Fribourg & Treyer Golden Mixture

This is a definite 3.5 star tobacco and I agree with all of the positive comments below. I've become a serious nic-wimp in my old age and I especially appreciate the nearly non-existent nic hit. The only thing that keeps it from being a solid 4 is it's a bit fiddly. I'm mostly a VA flake or broken flake smoker and, compared to them, the thin ribbons of Golden Mixture require a lot more attention. It smokes best in narrow bowl pipes, burns very quickly, and produces a prodigious amount of white ash, _very_ quickly. If I'm not careful, I end up covered with the stuff. Maybe it's just due to my waning hand/eye coordination but I can't smoke this one while driving. That said, it's worth the extra work. Use your tamper and your ashtray and you'll be well rewarded with great, bright Virginia flavour.

It’s a good bright Virginia. Not the best one but absolutely a good one. Sweet, some citrus note, herbaceous, hay and straw notes… not the best in evolution, but easy to load and easy to smoke anywhere and in any time. Perfect tobacco in hot summer days and, imho, for beginners and for thoses who wonna start with Virginias

I'm very pleased with this mixture. A mild virginia with a good burn do to being very close to ribbon cut. The flavors are very easy to identify. A previous reviewer listed them as hay, citrus and sugar and that is spot on. The hay is a bit more up front then many other straight Virginia's I've smoked but that's a good thing. The overall flavor of Golden Mixture is beautiful. It just can't be beat paired with good coffee. I love it.

Fine ribbon cut, almost a shag, with pronounced aroma of orange marmalade. First few minutes are quite tasty, almost like a lightly flavored honey-tinged Golden Cavendish, then the sweetness subsides to a good quality, smooth and mild Virginia taste which leaves an ambient aroma somewhat akin to French brioche.

There are never any harsh notes, or tastes of RYO cigarette, which is always my worry with shag cut Golden Virginias. When fresh I got barn straw, brioche, and every once in a while a hit of spicy white pepper on the retrohale. After a few months in a mason jar there is now some noticeable orange liqueur, along with hay, and some slight honey notes.

Does burn a bit fast because of the cut, but never to the point of tongue bite. I did however tire of its overall mildness and lack of depth, but admittedly I typically enjoy bolder blends.

Interestingly, and by odd coincidence, I happened to pop a tin of McConnell's Scottish Cake the same day I opened the F&T Golden Mixture, and they both share the same unusual, and unmistakable aroma of sweet oranges. Since they are both made by the same producer, with UPC codes only one number different, and share the same type of Virginia as a foundation, I found the taste experience between them about 90% the same, despite the different cuts and burn characteristics (the McConnell much slower burning). Because unprocessed Virginias are not usually this overtly orange flavored I thought at first that some orange peel may have been added to the casing solution (not unheard of) though the fact that this "flavor" burns off after about 15 minutes would seem to indicate a subtle topping was used rather than flavors derived from casing.

Bland and boring. So many better choices out there. Not for me. Not sure why anyone would smoke this on a regular basis. There is just no flavour of any sort in this one. Not really recommended unless its desperate times and short of other choices.

Very bright (golden) Virginia Ribbon Cut and pleasant Virginia smell in tin. Good stuffing and smoking conditions, burns rather fast. Moisture more or less ok, on the damper side, though.

This straight Virginia blend offers a lot of citrus, plenty of natural tobacco taste and sweetness, bread/yeast and hay/grass notes. It’s not a revelation or deep digging. I cannot make out any flavouring, casing or topping. A delicious straight Virginia on the mild side.

Updated 2017-2-14- It's been 6 weeks since I posted my review and I'm moving this blend to "my favorites". Not that this blend is so complex, but that this blend is so tasty and easy to work with. I can smoke this anytime, no bite, enough interest, a great all day Virginia smoke. It's best after a month to breath and dry some.

Original: A very nice "easy" Virginia with a uniform light color and a "Dunhill Like" ribbon cut. It's naturally sweet, mild, no bitters and with enough interest to keep from being boring. However, it is what it is, one dimensional. A no bite, all day Virginia. I like it, 3 1/2 stars.

Similar to SG's " Golden Glow"

Back in the old days, the early 90's, I used to smoke Elephant & Castle's Roanoke. The reviewer who stated this blend is Roanoke, is right! It was like being thrown back in time when I fired up a bowl of this wonderful blend. I loved Roanoke then, and, apparently, still love it now! How cool is that?

This is a simple, straightforward, old school smoke. Anyone who likes simple blends will likely appreciate Golden Mixture—it's not too strong, a wee-bit rough (peppery), volumes of smoke, and just enough taste. My only downer here is that I wish someone still produced Elephant & Castle's Isle of Skye, my favorite pipe tobacco of all time! Any takers?

Nice and mild -- this is a nice easygoing change of pace and is amicable in the home.