Tobaccos Iwan Ries - Three Star Blue

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2016-08-29		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Three Star Blue has been in continuous production and a top seller since the 1950s, and until now, it was only available at Iwan Ries. Sutliff, who has produced the blend for many years, is now nationally distributing it in order to reach a wider audience. I was asked to review it. As I have been smoking a freshly manufactured production, I’ve rewritten my previous review to reflect my latest thoughts on this tobacco.

The lightly fruity, grassy, citrusy sweet Virginia is the base of the blend. The very nutty, earthy, woody, toasty burleys are the most noticeable component, and also provide a drop or two of molasses. The properties of the fire cured black cavendish are a smoothing brown sugar along with a touch of smokiness as a supporting player. There’s a minute amount of Cyprian Latakia that offers a mild smokey, woody, earthy sweet push to the blend. In a minor role is some plum and a faint spice hit from the perique. The mildly applied vanilla topping has a light richness. I also observe a small amount of licorice, which has a hint of soap and floral perfume quality. The toppings do tone down the tobaccos a little as they work in concert to create a very consistent, harmonious flavor from start to finish. It won’t bite or get harsh, but I recommend a moderate puffing cadence to allow the various aspects of the mixture to shine. The strength and taste are just shy of being in the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is mild. Burns clean and dry at a reasonable pace, and requires few relights as it easily burns to ash. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste pleasantly lingers, and the room note is rather sweet. An easy going all day smoke that kind of leans in the direction of an aromatic English without reaching that level.

-JimInks

28 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-04-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Iwan Ries says this is the most popular private label brand in the country and is their store's most popular tobacco. Well, I demand an audit!

I first tried Blue as a teenager in the early 70's. I have given the stuff a whirl a half dozen times since then and get the same results. This stuff burns like the dickens, tastes terrible, and smells weird. If you don't mind spending a few weeks with your tongue in a sling, then go ahead a light up with this stuff, otherwise, avoid at all costs!

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piper@TheGatesOfDawn (9)	2012-09-25		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I received a complimentary pouch of this with an order I recently placed with Iwan Ries, which seems to be the predominant means of procurement. Does anyone actually buy this blend on purpose? I certainly intend to. Opinions regarding Three Star Blue are all over the board. Many of the reviews here seem to describe something quite different from what I'm smoking: a VERY mildly aromatic, rough cut blend. The burleys are at the forefront, with the latakias and periques adding just the right amount of character. The cavendish provides a subtle sweetness to round things out. My tastes tend towards strongly flavored tobaccos and I will smoke anything form Lakeland blends to the goopiest aromatics; however I tend to enjoy this when I need a break from all the flavoring. This blend is best smoked in a small bowl and SLOWLY. Although it has yet to bite me, all tobacco has that potential. Three Star Blue goes well with coffee in the morning or bourbon in the afternoon or with some smooth jazz and good French brandy in the evening.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-10-06		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Greetings ladies and gents, yet here is more of my babbling. Three Star Blue is a debated subject. And in fact i must agree that this a very tempramental blend. However I have enjoyed it for many years. Its aroma a p*y magnent and worth the heat! Nice blend of burly, virginia, and I do detect oriantials. Now to the facts....hot as hell. As I have posted earlier, I bore out pipes.....every one of them. After the advice of Laars Iverson, I have tamed the wildest of tobaccos. Being a machinist, with extensive flow training has taught me a great deal in pipe smoking. People, all pipes have tiny draft holes for purposes of strenght. The taste, burn qualitys, ash formation is caused by this draft. The smoke we enjoy is made available by its clinging to water dropletes. NO turbalance can be involved, nor small draft holes. A pipe is a chimmney and needs to breath. TSB has become now one of my all time favorites. Cool smoking, Superb flavor and has all the desired qualitys we search for. Yes it ghosts a pipe....all tobacco does in fact!!!! Most recent is a Canadian bored to 7/32". An absolutly marvolus smoke, as compaired to years gone by with stock bores. Lets take a second and examine our equipment, even the dunhill guys, before we pass judgement on an old and trusted blend from our great friends at Iwan Ries. Thanks Pipestud for your postings and renouned experiance.. (PS the vintage meer smokes like a dream!!!) Best regards to all............

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-08-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is an easy one to review. It came dry enough in the pouch that I could smoke it without further fuss. One bowl was enough.

The good news is that this has a decent room aroma. The bad news is that it has no discernible tobacco flavor. Reminded me of Mac Baren roll cakes in that regard and also in its tendency to produce tongue-maligning steam. I found absolutely nothing to recommend this atrocity. Was this stuff this bad in the old days? Thankfully, I missed out on it. Probably in my bottom 10 of all pipe tobaccos. If this were all that was available, I'd grow my own because even I couldn't screw something up this badly.

Ok, I KNOW you're going to try it! Everyone does. There are plenty of in depth reviews here so don't say you weren't warned!!!

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-01-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Like Briarlaw, I am completely re-writing my review on this tobacco, due to a couple of things that have happened in the interim. The first was that Iwan Ries had a sale on their Peterson Emerald series pipes and I ordered a medium billiard. The other was that they sent a pouch of their Three Star Blue tobacco with it. My first inclination was to put it in an unused corner of my tobacco cabinet, but for some reason I decided to give it a second chance. The first bowl brought forth a lovely flavor of apples and burley that had me craving another one. Bear in mind this was in a brand new unsmoked, unbroken in pipe. Subsequent bowls only reinforced this first experience and the new Pete stayed dedicated to Three Star Blue. One of this tobacco's most endearing attributes is its' lighting and burn qualities. It is almost unheard of for an aromatic to be this easy to smoke. It is an easy tobacco to smoke slowly, which makes any blend more flavorful and cooler burning. My pouch of Three Star is nearly gone, so there was only one thing to do. Last night I went to the Iwan Ries site and ordered another new Peterson straight apple and a larger bag of one of my new staples.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2014-04-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I was gifted a package of Three Star Blue by a friend recently. When I first opened the pouch, it smelled very similar to tobaccos that my father smoked back in the 1960’s. It also smells very similar to a tobacco that I used to chew 30 years ago. So based on those two things the scent conjures up fond memories for me. But in truth, based on some of the reviews I was expecting the worst. But that wasn’t the case. I found this to be a decent old time aromatic when smoked slowly. There is a casing that I am sure will bite if pushed, but taking my time there was no bite. I have to take issue with those that list the “flavoring” i.e. casing, to be strong, it isn’t, certainty compared to other aromatics. The only way to come to that conclusion is to have never smoked many aromatics or because they have confused the “flavoring” field with the “taste” field. The Burley flavor does come easily through the smoke. The downside with Three Star Blue is that we are currently living in an era where there are a huge number of well-crafted aromatic blends available to suit every taste at very reasonable prices. For me, this causes Three Star Blue to fall pretty far down on my list of choices. On the upside, compared to some of the OTC blends out there, this is a better choice than many of them.

Age When Smoked: New

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tmoney (25)	2010-10-19		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Tolerable

This tobacco was free with a purchase I made recently. It wasn't good at all. I tried it and it smelled like Medicine. Had tongue bite early on tasted like cough syrup mixed with sugar and didn't smell very nice either. I would not recommend, but there will be someone out there that likes this... there always is.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SopwithCamel (255)	2007-01-03		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Three Star Blue is a classic American style blend. It comes in an attractive foil pouch. Visually, it is one of the prettiest blends I've seen. Very light tan, brown,rough cut, with a few black flakes. I believe the black flakes are stoved Virginia. This is an aromatic, but it is not in the wet, heavily cased black Cavendish style which dominates today. The pouch aroma is fruity and cool. It takes a bit to get this going, but then it is easy to maintain. Go slow with this, or you will hurt yourself! I wouldn't smoke this one mindlessly, I have to have some time on my hands to be able to appreciate this. The bite and heat are definitely the flaws of this blend. The flavor is fruity, a little sweet, a little sour, with a toasty tobacco undertone. I would recommend smoking this in a long stemmed billiard, or Canadian, to help cool things down.

If you like mildly fruity aromatics, and are patient enough to master the technique required for this blend, It could make a good smoke. It finishes clean and dry, and although it will leave a ghost, it's nothing compared to some of the goopier aromatics out there. If you love these old-fashioned blends, its well worth a try. I've never had anything else like it.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kaywoodie Collector (4)	2018-01-07		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Three Star Blue is a debated subject. And in fact i must agree that this a very tempramental blend. However I have enjoyed it for many years. Nice blend of burly, virginia, latakia and perique .This mixture is a very old school. Back when pipe smoking was common place and people smoked in banks and collage lecture halls ect, this type of tobacco was the norm. Unhurried and calm, the way a pipe is to be enjoyed. TSB falls smack dab in the middle of that catagory. Smoked gently, it provides a very consistent and pleasing smoke. The room note garners praise from most everyone, even the anti-smoking nazis. Yes its an aromatic, BUT, its an aromatic of classic times, and not to be compaired to the gooped, sauced up OTC blends or even high end of present day, ie, Captain Black and his band of pirates, flavored with God knows what . We all know that a pipe is to be sipped slowly to reveal its true character, and TSB is no exception. One thing I have discovered years ago, being a collector of classic pipes is that the ghosts of every Christmas Past lurks within them. Out to the garage and out comes the retort contraption and the holy water, rum 151, and my trusty Ronsen butane torch, a can of Coke, ice and a glass, (I retort myself also during this ritual.) Having a CLEAN and ghost free pipe is key to enjoying our hobby. I dedicate my pipes to specific tobacco blends so no distant relatives emerge and spoil my fun. (I dont want cousin Eddie and his brood pulling in and staying till next month.) Also I bore out pipes.....every one of them. After the advice of Laars Iverson, I have tamed the most stubborn of terrible smoking pipes. Being a machinist, with extensive flow training, has taught me a great deal in pipe smoking. People, all pipes have tiny draft holes for purposes of strenght. The taste, burn qualitys, ash formation is caused by this draft. The smoke we enjoy is made available by its clinging to water droplettes. NO turbulence can be involved, nor small draft holes. A pipe is a chimney and needs to breathe. TSB is of my all time favorites. Cool smoking when given the respect it deserves, superb flavor, burns very clean, and no swamp left in the bottom . Most recent is an estate Ben Wade Golden Walnut Plateau Briar bored to 3/16"". An wonderful smoker now, compared to the original with a stock bore. Lets take a second and examine our equipment, even the Dunhill guys, (I own 3 and were grounds for divorce, not to mention the cost of fuel to operate them). I hope that my two cents here will assist a few and especially new pipers breaking in to our hobby. The best tobacco on the planet is the one you enjoy the most!!!!!!!!!!!

