Villiger Cocktail Hour

I didn't notice any chocolate, but there's a slight tang that could be from a drop or two of pineapple in the topping. The sweetness can't all come from the tobaccos, so there's no question in regard to a topping, except for what it is. The Virginias offer a touch of citrus, a bare essence of dark fruit, a very minor sourness here and there, along with a little grass, and some earth. The Malawi is obvious to one who knows that tobacco; a very mild spice, nutty and earth hit. How much of the sweetness comes from the Virginias is hard to decipher, but it's enough to compliment the topping. Has a mild nic-hit. Won't bite. Burns cool at a reasonable pace with a mostly consistent flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and needs a few relights. Has an okay after taste which I downgrade because of a light sour syrupiness. Not quite an all day smoke. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

Again, please learn your cuts before writing a description for a tobacco, this is NOT a broken flake. It would be wise to also smoke a blend before writing a description, just saying...

The blend comes as a mixture of discs and broken disks, not flakes. The discs are easy to rub. The flavor is citrusy and sweet, with the topping being noticeable but in no way overwhelming. The bright Virginias in the blend, plus the topping, remind me a lot of Peter Stokkebye's navy flake and Olik Golden Slices. Not really the same thing, but I can smoke either one interchangeably.

Very good sweet and bright Virginia at an excellent price.

As a general rule I have been enjoying the new Villiger line from Stokkebye. The blends are good quality, and offer a few things which are out of the ordinary. I am torn by this blend though. One the one hand, it has very pleasant burn characteristics, and offers a nice cool(ish) smoke if puffed with a little respect. It also produces nice amounts of creamy white smoke. On the other hand, it really has no flavor or body. It is so mild that it is hard to even find ways to describe what it tastes like. Of course, it has a little sweetness, from the VA's, and it does taste like tobacco, but I personally smoke a pipe when I want something more than just a mild tobacco flavor and odor.

The tobacco is packaged in disc form, but don't get too excited, because it is not going to offer you loads of yummy flavor like some other good blends of this genre. Within the discs exist long strands of thin ribbon cut tobacco, which i personally do not care for. I find this cut hard to pack, as it is too open and springy, and it does not lend itself to rubbing out from disc form for packing. This does best if you let it dry out for a good hour or two before smoking. Even then it does not dry much, which makes me think it has been squirted with something. It lights and burns readily, however, and will not bite unless you go crazy.

As for the notes of pineapple and chocolate, I do not know what the hell they are talking about. It is not cased with anything of that ilk that I can detect, it does not smell like that in the tin, and my palate does not detect anything of the sort in the smoking. Of course, perhaps I possess a crude and untrained palate incapable of detecting such subtle notes, but either way you are not going to be smoking a pina coloda, if that is a concern.

All in all one of the most bland things I have every smoked. If you are looking for very neutral smoke to break in a pipe, than this might be a good mixture to use. If you are looking to treat yourself to that one smoke of the day, than this is a waste of time when so many other tasty blends are out there (some of which are from Villiger!).

Villager - Cocktail Hour (1888).

Hmm, this is one of the aromatics I was talking to my pal Dan (DK) about. One where an opinion can be quickly formed; nasty.

The appearance resembles one of the Mac Baren Roll Cakes, it looks void of any black Cavendish, has good moisture, and smells of pineapple, not chocolate.

A bowl lights easily, burns ok, but I really don't like the taste. As expected, the tobacco flavour's a VaBur one, the smoke's defunct of any black Cav'. The tobaccos aren't the issue, it's the damn topping that is. I get NO chocolate, all I get is bitter, sharp, acidic, unpleasant, pineapple. It doesn't work for me. Take this review as you wish, it's based on about four bowls since last night, but I'm unwilling to smoke any more!

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: not nice.

Cocktail Hour? Had a few bowls, then insulted my bin with it. Not recommended:

One star.

I was convinced to give this tin a try at a tobacco shop close to where I live. When I opened the tin, I just smelled pure Virginia, I didn't notice any topping. I have to admit, this tobacco is a bit wet in the tin. The first few times I tried it, it was a pain to keep lit, I had to relight it several times, it made my pipe a bit goopy. It can give you a good amount of bite to your tongue if you don't dry it or if you take some serious drags off your pipe.

