Tobaccos Nat Sherman - 314 City Island Dawn

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-08		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

I'be been smoking pipes for about 3 years now. During that time I have tried quite a lot of different brands and blends. It seems to me that most of the reviews are slanted in favor of non-aromatics. It's almost as if many feel the the "goal" is to move up to non-aromatics because that's the best there is.

At my ripe old age of 55, I've decided that the only thing important is to smoke what YOU like. That all that matters.

That said, I have come to the conclusion that Nat Sherman's 314 is my favorite blend. It isn't too overwhelmingly aromatic and provides me with a clean, cool smoke that is very flavorful. As a bonus, the room note will win friends as well. It loads and lights easily and burns all the way down with little, if any, relighting.

It's truly a delight and a great all-day smoke for me. I highly recommed it.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2017-04-06		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

The gold Virginia cavendish offers some grass, citrus, and a little toast. The vanilla topping has a light artificial quality to it, and with a few drops of caramel, tones down the tobacco to a fair extent. Has virtually no nicotine. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool at a reasonable pace with a little inconsistency in flavor as the topping weakens a mite in the last third of the proceedings. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and needs an average number of relights. Has a decent after taste which is slightly spoiled by the aforementioned artificial notes. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RickPiatt (16)	2004-08-08		Extremely Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Nat Sherman 314 is bland in every way.

The tin when opened gives a strong vanilla cased cavendish smell that is inviting to the aromatic smoker. If there is anything besides cavendish here I sure can't find it. The leaf is ribbon cut and monotone in color like the color of honey.

When first opened the tobacco is a bit on the moist side. Packing when it is this moist will surely provide a lot of gurgle. Now to the first problem with this tobacco, if you let it dry out for more than a 15 minutes (the least IMHO that is needed to control the gurgle) the flavor begins to get flatter than flat almost as if the vanilla evaporates in the drying process. If smoked in a group 4 or larger gurgle is unstoppable. Attempting to control the gurgle, I smoked it in Savenelli 6mm and Vauen 9mm balsa filter pipes which helped tremendously. Even so, I still used more than one pipe cleaner to keep the condensation down. And, before I forget, when tried in a Peterson system pipe, it filled the reservoir - don't go there.

Strength: This is the mildest tobacco I've ever smoked (7 years smoking now). I notice no nicotine increase throughout the bowl.

Flavoring: As I previously outlined, this tobacco has a strong vanilla casing that is overpowering to say the least. It's a nice mix with cavendish, but is so monotone that the tobacco simply won't keep your interest for more than a few bowls. I never made it through the entire tin quite honestly.

Room note: This tobacco will make friends for you! People seem to love the aroma. While not as strong as some of the "cherry" blends, the aroma is definately a sickly sweet cavendish.

Bowl Experience: If dried out for about 15 minutes, the bowl lights quite easily and will smoke to the bottom with only a few relights (only needed because you're constantly using a pipe cleaner to stop gurgle). It burns down to a nice grey ash but it is hard to get 100% of the tobacco smoked. I noticed towards the very end of the bowl that all hint of the vanilla casing is gone and the flavor gets somewhat bitter.

Nat sherman calls this their most popular blend ... I can't see how that is possible. If you like aromatics I would suggest you try Nat Sherman's #307 instead. The flavor is much better and the gurgle, though still present, is less than this blend.

Legacy: The vanilla casing will stay with whatever pipe you smoke it in for a few bowls. Smoke it first in a cob in case you don't like it.

Possibility: This might be a nice tobacco to use as an ingredient in blending - if you wanted to add a slight touch of vanilla cavendish to "your custom blend".

Bottom line: If you love cavendish and vanilla is heaven, this is for you. Try it in a smaller pipe first (only to control the moisture).

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tom Bombadill (121)	2015-02-09		Mild	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is my first review of the New Year. I am snowed in here in Boston, MA where we are experiencing approximately 70 inches of snow in 17 days. Still, our spirits and the tabacky are holding up. I should note that I usually smoke English blends but enjoy aromatics periodically. Usually in the evenings and definitely after snow shoveling.

