Reviews
Cornell & Diehl - From Beyond 2oz
Best addition to the Old Ones Series yet
This is a perfect English blend with a taste of winter and the woods, I cannot remember the last time a simple English blend has left such an impression on me. I believe the addition of the Burley is what truly makes this blend stand out. The earthy and strong burley mixed with the sour Orientals and the spice of the latakia is simply a magical combination, and let's not forget the Perique with complements the latakia with it's own unique spice. A wonderful blend, the Tin says this is a new addition to the old ones series, yet it isn't listed with the old ones tins, if anyone from smoking pipes sees this, please remedy that.
Balkan Sobranie - Balkan Sobranie 50g
Its amazing
Give it some time to age, and it's easily one of the best Balkans on the market. Alot of people complaining that it is never available, most of the best tobaccos are hard to find which is one of the things that makes them so good. Well worth the wait, subscribe to be notified upon restock, and grab up as much as you can.
Warped - Until the End 2oz
Incredible
I've only given a few 5/5 reviews in my years of smoking pipe tobacco, and this tobacco is more than deserving. I was honestly blown away by how good it is. Adam said it quite well, but I find words cannot even describe this tobacco accurately, it is among the best I've ever had, and I dont say that lightly.
Mac Baren - HH Rustica Flake 3.5oz
A simple Strong Blend
I'm not gonna go into too much detail, it's a simple blend that's strong as hell. Not very spicy, just a little sweet, and a uniform taste all the way through the bowl. If your looking for a simple high nic kick, look no further.
Captain Earle's - Private Stock 2oz
A fine Blend
Its a good english blend, the latakia and Turkish tobacco definately outshine the Virginia and Perique but the flavors complement eachother well with a touch of the sweeter cavandish in the background. It's got a fair amount of spice, and smokes very smooth all the way through with flavor remaining pretty uniform throughout... Conclusion: This is a fine blend, worth a try I give it a 4/5.
Captain Earle's - Diamond Head 2oz
A Decent Smoke.
I've been smoking it for a couple days now, and it seems to get a bit better each time. It wasn't terribly moist out of the tin, but I do reccomend a little dry time. It seems more of a crumble kake than a plug to me, which I found odd, wasn't exactly expecting that, but I treated as a plug all the same slicing thinly through the layers to create a shag cut. The latakia is a bit more mild than other English blends, certainly not a "lat-bomb". The earthy Virginia comes through enough to be noticed, bit it too isnt over bearing and compliments the orientals well with a touch of sour earthiness. Overall it's an enjoyable mild english plug, not much utterly remarkable about it but it's good. And imagine it will only get better with age. Definitely worth a try if you haven't, but be patient with it and give her time to breath.
Bengal Slices - Bengal Slices White 1.75oz
An incredibly complex English crumble Kake
I don't always love a tobacco on my first smoke, but wow! This is a very interesting english blend and I enjoyed it alot it. It's very woody, smoky, and sweet with the Cyprian Latakia at forefront of these flavors. The orientals are a smoky, earthy, but slightly spicy with some sourness towards the bottom of the bowl, but theres also an almost herbal taste. The flavor combinations are very complex unlike any english I've ever tried. At first, it reminded me of esoterica Margate for a good portion of the bowl. But halfway through I can see it's much more complex. A combination of many flavors: smoky, spicy, floral, sweet, sour, earthy, and herbal. So many different tastes accompany the middle to bottom portion of the bowl. At times towards the bottom Im not to sure I liked the complex blend of flavors as they battled for dominance. Overall this is one of the most unique English's I've ever experienced, and it is very enjoyable up until the bottom. It almost taste like soap in the last few puffs, but besides that I do think it's very well done. The room note is very impressive, taking an almost camp fire like aroma that everyone in my household enjoyed. Oh an not even close to having tounge bite upon finishing. So far I'm impressed. And I look forward to exploring more. Notes: I smoked out of an exclusively english blend pipe. I opened my tin 2 weeks ago then left it closed in my cellar, I wanted to introduce the tobacco to fresh air early on. I sliced horizontally across the layers and rubbed out my tobacco, and then it set in open air for 3 hours and dry some of the moisture out.
Cornell & Diehl - Carolina Red Flake with Perique 2oz
Thats some Perique!
So I popped the tin about 8 hours ago and the tin note reminded me of fig newton's, but a little more toasty. Upon smoking it I understand where that toasty scent came from. The Perique dominates this tobacco, it's not quite smokey in flavor which is why I use the term toasty instead. Its spicy, very spicy upon retrohaling. The earthiness of the Virginia's is subtle in the background of the perique, with a very slight sourness. Overall it's a very enjoyable smoke, but I've never experienced a VaPer in which the Perique shines so brightly. As a predominantly english smoker, I confess the potency of the Perique is a little much for me, but it fits brilliantly with the chill in the air. It was pretty moist out of the tin, though I did not get any tounge bite from it, but I let my bowl sit out to dry for a couple hours before smoking. I do enjoy this smoke, in general it's a good spicy VaPer, with tones of earthy Virginia in the background, and it certainly owns the title "W/Perique".
