Drucquer & Sons Prince's Blend

The mildly grassy and floral, very sugary, deep tart and tangy citrus sweet bright flue cured and air cured Virginias take a lead over the tangy dark fruit, earthy, woody, lightly spicy and bready red Virginias. The very nutty, molasses sweet burley also has some earth, wood, and a touch of cocoa in the background. The spice, raisins, figs and plum from the perique continually underscores the experience. The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is a gentle addition, mostly providing a flavor push to the blend. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. The strength and taste levels are a step closer to mild than they are to medium. No chance of bite, and has no dull or harsh moments. It burns at a reasonable pace, cool and clean with a very smoothly sweet, and lightly spicy consistent, subtly nuanced well balanced taste. Requires few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. An easy going all day smoke with a little character. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

The grassy really sweet Virginias citrusy really forward , the subtle smokey sweet Woody Latakia in the background , very nutty pie crusty burleys dancing through the experience, I get a little spice from the perique little rasiny, sometimes I detect a slight cherry note with the fruity taste of the blend somewhat of a natural cherry flovor possibly the red Virginias. Over all great blend for me satisfaction at its finest with this blend.

Black Cavendish, Burley, Latakia, Perique, Virginia is in the blend. How to describe this? This blend could be considered an English I suppose oh, but I would not. The Burley seems more forward in the flavor profile.The Virginia are flue cured, but there are some very light toasted notes. The perique is just there to add a very mild accent. To me though it is the interplay of the red virginia, with some bright, and the burley which makes this blend. The sweetness persists for me, teaming up with the burley to make the core of the "jazz band", with the latakia and perique popping in the ensemble occasionly. The burn is even, and the room note delightful to an experienced pipe smoker. I have become a wide eyed enthusiast for the Drucquer as Sons blends. This blend gets my highest recommendation.

This one surprised me. I'm a big fan of the D&S blends, but got this one by a mistake when I ordered one of the other mixtures. I really wasn't looking for another lighter english blend in the collection. But, the shipper (smokingpipes) let me keep the Prince's and sent out a replacement on the one I'd ordered. So I cracked the tin.

It is lighter than Levant, but still stronger than Trafalgar, probably because of a little higher concentration of the red virginia. If you're looking for something like Early Morning Pipe, this has just a little more depth to the virginias, a little more heart to the orientals. It's honestly a wonderful everyday, all day, kind of english smoke.

At first I wasn't sure it had a place in my rotation. But then, randomly, I find myself reaching for the jar when I'm just looking for something to puff. It builds in complexity just a little through the bowl, and has just enough depth to keep me interested if I want to be, or to ignore it and puff if I want to work or read or whatever.

It's a totally lovely mild+ classic english mixture. No complaints here whatsoever, and I expect I'll even order more when I get through this large tin. I would 100% recommend this to a beginning english smoker to get the vibe, and can happily recommend it to anyone looking for an english that isn't overwhelming, has a medium dose of vitamin N, and wants to puff happily.

As with most light English blends, the Virginas take the lead, with a citrusy, hay notes from the brights. The Burley is a nice addition that makes this blend unlike others, with an addition of a nutty-molasses note that is always evident, even in the tin aroma. The latakia brings through the its smoky character, though it might be lighter percentage than other light English blends like EMP, John Cotton #1, or Chelsea Morning. The Perique is very condimental, occasionally showing itself through a hint of dark fruit and pepperiness.

All in all, a solid blend, offering quality leaf and uniqueness compared to other light English blends. It isnt a top choice in its department for me nor is it a favorite among GL Pease blends but still enjoyable.

Drucquer & Sons - Prince's Blend.

I opened this tin first thing today and haven't smoked anything else all day. It's a very nice smoke!

The tin-note's quite fruity for a blend badged as an English. It has a touch of musky Latakia, but the unlit aroma's mainly the fruity red Virginias. The ribbons are quite uniform, all medium size. My tin was hydrated perfectly for imminent smoking, no need to let any have time to breathe.

As was the precedent set by the tin-note, the smoke's a very ''fruity'' English. The red Virgina's ripe note, coalescing with the sugary bright Va, makes for a sumptuous lead. These two get a rustic, toasty support from the Burley; the front-of-house flavour's that of a very good VaBur. The Latakia and Perique don't come into play, for me, until after halfway. Then there's a whisp of woody, smokiness from the Lat, a vinegar flavour from the Perique. At this point, half a bowl, the blend is at its best. I've had a brilliant burn from each pipe of this, without any tongue-bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Prince's Blend? A definite four-star blend:

Highly recommended

Although I've smoked Drucquer English blends on and off for thirty years, I have no conscious memory of smoking Prince's Blend. From our existing reviews, I gathered that it was a light English of a higher quality. Our reviews were correct and I could sense the blending hand of Greg Pease in the appearance and tin aroma. The tin appearance is of a fine cut ribbon and immediately conjurs up images from the past. The tin aroma is heavenly and very inviting. When you fire the bowl you know that this is lighter latakia territory and lighter perique, as well. My issue with Prince's Blend is that it always leaves me wanting more. Quality ingredients combined with blending skill puts me at the same place as reviewer Jimlnks 2016-09-30, namely, three and one half stars.

My first bowl out a newly opened tin was not enjoyable. The tobacco was too moist and it needed some air. I put the tin away for three weeks and let it air before my second bowl. Both airing and drying, completely changed the taste and burning qualities. The second bowl was delicious. The burley and virginias compose the majority of the blend, with a delicate dose of latakia and perique added. I can taste just a light touch of Perique in every puff, but the latakia is further in the background. The black cavendish adds smoothness, but is not evident in the taste. Prince's Blend burns cool and dry from beginning to end and leaves a delicate taste on the tongue. This is a light English with flavor. It is composed of quality tobaccos and is a masterful composition for those who enjoy milder blends. I'm one of them. Update: Princes's Blend is excellent mixed 50-50 with Red Lion, also from Drucquer. Both blends have the same constituent tobaccos.

Tin note of Rasins, sour plums and sugar. Tobacco is Ribbon cut of orangish tan and brown with a little black mixed in. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is mild to medium and mostly consistent, with notes of bread, floral, Rasin, nutty, spices, woody, peaty vegetation, sugar, molasses, savory, citrus peel/zest, spicy/acidic, lemon grass, mildly bitter, sour fermented vinegary, a tart and tangy stewed fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Burley and Perique supporting. Latakia and Cavendish cheer from the stands. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

So I am sitting down today with some of the D&S Prince's Blend as I smoke through the lineup. Opening up the tin, I see a fairly mottled ribbon. The smell reminds me of mouldering leaves in October. I can smell the virginia sweetness. The latakia is definitely here but it's not upfront. It also has a nice nutty aroma. From freshly opened to now, I think the tobacco came at the right moisture for a smoke. So I haven't need to dry any.

Lighting up I think the nuttiness is what comes to the forefront. I can taste Virginia hay and sweetness. The Latakia is a condiment it's there but just enough to notice. This strikes me as a very fall-esque sort of blend. It would be great with a cup of coffee. The taste and strength are both a solid medium. It's a decent blend with interesting characteristics.