Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged Pipe Tobacco

Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged

Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged is a mild to medium strength Balkan blend of Cyprian Latakia, Turkish Orientals, Virginias, Cavendish, and St. James Perique, aged for 30 days in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels before being pressed and crumble cake cut, with an actual chunk of bourbon barrel oak placed inside every tin. The base tobaccos are identical to the original Plum Pudding, Joe Lankford’s best selling blend and one of the most acclaimed Balkan tobaccos produced in the last two decades. The bourbon barrel aging transforms those familiar tobaccos into something richer, sweeter, and more savory: a deeply complex, pillowy smoke with notes of dark chocolate, espresso, dried spiced fruit, coffee with cream, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, and bourbon that coats the tongue the way a first sip of good whiskey does. Multiple reviewers call it the best of the three Plum Pudding expressions. One TobaccoReviews reviewer wrote: “This is easily the best of the three. I hit it like it was a delicious snickerdoodle milkshake and it never even considered biting me.” Presented in crumble cake format in 2oz tins.

• Cyprian Latakia is the lead component, delivering smoky, woodsy, earthy, musty sweet flavors that anchor the blend without turning it into a Latakia bomb, acting as an occasional team player with the Orientals.
• Turkish Orientals serve as an important supporting ingredient, contributing woody, earthy, floral, dry, lightly buttery sweet, and spicy character that adds texture and complexity alongside the Latakia.
• Virginias provide tangy, piquant dark fruit with grass, light citrus, earth, and a touch of barbecue like quality that underpins the blend’s sweetness.
• Cavendish adds a smoothing brown sugar sweetness and fullness that holds the overall flavor together, bridging the gap between the smokier and fruitier components.
• St. James Perique contributes a spot of plummy fruit and mild spice without overwhelming the Balkan character, adding the signature plum note that gives the blend its name.
• Aged 30 days in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels, with an actual chunk of bourbon barrel oak placed in every tin to continue the aging process after packaging.
• Crumble cake cut that breaks apart easily by hand, with some pieces staying intact and some rubbing out into fine powder that serves as perfect kindling on top of the bowl.
• Blended by the late Joe Lankford, manufactured by Sutliff Tobacco Company in the United States, distributed by Laudisi Distribution Group.

Joe’s dream come true

Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged was born from a simple moment. Joe Lankford was sipping his favorite bourbon one evening when the idea struck him: what would happen if he married the world famous Plum Pudding blend with the charred oak and vanilla sweetness of Kentucky bourbon barrels? The tin description says it plainly: “Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged is Joe’s dream come true.” This was personal. Lankford spent 25 years perfecting his blending craft, and the original Plum Pudding recipe was already considered one of the great modern Balkan blends. Adding the bourbon barrel aging was not a correction or an improvement to a flawed recipe. It was an expansion, a way to add depth and character to a blend Lankford already loved.

The original Plum Pudding was one of three Seattle Pipe Club blends launched publicly in June 2007 through PipesandCigars.com, alongside Mississippi River and Seattle Evening. Those three blends made the Seattle Pipe Club the first and only pipe club in America to create and market their own tobacco. Plum Pudding quickly became the best seller and the blend most associated with the SPC name. The Bourbon Barrel Aged expression extends the Plum Pudding family to three members: the original, the Special Reserve (with higher grade Virginias, pressed into plugs), and this barrel aged edition that multiple reviewers consider the finest of the three.

The bourbon barrel process

The blended tobacco spends 30 days inside charred oak barrels that previously held Kentucky bourbon. Bourbon barrels are charred on the inside before the whiskey ever enters them, and that charring caramelizes the wood’s natural sugars, creating the vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak flavors that define bourbon’s character. After years of aging bourbon, those staves have absorbed deep reserves of whiskey, and when the Plum Pudding tobacco sits inside those same staves for a full month, the residual bourbon essence migrates into the leaf. The process is environmental, not a spray or a direct flavoring. The tobacco absorbs the bourbon character from the charred wood over 30 days, and the oak itself contributes its own vanilla, caramel, and toasted notes alongside the whiskey sweetness.