Pipe Used: Ben Wade Golden Walnut Plateau Free Hand

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Most old school blends that are prior Captain Black and the like with strong PPG and ice cream flavorings..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RoundTwo (38)	2017-12-06		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

Well if you are ever walking down Wabash St in Chicago and see a large sign hugging a building corner next to the El that reads Iwan Ries and Company with three stars on it you know that you have arrived at 19 S Wabash. Said sign is blue, coincidence? I think not. If you venture up to the second floor and ask their most experienced employee for a tobacco suggestion, he will hand you a pouch of this if you are willing to try an aromatic. Coincidence? I think not. Not all aromatics are the same and that holds true here. Black Cavendish, Perique, and Latakia is an awesome base if you think about it and the topping is unique. Personally, I taste cherry, vanilla, and scotch which actually turns out to be pretty neat with the Perique and Latakia. I love Perique and Latakia and I can say I never smoke aromatics but I truly loved my dance with this bowl. If you like the story, if you are open to the flavors go for it because the underlying blend of tobaccos is actually really good. IRC blends have always cleared and reset my palette with their robust tobaccos and old-time toppings/casings.

Pipe Used: Meerscaum

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ravkesef (12)	2010-12-29		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

De gustibus non est disputandum, and that's certainly true when it comes to tobaccos. In the old days I smoked English blends, especially the late lamented Balkan Sobranie, but recently this type of tobacco stopped working for me, and I understand that some people have or develop an intolerance for Latakia, and that turned out to be the case for me. I dug into my pouch of TSB and thought I had a rattlesnake in my bowl––it bit, and bit again, harder each time. At the same time I found that I did enjoy the taste, and family comments ranged from "extremely pleasant“to “delicious.“ Well, being an old, experienced pipe smoker I asked myself the rhetorical question “what does one do when the tobacco burns too hot?” And the answer is simple: “smoke it slower.” That turned out to be very good advice in this case, because smoked slowly, TSB turns out to be a most pleasant experience. it's not too strong at all, and when the tobacco is savored, turns out to be exactly what one wishes for in a tobacco. It now burns cool and dry to the bottom of the bowl leaving a small quantity of powdery ash. My advice to others who have found this too hot burning as I initially did: give this one a chance, smoke slowly, and you'll be rewarded with a very satisfying smoke. There’s a reason why this one has been around for the better part of a century, and if you give it a chance, you’ll see why.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2020-09-28		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Well,

Not that it means anything to anybody, but this is my 97th review here on Tobacco Reviews. Why is that pertinent to this review you may ask? I decided (years ago) to review every blend I had in my cellar. I am coming to the end of my cellar journey, and have admittedly put off the tobaccos I don't think I will like to the end. To be curt, I saved this as one of my last, not because it was a best for last situation, but because I was kind of dreading the experience. I have heard some pretty rough things about this blend, and will say, I did a fair amount of prejudging.

An aromatic with latakia and perique? A light vanilla aromatic with those components?

It didn't start well. Opening the sample I dumped out the contents and began to inspect the product. Big pieces of burley, and a smattering of virginia. There is also some large chunks of a crumble cake type of thing. Maybe the perique? Not sure. The vanilla smell was there, as was the smell of the latakia. Packing the pipe left my fingers quite sticky, another bad omen.

I had trouble deciding on a pipe. Do I want to put a mixture with latakia in one of my aromatic pipes? Do I want to put this light aromatic in an english designated pipe that would probably have extenuating flavors that would possible hide the vanilla? I settled on an old Grabow used for aromatics and away we went.

Fire hits leaf and.....

Well, I was wrong. This is not as dreadful as I had heard about. I cannot for the life of me find the latakia, or the perique for that matter. They are evident in the smell of the blend, but cannot be picked out in the taste. I actually kinda liked this, for a vanilla aromatic that is. The vanilla note is there, not hugely evident, but very tastefully done.

It burned surprisingly well. It stayed lit, and required little attention. My whole bowl required only one pipe cleaner for gurgle, and I do remember this Grabow likes the cleaners.

This is pretty good. A great all day, non thinker of a smoke. A putter-er as I often call them. I think folks who like the captain black type of offerings might want to give this a try.

I prejudged, and was erroneous in doing so. I will not buy more of this, not my cup of tea and better things out there for me to smoke, but I have to admit, the blend I put off for 96 other blends ended up being a pleasant smoke. My bad. Live and learn. Try it!

Pipe Used: Dr. Grabow Grand Duke

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2016-10-20		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Iwan Ries - Three Star Blue.

I bought this solely because it was on offer from Smokingpipes.com: $4.57, gotta love a bargain! But, is it? Lets see.

The pouch contains a very neat looking coarse-cut mixture: all quite evenly sized and not too chunky. The aroma from the pouch isn't the best, it smells like a paint factory (I know, I once worked in one!). Once a bowl's lit I can't quite make up my mind about the smoke! At the beginning of a bowl I still get that weird chemical taste, this is a bit disconcerting. But after the initial few puffs have stabilized the burn I find it calms down a touch. The vanilla addition seems to become easier to recognise, this smooth's the flavour, and there's also a slight sweetness at the back. The licorice is very noticeable for the whole trip; I'm guessing it's this that's responsible for the paint taste at the start.

The tobaccos' give an ok flavour, with the nutty quality from the Burley leading the race. I also notice a slight sharp fruitiness from the Perique, but this isn't anywhere near as potent. I don't really get much from the Latakia apart from a slight wood/cedar note, and the Black Cavendish has the added vanilla to contend with. The Virginia also seems a little lost; there's a lot of flavour for the more phlegmatic Virginia to compete with.

The nicotine's just below medium, and the room-note's a winner!

Is it a bargain? No, it's got too many problems to score any more than two:

Somewhat recommended.

Pipe Used: Mr Brog No.34 Bulldog

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeadMensPipes (38)	2009-06-27		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Before I was old enough to legally drive a car, a buddy and I would take a train to the city from the suburbs to hike around the Loop in downtown Chicago, where we discovered a marvelous wonder of the world at the time, the Iwan Ries store. Just walking into the hushed atmosphere was awe inspiring - a veritable world class museum of every sort of pipe imaginable, including a huge collection of exotically carved antique meerschaums. But the most wonderful memory is the smell of miriads of tobacco blends wafting through the atmosphere. It was there that I discovered Three-Star Blue and fell in love.

Well, years have passed and I have lived far from the windy city. One day, I waxed nostalgic and via the miracle of the internet, I wanted to see if it was still possible to acquire some of my old favorite. Sadly, I must say no. Even though the packaging says Three-Star Blue, and the aroma of a freshly-opened pouch is the same wonderful smell I remember - smoking the mixture is only enjoyable for those fortunate enough to catch a passing whiff of second-hand smoke.

It does not matter how you try to smoke the stuff to minimize "bite" - it bites. Big time. And, it frequently goes out, requiring constant re-lighting. It fouled my brand-new meerschaum with a very unpleasant after-odor. Definitely not recommended. It should be called "Zero-Star Blend."

Initially expecting the mixture to be the old Three-Star I came to love in my younger days, when I ordered my batch of Three-Star Blue, I bought a couple of extra boxes to give to friends as gifts. I gave one to a friend who was just taking up pipe-smoking, and he tried the Three-Star Blue. I have not seen him smoke a pipe since.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-17		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This really is a decent blend, and it does have a very nice complex of 'old-fashioned' flavors when smoked.

My problem with this blend is that, in the pouch, the casing used makes the blend smell like what can only be described as 'captain black plied with cheap grape soda-pop,' and I have a very hard time loading anything with that scent into a pipe that I have any feelings for whatsoever.

All in all though, Three Star Blue smokes reasonably well, isn't too much of a biter if respected, and leaves a mystifyingly enjoyable but distinctly mayberryesque coffee cake, creme, and pine-sol flavor on the tongue and in the briar----making it perfect for outings to funeral homes, dirt malls (flea markets), bowling alleys, your in-laws' homes, and anywhere portraits of Mussolini, Stalin, or Bob Barker are still proudly displayed.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2020-10-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Presentation is a ribbon of blonde to light brown tobacco. Pouch note is is pure candy: cherry, licorice, candied fruits, a touch of green apple. Non-smokers will be won over by this pouch note for sure. Three Star Blue is relatively dry for a such an overt aromatic and can be smoked immediately, though a little dry time doesn’t hurt the burn. There’s a more than a bit of floral soapiness on the charring light that ligers through the first third of the bowl. The flavors seem unrelated to the pouch note as I get a light touch of molasses and a splash of vanilla over burley that delivers parchment and toast nestled up against some grass (rather than hay) Virginia that could bite if hurried. I don’t taste the Perique at all, and whatever Latakia is in here to provide some bass notes doesn’t stand out with its own flavor profile but rather serves to enhance the overall blend. The final third of the bowl is where you’ll pick up on them with just hint of earthiness, mushroom and leather as the flavoring agents dissipate and the tobacco asserts. There’s a tiny hint of soap and candied cherry that sticks around to the end. Straining for an analogy, TSB is what you might get if you mixed Half and Half with something like Uhle’s 00. And the result is not bad.

Three Star Blue burns very well, and behaves when sipped. I tamped but did not relight this blend in a series of cobs. There’s not a lot of moisture for an aromatic and I would place this somewhere between the old school American blending house burley aromatics and today’s modern cavendish messes, in flavor profile, burning characteristics, and tobacco taste. TSB burns down to ash and leaves absolutely no mess in the bowl, a testament both the high quality tobaccos and high quality flavoring agents used in this blend.

