4noggs aero sampler quick review by a novice

[Hitzy]

Picked one of these up for something different, there are 5 different kinds...Catamount, Covered Bridges, Lord Methley's, Otter Creek and Thomas' Blend. So far I have smoked 3 of them, 2 more to go.

Lord Methley's is described as:
"A well rounded blend of flavorful Virginia's, mellow Burley's, and Black Cavendish give Lord Methley's the fragrance of a berry filled pie just out of the oven. A true aromatic with no tongue bite makes this a great all day smoke. Developed for the real Lord Methley of West Yorkshire, UK."
My take... it smells minty in the pouch, but smoking it smells bad...like really bad, room note is like dirty socks and boiled cabbage, I would get executed by the Mrs if I ever lit this up in the house. It tastes not bad though, fruity flavored cigar like almost, no bite, clean ash, good quality tobacco, but not something I would hit very often. If the smell gets on your clothes, you may lose friends.

Tomas' Blend is described as:
"Black Cavendish, some Vanilla, and a hint of Maple are combined to create a wonderfully aromatic, mild, smoking experience. The aroma is an elegant vanilla with a hint of maple. The room note couldn't be any better."
My take...smells great in the bag, smells great lit, it's flavor is just OK, if you like lightly cased black cav you will like this, minimal vanilla, more maple flavored, bit bland overall but also smokes well and burns clean, has some nic but no bite at all. Nothing groundbreaking here that blew my mind, I'd still take Lane BCA over this one, but it is not too bad at all.

Otter Creek is described as:
"A wonderful blend of Virginia, Burley, and Black Cavendish with a unique Vanilla flavor and awesome room note. A simple aromatic and a great all around smoke. Perfect for a comfortable aromatic change."
Another nice smelling and smoking mix, much more tobacco flavor and barely qualifies as an aero, some nic, no bite at all, barely an aero at all except for a little hint of butterscotch or toffee (I didn't sense vanilla when I smoked it). This one is pretty good, I could get use to it in a rotation.

I'll get at the others shortly...

[Hitzy]

Catamount is described as:
"Ripe Virginia tobaccos, Black Cavendish, & Toasted Cavendish are combined to create a complex, mild smoking experience. The aroma is an elegant vanilla with a hint of cherry. Toasting the Cavendish locks in the natural sweet tobacco flavor"
My take...like a lighter less offensive version of the Lord Methely, still has that faint foul stench but not nearly as bad, otherwise not much in the way of areo flavors, they are very mild fruity/vanilla, mostly I taste the tobacco, not harsh at all, good bit of nic but not as much as the Lord Methley...I had to have another bowl of the Methley to verify the nic content, and it was pretty solid, it is a pretty tasty smoke, just a shame about the stench that goes with it.
No PG found yet in any of them, tobacco quality is quite good,

[Ruffinogold]

4 noggins .. i wont order from them ever . I like to mention that any time I see a post about them , which isnt often thankfully . That said , I have to agree with you on the Lord Meth blend ... I didnt care for it myself . I dont recall having the other two and they sound like its the type aro blend thats designed to appeal to non aro smokers [ ? ]
Remember House of Calabash ... steve whats his face , I forget . He was into making " aros " that were barely aros and they didnt do it for me .. but , his other blends were super off the chart awesome !! I think it was a blend called Grandfathers Own , or something like that .. it was one of the best smokes I've had and it was obvious the guy was a master .. his idea of an aromatic was just way different than mine is all
The Tomas blend sounds pretty straight forward

[Hitzy]

Well...now I have to ask, what happened with 4noggs?
I have no affiliation with them, or know any history, I only buy there because they ship USPS to Canada...I have no emotional attachment one way or the other to them.
I'm open to any other shops that ship up here if anyone knows any...more options are always appreciated.

And back on topic, I remembered what the Methleys smells like... Camels. Not the hump kind, but the raunchy unfiltered cigarette kind. I think you are correct where these aero blends are trying to appeal to regular tobacco users. The last one "covered bridges" was just as bleh and meh as the rest, all are very mild, bland for aero, and not worth a look. I was expecting at least 1 to be a "wow", so overall just a completely forgettable experience... except for the Methleys, that smell is forever burnt into my nostrils.

[Woodrow1953]

Well...now I have to ask, what happened with 4noggs?
I have no affiliation with them, or know any history, I only buy there because they ship USPS to Canada...I have no emotional attachment one way or the other to them.
I'm open to any other shops that ship up here if anyone knows any...more options are always appreciated.

