Tinder Box Wilshire

I told the guy at tinderbox that I am a pretty enthusiastic smoker of english blends, but wanted to try out some "aromatic" types. He recommended Wilshire to me and I'm grateful he did. This is not my FAVORITE tobacco, but features heavily in my rotation now.

Positives: It smells sweet and vanilla-ish in the bag and the smoke is the same (my girlfriend reports the smoke is almost too sweet-smelling for her liking, actually). To me, the taste is akin to smoking a cigar while drinking a cream soda... but not too horribly sweet. Pretty mild, but not lacking in flavor. I felt no tongue bite, even with pretty aggressive smoking. Very cool-smoking, no gurgling problems. I packed it via the frank method and only had to relight it once toward the end of the bowl.

Negative: The only real negative thing I can say is a bit of a bitter-acid taste in the back of the throat that I've randomly encountered (rarely). Now, I have smoked pipes and cigars for about 8 years now and nicotine doesn't usually bother me, but the flavor I'm talking about is LIKE the nicotine flavor you get from a strong cigar or from chew. I'm not sure where this is coming from or if anyone else encounters this with this blend, but I have experienced it more than a couple of times. Strange... I'll update this review if I figure out what's going on (ie what I'm doing to cause this??)

Otherwise known as Lane's 1-Q, the Wilshire blend is my favorite of the Tinderbox bulk aromatics. I've kept coming back to it over the years, as it has a warm and sweet yet subtly spicy flavor and aroma with hints of perhaps vanilla, almond, apricot, and ginger. This is one of the classic aromatic tobacco blends which inspire such fond memories.

I feel that Wilshire is often unjustly written off by those who are looking for a bolder, more distinguished and prevalent flavor, and by those that don't care for a sweet smoke. That being said, Wilshire isn't for everyone, and shouldn't be smoked by those that are looking for something more than what it has to offer.

I would actually caution newcomers away from this blend because it can be more temperamental than others if you're not yet proficient with a pipe. It can be on the moist and sticky side, so I would recommend letting a fresh batch sit and dry for a time before being packed. Also, don't smoke this one too quickly because it can bite and muck up your pipe if you're impatient with it.

If you find yourself frequenting this blend, I would recommend having a briar pipe to use just for it. It doesn't smoke as true in pipes seasoned by most other aromatic blends (though some aren't a problem) nor does it compliment pipes seasoned with English blends. However, its subtle flavor wont ghost an aromatic pipe.

Wilshire is perfect for a relaxing and gently flavored pipe to linger on for an hour or so, filling the air with a hearty and sweet aroma that aims to please both the casual smoker and company alike.

Enjoy.

Very good blend. Good base tobacco flavor, with hints of walnut, licorice and honey/butter. The licorice makes this uniquely tasty, IMHO. Smokes clean on one light, no mess. 3+*.

This I picked up in the Daytona Tinderbox, after the manager recommended it, as it is their best selling tobacco. Well I have only just found out that 1Q comes from Wilshire, so I'm glad I put some money into the original blender!

The tobacco is nice smelling, no particular flavours that I could pick out. It packs and lights very easily.

To me this tasted like a nice mellow virginia and burley blend rather than cavendish. (Shows how accurate my tastebuds are!) But never the less, the taste is slightly sweet, a nice straw kind of taste. It is relatively slow burning, and very smooth indeed.

I would recommend this as an all day smoke.

A good no-hassle blend. Smells a bit sweet when you open the lid with nice long strands of tobacco mixed with black cavendish. The vanilla is really an undertone if you will.

Smokes great, I just let gravity fill the bowl and top it off with a push of the thumb, char it then light it up full. After 5 minutes or so, I drop out the top ash and then it pretty much smokes all the way down to the heel with minimum condensation. Even with aggressive smoking it doesn't bite. Leaves a nice room-note.

Nothing real fancy in the taste, some sweetness in the wafting smoke some mild nicotine but does get some bitterness near the end, but then again, most of the tobaccos I've tried do that near the heel.

Good all-around starter or those who want to try a light Aromatic.

As a reformed cigar smoker(well, I still smoke a stick now and again) I've developed a certain palate that I will, hopefully, be able to refine a bit more now that I've started getting into pipes. This is my first review and my first "not-drug-store" tobacco so here goes:

The vanilla in the Willshire seems heavy to the smell...once lit though, the tobacco flavors kick in and remind you that you are, indeed, smoking something. As others have found, I thought this one to be a bit on the wet side and I had some issues keeping it lit through the first few bowls. Of course, as a new pipe smoker that might have been user error as well so I won't fault the tobacco too much.

My wife and friends enjoyed the scent from this one which is a big win since much of my smoking time is around others. I will purchase this again as I really like the fragrance and copious amounts of smoke that it imparts when it gets burning good!

I'd also like to note that I really enjoy reading the other reviews on this site! They've been invaluable to a newbie and I appreciate all the work done by others!

It smells good and tastes good. I liked it and will buy it again. to up the nicotine level I did mix the last litle bit I had about 50/50 with Prince albert, That was pretty good the taste of Wilshire came threw over the prince.

I enjoy Wilshire by itself, but my preference is to mix Wilshire 1-to-1 with Midnight from Tinder Box.

I have smoked this of and on for about 15 years and often use it as a blending tobacco for harsher aromatics. I would recommend it to newer pipe smokers, but I have to say, be careful, sometimes it's a bit dry and may need slight re hydration and then it can be very wet and in need of drying. That aside, it has a very mild vanilla spice flavor and is one of the mildest aromatics I can think of. It remains consistently flavorful from first light to last puff. A good rotational tobacco when going from aromatics to light English blends.