Iwan Ries Three Star Blue

Iwan Ries - Three Star Blue.

I bought this solely because it was on offer from Smokingpipes.com: $4.57, gotta love a bargain! But, is it? Lets see.

The pouch contains a very neat looking coarse-cut mixture: all quite evenly sized and not too chunky. The aroma from the pouch isn't the best, it smells like a paint factory (I know, I once worked in one!). Once a bowl's lit I can't quite make up my mind about the smoke! At the beginning of a bowl I still get that weird chemical taste, this is a bit disconcerting. But after the initial few puffs have stabilized the burn I find it calms down a touch. The vanilla addition seems to become easier to recognise, this smooth's the flavour, and there's also a slight sweetness at the back. The licorice is very noticeable for the whole trip; I'm guessing it's this that's responsible for the paint taste at the start.

The tobaccos' give an ok flavour, with the nutty quality from the Burley leading the race. I also notice a slight sharp fruitiness from the Perique, but this isn't anywhere near as potent. I don't really get much from the Latakia apart from a slight wood/cedar note, and the Black Cavendish has the added vanilla to contend with. The Virginia also seems a little lost; there's a lot of flavour for the more phlegmatic Virginia to compete with.

The nicotine's just below medium, and the room-note's a winner!

Is it a bargain? No, it's got too many problems to score any more than two:

Somewhat recommended.

I was gifted a package of Three Star Blue by a friend recently. When I first opened the pouch, it smelled very similar to tobaccos that my father smoked back in the 1960’s. It also smells very similar to a tobacco that I used to chew 30 years ago. So based on those two things the scent conjures up fond memories for me. But in truth, based on some of the reviews I was expecting the worst. But that wasn’t the case. I found this to be a decent old time aromatic when smoked slowly. There is a casing that I am sure will bite if pushed, but taking my time there was no bite. I have to take issue with those that list the “flavoring” i.e. casing, to be strong, it isn’t, certainty compared to other aromatics. The only way to come to that conclusion is to have never smoked many aromatics or because they have confused the “flavoring” field with the “taste” field. The Burley flavor does come easily through the smoke. The downside with Three Star Blue is that we are currently living in an era where there are a huge number of well-crafted aromatic blends available to suit every taste at very reasonable prices. For me, this causes Three Star Blue to fall pretty far down on my list of choices. On the upside, compared to some of the OTC blends out there, this is a better choice than many of them.

This really is a decent blend, and it does have a very nice complex of 'old-fashioned' flavors when smoked.

My problem with this blend is that, in the pouch, the casing used makes the blend smell like what can only be described as 'captain black plied with cheap grape soda-pop,' and I have a very hard time loading anything with that scent into a pipe that I have any feelings for whatsoever.

All in all though, Three Star Blue smokes reasonably well, isn't too much of a biter if respected, and leaves a mystifyingly enjoyable but distinctly mayberryesque coffee cake, creme, and pine-sol flavor on the tongue and in the briar----making it perfect for outings to funeral homes, dirt malls (flea markets), bowling alleys, your in-laws' homes, and anywhere portraits of Mussolini, Stalin, or Bob Barker are still proudly displayed.

The only natural flavor I get is a very mild toasty note from the Black Cav and a hint of smoke from the Lat. The majority of flavor is from the topping. I get a caramel/molasses flavor along with floral notes. That caramel/molasses could be coming from rum if that's what was used here. It can burn a little warm if you don't mind your pace. A pleasant smoke, but not my kind of smoke. Recommended for the aro smoker who doesn't mind a lack of natural tobacco flavor.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in taste and flavoring.

This blend has a little more taste and flavor than the red . The roomnote is excellent . The flavor is .. I'm not sure what it is and the blend burns a bit warm , though it burn perfectly well . I'm a big IRC fan and this is their biggest seller , they say . It's probably my least favorite of their offerings . This is not a black Cavendish styles blend . If I liked the flavor I'd have better things to say about it . As I said ... the roomnote is fantastic and the flavor is just ok . try the Three Star Bronze ... it's killer .. and the Old Colonial , with it's mild topnote , is like CH but better

The smell from the pouch is sweet like raisins.

I smoked this one several times. I am ambivalent. During the couple of early times the taste was kind of metallic and astringent, the topping was very sweet and way too noticeable,not really pleasant.

I’m writing this review when tobacco is approximately four years old. This is a key element for letting all the flavors emerge.

During this last time all the flavours were more balanced and the metallic aroma disappeared. It was pleasant, although the topping is still too strong.

It is not a complex tobacco, very sweet and creamy and although it says it contains perique it was hardly noticeable.

This time I only needed one match and it burned evenly. I would recommend a very slow smoke in order to appreciate its flavours. Another idea to let the sweetness be balanced is to marinate it with dark chocolate at least 70%.

The room note is very pleasant like fermented plums. The astringent sensation came back with the aftertaste.

www.ensusitioarq.com

I must say that I particularly enjoy both the cut and the room note of this blend. There is a mild but pleasant scent from smoking this tobacco that I'm sure would please just about anyone. The variety of tobaccos in this blend seem to be of good quality and the alcohol topping is a nice touch. I definitely taste the burley in this tobacco more than anything. I did notice that this blend has a tendency to burn hot and can cause some tongue irritation so unless you're a slow smoker, I would suggest staying away from this blend. I would give this blend a 2.5/4 but I'm going to have to round down unfortunately (although it'd be nice if I could give this three stars considering the name).

As many others have stated, this was a gift with a purchase order from Iwan Ries. Thanks IW, but no thanks. This smells OK out of the box. To me it smelled like orange cream soda. Smoking it was the same way. It was almost like smoking Sunkist or Fanta Orange. Unfortunately, this does bite. Yes, I could puff slower, but I'd have to puff much slower than I prefer. It's a bright tobacco rough cut. It does produce some moisture in the bowl. I usually solve this by letting the tobacco dry out for a few days. It mostly worked. The first 4-5 bowls were nice, aside from the bite. Then it lost most of the already mild flavor as soon as it became too dry. I think it might be just OK if you knew at what point to let it stop drying and if you train yourself to puff this slowly. I'm not interested in either endeavor. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but I can't say it was totally unpleasant for those 4-5 bowls.

Got a sample of this with a Savinelli I ordered. Very dry, lots of stems and chunks. Smoked very slowly it is tolerable. 'Nuff said.