Orlik Tobacco Company A/S Club Mixture

Having enjoyed the Orlik golden sliced, I thought it was time to sample it's cousin and shelfmate, the club.

I was surprised that this was an aromatic, assuming the blend would be another version of the golden sliced, like Blue and Red Davidoff's or Capstans blue and yellow for example, or better still, and more obviously, St Bruno RR and Flake.

The pouch offered a rather unexpected aroma and it was not like I'd ever come across before. It was a mix of cold coffee, a hint of something sweet-ish like chocolate perhaps with a ruddy, dusty, urban undertone. Not unpleasant, but it certainly wasn't a typical aromatic that I know.

The tobacco itself was standard and quite moist and the char light promised more than it acually delivered. The pouch aroma died away quickly at smoking and just gave way to a bland rather generic virginia flavour. The was no room note at all.

It behaved itself in the bowl and required only a few relights and I was using this as an everyday smoke. Briars were safe enough, although I didn't try in Meerschaums. I found the best way to smoke this was in a larger briar bowl and smoking in one sitting. Relighting from cold/paused was vile.

A full pouch later and I'm still not sure this should be classed as an aromatic and certainly would not buy it on a regular basis, although it might improve if decanted and cellared for a while.

Long thin-cut ribbon nicely tinned (couldn’t open tin with my quarter). Nice semi-aro quality blend for slip stream and bowl note. Easy draw and enjoyable sipping until ½ bowl then 5 hiccups (nicotine indicator) so I give this a 2 star. Am thinking up to this point I could have made this quality blend part of my rotation, so then I changed my mind.

Club Mixture burns very well to ash. It's neither hot nor overly wet. Little to no bite. The flavor is mildly sweet (don't know about any "toffee", though). It also lasts a good while in a pouch. I would say it's more mellow than CB regular, but not as bland as, say, CH. This blend is good in the sense that it does not do anything wrong. I hate giving it more than it earns, but it gets 3 stars, reluctantly. If all the awful, unsmokable blends ceased to exist, then this would necessarily get 2 stars.

**So, I am confused as to why this has two entries and which entry goes with the tin in my hand. Since this one is for the re-release and it it's 2019, I wrote my review here (kick my shin if I am wrong).**

Upon opening the tin you are greeted with a little advert explaining how discerning judges only smoke Orlik, which made me want peanut butter, since only choosy Moms choose Jif. Rather than peanut butter however, this Aromatic gives off carob paired with a slightly sour raisin, similar to the healthy chocolate cookies sold by our local organic grocery store. It is sweet, but not terribly so, yet earthy in body. The ribbon felt great and wasn't overly stewed, with a few meaty bits tossed in for good measure. The mix was not sticky to the touch and fired up without any fuss or muss.

While it advertises vanilla, I kept getting a nice subtle chocolate without any ultra sweet flavoring found in many vanillas I've tried. The smoke is pretty mild, and the flavor pleasing, so feel free to puff on it all day.

As an Aromatic smoker, I was in the right place, and this club is friendly enough to accommodate non Aromatic fans wanting to relax for the day without eating some kids cereal (though some may want to step outside for a cigarette since this won't satisfy an addicted nicotine fix).

Edit: I knocked it down to two stars, as the flavor became bitter and bland after about a week from opening the tin.

This is a light Danish-style aromatic with a vanilla toffee flavoring. The flavor is just a bit too heavy and overwhelms the nice tobaccos used. I greatly prefer the Mac Baren Vanilla Creme, which is why this Orlik only gets 2 stars.