Dunhill Nightcap

redpanda · Sep 19, 2015

I recently decided to explore English blends and bought,Dunhill NC,HH Vtg Syrian,HH Dark Fired,and the good old SG Skiff Mixture. The SG I know,and I like.The Vtg.Syrian is quite nice,although a little sharp through the nose.

Dark Fired, I haven't tried yet.But the Dunhill NC,this is the second tin I have had in my pipe smoking life and I just can't seem to get it.I have read so many great things about it,and I am aware how people feel about this blend. I just can't detect that special flavour that everybody is talking about.To me it starts kind of ok,but as the bowl goes down it only gets hot,bitter and there isn't a lot of taste really. I basically opened the tin, let it get some air for about an hour and put in a mason jar.And smoke it. Am I doing something wrong? Should I let it dry out more? Or is it perhaps that the blend is not for me ? It feels kind of weird not to be able to like at all a blend so highly spoken of in the pipe world. I haven't given up on it yet,but tonight's bowl wasn't good at all.

jparker · Sep 19, 2015

I sort of had a rough start with Nightcap also. I read quite a bit it about when I first started smoking a pipe and wow was I disappointed. I put the tin to the side and moved on to other blends but I kept getting this nagging craving for that "taste" that none of the blends could deliver. I revisited the tin of Nightcap and it really did hit the spot, but still it wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped. It was a very confusing tobacco for me, I loved it but I hated it. The whole experience reminds me of my first beer, sort of an acquired taste. Over time I began to really appreciate Nightcap. Its by far not my go to blend and I don't often keep it around but Nightcap will always have a special place in my cellar.

Another possibility could be that maybe its just a funky tin. A friend of mine gave me a tin a while back and it flat out did not taste right, still not sure what was up with that tin. It's the only time I've ever had one just completely taste bad. I even went out and bought another one just for comparison and it was like night(cap) and day, two completely different tins.

aggravatedfarmer · Sep 19, 2015

It's a blend that you have to really crave to enjoy it, in my opinion.

shutterbugg · Sep 19, 2015

The search for the ultimate English blend ends with Nightcap, but as such it is therefore strictly for connosieurs. Those with less-discerning palates and/or less refined smoking technique would best stick to milder blends with no Perique and far less Latakia. Don't worry, even a tiny amount of Latakia makes its presence known, so you can still tell yourself you're smoking an English blend.
Or you could pack it loosely in a small bowled pipe, smoke it slow. Roll the smoke around in your mouth, let it out your nose, and savor the best English blend on the planet bar none. It does not need any drying time, Dunhill's are perfect out of the tin. If you're not enjoying it you either aren't smoking it right, or you just don't like English blends, because Nightcap is as good as it gets.

jaydublin · Sep 19, 2015

Nightcap has been hit and miss for me. First couple of smokes were fantastic, but the last couple have left me scratching my head. Part of it might be that I've really been enjoying GLP Westminster (wow!), but it could also be the pipe. When I've really enjoyed Nightcap I've smoked it in my Peterson 03. Lately I've be smoking it in a Fader's Calvert author/bent apple. I plan to make a point of making my next Nightcap attempt in the Peterson again. Who knows?

frozenchurchwarden · Sep 19, 2015

For one thing the Nic fans love Dunhill blends for more than the flavour.
Secondly, I have found that even my favourite latakia blend smokes very differently moist than dry. I'm tempted to say Latakia specifically should be very dry for the best flavour, as opposed to aromatic/virginia blends that seem to at least taste a bit better with some moisture (you just have to beware of the biting), though most experienced pipe smokers tend to dry out everything quite a lot.
Thirdly age could play a part.

Right now I have two main categories for Latakia blends, first "Savoury", my preferred type, and then "Earthy" which tend to be more bitter to my taste.

Nightcap and 965 fall into the Earthy category, and are less preferred, Cornell&Diehl Star of the East being my prime example of a preferred blend.

But then something strange happened when I tried the Hearth and Home blends Black House and White Knight, I fully expected White Knight to be my favorite, but the reverse was true. I probably just have to figure out how to properly smoke White Knight but that I liked Black House is itself a surprise. It was still a bit Earthy but otherwise had a generally pleasant tone to it, almost like it were using properly aged Virginia (and if not I'm just going to have to call Russ a magician). I'm betting the Dunhill blends will be similar after a couple of years on the shelf.

redpanda · Sep 19, 2015

[/quote] If you're not enjoying it you either aren't smoking it right, or you just don't like English blends, because Nightcap is as good as it gets.
Shutterbug: It must be the first one. I am probably not approaching it right. As for my liking English blends or not, I think I do like them. I love SG Skiff Mixture and so far I have certainly enjoyed HH Vtg,Syrian.Had a great bowl of it this morning with a cup of tea.Furthermore,now that I have been smoking Englishes for the last few days, I don't want to smoke Virginias anymore.Latakia has taken over. It is Nightcap I am having the problem with,and to be honest, I am more curious than anything to find the reason for my disliking it so far. It is not the high nicotine content,because nicotine is important for me and it is a big part of why I smoke in general. Jparker above suggested that I might have gotten a bad tin,well I really don't believe that to be the case. I will try smoking it in a smaller pipe as you suggest.Thanks.

