Iwan Ries Dr. Bradley

I first met the Doctor in Dekalb Illinois (1972) One of my friends on the dorm floor that I was in charge of smoked a pipe and I told him how nice and acrid it was. He was from Chicago and said ,"Oh, That's Dr. Bradley, I'll get you some when I go home at Thanksgiving." I smoked it from then until 2005 when I quit. Yes it felt good to quit, and I stayed away until 2014! Well, I hit a rough patch in my life and I had never been able to through away my good pipes and a half pouch of the Doctor so here I am! It's now 4 -19 -17 and I want to add that since I wrote my amateurist review review back in September, I have tried 7 Dunhill blends, all the Frog M''s and several Samuel Gawith tins. I stand by my review with even more conviction. For me, Dr. Bradley does about all I ask for in a very reasonably priced tobacco ( $ 1 an ounce in 7 0z foil package) I will concede that Iwan Ries Virginia Flake is an outstanding change of pace, but I'll stay with DR. B for my foreseeable future. It's the Chicago Way !!!!!!

I just received a large sample a few days ago from an online friend and I had not looked this blend up here on TR so when I opened the pouch I was really surprised to find Country Doctor! I am truly surprised no one else compared the two blends: both named Dr. Berry Scent, Burley, Latakia, Virginia and Perique. Old school OTC type blends of mixed cuts.... Well at least I know when my 10oz tin of Country Doctor by House Of Windsor is gone I can replace it with Dr. Bradley! Mild and yet had a nice little kick of lady N. Room note I was told as having a Berry Pie / Cobbler aroma. Where have you been all my life Dr. Bradley?

Dr. Bradley's Mixture seems like an English blend, but I guess with the Perique and Burley it changes to an American. I'm still not clear on the various labeling systems. Anyway, the good: there's no bite from the Perique! I'm sensitive to Perique blends and I just couldn't find that characteristic spiciness which usually irritates my tongue. Same goes for the Virginia, no citrus tang. The Latakia and Orientals are noticeable, but not so much the Burley. Now the bad: with all the different tobacco in this blend, it would not have been bad to have a few more flavors pop out a bit. Overall: recommended, but it's not stellar. 3.5

Note: Reading my profile might help to better put all my reviews into context.

This was my very first Iwan Ries blend. I was surprised at how much I liked this blend. I can't really describe what in particular sets this apart for me. Not having smoked Perique on its own before and at least being able to identify Latakia now, I suspect it's the Perique that is the culprit.

Comes in a nice Mylar Perma-Moist Tobacco Pouch, however I transferred mine into a hermetic jar, but put small amounts into the pouch to take with me when I travel.

Overall Experience: Very nice and rich unique pouch aroma, can't make out all the different subtleties in the smell. It was easy to pack and not too moist. Lights fairly easy, few relights, good consistent taste throughout the smoke - again, can't make out the different subtleties of the blend. It's well blended so nothing really takes over or stands out in my opinion. It had a little bite, but not too much. There was no gurgling and no visual residual moisture in the bowl. A very nice medium after taste that doesn't last long enough.

There is something unique about this blend that ranks it as one of my favorites. I don't want to smoke it too frequently as it is always a special treat.

I was reading while smoking this blend, the complexity of Jung and the tobacco forced me to stop and finish each one on its own. Since it has no flavouring added the smoking process is a journey. I consider this to be a transition blend from aromatic to english.

While in Chicago I got the chance to visit Iwan Ries and try this one for the first time on a cob corn pipe and it got me for its smooth taste, although being a non aromatic.

A couple of relightings where needed, so I would recommend to let the tobacco dry for a few minutes before smoking it.

A smoking experience that forces you to stop and explore you palete.

kik (http://www.ensusitioarq.com)

Fairly decent crossover, in a crowded field. Pick up a slight, nondescript, casing flavor - medium strength, mild to medium flavor. Burley comes out as you advance through the bowl. Decent tobaccos overall - high 2 stars.

Even dried out, this blend won't stay lit, smokes a bit goopy for me, and also aggravates the roof of my mouth somewhat. The flavor is good, but there are many other blends that burn better and have better mouth feel.

This is a good tobacco, not great but good medium latakia blend.. It burns well and has a sweet/sour flavor in the back of my mouth that I like. It's a clean/dry smoke as well, which seems all the Ries blends are,to me anyway. Good Stuff!

A professor I had in college used to smoke this during his lectures (yes I'm dating myself) & I fell in love with the exotic aroma-I'd never experienced a British blend before!! I tried this back in the 70s & again recently. My take on it today is as it was then-the room note is much better than the taste. As a matter of fact, it's one of the least flavorful tobaccos I have ever experienced. It basically has NO taste. I would call this a crossover blend ( as does IRC), as the casing along with the Latakia make for the intrigueing room note. A very mild blend which will make your pipe welcome among the openminded, however, I prefer to taste my tobacco!!

Update on 6-24-13. Put in an order recently to IRC (giving them my business again since the acquisition of Pipes & Cigars by Cigars International-but that's another story) & decided to give this old blend another go. Don't know whether they've ramped up the berry casing (or whatever it is) in the couple of years since I last tried it or I'm just a little more attuned to it's nuances. Contrary to what I perceived a couple of years ago as well as back in the 70s, it is a very tasty crossover that would be a good stand alone blend & hence deserving of 4 stars!