Tobaccos Drew Estate - 7th Avenue Blonde

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2014-06-25		Mild	Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Wow I have not had any other Drew Estate's blends before so I did not know what to expect. When you open the tin the tobacco is wrapped ala Dunhill with paper wrapped over a circular card, the aroma is outstanding!!! Well it should be as this is Macbaren's vanilla cream in the cut, the flavor and the aroma. First the cut, its a mix of ribbon and broken flake in browns and blondes with a smattering of black leaf. The aroma is Vanilla Cream IE: Vanilla Bean and an apricot hint. This flavor is used by Macbaren and Planta and Thomas Radford's, these Scandinavian Aromatics are interchangeable once you take away the packaging. Now unlike vanilla cream I can smoke this without it turning into a furnace so that is one difference and the PH is different as this does not bite me. So it comes down to price for me, Vanilla cream is a buck or two cheaper for the 1.76 ounce tin but either way you will get your vanilla fix and others will compliment you on the INCREDIBLE room note....

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Vanilla Cream Loose Cut, Planta - Danish Black Vanilla, Planta - Black Vanilla Mixture, Planta - Danish Black Vanilla Flake.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-07-01		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I'm a lover of natural tobaccos and my favorites are aged Virginias and VaPers. I thought I'd mix it up and add a little perfumed bacca to my smoke arsenal. The only aromatic I own just so happens to be another Drew Estate (Central Park Stroll) and I've learned to really appreciate the blend so I thought I'd give ol' Blondie here a stroll around the block.

I'm pleasantly surprised. Upon opening the tin I found a blend that resembled an English style mix like Squadren Leader. Several colors of brown to Dark Cavendish are mixed in with bright Va. If you couldn't smell a thing you would think you were about to smoke Hearth and Home Black House or Squadren Leader. Purchasing this tin I had a least 3 assumptions that proved to be not true at all.

1. I expected a tin full of straight black cavendish coated in Vanilla flavoring. Not so. There is a nice variety of leaf and colors represented here.

2. I expected to be bombarded with a strong over the top Vanilla smell. Not true. When I cracked the tin the fragrance was decent but not over the top or overpowering.

3. I expected Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla. Not true... Actually, "Caramel" dominates first then Vanilla and maybe a hint of something like pineapple. When I asked several people what they smelled, they said Caramel not Vanilla. When I said, "It's a Vanilla blend" they thought and then remarked, "Yeah, I can see that."

The loose cut packs great. The tobacco lights super fast and easy without a lot of pre-lights. The fragrance is great for me and everyone around me. Though this is an aromatic I do get my fix of natural tobacco here and there, as they do sometimes shine through. I'm impressed. I'm glad I purchased this tin. Blondie is coming home with me.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob

Purchased From: Jr Cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustinCarcerated (99)	2014-01-07		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Strong

Almost didnt get this blend from tin to pipe based off tin note alone-it is by far the most OBnoxious over-the-top note ever! How bad was it you ask?

Within 30 minutes of opening the tin in our great room, the better 1/2 ordered it sequestered. [Thats a first btw. The fact that I wholeheartedly agreed was also a first]. I ended up placing 3/4 in a sealed pint jar, and aired the remainder outdoors for 6-8 hours fluffed up in the open tin....this did the trick, although the porch note effused cheap inscence.

The now toned-down scent was one of vanilla-caramel, possibly maply/rum like, but not medicinally like before. Initially it was Glade Plug In unbearable.

Its a motley crew of leaf this stuff, very light blondes to black cav and many hues in between. I cant easily define the cut-hence the "motley". The blonds are actual flat leaf, rather large chunks. There is shag cav, but there is broken flake i think as well.

Following sequestration,.the bowls pack well, not too tightly due to the blending, at most a mid sized Meer only required 3 lights to blackened ash, a MizzMeer only one from char to finish.

Their is vanilla in 7th Ave., but fine tobacco flavor too. Virginias and Orientals? come and go throughout, but always present is smooth french vanillas. Smooth, copious amount of creamy smoke with sipping -the only way to respect aromatics is to sip. Very good mouth feel and taste.

Its my first vanilla aro, but like G&H Top Black Cherry, it'll likely be my only one :). Only reason I dont give it 4 of 4 is that the wife hates it, even the toned-down porch note is offensive to her. That and the obnoxious initial odor. I will order more. Current Rotation- Solani 633, Dunhill Nightcap, Davidkff Scottish Mkxture, and now this :)

Pipe Used: Meer, Missouri Meer

Age When Smoked: New Tin, no age

Purchased From: Pipes Cigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	footlooset (23)	2017-03-06		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is a very nice mellow, mild tobacco blend. There is not bite and the room note is pleasant. You could smoke it for extended periods of time. Worth a try.