cobguy · Sep 19, 2015

Redpanda ... 9 times out of 10 I would reach for Vintage Syrian or other similar blends over Nightcap. For me, Nightcap is an occasional treat which is extremely rich and full. After a nice big meal, well dried out and loaded in a wide pipe. Smoke it very slowly and keep it smothered. Also, after you open the tin, put it in a jar for a couple of weeks first. The breathing time seems to help it.

redpanda · Sep 19, 2015

Cobguy: Thanks ! I don't have a really wide pipe like a pot or something. I've been smoking it in a bent billiard. Now what's left to try is let it dry. I will do that.

redpanda · Sep 19, 2015

I am smoking a bowl right now, I took Shutterbugg's advice and packed loosely in a smaller pipe.Good advice,thanks again ! Much better but still not a lot of taste.Not nearly as much as SG Skiff. It probably needs some drying. It certainly deliveres in the N department though.

mso489 · Sep 19, 2015

Store it in a good tight canning jar and come back to it in a year, and I suspect you will have a whole new experience. Tastes change and develop. Don't forget to label and date it so you remember what is is and when you bought it.

redpanda · Sep 19, 2015

mso489 : That sounds mighty tempting ! I will just have to find a way to forget about it and not go to it when i run out. Not impossible, but not easy.Can be done.

maxx · Sep 19, 2015

For a heavy dose of Latakia, C&D Pirate Kake and Da Vinci have 75% Latakia. Dan Tobacco Old Ironsides has a lot, too.
I like Nightcap, but haven't had it recently to compare it to the several Latakia based blends I've been smoking. I like Da Vinci so much, I just ordered yesterday two 8 oz. tins.

redpanda · Sep 27, 2015

Ok, I have smoked nearly the whole tin. I followed all your fellow pipesmokers advice, I did let it dry, I smoked it in a smaller pipe. It is simply a tobacco that for reasons I am probably not experienced enough to put my finger on, does not work for me. I find HH Vtg Syrian or even SG Skiff to be a lot richer in taste. I can certainly see how people are drawn to the amount of Latakia in NC, but other than that I do not find it particularly appealing. I have not tried 965 or Squadron Leader yet but I don't think I'll be buying anymore NC. HH Vtg Syrian though.. I won't say no to that.
p.s. or as Sutterbug mentioned above, since it is a blend strictly for connoisseurs, perhaps I am not one.

deathmetal · Sep 27, 2015

Sounds like MM965 would be a better match... more fullness of flavor, less of a variety show.

shutterbugg · Sep 27, 2015

965 is a more complex smoke than NC. It (965) has more sweetness to the taste and pefumery to the nose, whereas NC is flat-out a lat bomb. 965 can be abused quite a bit more (smoked too fast) and not turn bitter like NC can. I can also smoke a larger bowl of 965. I can see how 965 could be smoked any time of the day (although I don't smoke during the day myself). I find NC a much better after-meal smoke than 965, which I find too busy in the flavor department when my palate needs some rest.

redpanda · Sep 27, 2015

I have given up on it for now. Maybe I will try it again someday. It is not the nicotine that bothers me. I do not have problems with nicotine. My palate does need a rest anyway, Shutterbugg you are right. I can hardly make a difference between blends anymore. I am only able to distinguish different types of tabacco (Burleys,Virginias,English), and that probably has to do a lot with my not liking NC.

What I am going to do right now, is smoke it in a really small pipe. The smallest I own- a tiny St.Claude Bruyere billiard with a probably around a 0.70 bowl. I have been abusing it quite a bit, I admit that.

easterntraveler · Sep 27, 2015

I have 10 tins and have yet to open one of them.

deathmetal · Sep 28, 2015

965 can be abused quite a bit more (smoked too fast) and not turn bitter like NC can.

I never thought of it from this angle. I summarized it as a more full version of an English-style blend, where Nightcap is more based on internal contrasts and is more spicy/piquant as a result.

redpanda · Sep 28, 2015

I know I have been talking how I don't seem to get NC and this is what this dialog is about. But...after smoking Red Orlik all day, tonight I smoked (still going) the last of my NC in my Savinelli 606 and really enjoyed the depth of it. It is just super smooth, and I am not sipping it, I am smoking it. I don't know what is going on.

It is either psychological or has to do with the chemical balance in my body. I am taking back everything I have said about Dunhill NC so far ! I have only been smoking for a year now, it is obvious I still have a lot to learn.
p.s. It is also fairly dry now, that must have been a major reason for the rough start.

Dunhill Nightcap

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Part of the Furniture Now

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed