English Blend Advice

[raf66]

Shotokun, I'll have to give Penzance a try. Seems to have a loyal following. JC, you're right on about Peterson's Irish Flake, I love it and have a few tins aging as we speak. Also, that Northwoods sounds good and the price is great too.

 

[seakayak]

I recently purchased an English blend with Turkish, Latika and Perique. Though I've been a pipe smoker for more than 35 years, this was my first experience with a "real English". The smell was a cross between peanut butter and old underwear. When I got home after work my family gave looks that were not at all pleasant from the odor remaining on my clothes. Did I come across an especially horrid blend or is this problem typical of the English stuff? I know many of you really like these blends but I'm about ready to write off the whole class of tobaccos as antisocial.

 

[ohin3]

I am not as big of a fan of latakia blends as I used to be. I was obsessed with them for the longest time back when everything but Balkan Sobraine was available. I dunno if I just don't care for the other latakia blends that are out there or if I just lost my taste for latakia. I still LOVE Penzance when I am lucky enough to come by it and I would surely love to smoke a bowl of Dunhill London Mixture, Night cap, Early Morning Pipe, MM 965, Esoterica Margate, SG Squadron Leader and a few others that I can't get my hands on these days. I don't smoke as often as I used to either and tend to always set aside time to enjoy my pipe while smoking rather than always having a pipe going. I suppose that is why I have gravitated towards straight Virginia flakes/blends over the years. They seem to keep me captivated while smoking more often than other types of tobacco. Then again, I am starting to really enjoy well made aromatics after 14 years of pipe smoking...go figure.

 

[excav8tor]

English tobaccos are simply tobaccos that have had no flavours added during the curing process. Therefore a true English blend is a mixture of different types of tobacco, none of which have flavours added during curing.

I think it is difficult to pick out any other difinitive ingredients other than that, and it is more a matter of personal choice as to exactly what tobaccos are included. So an English Blend could, for example, include Latakia, Virginia and Cavandish and so long as none of those had flavours added during the curing process, it would qualify as an English Blend.
I am sure there are far more qualified people out there able to define it more precisly.

 

[robs]

After a very recent experience, I would have to recommend the wonderful Erinmore Balkan Mixture. Fantastic, readily available off the shelf in most good B&M.
Try it, you might end as hooked as I am.

 

[seakayak]

Thank you. I have greatly enjoyed several non-aromatics in recent months and didn't really understand the vast differences in these English blends. I will speak with a more experienced tobacconist I know on the topic of room note and give the Brits another try.

 

[kcvet67]

Samuel Gawith Medium Virginia Flake is a good place to start, it's milder than most. I got a 250g box last week from Mars Pipes but I see they're out of stock now.