Straus Tobacco Sleepy Hollow

https://youtu.be/sp-tDpG-yz4 Subtly sweet and not overpowering at all. Great room/car note - like vanilla sweetened pancakes. Cinnamon pumpkin notes. Even if you're not craving an aromatic, I highly recommend. Deelish!

Consider this a VERY POSITIVE 3 star review. I reserve my 4 stars reviews for those tobaccos which are head-n-shoulders above the pack. This isn't quite there, but it certainly is an excellent tobacco that I highly recommend.

This is an unusual, though excellent, aromatic tobacco. The scent and flavoring is themed for the Fall, being cased with vanilla, nutmeg, and unless its my imagination is off, a bit of cinnamon and perhaps some caramel or maple. It certainly has a sweet, pleasing aroma and taste. Other reviewers suggest the cinnamon is "upfront" and stands out, but my nose did not detect anything nearly that strong. The nutmeg seems to be the dominant scent, which is very pleasing. If a Pumpkin Spice Latte was a tobacco, this would be it (minus the coffee taste). Certainly it is the tobacco incarnation of a warm pumpkin pie. As with all aromatics, the smell is stronger than the taste. Also, the taste tends to lessen as you burn through the bowl (this is also typical of aromatics), but the good news is the flavor only lessens, it never becomes foul or unpleasant.

The tobacco arrives very moist, which is common for aromatics. If you pinch some in your fingers then open to allow all the tobacco to drop onto the counter, some tobacco stays stuck to your fingers (indicates high moisture level). Nevertheless, when smoked in my MM Country Gentleman, I have not experienced any "goop" or gurgling (that may be in part to using a corn cob, which tends to eliminate gurgling anyway). Despite it high moisture level, I had no trouble keeping the tobacco lit and it burned down to a nice white ash.

This is the only other aromatic that I have in my rotation. I probably wouldn't smoke it year-round, but as a seasonal aromatic it is a fun change of pace. I anticipate a Fall order each year from Strauss Tobacconist as a way of welcoming in the leaves color changes.

Shipping from Strauss in KY was $9 for 8 ounces (note: 8 ounces of tobacco will completely fill a quart mason jar). I believe they have a flat shipping rate of $9 for all order under $100.

Tried this blend for the first time in December 2016. It is one of the tastiest and most enjoyable blends I have had in a long time. Going to stock up on this blend when the next batches are available in July 2017. IMO this is definitely my new top blend for 2017. The tobacco is just as it states in the description. It's a fall blend that I will smoke all year... MozzMann 2017 - I'm Back!

This is one of my absolute favorite autumn aromatics. Every year I look forward to cracking this open come October. A sweet caramel-maple-funnel cake flavor that does not sublimate the tobaccos and a room note to match. Along with Cornell & Diehl's Autumn Evening this is a fall classic.

I do not normally gravitate towards the sweeter aromatics, and after opening the bag, I was afraid I strayed too far from my preferences. However, I really enjoyed this blend. I smoked it in a bent briar that had relatively wide and deep chamber. I think this helped counter the somewhat moist tobacco. It smoked well and surprisingly cool. The flavor is not overpowering and the room-note is spectacular. I will seek this blend out in the future.

This has probably been the most hyped up tobacco I have smoked. Straus did good...real good. I love it. Girlfriend loves the room note. I even got a compliment from a random guy walking by the house. It has a very nice flavor. The tobacco burns well, smokes well. Very nice smoke. I say it is worth giving it a try.

Delightful. My wife mentioned that the "tin" note was the best (only) tobacco of mine that she's liked. I let it dry for about an hour before inaugurating it in a cob. I smoked it quick and it burned like a champ down to a nice ash. The pre-smoke notes carried through to the smoke. There was a mile pumpkin spice, a bit of that bread taste. I was more focused on the aro notes vs. the tobacco notes, but it didn't taste overly-sticky or under-tobacco. A great smoke that I'm going to move from a cob to a Hackert.

The nuttiness from the burley does indeed emerge, and there is a bit of cinnamon in the taste, but overall this is good but not great. I left the bulk pouch out for 36 hours or so to reduce some of the abundant moisture, and that did help, but this is still a very moist aromatic.

I gave this a try because we are, after all, in the Fall, though 80F at 8PM in northern California isn’t really the weather I would prefer, but then I do live here and by and large it is a great place to live. I get the theme of Sleepy Hollow. And it may be that I am less sensitive to cinnamon or the spices they introduced than, say, maple toppinigs. So best not be doctrinaire.

Still, a lot of hoopla over Sleepy Hollow. I have a lot of respect for Straus and for the efforts of many excellent local shops that do their own blends — I’d add Peretti and Milan to name but a few of many great ones out there.

Perhaps I can re-review it when the leaves have more time to settle. For now, I’d give it 2.5 stars but feel (of the two choices) three is more fair than two.

I would not say that I am an aromatic smoker by any means, however, this stuff is fantastic. I finally pulled the trigger on some of this wonderful blend this past September and have resolved to by a full 8 ounces next September.

With the first light, I get an immediate flavor of molasses, vanilla, and a bit of light spice (nutmeg?). The bowl settles down quickly and will continue to give off the aforementioned flavors, but adds in some subtle nuances about midway through the bowl. I can, at times, get a hint of the pumpkin in the blend, but it is not consistent. This has to be the sweetest blend I 've smoked in a long time, but it is sweet in a good way. It's not a chemical taste at all.

The only caveat I would give is this: It needs a tremendous amount of drying time. I am one who likes a little more moisture to my tobacco that other people, but this one is soaking wet right from the store. I think I could ring the moisture out of this one! Once you get over that it's a great smoke.