Sillem's London Blend

Sillim's London Mixture is one of those overlooked gems. I can't but help think that some of the reviews mistook the rich flavor of the blend for “flavoring” as this is not an aromatic tobacco. Either that, or London is being mistaken for Sillim's Black as both tins are black. London is an extremely lightly cased English blend is has very deep rich flavors. I agree with longlost100 that this is a “kitchen sink “blend that offers a lot of complex flavors. I find some bowls to be showing deep Latakia flavor and others the Orientals seem to lead. London can be puffed fairly hard with no tongue bite. I prefer it in a wide bowl and dried out some prior to lighting up. There is an underlying sweetness to London Blend that I find very enjoyable. I think that lovers of McClelland style English blends should have this on the “must try” list. Highly Recommended!

This is another english blend that I really love it. The taste is full, loud, and clear. Nice and tempting tin note, really mouth watering look when I open it and just made me can't wait to pack it nicely on my Peterson Dublin 999 pipe.

The cut is very nice, is easy to pack at almost my pipes, even I think to my self if this blend taste more better at wide bowl such a pot or prince shape but this blend smokes so great at almost any of my pipe. Just give a nice cherring light, tamp it and I'm enjoying pleasant smokes for an hour or more.

The taste is full, nice smokey with a little sweetness and the power is not too strong. The nicotine amount just at proper size to make a delightful smoking time. I'm enjoying the smokey herbal taste, almost similar with oriental spice or oriental herbal with an exotic taste and the taste is quite consistent until I finish a bowl.

So without doubt I put this blend at my favorite list. For me who loves a full taste blends, sure this blend will be come a favorite too. Full taste, nice strength, well burnt, great smokes, and no tendency to harm my tongue, that is my smoking experiences with this wonderful Sillem's London European Blend.

Well, you never know what you're going to get in an english blend these days as the field is very crowded and everyone is trying to get your attention. No problem here; this tobacco blend is wonderful and it comes through loud and clear!

First off, some observations based on prior reviews. Mr. Big - we've done it again. I'm first to review this blend after you just as in our reviews of C&D Crooked Lane, however, I seem to like this one more than you do. Jacques 1960 - I agree; the blond bits in this blend are very big and flag-like and must be torn down into smaller pieces. FFDan - I had the same reaction you did on opening the tin. I pulled the paper disc out and thought "what, another rough-cut english". I sniffed it and said to myself "this blend has the same sweetish aroma of the lightly cased Peter Heinrichs english blend #39 that I'm smoking".
Since the're both German-tinned it makes me wonder. Steel Cowboy - this slightly sweet and faint casing must be what you were reacting to in your review. Brother K - I agree, this tobacco blend rocketed right up to the top of my favorites list.

As you can tell, I really like this blend. It smokes wonderfully, thick and creamy and very varigated in its aromas and tastes. It is a delight to look at with its color range from extremely light blond ranging down-scale to very dark brown. I rank it right up there with the likes of Wilderness, Blue Mountain, Ambassador's Blend and Black House. I highly recommend it to all english smokers and rate it a very solid four stars.

My new favorite. Perfection in a pipe. I loaded my first taste into the bowl of my Peterson Kildare and from the moment I lit up I experienced nothing but pleasure. This is an incredibly smooth, flavorful and complex tobacco. Sillem's London blend is perfectly balanced. I love Latakia and this has just the right measure to blend with but not overpower the other tobaccos. The addition of the Cavendish adds a fabulous velvety texture to the smoke. I'm not usually a big fan of Perique but a just enough here is present to add a bit of nice dried fruit essence. I perceived a bit of nuttiness, I believe that must be from the addition of the Burley. No tongue bite, just the right moisture content it burned dry and cool but never acrid. Perhaps it is the Kentucky that helps this blend offer just the right degree of natural sweetness. As for the nicotine content it is not overpowering, something that I appreciated as I don't enjoy tobaccos that are nic-bombs. Most highly recommended. Note: this tobacco is listed here as originating in the UK. It is actually blended in Germany.

This is hands down my favorite tobacco. It is my daily tobacco and I always have it on hand when possible. It is the most complex of all the English blends I have tried and found it to be mixed just right, not too strong, not to spicy, but just right. And of course with just the right amount of Nic in it also. This is the tobacco I do not just recommend but I preach.

