American Blends C&V Blend (Formerly Cherry & Vanilla) Pipe Tobacco (Loose)

Date Added: Thursday 23 July, 2020 by Antony

American Blends Cherry and Vanilla - I'm not a fan of very sweet aromatics, so I felt some trepidation opening the pack. My first impression was of a cherryade and cream soda aroma, rather than fresh cherries and vanilla pods, so even though it was pleasant, I feared for the worst upon ignition. I needn't have worried: this smoked beautifully and revealed sophisticated caramel nut nuances halfway down the bowl. Although this one starts out as a trip to the funfair, it soon becomes a night at the opera. Bravo!

Date Added: Wednesday 14 February, 2018 by Kevin

I'm just getting into pipes and this is only the second pipe tobacco that I've tried. I bought a range to see the style that I would like and this was the only aromatic that was in my order. The scent is very strong; the cherry and vanilla pack an absolute punch to the nostrils, they are certainly not subtle. It is reminiscent in fragrance to a Bakewell Tart. Upon lighting up these continue through to the taste, they are certainly pretty flavoursome in the mouth with the vanilla becoming a bit more dominant and the cherry, whilst still there, taking a back seat. As Callum said in his review, this is sweet, very sweet indeed. The closest thing that I could compare it to in terms of cigars was an American stick that I was given as a present a few years ago that had honey flavoured tobacco. If I'm being honest it became a bit sickly and I was looking forward to it finishing. However I also made a major mistake as towards the end; I realised that my puffing may have been a bit on the quick side and it gave quite a bit of bight in the back of the throat, which surprised me given how sweet this tobacco was. On my next pipe I mixed it 50/50 with Condor Blended (which I thought was nice, but a bit on the bland side) and it produced a really nice smoke with a bit more of a tobacco taste and the sweet flavours mellowed down quite a bit. Overall this certainly has the flavours which are described spot on, but they are simply too sweet for my taste buds. A bit like a sticky toffee pudding: you'll either think it is heavenly or simply too sickly sweet. If you, like me, are of the latter opinion then I recommend mixing this with some mild tobacco to mellow the flavours a bit.