Borkum Riff Original

You don't have to read too many of the reviews here to see this blend is somewhat vilified. Most reviewers were not fans at all. The truth is, the fact that this blend can be found in almost any gas station and grocery store in my area means it must have some redeeming factors and popularity.

I purchased this blend because I received a coupon from the manufacturer allowing me to purchase a pouch for only one dollar. Here in Vermont tobacco taxes are somewhere in the 90% area so a pouch of this blend was marked 13.99 in the store. Not going to pay that for a pouch, but who would turn down a pouch of pipe tobacco for only one dollar?

Overall this blend was not terrible by any means. It certainly was not great either. It was quite blase to me. Very subtle flavors, boring if you will.

On opening the pouch I first noticed the tobacco was very dry. There is no way to know how long this pouch was sitting on the shelves, but I do know that recently Borkum Riff redesigned their packaging (and they look great by the way) so I know this pouch was not too old.

The pouch aroma was very pleasant, and upon light the initial tastes were good. Very vanilla and fig like. This tobacco burned very well and although it was not exciting I did not have too much trouble with tongue bite.

Every once in a while a strange pine like flavor would pop up. It was not totally unenjoyable, in fact at times it was quite nice.

Certainly would not buy it at its normal price but glad I got to give this one a run.

Borkum Riff Original is a perfectly good tobacco so long as you smoke it expecting and ready for what it is--a verrrry light aromatic. If you light up wanting a full aromatic you will puff too hard trying to get more flavor, and with the somewhat dry ribbon cut which burns rather fast igniting even faster, you will wind up with a scorched tongue. Hold in mind that for most of the half century or so this blend has been on the market it was labelled Borkum Riff Ultra Light.

The head note as I write this review declares this blend is "strong but soft to smoke with neutral light aroma." It does possess the neutral light aroma, not particularly room filling, but pleasant enough for those around you. Strong it is not. The mixture is 40% Virginia and 60% cavendish treated burley. The taste does not provide a strong smoke. It is not unpleasant, although it borders on being insipid. The flavoring, vanilla with a tinge of chocolate, just barely comes across. There is nothing wrong with that so long as you do not light the pipe with a yen for a full aromatic.

As a contemplative tobacco, smoked with full attention upon the pipe, this offering is far too tame. As a utility tobacco, puffed while your full attention is upon something else, it can offer a quite satisfactory experience. In the morning I normally peruse several daily newspapers on the internet. Smoking Borkum Riff Original while thus engaged is a pleasant enough experience. The only real drawback to puffing this tobacco in this fashion is that several cheaper OTC mixtures do just as well if not better.

Borkum Riff Original will not ghost a pipe unless smoked repeatedly in the same bowl. If you rotate your pipes you should encounter no problem in this regard.

In sum, smoke this only if you are ready for a light smoke that is just barely aromatic.

Borkum Riff Original.

The unlit mixture, strangely for an aromatic, is a little one the dry side. The aroma from it is quite subtle, it doesn't imply a 'sticky' smoke's coming.

Like in the pouch-note the vanilla's quite a light flavour, however, the tobaccos are fairly equal, neither one steals the show, so both can be appreciated. It's alright but begins to bore about half way through. Half way? A point which arrives in short time: it burns fast. And can also issue a bite.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

Two stars, it becomes mundane after half a bowl.

Somewhat recommended.

---Update 10/8/2022--- I am forced to downgrade my verdict. The subsequent pouches I smoked generated tongue irritation, doubtless provoked by whichever humectant is used by STG to keep the tobacco moist over a longer period. The taste is still really interesting and, so is the roomnote, but the irritation seriously impedes on the overall smoking experience. It was better in a Peterson System but then, my mouthroof became irritated. ---Original review 12/18/2021--- My impressions of this mixture are obviously completely different than the great majority of reviews. I seriously wonder: why this disparity? Why is it that I have really enjoyed this tobacco? That I did find it had tobacco taste? That the burn was ideal? The casing, extremely pleasant without being obtrusive? This is very curious. To the review. The tobacco in the pouch was just right in terms of moisture. The pouch aroma was slightly sweet with something akin to the Mixture with Bourbon Whisky. Black Cavendish takes about half of the composition with the rest being Virginias and Burleys. Very easy to fill and it does not require further rubbing out. The tobacco lights up easily over all the surface. The tobacco taste is true to the pouch aroma: vanilla, chocolate, yes, with Cavendish and Burleys in the background which provide a very subtle sour taste that is not unpleasant at all. There is nicotine here, ladies and gents, about mild to medium. Past the half way point, the casing becomes less appearent and the tobacco taste more present. It smokes wonderfully and has left no messy dottle. Having gone through almost all the pouch, I cannot say I have experienced tongue bite or that the tobacco was harsh nor burned hot. I also have some Univerity Flake, G & H Best Brown #2, and Mac Baren Modern Virginia open at the moment and have been reaching for the MO most of the time! In summary, I have been taken completely by surprise by this lovely mixture and have ordered many more pouches.

This is a good pipe tobacco but it burns the tongue no matter how slow you smoke it. I enjoy the flavor, but the tongue burn is a big problem.

I bought a sample pack of Borkum Riff as it seems to be one of the more readily availible tobaccos in the uk. The first thing I noticed was that it was very dry, meaning it was very easily lit. Infact one breif lick of a match was all that was needed for the whole bowl. I have to say there was no immediately noticable flavour, but as I sipped away very subtle notes of vanilla came through. I smoked the bowl very slowly and had next to no tongue bite but suspect if smoked any quicker it would have been very unforgiving. All in all it was not an unpleasant smoke, but is certainly not a game changer for me. There was a plesant aftertaste and the bowl was very dry at the end, no goop left at all - to be expected from such a dry mix.

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'

Upon opening the pouch I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth prune or raisin-like sweet quality to the tobacco. The moisture level seemed absolutely perfect from the pouch... dry enough to smoke and enough moisture to feel with your fingertips. Could be a nice change from most pipe tobaccos today that come sopping wet. The tobacco seems a nice mixture of black and brown leaf. Loads and lights easily with good flavor and room note. Does burn down a little faster than most tobaccos, however it burns clean to the bottom with a fine ash. Overall I'm satisfied with this tobacco for a drug store blend.

Edit: I think the main “beef” with it is that it is very light in nicotine and dry from the pouch. This dryness along with a thin, almost shag-like, ribbon cut causes the tobacco to ignite like forest floor tinder. After that bowl is gone you may load up another since this one was so light...

i dont know what to write about this tobacco... it has nice flavor, but it dont stop biting in tonge ... it is nothing special