W.O. Larsen 1864 Tobacco
ghostsofpompeii
Master
It's been a while since I did a tobacco review and figured this was just as good a time as any. And what better blend than W.O. Larsen 1864. This has been sitting under the bed in our extra bedroom for several months, awaiting the arrival of Christmas. And I was waiting with bated breath to finally get an opportunity to try this out. It was one of the more expensive tobacco purchases I'd made at over $16.00 for a 3.53 oz. tin. And for me that's pretty expensive. And it intrigued me because it came at a time when I was still seeking out the perfect fruit flavored blends. A quest I've since abandoned.
The description on both the tin and the Pipes & Cigars website was quite alluring: "This mixture is blended with select Virginia from three continents, Black Cavendish, and American Burley - loose cut and ready rubbed. Aroma: Chocolate, Irish Cream, and a touch of Orange Cut. Mixture Body: 2 - Aromatic Taste: 3 - Room Note: 3."
Before commenting on the smoking experience let me first state that this was quite possibly the most beautifully looking tobacco blend I've ever seen. The colors were brilliant. Both golden and red Virginias, toasted brown Cavendish, and some of the nicest looking Burley I'd ever laid my eyes on. This was unquestionably a quality product. Perfect consistency. Nicely packed. But for an aromatic smoker like myself, more accustom to super sweet aromatic blends from companies like Sutliff with a pouch note that reflects a name like Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Mousse, or Rum and Maple - W.O. Larson 1864 offered nary a hit of the promised flavors ... Chocolate, Irish Cream, or Orange. It did have a nice fresh tobacco smell you might associate with a quality non-aromatic Va-Per, but not an aromatic blend.
As for taste it was very similar. I could detect none of the flavoring promised on the tin. It was a very nice smoke, and something I'm sure a non-aromatic smoker would appreciate. But if you're in the same camp as members like @Motie2 or myself who want our aromatic blends to taste like an after dinner pastry treat this is not for you. The room note was pleasant enough and inoffensive in much the same way as Carter Hall. But nothing to get those around you to comment on the wonderful smell emanating from your pipe.
As I continued smoking a scene played out before my eyes of the factory in which this blend was manufactured.
As the tobacco works it's way down an assembly line a man finishing up his lunch accidentally drops his orange wedge on the conveyor belt. A voice off in the distance shouts "Stop the line!" It's the factory Foreman in charge of quality control. The conveyor belt stops abruptly.
Forman: "Did you just drop an orange wedge onto the tobacco?
Employee: "Yes sir. But I immediately retrieved it."
Foreman: Is that Irish Cream I smell on your breath?"
Employee: "Well ... it might be."
Forman: "This will not do. I just caught Miss Tillingham eating a fudge brownie down the line, and she had traces of melted chocolate on her fingertips as she was handling the tobacco. This is totally unacceptable - the entire batch is ruined. Box this up and isolate it from the rest of the stock. We'll decide what to do with it later. And make a notation of the orange and chocolate contamination. Maybe marketing can do something with it."
And that's about the amount of chocolate, Irish Cream and orange I detected in W.O. Larsen 1864. If it's there - it was by accident.
But having said all that, it was a very pleasant smoking experience - cool, no bite, and burned to a nice white ash. A nice change up when I'm not wanting something so sweet. The perfect unobtrusive aromatic for a Va-Per smoker.
Comments
I have not smoked 1864, but I developed in interest in Larsen blends after getting a tin of a limited edition in the goody bag at the cigar dinner at the Chicago Pipe Show a couple of years back. I am not a big aro smoker, but this was really good stuff. I have been smoking Larsen Signature of late - not a lot of it, probably two or three bowls a month. It is a lovely tasting smoke.