The Country Squire Tobacconist George's Dragon

(3.62)
From The Country Squire Tobacconist website: Bring home the warmth and spirit of The Shire's coziest inn! Green Dragon, a blend of ripe air-cured and rich flue-cured Virginia tobaccos, is as smooth as it is easy to smoke. The richness of the blend is accented by noticeable grass, hay, and natural sugars. A treat for your pallet and your companions!
Notes: Fall 2018 re-release is an updated blend without McClelland ingredients.

Details

Brand The Country Squire Tobacconist
Series Middle Earth Series
Blended By Jon David Cole
Manufactured By The Country Squire Tobacconist
Blend Type Virginia Based
Contents Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging Bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.62 / 4
10

2

0

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 13 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 11, 2016 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
The Virginias are dark stoved and brown with a little lighter shade (not lemon) in the mix. The flavors range from some tangy stewed, sugary dark fruit, a little tangy dark fruit and minor citrus. There's light grass notes along with some earth and wood. I taste a light sugar and caramel topping, judiciously added so that it melds well with the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the mild mark. The taste is in the center of mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with hardly any relights, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The flavor is mostly consistent from beginning to end. Easily burns to ash. Not complex and not very strong, but it's a very comfortable all day smoke that wears well during the day for the smoker who prefers a mild, easy going tobacco blend. Has a pleasant, short lived tangy after taste.

-JimInks
20 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 25, 2019 Very Mild Mild Very Mild Very Pleasant
The Country Squure Tobacconist “Green Dragon”

I was gifted a pouch of this from a friend & original blender; later more arrived from another friend. It seems like a straight Virginia ribbon cut with few additives. The VA seems stoved & brown with lighter flakes & is very tasty! It presents with overtures of fruit & has a tad of citrus & sweetness w/o any bite. It smokes cool w/few re-lights. It is not a complex tobacco & easily an all day smoke. The moisture content is just right & has no goop in the bowl but has a nice white ash. I enjoy both the English blender Gawith Hoggarth, Samuel Gawith & the Mac Baren blends of Denmark. It is easy to recommend this blend for those of us enjoying a quality change. It is an easy smoke pared well with a pot of hot Earl Grey tea! I smoked this recently outdoors during the Symphony intermission & received positive comments from both men & women.
Pipe Used: Briars: Ashton’s, Dunhills, Comoys
PurchasedFrom: Gifted & Blender: The Country Squire
Age When Smoked: Cellared to new
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 03, 2020 Mild to Medium Medium Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
A full review can be found here on my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/920uBcd-geQ

Prep: Came perfect. Possibly on the wetter side but definitely not enough to bother Dark fruit with spices are what I immediately recognize. The stove Virginias are prominent. There is some lighter hay and citrus notes but the main feature is the dark fruits (like stewed fruits). Add in some spice (like nutmeg) and you got it. Very consistent.

Medium-low nic level which further makes it an all-day blend. 8/10
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 21, 2021 Mild Very Mild Medium Very Pleasant
I’m lucky enough that my dad lives not too far from The Country Squire down in Jackson, MS. I try to stop in at least once or twice when I’m down there visiting. They recommended that I try this blend a couple of years ago and I’m so glad that they did. This is part of their Middle Earth Series and it has changed a bit throughout the years due to McClelland closing down. I have smoked both the pre- and the post-McClelland blends, and I think that both are great. They are a bit different but nothing that needs to be noted. This makes me think that there was not too much McClelland in this blend to start with.

Appearance – This blend is a mix of different colors ranging from light tan to very dark brown….almost black. As the other reviewers have noted, this one definitely smells sweet on the nose. They say that there is no topping on this blend but I find that very hard to believe. To me, it is not offensive at all. I get kind of a cinnamon caramel smell off of it. I like it.

Prep – This blend is usually a bit moist so I dry it out a bit before packing. About 5-10 minutes.

Smoke – I’m always reminded why I like this blend every time I light it up. Due to the cut and ease of packing, this is another one of those “light it and forget it” blends. If you have dried it a bit and packed it correctly, then it does not need too many relights. This is one that my wife actually likes the room note that it produces.

