Iwan Ries Three Star Royale

After having tried a few of the aromatics from Iwan Ries...such as 3-Star Blue, I decided to give this non-aromatic a try. I purchased 2 of their 11 ounce bags of this and aged one of them for a year. I found this blend to be quite pleasant, easy on the tongue, and if the wife likes the room note...that is fine with me! Just a little sweetness, smoked cool and dry to the bottom of my churchwardens and my meerschaums. The aged bag..which I opened about a month ago, was just as fresh, due to the very good quality air seal used on these blends. I don't think I will try any other of the aromatics again, as Royal is pretty much all I would ever need for flavor. I do like IRC tobaccos in general and their Balkan Supreme is one of my favorites. Royal is a very decent blend for an "all day" and I recommend it.

Light americanized english blend made from decent but unremarkable components. A very thin casing applied with a conservative hand keeps this from becoming overtly sweet while likely helping mask some leaf quality issues.

Unlike others, I found that it can and will bite if smoked at the rate just beyond that required to keep the stuff from going out. Nice soft variations of toasted oat scents in the bag and after lighting.

An old Iwan Ries catalog, circa early 1970's, described Three Star Royal as containing a very small amount of aromatic ingredient, just enough to screen any "heavy" tobacco scent. Although labeled as "extra rich, non-aromatic" it actually is neither. By today's standards, I would place Royal solidly in the medium taste category. A touch of oriental and a whiff of latakia give it a more complex and slightly heartier flavor than the other Three Star blends, with a rather nice room note as well. I've had favorable compliments on the aroma. Although personally I've never found bite to be much of a problem in any of the Three Stars, Royal is probably one of the least bite prone of all of them, IMO. It lights up easily, burns cool, steady and fairly dry, and doesn't sour the bowl. I find it to be a thoroughly satisfying blend for everyday. A good choice for the aromatic smoker looking for a more "English" taste without sacrificing the smellumgood.

I taste an assortment of cheap tobaccos blended to something resembling a mild English. I wish I had more to say, or at least something remotely positive, but I don't. The closest peer I can recall would be Crown Achievement, by Lane, and it blows this stuff away.

A really smooth english blend. I don't detect any topping or flavorings in this blend. What I do detect is orientals, the sweetness of virginia, some burley undertones and the presence of smokey latakia to round it out. It burns well and doesn't seem to want to bite if smoked properly. Very nice smoke.

If I were to rate this relative to the pouch description, it would only get a "not recommended" rating. It isn't full flavored by any stretch of the imagination.

It would seem that this blend has undergone some drastic changes since Pipestud reviewed it, as pointed out by emmbee.

Burley seems to dominate, with some unflavored cavendish along for the ride. The taste isn't offensive, in fact, it isn't bad. It might make a decent summertime working in the yard blend.

The flavor picked up a bit toward the end of the bowl, which is good, it had a very weak start. No problem with bit, no harshness. It definitely lacked the sweetness I had expected.

If you like the unflavored Burley & Black from Walgreen's, you will probably like this.

This morning I hankered for something different. I always have about 2-3 tins open at any time, though I wasn't in the mood for anything I had opened. I reached into my liquor/tobacco cabinet and pulled out my odds and ends bag. In it I found a little IRC Three Star Royal given to me by a friend some time ago. I fired some up. I forgot how excellent this blend really is. It's probably IRC's finest of the Three Star line, and my favorite after the esteemed King's Oriental. Yes, there is that characteristically famous IRC licorice topping that tends to coat the tongue, but it is balanced by a fine backbone of premium latakia, black cavendish for coolness and probably some Oriental thrown in for interest and refinement. Pouch and room note are wonderful. One or two lights takes you all the way down a well-behaved bowl for a cornucopia of delightful flavors. As you proceed down, the tastes/aromas are tangy, spicy and even a little woodsy, as if there were some matured Virginia flake pressed deep inside. I will be getting a pouch of this next time I'm downtown at IRC. I've neglected this fine blend after getting involved with so many other great mixtures I've had the opportunity to try. Nevertheless, I'm glad Royal and I have been reintroduced! And, for Pipestud to really like this, well, that's no small thing.

Four of five stars

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update november 2005

something has happened here. like a good woman turned bad, like a good job & a good employer now outsourced to china, like ketchup on a chicago style hotdog or mayonnaise on pastrami, iwan ries did something with this blend. it's definitely stokkebyed because it stings. gone is the bewitching aroma. missing is the soft, fruity subtleness. here is burning & pinching of tongue & roof of mouth. here is wailing & gnashing of teeth. i'll sample this one before purchasing it again. why, oh why does everything have to change?!?

downgrade to two of five stars

A very good offering by Iwan Ries. Simply put-This is a licorice topped medium English blend.The real description should read -An American version of "And So To Bed". There-That says it all!