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PipeMake

Lurker
Jun 17, 2025
33
22
Virginia, Burley, and Latakia tobaccos per windy city adpage..

A a pipe tobacco Presbyterian mixture is an English blend with a light application of Latakia combined with Orientals and Virginias.

per smokingpipes.com



Only 1 bowl, very light on nicotine as i had some chocolate before hand, and afterwords. Filter saved me on tongue bite as i was playing choo choo getting it lit up and staying lit.

I dont recall more then 5 seoconds of a burley type flavor at light up. But overall it was like macbarren club without the flavoring.. but some of the sour ness i got with the original early morning pipe.

Am i merely nuts or isnt anyone patying attention to the ingredients these days?
 

SBC

Lifer
Oct 6, 2021
1,880
8,502
Yoopsconsin
Many love it.
In fact, many consider it best in class, if by class we mean a yellow VA Oriental blend with the faintest questionable smidgen of latakia.

Not my thing.
Partly because I'm into red, brown, and dark VAs, not yellows.
And partly because I like yenidje in my Orientals.
And partly because -- despite my appreciating light applications of latakia -- this is SO light that it's more of a distraction wondering if it's even there.

Somewhat similar to this but far better to me would be Squadron Leader.
Also primarily yellow, yet also with some other VAs to add some other flavors.
Similar on Orientals.
And also light on latakia, yet not nearly so light. It's moderate but there.

Not that I love Squadron Leader either. Not my normal type. It just comes to mind as comparable to Presbyterian but far better.

But that's just me.
 

PipeMake

Lurker
Jun 17, 2025
33
22
I could taste the sour for maybe 8 hours afterwords. And last night and this morning my throat have been killing me for some reason.
 

Pipeandapencil

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 18, 2024
128
349
Mobile, Alabama
Bought this blend smoked it twice and was so disappointed. I wanted to like it but just got nothing. I didn't even bother putting it in a jar and just threw the open tin on the shelf. I decided to give it another shot as it was perfectly dry after months in the tin and I wasn't feeling very particular. It was magic... absolutely loved it. The Sour oriental just sang and pared so well with the sweet VA. Those flavors would just go back and forth with that big Thick cut. It had hints of EMP but I think the chunky cut less blends the flavors and more takes you from one to the other back and forth. This one taught me not to give up on a blend too early.
 

PipeMake

Lurker
Jun 17, 2025
33
22
“Extraordinarily soft blend of finest US Virginia grades and a number of selected latakia leaf tips. per country squire online. and that is supposed to be qouted from the blenders 2008 catalog.

Im curious as to how THAT could have been extrapolated into the other two ad descriptions.
 

PipeMake

Lurker
Jun 17, 2025
33
22
And no im inot the greatest of experience with Latakia.

In my time ive only smoked 1 blend i know that had any, the chocolate flake from the gawith company. LOVED it. But im thinking the massive bank of virginias may have tempered it enough
 
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sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,726
3,088
“Extraordinarily soft blend of finest US Virginia grades and a number of selected latakia leaf tips. per country squire online. and that is supposed to be qouted from the blenders 2008 catalog.

Im curious as to how THAT could have been extrapolated into the other two ad descriptions.
There was a short-lived Presbyterian "burley" mixture called Reformation or some such thing.

But it's all for naught, Presby hasn't been right for a long time (I just opened my second last tin). It used to have a good latakia flavor, not a heavy English but the real deal. This last iteration smells mostly of sweet topping and it smokes like a virginia with a bit of oriental. None of the neat dark tea notes of yore and no latakia at all. Thin, mild, forgiving, boring.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
3,034
9,493
52
Where NY, CT & MA meet
There was a short-lived Presbyterian "burley" mixture called Reformation or some such thing.

But it's all for naught, Presby hasn't been right for a long time (I just opened my second last tin). It used to have a good latakia flavor, not a heavy English but the real deal. This last iteration smells mostly of sweet topping and it smokes like a virginia with a bit of oriental. None of the neat dark tea notes of yore and no latakia at all. Thin, mild, forgiving, boring.
I’m always glad to see your blend commentaries to hear how things have changed. Presbyterian was a favorite years ago but I haven’t smoked it it ages. Checking the cellar I still have 5 from ‘08. Then it disappeared for awhile. When it came back, I grabbed 20 in ‘18. Any idea what the 2018 is like?
 

sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,726
3,088
I suspect what I'm smoking is that sort of era, 2018ish. The tin says "made in eu" and the distributor is James Norman. I go back to the William Solomon and Sons tins, with paper in them, and I remember the blend smelling a great deal like an old sock - much more like Early Morning Pipe.

This "current" tin smells mostly like dark fruity topping (like prunes or something) and virginia and some condimental tobaccos. It's totally uniform in flavor, sweet and musty and that's all. There's no latakia smoke, and nothing like the real deep orientals (I assume Drama) it used to possess. It's a 7/10 for being pretty smokable, but I'm not worried that I'm running out of this stuff.

20250619_075807.jpg

On the other hand, I have a 2018 tin of Red Rapparee that I just opened, and it was always spicier, livelier than Presbyterian, and this one is delivering - the autumnal flavors and spice, a touch of smoke, and a butter-sweet background, and no topping that I can detect. Very, very nice.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
3,034
9,493
52
Where NY, CT & MA meet
I suspect what I'm smoking is that sort of era, 2018ish. The tin says "made in eu" and the distributor is James Norman. I go back to the William Solomon and Sons tins, with paper in them, and I remember the blend smelling a great deal like an old sock - much more like Early Morning Pipe.

This "current" tin smells mostly like dark fruity topping (like prunes or something) and virginia and some condimental tobaccos. It's totally uniform in flavor, sweet and musty and that's all. There's no latakia smoke, and nothing like the real deep orientals (I assume Drama) it used to possess. It's a 7/10 for being pretty smokable, but I'm not worried that I'm running out of this stuff.

View attachment 399851

On the other hand, I have a 2018 tin of Red Rapparee that I just opened, and it was always spicier, livelier than Presbyterian, and this one is delivering - the autumnal flavors and spice, a touch of smoke, and a butter-sweet background, and no topping that I can detect. Very, very nice.
Thanks Squatch. I have to stop buying new stuff and dig into the cellar more but…

I bought Red Rapparee a few years ago and really liked it.
 

sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,726
3,088
RRR is delicious. Of the oriental-forward blends I've had, it's one of my favorites. King Charles from Germain was always super tasty, just a perfect mix of sweet, sour, spice, and smoke, but of course it's been super hard to get for a very long time. I smoke lots of Durbar but I think part of what I like about that is the weird ethereal perfumey notes (I assume topping not leaf but I dunno). And that's about it. The McConnell oriental doesn't have the interest for me, and things like Wilderness and Legends are gone now, the McClelland Orientals gone.... it's a bit bleak.

When everything's made from izmir and sprinkled with the same "turkish" latakia, it all starts to taste the same. I'm afraid to buy an Old Dublin cuz if it doesn't have that neat sharp Basma note I'll just cry.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
3,034
9,493
52
Where NY, CT & MA meet
Pelican was a favorite and I’m sorry I didn’t stock up on that years ago. That kind of got me started on oriental forward light Latakia blends. Samuel Gawith X blend got no love but was ver good and different.
 
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