First English Experience

[J. Mayo]

Just lit my first bowl of English tobacco EVER! Ruins of Isengard from the LOTR series by Just for Him. Forgive me, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but from the reviews I had read this tobacco was described as being a good transition from aros to English so it's probably extremely mild in the world of English blends. I'm going to honest......when I opened the bag and the initial smell hit me my first thought was "there's no F@$king way I'm going to like this." But determined to try I left the bag open and took a few more sniffs before I decided the fragrance was definitely not what I was expecting but not bad at all. It reminded me of campfire ashes the next morning in a way. Loaded a bowl in my PM2012 and gave it a light and WOW! There's the flavor you English smokers speak of! I've yet to develop the descriptive ability or appreciation for different tobaccos to give a good review of the blend so I won't try, but I am pleased with my first English sample. The room note is not as enjoyable as most aros I smoke but it's pleasant. I also got a tin of Frog Morton in the same order that I am now eager to try. Since I am very inexperienced with English blends can someone who has tried this blend maybe explain how it compares to some of the more popular English blends? I'm just curious about how much I would enjoy other English blends that aren't reviewed as "a good aro to English transition".
Thanks

 

[baronsamedi]

Well you know what I like. No reason you shouldn't take a whack at a Balkan or two.

 

[puffy]

The first Latakia blend that I tried was Frog Morton.I consider it to be pretty much a medium blend.Frog Morton On The Town is milder..Not everyone likes English blends..Those of who do usually love them.Try some to see if you like them.If not smoke something you do like.That's what it's about.

 

[matchstickman]

I think those Just for Him blends are latakia blends with a topping, an alcohol based food grade flavoring that enhances the aroma of the tobacco. Frog Morton is going to be a more straight up English that is either lightly topped or not topped at all, I can't remember which, but experience probably tells me it is untopped. If you like that little hint of smoky, leather, smoked meat type barbecue flavor that Latakia gives you, try it in a higher dose. Black House gets a lot of love on the forums, and for good reason, it kind of hits the sweet spot on all different kinds of flavors. Hearth and Home Namaste is a blend that is the perfect mix of Latakia and other tobaccos to create a really rich flavor. Dunhill Nightcap is another good English that has a lot of great flavor as long as you smoke it slow.

 

[judcole]

Welcome to the dark side. :P

 

[J. Mayo]

Thanks for the comments guys. I've got some 2oz tins of black house on order from P&C. Unfortunately I ordered them a couple of weeks ago and received a back order notice as soon as I had placed the order. I'm still waiting to hear back but I'm excited to keep trying new English blends now that I've discovered that I enjoy this one. So far I have been primarily an aro smoker and I know that If I encounter something I don't enjoy in my English dabbling I can always post it for trade for a new aro I haven't tried.

 

[hobie1dog]

I wish this was my first English experience

 

[jah76]

And Hobie makes my day once again. Although Benny Hill would be a close second.
John. I know exactly what you mean. I was smelling jars at the Tinderbox and couldn't ever imagine smoking an English.

 

[profpar]

My first soiree into English entailed a sampling of penzance, next some of the "Frogs", then "shortcut to mushrooms", and now I have added Blackpoint and Westminster.