Tinder Box Aalborg

The flue cured Virginias are processed in the cavendish style, and provide a little honey, grass, and tart and tangy citrus along with light bread and acidic notes. Their impact is dulled by the cognac, which has an unattractive sourness that translates to the after taste, and sports a slight bitterness. The strength is mild. The taste is in the center of mild to medium. Has very little nicotine. Won't bite, but can warm the tongue. Burns at a moderate pace with a very consistent flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant room note. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

Possibly JD has killed my taste buds over the years but I enjoy the taste and smell of Aalborg. Several years ago while attending a British motorcycle ralley in Hiawassee GA, a lovely young lady walking behind me asked "is it ok if I walk behind you all day, I love the smell of your pipe tobacco". My reply was she could follow me back to IL if she wanted.

This tasted too much like a cigarette to me and disliked it. The small was great but the taste wasn't pleasant to me.

I worked at a Tinder Box when this was originally introduced in the late 70's and Tinder Box International as well as the shop owner had high hopes for the stuff. The boss insisted all of us "enjoy" a couple ounces. At the time, my regular smoke was TBI's Philosopher that I beefed up with extra latakia, which was about as different from Aalborg as a tobacconist could get. (If the blend does not have latakia and/or perique, why smoke it?) I HATED it. It was essentially tasteless, bit like a snake and the bottom of the bowl would get as soggy as pond algae. Did I say I HATED it? I have no idea if TBI was able gain market share from the corner drug store with this stuff, but if you manage to come across any, do the pipe smoking universe a favor and dispose of it.

Fond memories of this blend. Not your typical danish; less casing. Sweet but not cloying. The perfect blend when stuck in a town where a Tinderbox is the only store that sells a smokeable smoke.

Aslborg, what can I say…

Well, this is one of the 1st if not thee 1st non-drug store blends I ever purchased. I bought 4oz of it at a Tinderbox in Harrisburg, PA. I since learned 4oz of anything I have tried before is easily 3 1/2 oz to many ?. I’m not sure why I picked Aalborg, but I must’ve thought a cognac flavored tobacco would be a hit. It was a miss but I held onto it as a reminder, I guess. Now that I’ve been an on-again/off-again pipe smoker for the past 20 years (but really only the last year consistently), I thought I’d circle back as I’ve been finishing long forgotten and repeatedly rehydrated tobaccos. I just finished an ancient tin of Dunhill 965 (post-Murray) that I never appreciated and didn’t want to smoke my last bowl of Warped Scarecrow before Halloween nor open my tin of Bankside until November.

So Aalborg it was. It’s better than I remember it, but it’s easily possible that my technique has simply improved. It’s equally possible that time in a jar has contributed to this improvement. Still, I’ve had much better aromatics in the time since this initial purchase but it is smokable and somewhat enjoyable. I’m not sure I know of another Cognac aromatic blend.

Back in the early 80's I tried all the bulk blends my local TB had, but I never bought any of them again, preferring my tins of Balkan Sobranie and Royal Yacht. Then in 2015 on a visit to Arizona and California I visited a couple of TBs and went down memory lane. Since my maternal grandmother was from Aalborg, Denmark, I naturally had to try this one.

Well, it is really too mild a blend to hold my interest, and I'm not sure the light cognac topping helps much. I didn't get sour (as one reviewer mentions) so much as a slight chemical aftertaste. But nothing off-putting. This is the kind of blend that newbs may enjoy before they're ready for the dark-fired and rusticas of the world!

Was recommended by the Tinder Box employees. It's a nice mild aromatic, but I really had trouble detecting much of the flavoring. It's one I'll smoke from time to time, but probably not one I'll purchase on the regular basis. Somewhat recommended for those seeking a mild aromatic.

A Tinder Box staple that actually works for me as a mixer. I think I have smoked straight Aalborg once, but have used it in a three equal parts mix of Skilling, Lamplighter, and Aalborg for years......more so when I was younger, but I still get a hankering for it.