Borkum Riff Mixture with Bourbon Whiskey (Bronze)

So I bought this on a whim when I saw it. Sounded interesting so I grabbed a 1.5oz pouch.

It went something like this. The first time I tried it, I was not a fan. It tasted like carboard, literally. I got no bourbon flavor, or any flavor for that matter. It burned super quick and hot to the point I ditched it about 1.2 way through. I honestly thought about throwing all of it away, but then figured maybe someone I know likes it and, not wanting to waste tobacco i thought I'd hang on to it just in case. I then thought that perhaps this was a pouch that sat on the shelf for a long time and maybe just needed to be rejuvenated. So I out it in a mason jar with a humidipak in it and let it sit for two days.

I tried it again today and I did notice an improvement. I now taste a very subtle hint of bourbon and also noticed it burned a bit slower. I still think this stuff is pretty sub-par but not to the point where I want to chuck it into the trash. It's a light smoke with hardly any room note and to be honest, has somewhat of a Marlboro Light taste... which is off-putting. In the end, I still think this stuff is trash but maybe I'll keep it around and store it for a while to see if it continues to improve. That being said, I'd pass on this stuff

Update: Yeah it still sucks and I ended up adding it to the campfire we had last night.

When I started smoking pipes many years ago I took on a few blends: Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey, Captain Black Original, CAO Eileen's Dream, and Peterson Sherlock Holmes.

I decided to get back too all of these and review them after all these years. See if they bring any memories, do I recommend them or not now that I got more experience.

Here's my #1 review: Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey.

The pouch note is of some kind of topping. To me it doesn't really smell like bourbon per say, but it is of slightly sweet and alcoholic note.

Right at the beginning of the smoke, however, this flavor disappears. What we're left with is an extremely mild blend of Virginia and Black Cavendish, and not of a high quality.

Somewhere at the half point I sometimes get tiny notes of mint, for some reason. Otherwise, it's a very mild sweet note. Not really getting anything else out of it. It too often just feels like I'm getting hot air and nothing more.

For someone that enjoys fuller and stronger blends, the mildness means that I automatically try to get more out of it by having a faster cadence, which can cause it to get a bit too hot. It's a ribbon cut which packs easily. Requires couple of relights. Moisture is good in the pouch and stays good for awhile.

This is for someone who likes them mild. Very mild. However, this blend is just too expensive for what you're getting. I simply can't recommend it.

Is good smoke pleasant taste great aromatic love the blend. It doesn't bite like other otc tobaccos. One of my favorites to smoke while out in the woods.

Ah the blend I bought with my first pipe, a Grabow Savoy as I recall. I really didn't enjoy this blend as a newbie I remember it burning my tongue and BRW tasting hot and sour. If I knew then what I know now. Hindsight is always 20/20 now isn't it? I recently bought two pouches of this from my local CVS for cheap when they dropped tobacco products from their inventory.

BRW is blended from less expensive foreign grown tobacco but does not hinder the redeeming qualities of this tobacco. It packs great and lights reasonably well. You have to smoke this one low and slow to enjoy the subtleties of this tobacco. I can taste the Virginia's and the Whiskey gives this blend a nice overtone of sweetness with a leathery back note. This tobacco will burn completely leaving a fine gray ash. If you smoke this one fast it is certain to set you tongue ablaze. If you sip it you can reap a decent reward from a drugstore blend staple that still sells for a reasonable price even at full retail.

This blend does not rate high enough to make my rotation, but certainly can't be dismissed as an unsmokeable offering.

Borkum Riff - Bourbon Whiskey.

The ribbons are uniform in size and of a decent hydration. The aroma's weird, it smells much stronger than it smokes.

The smoke's flavour isn't offensive, but it just bores me. The whiskey isn't as strong as I expected it to be, and the tobaccos give a flavour I can only really describe as flat. The burn's ok, it only seems warm when stressed, and I have to really 'provoke' it to get a bite!

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: quite innocuous.

Not good, not bad, just a little mundane.

Somewhat recommended.

Well, you have to let it breed for a little and will become quite tasty and pleasant... but there are many other blends with the same qualifications, some cheaper some more expensive. Anyway, it's not a disappointment so you should try at least once. Burn evenly and fair, no tong bite, no strange pipe heating... it's good enough and that's all.

I bought a 50g pouch as my local tobbacconist only stocks erinmore mixture and borkum riff blends and i wanted to find a tobacco that was local available rather than trekking into the city or waiting on mail order. I chose the bourbon as I like bourbon and other sweet whiskies. I liked the cool mouth feel but the blend lacks flavor. If you're primarily a cigarette smoker I think you would like this blend. There is very little bourbon flavor.

First of all it triggers strong chemical reactions in the mouth. Not a good one.

One day i started to feel really pleasant taste, while having cool burn with small sips. However, just after that it kicked my mouth and that sweet taste never came back again from this blend.

The bad thing is, I still have more than half a kilogram of this. Probably I am not going to open the boxes(!) for years. Then we'll see.

This is just a plain drugstore variety. I got a coupon in the mail to try this for a dollar so i did. It wasn't that bad but there was really nothing good about it. Lots of tongue bite. The smell was somewhat pleasant and the flavor was bland. I had the hardest time keeping it lit however. I smoked 3 bowls, I packed one my regular way, one very lightly and for the last I really jammed the tobacco in tight. Surprisingly that last bowl stayed lit the best. Bottom line.... Don't get it.