This is a mass market attempt at one of our cherished American boutique blending house’s old school burley aromatics (think Uhle’s, Peretti, Wilke, etc). And in fact, it’s a pretty good attempt. The reviews here are wildly mixed, and I’m rather surprised that so many are unfavorable. While not one to rush out and buy, I would say it definitely deserves a try for those who enjoy the style of blends I previously referenced, or for aromatic smokers looking for an alternative that provides a more dry-smoking, subtle and tobacco-based flavor profile. Could definitely be someone’s favorite all day smoke.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (401)	2020-01-14		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is one where the sum is greater than all the parts. This has a really sweet licorice, vanilla extract (alcohol) smell to it with a lot of light brown tobacco consisting of finely chopped up pieces and some ribbon. When I review certain aromatics, I tend to lower the bar some, not because of any inferiority but this is not Esoterica, Dunhill, McClelland etc. This is a blend that comes in a zip-lock type pouch which one normally equates to something you would buy at a drugstore or truck stop. Does not mean it is bad but just a different type of tobacco. It was really warm today in my smoking room (front porch) and I had just received this and decided that it was a perfect day for an aromatic. About the only thing I taste is the casing which reminds me if my memory serves me well of Mixture 79 which is a licorice blend. I found this actually quite good and contrary to some reviewers I did not detect hardly any bite but I did try to smoke this slower than normal. This blend has been according to the page in continuous production since the 1950’s by Iwan Ries, blended by Sutliff Tobacco Company, which is owned by Mac Baren. Go figure. According to Iwan Ries’ website, “Since 1857, Chicago has been home to the oldest family-owned tobacconists in the country. Now in our 5th generation…” I guess the reality is there aren’t that many real local tobacconists that do they’re on blending anymore, probably not commercially viable. I was not around in the 50s to try the real deal but it still is a seller which surprises me with the overall 2-star rating. I would recommend this one if you like aromatics where you taste the aro and not much tobacco. One last thing I noticed they referred to this as Old Colonial, maybe the original name?

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: Mixture #79.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2019-12-17		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

A family friend died suddenly early this year, and I was gifted his pipe (which he never used really), and as it happened to be an older Iwan Ries pipe, I figured better get some of their shwag for a remembrance smoke. It is a great store if you ever get the chance to visit, and I was a fan of their tasty King's Oriental, so how did this mainstay stack up?

Well, the pouch let out a whine of drug store aroma (think Half & Half) of tangy topped spice. Not as licorice forward as Mixture 79, possibly a sharp cherry licorice, certainly not a sweet Vanilla, but the kind of mixture you could imagine a no-nonsense grandpa puffing on. The soft mix (with some rogue sticks), packs like putty and lights without issue. The initial few puffs offer a bright taste, that quickly turns to an icky sharp smoke that bites back, which by bowls end you get used to... and that is when you've earned your stripes to smoke another bowl [like a cheap cigarette with an addictive hook].

This sits among other $5 pouches (made partly of shredded cardboard) you don't expect much from, so why go out of your way to order it when a few bucks more gets a quality tin? Good question.

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drew_sayles (2)	2017-05-19		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The smell of latakia immediately hits you. I had this tobacco shipped with a lot of summery aromatics and upon opening the box I immediately smelled this blend. It put me off initially because I happened to be in the mood for a light spring smoke, however I was pleasantly suprised. Some say it is dry but it is perfect for me as I smoked the bowl fairly quickly and cooly. There are nutty notes and it stays steady through the bowl. It is a cool and refreshing smoke despite the tin note. The latakia and perique are there, but just a whisper. This is a nice all day blend for me that has just enough to make it a pleasure to smoke but not too much.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the pouch

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fazby (66)	2011-10-05		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

One of the few aromatics I like. A nice spiciness. Yes, it can get hot. Yes, you need to slow down and learn to smoke this.

My Savinelli, with a balsa filter, helped tame this through my learning period.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-10		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

This literally was the worst thing I have ever had. It was just..well...lets just say down right nasty as butt. The packaging it came in gave off the vibe like "this will be ok." but no. The cut wasn't even ribbon. It was the most dried out crappiest stuff I have ever seen. I reccomend this tobacco to go die.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Arkie (129)	2011-01-24		Mild	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

This tastes like the other 3 star blends. All of them are similar to Mixture #79. Aromatics are ok if the casing doesn't overpower the taste of the tobacco. This stuff is like smoking a bar of soap. Not recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2005-08-26		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is one of the blends that I regularly smoked way back when. I have recently tried it again and I was not disappointed. This blend has not changed in my opinion. It still remains a favorite of mine, if not in my pipe regularly, in my heart always. I have no favorite type of blend. There are aromatics, non-aromatics, English, Scottish, Virginias and Americanized English blends that I like and don?t like. Recently, however, I have been smoking more aromatics than in the past. To wit, variety is the spice of life.

Three Star Blue is a classic American, mild to medium aromatic that is smooth, mellow, well-balanced, cool smoking and with a different but pleasant taste that I cannot compare to other blends. Some say it is fruity, other say it has a birch/wintergreen/mint taste or even has a perfume / soapy essence. The taste will be what YOU perceive. Regardless, the refreshing taste is subdued and will underlie but not overwhelm its more honest tobacco flavor.

The pouch aroma is unique. I could do a blind sniff test on 1000 pouches of different tobaccos and pick out the distinctive, pleasant aroma of Three Star Blue. This 100% natural tobacco tends to be on the dry side as it contains no humectants or preservatives. This, no doubt, is why it has superb burning qualities as well. This is also one of the few aromatics that does not get goopy or leave a wet heel. This is a rare plus for an aromatic. I experienced no bite perhaps because I tend to sip and savor rather than ?puff and chuff.? You may be indifferent to Blue the first few times you smoke it. If this is the case, lay it aside for 2-3 months and come back to it. I think your opinion may change favorably.

If you live in Illinois, the only thing negative about buying tobacco products from Iwan Ries is the Chicago sin tax. It now registers 13% on the Richter Scale. This is in addition to the 9% sales tax, one of the highest in the country for a major city. I think the folks at Iwan Ries should say goodbye to tradition (in Chicago since 1857) and move to the suburbs.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.6 out of 10.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Homesteader (7)	2021-05-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I'm new to this blend but really like it. The burley and cavendish are the primary tobaccos I taste, and give a nutty taste. There's a hint of Latakia to give a little smokiness. I do not detect the vanilla topping. The perique is barely noticeable part way through the bowl. If you like American English blends you will probably like this, even though it's categorized as an aromatic. It's a very course cut blend, and seemed rather dry in the pouch. It smoked easily with few relights. The closest tobacco I've had to this might be Lane's HGL, though there's more Virginia noticeable in HGL than in Three Star Blue. I plan on stocking up on Three Star Blue. I would recommend this for the proverbial all day smoke.

Pipe Used: cob

Age When Smoked: one month in jar after opening pouch

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: HGL.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Shrink (21)	2019-01-30		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Iwan Ries’ - Three Star Blue

I have been smoking this since my first visit to the Iwan Ries shop in Chicago whilst a graduate student...these days the proprietor Charles is an extremely helpful & accommodating guide... Three Star Blue was a comforting companion in briars during the Nam days... & remains so for an elderly veteran. It just wears well as an all day tobacco! I would class it as a mild English Aromatic. There is a mild fruity & citrus sweet foundation with very pleasurable Burleys - maybe like brown sugar toasted. The Virginia’s are quality & evident. It presents like a stoved cavendish with a tad of Latikea & Perique... never over-powering, however exuding a light peppery flavour. There are some floral tones present which I enjoy - like the British Gawith Hogarth but milder—if that makes sense. The N-hit is mild & it smokes cool with few re-lights & leaves very little moisture. Three Star burns to a nice ash..an easy all-day smoke... with enough complexity/variety to keep interest up. An easy blend to recommend ! 3+ Stars.

Pipe Used: Briars:Ashton,Dunhill,Comoy's, “Army Pipes”

Age When Smoked: Cellared to fresh

Purchased From: Iwan Ries, Chicago; Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Theologia14 (24)	2018-01-23		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Ok, this was the blend that started it all for me. It was my first blend that I bought from the Iwan Ries store in downtown Chicago. It was paired with a cheap bent billiard that I still have today, and it is still a great little smoker. And for what it was, this blend was a good start. I got to learn from it, grow with it, and then move along.

But...

Recently, some friends of mine who remember those good old days, bought me a pack of Three Star Blue. I got out that old Bent Billiard and loaded up. I just couldn't smoke it. It wouldn't behave well, constantly needing to be relit. It tasted of some odd sweet candy that I couldn't put my finger on and I could barely make out some Virginia over the topping and through the thickly coated cavendish and burley. It was a trip down memory lane, but I will probably not be revisiting those days with this blend again. Still, for beginners, it might not be a bad start. There are lots of other aromatics out there though. Had I known of Tobacco Reviews back then, I might have chosen something different.

Pipe Used: No name bent billiard, cob

Age When Smoked: unknown

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-03-09		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The only natural flavor I get is a very mild toasty note from the Black Cav and a hint of smoke from the Lat. The majority of flavor is from the topping. I get a caramel/molasses flavor along with floral notes. That caramel/molasses could be coming from rum if that's what was used here. It can burn a little warm if you don't mind your pace. A pleasant smoke, but not my kind of smoke. Recommended for the aro smoker who doesn't mind a lack of natural tobacco flavor.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in taste and flavoring.

Pipe Used: MM Morgan, Dwarf, Washington

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2017-02-23		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Excellent product of the art of blending tobacco! Whoever put this one together back in the day, hit a grand slam! Amazingly different tobacco flavors colliding together and producing a wonderful tasting smoke. Lights very easy, and not fussy. The flavoring tastes like it might be brandy. To the pipers who said this burned to hot and bit their tongues; Mabe you should ask your doctor about tranquilizers if you are huffing on a pipe so fast to make this blend bite. This is an outstanding blend!!! : )

Pipe Used: Radice

Age When Smoked: New tin.

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HouDEANie (7)	2016-12-11		Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Strong

I ordered a pouch of the tobacco as I have never heard of it and the mixture sounded a bit peculier... However it did tickle me fancy.

Upon receiving the pouch I smelled vanilla and something heavy, chemical like. I opened the pouch and it was dry to the touch and the smell of vanilla, or liquorice was non existent, only the smell of latakia and perique.

The first smoke was the dry tobacco, smoke was very mild, flat and uninteresting. Room note was that of latakia only but no taste came through, kind of hot steam as it was tasteless.

The second smoke was after I re-hydrated the tobacco and let it sit 2 days in a mason jar. Upon opening the jar the smell was still latakia but a fruity smell came through more strongly. The tobacco no longer interested me but since I do not waste tobacco I gave it another try. Smoked it in the same system pipe. Well the latakia was more mellow, half way down the bowl you get a taste of the perique which was very mild and comes and goes. It was an okayish smoke, nothing to write home about. Will I recommend it? No, it is too flat and the flavours does not pair well, even in the pouch. Maybe I got a bad pouch, don't know. I just can not get a liking in this tobacco.

There are better drugstore blends out there for the same price.

Edit: After a few months of on and off smoking this it ended up in the flower beds. It is a cheap tabacco that was topped with a chemical flavouring in an attempt to rescue it. I did not work.

