Boswell Pipes & Tobacco Bear Blend
(3.40)
Bear Blend - A very bold smoke. Cherry caramel tasting tobacco that our good friends John & Bill blended here at our store along with Dan. Together they captured the complexity and full bodied flavor of the blended premium tobaccos. The result will dazzle your senses.
Details
| Brand | Boswell Pipes & Tobacco |
| Blended By | J.M Boswell |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | Aromatic |
| Contents | Cavendish, Latakia, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Caramel, Cherry |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin, bulk |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild to Medium
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Very Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.40 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 21 - 30 of 47 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2017 | Mild | Medium | Medium | Very Pleasant |
I have recently returned to Aromatics. I enjoy them as a first smoke of the day with strong coffee and occasionally in the evening for dessert. Boswell and Uhle's are pretty much what I like to stick to as they are very reliable and not overly cased. The tin note on Bear Blend is amazing, best part of any aromatic. I could use a satchel to hang in my office! It is a pleasant cherry vanilla aroma and reminds me of what pipe tobacco smells like in my minds early definitions from childhood and my great grandfathers. I have read others reviews that there is Latakia in this blend, it is not in the tin description, I don't see it and it isn't on the Boswell's web site as part of the blend. Maybe it is in there but I do not detect it in tin note or smoke at all. I dry all of my aromatics for hours (I like drier tobacco to begin with and these just take longer to dry). Once dried out the flavor is a pleasure to smoke and burns at a moderate pace. Cherry is the first thing I get and it starts to fade a bit and the vanilla topping comes in to really harmonize nicely with the other flavors. The Virginia's and I assume Virginia Cavendish is what I get in tobacco flavor. Nice sweet earthy notes, some grassiness and even some brown sugar. This is a great flavored blend and as odd as it sound it has all of those flavors but isn't overly sweet, if that makes any sense. Room note is spectacular. This is one to smoke walking down a city street and you will be complemented on your smoking choice. Perhaps because I dry it out there is not much moisture in the bowl when done. Another great tobacco from Boswell!
Pipe Used:
cobs and briars
PurchasedFrom:
Bosewell Pipes and Tobacco
Age When Smoked:
less than 1 year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 2015 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Love this blend. Mild,great room note,no bite. One of the blends I reach for more often. Stays lit, no goop in bottom of bowl. Could smoke it all day and not get tired of it.
Pipe Used:
Savinelli
PurchasedFrom:
Boswells
Age When Smoked:
Few weeks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 22, 2015 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Like most of Boswell's blends, this one is perfectly suited to breaking in a new Boswell pipe. But for more existential pursuits, there are certainly better blends out there.
Pipe Used:
Boswell freehand
PurchasedFrom:
Boswell's
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 22, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Boswells Bear Blend is a very pleasant aromatic. I love the smell and flavor of it. Its not too heavily cherry flavored, and the caramel comes in at the end quite nicely. Good tobacco foundation comes through with each puff, but its smooth and has no bite. I have a favorite sweater I wear at home. When I have a bowl of Bear Blend while wearing it, my wife is happy to give me a hug, snuggling her nose into my shoulder and chest. I like the aroma too. Not much more can be asked of an aromatic - smooth, no bite, great aroma, pleasing to the wife, and flavorful. Comforable, friendly, pipe tobacco. Really quite good.
PurchasedFrom:
Boswells Tobacco
Age When Smoked:
recent
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 12, 2013 | Mild to Medium | Medium | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This is a pretty good blend. Slight cherry flavor and a good sweetness. Reminds me of pipes and pleasures pipemaker blend. I like it enough to keep some on hand. It's a good all day smoke for sure.
