Iwan Ries Dr. Bradley
(3.30)
One of our premier creations with its rich taste. Hinting towards the aromatic side, there is no aromatic tasted or aroma - just quality and character.
Details
| Brand | Iwan Ries |
| Blended By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Manufactured By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | American |
| Contents | Burley, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Other / Misc |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams pouch |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.30 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 13 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 15, 2012 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
An excellent berry crossover.
It's just a little tough to light at first, but once it gets going, it burns very consistently. It also burns very lengthily, by the way—you can get quite a long smoke out of this one.
It seems to really take off after about a third of the bowl.
The final two-thirds produce billows of soft, white smoke.
Others say that the topping affects room note only, not taste—I heartily disagree. I definitely taste a high quality berry topping. No chemically funkiness—just a great berry flavor. It melds quite nicely with a bit of nuttiness from the burley and a bit of sourness from oriental. This is an exceptionally cool smoke. Few blends smoke this cooly.
Dr. Bradley is exceedingly similar to Milan's Chartwell. That was my most pressing impression from the first puff to the last. Three slight, but noteworthy, differences between Chartwell and Dr. Bradley: [1] Chartwell emphasizes the crossover with latakia, whereas Dr. Bradley emphasizes the crossover with orientals; [2] Chartwell smokes more warmly than Dr. Bradley does; [3] Chartwell does not produce the billows of white smoke that Dr. Bradley does. But really, these two are sisters. They strike me as very slight variations on the same blend. I won't venture to assert which is better until I've compared them side-by-side more carefully. For now, I'll simply say that if you like Chartwell, try this; if you like this, try Chartwell.
Definitely recommended. I don't give it a 4 star for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, but it's a solid 3.5.
It's just a little tough to light at first, but once it gets going, it burns very consistently. It also burns very lengthily, by the way—you can get quite a long smoke out of this one.
It seems to really take off after about a third of the bowl.
The final two-thirds produce billows of soft, white smoke.
Others say that the topping affects room note only, not taste—I heartily disagree. I definitely taste a high quality berry topping. No chemically funkiness—just a great berry flavor. It melds quite nicely with a bit of nuttiness from the burley and a bit of sourness from oriental. This is an exceptionally cool smoke. Few blends smoke this cooly.
Dr. Bradley is exceedingly similar to Milan's Chartwell. That was my most pressing impression from the first puff to the last. Three slight, but noteworthy, differences between Chartwell and Dr. Bradley: [1] Chartwell emphasizes the crossover with latakia, whereas Dr. Bradley emphasizes the crossover with orientals; [2] Chartwell smokes more warmly than Dr. Bradley does; [3] Chartwell does not produce the billows of white smoke that Dr. Bradley does. But really, these two are sisters. They strike me as very slight variations on the same blend. I won't venture to assert which is better until I've compared them side-by-side more carefully. For now, I'll simply say that if you like Chartwell, try this; if you like this, try Chartwell.
Definitely recommended. I don't give it a 4 star for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, but it's a solid 3.5.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 02, 2007 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I haven't smoked this blend for about 30 years, but I recently started working in downtown Chicago and am only 3 blocks from Iwan Ries. Iwan Ries is the oldest tobacco shop in America, 1857, and they have the best selections of pipe tobacco anywhere.
Dr. Bradley is one of their oldest blends, best described as an American English. It has a light casing added to improve the aroma, but you cannot taste the casing while smoking, but it provides a pleasant room note. Burley based, with VA, latakia and a touch of orientals. Dr. Bradley smokes cool, dry and with no bite. Makes a great all day "English" smoke. The cost is very ecconomical, $12.60 for a 7oz. bag, buy 2 = $11.20/bag. If your looking for a good all day english type tobacco with a nice room note, give Dr. Bradley a try.
Dr. Bradley is one of their oldest blends, best described as an American English. It has a light casing added to improve the aroma, but you cannot taste the casing while smoking, but it provides a pleasant room note. Burley based, with VA, latakia and a touch of orientals. Dr. Bradley smokes cool, dry and with no bite. Makes a great all day "English" smoke. The cost is very ecconomical, $12.60 for a 7oz. bag, buy 2 = $11.20/bag. If your looking for a good all day english type tobacco with a nice room note, give Dr. Bradley a try.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 04, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
In the pouch a mixture of black, brown and lighter colored tobacco and a berry-ish aroma that immediately brought to mind HOW's Country Doctor. Easy to fill the pipe, for me the light-tamp-light gets it going nicely.
