Borkum Riff Mixture with Bourbon Whiskey (Bronze)

NEW update: as my pipe smoking skill gets better...i found a way to reduce the unforgiving tongue bite from this blend. we only need to puff it VERY LIGHTLY, just like taking a sip from a drink. but what really ticks me off is the CONSTANT RELIGHTING!! if u tried to make the amber stays lit, you'll turn your pipe into a furnace and the gurgling will start and everything will be nothing but unpleasantness.

i only keep puffing this blend just to get more the feel on pipe smoking, but after i finish the pack, i'm sure that i will not buy this blend ever again.

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OLD review: i started off in this wonderful hobby with a wrong tobacco! the reason i bought it bcoz i didn't read the reviews in here before and i was attracted to its smell in the package! but the smoke was nothing like a the unburned one!! my impressions about this particular blend: 1. IT BITES!! 2. almost no taste (mostly due to no.1) 3. constant relighting 4. not a good choice for a newbie (like me) 5. it's not from a good tobacco

u might wanna argue on the last point for a newbie to put a bold statement like that. i know what a good tobacco bcoz i was a hardcore Djarum cigarettes smoker. when i torn 2 Djarum cigs and loaded it into my pipe, the smoking experience was like heaven and earth compared to this blend.

i know that taste is just a matter of preference, but it's definitely not for me...and i'd recommend new pipe smoker to steer off from it.

for those who likes it, i'm happy for you. happy puffing!

The pack tells me this is made from 35% Black Cavendish and 65% Virginian tobacco,and I really can't understand the negative comments. Nor can I understand those who say there is no whiskey taste, because there is. There was some bite at first but the smoke soon became mellow though full of taste and I enjoyed smoking this tobacco. So much so that I will be ordering another pouch with my next tobacco order. I don't think there's much of a room note which is why I've rated the after smell as Very Pleasant. It smoked really well with a cup of coffee and left me with a pleasing taste in my mouth.Good stuff.

Well, we all make mistakes in life, right? This was mine. I didn't have a tounge for a few days after I smoked it, and I have treated the pipe with a full cleaning. I hope the briar gods forgive me. If you like Ripple for your daily wine, African Robusto coffees, and old Wonder Bread, this might be for you. Your taster's gone anyway, so what the hell.

I wouldn't be suprised to find out that it isn't really tobacco, just dried dung from Scandanavian musk oxen.

Get the picture? I REALLY don't like this one.

Moderate tongue bite. Smokes fast and hot. Expected a little more Room Note but was mildly pleasant. Nice puffy smoke though. A little more expensive than I expected for this quality. Good packaging.

Pouch note is not pleasant. Smells like cheap tobacco with a cheap Whiskey casing. Smokes very hot and has a terrible taste followed by a putrid room note. There are really no redeeming qualities for this tobacco.

I haven't found a Borkum Riff that I enjoy but this is probably the worst one. Avoid.

In the 1970s version, the bourbon whiskey had a decent flavor (with a small chemical essence), and you could taste some of the tobaccos, particularly the grassy Virginia. The nutty, earthy, woody burley was a minor component. The black cavendish offered a slight sugar note. The strength was a step past the mild mark. The taste was mild. Hardly had any nicotine. The problem was that it burned fast, hot, and would bite even when puffed slowly. Left some moisture in the bowl and required an average number of relights. Was an all day smoke.

UPDATE: Oct. 2013. It seems the new manufacturer has improved this tobacco quite a bit. I experienced no tongue bite, and a little more bourbon whiskey flavor than I did when I used to smoke it. I did notice a light chemical taste at times, but not always. The grassy, citrusy Virginia and sugary, unsweetned black cavendish are lightly obvious. No burley in this version. Burns a tad slower than the older version did, and is much less harsh, and unless you puff it like a cigarette, you won't get tongue bite. The flavor is very consistent to the finish. The strength is a step past the mild mark. The taste is mild. Hardly has any nicotine. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires few relights. An all day smoke. Two stars for the new version. One star for the older one.

-JimInks

I've smoked this in early 90's, before I found out that the tobacco world in fact is a big one.

It's a mild boring aromatic tobacco. I'll smoke it again maybe in my next life just before discovering the real tobacco world!

Hmm...One of the most popular baccys in the world I'm told. Dad smoked it so I had to check it out. Now I want to check out. The one positive is that it is low maintenance except for the goopy residue. Otherwise, two words - blow torch. If I wanted to expose myself to this much hot air, I would sleep through another staff meeting. Try it if you will - heck, millions of people can't be wrong - right?

I thank this tobacco for one thing and only. It made me realize the guy in the tobacco shop i used to get my tobacco, was as ignorant as a 3 year old in a brothel. I remember him describing how tasty the bourbon was and all the honey undertones that arise during the finishing of the bowl. Unfortunately that was not the case at all.

Medium strength tobacco. Medium to low nicotine content. The flavoring is that of plain swetness (not overwhelming) and some low hints of cheap whiskey. The taste is very strange actually cause while you cannot really taste any particular topping, you definetely cannot taste the virginia, maybe some cavedish due to the swetness. Its bland with no body. Just a mildly sweet tobacco with no personality.

It doesnt necessarily bite the tongue as many reviews suggest, if packed correctly of course. What is true though, is that it burns inconsisently with many relights and a progressively ash-like ( or ass-like) taste which eventually comes to the taste of pure coal during the finishing of the bowl.

The room note is torelable. The wife suggests it leaves the aroma of a more ''serious'' aromatic, meaning that it doesnt bother her at all, but doesnt prefer it compared to the rest of the aromatics i use.

I purchased a pack of Borkum Riff-Bourbon Whiskey 2 months ago and it is still half full. I only use it sometimes at night with a glass of whiskey (preferably cheap, to match the flavoring) cause the absence of an actual taste leaves the actual whiskey to do the job this tobacco failed to.

Dr.Leonidas