PurchasedFrom:
Boswell Pipes & Tobacco
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 21, 2013 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Love this blend. It's an aro with some real tobacco taste. I find it relaxes me every time I light it up. In fact if my golf game is going south a bowl of bear immediately gets me focused and loose. I know, sounds crazy
but true. I catch no hint of Latakia but the Virginia's and the light casing make this one of my favorite aromatics. Worth anyones time and money to try it. Another winner from Boswell.
but true. I catch no hint of Latakia but the Virginia's and the light casing make this one of my favorite aromatics. Worth anyones time and money to try it. Another winner from Boswell.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 06, 2012 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium to Full | Very Pleasant |
I made one of those pleasant, accidental discoveries not long ago. Is that what they call serendipity?
I was heading out for the day and when I grabbed my pouch, it was nearly empty. I had just a little bit of two samples from Boswells - Dan's Blend and Bear Blend. Not being the most sophisticated guy in the world, I dumped them together and headed out. All I can say is, "Nice!"
With the first whiff, you get some Cavendish, a slight hint of the cherry, but that's about it. I detect no hint of the latakia the others have talked about in the Bear Blend. It's very understated.
On the palate, it has a smooth, subtle flavor…almost sweet, but not quite. There's just the slightest little hint of the cherry, but I get none of the caramel or the latakia – and I'm okay with that. I'm not a tobacconist, but I'm guessing that is the balancing effect of the mild Virginia from the Dan's Blend.
It has no bite, and definitely tastes more of tobacco than it does of any of the seasonings. If you're looking for big flavor to rock your world, this won't work for you. If you're looking for pleasant, easy on the tongue, full tobacco flavor, this works. It packs easily, stays lit without a fuss. If you're an all day smoker, this is definitely an all day blend.
Use a thick bowl - it does tend to burn a little hot. Great room note - full, rich and very pleasant. Even my non-smoking friends like it.
I was heading out for the day and when I grabbed my pouch, it was nearly empty. I had just a little bit of two samples from Boswells - Dan's Blend and Bear Blend. Not being the most sophisticated guy in the world, I dumped them together and headed out. All I can say is, "Nice!"
With the first whiff, you get some Cavendish, a slight hint of the cherry, but that's about it. I detect no hint of the latakia the others have talked about in the Bear Blend. It's very understated.
On the palate, it has a smooth, subtle flavor…almost sweet, but not quite. There's just the slightest little hint of the cherry, but I get none of the caramel or the latakia – and I'm okay with that. I'm not a tobacconist, but I'm guessing that is the balancing effect of the mild Virginia from the Dan's Blend.
It has no bite, and definitely tastes more of tobacco than it does of any of the seasonings. If you're looking for big flavor to rock your world, this won't work for you. If you're looking for pleasant, easy on the tongue, full tobacco flavor, this works. It packs easily, stays lit without a fuss. If you're an all day smoker, this is definitely an all day blend.
Use a thick bowl - it does tend to burn a little hot. Great room note - full, rich and very pleasant. Even my non-smoking friends like it.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 26, 2012 | Mild to Medium | Medium | Very Full | Pleasant |
Nice stuff! I was expecting an aromatic, but this is more of what people are calling a 'crossover blend' Oddly enough this blend shares pipes very well with NothWoods.
Butterscotchy-cherry-vanilla taste with a bit of latakia that really tops it off and imparts a very robust flavor. Great on relights! Great room note.
Perfect blend for an aro-smoker like myself. I just don't crave a pipefull of something that is "Latakia with a fleck of something else on top, so we can say it has depth" every day, or feel the need to smoke lat-bombs to be a 'real man'. These "crossover" blends that use latakia as a spice and not as the whole damn pie are great.
Smokes a bit hotter than I'd like (use a wide bowl), not much vitamin N, and just does not keep well even when properly sealed in a mason jar as with just about every Boswell. Very solid 3 stars!
Butterscotchy-cherry-vanilla taste with a bit of latakia that really tops it off and imparts a very robust flavor. Great on relights! Great room note.
Perfect blend for an aro-smoker like myself. I just don't crave a pipefull of something that is "Latakia with a fleck of something else on top, so we can say it has depth" every day, or feel the need to smoke lat-bombs to be a 'real man'. These "crossover" blends that use latakia as a spice and not as the whole damn pie are great.