At first puff you'll know this is a mild aromatic and the taste is for me just a slight hint of the berry like aroma and something almost like toasted marshmallows. The VA is just discernible and the condiments (orientals, latakia) seem to mix with the topping to produce a nice overall smoke that strengthens as you go down the bowl.
My everyday smoke is Havana Daydream, about as non-aromatic as you can get. But for something different I like an occasional light aromatic that is not the usual choco-vanilla goop. This will do very nicely along with the old Edward G Robinson's blend.
At first puff you'll know this is a mild aromatic and the taste is for me just a slight hint of the berry like aroma and something almost like toasted marshmallows. The VA is just discernible and the condiments (orientals, latakia) seem to mix with the topping to produce a nice overall smoke that strengthens as you go down the bowl.
My everyday smoke is Havana Daydream, about as non-aromatic as you can get. But for something different I like an occasional light aromatic that is not the usual choco-vanilla goop. This will do very nicely along with the old Edward G Robinson's blend.
Pipe Used:
Long stemmed Canadian briar
PurchasedFrom:
Iwan Ries
Age When Smoked:
Fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 12, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
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
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 07, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
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)
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)
Pipe Used:
Molina Natura Sandblasted
PurchasedFrom:
iwan Ries
Age When Smoked:
fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 02, 2011 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
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!
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 01, 2010 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I realy like it 🙂 Very smooth and medium all the way .Relaxing as heck .I can see why this has been round forever . I sure hope alot of people are buying from IRC cause I dont want their stuff to go away . Update .. This is good stuff man ... kinda like dunhill std med in that medium way [ if that makes sense ] . I realy didnt notice a berry topping .It does have some top note to it that I cant figure . It is kinda sweet , which I normally dont care for in a blend that has orientals or lat . But here , it works pretty good . I liked Dun Std med and being its no longer around I 'll smoke the IRC Royale which is a better blend , this is a crossover for sure
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 02, 2008 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
An English-Aromatic hybrid of some note. Pleasant and non-biting. Worth a try.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 24, 2023 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium to Full | Tolerable to Strong |
DB is like America — a kitchen sink of tobaccos who choose to blend to make a new thing. The ingredients list has most everyone present.
What I actually taste is burley. No obvious topping. Some bit of Orientals. Someq this and that. Serious tobacco taste in the best way that pure tobacco presents. Everyone plays an instrument but there are no solo performances.
I have a few other blends like DB. They are all solid. Good. Tasty. But older. Long before GLP and C&D and more nuanced blenders came along. There is nothing bad about DB than to say nothing about it stands out and draws you in.
America is great! We are defined by our decision to be a blend. In 2023 we are hearing voices that want some newcomers not to be here — this impatience with new folk is not who we are. DB is an American blend precisely because it stands on its own and is just fine.
I’d give it 3.5 stars but will round down to 3. It’s worth having around.
What I actually taste is burley. No obvious topping. Some bit of Orientals. Someq this and that. Serious tobacco taste in the best way that pure tobacco presents. Everyone plays an instrument but there are no solo performances.
I have a few other blends like DB. They are all solid. Good. Tasty. But older. Long before GLP and C&D and more nuanced blenders came along. There is nothing bad about DB than to say nothing about it stands out and draws you in.
America is great! We are defined by our decision to be a blend. In 2023 we are hearing voices that want some newcomers not to be here — this impatience with new folk is not who we are. DB is an American blend precisely because it stands on its own and is just fine.
I’d give it 3.5 stars but will round down to 3. It’s worth having around.
Pipe Used:
IMP Meerschaum
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 17, 2023 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Kind of strange. I don't love extremely heavy latakia blends, but this seems to have just the right amount, which is to say not a whole lot. Depending on the pipe, I get varying levels of sweetness and berry/plum. I've probably smoked this more than any other single tobacco I've tested; I don't think I'd call it transcendent, but it's consistently pleasant, and I never regret lighting up a bowl, wishing I'd chosen something else.
Pipe Used:
Meers, clays, briar
PurchasedFrom:
Iwan Ries brick and mortar
Age When Smoked:
New
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