Borkum Riff Mixture with Bourbon Whiskey (Bronze)

I am smoking this now and I've smoked it before. It's pretty good with a glass of bourbon. Seems like alot of people hate it. When you get bored of your soapy latakia come back to this. It's real tobacco (not bad for a supermarket blend) and it smokes just fine and dandy - it's OK really.

I just tried this tobacco, it is pretty good. It does not bite, but it is a little strong. I would recommend this to people who like aromatic and stronger tobacco.

After reading the reviews for both Borkum Riff and Captain Black I'm confused. The concensus seems to be BR is bad and CB is great. IMHO, neither is very good but, in comparison, BR is much better. No offense to those of you who like the CB blends but they gag me with their sickeningly sweet sticky toppings. (Actually, gold label is the only CB blend I've tried. It was so nauseating I couldn't bring myself to try the other CB blends.) BR does have decent tobacco leaf and the casing enhances rather than hides the taste of the natural tobacco. It burns a tad bit hot if puffed too briskly but it stays lit and it doesn't bite. The first time I smoked Borkum Riff was in the early 1970"s and it was actually very good back then. Unfortunately, the ownership changed hands many times over the years and the quality suffered each time. Still, if drug store stuff is all that is available I buy a pouch of BR.

The more people tell me something is terrible, the more I want it. So, I ran down to a pharmacy (I believe it was RiteAid) and picked up a pouch. Yum! I can see where people wouldn't like this, but I am a fan of Bourbon, and, for the price, this was a fun and tasty smoke. Cheap, and my eccentric lover really enjoys the room note. If you like aromatic alcohol tobaccos and enjoy experimenting, then try this. If you don't, then don't.

This is only my second tobacco I've tried, the other being Captain Black Cherry. Of the two this is far superior. The taste reminds me of a cigar and while there is not a huge whiskey taste, it has all the burn. Would not recommend for those seeking a mild tobacco but for those who would like a tobacco with the burn of whiskey, pick this up. It was extremely mild, I only smoke every other week or so( and only one bowl) and unlike the Captain Black, I experienced no nicotine headache after smoking a bowl. I did how ever experience a sharp taste on my tongue when drinking soda afterward. overall a nice, cheap tobacco for smoking slowly and thoughtfully.

Ah, memory lane... I see we have two Borkum Riff whiskey blends here on TR being reviewed. I suspected they were the same with pouch styles leading to confusion. I am not going to clear that possible state up in the least. And I am going against the flow of the earlier reviews here with my opinion. Two days ago, while refilling an Rx at local supermarket I wandered over to tobacco shelves as I waited. There rested a single, lone pouch of Borkum Riff Whiskey in front of a full facing of BR Whiskey pouched as the image above. This lone pouch was in the familiar black and white with a red ribbon denoting "Whiskey". This was the package I was familiar with; I would never have bought the others. (Lesson for the power of visual branding in marketing). I bought it without hesitation despite panning reviews here. Back in 1970, when I once ran out of my #965 while on campus I went to local pharmacy to get something to smoke until I could get home to Tobak- Va Beach for 965 replenishment. BR was something new. I bought it. I smoked it. I liked it. (I know...heresy for an English fan). Later, upon return home I found this in a handsome tin and bought it as the trade-off smoke to my 965. I'm not sure why I quit it. Perhaps the Dunhill appealed more then, it certainly does now. Back to present day: I got home and grabbed my Kaywoodie billiard - a coincidence that this was the same pipe I used in college to smoke this. I lit up. Yuck. This couldn't be the same stuff I used to enjoy. Is everything "better in the past"? No, it was my pipe. After two bowls which gave me an astringent, chalky, almost bitey experience I set the pouch aside for storage and mentally prepared another panning review for my friends here. This afternoon, however, on a whim, I tried this in another pipe I keep for aromatics - a little used, but very clean, dry Brebbia and ...the pipe was the problem. This blend was as enjoyable for me, in small batches as I used to smoke it, as ever. Now, I wouldn't be buying more and I think there are both better and worse whiskeys available now, but I enjoyed it enough to (shock) rate it 3 stars

(and Kaywoodie is in dry dock)

I tried this one years ago as I was always attracted to the aroma when a fellow piper was smoking it. I had to smoke it slowly as it burned hot and would most definitely bite if puffed too hard. None of that delectable room note was ever present for me as I smoked it, and its overall flavor was way too mild. I always enjoyed it when it was in someone elses pipe, but not when in mine. That translates to 2 stars for me.

UPDATE 7-18-12: Picked up a 200 gram tin from JR Tobacco last night and must say it was better tasting than remembered. Still a very beautiful room note. All in all, raising it a star to recommended.

I tend to favor weird aromatics of this sort. I like the vanilla and cherry flavors but when I see this sort of aromatic I always give it a try. It had a musky flavor and smell similar to Sir Walter Raleigh aromatic and felt of same quality.

This isn't a bad tasting tobacco. It's casing is worthwhile and the tobacco they use isn't a bad quality for the money. It tastes pretty good smoked slowly but don't expect any 'woohooing' going on. I don't want to turn anyone away from it however and I do enjoy it with whiskey flavoured coffee in the afternoon or out on the porch. It's room note is quite nice, similar to a sweet whiskey that's sat in an open barrel for a couple days and allowed to evaporate until only sugar remained. If you want a pleasant smoke for peanuts then pick up a pack from your drug store. You may or may not pick up another. I do recommend it though and it's quality isn't too bad. It gets a little better with age and I do recommend for you to keep it's moisture content high or higher then as it comes as. Not a badly cased tobacco in my opinion.