After the aging period, the tobacco is pressed, cut into crumble cake, and packed into tins with a chunk of the actual bourbon barrel oak resting inside. That chunk continues releasing residual bourbon and oak character into the tobacco over time. Multiple reviewers noted that the bourbon presence is more than a hint. One reviewer wrote: “The aging in bourbon barrels has permeated the tobaccos with a good amount of whiskey. To my palate the star of the smoke is the bourbon.” The longer the tin remains sealed, the deeper the bourbon integrates with the Latakia, Virginia, Cavendish, Oriental, and Perique underneath.

The Plum Pudding family

All three versions share the Latakia led, Oriental supported, Virginia and Perique accented Balkan structure that defines Plum Pudding’s character. The original is the purest expression of that structure, letting the tobaccos speak for themselves. The Special Reserve adds higher grade Virginia leaf and the plug format for a smoother, slightly richer experience with a hair more tanginess. The Bourbon Barrel Aged returns to the original base tobaccos and transforms them through the 30 day barrel aging, adding bourbon sweetness, caramel, vanilla, and charred oak that several reviewers say elevates it above both the original and the Special Reserve.

Smoking experience

The crumble cake breaks apart by hand with some pieces staying intact and others rubbing into a fine powder. The tin note is rich and immediately different from regular Plum Pudding: bourbon and oak rise first, strong and unmistakable, followed by the Latakia’s smokiness, figs, leather, and a chocolatey quality that one reviewer described as “dark chocolate, espresso beans, hot chocolate, and a creamy sweetness.” The chunk of bourbon barrel oak is visible sitting on top of the tobacco, fragrant with residual whiskey.

The opening puffs are an explosion of different flavors. Smokiness, spice, and bourbon arrive all at once, well balanced and complex. The Cyprian Latakia’s campfire and cedar smoke character leads, but the bourbon’s caramel and vanilla sit right alongside it, matching the Latakia’s intensity and creating a rich, layered opening that is unlike regular Plum Pudding. The Virginias’ tangy, piquant dark fruit emerges underneath with grass and light citrus, and the Cavendish’s brown sugar sweetness acts as a bridge between the smoky and sweet elements. The smoke is cool, thick, pillowy, and creamy from the first puff. The body reads medium, the strength starts at mild to medium, and the blend coats the tongue with a buttery richness.

The middle of the bowl is where everything integrates. The bourbon sublimation takes full effect, and the individual tobaccos become harder to separate as they merge into a unified, deeply savory profile. Dried spiced fruit, coffee with cream, and cocoa define this section. The Latakia settles from its initial prominence into a supporting role, becoming smoky wallpaper behind the bourbon’s sweetness and the Virginia’s dark fruit. The Perique’s plummy, figgy quality emerges gently, adding just a spot of fruit without spice. The Oriental surfaces with dry, buttery, sweet and sour floral notes that add texture. The taste climbs a rung higher than the opening, and the strength steps up to solid medium. No bite, no harshness, no rough edges at any point.

The final portion amplifies the darker, richer elements. The bourbon and the Latakia converge into a deeply satisfying finish that is simultaneously sweet and smoky. Earth and leather from the Latakia push through, and the Cavendish’s brown sugar sweetness lingers as a warm counterbalance. The tobacco burns clean and cool to the bottom of the bowl, leaving fine white ash and a pleasant, campfire sweet aftertaste that holds on the palate. The room note is quite nice, carrying bourbon sweetness and Latakia smokiness into the surrounding air. A few relights may be needed, as the crumble cake format and the moistness of the barrel aged tobacco can resist staying lit, but drying time before loading eliminates this.

Is it a Latakia bomb?

No. This is one of Plum Pudding’s most important qualities, and the Bourbon Barrel Aged edition preserves it. The Latakia is the lead component, but Joe Lankford balanced it as a team player rather than a dominating force. Multiple reviewers specifically note that Plum Pudding “isn’t a Lat bomb.” The Latakia’s smoky, musty character is always present, but it shares the stage with the Virginias, Orientals, Cavendish, Perique, and (in this edition) the bourbon. The result is a complex, layered Balkan experience where no single tobacco overwhelms the others. Pipe smokers who find heavy Latakia blends one dimensional will appreciate how Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged keeps its smokiness measured and integrated.

