J. F. Germain & Son Eighteen Twenty

Every once in awhile, I find a jewel in the rough - a tobacco I expected little from but that delivers exactly what I never knew I wanted. This is one of those gems. I traded for this tin a year or so ago and it had 4 years of age on it already. Having not (yet) smoked a fresh tin, I'm not sure what age did to it but since I have several more tins coming, I'm sure I'll find out!

Mostly tan ribbon with bits of black, and a tin nose of oriental up front and latakia firmly riding shotgun. Tobacco needed some drying time and it came wringing wet. But a couple of hours in the air was all it required. At lightup, the latakia was in the lead but subdued after just a few puffs when the orientals came out front and center. The latakia was always there but alternated for second chair with the sweet Virginias. I also wouldn't be surprised to find that a small amount of Cavendish is in here, but it could just be the VA's and orientals playing off one another. The best way to describe this is highly flavorful, smooth and mild. This is another one of those fantastic Scottish-type blends that I'm really enjoying, where the overall tone is of mildness but the flavor is zesty. Nowhere near overbearing. I call this blend Scottish because it has less of the latakia flavor of a standard English and more of the orientals, but neither is as robust as most Balkans. A lot of backbone here, but not heavy. I view GLP's Kensington as the Balkan "sister blend" to this one. Both are masterfully balanced, just in different styles. Skiff Mixture might be the "English" sister blend. At any rate, if you're excited about orientals and want them standing proudly in the lead, but also want some latakia, this is an excellent example and highly recommended.

Germain’s 1820’s pouch scent lets the smoker know that this is going to be an Oriental Virginia blend as the Lakakia component is in the background. This translates to the smoke itself too. The cut, common with a lot of Germain made blends is very thin ribbon which is something that I enjoy in many English blends. I find myself very much in agreement with DK’s review as I think he is dead on. Especially his comment on the comparison to Skiff as I think lovers of that blend will find a home here too. There is a zest to this blend that for me can border on sharpness, but never quite bites. Although, given the cut of the tobacco, I can see how some may find it to burn hot. 1820 IMO demands to be smoked slowly to get all that this blend has to offer. I will buck the tide a bit and say that I don’t pick up any topping here at all. If it is there, it is very, very lightly done. For me, what makes 1820 work is the masterful use of the Latakia in this blend. There is just enough there to round things out while letting the Virginias and Orientals star in the show. The last half of the bowl is where this blend really shines as it comes richer with each puff. The only thing that keeps this from being a four star blend for me is that there are other Oriental forward English blends that hold my interest more than 1820, especially the fuller flavored Smoker’s Haven “Exotique” also made by Germain. I tend to smoke bowls of 1820 in bunches then lose interest for a while. Ironically, this happens to me with Skiff Mixture as well. All in all though, this blend should receive more attention than it does.

This is one of Germain's staple blends that has been around for a very long time and is named after the year Germain was founded. It is a classic blend that balances the Virginias, Orientals and Latakia to perfection. It is smooth as a baby's bottom from first light to last puff with no harshness or bitterness. I believe this is because of the Virginia leaf that displays a richness not often found in blends of this type. A 5-star tongue tingler!

The Virginia provides some mostly tart and lightly tangy citrus with an abundance of grass and hay, and small earth and wood notes. It sets the stage for the other components. The Cyprian Latakia offers smoke, wood, earth and a light mustiness as a competitive supporting player. The strength of the dry, woody, slightly buttery sweet, sour, floral, herbal, vegetative, woody, mildly spicy Orientals varies during the smoke, always playing an important role. There is an additional slight sweetness coming from something, maybe the topping? Perhaps it's cavendish? Whatever it is, it pleasantly adds to the experience. The strength is mild, while the taste is just short of the center of mild to medium. Has a very mild nic-hit. Won't bite or get harsh, but has a few minute rough edges. May need a light dry time. Burns cool and clean at a slightly fast pace if dried a mite with mostly consistent, mildly sweet and savory flavor that translates to the short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Over the last four months or so I’ve noticed that, where once I smoked mostly English blends, now I'm smoking almost exclusively VAs, VA/Pers, and Oriental/VA blends.

Maybe I overdid it on the Latakia, maybe I've just finally found the cadence needed to enjoy the milder tasting blends. Either way I just haven't been as interested in smoking some of my old favourites. So today, recalling that it was fairly forward on VAs and Orientals, I loaded up some Eighteen Twenty and sat down with a nice hot cup of tea.

It’s exactly what I wanted, the VAs and Orienrals are definitely the stars, simultaneously sweet and umami, with the Lats providing a solid, creamy base. It also tastes like there might be some Cavendish in here, a sweetness that’s not coming from the VA, though it may be a topping.

Despite the high moisture content and cut, which is pretty close to a shag cut when it comes to the Virginia leaf, I didn't detect any bite. I was focusing pretty hard on sipping it slowly as to get the most out of the VAs, so I can't speak to how it behaves when not being paid attention to.

Overall this is a great blend, with each of the components complementing each other to create something complex and interesting, but not so full flavoured that you can't smoke more than one a day. Eighteen Twenty is definitely going back into my rotation.

