Just ordered a tin of the much praised War Horse Bar. I’ve one tin already here - a gift. I’ve heard both wild praise and dire warnings about the stuff. Anyone out there with real world experience?
War Horse Bar
- Thread starter Blackhorse
- Start date
Help Support Brothers of Briar:
Looking for input on this myself. Hope it's not as nic-laden as say SG brown rope. Can't handle that, despite the fact I enjoy the flavour.
Cheers,
RR
Cheers,
RR
It’s reported to equal or exceed the strong Gawith stuff. Yikes!
In that case I probably should pass. Just can't handle the strong stuff. Thanks for the intel.Blackhorse":dht9ya33 said:
:!:
Cheers,
RR
JimInks
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I've smoked several versions of the original from different years, and this recent version is just as strong as the old stuff. It's got tons of flavor and strength... not for the timid. It'll ghost a briar, and if you smoke a lot of it in a meer, it and the Green will ghost that, too. I was the taste tester for this, the War Horse Green and WH Ready Cut. I'll post my reviews of all three for those who may be interested.
War Horse Bar:
The dark air cured tobacco is toasty and boldly earthy with a little smoky, woodiness, and fair amount of spice. The dark fired Kentucky also has a bit of smoke and wood, and a touch of cocoa along with a little spice. In a support role is a tangy ripe, fermented dark fruit red Virginia, which also offers a little earth. The toppings are the very rich Valerian root, a deep anise extract along with a tonquin-like essence. While they do tone down the tobaccos just a little, they also work well together to create a sweet, floral synergistic contrast to the varietals. The strength and taste levels are very strong, as is the powerful nicotine content. I recommend you do not smoke this on an empty stomach. There’s no chance of bite, and there are no harsh spots or dull moments. The plug has a little density, but is easily broken apart to suit your preference. It’s a little moist, but needs no dry time. Packs well and lights with no trouble. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth, consistent flavor from start to finish. Easily burns to ash, and requires only a few relights; less than expected. Leaves a slight dampness in the bowl. The after taste pleasantly lingers. The room note is potent. It most certainly is not an all day smoke, but if you like really strong tobaccos with a deeply filling quality of taste, you’ll have more than one bowl a day.
In comparison to the 1970s and 1980s versions that I have smoked, I find the amount of the various tobaccos in the new release are not far off from the earlier versions regarding the flavor. The only differences I note are that this is mildly more spicy, and a shade less earthy. The toppings are close as well, though the new version is a little sweeter. However, the toppings on the earlier incarnations may have faded just a little, which furthered my impression of the sweetness level of this plug.
War Horse Green:
A companion to the new War Horse Bar, it has the same constituent tobaccos. The dark air cured tobacco is toasty and boldly earthy with a little smoky, woodiness, and fair amount of spice. The dark fired Kentucky also has a bit of smoke and wood, and a touch of cocoa along with a little spice. In a support role is a tangy ripe, fermented dark fruit red Virginia, which also offers a little earth. The toppings are the very richly sweet, incense/floral, and fairly perfumy heliotrope along with a deep anise extract, and a tonquin-like essence. They do tone down the tobaccos a bit; more so than the toppings do for the Bar. They also work well together to create a compatible contrast to the varietals. The strength and taste levels are not quite as strong as the Bar, and I would rate them as full for this plug. The nicotine content is just past the medium threshold. It won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots even when pushed. The plug has a little density, but is easily broken apart to suit your preference. It’s a little moist, but needs no dry time. Packs well and lights with no trouble. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth, very consistent sweet, earthy floral flavor from top to bottom as it easily burns to ash. Needs few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste pleasantly lingers while the strong room note is a little sweet, spicy and very floral. It’s not quite an all day smoke, though experienced smokers may consider it to be one.
Designed to be in the same family as Condor, this is not a copy of it. There are several differences. This is a little stronger, a little more floral, perfumy, sweeter and spicier. You won’t mistake this for being a Condor clone, but it should appeal to those who smoke it.