Pipe Used: Peterson System

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cup O'Joes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bklynpipe (13)	2015-12-24		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Like many reviewers, I got this free with a pipe. Happy to see tobacco in an old fashioned box and foil pouch instead of plastic. It arrived a bit dry and the cut is indeed varied bits and chunks. The pouch aroma says one thing: REVELATION. So if you're missing that old staple, try this. Don't expect sweetness here, this blend is straight-up stout, but with a great aroma and taste.

Pipe Used: Amphora 722

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Revelation.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2013-07-10		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This blend has a little more taste and flavor than the red . The roomnote is excellent . The flavor is .. I'm not sure what it is and the blend burns a bit warm , though it burn perfectly well . I'm a big IRC fan and this is their biggest seller , they say . It's probably my least favorite of their offerings . This is not a black Cavendish styles blend . If I liked the flavor I'd have better things to say about it . As I said ... the roomnote is fantastic and the flavor is just ok . try the Three Star Bronze ... it's killer .. and the Old Colonial , with it's mild topnote , is like CH but better

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-02-10		Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

The first Peterson I ordered came with it, I absolutely love it, smells great, tates sweet, definetly will be ordering some more.:)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-12		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

Got this crap as a sample from IRC... They got my order wrong too.. Bad first impressions from this company. The tobacco was bone dry and gave off an aroma like wet wood, or that smell in your humid shed in the backyard. Bleh. It didn't smoke too well and there was no pleasant flavor to be had at all. The tobac looked like a collection of pressed stems and tree bark.

The good: It was free and the room note was nice.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-02-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have only smoked pipes for a couple years, and only smoke around once a week, so I am by no means an expert. I found this tobacco very enjoyable. I didn't notice the tongue bite others have reported, but I think I smoke slowly anyway. It's a mild aeromatic, and has a great flavor. To me it seems like a more natural flavor than some of the chemically tasting ones that are so common locally.

One thing to mention with this, I hate the aftertaste on most tobaccos, but this has a very pleasant aftertaste. It leaves a very light, sweet taste. Quite good!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peppino (74)	2010-12-28		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A classic that like the Dutch smokes best in a meershaum, more flavor and cooler on the palate vs a briar. One tobacco everyone should try at least once. Brings back some great memories for me, taking a trip to Osco drugs to buy some 3 star blends! Going to the Tinder Box and smoking my 1st Castello. Ahh for one more time in the 70's....:)!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jdr2008 (5)	2010-11-29		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

I received this tobacco when I purchased a pipe which was a nice gesture and that much is appreciated, But this particular blend was not very appealing to me, To me, this blend tastes like it smells, and it smells like a 100 year old house that has been vacant for thirty or more years (some of you know what Im talking about) that being said, It packed and lit well and as far as smoking, it smoked well, It is very sweet along with the musty old house taste and to me the only time it actually tasted good was at the very bottom of the bowl and that didnt last long. That being said, If all I had to smoke was 3star and dried out manure then I would smoke the 3star. Sorry guys, This stuff doesn't taste good to me.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fofo (81)	2009-04-01		Very Mild	Medium	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

This tobacco isn't bad or anything it just isn't for me. The leaf used isn't exactly top notch but it's pretty good considering the price. The blend is heavily cased but not overwheelming. Flavorwise I have to say it is very flat, I couldn't really taste anything. The smell of the smoke as I was exhaling and the room note were very pleasant.

Altadis isn't a company that I hold in high regard, their stuff is usually "blah"... I would recommend this to someone who is really into captain black white as it is along the same lines but much better crafted.

I wouldn't really buy this but I might not refuse a bowl if offered.

Altadis blows anyway, why would you want to have them mix your own blends when others can do a much better job?

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain bob (38)	2009-02-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

I first smoked Three Star back in the 60's and have pretty much kept some on hand ever since. It's a good first-morning smoke. Smoke it very slowly or it will get hot and bite your tonque! I personally have learned about "saucing" from one of the greats, Craig Tarler at Cornel & Diehl. I also do a lot of my own saucing. If you can't nail down the exact aromatic of a blend, that is a good thing because most sauces are complicated and mixed to achieve an overall taste and aroma that may be non-specific in an identifiable single ingredient.

EDIT: 05/05/2017 There must be a reason that this has never been absent in my tobacco rotation since the sixties! It is because I like it! It was the catalyst in my creation of Cornell and Diehl's "Captain Bob's Blend"! But, I took this light English aromatic in a slightly different aromatic direction. My Blend has a top note in a different direction. But I want everyone to know that I love the new tins of 3SB and it has and will remain in my personal favorite rotation. I am smoking it now as I do most days. While my own Blend remains my favorite, I also want to re-state that 3SB was "THE CATALYST" for my inspiration to create CBB. Thank you Iwan Ries! I do love your blend and I give it 4 stars! See you in Chicago on Sunday 5/7/17.

Pipe Used: Hayes Pipes and Savenelli

Age When Smoked: 67

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Captain Bob's Blend from Cornell and Diehl. Different, but also a light English Aromatic. I highly recommend 3SB!!!.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeKing David (134)	2007-12-15		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

I tried this tobacco about 25 years ago, when I first started to smoke a pipe. At that time I smoked only heavily-cased aromatics. I found Three Star Blue to bite, so I did not finish the pouch.

After reading the reviews of this blend, particularly that of the learned A.Morley (whose reviews are not only enlightening but entertaining as well), I decided to revisit this classic.

My opinion has changed somewhat. Its taste reminds me of cream soda as it does other reviewers. The slow approach to puffing which I learned through A.M and others on this website has reduced the bite.

I also agree with A. that this classic can be a little fickle. And the casing seems too much for me; when I reach for an aromatic, I prefer blends that are not so heavily cased.

Nevertheless, aromatic smokers should consider this interesting blend. It is unique and worth a try.

As an overly-aggressive lawyer once wrote in a vapid send-off to me (and which I found so loopy that I now incorporate it into this and future reviews), "Govern yourself accordingly!" SmokeKing David.

ps. I know that I am receiving a couple other Iwan Ries tobaccos this Christmas. I look forward to lighting them up and submitting reviews in the near future! Happy Holidays!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A. Morley (97)	2007-03-31		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Things would have been better in the world if all Aromatics were still blended in the spirit of Three Star Blue. Its base is of high-quality, light-colored Burley and a good amount of bright Virginia. The cut is one of tiny, uniform squares with a scattering of hair-thin corkscrews. It is the farthest thing from sticky. It smells like old fashioned confectionary and baking spices. I have no idea why the Captain Black School was allowed to take over.

I am a sucker for classic American blends, and it is hard to find a more prominent classic than Three Star Blue?well, there is Prince Albert, but I think that I have talked enough about him already. The cut of this blend makes it very easy to pack and even easier to light. The flavor reminds me of cream soda and maybe even baby powder. This would be vapid or undesirable if it were not for the underlying Burley which is warming and flavorful while being generally unobtrusive.

I cannot, however, give Three Star Blue the highest marks because it can be temperamental. Simply let the pipe hang, taking a puff only on occasion and the flavor is missed; puff too hard and often and the stuff becomes bitter and raspy. I understand that Iwan Ries makes heavier aromatics in their Three Star line, perhaps this inconsistency of taste is thus compensated for. Overall, I give it three stars (Ha!).

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipeman (14)	2006-05-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

after trying mixture 79 i wasn't sure what to expect from this. this was much better,i didn't find this to be as aromatic as i thought it would be,but it did leave a nice aroma for quite some time.it had a more pure tobcco taste to it for a aromatic.it started out mild but got stronger the rest of the way,it stayed cool for the most part.i would say this is another good aromatic for beginners.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-04-03		Mild to Medium	Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is a great representation of a an era gone by.This tobacco represents grandpa,egg creams,and fadoras!It is actually a fine aromatic that simply has lost its place in today's world.If you want to know the burning qualities and flavor think Royal Scott by Wilke.It is like Barking Dog with a Sundae topping. Not an everyday smoke ,but it has its place. Try some and be transported back to a better time for pipe smokers and generally the rest of us. 3 of 4 aromatic stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-02-01		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

As has been noted, Three Star Blue is the biggest selling private-label mixture in the world. The reason for this is clear: it's a superb pipe tobacco.

A blend of burley, Virginia, and a tiny amount of what I take to be Oriental leaf, this has a singular and powerful pouch aroma. It's a mixture of mint, fruit essence, and perfume. A pungent and alluring foretaste of what's to come. The cut is mostly in small flakes, with color ranging from light blond to black.

The writing on the pouch claims that this is 100% natural tobacco. When lit, much of the aroma from the pouch disappears, leaving one with a mildly sweet, refreshing, unique smoke, with a room note that is appealing and unmistakable. The fruity/perfumey essence stays there, but it's much more in the background than one might expect before lighting. There is a slight bite, but a modicum of attention paid to one's smoking technique alleviates this.

Three Star Blue is famous for a reason; chances are you'll either love it or hate it. I lean towards the former and highly recommend this fine blend.

(On a side note, let me compliment the customer service at Iwan Ries, who kindly sent me free samples of both Three Star Blue and China Black Vanilla Burley. They have earned their reputation as a truly great tobacco company in more ways than one.)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Art_A (10)	2003-11-06		Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

I cannot see how this can possibly be the best selling private blend in the country, I tried this years ago and was just given some lately. The only thing I can say good about this is it packs good and burns well. I get a hot burn and bite. I will not smoke this again even as a gift.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Diesel Fumes (11)	2022-11-15		Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

So as another reviewer mentioned; I too smoked Three Star Blue in the mid-70's and also tried the Three Star Red. Although I didn't care for TSB back then, I recently decided to give it another try a half century later. Although our taste matures over the years, and I have a fondness of re-enjoying my past; this one not the case. While I get it, that any tobacco could potentially give tongue bite; TSB has that tendency because it's simply smokes too wet and goopy. I would agree the room notes are excellent and almost enjoyed by non-pipe smokers; I didn't purchase potpourri and therefor don't care enough for only one product benefit. All said, I gave away a mostly full can I purchased and will never purchase again. It's simply overrated for me.

