Discovering English Blends

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frost

Might Stick Around
Feb 7, 2014
56
0
Colorado
Hello all, I'm new to the forum and have been enjoying all of the great information here. I've been dabbling in aromatics the past few years, but recently decided I wanted to see what else was out there. I've read a lot about the English blends and wanted to try them, so I headed down to Edward's Tobacco shop in Denver, (I live about 40 minutes south of there). I explained what I wanted to try and they pointed me to a couple of Dunhill tins. I came home with Early Morning Pipe on their recommendation and also grabbed a tin of Nightcap because I thought I might like it based upon what I've read.
I opened the EMP first and smelling it thought, "Woah, that's new!" I really like how it smokes, with a subtle spice flavor that reminds me of the baked lamb I love at a nearby Syrian restaurant. It is definitely I whole new experience from the drugstore aromatics I've had. I also tried the Nightcap today and really like that as well. If these are indicative of English blends I think I like the genre a lot.
I have the Sutliff English sampler on the way in the mail to try as well, (I feel like I should have gone to the B&M instead of being impatient and ordering online- but it will be nice to try a few different blends). I'm very happy to have discovered a whole new class of tobaccos and looking forward to new tastes. It feels like there is a whole new world out there to experience!

 

northernneil

Lifer
Jun 1, 2013
1,390
1
English blends are amazing! You will enjoy the journey as there are a lot to experiment with. The two Dunhill blends you listed are top notch. Another blender worth checking out when it comes to english blends is GL Pease.

 

jgriff

Can't Leave
Feb 20, 2013
425
3
It's not always easy but try to decipher what aspects of a blend you like and which you didn't. As you can start to identify the latakia, orientals, or other added stuff (burley, perique, etc.), you can then ask for suggestions around here to more specific tastes.
English blends run the gamut but most seem to feature Latakia in some amount. As it creeps up to "lat-bomb" country, it's a world apart from the number of blends that use it a true condiment.
The most popular intro of late seems to be Frog Morton but EMP is a classic choice for the same reason. The latakia is extremely mild. EMP is much more about the orientals where Frog Morton is about the cavendish (which lets the small amount of latakia be more prominent). When you try the Nightcap, you will see an entirely different end of the spectrum.

 

loneredtree

Part of the Furniture Now
May 27, 2011
569
181
Sierra Foothills
Welcome to the forum. The English blends are a favorite of many pipe smokers, myself among them. Check out the tobacco review sites to get an idea of what others think of the 6000 or so blends out there.
How long have you been piping and what OTC tobac have you liked?
Enjoy the journey.

 

latbomber

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2013
570
4
Welcome! Some other english blends I love are Dunhill London Mixture, Cornell and Diehl Billy Budd, Star of the East, and GL Pease Charing Cross (and pretty much all of his english blends)

 

frost

Might Stick Around
Feb 7, 2014
56
0
Colorado
Thanks for the welcome everyone. I'll need to smoke more of these Dunhill mixes, in a couple different pipes and try to pick out what exactly I like about them. I will also have that Sutliff English sampler on Wednesday that I can start tasting.
In the past I've enjoyed Captain Black, but realized that I like the smell more than anything and don't pick up on a very complex taste. I was getting bored with it anyway, and am glad to have new flavors to try. Back when I smoked cigarettes many years ago I liked Player Navy Cut the best, which I've read is all Virginia.

 

petes03

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
6,212
10,653
The Hills of Tennessee
Welcome aboard!

English/Balkan and hybrid/crossover blends make up the bulk of my rotation. I love the smokey, earthy, sweet properties of Latakia, therefor I smoke a lot of stuff that contains it! If you liked those two, you might also want to check out some of these,
McClelland - the whole Frog Morton line!

McClelland - Blue Mountain, 2030 Grade 1 Balkan, Coyote Classic, 5110 Dark English
Dunhill - My Mixture 965
Hearth & Home - Black House, Mazatec, 10 To Midnight
Cornell & Diehl - Black Duck
Mac Baren - HH Vintage Syrian
Boswell - Northwoods, Countryside
All of these are excellent smokes that I think you'll really enjoy! Good luck exploring your new found favorites!

