Thomas Radford Sunday's Fantasy

Sunday`s Fantasy came to me as a gift - along with several other aromatics - in the festive season. I started the tin out of affection for the gift-giver, but finished the tin for its own merits. It is a light-weight, pleasant, dry aromatic that ranks with the best of aromatics. It is not likely that I will search for it, but compared to what else is in store for me by way of aromatics, would happily accept more of it in place of the Almondines, the Cherry Choices and Highland Malts.

The cotton candy of pipe tobaccos.

Somewhere, in The List of Grandiose Names, this is fully titled as "Thomas Radford's summer sunday's fantasy of smoking a fluffy fruit cake with whipped cream that someone put too much fruit in, while lazing in a hammock in an orchard, watching cumulus clouds lazily drifting by on a warm sunny afternoon."

Seriously, it's all there; again, vanilla is clearly the dominating one but there's also sugarcane, honey, plum, raisins, apricot, even fresh hay and grass clippings. Next step would be banana and pineapple. All this in a smoke that is feather-light and probably completely unable to produce anything that could be called tongue-bite, and burns very easily, leaving behind only a small amount of white ash. Even the room note brings up questions of "That smells really good, whatever it is, can I have a taste?" from non-smokers. If you consider yourself a big fan of aromatics and have not yet tried this, there's a huge gap in your pipe tobacco lore. The large flakes of yellow and brown are pleasing to the eye and easy to build a bowl out of; the pouch note is sugary and fruity and actually somewhat heavier than the smoke itself. Upon opening my first packet I thought I got something that had languished at the back of shelf for ages (it was the last one left) for it felt dry like tinder, but apparently this is supposed to be so as the two later ones were exactly the same. For the ease of burn and the unbearable lightness of smoking I would be tempted to recommend this to a beginner if it wasn't maybe going to give them a wrong idea of what pipe smoking is really about (and possibly making them a lifelong fan of aromatics in the process).

I was actually a bit weirded out by the first couple of bowls and thought I wouldn't like this in the long run, but somehow it grew on me and I still occasionally buy a pouch or two when I get it cheap. While way too fringe to be an all day smoke for me, the underlying theme of Sunday's Fantasy is still a mix of very good light varieties of tobacco. Excellent for a daytime smoke in the garden in the summer, I would accompany this with honeyed black tea or ice-water with lemon and mint, depending on the temperature.

very friendly for pipe newer. mild body with butter,plum aroma. standard Virginia sweet soft style. little Black Cavendish but not heavy. Some plum sour and salty taste. tobacco's cutting is quite broad. good quality for aromatic with nice price.

First pouch I got was 2 dry, but the second one was better, but on the other hand I like my tobaccos on the moist side. For an aromatic where the casing plays a big role this one has remarkable balance. I am usually not a big fan of very fruity casings but this one works.

The cut is very peculiar, like little torn pieces in stead of cut ribbons, packs very well and seems to work best in a larger bowl. Burns well trough with consistent flavor. Perhaps not an all day smoke but one for special occasions, for me at least.

It is a good tobacco for beginners, easy to light, burns good, not wet at all, yet gets hot. Although it is an aromatic, I taste the tobacco and it makes me happy, maybe it's the sugar that someone mentioned earlier, maybe it is the pipe, whatever the reason, it is fun. If you just started smoking a pipe, you should try his one.

This aromatic is living proof that it is possible to blend a sweet aromatic that doesn't taste soapy or burn hot and wet, and frankly there aren't many out there that you can say that about. Sweet (not too sweet) peachy, vanilla with a delightful and mild flowery perfume. Presentation in the tin is 100%, wispy light golden and black 'corn flakes' of tobacco. Smokable straight from the tin, no drying required. I love the way the baccy is wrapped in plastic in the tin, sealing in all these warm aromas. I smoke this in a big Stanwell 9mm filter poker, puffing madly to see if I can get it to smoke hot or wet (I don't know what other reviewers are talking about!) it will not, it just plain refuses to. It just makes you wonder what all those other leading makers are doing so wrong. I have finally found a sweet, mild aromatic that can hold it's own against a strong English or a dark flake. Well done Pöschl, you've put the "I never smoke aromatics" snobs in their place with this one. Oh, if that isn't enough it's about 30% cheaper than 50grm tins by Peterson's, Solani, or Davidoff. TOP.

I'm not as ga-ga over this as Dub is, but he makes good points. Smoking this in a Savinelli Hercules, it burns nice and easy, no bite, no moisture buildup. Was ready to smoke out of the tin. Big chuncks of brown and black tobacco, reminded me of GLP Telegraph Hill in size, and packed just as easy.

I'm normally a Va/Per smoker about 90% of the time, for some reason felt like cracking a tin of something totally different while not making me gag down a heavy latakia blend. I also don't smoke aromatics much at all, maybe three bowls a year, and this will be my first of '08.

Not as nice as MacBaren Vanilla Cream in my books, less bitey though, and still a decent aromatic if you're in the mood for it and don't want to upset the neighbors with a foul smelling latakia blend.

This is a surprisingly dry tobacco right out of the tin. It is broad-cut with even mixture of light & dark flakes. It smells very fruity, like berries, fruit cake....very pleasant, right out of the tin. Upon lighting, it has a medium flavor/taste which I could not put my finger on (similar to tonquin in 1792).....But I believe Tantric has hit it...."nutmeg"....very distinctive taste. You could smoke this blindfolded and know which tobacco it was. Room note is also pleasant. I did have some difficulty keeping it lit due to the porous/coarse nature of the packing. It may benefit to rub some out and place sprinkles on top of the other flakes and to get a really good charring light. Pipesand Cigars.com has a really good price (5 tins for $12.500, making this a very nice tobacco:price ratio. The tin is also a collectible!! I would give it strong 3-stars.

Fairly interesting blend. The first few rounds feel like hell, it bites, it burns hot, but as time passes one will learn the tricks to unleash it's full potential. As you open the pack, you'll face two facts. One, it is dry as hell and two, it's texture is very unique. It almost feels like packing cornflakes into your pipe. Pouch note is straightforward incredible, wild scents of fruit and hints of vanille and rum. The taste is not so fantastic as you'd expect, but is also okay, with tastes of mild fruits and freshly cut hay.

So, few tips for you. One, forget redamping, you'll never succeed. Two, learn to smoke slow but steady. This way, you'll be able to smoke a dry blend. Three, tamp it tight and do not let it loosen up. This'll help you maintain a nice smoke with light puffs.

Not bad, but there are way more "useful" aromatics, and they are also waaaaaay cheaper. 2,5 stars