Borkum Riff Original

I dislike rate a blend with just one star but in this case I can't do otherwise, I can overlook the boring lack of body and depth: this is not the worst blend I've smoked so I could give two stars except it is almost fireproof, that's too much!

A friend of mine smokes this one every day, so I get a pouch. Never ever again!

This is how mold and sugar would taste when smoked. On top of the taste being disgusting it's very hard to keep it lit.

Considering I have to pay nearly twice what I normally pay for PA I really expected better. I tried BR many years ago and didn't like it. Tried it again recently and I still don't like it. Some things really don't change. With tobacco that can sometimes be a good thing. Not this time.

I usually avoid to make negative comments on anything. If it is good, I praise it; if it is bad, I ignore it. But since this attitude defeats the purpose of writing here in this appraisal forum, I will act differently.

Borkum Riff is one of the most omnipresent pipe tobaccos in European drugstores. In spite of showing off an old sail ship in its packages, and although it is named after an dutch island and lighthouse, it is neither an old concoction nor is it made in the Netherlands; it's rather a modern, swedish product.

I bought it thinking that being manufactured in Scandinavia would assure a high quality level ? at the very least because these nordic people have a huge percentage of pipe smokers in their populations, much more so than the british, for instance. I was wrong. Provenance of the product is not everything.

Borkum Riff original smells flowery in the pouch, but has an intense mould-like aroma when smoked ? even if there is no sign of mould itself in the tobacco. The casing simply tastes so. I puffed some twenty bowls of it, just to make a fair assessment ? untill I gave up. Not only the taste was bad: the aftertaste was even worse, as if I had paved my tongue with tar. Truly unpleasant. I won't buy it or try it again.

I like many other reviewers on the forum tried this at the beginning of my pipe endeavors. that was well over 5 years ago and recently tried a bit from a friend. Still ghastly, tongue bite, bitter bottom half... I wont go on. If drug store brand is all you have the choosing of go Captain or Edward.

In succinct: A light Black Cavendish mixture with some chocolate topping that is barely noticeable when smoking. Unfortunately there is some kind of additional flavouring that I cannot identify and tastes rather chemical.

Good stuffing and burning properties. This mixture might be just about ok for beginners and somewhat handy to break-in new pipes if you don’t mind a minor ghosting in the pipes.

Very bland and very hot. No matter how gently I puffed this, it was hot. Fruity tasting, think Juicy Fruit Gum. Would not buy this one again...

The "Riff" is one of the earliest pipe tobacco blends I ever tried. It goes way back, and used to be a mainstay for several years. When I saw this at a local gas station I had to purchase a pouch (it's the first time I noticed this on a store shelf in many, many, years).

The tobacco itself is unusual—it's a ribbon cut, but the tobacco is so infused with stuff, many of the ribbons appear rolled. The blend smoked hot, and it nearly nipped me several times, but I warded off the dogs with a slower cadence. The taste was instantly familiar, and, believe it or not, I rather enjoyed it (when it wasn't attempting to put the chomp on me). The room note was pleasant. If you don't prefer tobaccos with a lot of chemicals in it (like me), you should skip this blend.

But...

Nostalgia is what made smoking this blend interesting. Memories of my early days at my local pipe shop came flooding back—pleasant memories. So, I guess, if a tobacco can do this for you, it can't be all bad!

Keep on pipin'