The Malthouse Founders Reserve

Just enough malt whiskey in this blend to improve on the staple virginia component. I know many smokers who like this blend as a nice change of pace. I do too. It smokes cool and dry, and will please both the aromatic and English fans as well as the guys who want a just plain tobacco taste with a solid dose of nicotine thrown in for good measure.

Try it, you'll like it!

I'm coming back around after letting the tin lay dormant for several years.

Aged, and dried a bit, the whiskey note does seem to gain some ground against the tobacco aromas in the tin. I'm not going to claim to be able to tell just what kind of whiskey had been applied, but I guarantee you it was something cheap. NO ONE in their right might will take a high quality single malt and do something other than drink it. The whiskey on this reminds me more of a blended Irish.

Those fruity notes you get from Irish whiskey are what work in a harmonious fashion with the Virginia tobaccos in this blend. There is a TINY wisp of campfire in the tin, but not that Latakia stank, more of an indirect fire cure and super toasty note. It helps balance the sweet and sugary Va leaf and the malty sugars you get from the splash of hooch.

Now that the tin has age and is much drier than new, it lights very easily, doesn't need a bunch of fussing and tending, and if you are well versed in the art of sipping Va tobacco at the lowest of smolders, you will be rewarded with a pleasant, dry, tasty smoke. Not something I want to have cleanched in my jaw all day, but more of a treat to sample a few times a week.....like whiskey!

I have had a lot of malt Scotch whiskys in my day, & I never smelled one like this! It reminds me of Jucyfruit more than anything else in the tin. The smoke, though pretty cool & light, smells like something else, not Scotch, but fruit IMHO. Very decent & light Va flavor, though the casing gets in the way. Very little to no bite. For an aro smoker as a transition to straight Vas, not a bad choice.

Very mild, light tasting almost a sweet that tastes more like sugar than scotch. Pleasant to others, not overpowering, and easy to smoke. Tobacco quality is evident in the taste, and I could smoke this everyday. Compared to other scotch flavored smokes, this is a smaller taste and more of a VA type taste. I do enjoy this on warmer days, and it doesnt bite like some of my more aromatic blends do.

With Founder Reserve at Dan Tobacco they pay homage to Whisky flavoured blends, but to be honest on a “blind test” I wouldn't be able to recognize the topping as Whisky! FR is flavourful and with a good tanginess (even too much) surrounded by an elusive sweetness not easy to describe (not for me at least), I've experienced just little tongue bites and no gurgles, it's quite easy to maintain at the right temperature and it leaves a pale grey almost impalpable ash. Definitely quality is there for sure but it doesn't completely fits my liking, perhaps I missed something but now I can rate it just two stars. I'll revisit it again.... one day.

I met a couple of forum members in an old pipe shop today and we spotted some older dust collecting tins sitting on the floor behind the couner. This was one of them and we split the contents of this aged tin. It had some age on it and the blend inside was on the dry side, but i like my tobacco that way and we fired some up. My first impression was Oh MY! What a flavor! Now i know this is aged but this suff knocked all three of us into the the bliss mode. The VA in this blend is very sweet and mellow and the scotch topping gives it a smoothness and a sweet note that was simply delicious. It is there but not cloying or overwhelming, still letting the VA do it's act. The smoke is fantastic smelling, even better than it's aroma in the tin. It burns down to a nice grey ash with minimal relites. I had a rather long drive home and smoked another bowl during the drive. I enjoyed it a second time and was just impressed and it had my car really smelling good. After arriving home and having had my sinner, I just smoked another bowl and it held it's own again, a very enjoyable blend. I will be cellaring some of this just as soon as i can place an order and I have to highly recommend one to try. While it may not be an all day blend, it is for sure a blend to enjoy with fellow pipers.

I stumbled upon a 2003 tin of this courtesy of Pipestud. I had high hopes for this blend, but having finished most of the blend, I find myself disappointed in how it smokes. I have to agree with other reviews that the blend is almost cloyingly sweet. Juicy fruit is an apt description, and that, to me, does not lend itself to a pleasant smoke. I do tend to prefer aromatic blends (that is mostly what I smoke), but this one does not cut it for me, despite the age of the Virginias. To be sure, this is another tobacco that should be sipped slowly to bring out the full flavor of the tobacco, or it will definitely bite you. Mild nic hit, too.

A 2 star blend at best. The cut was a bit thin for my taste, almost a shag that made me think of RYO ciggy tobacco. Kind of flat, slightly bitey, somewhat hot, and rather shallow blend. Not my thing at all.

Nice, uncomplicated smoke. I'm a big Virginia fan, not a big Scotch fan, but this doesn't overwhelm at all with the topping. Easy to light and keep lit, puff slowly and no bite at all. Not one I currently smoke often, but a good change of pace!

Personal favorite blend. Mild favoring, not to strong, not to weak. After smoking leave nice, almost white ash. Smoking is slowly and cold, teaste not change so from first to last we can enjoy great taste