And back on topic, I remembered what the Methleys smells like... Camels. Not the hump kind, but the raunchy unfiltered cigarette kind. I think you are correct where these aero blends are trying to appeal to regular tobacco users. The last one "covered bridges" was just as bleh and meh as the rest, all are very mild, bland for aero, and not worth a look. I was expecting at least 1 to be a "wow", so overall just a completely forgettable experience... except for the Methleys, that smell is forever burnt into my nostrils.

Resurrecting an old thread, but I find 4 Noggins great. Very helpful, some nice in house blends. The website is a bit wonky when looking for anything, but it does have excellent search capability.
I’d like to know why many don’t order from them.

[Mr Beardsley]

Well...now I have to ask, what happened with 4noggs?
I have no affiliation with them, or know any history, I only buy there because they ship USPS to Canada...I have no emotional attachment one way or the other to them.
I'm open to any other shops that ship up here if anyone knows any...more options are always appreciated.

And back on topic, I remembered what the Methleys smells like... Camels. Not the hump kind, but the raunchy unfiltered cigarette kind. I think you are correct where these aero blends are trying to appeal to regular tobacco users. The last one "covered bridges" was just as bleh and meh as the rest, all are very mild, bland for aero, and not worth a look. I was expecting at least 1 to be a "wow", so overall just a completely forgettable experience... except for the Methleys, that smell is forever burnt into my nostrils.

Resurrecting an old thread, but I find 4 Noggins great. Very helpful, some nice in house blends. The website is a bit wonky when looking for anything, but it does have excellent search capability.
I’d like to know why many don’t order from them.

The former owner made multiple rant posts that got a lot of people's backs up. Mostly concerning politics I believe. The new owner has been rumored to hold product back for certain customers and then whatever they don't buy he releases as "consignment" merchandise at a huge markup. I don't know if it's true but I haven't ever seen any Esoterica on his site at retail

[kschatey]

Doesn't look like @Hitzy is active any more which is too bad since these reviews were good. I think the one for Lord Methley's is my favorite and an instant classic!

[Woodrow1953]

Well...now I have to ask, what happened with 4noggs?
I have no affiliation with them, or know any history, I only buy there because they ship USPS to Canada...I have no emotional attachment one way or the other to them.
I'm open to any other shops that ship up here if anyone knows any...more options are always appreciated.

And back on topic, I remembered what the Methleys smells like... Camels. Not the hump kind, but the raunchy unfiltered cigarette kind. I think you are correct where these aero blends are trying to appeal to regular tobacco users. The last one "covered bridges" was just as bleh and meh as the rest, all are very mild, bland for aero, and not worth a look. I was expecting at least 1 to be a "wow", so overall just a completely forgettable experience... except for the Methleys, that smell is forever burnt into my nostrils.

Resurrecting an old thread, but I find 4 Noggins great. Very helpful, some nice in house blends. The website is a bit wonky when looking for anything, but it does have excellent search capability.
I’d like to know why many don’t order from them.

The former owner made multiple rant posts that got a lot of people's backs up. Mostly concerning politics I believe. The new owner has been rumored to hold product back for certain customers and then whatever they don't buy he releases as "consignment" merchandise at a huge markup. I don't know if it's true but I haven't ever seen any Esoterica on his site at retail

Ah. Now I see. Lots of Esoterica is in the consignment section. Noticed a large tin of McClelland for $285. Pretty nuts.

[kschatey]

Resurrecting an old thread, but I find 4 Noggins great. Very helpful, some nice in house blends. The website is a bit wonky when looking for anything, but it does have excellent search capability.
I’d like to know why many don’t order from them.

The former owner made multiple rant posts that got a lot of people's backs up. Mostly concerning politics I believe. The new owner has been rumored to hold product back for certain customers and then whatever they don't buy he releases as "consignment" merchandise at a huge markup. I don't know if it's true but I haven't ever seen any Esoterica on his site at retail

Ah. Now I see. Lots of Esoterica is in the consignment section. Noticed a large tin of McClelland for $285. Pretty nuts.

Yeah, for those kinds of prices I'm okay never being able to sample something from the past that was gone before I ever picked up a pipe. I think my like will go on much the same as before and I'll still have spending money in my pocket!