Ok over the last week I have been sampling English blends. To clarify each of these are made up of Virginia, Orientals/Turkish, and Latakia per the listings. None have burley or cavendish. The week prior I did a straight Virginia battle and wanted to get to train some thick creamy smoke. Hence English Wars.
My approach was to smoke them in order of which ones I felt smelled mildest up to the strongest. Thus the order listed below is that order, but I was surprised by one. Noting the exception to order is that I had already smoked EMP a few times and liked it so it was my baseline and first on my list.
Also all of these have been in mason jar for about 2-3 months, except EMP is still in it’s tin. None were dried before smoking. Noting all burned well to bottom of the bowl which I feel is a characteristic of English blends.
Early Morning Pipe - *** this was my first Latakia blend I smoked and loved it. I have smoked it about 8 times over past month.
Scotty’s University Professor - *** enjoyed it but noticed for my new tongue it’s more difficult to differentiate English Latakia blends from another. It seemed close to EMP but milder.
Sutliff Heavy English - ** and I smoked this at 9PM under the stars with a neat bourbon. It was definitely stronger. I enjoyed it but probably will not be my goto as I prefer milder versions. I may try this one again without bourbon, however I feel the strength of the bourbon was helping this blend taste weaker than it is, yet it was still strong.
John Bull True English - **** this one was an on sale low cost pouch I bought and jarred it. It is a new blend and there is not yet a review on TobacoReviews.com. I smoked this one this morning after a couple cups of coffee with creamer and honey. I really enjoyed this smoke. While it smells strong it was the mildest and well balanced. I think it is a little more oriental forward but I am new to this so don’t hold me to it. I say this because I picked up a little more sweetness than in the other blends and it did not bite any even if I trained on occasion. It did not need a relight. I found myself actually doing yard work with it clinched and if I wanted some LAT flavor I trained a thick mouthful, yet if I wanted some sweet I sipped it. Pleasantly surprised by this one. I am going to be interested in what Jimlnks or Emeritus say about it on Reviews.
Balkan Sasieni - have not tried it yet. It is in a tin and think I will leave it alone and enjoy what I have opened. I read it might be strong and less sweet so will leave it for now.
Overall I enjoy English blends but can only handle so much before I want sweetness of a burley like Edgeworth RR, etc. I would like to try Presbyterian and Standard Mixture but don’t have and they don’t sample so in the future maybe.
What is your favorite English (Va,Lat,Or/Tu) blend?
My approach was to smoke them in order of which ones I felt smelled mildest up to the strongest. Thus the order listed below is that order, but I was surprised by one. Noting the exception to order is that I had already smoked EMP a few times and liked it so it was my baseline and first on my list.
Also all of these have been in mason jar for about 2-3 months, except EMP is still in it’s tin. None were dried before smoking. Noting all burned well to bottom of the bowl which I feel is a characteristic of English blends.
Early Morning Pipe - *** this was my first Latakia blend I smoked and loved it. I have smoked it about 8 times over past month.
Scotty’s University Professor - *** enjoyed it but noticed for my new tongue it’s more difficult to differentiate English Latakia blends from another. It seemed close to EMP but milder.
Sutliff Heavy English - ** and I smoked this at 9PM under the stars with a neat bourbon. It was definitely stronger. I enjoyed it but probably will not be my goto as I prefer milder versions. I may try this one again without bourbon, however I feel the strength of the bourbon was helping this blend taste weaker than it is, yet it was still strong.
John Bull True English - **** this one was an on sale low cost pouch I bought and jarred it. It is a new blend and there is not yet a review on TobacoReviews.com. I smoked this one this morning after a couple cups of coffee with creamer and honey. I really enjoyed this smoke. While it smells strong it was the mildest and well balanced. I think it is a little more oriental forward but I am new to this so don’t hold me to it. I say this because I picked up a little more sweetness than in the other blends and it did not bite any even if I trained on occasion. It did not need a relight. I found myself actually doing yard work with it clinched and if I wanted some LAT flavor I trained a thick mouthful, yet if I wanted some sweet I sipped it. Pleasantly surprised by this one. I am going to be interested in what Jimlnks or Emeritus say about it on Reviews.
Balkan Sasieni - have not tried it yet. It is in a tin and think I will leave it alone and enjoy what I have opened. I read it might be strong and less sweet so will leave it for now.
Overall I enjoy English blends but can only handle so much before I want sweetness of a burley like Edgeworth RR, etc. I would like to try Presbyterian and Standard Mixture but don’t have and they don’t sample so in the future maybe.
What is your favorite English (Va,Lat,Or/Tu) blend?
