Stanwell Jubilee

After having recently sold a few older Jubilee tins on my website, I decided to hold one back to purchase for myself. My pipe club's tobacco bar got the majority of the tin's contents as I was satisfied with the trial after just one bowl.

Way too mild and way too sweet to suit me. However, as an aromatic this one should rate well because it delivers a solid and unrelenting flavor from start to finish and isn't goopy. The Burley in the tobacco is high quality and I did get blasts of Burley flavor every now and then. Mostly though, I tasted fruit and vanilla.

A nice little sub-title on the tin states that this is, apparently, "My home blend" of Poul Stanwell. Normally, I'm just not an aromatics man. They gunk up my pipes with sugary residue and semi-permanent flavor-coloring, and rarely seem to taste as good as they smell in the tin/bag. Here's one that breaks away from that: I'd put this is my fave Dunill/Castello/Viprati without a moment's hesitation. When I want to pause from my usual untainted VAs or full-bodied Oriental/Balkan type blends, here's a good place to go. The Danes have scored high here. Stanwell's Jubilee also works well if I'm around non-pipesters as well, reminding folks of their dear old uncle/grandpa or whatever-the-hell. This Jubilee is smooth, present without being harsh/bitey, and doesn't wear it's Cavendish on its sleeve.

Not a lot to report or dislike about Jubilee. It definitely is high-quality tobacco, just beautiful in the tin, all blacks and lemons, a few browns. The tin note is hearty and, to me, not too sweet -- I get vanilla and a plummy smell that is very nice, both of which come through in the room note, but lightly. While there is some flavoring, I think this also is a natural aromatic created by fermentation and aging. The leaf is aged three years before Stanwell even thinks about using it, which explains the smoothness and mildness.

It draws very nice comments from onlookers; I mean onsmellers. It lights easily and burns well, the moisture level being about right. I let a bowlful dry on a paper towel for 15 minutes, but I like my tobacco on the drier side. It's mild and pleasant, no doubt, but won't hit the mark for anyone looking for a nic hit. Probably a bit on the mild side for me. As I see it, there are so many great tobaccos -- hell, so many great aromatics, for that matter -- one can't justify buying a tobacco twice that doesn't knock the old socks off. Hard to believe this is Poul Stanwell's go-to blend.

EDIT: I'm upping my review, originally three stars, to four. The more bowls of this I have, the better I like it. I see this as a 3.5 or better tobacco, and if so many reviewers here hadn't penalized Jubilee for not being a nic bomb, that's where it would be. In view of its fineness and quality, I will not hold Jubilee's mildness against it. If you are a dedicated English or Lat guy looking for a good aromatic, Jubilee is a really fine smoke without harshness, wetness or an obnoxious tin or room note. But if you like your tobacco mild with a bit of added aromatic flavor that doesn't bludgeon you, Jubilee is well worth a look.

I happened to have a bit of 5 Brothers around and mixed it with Jubilee, 80/20. Needs a bit of settling in, but sure raises the nicotine level without inextricable damage to the Jubilee flavor.

The presentation here is very Stanwell. That is to say, a ribbon of medium to light brown with typical, though toned down, Stanwell fruitiness. There is also a slight cake-like aroma, presumably the effect of that Scandi fruit topping on the Oriental and Kentucky. Jubilee arrives relatively dry and is ready to smoke right out of the newly opened tin.

The expected fruit flavors are subtly toned down in the charring and true lights and I immediately made note of the fuller mouthfeel in Jubilee as compared to its brethren. There is definite tobacco taste here, making Jubilee a Scandi blend for those who don't like Scandi blends. I would imagine, however, that makes for a limited audience. There may not be enough overt fruit here for the true lover of Danish aromatics, probably too dry for the American aromatic smoker, and there isn't quite enough tobacco flavor here to be a crossover aromatic. That said, if I could choose only one Stanwell blend to smoke, this would be the one.

The burn is slow and relatively cool for this style of tobacco. No bite, which puts it a league of its own for this style. Room note is pleasant. Overall a nice blend and definitely three star territory for the right smoker. I like this blend, but can think of a number of richer aromatics and crossovers I would smoke with company in the living room. Recommended for the occasional pipe smoker, but likely won't have enough body for the frequent smoker or enough flavor for the aromatic lover. Defines a very interesting niche within the Danish grouping.

I assumed (incorrectly) that this would be a tobacco that matched the fine quality of Stanwell pipes. What I instead discovered was a very mild and sweet Danish blend that would be better suited spread across my toast at breakfast.

I have tasted many fine Danish blends, and many poor ones too. This blend falls somewhere between fine and poor. The leaf is of good quality, it burns well and does not bite, the room odor is marvelous. It just flat tastes too sweet for me.

