Top 5 English Blends

[frozenchurchwarden]

ssavarimuthu:

Another reason why I asked, other than curiosity, was to find some common blends amongst everyone. If you can, I was wondering if there was a particular blend that would be the "spokesman" for English blends. Is there a blend that is a great example of what an English blend is?

I went through roughly the same process a few years ago. What I did was I took a bunch of top 3/5/10 tobacco threads and gave every blend a point for every vote.
I actually avoided Star of the East for a while because I thought it was too popular.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Actually I think Star of the East is somewhat unique as it's one of the only strict Lat-Bombs available at regular Bulk prices, and just about anything else that people might list would probably also be from Cornell & Diehl.

You can find lots of great English blends in tins, especially cakes, but Star of the East costs about three times less than most of those, and is exactly half the price of bulk Nightcap when it's on sale (as it is right now [2016 March]), and has a Latakia punch that swings right up there with the best of them.

 

[derfargin]

GLP - Gaslight

C&D - Mountain Camp

Capt Earl's - 10 Russians

SToP's - Bengal Slices

Seattle Pipe Club's - Plum Pudding

 

[captainprophesy]

In no particular order... but I mainly smoke Nightcap on a daily basis.
Dunhill - Nightcap

H&H - Larry's Blend

G.L. Pease - Gaslight

G.L. Pease - Sextant

Seattle Pipe Club - Potlatch
I am predominantly an English and Balkan smoker... the more Latakia the better

 

[pitchfork]

I hardly smoke Latakia blends much anymore, but my two favorites by far are:
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe

Dunhill My Mixture 965
Ones I occasionally smoke are:
Esoterica Penzance

GL Pease Chelsea Morning

McClelland 3 Oaks Syrian

 

[jaydublin]

My top 5 - not necessarily in order:
GLP Westminster

Penzance

GLP Quiet Nights

Old Dublin

HH BlackHouse

 

[freakiefrog]

In no particular order
Yenidje Highlander

Frog Morton

MM 965

Star of The East

McCelland Anniversary

 

[jackswilling]

Low Country is as good as it gets.

 

[dochudson]

Ashton: Artisan's Blend

Dunhill: Nightcap

G.L.Pease: Gaslight

Peterson: Wild Atlantic

McClelland: Frog Morton's Cellar

 

[hawky454]

Dunhill Nightcap. No need for more than one English. Once a blend has more than a pinch of Latakia they all taste predominantly of Latakia. May as well smoke the macdaddy.

I once thought that way, too and then I tried Exotique...

 

[hawky454]

Noy being an English fan, I have no dog in this fight. But, reading through this thread, I'm astonished that GLP doesn't dominate the listings.

.

Absolutely overrated in my opinion.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

There's nothing overrated about G.L. Pease, he's done more quality Lat Bombs than any other blender on the market and I love the variety that he adds to that most flavorful of tobacco categories.

I think we've just hit that point where most people posting have tried as much of one brand as they care to and we're searching outside "the usual" blends, which from what I remember over the last two years have largely been G.L. Pease blends.
He's active on the forum too, which always makes a big difference in commumity reputation.

 

[judcole]

Is there a blend that is a great example of what an English blend is?

I would say that Dunhill Standard fits this description. 965 has cavendish; Nightcap has perique. This is a classic example, and is readily available without breaking the bank.

 

[jmill208]

Noy being an English fan, I have no dog in this fight. But, reading through this thread, I'm astonished that GLP doesn't dominate the listings.

I agree, and also I was surprised that no one mentioned Boswell's Northwoods.

 

[jackswilling]

GLP not over-rated. I have a number of GLP favorites as do most members. Gaslight, Quiet Nights, and Union Square are mine.

 

[pitchfork]

I wouldn't say GL Pease is overrated.
Admittedly, I don't like most of GL Pease's Latakia blends (Odyssey, Lagonda, Abingdon, et al.), but I'm just not a fan of big doses of Latakia. However, Chelsea Morning is one of the best Latakia blends I've ever had. And even if I didn't like it, it's just genius, from the way it's pressed and cut, to the way the different ingredients work together to create unique, well-sructured flavors. If it were a wine, rather than tobacco, it would be priced like those $50-plus bottles from boutique winemakers that I'm too cheap to buy.
I'm also a big fan of plug tobaccos and I've smoked most of them, but I'd rank JackKnife and Triple Play at the top of the field (sorry British plug fans). Both of them have a clarity of flavor you just won't find anywhere else.
Further, my favorite VA flake, by far is Union Square. I'm not alone in that.
That is to say, even though I don't like 80% of what GL Pease puts out, and even though he's mostly know for his use of Latakia, he's created tobaccos that are favorites among smokers who don't even really like Latakia. If anything, I'd say his talents as a blender are underrated.

 

[jackswilling]

"Further, my favorite VA flake, by far is Union Square. I'm not alone in that."
"If anything, I'd say his talents as a blender are underrated."
Bingo

 

[okiebrad]

Tobacco reviews rates the top 5 English, with more than 100 reviews and still in production as such:
1 Boswell Pipes & Tobacco - Northwoods

2 Hearth & Home - Larry's Blend (Signature Series)

3 Dunhill - Nightcap

4 McClelland - Frog Morton's Cellar (Craftsbury Series)

5 Ashton - Artisan's Blend

 

[jackswilling]

Northwoods 113 ★★★★ 3.6 25 English

Larry's Blend (Signature Series) 101 ★★★★ 3.5 17 English

Nightcap 504 ★★★★ 3.5 86 English

Frog Morton's Cellar (Craftsbury Series) 147 ★★★★ 3.5 36 English

Artisan's Blend 135 ★★★★ 3.5 35 English
Impressive list

 

[ssavarimuthu]

Really surprised how popular this thread got. I really need to get my hands on some Pease.