Tinder Box North Sea Review

by Admin on February 11, 2009

Tinder Box North Sea Pipe Tobacco

Tinder Box North Sea Pipe Tobacco

Today I’m reviewing North Sea pipe tobacco by Tinderbox. This one is hailed on their website as being their most popular blend and specifically, “A cool smoking mixture of Burley, Virginia and Black Cavendish combined with fruits and other flavor essences.”

The pouch aroma of North Sea smells of sweet wood, maple syrup and a slight “assorted” fruit muffin scent, reminiscent of the smell that lingers after a robust breakfast. Whereas a lot of fruit tobaccos strike me as chemical and fake, this is a very natural smelling tobacco.

This is a lighter colored tobacco with broad light tan strips and various semi-dark to very dark brown pieces mixed in. Looks to be a very evenly proportioned blend of Burley, Virginia and Black Cavendish. Had nearly a perfect degree of moisture, which is something that Tinder box normally over-does.

Whereas a lot of TinderBox tobaccos aren’t smokable to the bottom of the bowl due to moisture, this one excelled at a lengthy smoking experience. North Sea had possibly the smallest amount of dottle left in the bowl out of all the tinderbox tobaccos I’ve had.

Now, regarding taste progression through the bowl, North Sea has 2 pronounced progressions. Upon the initial light through the first 1/3 of the bowl the flavor is light and smoky. The remaining 2/3 of the bowl are a real treat. The flavor shifts from a loose, light one to a more robust, sweet, “dark” flavor. Think maple syrup soaked whole-wheat pancakes, with the last strawberry juices overwhelmed by the sugary sweetness of the syrup. Surprisingly complex and delightful.

Overall, North Sea was a tremendous smoking experience and one that I’ll be buying a full pound, 1/2 of which will be cellared and 1/2 of which will be one of my regular smokes.

The bottom line: Overall: 8/10.

Pouch Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Room Note: 7/10
Value: 8/10

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Tinder Box Mango Tango Review

by Admin on February 8, 2009

Tinder Box Mango Tango Pipe Tobacco

Tinder Box Mango Tango Pipe Tobacco

I stopped into my local Tinder Box this week and picked up a few of their blends, one of which is Mango Tango.. Now, I’m not a huge fan of Tinderbox or anything, but I find their pipe tobacco to be reasonably priced and fresh. I hear a lot of people complaining about TB quality, but I think it has a lot to do with your local franchise. Anyway, onward to the review!

The pouch aroma of this tobacco is very sweet, sugary and some slight fruit bouquet. Not a chemical fruit, more of a natural, fresh cut fruit smell. Nice and inviting.

The tobacco itself is mostly black/dark brown with golden brown strands mixed in sporadically. Nothing terribly interesting to the eye.

After the initial light and some slight tamping the bowl burned very well until about 2/3 the way through, in which case the dottle was so wet that there was basically no chance for a re-light. A lot of Tinder Box tobaccos have this issue and I understand it to have a lot to do with the PG content of the tobacco.

I didn’t really find any “mango” flavor in the bowl, just a lot of sweetness, (think iced tea, not honey) and some overall fruitiness. Kind of a “citrus” Tums flavor, somewhat bland and dry.

This is a decent tasting aromatic. Nothing to knock your socks off but something I’m not afraid to share with friends that don’t smoke a pipe often.

The bottom line: Overall: 6/10.

Pouch Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 6/10
Room Note: 5/10
Value: 6/10

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