Try it you will not be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoy smoking this rich, full-flavored blend! Sillem's has knocked-it-out-of-the-park again with this great Latakia-driven English blend.

A very satisfying English-Balkan, without the bitter heaviness that accompanies some latakia-heavy Balkan blends. There's perfect balance between the hints of sweetness and smokey fullness of the tobaccos in this blend.

It isn't too moist or too dry, and it smokes cool, with no bite at all. It lights easily, and burns evenly, producing a thick, dense smoke, and leaving a fine white ash, as a good tobacco tends to do. I can't describe it any better than KingWeed does when he describes it as, "...thick and creamy and very varigated in its aromas and tastes." That's a perfect description of this excellent blend.

I have begun cellaring a few tins of this great blend to see what more it can do with a little age.

Tin note is nice smoky English, similar to Pease Abingdon and Gawith Squadron Leader. Seems to dry out a lot more quickly than those blends.

First third of the bowl has a slightly harsh edge to it. Starts to open up in the second third, and the end of the bowl justifies the wait. Goes from harsh camp/tire fire into wonderful cedar, floral and leather flavors. Nice, rich smoke. Solid but not overwhelming nic hit.

That harsh edge never quite goes away for me; otherwise, I'd give it four stars. Good blend though, not one you can go wrong with. I largely agree with Moniker's earlier review.

When selecting this tobacco I just gave a quick look at all the 4 star reviews and made a purchase. This was a mistake on my part, as I now see the Burley/Kentucky components ( I'm not a fan). This results in a very nutty blend, void of all sweetness, and a blend that I find bland and boring. As I puff at this to get some flavor, the Perique starts to "Pepper" my tongue. I'm afraid this will be another tin for the back of my cellar

Sillem's - London Blend.

The mixture's mostly dark brown and black, with just a few specks of gold. Being as it's a fairly coarse ribbon, this means it sadly includes some twigs. Moisture's good.

It's a full tasting smoke, which is quite busy. The Latakia's the forerunner, with the rest giving less. It would be better, to me, if it weren't for the Kentucky. This takes some of the enjoyment out of the supporting flavour for the Latakia: a little burnt, and harsh. Kentucky aside, the remaining ingredients work quite nicely together: slightly Cavendish-sweet, some sharp Perique, and some rugged Burley. I can't particularly pick out any added flavour. The burn from London's quite good, giving a smoke just below medium in temperature.

Nicotine: medium to strong. Room-note: pleasant to tolerable.

I'd give London Blend three or four stars if the Kentucky weren't included, but this lessens the rating to two:

Somewhat recommended.

Color runs the gamut from light tan to black, this is mostly a ribbon cut but there are a lot of wide chunks as well. Tin note is latakia up front, with some muted oriental and perique. I found this worked best dried about halfway to crispy from tin moisture, as fresh out of the tin predictably dumbed down the flavors. Some drying was required to get the flavors to snap into focus.

Unabashedly English in presentation, with the latakia up front and center but nowhere near overpowering. There was some mild complexity as the orientals moved closer to the fore. The perique was lightly noticeable as a slight pepper essence with even slighter fruit and the Cavendish was more of a "smoother-outer", but it (or something) gives the blend a twinge of sweetness. The burley may have been responsible for a very mild nuttiness but overall I couldn't really tell there was burley or Kentucky, specifically - whatever it brought to the table was not overt. This was a wonderfully balanced blend beneath the latakia but far from boring, and the main thing I found interesting about this one is that it never lost its cool, even in extreme circumstances. When I puffed harder, it actually smoothed out... which wasn't necessarily a good thing, as it became more monodimensional, but it never got harsh or hot. It always smoked cool and dry, rich and flavorful. There was never a time that the large amount of constituent tobaccos threatened to turn this one into an unfocused mess, as often occurs when there are two many different leaves. I'm not the biggest fan of English blends (latakia upfront), preferring Balkans (hugely oriental with latakia) or Scottish blends (very light lat, heavy oriental, heavier VA), but if you like things like Dunhill Standard or Squadron Leader, you will most likely love this one. I don't know who blends for Sillem, but the few blends of their's I've smoked have been excellent. 3.5 stars for this rounded up to 4 because it's so well done. Very impressed with this blend.