Pipe Used: Ben Wade

Age When Smoked: 3-Months

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Smoking kitchen cleanser..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (184)	2021-11-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

In a word, excellent! Needs to dry out a bit before smoking though. Nutty chocolate burley, grassy Virginia, a touch of Perique and just enough Latakia to peak your English urge. The real star though, for me is the Cavendish, it’s brown sugar with some smoky flue cured flavor. You will either love it or loathe it! I tend to love it, once it’s dried to a smokable humidity. The touch of vanilla and licorice add to the pleasure immensely. Some hints of Lakeland are present as well. Burns clean with no hot spots and is consistent throughout the process. All day blend that is pleasurable and enough nicotine to keep it in my my approval rating.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kik_rpm (15)	2021-02-13		Very Mild	Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

The smell from the pouch is sweet like raisins.

I smoked this one several times. I am ambivalent. During the couple of early times the taste was kind of metallic and astringent, the topping was very sweet and way too noticeable,not really pleasant.

I’m writing this review when tobacco is approximately four years old. This is a key element for letting all the flavors emerge.

During this last time all the flavours were more balanced and the metallic aroma disappeared. It was pleasant, although the topping is still too strong.

It is not a complex tobacco, very sweet and creamy and although it says it contains perique it was hardly noticeable.

This time I only needed one match and it burned evenly. I would recommend a very slow smoke in order to appreciate its flavours. Another idea to let the sweetness be balanced is to marinate it with dark chocolate at least 70%.

The room note is very pleasant like fermented plums. The astringent sensation came back with the aftertaste.

http://www.ensusitioarq.com

Pipe Used: Briar mollina rusticidad, meerschaum bent apple

Age When Smoked: 4 years

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

Similar Blends: Planta - Danish Black Vanilla.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mel64us (46)	2018-12-12		Strong	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Extra Strong

I agree with Pipestud's 2002 review of this. The flavoring is over the top, it burns too fast, and bites like a rabid badger. It did when I tried it about 14 years ago and still does. I agree, if this is popular and a best seller, I believe anaudit is in order. If you like this, have at it. I will never try it again.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local smoke shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sjdugi (22)	2016-03-29		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I must say that I particularly enjoy both the cut and the room note of this blend. There is a mild but pleasant scent from smoking this tobacco that I'm sure would please just about anyone. The variety of tobaccos in this blend seem to be of good quality and the alcohol topping is a nice touch. I definitely taste the burley in this tobacco more than anything. I did notice that this blend has a tendency to burn hot and can cause some tongue irritation so unless you're a slow smoker, I would suggest staying away from this blend. I would give this blend a 2.5/4 but I'm going to have to round down unfortunately (although it'd be nice if I could give this three stars considering the name).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	atomicbuster (79)	2013-02-09		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

As many others have stated, this was a gift with a purchase order from Iwan Ries. Thanks IW, but no thanks. This smells OK out of the box. To me it smelled like orange cream soda. Smoking it was the same way. It was almost like smoking Sunkist or Fanta Orange. Unfortunately, this does bite. Yes, I could puff slower, but I'd have to puff much slower than I prefer. It's a bright tobacco rough cut. It does produce some moisture in the bowl. I usually solve this by letting the tobacco dry out for a few days. It mostly worked. The first 4-5 bowls were nice, aside from the bite. Then it lost most of the already mild flavor as soon as it became too dry. I think it might be just OK if you knew at what point to let it stop drying and if you train yourself to puff this slowly. I'm not interested in either endeavor. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but I can't say it was totally unpleasant for those 4-5 bowls.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-05-19		Extremely Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

Got a sample of this with a Savinelli I ordered. Very dry, lots of stems and chunks. Smoked very slowly it is tolerable. 'Nuff said.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2011-02-17		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Strong

How disappointing. Proof that aromatics are the spawn of Satan.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-12-09		Medium to Strong	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

When I smoked my very first pipe, I had never heard of tongue bite. Three Star Blue sure made me a quick learner. It was recommended to me by my brother who--like me--has since bailed on this blend and never looked back. I guess good judgment runs in the family. Sometimes I'm surprised I stuck with pipes after smoking this one; the tobacco was extremely dry and burned terribly hot. It was so dry I could have kindled a fire in the fireplace with it. Actually I probably should have, at least that way it would have found some use other than taking up space in the landfill. Room note you ask? Let's just say it left a lot to be desired. I have smoked and enjoyed other Three Star blends, but Blue is surely not one of them.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-12-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

I got a pouch of this free with the purchase of a pipe, I smoked two bowls and threw the rest away.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-08-08		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have purchased several pipes from Iwan Ries. The very first time I ordered from them a small boxed pouch of Three Star Blue was sent with the order as a promotional gift. I smoked the pouch of tobacco because of my thriftiness I just can't bring myself to throw tobaccco away and I didn't know anyone who wanted the pouch.

Three Star Blue had a perfume-like aroma and flavor to my senses. I don't know if it leaves that impression with other pipe smokers. It arrived dry and did not need further drying prior to lighting. It lit well and burned well. It burned my tounge as well no matter how lightly I puffed and sipped at the pipe. I didn't like the flavor; it was too perfume-like for my tastes. I cannot recommend Three Star Blue and give it a rating of one star.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-08		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

My second time visiting Chicago, I once again made my way immediately over to the great old tobacconist (and pipe smoker's fantasy land) Iwan Ries. I found the fellows over there to be knowledgable, helpful and friendly. I did made two moves in one morning that I nearly never make: 1. I purchased a filter pipe (Brigham, enjoying it) and 2. purchased an aromatic type tobacco.

Upon asking the guy at the counter to steer me toward and aromatic that smokes reasonably dry and won't taint my briars forever (though seemingly many reviewers here thing this blend does just that), he steered me directly to Three Star Blue.

I needed a people-friendly yet enjoyable smoke and found one in 3 Star Blue. After tasting it in several pipes (including the new Brigham, very smooth in that one) I found a perfect match in a Davidoff bent. If you know how to smoke a pipe, you can make this one work: i.e., if you don't puff relentlessly hard and keep your pipe smoking experience at a moderate cruise without continuously 'steaming' the pipe by out-puffing too much, you may find this a smooth, pleasant blend that you can also enjoy without concern among most nonsmokers. I plan to stock up on this regularly.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-10-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

As a boy in Chicago in the 50's some of my fondest memories are of visiting IRC with my father and grandfather. It was a wondrous place of wood paneling,leaded glass cases of briar and men in hats puffing out billowing clouds of blue smoke. This was a haven for men of all stripes to come together to relax, talk tobacco, pipes,and any and everything under the sun. The comeraderie was as thick as those clouds of blue smoke.

At sixteen I was given my 1st pipe and a pouch of 3 star blue.It was a mild-medium sweet aromatic with hints of vanilla and berries easy to pack and it burned just great. Care has to be taken when smoking this blend or it will burn the buds right off your tongue.I was taught to puff Slow, Gentle & Steady to avoid the bite and to allow the blend to achieve its full potential.

Fourty-Five years later I smoke english and virginia blends and occasionally a bowl of 3 star. But I do not enjoy it like I used to because the blend has changed and so have my taste buds. Now I smoke it for the memories.

IRC is still one of the premier tobacconists in the USA. I love their Gourmet English and order it online, but to support my local tobacconist I trade mostly locally so they don't have to close the doors to me and my pals.The men,commeraderie, and clouds of blue smoke are still present. See you there!!!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillardFan (90)	2007-11-28		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I'm still trying to make up my mind about this Iwan Ries tobacco. This stuff burns fast, and if you're not carefull, it will get pretty hot. It has a tangy sour taste, which I think is due to the Burley. The box says, World famous taste and aroma. No fillers and no preservatives. The taste is so mild that it's really rather bland. I know I wouldn't buy this stuff, when there are so many better offerings...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Blue Jazzman (73)	2007-09-14		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Tolerable

If you smoke this blend I hope you like it because it will stay in your pipe big time. Also, have never yet found an aromatic that gets better by aging.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hemlock (69)	2007-01-18		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

As some others have, I received a sample pack with purchase of a pipe from Iwan Ries, and have since purchased another half pound. This is an execellent tobacco blend very well suited for social occasions. I enjoy both mild aromatics and non-aromatics. The blend has a heady aroma upon opening the pouch. It smokes cool with lovely sweetness, and brings various notes through the bowl with its virginia and cavendish components. I still find it satisfying though it is aromatic-- the flavouring is reserved and balanced. This is an all day blend for me as it burns very dry and leaves no moist dottle or gurgle to the pipe. Because of its lovely room aroma, it incites nothing but praise and intrigue for the pipe from bystanders. Yet, I still feel that I am smoking tobacco and not a bowl of fruit loops.

I also love the texture which I would best decribe as bits and flakes of bright and dark leaf. Easy to gravity fill a bowl.

I highly recommend this to those without prejudice against mild aromatics.

----- update 01-18-07

I resampled a jar of this stuff that had aged for nearly a year. It had become full of bite and the flavour was flat, synthetic and bad enough to pitch the smoke and dump nearly 6 oz into the fireplace. I suspect that the flavouring agent is degrading with time and this is somehow linked to all the bite folks are complaining about. The leaf seams to be of reasonable quality. I wonder if Iwan Ries realizes that they have a quality problem with their current version of the flagship offering.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Philo Beddoe (221)	2007-01-03		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

It has taken me quite some time to get around to this well known classic, so I was eager to pack a bowl. It tasted very much like Kentucky Club Continental Blend to me. It smelled a bit like Captain Black White when lit, but that smell faded soon. I also got the odd perfume flavor others have mentioned.

I cannot say that this is bad, but I will not be buying it again anytime soon.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-10-31		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a wonderful, old-time tobacco, that seems to bring back lots of fond memories for all who encounter the scent. A nice mixture of color, with some coarse chunks that I like in my tobacco. Odd scent in the pouch. Everyone has a differing opinion about that it seems. Something flora. Some minty notes. I think I smell a cherry like flavor.

Gravity feed the bowl and tap with my fingers to settle. Then the last pinch is gently pushed in a bit to firm it slightly. Nice moisture. Fairly dry. It burns well and tastes much like it smells. Nice sweetness and much is from the Virginia's. Some burley in the blend which adds a nice nutty flavor.

Be forewarned, this is a blend for the pipe smoker with a fair technique. Puffed up, this blend will bite you like a rabid cat. But smoked slowly, this is pretty good stuff. Nice medium nicotine hit. Satisfying. Which for me is very important. I smoke this in my Jobert pipes, and need to keep the ash dumped. The bowls are mostly deep, and too much ash tends to put the coal out.

Being in Illinois, it's pretty expensive for me to obtain more. But I would keep it around for when I have to smoke in a crowd or to please the wife.

