Iwan Ries Three Star Blue

Three Star Blue is a debated subject. And in fact i must agree that this a very tempramental blend. However I have enjoyed it for many years. Nice blend of burly, virginia, latakia and perique .This mixture is a very old school. Back when pipe smoking was common place and people smoked in banks and collage lecture halls ect, this type of tobacco was the norm. Unhurried and calm, the way a pipe is to be enjoyed. TSB falls smack dab in the middle of that catagory. Smoked gently, it provides a very consistent and pleasing smoke. The room note garners praise from most everyone, even the anti-smoking nazis. Yes its an aromatic, BUT, its an aromatic of classic times, and not to be compaired to the gooped, sauced up OTC blends or even high end of present day, ie, Captain Black and his band of pirates, flavored with God knows what . We all know that a pipe is to be sipped slowly to reveal its true character, and TSB is no exception. One thing I have discovered years ago, being a collector of classic pipes is that the ghosts of every Christmas Past lurks within them. Out to the garage and out comes the retort contraption and the holy water, rum 151, and my trusty Ronsen butane torch, a can of Coke, ice and a glass, (I retort myself also during this ritual.) Having a CLEAN and ghost free pipe is key to enjoying our hobby. I dedicate my pipes to specific tobacco blends so no distant relatives emerge and spoil my fun. (I dont want cousin Eddie and his brood pulling in and staying till next month.) Also I bore out pipes.....every one of them. After the advice of Laars Iverson, I have tamed the most stubborn of terrible smoking pipes. Being a machinist, with extensive flow training, has taught me a great deal in pipe smoking. People, all pipes have tiny draft holes for purposes of strenght. The taste, burn qualitys, ash formation is caused by this draft. The smoke we enjoy is made available by its clinging to water droplettes. NO turbulence can be involved, nor small draft holes. A pipe is a chimney and needs to breathe. TSB is of my all time favorites. Cool smoking when given the respect it deserves, superb flavor, burns very clean, and no swamp left in the bottom . Most recent is an estate Ben Wade Golden Walnut Plateau Briar bored to 3/16"". An wonderful smoker now, compared to the original with a stock bore. Lets take a second and examine our equipment, even the Dunhill guys, (I own 3 and were grounds for divorce, not to mention the cost of fuel to operate them). I hope that my two cents here will assist a few and especially new pipers breaking in to our hobby. The best tobacco on the planet is the one you enjoy the most

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Well if you are ever walking down Wabash St in Chicago and see a large sign hugging a building corner next to the El that reads Iwan Ries and Company with three stars on it you know that you have arrived at 19 S Wabash. Said sign is blue, coincidence? I think not. If you venture up to the second floor and ask their most experienced employee for a tobacco suggestion, he will hand you a pouch of this if you are willing to try an aromatic. Coincidence? I think not. Not all aromatics are the same and that holds true here. Black Cavendish, Perique, and Latakia is an awesome base if you think about it and the topping is unique. Personally, I taste cherry, vanilla, and scotch which actually turns out to be pretty neat with the Perique and Latakia. I love Perique and Latakia and I can say I never smoke aromatics but I truly loved my dance with this bowl. If you like the story, if you are open to the flavors go for it because the underlying blend of tobaccos is actually really good. IRC blends have always cleared and reset my palette with their robust tobaccos and old-time toppings/casings.

De gustibus non est disputandum, and that's certainly true when it comes to tobaccos. In the old days I smoked English blends, especially the late lamented Balkan Sobranie, but recently this type of tobacco stopped working for me, and I understand that some people have or develop an intolerance for Latakia, and that turned out to be the case for me. I dug into my pouch of TSB and thought I had a rattlesnake in my bowl––it bit, and bit again, harder each time. At the same time I found that I did enjoy the taste, and family comments ranged from "extremely pleasant“to “delicious.“ Well, being an old, experienced pipe smoker I asked myself the rhetorical question “what does one do when the tobacco burns too hot?” And the answer is simple: “smoke it slower.” That turned out to be very good advice in this case, because smoked slowly, TSB turns out to be a most pleasant experience. it's not too strong at all, and when the tobacco is savored, turns out to be exactly what one wishes for in a tobacco. It now burns cool and dry to the bottom of the bowl leaving a small quantity of powdery ash. My advice to others who have found this too hot burning as I initially did: give this one a chance, smoke slowly, and you'll be rewarded with a very satisfying smoke. There’s a reason why this one has been around for the better part of a century, and if you give it a chance, you’ll see why.

This is one of the blends that I regularly smoked way back when. I have recently tried it again and I was not disappointed. This blend has not changed in my opinion. It still remains a favorite of mine, if not in my pipe regularly, in my heart always. I have no favorite type of blend. There are aromatics, non-aromatics, English, Scottish, Virginias and Americanized English blends that I like and don?t like. Recently, however, I have been smoking more aromatics than in the past. To wit, variety is the spice of life.