This is also one that you want to take your time with. It can lose its flavor if smoked too hot and it will bite a bit.

The aroma stays with this blend upon lighting and then to about half bowl and then it fades into the background.

Summary – I feel that this is a great cross-over blend if you are starting out with aromatics and wanting to branch out into Virginia blends. It has the aroma and sweetness of a light aromatic but definitely the tastes and behavior of a Virginia. I always buy a pound of this and Meriwether when I go down that way.
Pipe Used: Various, mostly Radice Apples
PurchasedFrom: The Country Squire
Age When Smoked: Aged 1 year
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 11, 2016 Mild to Medium Very Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I was interested in this tobacco, as Jon David blended it for a tobacco smoking contest that he had in the Squire a several months ago. I didn't get to participate in the contest, but I had heard several good things about the blend. As I'm always up for a new Virginia tobacco, I bought a couple of ounces.

Definitely on the sweet side of Virginias, it has enough complexity to keep me interested, and enough body to keep the nicotine demons satisfied. I agree with Jim in that there seems to be very light, sweet topping on it. I could not swear to this, but it certainly seems like it to me. (Actually, yeah. There's a topping.)

This is a great Virginia blend that hits all the right buttons for me for what I want in one. There's sweetness, body, and complexity in it. It's not overly complex, I would say, but it definitely has some changes through out the bowl with some building of strength and flavor. This is definitely a blend that I will revisit when I go through Jackson and will probably buy in greater increments. I feel fortunate to live close enough to go up and visit every few months and always enjoy hanging out at the Squire. And of course, watching Jon David blend his tobaccos is always entertaining. Watching people blend tobacco is, I find, fascinating, and I always like to go in the Squire and see Jon David or Caleb at work behind the tobacco bar.
Pipe Used: Pipes which are reserved for Virginias
PurchasedFrom: The Country Squire, Tobacconist
Age When Smoked: Fresh
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 20, 2021 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
As a newer pipe smoker, I am mainly exploring the different blends (I favor aromatic blends, although I am dipping my toes into the non-aromatic blends now) to find what I like.

Like many others, I am a huge fan for Tolkien! So naturally I wanted to try some of the available themed blends out there. So far as of 2021 the only easily obtained commercial versions are from The Country Squire and Just for Him. This review is for the "Green Dragon" blend from The Country Squire series, there are 6 blends with a mix of 3 being aromatics and 3 being non-aromatics (Longbottom Leaf sadly is no longer produced and I cannot try this mix).

Opening the bag, what I smelled was the hay/freshness from the tobacco, a bit of spices.

The flavor I tasted was the Virginia tobacco, it was to me a mild flavor with a bit of spice/earth and a hint of sweetness. It was nice to have a mix of Virginia leaf in this blend which gave it some character vs single Virginia blends.

It was semi-moist and I did not have to dry this out before smoking. I did not have any tounge-bite with this blend.
Pipe Used: Rattray's Goblin 100
PurchasedFrom: thecountrysquireonline.com
Age When Smoked: new
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 23, 2022 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Very Pleasant
As a new smoker this was the first Virginia I ever tried; naturally because I’m a nerd for all things LOTR, and was pointed to the Country Squire blessedly early in my piping quest. That sealed it for me, I’m a Green Dragon lover!

I’m not going to pretend to be an aficionado whom is well-versed in all the nuances of notes and tones, and blah, blah, blah… I just know what I like, and I love the Dragon. I’ve tried multiple Virginias since and found many that are pleasant and some that are not so much. It’s been less than a year on my journey, so I imagine there might be other VAs out there that are as tasty, but I haven’t come across one yet. Mac Baren HH Pure comes close, but lacks the tangy punch the Dragon offers.

As a reformed smoker/chewer this is pleasantly low on the nic-hit scale for me. The last thing I ever want in life again is to try and break another nicotine addiction. The Green Dragon fortunately is a merciful dragon and I can see this being an every day smoke, without the nicotine addled complications.

Taste and flavor: tart and tangy with all the typical sweet citrus goodness and a nice tingle on the tongue! I tend to smoke hot and wet after years of the “hard stuff,” so I’ve found this works best for me when I’m relaxed…and pulling on it from a Churchwarden or Demi-Warden.