Enjoy, Carlos

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	aadelma (67)	2006-03-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

This blend starts out very promising. There is a light top note which reminds me of juicy fruit gum that is very similar to that used in the House of Windsor blends. It isn't sticky at all, so I was hoping for sort of a Country Doctor without the latakia. Indeed, the first half of the bowl is mild and pleasant, tasting mainly like tobacco. During the second half, the low quality of the tobacco shines through and it gets acrid and bites. It is worth what I paid for it - nothing.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2006-03-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Three Star Blue is a mildly flavored, light aromatic, one in which the tobacco hasn't been drowned out by casing. Its got a wonderful smell right out of the pouch, and with a crumbled kind of cut that I wouldn't describe as anything resembling a "broken flake", as indicated by the above blend notes.

It comes nice and moist, dry even, with a large variety of golden tobaccos. The taste isn't overbearing, though in the few times I smoked Three Star Blue, it's bit intensely. I understand this is a favored aromatic blend of many, and for what it is, it's great. As for the bite, it keeps me from wanting seconds...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-05-03		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Years ago this was my favorite tobacco but then I then I read Richard Carleton Hacker's books, subscribed to Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine, and,of course, read Tobaccoreviews.Com and moved on to flakes, exotic and high grade blends from around the world. Mr. Serad's recent review of Three Star Blue induced me to try my old favorite again and I can stll recommend it. It is an old traditional American-style blend similar to the recent nostalgic releases from House of Windsor. It consists of small granules of varied color, but generally dark with some bright flashes. It smells good in the pouch, lights and burns well, and has an intriguingly rich aroma. It tastes good with a spicy semi-sweet undertaste. It is not one of those unidimensional overly moist black cavendish blends, but actually smacks of complexity and is considered by some to be an English/aromatic crossover. It is dry and packs easily, but can be pushed to bite if one puffs vigorously. Like many of the old-time blends, Three Star Blue seems well suited to the old-time Kaywoodies since their metal filters restrict draw. I theorize that one contributed to the success of the other in a kind of symbiotic relationship. Anyway, I give Three Star Blue a grade of "B-".

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-04-30		Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I am completely re-writing this review v. updating it because I was far to tough on this tobacco the first time around.

For many years I was a diehard Latakia fan who smoked nothing but the traditional English blends. I tried this and hated it. I thought it was like smoking Juicy Fruit gum. But my tastes have mellowed and I am less rigid in what I appreciate.

I have smoked Three Star Blue several times since my initial review and am changing my opinion. I should have been more complimentary.

This tobacco is an old fashioned aromatic. Slightly sweet, good tobacco flavor, nice aroma, dry. Moderate nicotine. It is not goopy. I do notice the Orientals when I smoke it slowly (which is the only way to enjoy this as fast puffing brings out the heat).

So try this if you like the older-style aromatics that are not PG coated or slathered with sweet goop. But remember . . . . this is an aromatic with basic underlying tobacco taste. Nothing too complex and definately not for the diehard English fan. But a nice change of pace and certainly something to smoke when around others who have not yet learned to appreciate pipes.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-04-09		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

This blend is comprised of toasted burley, sweet Virginia, and fire cured cavendish. This was the very first tobacco I smoked decades ago, and brings back fond memories. Anywhere I went in public (fashionable in those days), strangers (both men and women) would stop me and ask what I was smoking, as it had such a wonderful aroma. It was mild enough to smoke all day, and never produced a wet heel. There is a trick to smoking this aromatic in that this tobacco should be smoked slowly, perhaps 2-3 puffs per minute to fully enjoy the flavor, yet keeping the smoke cool. As I matured, so did my tobacco tastes, and I lost track of this staple aromatic. My daily rotation now includes more complex non-aromatic blends from Pipeworks & Wilke, Pease, and Dunhill, yet I still find myself drawn occasionally to a bowl full of Blue. It is, and always has been a very unique aromatic.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-03-26		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Favorable notes were written about this blend by Richard Carleton Hacker in "Pipesmoking A 21st Century Guide", and most recently William Serad in the Spring 2004 issue of "Pipes in Tobaccos". I was given a sample of this on a past order from Iwan Ries. It sat around unopened for some time. Then I had an urge to smoke an aromatic. Mind you, the only "aromatic" I could come close to is "Barbary Coast" by Greg Pease. Well, I was out of that. So, I said "Oh, well...there's that "Three Star Blue" hanging around...". I've been trying it out in six pipes I reserved for "Barbary Coast" (hope it didn't hurt 'em!). It's actually a bit refreshing, believe it or not, from one who limits himself mostly to English blends, straight Virginias, and Virginia/Perique blends. The interesting thing I find here is that there is little variation from top to bottom of bowl. Maybe a bit toward the bottom, but not much. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. I tend to savor the tobaccos I like. Well, I didn't even think about that with this stuff! I could read, do yard work, or whatever without thinking about what I was smoking. I tried at first to look for highlights down the bowl, but I couldn't find them. Is this the true "working man's tobacco"? Anyway, here we have a blend that my family members don't mind, and I can ignore it. I wonder if it has something in it to keep it lit, too. You can almost ignore it from top to bottom. Maybe a last match...just to see if it's still there. There must be some kind of mint like topping applied I guess. I get that "sort of" taste as I smoke it. What ever it is, it seems to stick around for some time after, too. The main thing is that there's nothing outstanding to report here other than it's a great blend for concentrating on other things. It doesn't make me think, "What is this stuff"??!! Guess I'll continue to smoke it when I don't want to love what I'm smoking and concentrate on other tasks. Read Mr. Serad's comments, and continue from there...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-03-26		Mild	Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I am in the midst of a foray into the world of aromatic blends. Having noted this blend to be one of the more popular ones in the country I decided to try this one and Three Star Ebony which I have not tried as yet. Three Star Blue is coming through quite nicely. Having read the previous crits on this blend there is not much being said in favor of this blend. Well I have to say that it is not bad at all. It is very easy to smoke all day and is definitely a blend that one does not need to sit back and savour, however, that being said it is very pleasant. It did get a bit harsh at the end. I will smoke this from time to time as a nice change of pace. Three Stars for Three Star.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2003-12-25		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild	Overwhelming

I am afraid that all I can say about this blend is that some people have much different tastes than me. This blend made me ill just smelling it in the bag, and even more so after a few puffs. Alas, I let it go out and dumped the rest in the "T" file. For aromatics, there are many that I prefer (Sunday's Fantasy, Evening Stroll, Captain Black Gold,,etc...) this one is just not my cup of tea....Cannot recomend. Rating: 0 out of 5 Points. Sorry.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kcpipedpiper (9)	2023-02-27		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This stuff is simple. This was what my grandpa smoked. This is my every morning w/ coffee smoke. It's a delightful codger blend that, when smoked correctly, gives a pleasant overall experience...with some hitches.

In the tin: vanilla...but slightly off because of the licorice in it. It comes a little wet and requires some decent dry time. The smoking experience is dependent on proper moister level. You dont want it "crispy dry" but plenty dry enough to where it doesn't leave moisture on your fingers when pinched. By appearance in the tin, it's a very nice mixture of dark & light tobaccos.

In the pipe. Lets talk about whats required overall to truly enjoy this tobaccos. Proper cadence. slower and more gentle puffing. And, moisture...again. Cadence and moisture will determine the quality of smoke you get from this. Anyone complaining about tongue bite is doing one or both of these incorrectly. This blend lends itself to burning hot and keeping a lit coal can be a struggle. Those 2 things can create a bit of a dance w/ this tobacco. How not to burn through a pipe and yet avoid a re-lite...this is always my morning wrestle. Flavor: This is not overly topped/cased. Very nice tobacco to flavor ratio. But, i will say the vanilla/licorice is the primary flavor. I'm only an aro smoker because of this blend. 95 percent of my cellar is made up of non-aros. I only say that, to let you know how my palate "bend" is in liking. I do get tobacco flavor, but mostly burley, w/ cavendish in 2nd place. Anything else in this blend, FOR ME, is almost un-noticable. Smoke is light in density but present. Room note, very pleasant. For smoker & non-smoker.

I love this tobacco. I will have it in my cellar for as long as they produce it. Due to impoper technique(again, in my opinion) is why this has a lower rating. Its great w/ a cup of coffee and a great way to start the day.

Highly recommended

Pipe Used: Butz-Choquin bent brandy

Purchased From: IRC

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2020-05-19		Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant

I remember smoking this back in the late 90's, before TR existed. Honestly, I don't remember much about this at all. A good friend gifted me a pouch of this about 2-3 years ago, along with the Gourmet English (which I enjoy) as a thank you for introducing him to the pipe.

I found this still in box and cellophane, so I thought what the hell, let's give her a go.

Moisture is fine for my smoking preference. Evidently the pouch did its job at keeping things on par. On opening the pouch, the licorice aroma was quite pleasant to me! The toasted burleys smell amazing, but I cannot detect any Latakia in here at all. The cut was somewhat on the irregular side, and quite fine.

Loaded gravity fill, with only one slight tamp at the end. Initial lighting was straight forward, no hassle.

First half of the bowls treat me well! No tongue bite if sipped. I have a sensitive tongue, so I was prepared to be seared after reading a few reviews here. The burley produces a slight nuttiness, and is complimented well with the Virginia and vanilla flavoring. The licorice doesn't stand out as a flavoring component.

2nd half of the bowl can heat the tongue up a bit. I can also detect a slight Latakia aroma, but you'll be searching. Can also get a bit ashy towards 3/4 of the bowl, so this is where I quit. Room note is very pleasant!

All in all, it's not a dud. but in no way is it one I will seek out to purchase. I'll finish this pouch without hesitation. If it had not been for the tongue bite at the mid-point, I would have no problem offering up a 3 star review. I say a solid 2.5

Pipe Used: cobs

Age When Smoked: 2-3 years

Purchased From: gift

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-27		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This was a blend I smoked for a short time in the late 60s. At the time, I rather enjoyed it. My son recently gave me a pack that he had received, unsolicited, in the mail. I smoked some several times in a variety of pipes. The smell out of the pack is rather sweet. The taste is burley all the way. Old tastes(and memories) tend to change over the years. I can only recommend this blend to new smokers, however they should smoke it very slowly as it can burn the tongue.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-11-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm gonna keep this one short as it's late in the evening and this tabac didn't do much for me. Like many here, I received a freebee sample with a pipe I ordered from Iwan Ries and decided to give it a whirl. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. I did enjoy what seemed to be a combination of aromatics and Oriental leaf, which I found interesting, but the perfume taste is way overpowering and I am betting it comes from casing oriental leaf with a flavoring. Without question, this stuff could definitely ghost a pipe, which is why I tried it in an old Hardcastle which isn't one of my favorites anyways. Sorry, but I'll take my 1Q any day over this stuff.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-10-06		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Actualy i dont like aromatic tobacco...My sample send by Ron from Iwan Ries...

