Benjamin Hartwell Evening Stroll

Oh, my word, Mr. Hartwell! The tin says you created this stuff so a dandy would attract the ladies when he took his evening strolls. I knew this one would be a problem as soon as I lifted the plastic lid off the tin. Can you believe I could smell the casing before popping the top? Initial nose: Senakot, the chocolate pebble laxative my mother forced down my gullet when I was a child. Warning: wash your hands after you touch this stuff. I think the leaf is coated in Bosco. Hint of sweetness? Are they kidding?! I?ve never had resin on my fingers after loading a pipe until now. I dropped a couple pieces of tobacco on my white socks, and now they?re stained. This stuff has more moisture than a botanic garden. This is nothing more than a glorified Captain Black. A stringy, Cavendish with enough casing to wax your floor, not to mention your tongue. The smoke is reminiscent of the first aromatics I ever tried, so it brought back about three seconds of pleasant memories. As W. C. Fields said: ?those were the good old days, I hope they never come again.? Much thicker than anything Tinder Box ever made, including Norse Gold or Middleton?s Cherry Blend. It smokes hot due to all the sugar in the leaf. It glopped my pipe. This is Altadis/Lane Limited crapola to the 10th power. Here is another tin I?ll be dropping off shortly at Iwan Ries for their customer sampler cabinet. Nod to Gentleman Murdoch the next time you see him and ask him how his ladies are doing, but please don?t put this tobacco in your pipe!

½ of five stars.

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.

An imitation of Topic Town and Autumn Evening, as it happens with most Altadis tobaccos.

It definitely has a very nice aroma when you open the box, and absolutely gives off a very nice scent in the room when you smoke it. I believe though it cannot live up to the smoking performance of the other similar two; plus it leaves a bitterness in the mouth, which in my opinion is caused by the extra or bad Burley it contains. It provokes a lot of coughing.

Ok, I bought it because my friend Erinmoreathens suggested it. Nothing else.

I picked this tin up along with quite a few samples from the Altidis table at the 2007 Chicago Pipe show. For me, this blend is just a glorified drug store tobacco.

I can't say anything bad about the burning qualities other than it tended to get a bit goopy in my bowl. But what I liked least about this tobacco blend is the fact that it is to heavily cased and moist. It feels somewhat sticky to the touch.

This is not my kind of tobacco blend. Maybe I'm just not an aromatic fan, but I do like my tobacco drier.

It does have fairly pleasant room note, and I have to admit that it is flavorable. And it does stay lit.

But that's about the most I can say for this blend.

The problem with Altidis aromatic blends is they seem very similar in taste more or less. Of course I could sy the sam thing for many C & D blends as well.

But my point is that Altidis tobacco blends all seem to have that same drug store quality taste. Something aking to Half & Half which also is not my cup of tea.

I suppose that is why I grabbed so many Altidis samples from the table at the show this year.

I'm looking for something from them that is different. Well, I still have a big bagful of unopened blends from them still to smoke.

Perhaps, I'll find what I am looking for in that bag!

Update 11-2-06: To better enjoy the flavor of this blend, don't let it air out too much before you smoke it. I usually like my tobacco to be drier than this comes in the tin, but drying it out makes for a VERY mild flavor. Smoking it right out of the tin provides a more flavorful smoke. However it can gurgle on occasion.

I have been smoking a pipe for about three years now, and I'm starting to prefer VA flakes. But I still enjoy an aromatic blend now and again. I kept reading really nice things about Evening Stroll on this site, so I finally decided to invest in a tin of my own.

The tin aroma is indeed very nice. Smells sweet and creamy. My tin was very moist and needed to dry for a while before I lit it up. This stuff lights easy and stays lit. And it smokes cool. I can't get it to bite. It burns to a nice fine ash. It smells great while you're smoking it.

I only have one complaint about Evening Stroll. The taste. Where is it? I can't taste anything when I smoke this stuff. There are no particular casing or tobacco flavors. The main reason I turn to an aromatic is for a tasty treat. Evening Stroll just lacks too much in the flavor department for me. If I want a good aromatic tobacco I can just get a bag of one of the fine house blends from my local pipe shop. They taste and smell great, plus they're a lot cheaper.