Three Star Blue is a classic American, mild to medium aromatic that is smooth, mellow, well-balanced, cool smoking and with a different but pleasant taste that I cannot compare to other blends. Some say it is fruity, other say it has a birch/wintergreen/mint taste or even has a perfume / soapy essence. The taste will be what YOU perceive. Regardless, the refreshing taste is subdued and will underlie but not overwhelm its more honest tobacco flavor.

The pouch aroma is unique. I could do a blind sniff test on 1000 pouches of different tobaccos and pick out the distinctive, pleasant aroma of Three Star Blue. This 100% natural tobacco tends to be on the dry side as it contains no humectants or preservatives. This, no doubt, is why it has superb burning qualities as well. This is also one of the few aromatics that does not get goopy or leave a wet heel. This is a rare plus for an aromatic. I experienced no bite perhaps because I tend to sip and savor rather than ?puff and chuff.? You may be indifferent to Blue the first few times you smoke it. If this is the case, lay it aside for 2-3 months and come back to it. I think your opinion may change favorably.

If you live in Illinois, the only thing negative about buying tobacco products from Iwan Ries is the Chicago sin tax. It now registers 13% on the Richter Scale. This is in addition to the 9% sales tax, one of the highest in the country for a major city. I think the folks at Iwan Ries should say goodbye to tradition (in Chicago since 1857) and move to the suburbs.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.6 out of 10.

Iwan Ries’ - Three Star Blue

I have been smoking this since my first visit to the Iwan Ries shop in Chicago whilst a graduate student...these days the proprietor Charles is an extremely helpful & accommodating guide... Three Star Blue was a comforting companion in briars during the Nam days... & remains so for an elderly veteran. It just wears well as an all day tobacco! I would class it as a mild English Aromatic. There is a mild fruity & citrus sweet foundation with very pleasurable Burleys - maybe like brown sugar toasted. The Virginia’s are quality & evident. It presents like a stoved cavendish with a tad of Latikea & Perique... never over-powering, however exuding a light peppery flavour. There are some floral tones present which I enjoy - like the British Gawith Hogarth but milder—if that makes sense. The N-hit is mild & it smokes cool with few re-lights & leaves very little moisture. Three Star burns to a nice ash..an easy all-day smoke... with enough complexity/variety to keep interest up. An easy blend to recommend ! 3+ Stars.

Excellent product of the art of blending tobacco! Whoever put this one together back in the day, hit a grand slam! Amazingly different tobacco flavors colliding together and producing a wonderful tasting smoke. Lights very easy, and not fussy. The flavoring tastes like it might be brandy. To the pipers who said this burned to hot and bit their tongues; Mabe you should ask your doctor about tranquilizers if you are huffing on a pipe so fast to make this blend bite. This is an outstanding blend!!! : )

The first Peterson I ordered came with it, I absolutely love it, smells great, tates sweet, definetly will be ordering some more.:)

I first smoked Three Star back in the 60's and have pretty much kept some on hand ever since. It's a good first-morning smoke. Smoke it very slowly or it will get hot and bite your tonque! I personally have learned about "saucing" from one of the greats, Craig Tarler at Cornel & Diehl. I also do a lot of my own saucing. If you can't nail down the exact aromatic of a blend, that is a good thing because most sauces are complicated and mixed to achieve an overall taste and aroma that may be non-specific in an identifiable single ingredient.

EDIT: 05/05/2017 There must be a reason that this has never been absent in my tobacco rotation since the sixties! It is because I like it! It was the catalyst in my creation of Cornell and Diehl's "Captain Bob's Blend"! But, I took this light English aromatic in a slightly different aromatic direction. My Blend has a top note in a different direction. But I want everyone to know that I love the new tins of 3SB and it has and will remain in my personal favorite rotation. I am smoking it now as I do most days. While my own Blend remains my favorite, I also want to re-state that 3SB was "THE CATALYST" for my inspiration to create CBB. Thank you Iwan Ries! I do love your blend and I give it 4 stars! See you in Chicago on Sunday 5/7/17.

In a word, excellent! Needs to dry out a bit before smoking though. Nutty chocolate burley, grassy Virginia, a touch of Perique and just enough Latakia to peak your English urge. The real star though, for me is the Cavendish, it’s brown sugar with some smoky flue cured flavor. You will either love it or loathe it! I tend to love it, once it’s dried to a smokable humidity. The touch of vanilla and licorice add to the pleasure immensely. Some hints of Lakeland are present as well. Burns clean with no hot spots and is consistent throughout the process. All day blend that is pleasurable and enough nicotine to keep it in my my approval rating.