Squadron Leader

[mrjerke]

So I was quite excited last night to discover I had some Squadron Leader I purchased a while back and had not tried yet. I have to say I was quite disappointed. I am an English lover and was not picking up any qualities I enjoyed. The tobacco actually smoked quite hot like and was very "perfumy". It was almost floral. I was also smoking extremely slow as I was breaking in a new pipe so I was quite surprised at the bite I got.
Anyone else had this experience? I'm hoping it will mellow with a few months in a mason jar...

 

[papipeguy]

I happen to like the stuff. The Lakeland essence is an acquired taste and not for every smoker.

 

[erichbaumer]

I like it, but can't quite put my finger on a reason why it's completely different from any other latakia blend I've smoked. The best description I can use is that it lacks the deep, rich spicyness of something like Nightcap or Westminster, but instead has an earthy tone that is separate from the latakia's profile. I'll have to pay extra attention on my next bowl and see if I notice any floral notes...

 

[plateauguy]

I have a tin, can't get past the smell when I open it, so I haven't smoked it. I think this is going into my "friend" box.

 

[wilson]

I tried a tin of Squadron Leader a few months ago. I found it to be somewhat soapy rather than floral. I like English blends and latakia, but that one . . . not so much. I did not jar mine in order to let it mellow, so I cannot comment on whether waiting will lead to some improvement.

 

[nsfisher]

Goes very well when cut with CH or PA

 

[alex87]

Still fairly new to the game but I am finding that this can either be brilliant or fairly flat. Knowing that it is a milder blend I still get some good flavours from it, but every once in a while it just comes up short. I've never had an unpleasant smoke mind you, so I guess it depends on your tastes and what you are used to.
I have been finding lately that if I leave it a touch moist it can be harsh, verging on bite...but too dry and it loses its taste...(like I said i'm still fairly new to this game)
For someone new to Lat/Englishes then its a good starting point. But after you have your tastes honed it might become too flat for "English fans".

 

[keith929]

I like this blend but it does have a tendency to bite even when dry. I didn't detect any floral notes but it does have blandness to it compared to other english blends like Nightcap.

 

[trucha]

This is one of the few tinned tobaccos that I have tried that I didn't like at all. I love emp though and it is fairly similar. The only difference is that emp is delicous and squadron leader somehow is not.

 

[tarak]

I think I'm not an oriental fan is what I'm gathering. Didn't care for EMP- oriental. Mrjerke we smoked something once...can't remember what but was heavy on the oriental...didn't like it.
I think I enjoy Lat blends without that oriental component...such as nightcap.
The bummer is I've bought two blends which I have yet to dig into.....both of which contain said leaf. Didn't realize my preferences at the time.

 

[salewis]

I am a big fan of Gawith's Squadron Leader. This is a Oriental tobacco forward blend and has no additives. What you think of as "perfume" is not any casing just Orientals, Virginia and Latakia. Dunhill's London Blend is also very good and similar to Squadron Leader. I have been drawn to Oriental forward blends for some time. I do not consider Westminister to be a Oriental forward blend.

 

[petes03]

A buddy of mine has been ranting about wanting to try this one. I haven't given it much thought myself, but I might have to try a bowl if his when it comes in. Just to see for myself, ya know!

 

[gwtwdbss]

I thought it was decent. I am not much into English anymore when when I was, I was more into stuff similar to SPC Plum Pudding. Squadron Leader just seemed a bit light for me at the time. I have a few tins that I will save for some quite day when I am bored and want to experiment.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I love Squadron Leader and its one of my favorite tobaccos currently. In my opinion its a good tobacco for a non-English smoker to break into English tobaccos as its not as strong as some.

 

[lestrout]

I used to love SL more than I do now. It is picky with specific pipes - I haven't yet decoded what chamber traits are best. Sometimes I get a great smoke, other times it's just so-so. Skiff is much more consistent.
hp

les

 

[mrjerke]

In fairness I'm going to have to redo my assessment. Unbeknownst to me at the time I was coming down with a serious case of leather tongue. After smoking 1-3 bowls a day for months my tongue finally got burnt out. I tried to smoke the following night with a different pipe and tobacco with the same result. My tongue felt burned and extremely smooth for the entire past week while I gave it a rest.
I'm back at it tonight enjoying a nice bowl of Nightcap and will reassess Squadron Leader this week.

 

[rlunderhill]

I have about 4 ounces of squadron leader and its not going down very fast. I find it burns hot. I'm an English guy. I like Balkan blends. Actually I like a lot of different blends but I just can't get up to this one. Like many, I'm letting it sit for a while. We'll give her another shot next year.

 

[mrjerke]

So after trying Squadron Leader a second time in a different pipe I'm fairly certain this blend isn't for me. I know I should probably give it 5 takes or so but it's really not doing it for me.
In any event, I have well over 3 oz I would be willing to trade. One tin I put straight into a mason jar back in June and another minus 2 bowls I received in August.
I'm interested in any English or Virginia blends. Send me a message if interested!

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I am not a big English blend smoker, but I actually enjoyed the one tin of SL that I smoked. It had a very "buttery" taste that I thought was really good and unlike any other English blend I have ever smoked. I didn't detect any perfume - that said the stuff was sitting in a mason jar for a couple of months before I smoked it, so maybe the scent to which you refer dissipated.

 

[pitchfork]

A friend gave me a sample and I really liked it. It didn't blow me away, but neither does Dunhill 965, which I think is one of the best ever. I imagine this would grow on you if you like more subtle English blends. To me, it was akin to both EMP and Margate -- but I also got something of that "buttery" quality from it.