Uhle's Raider Blend

I don't know who blended this amazing tobacco but whoever did - my hat's off to them.

I first heard about this blend - when Alex suggested I try it - when he quizzed me about what kind of blends I enjoyed.

When he told me the ingredients Cherry Cavendish & Latakia - a light went off in my head - "Eureka!" I thought - this sounds like something I want to try.

Well friends, this is one of my favorite blends from Uhles. It hits the sweet spot every time. First of the all the smokiness - from the Latakia - lends itself to a nice medium English - while the Cherry Cavendish satisfies the hunger for something a little sweet - that one gets from a well made Aromatic.

The tobacco smokes creamy and has some excellent spice. There is complexity, depth, balance and finesse - not usually found in crossover blends.

It's as brilliant a combination as mixing Chocolate with Peanut butter ala Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Highly Recommended. I would add more Stars if I could.

This is a blend I ordered on a whim without recommendation. It just sounded interesting. Cherry with latakia? I'm mostly a Virginia flake guy with the occasional English or aromatic. This one is pleasantly different. It ends up tasting like a spicy candied cherry. Which is really nice for a break from other blends. I've mostly smoked it in my cobs as I like to keep most of my briars clear of aromatic blends. Lots of flavor, very little to no bite. Not much for nicotine, as I would expect. Overall, a thumbs up for something interesting and different.

Well I came into the store on a rainy cold day to peruse their estate pipes. I ended up buying a sexy little Molina number, and since one can't leave the store without taking a new pipe for a test spin, I packed a it with a bowl of Raider's Blend.

It was billed as being cherry and tangy, and sure enough I could detect both from inside the jar. It wasn't a terribly fruity aroma which I appreciated and the tang almost had an alcohol aroma which made my nose itch. The stuff was just the right amount of moist and spongy to pack a fantastic bowl.

The sensation was indeed spicy (peppery) mixed with a dry sweetness (which I suppose may of been the cherry). It was like an Oriental, but more sublime, where the sharp taste creeps up on you, all the while hovering over something tame and mildly sweet.

My one issue is how the interesting tang also begins to get bitey on the tongue halfway through. The new pipe excitement may of made me giddy and critical, but this left me a tad wounded. The room note reminded my lady friend of toasted caramel corn (which was a good thing).

In the end I found it unusual and a very smoke-worthy aromatic without a sick cherry taste. It gets a loose 3 stars for being an interesting experience that was weakened by the bite.

Nobody does Burley better than Uhle's. And this famous old shop also has some remarkably good blends that many people have not heard about or tried due to Uhle's "niche" market. Back in 2008 I discovered this hidden treasure and purchased what was, at the time, tins and bags of all of their blends. I hope these Uhle's reviews will open the door for you to some really good stuff!

A very unusual presentation - Cherries and Latakia? Well, the taste was certainly unique but the misting of the fruit did nothing more for me than interfere with the Latakia. Unique? You bet. I can't think of anything out there even similar.

I like cherry tobaccos, I love Latakia. I really wanted this to work. For me it did not. In the beginning it was a nice natural cherry with the Latakia playing second fiddle and making an interesting taste, not great, but interesting. Then about halfway through the Latakia raiders came... The cherry completely disappeared and I was left with a very unpleasant tongue bitey heavy Latakia. It just was not fun anymore, not even pleasant. The smoke had very little smell to it and no sweatiness of aromatic whatsoever. Perhaps I had a bad turn of it, but it will be awhile until I try smoking the rest of my stock.