NS 314 is a light, not heavily cased aromatic. (I bought he tin six months ago and from the back label it appears to have been blended by Lane Ltd.) It has a delicious, light cocoa smell in the tin but it is not a "chocolate" aromatic. Looks like three tobaccos in the mix: A light colored brown and darker brown ribbon cut Virginias with a smattering of black Cavendish. Burns consistently, with no tongue bite, to a gray/white ash. Geat room note. Smokes with a uniform flavor throughout the bowl, like most aromatics do. It's advertised as "slightly" aromatic and that sums it up. Smooth Virginias, slightly sweet, maybe a touch of vanilla and a touch of cocoa. I will definitely buy several tins to cellar. I only do that with a handful of my favorite tobaccos. Maybe not good for new smoker. A tobacco lovers aromatic. This rates 4-Stars for me!

Pipe Used: Perretti, Peterson, Kaywoodie, Dr. Grabow,

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Any first-class aromatic..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fountainhead (17)	2011-01-21		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

I am usually not a big fan of aromatic blends; I own them to be diplomatic with non-smokers.

This blend, however, has changed my perspective on the murky world of aromatics. It has no bite, has a mellow and mild flavor, and has one of the best aromas I have ever smelled. It is a light vanilla aroma with a subtle hint of almonds or walnuts. It burns very well. Truly a masterpiece of the aromatic variety. Definitely going to stock up on this one.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-06-14		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like Aromatic blends for a change of pace or to recover from some of the stronger tobacs. This one smells delicious. It reminds me of Christmas cookie dough. The taste is quite mild and it smokes very smoothly. The only downside is that it is a smoke of short duration. If you are looking for a very high quality American-style Aromatic, this is about as good as they get. Recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2011-11-30		Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant

This is something that I used to smoke in small quantities a decade or so ago alongside various other Nat Sherman products—cigars, cigarettes, cigarettellos. I remember it as a delicate and enjoyable vanilla aromatic. But you can't step in the same river twice, I suppose.

I found a tin of this at my old residence last year and finally got around to dipping into it. It's entirely possible that the 8 or so years between my purchase of this 314 and smoking it over the past few days have been hard on the tobacco, but I'm not sure. What I once perceived as a quiet vanilla aromatic is now practically mute. It's still a mild tobacco, but far too mild to bring any pleasure. The big challenge with this stuff, however, is the serious bitterness that has developed in this weed. It's genuinely unpleasant to smoke and may well be a candidate for the big blue bin.

But back when I was much younger…and perhaps when the tin was fresh…this was a mild, pleasant smoke.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-08-15		Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

It would appear as if Rick Piatt took a peek into my tasting notes when he wrote his review. I have to agree with him 150%

You have to give credit for truth in advertising ? the description says this is their mildest blend. It has to be.

I didn?t chance a treasured briar on this one, I smoked it in a cob first. Then as an experiment, I smoked it in a Kirsten ? just to see how wet it really smoked. After I smoked it down as far as I could, I checked out the amount of water in the pipe. I was amazed. I wouldn?t have thought a bowl of tobacco could hold that much moisture!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (151)	2021-03-09		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

A long time ago, when I smoked Nat Sherman cigarettes, I liked them. But I only recently heard about pipe tobaccos from the same manufacturer. Therefore, it is not surprising that I wanted to try his mixtures and, perhaps, purchase them for my collection. Imagine my chagrin when I learned that Nat Sherman pipe tobaccos did not interest the new owner of the company, which was sold recently, and he closed their production. But I was lucky to find some.

The tin I opened had a 2008 excise stamp. Accordingly, the tobacco it contained was most likely older than this date. The nose clearly smelled of vanilla, milk chocolate and a little citrus, in which tangerine notes were guessed. When the fragrance dissipated a little, I caught a very light herbal hue, which was drowned out by the original scent. There is practically no moisture in the mixture, but the tobacco has not dried out.

The color of the tobacco is exactly like milk chocolate. The leaf is very soft, the cutting is extremely even. However, I got acquainted with the quality of the manufacturer (Lane Limited) since the time of the Punch test, so it did not surprise me. It is stuffed very easily, there is no need to knead.

Strength? What strength? At first I didn’t feel anything other than a sweet taste with a vanilla aroma. It seemed, instead, I could put a piece of chocolate with candied tangerine into my mouth. The tobacco is extremely mild itself. It is necessary to smoke carefully - the tobacco does not bite, but it is hot enough. So, puff smoothly and gently. There is minimal moisture in the cup, and there is no moisture in the pipe either.