If someone over at the Squire could make sure the Tobacconeers and wizards they have locked in the basement keep this blend available for the next 40-60 years, that would fantastic, thank you!

Don’t be afraid to ride the Green Dragon, it won’t bite! Maybe just a light nibble every now and then. 😜
Pipe Used: MM Shire Cobbit
PurchasedFrom: The Country Squire
Age When Smoked: New, and cellared 6 months
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 21, 2022 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
First take: This is the first Country Squire blend that I enjoyed, and I thought it was absolutely superb. It is such a spicy and interesting blend that I can't wait to go get back to it. It has a spiciness that is reminiscent of cloves, but with none of the clove sweetness. It tastes like the spiciness is further punched-up with white pepper. The flavor is rich and bold in the way that other TCS blends lack. It has an undercurrent of being a little green, but I smoked it basically new from the blender. I am sure this blend will age very nicely.
Pipe Used: Cob
Age When Smoked: New
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 25, 2020 Mild to Medium Very Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
This blend is a delightful light bright virginia. I'm not sure but the bag note seems to have a bit of topping but I could be wrong. Overall the note and smoke are sweet with a bit of grass and lemon to it as well. Occasionally through the bowl I get a hint of musty hay but in a good way. The tobacco seems a touch wet as I recieved it but smokes extremely well with few if any relights. This has been my summer smoke and very well may be an annual guest in my rotation that is usally a bit heavier with Latika or Perique blends. It's hard to smoke this and not picture a chubby little hobbit enjoying it with you on a summer day in the garden. I've been thinking about pressing some of this into a crumble cake to make it a little bit more handy for travel and to see what it does aged a bit in that form. I've tried the delayed gratification method with this and it looses that bright, sweet, lemon flavor that I enjoyed about it. I prefer to load it and smoke it straight away.
Pipe Used: Corncob, briar
PurchasedFrom: Country Squire
Age When Smoked: Fresh
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 19, 2023 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Pulling the obliging barkeep’s tap, what flows forth for this evening’s enjoyment is one from the famed Country Squire’s Middle Earth series, the aptly named Green Dragon. A fizzing brave potion, this well-prepared straight Virginian sensation is comprised of individual strains of assorted subject leaves, lightly topped with a gladdening head of reserved sugary additives. With this lively round, The Country Squire extends for qualifying consideration a highly revered non-aromatic Shire-inspired presentation.

This medium/medium full-flavored creation of Green Dragon poses an attractive cumulation of stubbly cut, toothy fragments pigmented of hues from enchanting golden yellow, warmed copper, umber, appreciable browns, and meaty chucks of a stoved varietal that is shadowed and striated with ripe darkened splendor. Optimally dry, a mere touch of this piling reveals that Green Dragon’s scaled texture awards a pleasing sensation of dense “tobaccoful” splendor. Naturally, the mixture lends itself to easeful packing of the bowl and rather immediate consumption.

Broaching the sealed bulk pouch, the senses are cordially aroused with a fetching sweetened aroma secured by a glazed suggestion of an elusive anise and softer vanilla, as they leach from a main thrust of the extremely bright sour tart that evidences the presence of generously fermented Virginian leaf. Accompanying this forward essence is a node of succulent grassy hay, aged wood, soft tang and cultured citrus charmingly garnished with a distilled spirit-like spice as the appeasing finale. Allowing for a general overview, reasonable conclusion supports that the Green Dragon recipe has been skillfully crafted with thoughtful attentiveness to detail. Mainly, the quality of The Country Squire’s blending efforts has yielded a selective experience centered in well-balanced assemblage of complementing ingredients that work beautifully in achieving true smoking distinction. With the inclusion of choice Virginian strains and delicately applied flavoring, Green Dragon renders a progressively stirring profile of relaxing and mellowed repose.