However, as I smoked the tobacco, I noticed some very tasty notes in the tobacco, I got a nice creamy smoke with a vanilla-like sweetness flavor in the tobacco. For some reason, I was continually drawn back it and the more I tried it, the more I began to appreciate it. The tobacco really opened up when I allowed it to dry for a while, I got it to the point where it was very crispy where the tobacco would fall apart. However, the extra dryness produced a cooler smoke and it burned A LOT easier than it did out of the tin.

Overall, it's a good very good tobacco, I can understand how some people can be put off by it but I loved it once I allowed it to dry. My suggestion is to let it dry or pack the tobacco loosely in the bowl. It's definitely worth a try if you're able to spot it at the shop.

When I smoke this I get a sweetness and a citrusy/peppery note, as for the flavors of pineapple and chocolate, I maybe get some pineapple, but no chocolate. This blend can be enjoyable, however I have found that it can turn on you and get harsh and bitter in the wrong pipe or with the wrong amount of moisture.

I found this to be a nice change of pace smoke, particularly for the Virginia lover as the topping offers a different take on the typical sweet grassy hay and citrus notes often associated with the leaf. It is a little light in body for my tastes, but I did enjoy each bowl I had. It just could never be a main player in my rotation.

The presentation is nice in that it is a spun cut blend. I like this cut so perhaps it is mere bias. I find this cut to be the perfect medium between full on flakes and ribbon cuts as they stack easy or rub out easily depending on you preferred method. I tend to do a little of both when I pack these types of blends. The leaf is quality and it burns well.

The topping is light, and like Jiminks, I failed to pick up any chocolate. I did pick up some fruitiness that could be pineapple, but one should not think this to be anything like an erinmore mixture. I would say the effect of the topping is more like some of the honey topped virgina aromatics I have tried in the past. It really works well with the leaf and you will know there is Virginia in this one from beginning to end.

I recommend the blend, but likely won't add any more tins to the cellar.

Interesting blend. I didn't think I would like it too much, but it was actually pretty enjoyable. Smooth and creamy smoke, but with an edge to it.

Did get a tiny bit of the pineapple flavoring in the first couple of smokes. Glad they didn't add any more. It evaporated quickly, and there is a tangy note that remains which wouldn't be immediately identifiable as pineapple, but does add something noticeably different. As for the chocolate, not sure about that one. These are not the only added flavors, I caught cinnamon and some others. But in any case all very subtle, this not a blatant aromatic.

The flavor changes depending on how slow you smoke it - I preferred to rev it up a little for more flavor, if so there is enough. That sharpish edge that I mentioned is pretty consistent no matter how slow or fast it is smoked. I experienced no bite from it.

Kind of a take on the standard Danish style with a twist I suppose. Couldn't be thought of as one of the great blends, but still worthy as an all-day smoke or as a change of pace. The local shop has a couple tins left, I will probably pick them up.

The first half a bowl of this is excellent; light, toasty Virginia's. Some reviewers have compared this blend with 3 Nuns, but other than both blends being coin-cuts, I don't see any other similarity. The last half of the bowl got a bit hot and the nicotine increased (but not overwhelmingly so). The Virginia's got a bit sharper on the rear end, too. The back of the tin submits "pineapple and chocolate" notes, but I wasn't catching any of that. I did catch the wrapper ever so slightly. Why anyone would consider this to be an aromatic is beyond me; I believe this blend to be a good, relatively straightforward Virginia. Overall, this blend surprised me, and for the most part it was a delight to smoke. I'd purchase this again.

Very good! A solid 3 stars.

Keep on Pipin'!

I fell victim to the name "cocktail hour" with visions of a gentleman smoking a pipe in a darkened semi-formal late 1950's lounge.

When I opened the can I did not snese any notes of pineapple or chocolate. In fact it kind of smelled like an old leaf chewing tobacco I had in the army. Needless to say, my dreams of being an antiquated playboy from the golden era of class quickly began to diminish and turn into the horrors of working in a cheap colonge filled bar of a 1970's bowling alley.

The tobacco did burn well for me, but as others had mentioned it can give a small touch of bite. It has an off flavor I couldn't quite place. It was almost a ghost stale vanilla flavor, but like I mentioned I couldn't quite place it. There is a hint of sweetness, but if you're not looking for it you could miss it. You have to puff very very lightly to get any acceptable flavor.

After trying three bowls in different pipes, and with varying degrees of puff rates...I feel this tobacco is slightly substandard which is really a shame. Maybe the next step up from drugstore blends at best.

Perhaps it would taste better in a filtered pipe.