Tobacco is deceptive - one can say that there is no strength, but in fact, there is, of course, nicotine in tobacco. Filling a large pipe, you can feed yourself slowly and with pleasure - of course, if you like the mix. I don't recommend small pipes for this mixture. Smoke itself is sweet vanilla, the aroma is quite persistent. It doesn't annoy me, but for someone it could be.

In fact: this is a pleasant, light and fairly simple flavored mixture without any special frills. Of course, I will keep the closed tin for myself in the collection, cause, most likely, it will never be produced again. But it is not the star from the sky, many aromatics - for example, Holiday or Reserve mixtures from Peterson look much more interesting.

Pipe Used: Peterson 106, Peterson Irish Rivers Collection

Age When Smoked: 2008 or older

Purchased From: Somewhere in Siberia

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lord M (4)	2018-09-04		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

this mild aromatic, is incredibly mild. You will get tongue bite before you get normal levels of flavor out of this, do yourself a favor and get Captain Black 'White' if you have a need for vanilla flavored tobacco

Pipe Used: yes

Age When Smoked: ?????

Purchased From: local b&M

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2017-07-28		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Nat Sherman - 314 City Island Dawn.

I bought this solely because I like the tin, never even checked what kind of blend it was! But, fortune was on my side, as I have a bit of a penchant for vanilla aromatics!

It's a blend composed of mostly brown Cav', with one or two golden flecks throughout. The moisture's too high, but only by a smidgen. It's all been thoroughly rubbed, so there's no leaves/clumps/twigs.

The prominence of tobacco in the smoke prevents this being a red-blooded aromatic: there's just enough vanilla to allow clear detection, without turning the smoke to sludge. After halfway I begin to notice a delicate nuttiness to the flavour. 314 goes very easily on the palate, being cool, and bite free.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: smashing.

314 is a nice blend, but in a market where vanilla aro's are everywhere, it's only fair to give it three stars, not four; it lacks the X Factor to get a full house:

Recommended.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: One month

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-02-06		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

A member of my local pipe club is a Nat Sherman aromatic blends fanatic and he raved about this one when he brought it to one of our meetings a couple of years ago. I love Vanilla and was eager to give #314 a try. It was very light in all respects and frankly, I didn't go for it only because it was so weak in overall presentation. The Virginia Cavendish did allow for knowing you were smoking tobacco, and the Vanilla flavoring was noted with each puff, but again, too light for me although I can certainly see where aromatic fanciers who live on the lighter side of life will appreciate this one.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2016-03-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

My one and only tin of 314 is somewhere more than five years old, so it dates back to Nat’s own distribution prior to the new maker (Lane??). Here’s the good and the bad. In the good category, the tin note is great! The room note is wonderful too. There is no bite and I didn’t experience the moisture problems that other reviewers mentioned. That could be because I didn’t go right from the tin to the pipe without some dry time. It’s a golden Cavendish and if there is any black in there, I didn’t see it. Now, on the negative side, the vanilla, while tasty and sweet, it is more of the artificial variety. 314 is very similar to many less expensive bulk aromatics in terms of flavor and not worth paying for it to be tinned. It isn’t a premium aromatic like one of the Larsen’s Limited Edition blends or like a Sillems’s Green or Blue. So it’s a two and half star or three star blend at most unless you absolutely require a tin.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Alhaji (33)	2015-11-21		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a very flavorful tobacco. A delightful, no-bite aromatic blend. My first and only Nat Sherman thus far. Whatever the topping(s) used - I seem to taste Vanilla and Toffee and Caramel, not necessarily in that order - there was no serious interference with the quality of the smoke.

To the chagrin of 'anti-aromatists', I dare say I enjoy this blend whenever I smoke it. Unlike many aromatics, the flavour is constant and consistent throughout the smoke. It does not become flat and tasteless and boring. As an ocassional 'sweet tooth', it is a good break from other more complex tobaccos.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2015-05-31		Extremely Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I picked up a tin of 314 and 307 recently, both at different ends of the Cavendish spectrum, 314 a Golden and 307 a Black Cav/ Burley. Mixed together you get a top shelf 1Q or Captain Black Royal, smoked by themselves there is still loads of flavor being that NS uses nothing but the best toppings and tobacco's. A light Golden Brown Cavendish that has a natural Vanilla topping, reminds me of a Vanilla milkshake. No bite even if puffed hard and a crowd pleaser. If you like American Style aromatics but are afraid of PG and chemicals, pick up some Nat Sherman, you really can't go wrong with anything they produce...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-05-16		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is the tobacco that I started smoking a pipe with. It remains the only aromatic in my rotation of English and Virgina tobaccos.

