Ole Shenandoah Barrel No. 76

This is a Cavendish a burley blend that is flavored with cocoa and vanilla. While it is an interesting try, it is not really unique. That is all there is to say.

Ole Shenandoah. Hmm.

The reviews I read about this tobacco were off the charts! Rave, rave, rave. Sounds awesome. And I'm not snooty. I like English, Balkan, Aromatics and plain ole smokes too. So I thought, "hey! I'll try this one...and since it's on sale, I'll grab 15 tins!" Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought it and the compulsive person in me left the train station without me.

So there I was now waiting to get my hands on this tin. They arrived. I finally got around to opening one about a month later. Sort of smelled pleasant in the tin. It had the vanilla scent, but maybe I expected a bit more of it. But that's OK too. Then I packed and smoke it. Hmm. Not a lot of vanilla flavor. Not a lot of tobacco flavor. What the heck did I just smoke? Was the cob pipe funky? I got zilch out of it by way of flavor. But I figured it was just an off day. Then about a week later, I took the tin out for a round of golf. I figure, it would be pleasant enough to smoke around others and this is supposed to be a great winner, so let's take it. Again, zilch. Not much to it. I smoked it. I had it with me and I continued to smoke it, but it wasn't satisfying. In fact, I was starting to think what I was going to be able to do with the other 14 tins!

The folks around me though did like the smell of it, but I had to ask them if they did. Sometimes when smoking a pipe on the course, folks will edge closer to smell the smoke and comment about how they like this or that or how it might remind them of someone. But they did like the scent here, so there was that.

So I came back, popped it all into a pint jar and said forget about it. Done with this stuff. But a couple of months later, curiosity got the better of me and I opened up the jar to catch a whiff. It smelled better. Fuller. It smelled like it had smoothed and grown into itself. Here's to a new bowl of it and to giving it another chance. I packed it up and lit it up. It was indeed smoother and fuller in flavor! The vanilla was coming through and the tobacco tasted richer. Nothing to write lasting songs about, but it was tasty and smooth. It also gave me hope for the remaining 14 tins!

No nicotine hit to speak of. No bite either. It was a smooth smoke and alright in its own right. If continued cellaring brings out the remaining flavors in the tobacco, both from the leaves themselves and the marrying of the flavors, then this could be raised to 3 stars.

I may be double dipping as I thought I had just reviewed this blend -

I had fun tasting all of the Ole Shenandoa blends (easily gotten at pipesandcigars.com). They have great tin art and really nicely put together aromatics with crisp, tobacco taste, yet with aromatic agents that are not too sweet.

Not sure why I have these Ole Shenandoah blends floating about, since the last one I smoked was terrible. Sadly this cousin was also inbred. The tin aroma has a gross, hospital smelling, musty sour affair going on. Who knows what the smell is trying to accomplish here, maybe some type of ol' timey tobacconist angle?

The stuff is generously topped and fairly moist out the gates. Not a huge problem as it let well enough. The lit flavor added some sweetness, yet it still did not impress me in the least. It wasn't as gross as the initial smell, it was just very boring; like smoking empty calories without tasting the desert you know isn't good for you.

The last Ole Shenandoah was down right gross. Barrel No. 76 isn't much better, but was at least tolerable as a bland smoker, so I decided to give it a weak two stars in deference to others with a different flavor palette.

Not bad! I purchased this on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. A very mild casing gives the tobacco the center stage. Great for the price. I have reordered once and plan to cellar the next tin. I'll update when it has aged. Not going into a regular rotation, but will revisit, often.