Dunhill confusion.... and recommendation, please

C&D calls it's Bayou Night a Scottish blend. It's description reads 'a blend of Latakia, Perique, Virginias, Turkish, and Burleys that boasts a heavier Perique component than normally found in a classic Scottish blend.
On descriptions, I always go to Pipes&Cigars for their's.

My only personal experience with Dunhill blends is Nightcap. I've tried several Latakia English blends and Dunhill Nightcap always read to be 'the standard', so I went for it.

Many here swear by EMP.

Of those you've listed, the one least mentioned in my recollection is Aperitif, but anything with the Dunhill name on it is likely to pass muster.

It IS pretty amazing how many lat blends there are containing VA, Orientals, and or Burley and still taste identifiably different. Inevitably, some will seem close to others in taste and tin note.

Balkan Sasieni is another smooth lat blend and recently I've tried Russ Oulette's Hearth and Home Magnum Opus, and if you enjoy this genre, you should get some. It's right there with any Lat blend I've tried...

If you have never tried a Latakia blend, you're in for a treat.

Don't be put off by the initial tin note. You will learn to appreciate the typical smokey, peaty, robust and hugely pungent aromas these blends emanate.

A lat blend might be one of the better genres for a beginner to smoke on the basis of its burning properties. Usually cooler than burley or va blends and easily maintained with minimal effort.

It's all about expectations and your open mind.

Even if you don't like something at first, it will often be a matter of awakening the right receptors through continued 'practice' which then reveal a more pleasurable experience.

stuff n puff!

A "Scottish" blend usually has some burley, Virginia and Cavendish. The British "Scottish" blends use a Virginia Cavendish. In the USA Cavendish is usually burley. Macbaren's Mixture-Scottish Blend is a classic and worth a try if you have not had it. It's been around since 1958 and is a tasty smoke.

There is no industry standard or rule that defines an "English" blend. In common usage, it seems to refer to a blend of Virginia, latakia and oriental tobaccos, and never aromatic. Of course, other tobaccos, such as Perique, can be added. Using the common understanding, and trying to avoid the sometimes-controversy over the use of the term at all (or trying to split the proverbial hair that distinguishes a Balkan blend from an English blend), one could make dozens, perhaps many dozens, of English blends. Dunhill, when it was a shop in London, made custom blends for many of its customers and would have made hundreds (perhaps thousands) of "English" blends.
The same basic ingredients, tweaked and handled slightly differently, can give a different end result, sometimes much different. Much like wine, Scotch, beer and bourbon. Calling a blend English is about the same as calling a wine red. It will be decidedly different than white, but beyond that doesn't tell you much about how it will taste and whether you will enjoy it.
Some define an "English" blend that contains Cavendish (unflavored, of course) as a Scottish blend. Not all agree, what would be the fun in that? By that definition, MM965 and Aperitif are Scottish blends. Somewhere in England, someone who smokes MM965 is infuriated that I have called his favorite tobacco Scottish. Such are the risks when we categorize things.
Historically, England had laws that prevented tobacco blends from having any non-tobacco additives, flavorings or humectants. Or, at least, greatly limited those. So, any blend made without additives, regardless of the type of leaf used used, could be called "English." Confused yet? Good. No reason why you should be any different than the rest of us.
Of the Dunhill blends, London Mixture is what I think of as a sort of base-line, iconic English blend. Not that the others are not excellent blends, but London Mix is kind of in the middle and will give you a good reference point as you explore these types of blends.

+1 on London Blend which is technically a Balkan because of the good percentage of Oriental tobaccos. You might try MM965 also as it is a touch stouter and is a Scottish blend with Cavendish. When I first moved away from Drug Store tobaccos in the early sixties, I tried a Dunhill sampler and couldn't really tell one latakia blend in that sampler from the other. Now they are quite distinct to me, so don't be surprised if at first they seem the same to you.

MM 965 is my favorite.

If you really liked nightcap, then royalyacht will do it for you. Plus a little stronger but great flavor try Kentucky bold. good luck

There's also Standard, Standard Mellow, and Durbar.

The Apertif and MM 965 both have cavendish in them - "Scottish" blends.

EMP and London are both very much oriental tobacco forward,with the latakia in the background. I think of those as "Oriental" blends.

Durbar has the orientals and latakia pretty well balanced, to my taste buds. That's what I think of as a "balkan". It's number 2 on my Dunhill lat blend list.

Standard - and Standard Mellow, which I have not smoked - are latakia forward, with the orientals in the background. Standard is my favorite of the Dunhill latakia blends. These are what I think of as classic "English" blends.

Nightcap, of course, has perique in it. It's a bit too much for me, but I am not a perique fan.

I stand corrected . . . Standard Mix, not London, is the classic "English" blend. London is more oriental forward.

Give EMP an honest run and smoke some 965 afterwards. The blends compliment each other IMO and with EMP it's more about the subtle tastes, sweet, nutty, woody and then more a Latakia kick with the 965. I'm very fond of all the Dunhill blends and have been for a long time so I'm a little biased.