More about Latakia...

[greeneyes]

I really enjoyed rotate 's comments above. Every tin of British and Continental tobacco I've opened from perhaps the 50s onward has had Latakia that was dusty-grey to ruby-dark, lightly smokey threads, on what was apparently an Oriental leaf base (Syrian being Ruby and vinous). Some time around the 2000s perhaps, companies began selling something they called "Cyprian Latakia" that resembled black Cavendish with smoke flavor. I think it was obvious to anyone that this stuff wasn't Latakia in any traditional sense.

 

[Aylesbury Pike]

This is my first post, so I hope I’m doing it correctly. Have always smoked aromatics. Recently been reading about traditional English non-aromatics and tried two: Mixture 965 and Presbyterian. Both had an unappealing camphor/menthol taste. Tried two bowls of each, but it’s not to my liking. Is this the latakia in these blends? I’d like to try some other non-aromatics, but want to try ones without latakia if that is producing this unappealing taste.

My two cents as a new pipe smoker: consider jarring those blends and revisiting them in a month, then six, then a year. Not only does taste change but I have noticed that pretty much every lat containing blend I've smoked has changed considerably after even a few weeks in a jar.

 

[Always-learning70]

I couldn't stand it the first couple of years I smoked... now almost every blend I smoke has it.

I have a handmade pipe I bought at a shop in West Seneca, NY just outside Buffalo. It is the smoothest smoking pipe I own. I tried another bowl of the Mixture 965 and I did so as the first smoke of the day. The camphor flavor seemed a little less noticeable and subdued. Still not ready to smoke this on a regular basis. Want to do the same exercise again but next time with the Presbyterian to see if I notice a difference with that one. I did have some trouble keeping it lit, but I may have packed it a bit too tight.

 

[Always-learning70]

My two cents as a new pipe smoker: consider jarring those blends and revisiting them in a month, then six, then a year. Not only does taste change but I have noticed that pretty much every lat containing blend I've smoked has changed considerably after even a few weeks in a jar.

Sounds Like a good recommendation. Thx

 

[folkleaf]

I have a handmade pipe I bought at a shop in West Seneca, NY just outside Buffalo. It is the smoothest smoking pipe I own. I tried another bowl of the Mixture 965 and I did so as the first smoke of the day. The camphor flavor seemed a little less noticeable and subdued. Still not ready to smoke this on a regular basis. Want to do the same exercise again but next time with the Presbyterian to see if I notice a difference with that one. I did have some trouble keeping it lit, but I may have packed it a bit too tight.

i've been chatting with a guy on discord about 965 over the last day. he likes english blends but has issues with 965. might just need to switch to something a bit more pure.

 

[The Benedictine]

i've been chatting with a guy on discord about 965 over the last day. he likes english blends but has issues with 965. might just need to switch to something a bit more pure.

Try Ashton Consummate Gentleman.

 

[Pypkė]

i've been chatting with a guy on discord about 965 over the last day. he likes english blends but has issues with 965. might just need to switch to something a bit more pure.

Try GLP Westminster

 

[Always-learning70]

Try Ashton Consummate Gentleman.

Thanks

 

[Aylesbury Pike]

Try Ashton Consummate Gentleman.

I have CG myself but have only tried one bowl so far. Note that it has no orientals so it could be helpful in isolating the flavour of latakia (seeing as latakia is more commonly found in the presence of orientals).

 

[Always-learning70]

Try GLP Westminster

Thanks

 

[mingc]

I really enjoyed rotate 's comments above. Every tin of British and Continental tobacco I've opened from perhaps the 50s onward has had Latakia that was dusty-grey to ruby-dark, lightly smokey threads, on what was apparently an Oriental leaf base (Syrian being Ruby and vinous). Some time around the 2000s perhaps, companies began selling something they called "Cyprian Latakia" that resembled black Cavendish with smoke flavor. I think it was obvious to anyone that this stuff wasn't Latakia in any traditional sense.

There does not seem to be reliable information as to when Syria stopped latakia production. Some say 60s, others say 80s. But it was not the 2000s. If you'll recall, the very few Syrian latakia blends that were marketed in the late 90s and early 2000s were all advertised as coming from a rare and newly discovered but already well-aged source, and it was already well known then that there had not been any new latakia produced in Syria for years.

 

[eyjaygaming]

There does not seem to be reliable information as to when Syria stopped latakia production. Some say 60s, others say 80s. But it was not the 2000s. If you'll recall, the very few Syrian latakia blends that were marketed in the late 90s and early 2000s were all advertised as coming from a rare and newly discovered but already well-aged source, and it was already well known then that there had not been any new latakia produced in Syria for years.

It was around 2015-16 actually as Mac Baren got the last batch for Vintage Syrian.

 

[greeneyes]

There does not seem to be reliable information as to when Syria stopped latakia production. Some say 60s, others say 80s. But it was not the 2000s. If you'll recall, the very few Syrian latakia blends that were marketed in the late 90s and early 2000s were all advertised as coming from a rare and newly discovered but already well-aged source, and it was already well known then that there had not been any new latakia produced in Syria for years.

My point wasn't that, rather the last two sentences.

 

[damacene]

Whatever it is; it's beautiful and I love it. Just had a bowl of fresh gaslight and it was bliss. I don't notice much of a difference between the one I smoked today and when I first had it 10-12 years ago, except I'm much better at tasting Virginias than I was before.

 

[Always-learning70]

I've been trying it a bit more, off and on, and acknowledge that it is an acquired taste. With some much feedback on the smokey and leather nature of latakia, I am thinking the stronger "medicinal/menthol" taste I am picking up is the oriental and not the latakia, but just a guess. However, I base this on having tried two different products, both with latakia, but only one with oriental.

 

[BingBong]

Get a tin of Samuel Gawith Commonwealth if you want to ground yourself in Latakia. It's a simple 50/50 Va and Lat blend, very smokeable indeed.

 

[SBC]

I really enjoyed rotate 's comments above. Every tin of British and Continental tobacco I've opened from perhaps the 50s onward has had Latakia that was dusty-grey to ruby-dark, lightly smokey threads, on what was apparently an Oriental leaf base (Syrian being Ruby and vinous). Some time around the 2000s perhaps, companies began selling something they called "Cyprian Latakia" that resembled black Cavendish with smoke flavor. I think it was obvious to anyone that this stuff wasn't Latakia in any traditional sense.

Greeneyes, I haven't bought any C&D latakia in the last couple of years (I became enamored with Peretti Royal Blend, and it's the only balkan that I still buy) -- have you seen yet whether latakia from C&D's new source looks like the dusty-grey-to-ruby-dark, vinous sort that you remember, or whether it looks more like the stuff resembling black Cavendish that we've been accustomed to for a long time?

 

[greeneyes]

Greeneyes, I haven't bought any C&D latakia in the last couple of years (I became enamored with Peretti Royal Blend, and it's the only balkan that I still buy) -- have you seen yet whether latakia from C&D's new source looks like the dusty-grey-to-ruby-dark, vinous sort that you remember, or whether it looks more like the stuff resembling black Cavendish that we've been accustomed to for a long time?

Thanks for asking my opinion. In this regard I think the only thing to do would be to perform the experiment: buy all the samples of Latakia you can find and look at them side by side, and try them. I did it for Perique about 6 years ago but I never got around to doing it for Latakia. While abstaining from opinions of "good" and "bad", and the largely repetitive responses that they draw, I looked around my tins this morning and put together a photo that demonstrates my point. The "name withheld" is meant to avoid controversy, and there are a few other tins laying around I'm sure I could dig up that have a similar type of Latakia. The Latakia in "name withheld," to me, tastes only distantly similar to the other examples, and is distinctly sweeter, but this can vary between a cavendish-type sweetness and a gaudy, synthetic creosote smokiness (again, quite dissimilar from the other samples). The lighting on the GH Latakia is near the edge which makes it look darker ... it is a slightly lighter shade of brown.

 

[chrono]

Syrian is extinct. Cyprian is pretty much what has been used for quite some years. Within the last year or so, Turkish Latakia has come upon the scene in a few blends.
That said, I have read some statements here that C&D is now using Turkish Latakia in it's blends, including GLP and other labels they produce. Is this actually fact, or supposition?
I find this a stretch, as Horizons by GPL specifically states that it contains Turkish Latakia. Before that, last year, From Beyond was released to great fanfare about using Turkish Latakia. Jeremy Reeves made a great Youtube video that describes the nuances of Turkish Lat.
I also read from someone that Black Frigate now is blended with Turkish, rather than Cyprian. Again, fact or opinion?
Like to see a reply from fans of Black Frigate, of which there are many!

. I am not sure they would simply swap the new Turkish for the Cyprian in a blend. Having had the Turkish in Horizons I can say it is distinctly different. It reminds me a lot of Syrian, and fans of a particular blend would surely notice the difference. that being said, I‘m fairly certain that Latakia from more than one place (not just Cyprus) has been used over the years to keep the blends consistent, depending on the availability and quality of what is out there.

 

[chrono]

I tried two more bowls yesterday. It is definitely an acquired taste. I want to try it again later this morning before I smoke anything else to see how that fairs.

Try something like Pease’s Piccadilly. It’s there, not too strong , and blended well with the other components.