Edward's Supreme

Initially this blend just didn't do much for me. It was rather goopy (definitely unusual for an Edwards blend) so I dried it out for a few days. I just finished a bowl and while it's still a bit damp and doesn't pack as nicely as I would like, I did get the taste this time. I think the problem was expectation. An English blend is put in front of you and you have a certain expectation of what it will taste like (in my case the thick, smokey, standard English blend taste I had found in heavier English blends.) This just isn't the taste of Supreme. My initial review may have been a bit harsh. As a previous reviewer stated, it's not an English but an Aromish. I did however get a little bit of the taste of an English blend (albeit somewhat muted.) The interesting part was a similarly muted semi-sweetness and a tastiness that I can't seem to put my finger on. It may just be one of those blends it takes a bit to warm up to. So, I've decided to ride out the rest of the small pouch and see if I can warm up to this blend. There's an intriguing flavor and smokability to this blend that I think I can learn to like. It may indeed be a socially acceptable English blend. In time it may find a niche in my rotation as the mild English, (a mid-day smoke perhaps? you know, too early for the nicotine groin punch of Special Balkan but too late for that ever so mild aromatic) or as an occassional break from heavier blends. In the case of Masterpiece and Special Balkan, I gave each blend a 7 OZ. test. Perhaps I owed the same courtesy to Supreme and opened my mouth before I really had a basis for doing so. Don't know if there's such a thing as an aromatic English blend but the taste of this one makes me want to explore the possibilities. More Later, Cheers!

****Update***1 year later. This is now my go to smoke, especially in hot weather. There's nothing like it. Not an English, but an aromish that you can smoke all day. The flavor is subtle and a pipe needs to be dedicated, and I always smoke two bowls in a row, the second bowl being better.

It's very unusual for me to be so positive about the same blend for so long.

This has become my favorite Edwards tobacco and thus my favorite American English. I've smoked almost a pound of it over the last three months. It does need to have a pipe dedicated to it or the flavor will not stabilize, but shift around. Unlike some American English blends, I always detect the Latakia here, and I think there's more VA in this than in other Edwards blends. Still, it has that odd Edwards sweetness coupled with a full burley backbone. Reminds me of Country Doctor or Revelation in body and effect (perhaps slightly fuller bodied), but with a completely different flavor spin due to the Edward's process.

I can smoke this all day without any bite or negative mouth effects, both of which I used to get in varying degrees with other brands of burley blends.

So, at the moment (always subject to change), my rotation consists of Edward's Supreme and one or more of the Dunhill blends (EM, LM, DB, RY...) which never seem to leave my drawer.

This is a medium English complimented with a good dose of Edward's toasted cavendish. It is not to be compared with the wet TCs favored by many aromatic die hards. Edwards TC is dry and medium to full but it can be scented too (as in Buccaneer with vanilla and apple essences, etc.).

Here you don't get too much scent, but when combined with an English base, you get added strength to the TC. That's why I say it's fuller here.

It is fuller and less sweet than Buccaneer. More of an Anglomatic. The TC and Latakias combine to produce a stronger, dark taste. Most comparable blend I can think of is Pickwick by Ed Burak of Connoisseur.

The description does not say it but this does contain many ingredients. According to the folks at edwards this contains latakia, burleys(more than 1 variety), virginias(more than 1 variety) and some black cavendish. From the description from the folks at edwards I thought that this would be complex and rich, surprisingly it was not. It seems to me someone said, "Hmmm, lets try to make a complex blend. Lets see, I don't realy know what I am doing so I will just throw in a little bit of everything!" I would say to try this just to see that more variety of leaf does not always mean more complexity. This was bitey at times and did not capture my attention in a positive way. There are other much better blends to try at edwards and this is not one of them.