I must admit that it does tend to smoke very wet, as stated in previous reviews, however, nothing colors a meerschaum faster or better then this blend. If you haven't tried it in a meerschaum you're missing the real flavor of the blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-04-19		Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Sorry, I meant to post this at the 314 reviews, but inadvertantly posted it at 307. I didn't realize it was called City Island Dawn, as that isn't indicated on the red rosy tin.

In the tin, this stuff smells almost like Senakot, a chocolate laxative. I almost passed on it, but since I used to love Nat?s cigars so much, especially the Union and University, I decided to try a pinch from an open sample tin at Jack?s Tobacco, Milwaukee. I was not disappointed. This is one of the finest, creamiest aromatics you?ll every try. It?s a soft blend of aromatic golden and dark Cavendish. Yes, it?s definitely a heavily cased American aromatic, so stay away if you?re a hardcore English smoker. Unfortunately, the downside is that whatever this stuff is cased with leaves a coating on my tongue that?s soapy and waxy. It also tends to leave some sludgy wet dottle in the bowl. I prefer McClelland aromatics because they don?t fuzz my tongue. But for one who enjoys an occasional ice cream sundae with their tobacco, and likes the pleasing fragrance of nougat and toffee ala McClelland Best of Show, you will enjoy this from time to time.

Two and a half of five stars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-01-30		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

I am sorry to disagree with my fellow pipe enthusiasts,but I find this to be an excellent aromatic. The blend has a vanilla casing which is really quite pleasant.The room note is outstanding, and the blend itself although one dimensional, is extremely flavorful and exceptionally mild.I experienced no tongue bite,and a very rich and satisfying flavor remained present through out the bowl. If you like McClelland's Mellow Mack i would suggest giving this a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2018-12-28		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I absolutely loved Nat Sherman's 536, so I wondered why it took as long as it did to try out their other products. My expectations for 314 were very high, as I also love a good vanilla aromatic.

To label 314 as vanilla, is an overstatement, it's just so "mellow" that it becomes boring and dull. There was so little going on when I opened the tin, I actually double checked online what the flavor was supposed to be. There was 'some' nondescript sweet topping which I guess made it an aromatic.

The soft bouncy cut packed phenomenally well and had no lighting issues. The torched product still failed to excite my buds however, and even had an odd bite for such a mild product. As it was not offensive to smoke, I did finish the tin, but 2 stars was as high as I could rate this one.

To balance the negatives, lets not overlook that Nat Sherman's tins are 2.0 oz, nearly 20% larger than the standard 1.75 oz tin.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2017-11-06		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I can't remember ever being happier to finish a tin. This tobacco when right (by right I mean how much you let it dry) offers a not so bad smoke. First off, this is an aromatic in the American tradition. It is Cavendish, it is goopy and you can barely taste any tobacco at all.

I think it was pointed out in another review, but bears repeating. You cannot take this directly from the tin and put it in a briar and smoke it. A gurgle is a guarantee and if you're lucky it may only cost you two pipe cleaners to smoke a small bowl. This also happens with meerschaum. This was a first for me. I have never had an aromatic cause my meers to gurgle. But, out of a cob, I was able to smoke it gurgle free. So if you smoke a cob primarily or exclusively, you will have a much different take on this tobacco than I did.

I did experiment with drying times to see if I could capture what some others describe as a great smoke. I found that it really needed to dry overnight to enjoy out of a briar and about 3 hours to enjoy out of a meer.

This is a huge problem for me. If you serve it up in a tin, it should not have this kind of maintenance associated with it to enjoy. Once it is dried, or from a cob, it is not bad. Vanilla with some chocolate and coffee notes slightly lingering in the back. The problem is it is still not worth it. There are just too many better examples of this type of aromatic at a much better value.

I was going to leave this at one star as I know that I will not recommend it to anyone, but I can see where a cob smoker may enjoy this, so I am adding one star for them.

Age When Smoked: 2 yrs 5 months

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	romaso (45)	2006-06-28		Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a tasty vanilla on top of good but extremely mild tobacco. The vanilla is full and sweet enough to qualify as a dessert smoke for me, which I turn too on occasion, similar to Stokkebye's Vanilla Gold.

1 person found this review helpful.