Benjamin Hartwell Evening Stroll

When I read that older version of this stuff used leaves from McClelland, I got all sentimental and decided to order a recently made tin (even though it no longer has the magical mashup). I was loath to do so, since me and Sutliff products rarely get along.

The open tin smelled OK, something of a poor man's Lane 1Q with a boozy stink that helped mask whatever was lurking inside. The ribbons were thin and quite moist, needing some dry time. The paper doily was stained and it just came across as another cheaply overly topped Aromatic. The lit product was neither harsh, nor particularly pleasant. It didn't taste like anything specific, not terribly sweet, just kinda chemically. Much like drinking a whiskey flavored spirit vs actual whiskey with depth.

I put the brakes on halfway through the tin and "gifted" the rest.

I must of bought one of the last batches of Evening Stroll, as I noticed it is not being produced anymore, so in conclusion... take the McClelland soul out, and the beast just dies off.

This blend is perfect it has all the calming and satisfying ascents ones needs for a good smoke. Also my wife loves the room note (big win)

The description on this one lives up to every letter. The jar note is mouthwatering with waves of vanilla, spice, and baked sweets hitting you full on as soon as the lid is removed. The moisture of the blend is damp bordering on wet and some extra dry time is certainly in order. As such, the blend is a little slow to light and requires frequent relighting. The flavor from the first draw is wonderful with that vanilla note immediately coming out on top. Further back on the palate hints of spices are present and I detect perhaps a faint cinnamon along with nutmeg with a sweet almost fruity finish. My olfactory senses are alive like a child in grandma’s kitchen with freshly baking cookies and other treats. The room note is very pleasing. I imagine even non-smokers would fight for a spot near you as you enjoy this blend. (A plus when smoking outdoors) The burn is a little uneven as the blend is so moist and slight gurgling is present with a deep draw of the stem. As before stated, frequent relighting is necessary if you’ve neglected a good dry time but the smoke is very enjoyable nonetheless. I find that the blend is slow burning (due to moisture no doubt) and the large bowl has lasted, to my enjoyment, well over an hour. A fair amount of moisture is present in the bowl requiring the ash and small amount of remaining tobacco to be scraped out. A fair amount of cleaning must be done before putting the pipe away; an always time consuming but necessary chore. With a little extra drying time this would be an exceptional aromatic blend to enjoy all day. You’ll almost certainly make a few new friends with this delectable aroma burning in your bowl.

For those who know me you know that Virginia tobaccos and I are not the best of friends,this tobacco happens to be the exception. This tobacco was given to me by a friend who knew about my aversion to Virginia tobacco,he removed any thing from the tin to let me know what it was. From first light I thought this is is going to bad but after a few puffs the what I swear was that Virginia turned into something divine! The smoke billowed around my head and the aroma was that of,well lets say it reminded me of a funnel cake with a REAL whipped cream spiced and flavored with vanilla and the smells of summer at grandma's. Not once did I have any bite nor did it burn hot.I don't know how long the tin has been opened and if the tobacco was dried out or not but this tin had some pretty dry tobacco. After smoking this and dying to know what it was my friend produced a brand new tin and needless to say I was mortified and surprised at the same time,mortified that I smoked a Virginia tobacco and surprised that I did indeed like it! The tin that I did buy was rather moist and did need to dry out because the first bowl I smoked from it left me with a gurgling pipe and a few nasty wet surprises in the bottom of my pipe. Over all I do enjoy this tobacco and buy it on a semi regular basis and anyone who like a very pleasant aromatic this is for you. If you don't enjoy aromatics don't even bother.

**I Just received an email from my contact at Sutliff (formerly Altadis) and she said they do not offer a bulk Evening Stroll so i am not sure who is supplying Cup O Joe's but it is not the Bulk Evening Stroll...**

This is bizarre, I could have sworn I reviewed Evening Stroll ten years ago when the BH series first came out... anywhoo this was IMO the best of the BH series and one of the finest aromatics I have ever smoked. The strength is much too low for me to not cut with 5 Brothers or another strong Burley but when mixed it creates the finest smelling aromatic. ES is a vanilla / alcohol topping a traditional Cavendish mixture that is extremely mild and does not contain any nicotine whatsoever. Marketed by Altadis but I do belive these were all manufactured by McClelland, at least the other two of the series were (based on them having the McClelland Vinegar nose that I love). A real gem here with beautiful tin art and a delightful short story about Benjamin Hartwell in the Victorian time period. The room note, quality and presentation all add up to my favorite aromatic, and it has been since 2004 or so, just remember that it does not have any strength or tobacco taste so make sure you cut it with a plain Burley or strong Virginia Flake unless you are a new pipe smoker. Great blend for someone new to smoking a pipe and wants something that smells like what you would expect a pipe tobacco to smell like.

I reviewed this back in 2010. It was okay for an aromatic smelled okay tasted okay.You should buy this blend just to try it at least once. The can artwork was kind of neat it had me wondering about the possibilities of the blend. Vanilla.

This is one of those tobacco's that for someone getting into pipe smoking for the first, and of course, looking for an aromatic, would be a good enough tobacco to experiment with. Upon opening the can you can certainly smell the casing. It has a rather liquidy-like vanilla smell to it. It is extremely moist, which is no surprise given that it is an aromatic. As a suggestion, you should probably let it air dry a bit so as not to clog your pipe, which because of it's mild nature will inevitably lead one to smoke at a rather fast paste, thus air drying might alleviate that a bit. However, it is moist so be prepared for a bit of clogging. As far flavor goes, well, what can I say, it's as mild as they come. You will probably get nothing past the casing, which severely limits this blend for seasoned pipe smokers. In addition to this, if you smoke it fast, be prepared for tongue bite so take your time and try to enjoy it. For new pipe smokers this will certainly meet your aromatic "grandfather" room note that probably got you into pipe smoking to begin with. Although I rarely smoke aromatics, I do have a couple of tins of this and primarily use it as a social smoke given the extreme pleasant smell, which when in a public area with non-smokers always garners positive comments; a certain plus in a state like NY where anti-tobacco measures are on the rise.

Aromatics do not make up a large part of my normal rotation. I only have enough patience and sweet tooth for about one bowl a month so, when I smoke one, I want it to be premium. This is a quality smoke. The tin smell is a little disconcerting as it is a lot like a putting your face into a strawberry sundae. It is heavily cased so it does burn hot but, with care not to overpuff it really does taste great. Vanilla and carimel dominate with little hints of cherry(in agood way! Mid-bowl I got the distinct ntaste of waffles with maple syrup that carried on to the ashes diminishing into a pleasant toasty vanilla flavor. Not really much to say about tobacco flavor but the smoke is well behaved enough and the flavorings are natural and pleasant enough for myself to call this an enjoyable change of pace.

This is definitely some sweet weed, and trying to bring the sweetheart around to my bad habits that's the single most important thing at the moment. It'll make your room smell like some amazing confectionery. However, even as a novice smoker I realize it's not the most exciting blend to taste. The casing is nice, of course, but the underlying blend is fairly weak tea. I've also noticed a kind of bad egg taste if I have to relight, a feature unique to this tin in my limited experience. But it burns into fine white ash right down to the bottom most of the time, and it's pretty hard to get it to bite.

No bite, acceptable taste, wonderful smell- given my priorities, I'm fine with Evening Stroll.