Seattle Pipe Club

The Seattle Pipe Club held its first meeting in January 2001, a small group of pipe smokers gathering for monthly evenings of camaraderie and tobacco. Joe Lankford’s blends, tinkered with over 25 years and originally given away to club members, became the club’s defining legacy. In June 2007, three SPC blends went public through PipesandCigars.com: Mississippi River, Plum Pudding, and Seattle Evening. With that launch, the Seattle Pipe Club became the first and only pipe club in America to create and market their own tobacco blends. Sutliff Tobacco Company manufactures all SPC blends according to Lankford’s exacting standards, and Laudisi Distribution Group handles distribution. Lankford passed away, but his recipes and his vision continue through every tin.

Pairings

The bourbon barrel aging makes the pairing obvious: a good Kentucky bourbon mirrors the barrel character inside the tobacco and creates a unified whiskey experience. Woodford Reserve, Four Roses Single Barrel, or any bourbon with vanilla, caramel, and charred oak qualities will amplify the barrel aged notes. For non-spirit pairings, a dark roast coffee with chocolate and cream tones echoes the cocoa and coffee with cream flavors that define the middle of the bowl. A strong black tea with malty, tannic qualities cuts through the bourbon sweetness and complements the Latakia’s smokiness. A porter or stout matches the blend’s dark, rich, earthy character. For a lighter pairing, a coffee with cream and sugar directly mirrors one of the Bourbon Barrel Aged’s most prominent flavor notes.

Summary

• Tin Size: 2oz
• Blend Type: Balkan (aromatic Balkan)
• Strength: Mild to medium
• Components: Latakia, Turkish Orientals, Virginias, Cavendish, Perique
• Barrel Aging: 30 days in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels
• Cut: Crumble cake

What is Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged?

It is the barrel aged edition of Seattle Pipe Club’s Plum Pudding, a Balkan blend of Cyprian Latakia, Turkish Orientals, Virginias, Cavendish, and St. James Perique. The tobacco is aged 30 days in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels, and a chunk of the actual barrel oak is placed in every tin. Blended by the late Joe Lankford and manufactured by Sutliff Tobacco Company.

What does Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged taste like?

Deeply rich, sweet, and mildly savory. Reviewers report dark chocolate, espresso, cocoa, dried spiced fruit, coffee with cream, caramel, vanilla, and bourbon. The smoke is cool, thick, pillowy, and creamy. It coats the tongue like a first sip of good bourbon. It never bites or gets harsh.

How is it different from regular Plum Pudding?

Same base tobaccos, but aged 30 days in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels. The bourbon sublimates the existing flavors, adding caramel, vanilla, charred oak sweetness, and a deeply savory quality. A chunk of bourbon barrel oak in every tin continues the process. Multiple reviewers consider it the best of the three Plum Pudding expressions.

Is Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged a Latakia bomb?

No. The Latakia is the lead component but acts as a team player. Multiple reviewers specifically note that Plum Pudding “isn’t a Lat bomb.” The smokiness is balanced by Virginias, Orientals, Cavendish, Perique, and the bourbon barrel character.

What is the chunk of wood in the tin?

It is an actual piece of the charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrel used to age the tobacco. The chunk continues to release bourbon and oak character into the tobacco inside the sealed tin. Leave it in to deepen the barrel influence over time, or remove based on preference.

Who created Plum Pudding?

Joe Lankford, a master blender who spent 25 years perfecting his craft. Plum Pudding was one of three SPC blends launched publicly in June 2007 and became the best selling blend in the Seattle Pipe Club portfolio. The Bourbon Barrel Aged was inspired by Lankford sipping his favorite bourbon one evening.

What is the Seattle Pipe Club?

A pipe smoking club founded in January 2001 in Seattle. Joe Lankford’s blends, originally given away to members, became so popular that the club partnered with Sutliff Tobacco Company to produce them commercially. The SPC became the first and only pipe club in America to market their own blends.

What pairs well with Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged?

Kentucky bourbon is the natural pairing, mirroring the barrel character inside the tobacco. Dark roast coffee, strong black tea, porter, stout, and coffee with cream and sugar all complement the blend’s dark chocolate, espresso, caramel, and smoky character.