Smokes a bit hotter than I'd like (use a wide bowl), not much vitamin N, and just does not keep well even when properly sealed in a mason jar as with just about every Boswell. Very solid 3 stars!
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 03, 2012 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This was one of the five tobaccos that I sampled from Boswell's. If you have never done business with Boswell's, then I highly recommend it. They were quick to give pointers and recommendations on good tobaccos depending on your tastes, and my package arrived very quickly.
Anyway, my first whiff of the bag revealed not only a sweet dessert/cherry smell, but also a hint of the deep and woodsy Latakia. Good and sweet, yet the Latakia keeps it from being TOO sweet.
Apon the first light, the cherry/caramel casing really came through, leaving a great room note which would draw compliments anywhere. As I settled in, the Latakia made its presence known, giving the blend a mild, but definitely not flat, flavor with a good amount of sweetness.
The blend stayed well lit throughout my whole smoke, despite the high moisture content, which I noted in all five of the blends I sampled. At the bottom of the bowl, I personally lost much of the casing, and the Latakia took over, making for rich and woodsy puffs at the end.
All and all, this is a good smoke for someone who likes a mild English blend, but wants to satisfy his sweet tooth too. I might try this to introduce friends to Latakia... Bear Blend is a fitting name for this... woodsy like a bear's home, and sweet like the berries and whatnot he likes to eat. I'd say, give it a shot. 🙂
Anyway, my first whiff of the bag revealed not only a sweet dessert/cherry smell, but also a hint of the deep and woodsy Latakia. Good and sweet, yet the Latakia keeps it from being TOO sweet.
Apon the first light, the cherry/caramel casing really came through, leaving a great room note which would draw compliments anywhere. As I settled in, the Latakia made its presence known, giving the blend a mild, but definitely not flat, flavor with a good amount of sweetness.
The blend stayed well lit throughout my whole smoke, despite the high moisture content, which I noted in all five of the blends I sampled. At the bottom of the bowl, I personally lost much of the casing, and the Latakia took over, making for rich and woodsy puffs at the end.
All and all, this is a good smoke for someone who likes a mild English blend, but wants to satisfy his sweet tooth too. I might try this to introduce friends to Latakia... Bear Blend is a fitting name for this... woodsy like a bear's home, and sweet like the berries and whatnot he likes to eat. I'd say, give it a shot. 🙂
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2017 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
(Update) 6-14-19: Still one of my favorite morning smokes. I've been through over two pounds of it now and it is def a staple in my rotation (really the only aro there all the time) so I'm upping the rating to a 4-star.
Wife loves the roomnote when I smoke this one and even when we are on roadtrips in the car it gets positive remarks (always a plus).
Original 11-21-17
This has quickly become my morning commute smoke after trying a 2oz tin of it. The tin note smells chemically (the toppings) but that doesn't come through the taste of the tobacco.
It's a pleasant cherry and caramel taste which goes great with my morning cup of coffee. The flavors are much stronger than the latakia tobacco taste so I consider it a true aro. A little moisture in the bowl at the end, but not too bad.
Smokes best in a cob or a larger bowl briar.
Wife loves the roomnote when I smoke this one and even when we are on roadtrips in the car it gets positive remarks (always a plus).
Original 11-21-17
This has quickly become my morning commute smoke after trying a 2oz tin of it. The tin note smells chemically (the toppings) but that doesn't come through the taste of the tobacco.
It's a pleasant cherry and caramel taste which goes great with my morning cup of coffee. The flavors are much stronger than the latakia tobacco taste so I consider it a true aro. A little moisture in the bowl at the end, but not too bad.
Smokes best in a cob or a larger bowl briar.
Pipe Used:
Cob, Canadian, Radiator
PurchasedFrom:
Boswells
Age When Smoked:
6 months to one year
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