Boswell Pipes & Tobacco Northwoods

My first experience with Boswells was purchasing a much coveted pipe which came with a complementary 2oz sample of Northwoods. I was somewhat skeptical of this mixture as my taste in latakia blends lies somewhere slightly south of the heavy hitters, but not too far from the richest of mixtures. When I pine for a sweeter smoke I reach for a nice matured Virginia and generally stay away from aromatics and for that matter most blends containing cavendish. Nonetheless, due to the many positive reviews here, I was eager to give this a shot.

My sample was fairly moist and probably could have used a few hours dry time. The initial aroma from the bag was very sweet and dominated by that heavily cased Cavendish aroma with latakia playing second fiddle. I left the bag open for a spell and on second inspection the aroma was simply delightful. It reminded me of a great molasses based Missouri BBQ sauce, something like Show Me Liquid Smoke from Columbus. The tobacco was clearly high quality with broken red Virginia flakes mixed in with deeply pungent latakia and a moist cavendish that looked like rich high- grade compost. With no dry time, I packed a bowl in one of my largest pipes and went out to my patio in hopes of a flavorful smoke.

On first light the latakia played a much more assertive role that I thought it would. The Virginia and Cavendish components where quite subdued and at that point I thought I was in for a slight variation of a standard fair, albeit from the start a flavorful one. This perception changed big time near the half-way point when what came forth was a barrage of complex smoky/sweet nuanced spice flavors that one will not easily find in any standard latakia mixture. At that point all my reservations with this blend were squelched. Moreover, I was quite pleased with the cavendish component which rounded out the flavor nicely while only imparting a subtle influence on the overall experience. This is one very satisfying smoke, mild in strength, yet fairly substantial in flavor.

Unlike other reviewers, I had very little trouble keeping this stuff lit straight out of the bag. It burned evenly and fairly cool but is quite capable of biting if you don't take it slow. Expect a little goop on the bottom of your pipe, but not too much. Some dry time would easily rectify this issue.

Altogether Northwoods is a great mixture. If you're shopping for something unique to try, this hybrid anomaly of a blend deserves your attention. It's definitely made my current rotation.

*Update* 11/26/12 - Upon revisiting this blend I find it to be a tad too sweet for my liking. Perhaps my tastes have changed a bit. I have since given away the rest of my stash of Northwoods to another piper interested in exploring Latakia mixtures. Nonetheless, still very much recommended.

Northwoods is a lightly aromatic English Blend in the Boswell tradition of enhancements in their blends. I found it to be very similar to Iwan Ries Gourmet English in that there was an added sweetness, yet the combination of the enhancement in the Black Cavendish played well with the Latakia. I can see why it is a very popular Boswell blend. I liked it a lot!

Northwoods is a good "cross over" English blend (think Frog Morton on the Town). It is sweet and while in my opinion not an aromatic, it does have some aromatic qualities. Northwoods is a great offering for those looking to move from aro's into English blends. It arrives a bit too moist and is best smoked after some dry time. Smokers of full bodied or more complex English blends like Nightcap or Westminster may want to pass on this one. If you are a fan of mild, sweet and straightforward English blends, this should be on your must try list.

Slight fragrance of campfire in the jar. A bit moist so I spread some out to dry for a few minutes. It took a couple of relights, but once I got it going it stayed lit fairly well and there were gobs and gobs of creamy, cool, dry smoke. A large bowl lasted a full hour. It has a subtle, natural tasting sweetness but no casing or flavorings that I detect, and not overpowering at all. This one just tastes like tobacco - high quality tobacco.

Another factor in this blend's favor is it's availability.

Update 11/5/2012: still a great blend but falling behind more distinctive blends for me that don't seem to have the humectant this one does. Revising to 3 stars.

I just realized that readers, while hopefully taking everything not only that I write but what every other reviewer writes with a grain of salt (opinions being what they are!), they should take special note of my grading in the Room Note category. I'm not married and I grade this not on how others feel but how I feel about the room note. 🙂 This one smells good!

This is a very nice heavy English blend. I know that Dunill Nightcap, another heavy english, has a large following but I have to say that, for me, this Boswell blend succeeded where Nightcap failed. It's a full flavored blend with a harmonious exchange between the latakia and the other tobaccos. Everything melded very well and the flavor was sharper, not dulled by the "infighting" I find with Nightcap.

As others have mentioned, there was a nice sweetness amidst its very masculine powerful taste. This may be an offensive lineman of a blend but it can also put on a tux and act refined and elegant. If you like a lot of latakia flavor but don't want your tongue melted and confused, try this one. Boswell really nailed what I believe they were going after. So why 3 stars instead of 4? Well, what I think they were trying to achieve is not "quite" what I seek in a blend. Durn close, though! But not close enough to replace the main English blends in my rotation. On the other hand, I'll be buying more of this, albeit in smaller batches.

A decent “Aromatic” that has English elements. I wouldn’t call this a straight up English blend as it is very Cavendish forward to me.

It’s a great crossover blend for beginner English smokers who want to wean themselves off of aromatics. Similarly it’s a good blend for those devoted English smokers who want a sweet change of pace.

If you enjoy this blend, I recommend Boswell’s Countryside as it has a bit more body and depth. If you want to take it a step further into full on English territory, then smoke 965 if you haven’t already. These are all what I would consider similar, “brother blends”.

Happy smokes. - Toto

A true crossover American English blend. The Cyprian Latakia dominates, as it always does when used as a significant component. Underneath that smokey top note is a sweet and sugary vanilla black cavendish and an earthy bread like Virginia base. To me, this should be the quintessential American pouch tobacco. Old world flavor with new world influence.

Northwoods is an easy to smoke, all-day English. There is enough spice and complexity to keep me interested and an adequate amount of sweetness to attract non-English blend regulars.

Pouch note has a high sweet incense/purfume note with some smokiness.

Upon char and initial draw, I'm getting a lot of sweetness. The majority of tobaccos in this style I've sampled sofar are what I would phrase "like a dry wine", but this is a tawny port... rich, complex, and sweet.

As the bowl progresses, I'm able to pick out a little mustiness, some of the familiar "bread and spice" characters I typically associate with the style. The purfume/incense lingers and melds well with the spice - something earthy and pungent like caraway or cumin, with a more nutty and subdued spice like coriander. The whole thing tastes quite exotic, and it's almost like every component steps out for a puff, introduces itself, then gets out of the way for the next flavor component to make itself known.

Like the total newbie I am, emboldened by this complexity I started puffing a bit aggressively and started to get a mild ammoniated taste (although no bite) so I backed down and sure enough, that off-flavor disappeared quickly.

I found it very interesting how a little Cavendish can change an English style so much. Not to mention, how totally different a really well done Cavendish used as a condiment, is compared to a Cavendish based blend.