Update, October 2016: This stuff just keeps getting better with time! And the way to slow the burn is (duhhh...) to pack it snug in the bowl to begin with, at least once it's rested and dried some. It's so civilized!

Update, June, 2015: 6 months rest in a jar has perfected my remaing stash of 1820, so please keep this in mind if you read my original review. Once this tobacco has rested, the extremely mild topping becomes an asset and the tastes meld and unwind in interesting ways throughout the smoke. Still no good way to significantly slow the burn, and more's the pity because this stuff is a very relaxing taste treat while it lasts, also a nice respite from stronger Balkan-y English blends, being in this akin to SG's Skiff Mixture. The Orientals are slightly musty, with "exotic" rather than "hot" spices, the VAs are flue and air cured as well as stoved, the Lat is nice and plain, and the lot sours off like aged Balkan Sobranie of Old as it is smoked down. Plenty of smoke, by the way. Very Nice. Thus, I am pleased to up-rate 1820 to a well-deserved 4 stars. PS: Because of the way its VAs have developed, I now suspect that 1820 is a prime candidate for in-tin aging ahead of subsequent rest in a jar.

Original review: IMO, Germain’s Eighteen Twenty smells good enough to eat from the tin, like warm, buttered oatmeal, along with the smoky Latakia and just a drop of old, dry Sherry. Though the packed, variegated ribbons are quite moist to start, it lights easily and smokes down very fast right from the tin. Twice now I have really enjoyed the first bowl I’ve smoked straight from a fresh tin, and it struck me as delightfully well balanced, albeit it's gone in 60 seconds. Unfortunately, I have not consistently enjoyed subsequent bowls as much as the first bowl from each of two tins. At its best 1820 reminds me of Skiff Mixture, but with less developed Turkish, and its bright VAs are more forward, with high quality, "plain" Latakia always present but never in the fore, apart from the first few puffs. The odd bowl or parts of odd bowls aside, however, 1820 tends to muddle up on me, and it often exhibits a slightly acrid quality that IMO does not serve this particular blend. The tobaccos seem to be of high quality, with excellent, “traditional” processing, and I think my problems with it may be a matter of personal chemistry; I don’t know. Along this line of thinking, 1820 also sports a very mild topping (tonquin?) that gets unpleasant for me the minute I start to taste it. Ironically, I always enjoy the sweet, lingering aftertaste. Strength is more mild than medium. Tastes are more medium than mild. Room note is “pleasant” – for a “Turkish” blend.

A “2” from me means I think this is quality tobacco, and I can see where others might appreciate this blend, but I won’t likely buy more, especially since there are so many pipe tobaccos I enjoy and can also count on. All considered, I’d give Eighteen Twenty a 2.4 if I could.

As my very first smoke of any of Germain's tobaccos, I approached this with some trepidation, with little idea of what to expect. So time to dive in and find out what's what.

The tin aroma is a warm, oaky scent with hint soap. Lighting and packing are their mandatory ease for ribbon, surprise surprise. The smoke is much like the smell, but kicks it up a notch by adding a cigar like quality to it, almost like the taste of Henry Winterman's half coronas, tells me Germain's are using some good tobacco. The room note is along similar line.

On the whole then, a cracking smoke more than worthy of four stars. Bang on!

this is another Germain masterpiece. Oriental forward in tin note and taste. The tin note is spicybOriental and Latakia. With a Germain like sweetness that I have a hard time defining.

Others have compared this to Skiff Mixture, and I agree but i would say a cross between Skiff and Squadron Leader. Woody and spicy Orientals and Latakia. Sweet and grassy Virginia's boarder on. Balkan flavor but not wuite malty. Very unique. burns cool and dry. Great smoke

This is a top notch Balkan blend. Orientals out front with the Latakia not too far behind. The Virginias provide a modest amount of sweetness. All week I've been smoking both 1820 and Balkan Sobranie, back to back, in order to make a comparison and noticed that the Orientals are very similar. In fact I think they're the same. Could be mistaken though. 1820 has a pinch more Latakia. BS has more body and sweetness. As far as quality and consistency go I find 1820 to be equal to BS, in other words, superb. I think I like both equally. With 1820 being more readily available and not limited in the number of tins one can purchase I have to give it the edge. I do wish it had a little more body though.

J. F. Germain & Son - Eighteen Twenty.

Another of my earlier reviews that needed redoing.

Most of the blend's cut is as fine as a shag and it includes a higher amount of brown pieces compared to black: 70-30%. I'm not sure how many tobacconists sell this loose but My Smoking Shop U.K. do. Because I bought this loose to avoid it being damp I'm unable to comment on a sealed tin's condition.

To my taste this would suit the late morning slot best, it hasn't the formidability for a wake-up smoke, yet is nowhere near being my afternoon 'mild smoke'. Of the three tobaccos it's the Orientals which rule, the Latakia and Virginia sit further behind. To give a generic description of the flavour I'd say it's got more of a woody taste than a smoky one, has a little butter, a touch of sweetness, and some grassy notes. It burns well enough but can become too fast and bitey when strained.

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

Eighteen Twenty? In NO WAY is it a bad smoke, but there are a lot better English's out there. Two stars:

Somewhat recommended.