Dr. Grabow Pipes

steverino · Last edited by steverino on Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:00 am; edited 2 times in total

Bought a tin of this and a tin of Manhattan Afternoon today at JR in Burlington. Just finished my first bowl of Old Hollywood and wanted to document it here for all time. Man, what a great smoke. Here is the tin description:

"A blend of red Virginia, Latakia, red Virginia cavendish, Turkish and cubed burley designed to bring out the best in these rich tobaccos."

This is one of those tobaccos in which the individual components are so well balanced that you don't really taste them, although there were moments when they would peek out. At first light, I got a predominantly Virginia taste, but the latakia showed up quickly and took center stage for the first few minutes. The red Virginia held its own and provided a noticeable sweetness to complement the ensemble. After about the first 1/4 to 1/3 bowl, all the parts were singing together in harmony and the overall taste was a moderately sweet melding of Virginia, latakia and burley. I must say that I did not really notice the Turkish tobacco at any point - though I think I detected it in the background almost as if it was threatening to come out and play, but was just a wee bit too shy to do so. My favorite part was about half a bowl down. Here, the burley took over but was still flanked by the Virginia sweetness. If you can imagine a sweet burley taste, that's what I was getting. This was a real pleasure to smoke. Near the end, the sweetness subsided and gave way to a straight burley taste, though not bitter or sour at all. I thought I might have sensed the Turkish a little more as the last few embers faded away, and this made for an interesting finish. I'm taking this one to work with me tomorrow so I can get a little more time with this tobacco. If it's as good tomorrow as it was this evening, I'm going to seriously consider ordering a larger tin. I heartily recommend Old Hollywood to anyone, as it could make a good transition blend for the aromatic smoker or a great change of pace blend for most anyone who normally smokes English or Virginia blends.

Addendum, 9-10-09:

I've smoked a few more bowls of Old Hollywood and thought I'd add a couple of observations. I had one bowl where the turkish tobacco showed up quite prominently. It exhibited a musty sweetness that was a great contrast to the base flavor. Even with the various flavors that have revealed themselves, I still maintain that this is a very well-melded tobacco. Overall its taste is a wonderfully symbiotic combination of the individual components. I failed to mention before that the nicotine in this blend is relatively light. I don't think it would even bother those who are extra senstitive to vitamin N, especially if smoked and enjoyed slowly. Every bowl of this tobacco has so far been consistently good. I highly recommend it.

Gig · Duke & Westbrook Man Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 240

Thanks so much for sharing with us. It definitely sounds like another tobacco to place on my wish list Smile

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Gig aka "Duke, Westbrook & Omega Man"

Dave · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:54 pm Post subject:

A great review

Thank for letting us know
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Dave

ozark southpaw · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:59 pm Post subject:

It does sound like a good one Steve!
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LokoMac8

steverino · Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:31 am Post subject:

Added a couple of lines to the review.