War Horse Ready Cut:
The burley is toasty, and a little nutty with a strong, bold earthiness. The burley is a little sweet, though I don’t notice that particular sweetness as much after a few puffs. The rest of the time you’ll discern the other aspects of the burley that I mentioned. It's one of the major components, although the spicy, woody, smoky dark-fired Kentucky kicks in from the start, and you’ll taste it all the way through as it grabs your attention a little more than the burley does. It does seem to recede a little in the last quarter of the smoke. The perique isn’t always as obvious as it plays a minor part in the proceedings. More often than not, its spicy quality is mildly sublimated by that of the dark-fired. The plum, fig, and date notes it provides are more noticeable to me. The red Virginias are tangy dried dark fruit sweet with a touch of earth in an important support role as it provides a bit of sweetness, which I seem to observe more after the half way point, though it’s always there. The sweet topping, which seems to be licorice, competes with the red Virginia in the taste department in the first half, and though the topping weakens just a little after that, it will remain to the end. The blend’s strength is a little over the medium threshold while the taste is almost full. The nic-hit is a little more than moderate. Dry out of the tin, it burns well with very few relights, cool, smooth and a little creamy with a fairly consistent complex flavor. A little hydration brings out the flavors more, especially the perique. I suggest a moderate cadence and a wide bowl to heighten the experience. Leaves no moisture in the bowl, produces lots of smoke, and the sweet, spicy after taste pleasantly lingers as it leaves nothing but burnt ash at the finish. Despite its strength, it’s almost an all day smoke, and long time smokers may consider it to be one.
War Horse Bar:
The dark air cured tobacco is toasty and boldly earthy with a little smoky, woodiness, and fair amount of spice. The dark fired Kentucky also has a bit of smoke and wood, and a touch of cocoa along with a little spice. In a support role is a tangy ripe, fermented dark fruit red Virginia, which also offers a little earth. The toppings are the very rich Valerian root, a deep anise extract along with a tonquin-like essence. While they do tone down the tobaccos just a little, they also work well together to create a sweet, floral synergistic contrast to the varietals. The strength and taste levels are very strong, as is the powerful nicotine content. I recommend you do not smoke this on an empty stomach. There’s no chance of bite, and there are no harsh spots or dull moments. The plug has a little density, but is easily broken apart to suit your preference. It’s a little moist, but needs no dry time. Packs well and lights with no trouble. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth, consistent flavor from start to finish. Easily burns to ash, and requires only a few relights; less than expected. Leaves a slight dampness in the bowl. The after taste pleasantly lingers. The room note is potent. It most certainly is not an all day smoke, but if you like really strong tobaccos with a deeply filling quality of taste, you’ll have more than one bowl a day.
In comparison to the 1970s and 1980s versions that I have smoked, I find the amount of the various tobaccos in the new release are not far off from the earlier versions regarding the flavor. The only differences I note are that this is mildly more spicy, and a shade less earthy. The toppings are close as well, though the new version is a little sweeter. However, the toppings on the earlier incarnations may have faded just a little, which furthered my impression of the sweetness level of this plug.
War Horse Green:
A companion to the new War Horse Bar, it has the same constituent tobaccos. The dark air cured tobacco is toasty and boldly earthy with a little smoky, woodiness, and fair amount of spice. The dark fired Kentucky also has a bit of smoke and wood, and a touch of cocoa along with a little spice. In a support role is a tangy ripe, fermented dark fruit red Virginia, which also offers a little earth. The toppings are the very richly sweet, incense/floral, and fairly perfumy heliotrope along with a deep anise extract, and a tonquin-like essence. They do tone down the tobaccos a bit; more so than the toppings do for the Bar. They also work well together to create a compatible contrast to the varietals. The strength and taste levels are not quite as strong as the Bar, and I would rate them as full for this plug. The nicotine content is just past the medium threshold. It won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots even when pushed. The plug has a little density, but is easily broken apart to suit your preference. It’s a little moist, but needs no dry time. Packs well and lights with no trouble. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth, very consistent sweet, earthy floral flavor from top to bottom as it easily burns to ash. Needs few relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste pleasantly lingers while the strong room note is a little sweet, spicy and very floral. It’s not quite an all day smoke, though experienced smokers may consider it to be one.
Designed to be in the same family as Condor, this is not a copy of it. There are several differences. This is a little stronger, a little more floral, perfumy, sweeter and spicier. You won’t mistake this for being a Condor clone, but it should appeal to those who smoke it.
