Cigars and Pipes was having a buy 3 get one free Dunhill promotion so I picked up 16 tins of various blends. I'm glad I only chose one tin of EMP. I've read a lot of good reviews of it and was anxious to try it but I wasn't impressed. It is nicely cut into thin ribbons and the moisture content was about perfect out of the tin but the tin note was almost nothing and the flavor less so. As far as Dunhill blends I love London Mixture, Standard Mixture, Apertif, 965 and others but EMP to to me just tastes flat with little flavor. I don't care for Nightcap either so what do I know? I was expecting to really like it but was completely underwhelmed. Am I missing something here?
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe
- Thread starter boilermakerandy
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I wouldn't jump to conclusions too quickly when it comes to a blend you've never tried. When I first cracked a tin of EMP, I loved the smokey aroma. It smoked smooth and cool, but as for taste, I simply couldn't find it. After a number of bowls though I began to coax out the subtle flavors, and I was hooked ever since.
A good general rule is to hold conclusions for the twelfth bowl. Often you have to give a blend a chance to grow on you.
Great advice but this blend just really underwhelmed me. I almost always find something to spark my interest when I first light a bowl but with EMP there was nothing. Perhaps I just prefer a heavier blend.
Could be Andy. I tend to like lighter Englishes and Orientals so EMP is right up my alley. However I will say I find myself able to muck up the flavors if I start puffing a bit much when I clench. It's a tobacco I prefer sitting down instead of up and moving around.
The smoke is a bit thinner then some of the heavier blends IMO and that to me usually means it's less friendly towards anything but sipping. I think EMP's true enjoyment comes from the retrohale.
Life's to short to smoke tobacco you don't like. However I will say...it took me nearly 3/4 of a tin of Red Rapperee to figure out how much I loved that tobacco. I was ready to ditch it so many times, since all I tasted was flat smoke, but then I little curls of flavors started popping out until I felt like I was smoking a completely different blend. Now it's in my top five. *shrug*
I'll admit there's been plenty of stuff I've smoked a few bowls of (nearly anything C&D) and passed on. I probably missed a few things that I'd come to enjoy if I had given it enough time, but ehhhhh....life's short and there is SO much good stuff out there to smoke and try.
The smoke is a bit thinner then some of the heavier blends IMO and that to me usually means it's less friendly towards anything but sipping. I think EMP's true enjoyment comes from the retrohale.
Life's to short to smoke tobacco you don't like. However I will say...it took me nearly 3/4 of a tin of Red Rapperee to figure out how much I loved that tobacco. I was ready to ditch it so many times, since all I tasted was flat smoke, but then I little curls of flavors started popping out until I felt like I was smoking a completely different blend. Now it's in my top five. *shrug*
I'll admit there's been plenty of stuff I've smoked a few bowls of (nearly anything C&D) and passed on. I probably missed a few things that I'd come to enjoy if I had given it enough time, but ehhhhh....life's short and there is SO much good stuff out there to smoke and try.
Try using your smallest diameter pipe, depth doesn't matter. I find that this really focuses the flavor for me. And, smoke it as slow as possible. This one has a lot of very flavorful Virginia in it, and if puffed or smoked too hot (and too hot is when you see substantial smoke) the flavor is lost. It doesn't bite very much and it's too easy to draw harder trying to get more flavor. But, this is counter-intuitive. The slower you draw, the more flavors you'll get.
I'm working through my first tin of EMP and so far have had pretty great experiences with it.I find it smooth dark and mellow punctuated with these moments of bright and sweet Virginias that taste like Corn Pops to me (the Canadian version - you Americans have some weird Corn Pops). I find it makes for a very engaging smoke and the flavours brighten and mellow.
My main issue with it is that I find the room note to be very cigarettey. I grew up with a father who smoke cigarettes and the smell used to make me sick on car rides - getting a whiff of it now gives me a wave of nausea. I still enjoy the EMS but it has to be outdoors in clothing/outerwear that I don't particularly care for.
My main issue with it is that I find the room note to be very cigarettey. I grew up with a father who smoke cigarettes and the smell used to make me sick on car rides - getting a whiff of it now gives me a wave of nausea. I still enjoy the EMS but it has to be outdoors in clothing/outerwear that I don't particularly care for.
This was one of the first ones I tried that a friend sent to get me started. I too was not impressed at first but as time has gone by and I learn more, I enjoy this on occasion. Is it a go to for me, no but a nice change of pace.
I've tried a few more bowls of EMP and I can't get anything from it. I guess it is just too mild for me so I'll stick with London Mixture, Durbar, Apertif, and 965 for my Dunhill blends. London and 965 are my favorites.
I'm not sure. It makes no sense to me either because I love the other heavier Dunhill blends. I have asked myself that question many times and I just don't have an answer. I just don't like it. Weird, isn't it?
We smoke what we like. I don't think reasons are truly necessary, but I was just curious because I'm looking forward to trying Nightcap. I have a tin of London Mixture but I haven't got to it yet. Somehow I know I'll love, but who knows?
Weirdly enough, you might want to try EMP in the morning or at least, as the first smoke of the day. The first time I tried it, I was underwhelmed as well but over the years, it has become my weekend morning go-to. Maybe something about a fresh palate, I don't know. A big cup of good coffee, a bowl of EMP and a newspaper (or electronic equivalent now) and I'm livin' the dream.
I tried this blend the second day I ever smoked a pipe. After the drugstore aromatics it was like a punch in the face. It was like licking smoked leather.
Thanks to things I had read in these forums, I put it in a mason jar figuring I would try it again after I'd had a chance to develop a little more of a palate.
I packed a bowl of it about a week ago (I've only been smoking a pipe since early November). I found that I really liked it this time. I wouldn't say it's "my flavor", but I did enjoy it this time.
I figure I'll give it another month and give it whirl again.
It does kind of frighten me that some people are mentioning how mild the flavor is for them. To me it's got as much flavor as anything I've ever smoked (remember that's cigarettes and limited blends of pipe tobacco).
Either way, I have this blend in the "growing on me" category.
Thanks to things I had read in these forums, I put it in a mason jar figuring I would try it again after I'd had a chance to develop a little more of a palate.
I packed a bowl of it about a week ago (I've only been smoking a pipe since early November). I found that I really liked it this time. I wouldn't say it's "my flavor", but I did enjoy it this time.
I figure I'll give it another month and give it whirl again.
It does kind of frighten me that some people are mentioning how mild the flavor is for them. To me it's got as much flavor as anything I've ever smoked (remember that's cigarettes and limited blends of pipe tobacco).
Either way, I have this blend in the "growing on me" category.
The EMP, along with Whiteknight and Squadron Leader, are my faves right now. They seem like good companions to each other. They all seem to be mild but full and sweet, at least my wife likes how these three smell. I think EMP is on the mild side but quite good.
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