4noggins Bald Headed Teacher

(3.37)
The old-fashioned burley taste comes through in full form, nutty and brisk, hitting on tangy notes along the way as the Virginia components catch on. There's just enough Latakia to provide no more than perhaps a seasoning effect.

Details

Brand 4noggins
Blended By Rich Gottlieb
Manufactured By 4noggins
Blend Type Burley Based
Contents Burley, Latakia, Virginia
Flavoring Other / Misc
Cut Ribbon
Packaging Bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.37 / 4
45

22

8

4

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 79 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 14, 2014 Medium Very Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The nutty, toasty, earthy, slightly molasses sweet burleys are the stars. The tart and tangy citrusy, bready, sugary, slightly spicy bright Virginia is lightly grassy, while the sugary stoved Virginias are tangy dark fruity, earthy, and woody as supporting players. I notice the brighter Va. a little more than the stoved. The Cyprian Latakia is a smokey, woodsy, earthy, musty sweet, slightly floral minor supporting player. The mildly fruity, slightly vanilla-ish toppings tone down the tobacco taste just a mite. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. No chance of bite or harshness, but it does have a few small rough notes. It may need a slight dry time. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent, mostly smooth, sweet and mildly savory flavor. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. The after taste and room note pleasantly linger. It’s not quite an all day smoke, but it’s certainly repeatable. Three and a half stars for this version.

Update 2-10-2023. This review is for the current non-McClelland version which is rather different from the previous manufacture. The burleys provide a lot of earth, wood, nuts, toast and light molasses as the lead components. The gold Virginia offers plenty of tartly sour citrus, distracting acidic sour lemon, grass/hay, sugar, bread, floralness, and light spice as a competitive supporting player. The Cyprian Latakia is a notch more potent in this mixture: smoky, earthy, woody, leathery, mildly floral, herbal, and sweet. The stoved Virginia chips in with light tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, sugar, and bread. The fruity, syrup like vanilla-ish toppings very mildly tone down the tobaccos. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it tends to tingle a tongue if puffed fast. Burns a tad warm at a reasonable rate with a very consistent nutty, fruity, sweet, sour, floral, acidic, mildly smoky flavor that extends to the lingering after taste. The room note borders on being tolerable. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not quite an all day smoke. Due to the toppings, the basic flavor is sort of similar to the older BHT, but the acidic sourness, syrup and tongue tingle potential reduce this to one star, and my current TR rating reflects this production.

-JimInks
38 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 24, 2013 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild Very Pleasant
Ordered from 4noggins on the strength of others' reviews. At first I thought this was not going to be a happy ending. Moisture content of the fine ribbon straight out of the pouch made it impossible to stay lit. However, upon drying beyond reasonable time (open pouch was left for days) I discovered that it has some promise. After a few weeks I thought this could be a keeper.

Lit easily when dry and stayed lit. Colour of the smoke indicated quite a bit of residual moisture despite drying the leaf almost to the point of crunchiness. Burley flavour predominates early on, and there is an almost vanilla-like gentle sweetness that stays throughout the bowl. It is not overwhelming, and unlike "proper" vanilla blends there is no vanilla ghost in the pipe (I am using Georg Jensen handmade Danish briar with a 9mm filter).

I have not been able to detect very much Latakia - if anything, it is somewhat complex flavour of mixed Virginia that becomes pronounced later in the bowl. Can't fault the flavour or mildness. No bite once dried and smoked gently.

Added comment almost a year later: I am growing unexpectedly fond of this fine honest no-nonsense blend, and will happily continue with it and with Owl's Head as my favourite non-aro blends. Both are made by Rich Gottlieb who seems to have a magic touch when it comes to choosing and blending seemingly unspectacular tobacco leaf into something out of this world.
Pipe Used: Georg Jensen briar with 9mm filter
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: fresh out of the pouch
29 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 24, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium Very Pleasant
This is a reincarnation of the old Barking Dog if my taste buds serve me correctly. Perhaps a little more power in the strength department. A cool burning blend with a touch of something extra (perhaps the Virginia component?) that makes this blend more than just a little special.
27 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 17, 2010 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
Out of about three dozen tobaccos I've smoked over the last fifteen plus years, this is my all time favorite. I used to worship at the alter of Sam Gawith, but now, it's 'Sam who?'

This weed is good any time of day in any weather, inside our out, when you need a lift or just want to sit and cogitate. I can also smoke it when agitated without over-dosing or burning my mouth.

Before I ran into this I was sure I was an Old Virginie, latakia and Perique smoker or nothing. I figured burley was for beginners starting out with drug store stuff or old coots who got their baccy off the back forty. I was wrong.

I also really like that this stuff has awakened the Thoreau in me, as I don't have to be messin' with all kinds of different blends to keep interested. Simplicity=BHT, my one and only.
15 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 13, 2010 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I find this tobacco tough to classify. It really isn't an American style English, but doesn't fall solidly into the typical aromatic catogory either. It's somewhat sweet, but it burns clean and dry. I mainly smoke English/Balkan blends but I find myself coming back to this fine smoke as a wonderrful change of pace. One would really have to puff along to pull a tongue bite out of this fine blend. Like many of Rich's blends, this one's a winner.
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 23, 2014 Medium Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
Hello, my warm greetings to the whole community.