Its 1,5oz box and its good design for tobacco...Tobacco moist for my taste...Its very difrent taste...Fresh and sweet...If you like aromatic tobacco give a chance for this blend...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-06-29		Mild	Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Three Star Blue is a good tobacco, but not for smoking. It makes wonderful potpourri.

People always seem surprised that aromatics smell better than they taste, but that's why they're called aromatics. If they tasted good, they'd be called flavorfuls.

When experienced pipe smokers tell beginners to start with aromatics, it's hazing. They figure if they had to go through it, why shouldn't the newbies? It's just cruel.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-21		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Pros: nice room note. Cons: I would rather let somebody else do the chore of smoking it. Tongue bite.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-10-26		Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I returned to the pipe upon retiring a couple years ago. My last go round with the pipe was in the 60?s. For those who weren?t around, those were the days, and the wonderful aroma of Ries tobaccos wafted all over many Midwestern colleges. Professors actually smoked their pipes in class and their offices often smelled like 135 So. Wabash. Blue was the flagship of the fleet and my favorite, when I had the money. Naturally, when I returned to the fold, my first choice was Three Star Blue. Wow, either Blue, or I, have changed a lot. My guess is the tobacco. ( With pipe smoking way down and Chicago?s obscene sin tax, now at 25%, they?ve got to be concerned with lowering costs). Sentimentality and hope, however, prompted me to go down this road 3 times. 7 oz. and 1.5 oz. twice. Disappointment would be an understatement. The tobacco was bone dry, flavorless and burned like well dried tinder. Blue always required care when smoking, but now it bites like a bulldog! Ries still knows how to blend great blends? IRC Flake, the misnamed Cavendish Slices (a Vaper) and Gourmet English are among my favorites, but something has gone badly wrong with Three Star Blue. Look elsewhere.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-10		Extremely Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Overwhelming

This, uh, "tobacco",is my penance for stealing Father Ryan's My Mixture 965 in my youth. Bless me Father, for I have sinned...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-01-10		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I, as many others, recieved a package of this blend free with a pipe I purchased from IWC. As a new smoker(less than 2 years) I'm still cutting my teeth on aromatics and milder tobaccos, and haven't yet fully graduated to the English blends and Virginias all the "old timers" rave about. So by reading the description on the package I thought I'd love this blend. It said things like "light aromatic" and "smooth and mild". Then I tried it. If any blend can be called "the menthol cigarette of pipe tobaccos" I think this is it. Minty but too sharp, mild but not sweet enough, its almost as if they tried to cram too much flavor into Three Star Blue. It does have a pleasant room note, but that's one of the few positives I found. After my first bowl I was not tempted to try it again. I'll set it aside for awhile and -who knows- perhaps my tastes will evolve over time and I'll end up loving it. Some day. But not today.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-07-18		Extremely Mild	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Unnoticeable

Take some very low quality dried out tobacco "shake" or better yet sawdust, add as much deodorant soap shavings to it as you can,then splash some of Grandmas perfume over it,youll be right in the ballpark of 3 star blue.If you think you know tongue burn,you know nothing(unless you've smoked this)

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-06-22		Mild to Medium	Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I'm very much into tradition. I enjoy playing and listening to traditional music and also like the traditional aspects of pipesmoking.

One of those traditions is receiving a free sample of tobacco when purchasing a pipe from a tobacconist. This is how I came to try Three Star Blue from Iwan Ries.

I very much like dealing with the good folks at Iwan Ries and feel bad dumping on their free sample.

Three Star Blue is a hodgepodge of flavorings that reminds me of Field & Stream. Two flavorings I seem to detect are rum and licorice but there seem to be many more involved in this complex blend.

Unfortunately, the flavorings gag me. They also will leave a ghost in your pipe, so if you try this, be forewarned.

If this is their flagship blend, I don't think I'll be trying any more of their house blends.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-26		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Ahh... Three Star Blue. I started smoking this way back in 1978 when I was in the USAF in Germany and Iwan Ries sent orders postage free to APO's (I also ordered quite a few cheaper pipes from them). Odd, because I had started smoking pipes (when I was still in the U.S.) with tobaccos purchased from B&M's - I went through the old Three Nuns, Dunhill blends, etc. Nevertheless, on my return to the U.S. I continued to smoke almost nothing but Three Star Blue and I continued to do so up until about ten years ago. After going back to English and straight Virginias, I recently ordered an 8 oz. pack of Three Star Blue and tried it again. I don't believe this tobacco ages well as it probably contains burley; the flavoring doesn't become better as it ages, either, but simply enhances the bitterness of the burleys. So, I would say this tobacco should be smoked relatively fresh and it must be smoked very slowly. It packs beautifully and generally smokes dry but will bite the foo out of you if you puff too quickly. It has a nice fruity flavor starting out, but generally by mid-bowl the burleys announce their presence and, if you puff too quickly, it will become bitter, but not in a nice way, like beer hops bitter. My wife and (now grown) daughters have always loved the aroma of burning Three Star Blue and I often was questioned/complimented on the wonderful aroma by strangers or nodding acquaintances. It is also a "mindless" smoke, you can light it and forget it, as long as you mindlessly puff very slowly. I haven't finished the 8 ounces yet... maybe I'll give it to my son-in-law since his wife (my daughter) is not wild about the room note of his GL Pease blends.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-01-18		Very Mild	Medium	Very Mild	Strong

This well known tobacco was dry in the pouch, so I thought I might like it. Wrong. The taste was foul and it also bit my tongue. May be a good smoke for others, but certainly not for me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-12-18		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I was in college, a taste for Three Star was a mark of sophistication. I can't say I particularly care for it, but I don't dislike it either. I have to restrain myself to keep Three Star cool enough not to bite. I am not opposed to aromatics, but the Three Star casing does not appeal to me. The tobacco flavor is fairly bland-- I think mostly burley, some Virginia. I will never say that an IRC blend is not good, I have too much respect for the establishment, but Three Star has never held up to its reputation for me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-10-29		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I didn't find this tobacco very pleasant. It smells okay in the pouch, sort of berry-like. It fried my tongue. You have to take this stuff pretty slow.

It comes pretty dry. Not quite C&D dry, but dry nonetheless.

This stuff's okay as a last resort.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-08-16		Mild	Very Strong	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I bought 7 oz. pouch of this blend back in ' 90 as part of my first mail order with I.R.C. and based on a brief mention by Richard Hacker in his book. My hopes were of finding a flavorful smoke for me with a more pleasing aroma for coworkers and my girlfriend than my usual Dunhill 'Early Morning' which shooed folks away in droves.

Opening the pouch, it slapped me in the face with licorice, and undertones of banana of all things! Juicy Fruit? Okay C.P., I'll go along with that description; the smell was just as obnoxious and left an impression which makes me shudder to this day.

Still, I had to go for it as it's been my experience that tobac often tastes quite different puffing from the stem than it smells from the jar. Woah! I'm so glad I used a cob instead of a plateau briar, as burning off the residuals left by this stink weed would have been a labor of years if ever. As it was, the cob found its way into a drum reserved for spent welding rods and grinding disks along with the remainder of the 7 oz pouch of this lamentable mixture.

Be advised, this IS NOT a cross-over and it's even questionable as a 'mild' aromatic, unless you consider incense to be mildly aromatic.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-08-01		Mild	Strong	Mild	Pleasant

I started smoking Three Star 40 years ago and loved it then and smoked it for many years. I used to go down to the original Iwan Ries street level store twice a month. What a great tobacco shop! Nothing but pipes and tobacco. The place was alway packed, sometimes shoulder to shoulder.

Reading the reviews on Three Star, I was wondering why most of the reviews were describing the pouch aroma smelling like Juciy Fruit gum and tasting soapy. I figured they were not use to the unique flavor of Three Start. A couple of weeks ago my friend gave me a pouch of Three Star that he got as a sample from Altadis. I opend the pouch and my first thougt was "What the heck is this?" It didn't look anything like the old Three Star tobacco. The tobacco was cut in big uneven chuncks! The old Three Star was cut in uniform small flakes. And yes, it did smell like Juicy Fruit gum, nothing like the original aroma.

Well, I loaded my pipe and gave it a try. Boy, did they screw up this once great aromatic! It taste nothing like the old blend and bit like crazy. I guess this is another case of a company (Altadis) taking over a blend, cheaping up the tobacco and flavoring, and selling it on its laurals. I guess some of the reviewers like this blend, but beleive me, if you somked the old blend, you would be wirting this review.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-07-24		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Reading previous reviews of Three Star Blue, one gets the impression of a love/hate reaction.

I enjoy aromatics from time to time and feel confident to recommend this quality blend. No PG, no goop, but loaded with real tobacco flavor. It's just a bit too moist out of the pouch, but nothing like most other aromatics. Let it dry out a bit if you are so inclined. Burns remarkably well for a tobacco in this class.

Add a star arormatics are at the top of your list.

If you like Three Star Blue, I think you'll really be impressed with Orlick's Dark Strong Kentucky, (a blend that isn't really all that strong), but well worth the higher price.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-06-20		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

well, that burley taste is there that is for sure. This is Carter Hall with Erinmore topping. If this were a vehicle this would be a '56 light blue Ford pick up.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-06-19		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Overwhelming

Received as free sample. Smells like perfume and leaves an aftertaste like soap. I gave it an overwhelming on room note not because it is strong but because I find the smell so disagreeable I simply cannot bear to smoke this blend. On a positive note, no bite and not goopy. Perhaps this is one of those "love it" or "hate it" blends. I am in the latter but evidently lots of folks enjoy it, more power to them; it is just not for me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-02-25		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

First of all, understand that this tobacco is definitely aromatic. Another one of many blends designed solely to appease those around the pipe smoker rather than provide the pipe smoker with anything enjoyable to smoke. While other aromatics may smell nice and provide smoking enjoyment, this is clearly not one of them. Reminiscent of Mixture 79, this stuff is pretty vile tasting weed.

The tobacco packs well and ends to stay lit, but will bite without provocation. It reaks strongly of perfume.

There's just nothing to keep me from throwing this tobacco in the trash.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ducksbreath (125)	2004-11-27		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I don't have any fond memories of this, which came free as a sample with another order. I found out about Iwan Ries through this database and otherwise would probably never have placed an order with that venerable company.