If you enjoy quality aromatics, give this a spin and see what you think. If you prefer a more tobacco type of taste, look elsewhere.

The tin note is full of deep, rich fruit (Berry and orange) and vanilla. I get a hint of licorice as well. The tobacco is fairly dry, and has a perfect moisture content in my opinion. It is not "goopy" at all despite the sweet tin aroma. It packs well, now for the taste...

The charring light shows a good amount of vanilla and cinnamon with fruity undertones. Once fully lit, I definitely get a holiday vibe from it. Cooked fruit, orange peel, cinnamon, and vanilla. As the bowl progresses, a distinct nutty brown sugar note introduces itself. Towards the bottom of the bowl, I begin to detect more tobacco. Mostly the burley and dark fired. Very nutty and slightly woodsy.

The room note is wonderful. It is brighter than the taste, never losing that initial fruit and vanilla and offering a light Burley nuttiness. There is also a nice spicy tobacco character to it. It burns cool and even to the bottom of the bowl, only needing an occasional touch up. No dottle, no bite.

Overall, enjoyable. Not what I was expecting though. The tin description led me to believe that this was going to be a more tobacco centric blend. Recommended to the aromatic smoker, but not to the hardcore dark fired Kentucky smoker (unless an occasional aromatic isn't out of the question.).

This tobacco has been one of my favorites for several years now. I don't react well to most English blends (unfortunately, they tend to give me acid indigestion), though I do like the spicy zest of Latakia once in a while, as I am not always in the mood for sweet aromatics. While looking for an alternative, I discovered Stanwell's Jubilee. I would describe the character of this tobacco as straddling the fence between aromatics and English blends. The dark-fired Kentucky and Orientals are just enough to spice things up rather nicely. So here is my review:

Tin note: Natural tobacco with a slight hint of tanned leather; contrary to what some of the previous reviewers mentioned I detect no sweetness, casing or flavouring of any kind.

Moisture content: This tends to vary from tin to tin, depending on where I pick it up. I've had some tins too moist to smoke without leaving them open for a while, but then again I've had a tin or two that were already so dry that I had to remoisturize the tobacco prior to smoking. And of course all stages in between...

Room note: While not apt to win the acclaim of bystanders in the way some flavoured tobaccos are able to do, Jubilee's room note is in no way offensive. Instead, it is a pleasant scent reminiscent of a camp fire with a faint hint of sweetness.

Smoke: An experienced smoker should be able to pack his bowl without any trouble (depending on moisture content - see above), but Jubilee is not a tobacco I would recommend to novice smokers. Due to the Virginia, it can burn hot and bite your tongue if not smoked in a liesurely manner. The taste varies from medium strength to full bodied, with the nuttiness of the Burley leaf nicely accentuated by the spiciness of the Kentucky and Oriental.

I would highly recommend this tobacco to experienced smokers seeking something different from their usual fare, whether you usually prefer aromatics or English blends.

I'm a huge fan of Stanwell's Melange, and have enjoyed several of their other products, so I was excited when Jubilee popped up on the radar. The tin threw me briefly, as the graphics and logo differed, so probably a nod to the original packaging.

TobaccoReviews lists it as a NON-Aromatic and P&C sells it as an Aromatic which is quite confusing. The advertised flavors did not hit me upon tin opening, so for my money, I don't consider Jubilee an Aromatic (or one with few sprinkles), rather I was nosing some musty, earthy, Virginia. There certainly could be some added sweetness brightening things up, as it wasn't complete damp hay Virginia gold. The cut was fantastic. You could feel the stiff multi-colored bits and jam em' in without fear of moisture. Once lit, the density smoldered nicely.

It gave off a sturdy medium smoke that satisfies and won't knock you down, devoid of any toppings and allowed you to really taste the natural richness, finishing with a light sugar on the palate.

This came by accident -was ordering McCelland's Jubilee, but I like aromatics just fine so I cellared it for a 18 months and had at it, Tin note is a deeper version of a Sunset Breeze except here the natural tobys take precedence over the casing-vanilla (that is not nougat -like) some hint of licorice or anise perhaps?

This tobacco seems Burley- forward to my tastes, but it has some fleeting wisps of sweetness initially but unfortunately so, as I find this blend struggling to decide if it's a Dark Kentucky or an aromatic. It burns very hot, so certain billiard shapes didn't work well as there is no place for gloves in this climate at this time of year.

It's a classic Danish tobacco.. Though it has all the advantages of the Stanwell tobaccos (no moisture, burns to the end, no tongue bites, smooth burning) the burning aroma is very neutral... I prefer aromatics because I can harldy stand the english blend aroma and this one is a good choice to the everyday smoking when you are about to change the taste of the day. But again, nothing special as it happens exactly with Stanwell's: Classic, Black Diamond and Fruit and Vanilla...