Holland House Holland House Aromatic

I smoked a lot of the Holland House Mild back in the 1980s when it was produced in the Netherlands. That one contained Virginia, Burley and golden Cavendish that was cured with real Heather Honey. I actually smoked this one semi-regularly in the 1980s as I loved the true tobacco taste as well as the barely naturally sweet taste of the Heather. I found it to be a wonderful blend and not at all like the stuff that the Scandinavian Tobacco Group is putting out now which tastes nothing like the original. My caveat to this review is that if you find a tin of the original, grab it.

Pipestud

The grassy, tangy citrusy Virginia is the lead component. The nutty, earthy, woody, slightly spicy, lightly molasses sweet burleys have an important support role. A pinch of dark fired seems to be present. The tobaccos have been processed in the cavendish style. The scotch topping is a touch more obvious than the honey and citrus. The Scotch has an alcohol note that some may find a tad distracting. The toppings sublimate the tobaccos to a fair degree, though they don’t drown out the varietals. The strength is a hair past the mild mark. The taste is a step past that level. The nic-hit is extremely light. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns fairly cool at a reasonable rate with a mostly consistent sweet and slightly savory flavor from beginning to end. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

Holland House - Aromatic.

When I saw this was classed as a 'thick ribbon' I was intrigued, it's a cut that I am fairly new to, that said personally I would say it's more like a broken flake, there are indeed some thick ribbons dominating the mix but there is also a decent amount of larger flake sections in there. The aroma is a touch incongruous: not bad at all, just slightly messy making it hard for one smell to be more conspicuous and noticeable than the rest. A low point is found in the fact I think mine is too dry in places, the bigger broken flake pieces are spot on, sadly the more prevalent part, the thick ribbons are too dry, some are actually brittle.

Once lit (a very quick flame touch due to the dryness) I try to weigh up the taste. For me it is a little too nebulous with the flavouring, I can get only a slight hint of the additives, the most pre-eminent is the alcoholic addition, but even though that is the most prominent added flavour it is still relatively mild! The tobacco are well balanced, a fair split between the them all. On to tongue bite: this one can issue a big kick if smoked with too much zeal, for me gentle sips are a really expedient method to use but even then it still nips me. Nicotine now: a lesser amount than most blends so it would suit a "flavour ONLY" smoker nicely. The room-note is more gentle than some blends, not a particularly aromatic smell, more of a basic tobacco only note.

I think that Holland House Aromatic is possibly the apotheosis example of a blend for beginners, but sadly I find it a little too insipid and boring with too much bite: ouch! Two stars.

I had wanted to try this tobacco for years and just never got round to it. In fact I am sure I remember this stuff OTC in England in the 70's and 80's, alongside Clan, St Bruno and Erinmore.

Indeed another reviewer said something similar, although they could have been from the US, where as we all know going to a supermarket store must be like going into a sweet shop for us poor British, who have to order from the internet, or find that rarity ; a tobacconist when in a big city.

This is a pretty ordinary blend, has no real taste as such, and certainly isn't like the old crap we get in British supermarkets (all hidden behind metal shutters) like mellow Virginia or the godawful Condor.

Yes, this is friendly enough, reasonably easy to pack, doesn't need drying out and stays lit mostly. It just doesn't taste of anything. Reminds me of some of Peterson's tasteless offerings.

Inoffensive pouch aroma, inoffensive room note. All inoffensive really.

If you could still buy this at the supermarket I'd buy it, sure I would. But if they had Cravens I'd think twice.

This is antique recipe, from Holland, now produced by Orlik, Denmark.

It have notes of Maple and Apple, aromatic, but not sweet. Instead, is Bite, Bitter, even irritative. Seems Black Pepper...

It is not slow burning, burns hot and fast, despite their low Nicotine ammount.

May be good, it has good quality, but it is not a blend for me, for my preferences, my choice.

Holland House is a sort of cousin to Clan (qv), with the same Dutch pedigree: both are (or were) made by the same company, Theodorus Niemeyer. If memory serves, they both came onto the UK market at about the same time - in the mid-1960s. I imagine that they were both aimed at the same sort of customer: the young pipe-smoker who wanted something a little new and trendy and different from what the old timers were smoking.

HH is a much classier tobacco than the lamentable Clan. It's an aromatic, but a civilised and restrained one. The flavour is full and natural: one doesn't get the kind of chemical, artificial impression that so many aromatics give. I think the previous reviewer captures its qualities nicely: leather, scotch, honey, liquorice. I'm not completely sure about the liquorice; but there's nothing bizarre or overstated here, and the flavour of the tobacco is not swamped or distorted by the casing. HH is a fine-cut and dryish tobacco that can be loaded into the pipe without any preparation or fuss. As such, it lights and burns easily, though the down side of this (in my experience) is that it burns away quickly and tends to be rather a hot smoke. It's not ferociously hot, but 'slow-burning' is rather an optimistic description of it. It will dry out quickly, also. It's fairly strong in terms of nicotine content – surprisingly so, actually - and has a pleasant and natural-seeming room note.

Not being a lover of aromatics, I can't say that I positively like Holland House, but I can see its virtues – especially as a tobacco for the newcomer to the pipe. It needs to be smoked carefully and with restraint, though, or it'll bite your tongue. Recommended, then – with a few reservations, but recommended nonetheless. To say the least of it, Holland House is a country mile ahead of Clan. I think it's fair to say that it succeeds in being what Clan tries to be. If you like Clan, you'll like Holland House more.

I bought many packets of HH in the 70s and 80s and was looking forward to a mild cool pipe-full. But I was disappointed with the result. When I received the packets I quickly open one up and was met with a faint smell (which was pleasant) of what I remembered, it was dryer than what I had remembered. With a cleaned out pipe and bowl I filled my Falcon up a sat back and lit the tobacco

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What. It burnt quick and hot and within seconds I tasted what seemed to be ash on my tongue. I emptied the bowl and thought perhaps there was something else I had put in it. So I tried it again yuck, just the same. closed the packet and decided to open the other packet. Again I encountered the same mild aromatic smell with a dry broken flake. The smoke was just the same. Very upset with outcome I emptied my pipe and picked up another tobacco to get over my loss. I have sent a pouch to the Old Man to see what he makes of it. But I'm not hopeful he will find anything different.

Reminds me of Troost Special Cavendsh. Depending on who is reading, that could be a good or a bad thing. Im not a huge fan of Dutch Cavendishes with the exception of Sail Yellow (which this is nothing like) To me this was just another aromatic blend that was neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, i doubt id buy it again.

For once, the souvenir proved a pleasant surprise. Smell of almonds, caramel and liquor, not Amaretto though. Seems to consist mostly of ribbon cut quality Virginia. Both the tobacco and the topping taste perfectly natural and there is no chemical aftertaste. Furthermore, the nicotine level has thankfully not been manipulated as so often is case with drugstore blends. HH Mellow Golden Cavendish preserves the natural mildness of the processed tobacco. Will certainly buy this again.

Nice aromatic. Almost no tongue bite, mildly flavored, a good all- day blend at a great price.