Pipe Used: Gasparini and a Savinelli

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Easton Smoke Shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2016-05-27		Very Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I don't see how this could possibly have oriental in it. If it does, it is utterly indistinguishable by sight or taste. My apologies to fellow pipers who have enjoyed this blend, but this is one I cannot recommend. It's touted as vanilla, which excited me, but after lighting up all I get is some vastly disappointing mixture of candied apricot and nectarine. And it's drenched with it. Talk about ghosting a pipe! I made the mistake of smoking in a Savinelli rhodesian. Ended up having to ream it to bare walls and scrub with everclear. I swear I can still taste it in there! But maybe I'm paranoid. Anyway, I finished the tin in a disposable cob to see if I may acclimate to the blend, but never did. It does burn well, seems well blended. Just most definitely not my glass of stout.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2016-02-16		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a good quality aromatic tobacco. I get vanilla, more like a vanilla bean than just an extract. It is up front but the underlying tobacco still comes through. Cav. does keep the vanilla but I also get a little something that reminds me of caramel flavor behind it too. The burley is good and adds some earthy notes and maybe a hint (just a hint) of cocoa. The VA's are sweet with a little citrus note? I do pick up something else here but it is very subtle and I am not sure if it is the VA's or in the topping. I really did not pick up the Orientals that much by themselves. The blend as whole is well rounded and does not bite unless really pushed. I could recommend this to someone looking for a vanilla aro who wants more than just vanilla and really not looking for the super sweet ones that are so common. I find this to be a good overall aro. that does not over power the tobacco base.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old German puffer (106)	2015-08-22		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Unnoticeable

Purchased two tins today for 7.49 with an additional 10 percent off from JR's. Opened one up right in the lounge. Smelled of very light tobacco. Light french bean flavor come out of the tobacco. Is dry and easy to load in my pipe. Strike a match and the tobacco races to the match. The French bean is stronger almost like a Starbucks coffee. Tamp it down and it stays lit. No relight is needed. Grab my coffee smoke, drink and b's for over an hour. Has little room note. Light smoke almost like a fog or mist. Taste changes about half way down. Becomes more mellow and drawn down. By the end it is bland and in need of a pick up.

Pipe Used: Comoy

Age When Smoked: fresh tin

Purchased From: JR'S Cigar Outlet

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sweet Leaf (8)	2015-08-10		Medium to Strong	Strong	Full	Pleasant

Being a big fan of Acid cigars and switching to pipes, I was excited to see Drew Estates came out with this line. Upon opening the tin a overwhelming scents of flowers hit me. I let this thing air out for a day until I tried it. I understand everyone taste is different,but this stuff is really bad. No taste of vanilla. It was like smoking potpourri. I let it sit for another month, still bad.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

Similar Blends: Potpourri.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fred T (67)	2015-04-10		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love Vanilla's, as a general rule, but this one I'm not crazy about. A good blend, but not a great blend. My favorite Vaniilas are cavendish based, soaked in vanilla. In this one the Vanilla doesn't come through enough for me. I give it a 2.

Pipe Used: Grant Batson Blowfish

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Given to me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gunner525 (66)	2015-02-14		Very Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

After having one of Drew Estate's pipe blends already, Central Park Stroll, I decided to give another one a go. Ordered this one from smokingpipes.com along with a number of other blends.

It's actually on the drier side when you crack the tin open. There's absolutely no need for drying time at all with this blend.

The tin aroma is that of vanilla, much like Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream. There's also a sort of fruity hint to it.

It packed very well and took a light nicely. The burn was even and to a nice white ash. Clearly a quality leaf.

As far as flavor goes it's mostly the vanilla casing and some sweet Virginia. I didn't notice the Oriental at all. There is a bit of a fruity undertone to it at times.

It didn't bite me at all.

The room note was pleasant. I was complimented on it by those I enjoyed a bowl around.

Overall it's a good blend. If you're an aromatic fan it's worth giving a tin a try.

Pipe Used: Various shapes and makers

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: www.smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2014-12-29		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

I was sent several samples of Drew Estates Aromatics and was pretty impressed overall with all of them and this one was no exception. A great tasting aro against a solid tobacco. The topping and the tobacco work together to offer a very pleasant smoking experience to the aromatic smoker and maybe a nice change of pace for the non aromatic smoker.

I really couldn't pick a particular flavor that screamed out to me as to what sweetness I was tasting. All I can say if you enjoy high quality aromatics like Peterson, Solani or Larsen, you should like this tobacco. In personal preference of the DE lineup I would put Meat Candy and Grand Central above this, but the differences are minor and I am sure that every person would line up these blends differently per their own palatial differences.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Palermo09 (23)	2014-08-24		Mild	Very Strong	Mild	Pleasant

I occasionally smoke aromatics and really enjoy a few. 7th Avenue is not one of them. A strongly cased black cavensidh dominates the flavor, with an overwhelming vanilla flavor reminiscent of Mac Baren Vanilla blends. Too sweet and lacking much natural tobacco flavor for my taste. Smoked OK a little wet. I doubt I will ever finish the tin I have.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2013-11-27		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

When I learned Drew Estate was coming to the world of pipe tobacco, I had to grab a tin ASAP. While I love English blends as much as the next guy, I figured I would make my first foray into this new line with an aromatic. Thus, we have 7th Avenue Blonde.

