Tinder Box Special

There seems to be some confusion about this tobacco and I can see why. The brand I smoke comes from Ed's Original Tinderbox, on Whilshire in Santa Monica. This brand is excellent, it is a high bred American English, and it does contain deer tongue, I asked the boys there. It's a smooth, creamy, delightful smoke, 4 stars and one of my favorites. The Tinderbox Special sold at the Tinderbox chain stores, which Ed Klopin started, is a different animal. The guys at the Whilshire Tinderbox told a story about James Whitmore, who used to get his Special from there, when he was on location for a film in Arizona. He went to an Arizona Tinderbox, bought a can of Special, smoked one bowl and threw it away. He was on the phone to the Whilshire store and ordered a pound can of the "Real" Special and was a happy camper. Bing Crosby also smoked the real stuff.

I tried an ounce of the chain Tinderbox Special, and it is really nothing special. Can't say it's bad either. It is simply a very mild English mix and that might be your "cup of tea". To me, it just lacks the unique flavor and fullness of what I call "the real" Special. What is missing the slight vanilla flavor, nutty after taste and room note the deer tongue adds to the mix. It just has a totally different flavor. It's like ordering a Coca Cola, and getting a generic grocery store brand instead or better yet, since the real Special has a buttery taste, getting margarine instead of butter.

I stopped by the Santa Monica Tinderbox to pick up a few blending components in the hopes of evening out some of my less favorite on hand blends. When requesting a couple ounces of cube cut Burley, the shop attendant and myself began discussing C&D's Crooner, the infamous Bing Crosby Burley and Deer Tongue mixture.

The attendant informed me that this particular Tinderbox (aka Ed's Pipe Shop) served as Bing's home store, and had blended this "Special" mixture especially for him, promptly pointing to a very large, framed photograph of Bing holding an eight ounce can of tobacco emblazoned with the Ed's Pipe Shop logo. He went on to claim that the blend consists of a tiny addition of Deer Tongue, far more reserved than Crooner, and then he provided a two ounce sample.

Now, I haven't noticed any Deer Tongue, and I would even doubt that this contains any of the stuff--it's exceptionally apparent with a very distinct taste-- but regardless, this is a fantastic blend. And I must also say that I wouldn't be surprised if the shop attendant had confused this with some other house blend.

But what a ride. Such a diverse flavor that I would go so far as to say transcends any typical classification. Original, and indeed, special. In my book, anyway. It flies in the face of what I've come to expect of the Tinderbox.

In the 1970s, as a kid, I was a frequent visitor to the Tinderbox in Fresno, California, where I grew up. My dad was an avid pipe smoker and loved Tinderbox blends and I always went with him when he bought his tobaccos. Sadly there are no Tinderbox stores near me any longer. On a recent visit to Palm Springs, I visited the Tinderbox store there. They have a very nice selection of their many house blends. Special Blend is a mild, slightly sweet, English blend (almost a crossover blend). It has quite a bit of that Virginia sweetness and tanginess (faintly reminds me of the old McClelland Virginia flavor) and a light woody/smoky Latakia undertone. The Orientals are light and in the background. It is easy to light and burns clean and dry to the bottom of the bowl. Hardly any nicotine. I highly recommend this blend to folks who like light Virginia forward English tobaccos, or even English/Aromatic crossovers, or who want to dip their toes into the Latakia pool. A very nice tobacco from an iconic old tobacconist.

Tinder Box - Special.

This one was part of my 'bucket list' for tobaccos but living in the U.K Tinder Box blends are a little tricky to obtain, well more impossible so when my wife presented me with this on Christmas day was nearly cataplectic from excitement! The smell from the mix is a very deep and intense one, it smells similar to their Philosopher only a little less strong with Lat'. The mix is prominent with medium brown pieces and a small amount of lighter constituents all at a great moisture amount.

I find mine easy to ignite, it only takes a short go with the flame to begin a good burn. The smoke is good in temperature, I find it cool to medium and no matter how much vigour I use it doesn't bite me. I find the flavour of the smoke to be perfectly rounded, none of the tobaccos are too headstrong at all, the Virginia and the Orientals are of equal weight with a slight smoky touch from the Lat' giving the taste some extra zeal. The nicotine level isn't too strong, if you like your "N" then you will have to take quite a big puff of smoke but really the deep flavour is so satisfying any nicotine worries seem superfluous to me! I find this to be the quintessential 'no messing around' tobacco, it burns great, tastes classic, gives a simple room note and doesn't fluctuate in flavour.

I am so grateful to my wife for getting her American pal to send me some as it's made my Christmas!

Delivers exactly what it says - a light English blend, with a Virginia base and the other components added to a lesser, supplemental, degree. Flavors come through when sipped, particularly when then retrohaled. Never had the "old" version - but that doesn't matter - it is what it is - and delivers what it states. 4*.

Great all day smoke. Mild and tasty. A blend I will buy again.

I've smoked cigars for a long time, but the wife didn't care for the way the smelled. She bought me a pipe for Christmas a year ago and I've really taken to it. I know have 6 pipes and have my eye on several others...

Trying to learn what I like and don't, I've found that there are aromatics, non-aromatics, and English blends I like and don't like. I found this site a few weeks ago and have spent quite a bit of time reading reviews.

I was traveling in McAllen, Texas this week and saw there was a review for a couple of Tinder Box blends. "Special Blend" had lots of good reviews and the local TB not only had some, but also had a nice comfy place to have a beer and try it out.

I have a Neerup for travel for it's smallish size. I noticed the tobacco had a great aroma in the bag, and was a bit moist. I packed a bowl and let it air out for 10 minutes while I sipped on a Warsteiner Dunkel beer.

After lighting the top, I repacked w/my tamper and then went for the light. Even after the reviews I've read, I was surprised at the fullness of flavor, but no bite, and an awesome taste. I really like it and it was good to the bottom. A co-worker sat next to me, smoking an H Upman and said it smelled wonderful to him. I'd purchased 3 oz, and went ahead and bought 3 more to take home. Very nice smoke.

I bought a 2 ounce sample of this when I got my Sherlock's. This blend was exactly what I was looking for. It had a mysteriously nutty flavor with an aftertaste that was like licorice, no unpleasantries whatsoever. At just over $2/ounce, its rather well priced too. I will definitely be getting more of this in the future.

This blend is in my rotation and always will be. I have researched this tobacco. It was one of the original blends developed by the founder of Tinderbox. Ed was quoted as saying that he had smoked this blend everyday for over 50 years. When asked what was in it, he replied Virginia, Latakia, Turkish, and a bit of White Burley. It has a woodsy aroma, burns well,and definately has a complex taste to it as you work your way through the bowl.The tobaccos work very well together. This is the best bulk offering that Tinderbox has to offer. I've been smoking it myself for 33 years.