Balkan Sasieni - Balkan Sasieni 50g
When I need Latakia
This is one of the most consistent heavy latakia tobaccos on the market. Which is great! Many other english blends don't offer a uniform distribution of latakia throughout each bowl. As I introduce newbie friends to english/balkan blends I usually start with something light on latakia, and I almost always end on this blend. Just about everyone I've introduced to English/Balkan blends prefers the latakia heavy Sasieni after trying various mixtures. As for me personally, I love this blend! I find its actually great for clearning my sinuses on a cold day. Its always available and at a great price too. You really can't go wrong! It's not my favorite by any means, but It serves a purpose in my rotation for both personal enjoyment, and introductions for new comers to the world of pipe smoking. Balkan Saseini is a uniquely uniformed heavy latakia blend that I can count on to be consistent from start to finish of every bowl. If you haven't tried it, do yourself a favor amd pick some up. I may return in a few months/years to update this review and let you know how it ages.
Peterson - Early Morning Pipe 50g
Perfect way to start the day!
The English have a way of smoking their tobacco through the day. Part of that ritual involves little to no latakia in the first pipe of the day. The Dunhill version of this seemed to have almost no latakia, which is strange because the recipe peterson is using is supposed to be identical... The peterson still has very little latakia as an early morning English should, but it has enough to where I can discern it unlike its predecessor. It's a very pleasant blend and it goes great with a hazelnut light roast coffee, nice and mellow for a perfect first pipe of the day.
Peterson - Nightcap 50g
It's not the best, but it's damn good!
I am so happy peterson picked up this label. I never tried the dunhill version but from what I understand it is the exact same down to the molecule. Its mellow but still packs a punch. Latakia is dominate but not overwhelming. The virginias stand out a bit more than in most English blends, the earthiness of the virginia blends with the smoky latakia and sour orientales in a way where it has a slightly nutty aroma and taste. So good even my wife takes a few puffs when I light it up. I recommend getting your hands on some! I couldn't help but compare it to esotericas "And so to bed" given that they are both bedtime english blends, I'd say it holds its own but Esoterica is still king thus the 4.5 stars. It's not the best, but its damn good.
Esoterica - Penzance 8oz
Best English Period
Words cannot describe how good this tobacco is. It is utter perfection as far as englishes go, strong yet mellow, the flavors blend perfectly, the latakia isn't too strong or weak. It is simply the best English blend available... Except it never is available. I recommend getting on the waitlist que. It may take years, but it is well worth the wait. Otherwise you may have to buy it from a collector for MUCH MORE than retail price.
Cornell & Diehl - Visions of Celephaïs 2oz
Celephaïs is beautiful!
Upon opening the Tin you are first greeted with pleasant grape scent. I ordered a fresh tin, and found it dry enough to smoke after letting sit for about 45 minutes. My first puff was a blast of flavor, sweet, and spicy with a strong grape aftertaste, the virginias were mild, but the Dark Fired Leaf and Kasturi gives it a fantastic bit of spice and a great room note! It burns very cool for a fresh aromatic, and I didnt have to relight it once. As I burn through my bowl I find it gets a bit more spicy the more I smoke it. The taste remains pleasant from start to finish. This is by far the best aromatic I've ever had. (Though may it be noted, I'm not typically an aromatic smoker.) Although the taste is pleasant I could best compare it to a grape swisher sweet, with a bit more spice. Ultimately this leaves me feeling as though a 3 is as high as I can rate it. *UPDATE* After just 3 days of jarring it, I went back. Another chap in the reviews recomend dedicating a pipe to it. I decided to use a Missouri Meerschaum Cherrywood, that had been seldom used. The swisher sweet taste was totally gone. It was much more spice, and sweetness with the grape taste being mild in the background. A very enjoyable smoke! It's such a unique aromatic that its hard to describe, all I can say is pick up a tin and try it! (Upping my review to 3.5) Will update after 1 month of aging. Lastly, The Tin is a solid Ten! Love the art, very lovecraftian. As a fan I am happy to have this in my tobacco on my shelf..................................................................................... *years later* This tobacco ages more dramatically than anything in my collection, years down the road and it's a very complex mix of spicy, nutty, and sweet with little being recognizable with its earlier flavour profile. It's almost got a mild buttery tone to it, but it's good, very good. Grape is almost entirely gone, but still mild in the background of various other flavors. Certainly an interesting tobacco to jar up and taste periodically as the flavor evolves more dramatically than most. Ïa Ïa Cthulhu fhtagn Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!