Upon cracking the tin, you get vanilla. It is an interesting, smooth, and earthy vanilla. In fact, it's unlike any other vanilla aromatic I've tried. It has the character of a good French vanilla, in reality. Not your typical super-sweet, synthetic vanilla extract-laden blend. More so the scent and flavor of the vanilla bean, itself.

The moisture level out of the tin was just about perfect, and ready to smoke. The crumble cake broke up easily with a gentle rub. It translated into a consistent, easy burning smoke. After the charring light, with proper tamping and aeration, a relight was never necessary.

7th Ave. is a cool burner for sure. I smoked this fairly fast. One would have to puff their brains out to get tongue bite here. Even at the bottom of the bowl, I did not have to dump the ash, and there was little to almost no ash flavor coming through at all. The tobacco stayed front-and-center all the while.

This is a well made blend, with quality constituents. You get the sweet character of the Virginia and Cavendish, along with the subtleties of the Burley. I do detect Oriental poking through. It all comes together in a sweet, light blend. Retrohale is pleasing, while the room note is also pleasant, and wife-friendly.

All-in-all this is a good all day smoke. Very mild, medium-strength blend. It is missing the true tobacco-punch, and seems to be geared more towards fans of scent and sweet. I am glad I tried it, the quality is impressive, but I wouldn't add this to my aromatics rotation any time soon. So many amazing blends out there still to try. If you are a avid fan of either vanilla, Drew Estate, or both, give it a shot.

Purchased From: Pipes And Cigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (566)	2023-04-21		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Tin note of vanilla, spices and sugar. Tobacco is a Ribbon cut of tan, dark brown, black and dark brown. Moisture content is great. Burns moderately with few relights. The strength is mild and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild to medium, with notes of Vanilla. Vanilla flavoring flares up in the initial light, then moves to the background where it remains. Taste is mild to medium and mostly consistent, with notes of vanilla, sugar, fermented sour, savory, marshmallow, dark tangy fruit, peaty vegetation, spices, herbal floral, tart citrus, bitter, acidic, a sweet woody background note, and a peppery retro. Cavendish is leading with Burley, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia and Flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

Pipe Used: 2015 XXX Ashton Brindle Author

Age When Smoked: 9 years

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2023-03-31		Mild	Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Not too long ago I was gifted quite a number of tins from a nice lady whose uncle unfortunately passed away. Among those were two tins of this so I decided to try one. From the internet: “7th avenue park slope is a name-brand Brooklyn neighborhood known for its organic food markets and picturesque, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Prospect Park, charming cafes, and plenty of public amenities contribute to the neighborhood's small-town vibe.” Now that is out of the way, here are my thoughts. Upon opening the tin I was hit with a very strong very sweet tin note. Upon lighting, my first thought was of Apricots though this says Vanilla. I have smoked this in my Chacom Volcano and in a Ukrainian Pipe made of Pear wood. I must admit I do not smoke the Aros like I use to, but this one tasted super sweet, almost too sweet for my tastebuds. It tasted like what a super scented air freshener smells like. Nothing wrong with the blend but I guess by not doing aromatics very often it sometimes takes me by surprise when I get hit with an aro bomb. It did tone down a little bit toward the end of the bowl. There is no bite whatsoever. It will probably do some time before I finish them both if ever. If I had not moved, I could have just brought them into our San Diego Pipe Club and passed them around but I am out of state. Maybe I will mail it too a friend of mine and he can take them to a meeting. Speaking of friends, we lost a great gentleman last week and I miss his texts already and really enjoyed his company at the club while I was there. He lived his life enjoying the heck out of his cigars, pipes and tobacco. He will be sorely missed.

Purchased From: Gift

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipewny (2)	2016-02-16		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

7th ave is a perfectly good aromatic tobacco. While the flavoring is a bit strong, but it works with, and doesn't mask the tobaccos used in this blend. The more I smoke, I find a mildly sweetened black coffee/tea flavor overtakes my palate. I've decided to smoke much of this blended with PA. I'm no master blender, so feel free to disregard this idea as heresy, but this really has worked for me. As I allow 7th ave to dry a bit and mellow with the burley in PA, I enjoy each smoke more and more. A fine tobacco, but likely not the best :) Too flavored for me, but pleasant all the same.

Pipe Used: MM, Basket Briar

Age When Smoked: several weeks

Purchased From: Virgil Tobacconist

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Appalachian Chef (52)	2014-11-22		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I like a milder vanilla aromatic at times, and this one does not overpower you with the topping. Burns well, smokes light and is very pleasing as an all day blend. Not my favorite of the Drew Estate line, but one that I would recommend you try.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Flame Grain

Age When Smoked: 1 month

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LannarkGent (145)	2014-09-14		Very Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a Vanilla based blend that seems to improve as the tobacco dries out. I think the proper approach to this tobacco is to open the tin and leave the cover off for at least 30 minutes the first time it is smoked. It has a lot of flavor, but the added flavorings can seem strong initially.

Pipe Used: RAW Half bent Billiard, Dr. Grabow Grand Duke

Purchased From: Indian traders Grand Rapids MI

Nobody has rated this review yet.