This is my first posting. I am just starting in the world of pipes after a long cigar-exclusive period.

It all started in Turkey. I was strolling in the lush Sultanahmet neighborhood in Istabul (as a backpacking explorer in my college youth) when I noticed a peculiar corner store with eye-catching white pipes inside. I have never seem the like of them, and as I always buy a legitimate craft item from any of the (29 now) countries I visit, I opened the door.

I was told by the vendor that those were meerschaum pipes and that they were a very special type, made with a rock that is almost exclusively found in Turkey. Among the hundreds of impressive pipes, I chose a half-bent standard type decorated with small holes in different diameters. I loved the way it looked.

Before leaving turkey for Greece, I bought Captain Black Gold, the most expensive tobacco in a nearby shop. I smoked it in a cool night at the upper deck of a huge ferry taking me to Crete. I liked it, but it didn't ring any bells.

Then a 16-year pipeless period passed. Until a couple of months ago when my cigar tobacconist advised me to try a pipe with Dunhill's 965. 965 really opened my eyes. It was more complex than even my best cigars. It gave me a nice oral-fixation pleasure. It required attention to smoke properly and brought me to a profound contemplative state. I was hooked.

So, with the help of Rich from 4noggins, I started a battle with the sinister, unfair and ruthless Brazilian customs. Together, we won and now I have a world of interesting blends to explore.

Starting with BHT: I am not a fan of burley-heavy blends, but BHT is an exception, because it is so balanced. I get toast, a delicate, refined sweetness, and some misterious complexity from the nicely measured latakia. It smokes cool and I managed the humidity with a wood filter. Highly recommended.

Happy bowls for all,

Renato
Pipe Used: Savinelly churchwarden and others
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: New
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 05, 2016 Medium Mild Mild to Medium Tolerable
4noggins - Bald Headed Teacher.

Seeing as hair isn't listed as a flavouring I'm guessing that an employee of 4noggins is a blonde? Possibly a female as the length of the strand I pulled from my pouch didn't suggest a male hairdo! Anyhoo, that's my detective skills put to the test and I'm not sure whether or not the name Sherlock will suit me, so on with the smoke:

The Burley, without a shadow of a doubt, makes up the majority of it. Quite high quality: nutty, raw, and toasty. The Virginia and Latakia, on the other hand, account for far less. The Latakia gives a tiny amount of woodiness; TINY, and the Virginia lends a little freshness to the mix. At first, I only get a very delicate note of any added flavouring, it seems too mild to quantify what it is. But, once the first quarter has been burned all becomes clear: Vanilla. There's also what tastes like an added sweetness. This flavouring's just the right weight to give extra character, but not lots of tongue bite.

The room-note's only tolerable and the nicotine's medium.

Bald Headed Teacher? It's alright, but if I weren't deliberately searching for the Virginia and Latakia, it would seem like quite a simple vanilla Burley. One pipe's nice, a second's okay, and a third is just boring.

Somewhat recommended.
Pipe Used: Altinok straight billiard meer'
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: New
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 27, 2017 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
Really nice tasting smoke. The Burley leads for most of the bowl, but the Lat gets stronger as it progresses, nearly catching the Burley by the end. The Virginias provide a background. The vanilla topping is very noticeable in the first half and fades just a little during the second. The second half of this is very nearly sublime. Wonderful stuff.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is mild. Burns very well.
Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus
PurchasedFrom: 4 Noggins
Age When Smoked: fresh
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 11, 2015 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
I really wanted to try this tobacco after reading all the positive reviews, so I decide to open a 2 oz. jar that I had in my "cellar". Upon opening it I was hit by a flavor of burley(that I usually hate) that made me immediatly skeptical about this tobacco, associating it with an alcoholical topping. The first charring light left me astonished, was I smoking an EM? That's impossibile, let me relight it and smoke it. No, it can't be real, I feel the smokiness of Latakia interplaying with the sweetness of Virginia, but it leaves my mouth completely fresh thanks to the burley! Where is the casing gone? It's fluctuating in the air with a hint of vanilla that only the non-smokers are noticing. This must be a sorcery! An aromatic disguised as an English Mixture! I recommend it to all the people that want something sweet but still interesting, even without the orientals, a bit of aging will compensate the lack. May need a bit of drying.

(P.S. I found it divine smoking it in a pipe in which I previously smoked some SG Commonwealth).
Pipe Used: MM Corn Cob, Stanwell DM 1986, Savinelli Roma
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: 3.5 years
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 25, 2013 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I received this as a free sample from 4Noggins with my first order from the same. I was highly impressed with the speed at which they shipped my order and, of course, throwing in free samples is always a nice touch. I see myself buying a lot more from them in the future.

On to the tobacco itself. I don't think it would be too fair to rate this low as I didn't have the opportunity to smoke enough to form a proper opinion and since it didn't cost me anything, that would just be in poor form. So this opinion may not be too helpful.

I did find the blend to have a bit of a topping as there was sweetness from something and it was not a virginia sweetness, rather a vanilla type sweetness, perhaps the burleys are cavendish processed. Because that was my immediate thoughts. I don't typically like too much sweet with a lat blend, but didn't mind this one too much.

I feel this falls in the american english or scottish genre. There are others that I, no doubt, prefer over this blend, but I did enjoy it, particularly in my Meer.
6 people found this review helpful.
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