Enfolding multiple strains of discernable Virginian, that encompass leaves of Bright, Red, Yellow and seasoned stoved tobaccos, Green Dragon delivers a richly accented experience supported by a modest natural sweetness. The blend expresses considerable charisma in persona, aspiring depth, and spiced fuller savor. Not overly complex per say, this handsomely smoky admixture nevertheless tenders an abiding taste profile that is decidedly consistent showing average movement in attributable nuancing.

Fundamentally the combined emulsion of straight Virginian appeal encounters with a normally unbiassed composite profile that represents the individual worth of each assortment’s standard leaf properties. In reference to the complete taste envelope consisting of the three respective bands of registration that is, each segment is given suitable balance and afforded ideally censored equity. To all intents and purposes, however, the Red strain does migrate slightly forward commanding a marginally heavier footprint overall.

Getting to the specifics, the resident Bright strain features a pleasant stream of waving sweetgrass, toasty hay, and a rested citrusy tart inherent to the varietal. This delightful note rides in the approximate mid-high band of flavor. There is a delectable upper positioned accent that steadily circulates itself, recording as a lemony and mildly soured acidic thus indicating the inclusion of the stylish Yellow varietal.

Green Dragon’s primary base is established by the aforementioned Red leaf with no surprising effect. It characterizes as dense and darker in tone, adding considerable thickness to the underbody. The prevailing affluence charts of seasoned aged wood relished by tasteful floral and greenish vegetal accenting. Further merits are witnessed with the exercising of a sincerely vigorous retro hale, as the Red’s darker earthy nuance is marked with key distinction.

Aiding this darker Red element, the middle bound stoved varietal carries forward a bleaker natural fruitiness and baked sugars effectively caramelizing the melded taste with additional delighting finesse. And with that final expanded supplementation, the comprehensive Virginian contribution shows admirable penetration and width making Green Dragon a satiating undertaking for the subject genre.

As previously mentioned, there are some thinly applied sugar-based coatings that serve to soften and enhance the naturally occurring sweetness without overpowering the splendor of the native strains. These elements register as reasonably muted and graceful, projecting an ambience that resembles the entwinement of a sweet white wine and posh vanilla-anise spritzed fusion. And on that last reference, of pure speculation on my part, this recording could be underscoring the presence of an anisette liqueur, just a reconciling thought that comes to mind. In addition, the notations of weaker honey and basic sugar are passively denoted as well. Regardless of this minor dressing, Green Dragon is most definitely a Virginian-centric blend, having its noted flavor grow progressively deeper and darker as the session advances.

Pertaining to the mixture’s fashioned smoke, Green Dragon’s blueish vapors are branded with an element of supreme creaminess and smooth texture. The room note that evolves is rather light natured and tends to dissipate in short time. A fragrance modeled by a delicate native sweetness supported by a toasty wooded bundling of tang and a dash of smoky earthiness greets the smoker. For themselves, the top dressings are virtually unnoticeable given their conservative application. In consideration of these qualified observations, the blend, therefore, can be categorized as tolerable to pleasant in perceived reception.

Taking everything into account, these tobaccos demonstrate admirable physical properties with the resulting consumption. Namely, the burn characteristics are established with a modest temperature, which is especially noteworthy for a straight Virginian combination. As to the subject cherry, it tends to charter along evenly with reliable commitment as Green Dragon requires a lower degree of upkeep in maintaining an uninterrupted smoking application. Moreover, there is absolutely no incidences of roughness or disconcerting Virginian tongue sting that surface to detract, thereby making the blend an exceptionally calming encounter. With the application of gentle reclined sips, the wonders of this mixture’s persona are broadcasted quite magnificently by my measured assessment.

In arriving at this commentary’s closing summary, for myself, this tobacco takes me away into a place of tranquil, pacified splendidness. Actually, it is quite impressive in a single word, performing substantially well in reference to all key objective standards of the subject genre. Subsequent, Country Squire’s showcased offering does therefore position prominently within my own rankings of related product comparables. And with that personal admission disclosed, I can emphatically recommend Green Dragon as a distinguished alternative in experiencing authentically delightsome straight Virginian magic.

Objective Scoring (based upon standard genre attributes, mechanicals and cost): 144/156 ≅ 90%

Subjective Rating: 3.6 Pipes

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