War Horse Ready Cut:
The burley is toasty, and a little nutty with a strong, bold earthiness. The burley is a little sweet, though I don’t notice that particular sweetness as much after a few puffs. The rest of the time you’ll discern the other aspects of the burley that I mentioned. It's one of the major components, although the spicy, woody, smoky dark-fired Kentucky kicks in from the start, and you’ll taste it all the way through as it grabs your attention a little more than the burley does. It does seem to recede a little in the last quarter of the smoke. The perique isn’t always as obvious as it plays a minor part in the proceedings. More often than not, its spicy quality is mildly sublimated by that of the dark-fired. The plum, fig, and date notes it provides are more noticeable to me. The red Virginias are tangy dried dark fruit sweet with a touch of earth in an important support role as it provides a bit of sweetness, which I seem to observe more after the half way point, though it’s always there. The sweet topping, which seems to be licorice, competes with the red Virginia in the taste department in the first half, and though the topping weakens just a little after that, it will remain to the end. The blend’s strength is a little over the medium threshold while the taste is almost full. The nic-hit is a little more than moderate. Dry out of the tin, it burns well with very few relights, cool, smooth and a little creamy with a fairly consistent complex flavor. A little hydration brings out the flavors more, especially the perique. I suggest a moderate cadence and a wide bowl to heighten the experience. Leaves no moisture in the bowl, produces lots of smoke, and the sweet, spicy after taste pleasantly lingers as it leaves nothing but burnt ash at the finish. Despite its strength, it’s almost an all day smoke, and long time smokers may consider it to be one.
Falcon Puffer
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I didn't like the topping - its smell and taste. It's definitively not for everyone. I would say it will become a love or hate blend among the smokers.
My review: In a word, delicious. The overall impressions come more from the flavoring than the tobaccos, although hints of the Kentucky come through. The flavorings strike me as cocoa, with hints of coffee and tonquin. The bar seems to be between a plug and a heavily-pressed crumble cake, but it breaks apart fairly easily. The N is well-hidden at first, but it does sneak up on you throughout the bowl. Unless you already smoke ropes and other heavy-N blends, this isn't an all day smoke. It lights easily, but does need a relight or two more than usual after the first half of the bowl.
I will note that War Horse Green has a stronger set of toppings than the Bar
I will note that War Horse Green has a stronger set of toppings than the Bar
I actually did read both Jim's and the Doc’s reviews prior to ordering.
JimInks":l5p98myn said:
Just the BAR this time around.
Do I need the others as well?
OK...I went back and ordered the Green and Ready Rubbed too.
Ozark Wizard
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Bar is a plug, yes? I'm on a plug kick lately. A flux in my covetous nature, if you will. :twisted:
JimInks
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I'm looking forward to your thoughts on them when you smoke them. Take precautions on the two bar blends. I cleaned my meers pretty well after each smoke because I was concerned about ghosting. The Ready Cut wouldn't do that to a briar or a meer.Blackhorse":kn1q660y said:
Gonna smoke these blends in cobs...at least to start with.
And since I count Gawith Dark Flake Scented, Broken #7 and Glengarry as some of my favorite blends, I know how to be careful with stinky UK tobacco. I’m thinking these might be Falcon fodder.
And since I count Gawith Dark Flake Scented, Broken #7 and Glengarry as some of my favorite blends, I know how to be careful with stinky UK tobacco. I’m thinking these might be Falcon fodder.
Richard Burley
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Why I don't do reviews: I got absolutely nothing of value from the ready-rubbed. If memory serves, this is the one that tasted like burning electrical cord. One of the very few that went straight into the trash. Oh, well. ig: :no:
ig: :no:
Yeah...but it’s the very FINEST electrical cord!
Brewdude":rynit0p9 said:
Oh, by the way Rande...this stuff is also supposed to be Uber Stinky...in the Lakeland style. Like floral plus licorice. So for you that’s a double whammy.
:x <—- this is Rande tasting Lakelands
Zeno Marx
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Does anyone happen to have a list of pressed bars handy? One of you folks who specialize in this form. Or tips how to look it up at Tobacco Reviews? When I worked at a shop, we stumbled upon a stash of bars that were maybe 7" long x 2" wide x 2" tall. I cannot for the life of me remember the name pressed into the top of them. We tried to get them back to smoke-ready, but we had awful luck. They would crumble into tiny bits, and they were pressed so solid that you had no choice but to crumble them. They were difficult to smoke.
I guess this must be a picture of the original bar. I don’t think the current ones are embossed. Sorry. Didn’t intend to mislead you.Zeno Marx":jwzwqnw2 said: