Holland House Holland House Aromatic

I tried this so-called drugstore blend just for the heck of it, firmly expecting to hate it. Well, after a few bowls I loved it so much that I rushed out and bought several pouches to cellar just in case this tasty treat were to suddenly disappear! Holland House is not widely available globally, although in some countries - like South Africa - it can be bought at most convenience stores and hence would qualify as a drugstore blend. It is currently also available from a few online dealers.

The blend is dominated by Virginia. It also contains dark Burley, dark fired Kentucky and a touch of Oriental. The tobacco is medium to dark brown in appearance. It is a fine ribbon cut, almost tending towards shag cut. It lights and burns very easily.

The pouch smell is divine. Leather, leather and more leather! Add a fine single malt scotch, a touch of honey and a hint of liquorice and you are done. This is not a sweet, confectionary type of aromatic. One doesn't think of food when smelling this. It has a delicious, masculine aroma!

In the beginning I experienced quite a tang after lighting up. At first I thought it was tongue bite in the making but then realized that it was simply the Virginia's zest  like that of a good salsa. The leather, scotch, honey and liquorice prevent this zest from ever becoming too sharp. This tobacco is flavourful and provides a lovely full mouthfeel. It is no lightweight in the strength department either. Simply a wonderful smoke! It has never hurt my mouth any more than, say, the aforementioned salsa, although I suspect it will bite when overpuffed.

The room note is lovely but not in the same way as, say, a vanilla or cherry aromatic. I recently asked a lady friend, just after I had lit up, what she smelled. She closed her eyes and let her head drop back as a gesture of enjoyment and said, "Wood. Exotic wood." I still smell leather and scotch and honey and liquorice, but I guess exotic wood is good too!

I hve smoked this tobacco a few yrs ago I am smoking cigarettes at the moment but they cost more now & I find smoking this tobacco very soothing?

I've just found some notes I made when I smoked this 15 years ago. I've not had it again since so can't have been that impressed. Still, these have reminded me of it a bit so I'll share my thoughts.

The tobacco was provided as a rubbed out thick sliced pressed tobacco, in fairly large pieces like broken flake. It smelt similar to Clan, and had a smoother character, although slightly less sweet. The chunky cut made for slower burning, although a little more effort to light.

I am in no way disappointed with this blend, just somewhat underwhelmed.

This tobacco has nearly no prevalent pouch note. I personally get a distinct rum taste from it. Nothing else at all. The room note is pure and not offensive at all. Tastes very much like burley.

A real surprise, this tobacco burns perfectly. Not hot at all and would for the life of it not go out. It packs conveniently lights just as well.

If I weren't such an aromatic fan, I would definitely make this an all day, light smoke .

Actually, this stuff is very pleasant! I was quite surprised but the quality of the tobacco used seems to be above average. It's quite rough cut, like a broken flake, but that's ok. It packs well and burns well and doesn't torch your tongue. This is a very popular aromatic and it's easy to see why. It's very sweet, tasty and has a lovely room note. Yes it's a bit of an 'old man's' sort of tobacco but so what? If you need a smoke around non-smokers chances are you'll get away with it with this. Far,far better than the ghastly Clan. I couldn't smoke it all day as it gets a bit sickly but I will always have a pouch around. Not bad at all.

This tobacco reminded me of the pipe tobaccos I used to smell as a child growing up in the 1980’s. As a cigar smoker I prefer aromatic pipe tobaccos to give a clear differentiation between pipes and cigars, as I want a different experience when I smoke a pipe. Holland house fits the bill perfectly - while I’m still exploring pipe tobacco I always have Holland house as my ‘go to’ blend. It’s a pipe tobacco which tastes exactly how I imagined pipe tobacco did when I was a child.

This type of tobacco has been among the favorites of my country for decades and it is a pity that the Dutch cavendish classics seem to be in danger of extinction.

Returning to the farewell to this recently discontinued classic, I must admit that it is certainly not the best of its kind, but not remotely the worst.

It is an aromatic of good quality, relatively easy to approach by the beginners, but with caution. Can bite? yes. Can it tire? yes. Can it be cloying? yes. Let's say it's an acquired taste and it's a pity that it disappears from the shelves, even for those of us who enjoy it occasionally

Bought a pack of this a while back, wasn't expecting much. The aromatics are a little light usually, this wasn't strong. I found it to be a lot more of a pleasant smoke than I was anticipating. Nowadays it's really not my kind of thing, but might be worth a try if you like an aromatic light smoke. What I would call an indoor type of tobacco. Smoke it in the shed and the shed'll smell nice!

I have been smoking pipe since 2007, have tried multiple blends but Holland House Cherry Cavendish is without a doubt the best blend. Where can one purchase this in the UK as I have recently arrived from South Africa where it is quite common but having difficulty in purchasing it here

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