Dan

 

rmason

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 27, 2013
765
0
If you are venturing out into the wonderful world of English blends, make sure to try the Frog Morton series by McClelland, also Dunhill's My Mixture 965 as well as Dunhill Standard, both great Englishes. Also on your Sutliff Sampler I hope you get to try Blend No. 5 personally one of my favorite Englishes, other than that welcome.

~Ron

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,427
I thoroughly enjoy English blends -- Dunhill MM 965, Nat Sherman 536, Nightcap, among others. I enjoy rotating

them with aromatics like Lanes 1Q and LL-7, among others, and Lanes Burley Without Bite or a plain Virginia. Some

pipe smokers gravitate toward just English, but I like them in sequence with other kinds of blends or tobaccos.

Also, I enjoy mixing, carefully, from time to time. Welcome to our mania!

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
I guess I'm just not one who can taste the really subtle differences between various English blends of similar Lat proportion. I got some Sutliff Bosphorous Cruise, which has a lot of Lat, and I like it very much. But it's a very mild tobacco (as are all the Sutliffs) and it pales in comparison to Nightcap. To me, Nightcap is the quintessential English, at least for me it suffices and I seek no other as long as it's available.

 

blindmansleeps

Might Stick Around
Jan 23, 2014
58
0
+1 for Dunhill MM 965. The best English I've had so far. So balanced, smooth. It's also very forgiving to smoking technique. There's a reason why it's considered a classic. Just a pleasure to smoke.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,427
If you are in the mood for a mild English, Altadis Fox and Hound is pleasing.

 

phred

Lifer
Dec 11, 2012
1,754
4
I feel like I should have gone to the B&M instead of being impatient and ordering online- but it will be nice to try a few different blends
I sometimes feel the same way about Prince Phillip's (also in Denver, on the south side) - I swing by fairly regularly to enjoy the smoking lounge, but I always take in pipes and tobacco that I bought there (such as my tin of Frog Morton) as my way of "paying the rent". But one can only go through a tin so fast, and there are so many other blends to try... so I smoke those on my back porch, and order online as I have room in the rotation.
The Hearth & Home line has several lovely Latakia blends that I've really been enjoying - Daybreak, Victorian Stroll, House of Lords, and the fabled Black House.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,041
398
If you like Dunhill EMP I highly recommend El Ricon de La Pipa #1 blended by 4noggins. It is top notch, just buy a pound.

 

bullbriar

Can't Leave
Mar 6, 2013
495
9
I am also getting my English groove on. I REALLY enjoy how these blend smoke. So far, these are the blends I am cellaring:
Peretti's Royal Blend

Hearth & Home Blackhouse

Stokkebye Proper English

Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme

Stokkebye English Luxury
Enjoy!

 

frost

Might Stick Around
Feb 7, 2014
56
0
Colorado
Well, I picked up a new pipe today and tried Dunhill's 965 in it. I'm very happy with the pipe and the tobacco. The pipe is a Hardcastle straight billiard with a smooth finish, saddle bit and some nice bird's eye figure. I'll post a picture in the pipe forum when I have a chance to take one. It smokes cooler than any of my other pipes.
My box from Sutliff also came in this evening but I haven't opened any if the tins. It is the english sampler with: Blend 5, Berkshire, Fieldmaster, R Blend and Westminster. I look forward to trying those but am currently enjoying the Dunhill mixes very much!

 

mirain

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 5, 2011
193
7
Welcome!

I've got to add:

H&H Larry's Blend

Eric Nording's Fox Hound

McClelland's 3 Oaks (both varieties)

Seattle Pipe Club - Plum Pudding

 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
Okay, I'm dismayed that Sutliff has an English blend called "Westminster," introduced after Pease's Westminster. Not only that, they directly compare it to Dunhill London Mixture, which was the inspiration for the Pease blend!
I think they could have tried a little harder with their marketing efforts on this one.
Bob

 
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