D & R Tobacco Windsail Platinum Blend

A friend of mine enjoys watching me squirm while I try to decipher blends smoked blind that he provides. Like most long time smokers, I tended to believe I had a discerning palate until I participated in blind testing and then discovered my palate was "dull normal" :). Anyway, he gave me some of this and this "review" is based on one large bowl and one small. As with all reviews, but especially with reviews based on a small sample, reliance is at your own risk.

Bordering on tasteless but with a wisp of Virginia sweetness coming through at times, along with the faintest hint of earth and an occasional harsh blast, my first thought was "this would work better as a cigarette". Bingo! Take dat, friend! After smoking the first bowl, he told me it was a D&R blend, a company accused (rightly or wrongly) of packaging RYO cigarette tobacco as pipe tobacco in order to escape taxes. Judging by the reviews here, few people are fooled by this practice... if indeed that's what is happening (wink wink). My other forays into this blender were much less than satisfying, which is probably why my mischievous friend so enjoys toying with me. This one was not as harsh or robust as the others I've smoked - quite the opposite, this one was mostly bland, making me think it would be best inhaled through a tube. The nicotine via my pipe wasn't too heavy but it was noticeable. The cut was just north of a shag... call it a fine ribbon. No flavoring or chemical taste, which is good. But my overall impression is that it was just not worth bothering with. If Mark Ryan is a skillful blender, I have yet to bear witness to it, but I'm no expert, either on him or on tobacco in general. I really only know what I like, and this ain't it. Try it if you enjoy something like the new Gold Block or other wimpy blends.

D & R Tobacco - Windsail Platinum Blend.

Given that this blend is often referred to as RYO/cigarette tobacco in disguise I felt a touch surprised by the appearance. Golden brown ribbons, much coarser than cigarette tobacco. That's the only pleasant revelation WPB has to offer. If I didn't consider it bad manners I could think of a few apt expletives!

Downhill it goes after the initial pleasantry. It's bone dry, tastes boring, burns too fast, has hardly any of the idiosyncrasies of a good Virginia, and the room-note's nasty. In all fairness, I like the nicotine quantity, it's rather mild, and it doesn't bite. But these few decent points aren't enough to rescue it. Not recommended:

One star.

This is the second of the tobaccos that I bought for my aunt. Like Three Sails it shows up a little dry for my taste. The tin note is grassy sweet and the cut is a thin ribbon. When used in a pipe, there is almost no flavor at all. But when you get some flavor, it is really nice. It is more earthy than you might think. There is some nicotine, but nothing to write home about. I tended to over puff and thus created a lot of moisture in the bowl. The volume of smoke was pleasant enough but the room aroma was still totally that of a cigarette. And, speaking of cigarettes, I did try rolling some, but the flavor was still too light for me. If you are looking for an ultra light smoke with some flavor, this may be the one for you. I smoked it both in it's dry state and with some hydration and got the same results. Perhaps I will try the Windsail regular, but this stuff will just be filler in my jar of Prince Albert Choice.