Iwan Ries China Black Vanilla Burley

Strictly for the smoker who likes a mild vanilla taste with a light spice hit. The nutty, earthy, molasses sweet burley is sublimated by the topping, but it will peek out at times, particularly near the finish. Burns slightly fast, cool and clean with a smooth, consistent flavor. Needs an average number of relights, and leaves some moisture at the bottom of the bowl. No bite, almost no nicotine. The after taste and room notes are pleasant, but very short lived. An all day work and play smoke that also makes a decent mixer.

-JimInks

A low-lite falling into my waste basket from Iwan Ries & Co. called "China Black Vanilla." The tip off should have been the "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" pouches. 2 - 3oz. packs for $6.00. It was kind of like having your teeth drilled for a filling with a lazer torch and the gap stuffed with vanilla flavored "Ben Gay" ointment.

Another blend from the Altadis sampler; I haven't seen this one locally. I'm an aromatic fan & thought this might be a "light beer" version of MacBaren's Vanilla Cream Flake in a pouch form. Opening the pouch the tobacco wasn't the black & brown slightly sticky tobacco I expected after sampling other China Black blends. The stringy, brown tobacco was easy to pack & stayed light. I normally won't report on a blend until I've finished at least one purchase (tin or pouch). The exceptions to this rule have been Mixture 79 & China Black Vanilla Burley. The Mixture due to it's foulness but this blend I haven't finished for other reasons. Not that this is bad but I can't take it anymore. This blend gets bitter rather quickly regardless of the pipe I use or the packing method. The worst of it though, is that I get the most terrible heartburn while smoking this blend. I've tried it on an empty stomach, full stomach, late in the day or in the morning; I consistently get heartburn & run for a Pepcid. I guess it's something in my body chemistry. There isn't much in the way of flavor to this one either.

Yet another awful blend from the ALTADIS sampler. It starts out pleasant enough, but quickly induces tongue bite. By 1/2 bowl, I had to dump it out as it tasted like an ashtry. I've sampled about 1/2 dozen of the blends in the ALTADIS sampler and this will be the last as I've thrown the lot of them away. If this were the only type of tobacco available, I would give up smoking. The frustrating aspect is that many of them (IRC Blue, Fox & Hound, etc.) have the potential to be good, but the base tobaccos are of such poor quality that they are unsmokable. As the saying goes, you can't polish a turd.

Walnut brown somewhat thick ribbons with lots of chunks. Nice, deep and rich tobacco aroma in the bag. This "review" is based on a 3 bowl sample from a friend and huge fan of the blend. And folks, 3 bowls does NOT make one an expert. The below thoughts are indicative of my impressions rather than the tobacco itself.

Vanilla Burley is an apt name for this, as it is burley front and center with a mild topnote of vanilla. The burley isn't particularly sweet but definitely reminds me of the tobacco in various OTC blends - a kind of deep, earthy taste rather than nutty. Fans of SWRA might enjoy this as a less-flavored alternative. I'm not sure how much this one costs but I'd buy it over most if not all of the current OTC's. It's only issue for me was the slight chemical note that illuminates its Sutliff heritage. In fact, I didn't even realize Sutliff made this one until I encountered that familiar chemical taste and looked up the blend here. But if you find that as offensive as I do, simply let this one dry out a bit more and most of it disappears. Iwan Ries has never been a staple of mine, as the ones I've smoked are outshone by their competition. This one is a nice example of a burley-forward sweet smoke that is not too aromatic. In fact, I wouldn't have minded a bit more vanilla but that probably would have amped up the synthetic, non-tobacco flavor. So I'll take it as it is. Not a game-changer, but a good OTC-style slightly aromatic blend that stays lit and smokes well (if a trifle quickly). If you're into OTC's, give this one a trial.

For me , China Black Fire Cured is the greatest American styled Aromatic by a light year . I am well into a tub of the china Black Vanilla and it is quite good . It isnt a total mind blower but it is a pleasant blend that is easy to enjoy . Being I'm an ARO Pro [ lol ] ... it lit well and smoked perfectly for me every time . I would like it to have a bit more Vanilla flavoring and " umph " , but it is fine . It is not overly flavored , so anyone could try a pouch for fun . The best part of this blend is the mouth feel ! It's very smooth and almost creamy . It's a very well done aro . It is the steamed American style ... so no bite , very little nicotine .. just an easy smoke that is super nice

Edit 8/14/17 The more I smoke this the more I like it . China Black Fired Cured is my Favorite American style aro by leaps and bounds and this one is creeping up there . It's so damn smooth an tastes better each time I smoke it which isnt infrequently . . I have to bump it to a 4 star blend

edit 12/21 Lol .... my above review is for the fire cured .. not the vanilla . Aparently , i did 2 fire cured reviews

The vanilla is a bit bitey and a little spicey .. a 2 star rate from me

i purchased this blend at a buy one get one free kind of offering. being an aromatic smoker who wouldn't mind cheap tobacco i gave this one a go. the tobacco is one the dry side and the smell off the pouch is like smelling a custard powder right off the can. however, that dosent translate into the taste nor to the room note to be honest. it delivers an acceptable aroma with a taste that represent vanilla in a rough way (i tasted better!). it burns dry and clean with a little bit of harshness on the mouth. is it recommended well that is very subjective, as i cant tolerate mixture 79 yet many adore that blend. i would say that it wasn't a pleasurable journey but i gave it a 2 star for the burning quality and the cheap price.

Better than a drugstore aromatic but nothing great. It left a coating in my mouth I did not like. Smells good and that is it. there are better choices out there.

I have a little story about this stuff. When I First got married, I was between jobs. I was a cigarette smoker. I was out of money and cigarettes and had an old Dr. Grabow, which I can't remember where I got it. I was taking cigarette butts out of my ashtray and putting them into this pipe (YUK!!). After doing some odd jobs and some money, I decided to try some "real" tobacco (although I have dabbeled in it a few years before).

I went down to this local "stop and rob" and saw what they had. I saw China Black on sale 2 for the price of 1 and I figured that was a deal. I got them and enjoyed them. After finding steady work, I was trying different drugstore blends, and still smoking cigarettes. I smoked it here and there, trying different stuff. I was smoking other blends and didn't see China Black around anymore.

As of a few years ago, I totally gave up cigarettes (2001) and now smoke only pipes and cigars.

Just a couple of years ago, I found some of this stuff at a local smoke shop and tried it again. Perhaps I have become a bit of a snob, since I wasn't as impressed by it as I was at 23. It just wasn't what I remembered.

Anyway That's my little story, Hope you stayed awake.

This is a wannabe Cpt Black. I used to like this when I was low on cash and they had 2 for 1 sales on this. This was when I just started seriuos pipe smoking, in 1996 (although I dabbeled in it for several years prior).

It was difficult to keep lit. Most of the flavor was gone halfway down the bowl. WHAT WAS I THINKING!!??

This is pretty good for a vanilla pouch tobac. Behaves very well in the pipe. Nice aroma. Worth a shot if you are looking for an inexpensive vanilla blend.