Dissapointed by Squadron Leader

[thomasmartin]

On my quest for Dunhill substitutes and encouraged by all the good reviews I tried SL again. Tried it for the first time last year. I remember it as a very light blend. Rather underwhelming. At opening the tin I already knew this would be a disappointment again. Confirming my last year impression. There are mostly very light colored ribbons and very few dark and black tobaccos. The smell? Almost nothing. Very faint. The aroma? Almost no flavor at all! A very light virginia taste. Orientals? Almost undetectable. Latakia? Nope. Frustrated I puffed a little too hard which did not improve the taste and resulted in a bad case of tongue bite. I do not smoke very strong stuff. I like my Nightcap and 965 from time to time. And sometimes they almost knock me over. My to go blends are London and EMP. Based on the reviews I was hoping that SL would be in the vicinity of EMP but no way. EMP is much more flavorful. Almost a full blend compared to this. This can't be I told myself. No way that this is the stuff that is so highly praised at tobaccoreviews.com (3.4 stars out of 4. Strength and flavor: medium????.) Did I get a bad batch? Two times in two years? Not very probable. Was it reformulated? Or do I prefer strong blends after all?

 

[kanse]

Squadron leader is one of my favorite Latakia blends, I hate Latakia in large amounts.
It's good at it's thing.

 

[thomasmartin]

I knew that it's not a latakia bomb alright. Neither are EMP and London. But that it would be so mild in comparison to the before mentioned blends makes no sense to me when I read all the reviews. But hey, tastes are different aren't they?

 

[philobeddoe]

You are not alone. To my palate, Squadron Leader and EMP for that matter, both taste like I'm smoking an empty bowl which previously contained an English blend.

 

[warren]

Note the reviews you used in determining whether or not to try the blend and ignore them from here on out. Obviously the have a different palate than you do. If you are going to try blends based on reviews you need to find tasters/testers/writers with palates sim8ilar to yours. As you wrote, tastes differ markedly.
Squadron Leader is a favorite of mine. But, so are the "War Horses," Carter Hall, some IRCs and others of various styles. Bengal Slices is always stocked on my shelf. I like a varied selection to be at hand. I find blends which deliver consistent experiences and stick with them.
Jiminks and a couple of others pretty much mirror my palate, are objective, and I trust them to lead me in the right direction. But, I try a new blend with no real expectations as to whether or not they will satisfy. Only my palate and pipe will tell me that.

 

[kanse]

thomasmartin
It is Virginia forward, as some reviewers noted. London may not be a Latakia bomb but it certainly was Latakia forward to me, I did not quite enjoy it. Not sure about EMP.
Anyway, the market is saturated with Latakia-forward blends, Squadron leader is a welcome exception. As for the fullness of flavor, it certainly seemed medium to me, and I am usually picky about that stuff.
You may want to try Peretti Royal, may friend claimed it was a fuller Squadron Leader, to which I do not exactly agree, but I am not very discerning with Latakia blends to be sure.
Hearth & Home Blackhouse is still on top of my list of Balkan/English blends, you might want to try that out, I think PipesandCigars had a nice combo deal for that and Nightcap.

 

[mso489]

Always wondered about this, thinking it would either be nuanced and tasty, or maybe not. This is a vote in the maybe not column. Thank you for passing along your experience. It might not move the blend off my list, but it will definitely move it down the list about ten blends.

 

[cshubhra]

Nice to find people with similar taste profile! If you see, I also love London Mixture as a lighter smoke and Nightcap as a full bodied smoke! I will be experimenting with va and vapers next for a even lighter smoke occasionally - I have started with Germain's Royal Jersey Perique when I am in the mood of a mellow smoke, and have Escudo, Capstan Blue lined up in my cellar.

I have not found replacements for the Dunhill's yet so can't help you now. I posted this as a shoutout for similar taste profile.

 

[unkleyoda]

I do like SL, but it is very light.
My daily is 965, but Peter Stokkebye Proper English is edging it's way in. I would tell anyone that likes 965 and London Mixture to try PS Proper English.

 

[sablebrush52]

I didn't much care for SL the few time I tried it, but then again, I dislike 90% of what I try. For many others it is a favorite. That's how it is with just about all tobaccos, with the possible exception of Dan Tobacco's Holly Non Plus Ultra, which enjoys a fairly unanimous response.

 

[balkisobrains]

I usually tell myself that SL could use a little more Latakia. I find that it somehow runs out of gas for me near the last third of the bowl. I find the Orientals to be very similar in flavor between it and the new Sobranie. If I had to guess, I would say that there is some Macedonian in both of them. But SL has more sweetness and less Latakia. In my drawer, I have it slotted in between blends with more Latakia, herbally Oris, and which aren't so sweet overall, and my sweeter blends with less herbally Oris and (sometimes) less Latakia. I could call it a bridge tobacco between those two "categories". I do plan to chop up some Latakia at some point and boost a few bowls-worth of SLs Latakia content by 5% by weight to see how that goes. :puffpipe:

 

[tuold]

Squadron Leader was one of the first non aromatic blends I tried and I loved it from the first puff. By the time I ordered a second tin my palate had become adjusted to meatier blends and I found it very mild. So I think I share your experiance.

 

[hawky454]

Then you need to try Skiff Mixture.
In my opinion the VA's really shine in SL. Skiff mixture is very similar but it's got much more Latakia in it and I think it's one of the best English blends on the current market.