Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation 1897

Got this as a free sample from smokingpipes.com.

Somewhat sweet with the mild flavor of bright Virginias and the added flavors of honey and vanilla. Didn't expect to like this, but it's actually pretty good. No bite, but will burn hot if you push it. Smoked at a moderate pace it maintains flavor and stays relatively cool.

The gold Virginias are lightly grass with some tart and tangy citrus, and form the base of the blend. The bronze burleys are lightly nutty, earthy and woody as a supporting player. The black cavendish is also a supporting player with some smoothing sugar. The light vanilla topping is more prominent than the honey, but I do notice the latter. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are very mild. Won’t bite or get harsh even if pushed. Burns clean at a moderate rate with a very cool, gentle and silky, lightly creamy sweet consistent flavor to the finish. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An all day smoke that may be too mild for those who prefer stronger aromatic flavorings, but this is easily repeatable no matter what you are doing during the day. More of a two and a half star blend due to a little thinness of flavor.

-JimInks

I liked this aromatic blend. I never tasted honey but sure got the fragrance and taste of the Vanilla bean. I also liked the little bit of strength that comes through with each puff. A very top-shelf aromatic for those who like Vanilla casing - which I do from time to time.

Pipestud

I found this tobacco intriguing!

First off, it comes in a 1.4oz circular tin, which is fairly rare. The packaging was dated and suggested the tin was around 6 months old and on opening, was reasonably moist - but the paper packaging exhibited dried "wet tobacco" stains and so it must have been a lot more moist at some point.

The smell of the tobacco is not really typical of vanilla aromatics. To my nose, this had the smell of something unique, but more at the pungent end of the virginia spectrum rather than the mild end of the aromatic spectrum.

It is a nice tobacco to handle, is not greasy and does not leave any residue on your hands and packs well. On first lighting, the taste and smell is really absent and it takes quiet a few draws before any type of character becomes apparent, but what emerges is a very agreeable mild, bite free experience that is much closer, at least in my mind, to dark virginia blends, than the sort of cavendish vanilla bomb that I had expected from a very cursory check on the composition of the blend pre- purchase. So the smoking experience matches the unlit aroma perfectly, but is perhaps not as strong as the aroma is pungent.

This is one to savour - the character develops and improves dramatically from the first couple of draws which are a non-experience to the the bottom of the bowl, by which time, it is "really smokin'" as they say!!!

The downside is the $26+tax purchase price here in Ontario for such a small ammount of Tobacco but it is much cheaper to mail order in from south of the border.

google you tube "cigars international 1897" for an interview with Peter Stokkebye talking a bit more about the inspiration for this tobacco (peters grandfather, born in 1897, a cigar smoker who liked the ocassional aromatic pipe). I think Peters' grandfather would have been very happy with this in his pipe, as am I!!

Erik Stokkebye - 4th Generation 1897.

Lately I've been enjoying a rich aromatic for my fist smoke on a Friday morning, and today 1897 filled that spot.

It's a mid size ribbon, containing only about 20% Black Cavendish, is a bit too moist, and smells sweet. It packs and lights easily.

The smoke: although it has a similar make-up to Wild Hare that I posted yesterday, I much prefer it. I find the honey offers more flavour than the vanilla, causing the smoke to be pleasantly sweet. The vanilla can be tasted, but it takes a more work to pick it out. Of the tobaccos the Virginia occupies the most of the flavour, the Burley and Cav' give a lot less. 1897 burns at a medium pace, giving a cool, bite-free, smoke.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: heavenly.

Recommended.

Read the reviews and the local gas station had it for sale right next to the cheap cigars. So I bought the tin popped it open and the aroma was sweetest thing I've smelled honeys vanilla floral sents. I went to put it in my pipe and it was goopy sticky. Thinking this was a waste of money. Loaded my pipe. Then to my amazement it tasted great I could taste the vanilla and a huge hint of honey and nutty taste. This was like smoking desert. And the dottle was not goopy it stayed lit with zero bite. Very pleased with this.

This blend isn't bad, but its not great. The taste is okay if you like aromatics. The room note is great, very sweet and the vanilla is strong.

I didn't enjoy it in either pipe, it was too light in the church warden. The aftertaste isn't very good but it is light.

Wouldn't recommend for most.

This is one damp tobacco! Drying it helps, and it is really necessary in my opinion. The tin aroma is quite nice; a vanilla cream. But it doesn't fully deliver the taste and aroma once lit. It does not bite, and the quality of leaf seems good. If I could, I would give it two and a half stars. But it fell just a little short of my expectations, especially given the tin note and the cost.

Govern Yourself Accordingly!

Meh. Pretty much sums up this blend in one word. It is just kind of a run of the mill boring aromatic to my tastes. I agree with all of the other reviewers who point out that the Vanilla seems to stand out the most of the toppings used.

As to the pros I would say the blend is not goopy despite being very moist in the tin. It does not require any drying out and performs fantastic in the bowl. The topping is not overwhelming either and allows for some tobacco flavor to shine through.

The cons are it has a bit of an after taste, at least, I seem to detect one that is not all too pleasant. Although there were moments when I tasted that nutty sweetness you only get by mixing Virginia and Burley, it was too light and too shallow. I would have preferred more depth to the Burley, or in the alternative, more sweetness from the Virginias. The blend just lacked body, which may not be a problem for some users. Overall, it is not aromatic enough to please the aro faithful and the underlying leaf is not assertive enough to catch the occasional aro user.

Somewhat recommended and only to someone who likes a lightly topped blend on the light side.

Tin note of vanilla and sweet spices. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of mostly black with a little brown and even smaller amount of tan. Moisture content is great. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild, with notes of Honey and Vanilla. Honey died after initial light. Vanilla was fairly prominent in the first 1/4 before settling in the background. Taste is mild and moderately consistent, with notes of honey, vanilla, brown sugar, fermented sour vegetation, wood, toast, grass, creamy, spices, floral, dry earth, bitter, a semi-sweet nutty dry hay background note, and a smooth retro. Cavendish is leading with Burley, Virginia and Flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.