To me it tastes something like a cheaper approximation to Mac Barens Mixture, which I also avoid. I did find a fairly nice mid bowl sweetness present in * blue, but it wasn't worth the pain to get there. I realize I posted a semi positive review of Mixture 79 and my credibility is not very high as a result, but these are my recollections of my first exposure to blue, a couple of years ago, and I have no desire to try it again.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-16		Mild	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I used to live in Chicago, in the early 1990's, I went to Iwan Reis every week to buy cigars, pipes, and tobacco. As a complete novice back then I pretty much learned how to smoke from these people. I have a lot of fond memories of the place. It's a great store and worth visiting if you're ever in the Loop. Nevertheless, I never thought much of their three star tobaccos. I remember buying one of their sampler packs which had six or so different three star tobaccos and they all smelled and tasted the identical, with just some variation in strength. This is not the worst crime in the world--a lot of tobacco makers follow this pattern. There are three or four Dunhill blends that like stronger or weaker counterparts of one another. Still, it was a bit disappointing to find out everything tastes the same. And what is that taste? It's the smell actually--as others have noted, three star blue has a pretty distinctive smell. It's been ten years since I smoked this stuff and I can STILL remember that smell. It certainly doesn't smell like anything else I've encountered since then. Intensely sweet, pungent, and fruity is what I recall. It was like a potpourri your grandma might have in her bathroom. I suppose somebody out there might really dig this smell, but I didn't find it particularly palatable. The other annoying trait of the three star tobaccos was how finely cut they are. Somebody called it "cubed." Whatever the proper term, it's like filling your bowl with confetti and smoking it. Granted, some people don't want to muck around with rubbing their tobacco because it's a hassle. Even so, a standard ribbon cut would be sufficient to avoid that problem. Probably the sole advantage to cutting the tobacco this small is that you can just plunge your pipe right into the bag and fill it with index finger (if you consider that an advantage).

I have to confess I don't remember anything else about this tobacco, not how it burned, not what it tasted like. All I remember is that "essence of air freshener" smell it had. I also remember disliking all of their brands tobaccos, with the exception of China Black--which was a fire-cured Cavendish that was completely different from the other Iwan Ries stuff.

Anyway, the next time I went in the manager got mad at me because I told him I preferred Captain Black Gold over his three star tobaccos. I didn't mean to insult the guy, but what can I say--I thought the stuff sucked. That's not to say somebody else might not really enjoy it. I suppose it's like the debate over Erinmore, either you like that smell or you hate it. I don't know that I'd recommend mail ordering a pouch just to find out if you like it. However, if you ever go to Chicago, it?s certainly worth visiting the store and sticking your nose into bag and sniffing it, or smoking a bowl there in the store from the samples they have available. I'll promise you it will certainly be something different.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-15		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This just did not do it for me. It smells wonderful in the pouch and while burning. ( if you like aromatics- I usualy do not ) Once when I was a young boy I think my brother sprayed perfume in my mouth when I was not expecting it. This is what the taste kind of reminds me of . While I do not rate this as bad as erinmore mixture, i do not like it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-11-06		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The other reviews say it all. To be nice, I like the aroma in the room and in the pouch. The heat and bite are what killed me. I've been sampling the same small pouch since 2000. 'Nuff said.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-08-11		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Chicago, Chicago, its a hell of a town, or so the song gos. Three Star Blue is a legend in that burg by the river. It also has a rep, throughout the country, and maybe the world. Why? I don't know. I mean, this tobacco, is weird. I mean it is realy strange. I almost used the word unique, but that descriptor does not do the blend justice. When I first tried this tobacco, my first impression after sampling the aroma from the pack, was soapy. Not just any soap, but Dial soap. It wasn't unpleasent, but soap? I filled my pipe, with the cube cut blend and began to smoke. So this is what soap tasts like? The flavor from this mostly Burley blend was very strong. To say aromatic, would be an understatement. Everyone in the room, building, and surrounding area will know that you are smoking. But honostly, they might not even know what it was. Some may even think they were near a gym, where the smell of soap would be coming from the showers. At least you should not run the risk of offending many people. Most like the smell of Dial. The tobacco burned a bit hot, and could cause bite, so I took it slow, and prolonged the experience. About halfway through, something happened. The casing seemed to have burned off, and I began to get a tobacco taste, but not a good one. It was sour, and bitter. I have ran into this problem before with a dry, cube cut burly aromatic, and it was the same here. I had to stop, dump the pipe, and hope that I would not be experiencing Dial overtones from my pipe when I smoked it again. I usually try to find at least something good to say about any tobacco I smoke. I can't with this one. I did not like it, and being that Chicago is a "hell of a town", I almost thought I had entered hell after smoking this. Enticed with a promiss of pleasure, but fooled into a flavor hell, which made me Blue :(

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-04-03		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I was given a small bag of Three Star Blue this evening at an informal gathering of pipesmokers at a local shop by a pleasant gentleman who's smoked it for years. In return I gave him comparable amount of Full Virginia Flake. The aroma of this tobacco in the bag is rather odd, somewhere between earthy and fruity. It was rather dry (or his stash was at least) and packed very easily. Upon first light a fruity flowery taste filled my mouth and I thoguht I was in for trouble. Though this is definitely an aromatic, though not a goopy one, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought after the first light. It started out mild, of course, but soon gained in strength. I have no idea what is in this tobacco but I would bet a good portion of burley with some virginia. The flavor is hard to pinpoint, it's slightly flowery and soapy but also fruity. I began to feel some bite after only a dozen or so puffs and I was careful to smoke slowly (and it was well packed). The caution light was blinking, I'm heading for trouble. Rather than put the pipe down I continued at a snails pace. It seemd fairly one dimensional until about half way throught he bowl where the flavoring seemed to take a back seat to a nuttiness which was slightly bitter. The burley has awoken it seems, and it never goes back to sleep. The last half of this bowl was a burley lovers dream. Unfortunatley, I am not normally a huge fan of burley. I made it through the bowl with only slight discomfort on my tongue and all that was left was a nice clean ash in my pipe. It did get a little harsh towards the very end though. Despite my consciously slower than normal puffing, this seemed to burn very fast. I can't say I loved this tobacco, but it wasn't horrible either. It's aroma is certainly it's best feature and I can imagine this would be a big crowd pleaser in public. It reminds me of what I thought a pipe smelled likeas I was growing up, perhaps more than any other tobacco I've smoked. Would I recommend this? Certainly to those who like aromatics, but for those who don't I'd recommend you pass. Will I smoke it again? Yes. Will I put any away in my tobacco cellar? No.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-03-14		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Strong

I have mixed feelings on the Three Star Blends. It is with fond memories and great appreciation that I recall the days in the 1960's when the staff at Iwan Ries introduced and educated me on the finer points of pipes and tobaccos. Back then, the only three Star Blend was "Blue". It was offered as a straight, non-aromatic blend. Shortly thereafter, they announced that it was, in fact, an aromatic and relabeled many of their other blends as part of the Three Star line. This is the first time in about 25 years that I have tasted these blends. During this time, I have migrated to non-aromatic, latakia type mixtures. I cannot make out the component tobaccos in Three Star. There is no hint from Iwan Ries on their makeup. They refer to their blends as "full", "balanced", "light", "rich", etc. without any mention of a single tobacco component. I do remember that, way back in the 60's, they told me that it contained Deer Tongue. The number one feature of this line is the aroma. They are crowd pleasers. They have the aroma that makes one think of taking up the pipe. Both smokers and non-smokers seem to enjoy the whiffs in the air. It is as if they first created the aroma, and then blended some tobaccos to fit it. The cut is composed of very small pieces of dark and light ribbons and flakes that always seem to have the perfect moisture content. Unlike other aromatics, they are not goopy. They burn dry and clean to a fine ash. However, they tend to bite a bit. The pouch aroma is a bit musty with an aromatic that I cannot define. It is unique being neither like vanilla nor rum cased blends. I can neither taste the tobacco, nor the aromatic as they seem to blend into an indefinable flavor (Spearmint or Juicy Fruit Gum is close). There is a twang in each puff that may be due to the Deer Tongue if it is still used. However, the aroma controls the smoking experience. I only smoke these in my "anything goes pipes", as both the flavor will linger in the briar, and the aroma will definitely linger in the room. Some of the Three Star blends are identical with the only difference being the strength of the aromatic addition. Three of the blends that I have tried are almost identical with Three Star Red being mild on the aromatic, Blue-medium, and Gold-heavy. I would no longer consider any of the Iwan Ries tobaccos as a regular smoke, but I often turn to them when I want something really different that just smells great. Since aroma is a major component of taste, that might just be the secret to these blends. I would recommend Three Star to those that do not mind aromatics, and to those that just really want something different with a great aroma. They are my love-hate blends.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-03-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Under my Grandmother's maxim of "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything" I usually avoid reviewing aromatics. I'll have to change that I suppose, can't stay a dinosaur forever, curmudgeon, maybe. I decided to dabble my feet in the "aromatic" world with a so-called crossover. A tobacco that has both aromatic and non aromatic properties. I've been promised "English for you, aromatic for them". Three Star Blue is the top seller by a long shot out of the Iwan Ries lineup. The packaging that I have is a "perma-moist resealable package" containing 7 oz of the stuff. Appearance: No excess moisture, predominantly blond & medium brown burley tobacco, with a little black, which at first, assumed to be a BCA essentially. But I tweezed and lit, and seems (I repeat seems) to be a very dark Virginia, based on burning odor. The package aroma is unusual to say the least. Aromatic, unquestionably, with hints of plum and small amounts of vanilla. Not overwhelming Pack: I an very impressed with the pack, the package moisture is just right for a "trickle" load Test Drive: Fire hits weed. Lit well releasing a muted vanilla/ juicy fruit taste, not as heavy as most aromatics that I have been around. My LSW likes the smell saying that it's the 'most pleasant smelling tobacco that I've smoked in a while". It smokes very dry and burned well all the way down with nary a gurgle. I found the smoke to be a tad "bitey", with many similarities to Edgeworth ready-rubbed, sans Anise Conclusion: If you are a fan of Burley based aromatics and would like something a little more muted than say, a Lane 1Q, give it a try. It burns well and is very reasonably priced. It just isn't my cup of tea, however, and I wouldn't recommend it to my nonromantic pals Room Note: 7 Pack, light and burn:9 Taste:4 Overall: 5

Bear

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