (especially the light touch of Latakia, with a whiff of perique -- a leaf I've come to dislike in my one-year aggressive pipe-smoking campaign). The components combine to produce another masterful stroke of pipe tobacco blending genius from the great -- and legendary -- house of Wilke. (I write this as I sip on another classic: Wilke's Gentry Royal Blend "No. 2", listed as an "American" blend -- though it's approaching English.)

Not many reviewers have noted that this mixture was the all-time favorite of none other than the don of evening national broadcast News himself, Walter Cronkite (I almost wrote "Sir Walter"). Cronkite was said to have smoked No. 72 not only religiously, but also in a Wilke pipe. In a memorial on Cronkite, following his passing at a "ripe old age" (de died 17 July 2009 at age 92), one member of the New York Pipe club recalled that New York Wilke pipe shop manager Gennaro Filosa could confirm that Cronkite was indeed a regular, and that he preferred No. 72, "always" buying it. They then recount a story Filosa could remember from the 1970s: on a Saturday Night Live skit, the great comedienne Gilda Radner claims to have slept with Cronkite -- "And then she held up a can of Mixture 72 for all the world to see," proving the point!* Wouldn't it be great to see that can on a YouTube clip (which I've so far been unsuccessful in finding)?

No. 72 is quite simply delicious: lightly smoky, subtly sweet, creamy, silky pure smooth English (though not in the style the English themselves seem to prefer, which registers to me on the more alluringly floral side -- and I think I finally know exactly what the secret sauce of Esoterica Full English is: beautifully floral Virginias!). This is one of those contemplative smokes, not too aggressive as to demand your concentration on it -- it can slip calmly into the background as you turn your mind to other matters corporeal or spiritual...

In my review I can do no better than other, more experienced tobacco reviewers (such as my personal hero, JimInks), but I think that this one should rank in the 3.5 to 4 stars range -- perhaps missing half-a-star due to a lack in overall smoking complexity. But then again, it's very much relative to the pipe smoker: As with all matters of taste: let those with more experience be your guide, calling to mind Aristotle's dictum in matters of ethics, which has it that what's best for you is what the person of excellence ("arete") would do and would choose. Seek out the best, those of excellence, and follow their lead (but don't forget the slogan of later Enlightenment philosophy: "think for yourself!").

* source: https://newyorkpipeclub.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=415823&item_id=11491)
Pipe Used: Armellini Calabash; Peterson Dracula
PurchasedFrom: Wilke Pipe Tobacco (in Massachusetts)
Age When Smoked: Fresh
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 13, 2006 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
This is an enthralling mixture. Because of the Perique in abundance, the aroma is not socially pleasing. It is a blend for contemplative smokes alone or with quiet, appreciative company. This much St. James Parish pleasure is usually too much for my preferences, but it works here.

I think of this as Dorisco with more body, variation and a cooler temperature (lofty company indeed). The first third of the smoke is quite playful and migrating in flavors. By one third the way into the bowl, Latakia and Perique take charge with occasional notes of sweetness (less than High Hat and 193) and Burley weight. The last third of the smoke is mostly Perique supported by Latakia. Very nice. This seems of overall more weight than Wilke's other blends containing Perique, yet not full-bodied by any means.

I cannot imagine what Royal Standard is to this mixture, unless it is a pre-blend of Burleys. If it is an aromatic blend, Royal Scott, I do not detect anything like that here.

This smokes well in all sized pipes, but I enjoy it most in larger bowls. One thorough charring light and No.72 smokes to the heel, leaving a fine grey ash and a dry pipe. No. 72 does the "DGT" well, which is not always the case with other P&W Latakia blends.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 01, 2004 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Well, I'm not sure what "Royal Standard" is, but the other four are definitely there. A variety of leaves, fully rubbed out and easily packed. Takes fire readily without drying and stays lit well; my longest between matches is 75 minutes in a medium bowled pipe. No gurgle or steam.

The condiments are first noted, particularly the perique. Slowly the others become evident with the latakia remaining in the background. Mid bowl is the best with all in play and in balance, though perique is not my thing. This is a spicy mild english with no trace of sweetness despite the VAs. The final fraction is a bit too peppery for my taste. Burley dislikers will best pass on this one.

Its mildness has its merits for those who like their smokes that way (I do). Yet I somehow want "more" out of it, which I can get with a bigger bowl. Then the perique annoys me. For mild english blends from P&W, and I DO like P&Ws, I prefer the Wilke #10, sort of a lighter version of Dunhill's EMP. I'm not sure what I could compare this one to. Certainly one worth trying, but there are others I prefer.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 15, 2008 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable to Strong
This is indeed a very pleasant and light English blend. It reminds me a bit of Dunhill Standard Mild, but it's more complex due to the additional condiment tobaccos. It packs and burns very well with it's Dunhill-like cut. For the majority of the bowl, I mainly taste the Va. and Perique with a hint of burley. Towards the end the latakia makes it's presence known, though in a subdued way. If you desire a heartier smoking experience, dgt a bowl and the burley and latakia are more out front with a pleasantly bitter flavor which is offset by the sweetness of the other tobaccos. For this reason it is nice to smoke half a bowl in the morning for a mild smoke, then smoke the remaining half in the afternoon for a more manly-man smoke. It's like having 2 tobaccos in one. I sometimes find this a little rough towards the bottom of the bowl, so it isn't quite a 4-star smoke for me. The Royal Scot (cavendish) is hardly noticeable but seems to add a little smoothness. I love the pure tobacco aroma, but my girlfriend hates it. A very nice summer smoke.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 17, 2006 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
This is a very pretty blend in the pouch. Numerous shades of brown, in a cross cut that is a joy to pack. The moisture content is perfect, and the tobacco is easy to light, and easy to manage. The Burley and Virginias are simply a background for this blend to show off the top quality Latakia and Perique.

The Latakia presence is mild, but noticeable. The Perique seems to be the real star here. This is a salty, spicey, slightly smokey tasting blend, with a subtle, toasty undertone. The finish is pleasant, with a tangy stewed fruit aftertaste. If you love the sensation, and mouth feel of Perique, you will love this. I could detect no topping. The room note is of the various tobaccos burning.

A great smoke in the evening when you can take your time and relax.
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