Wilke Pipe Tobacco Churchill

Churchill is a masterfully created blend by Carole Burns, IMO. The Virginia, cigar leaf and unflavored black Cavendish provide a nice fullness while the Latakia is restrained by the Orientals. The cigar leaf is not an overpowering presence and will occasionally play hide and seek with the puffer's palate. Full and rich, Churchill was a home run for me. In going back over my impressions from several years ago, I believe that I've been remiss in not stocking up on this one.

Churchill is a happy near-miss for me. I was hoping for more of a cigar taste, what with the name Churchill and the description of a "liberal amount of vintage cigar leaf." The Latakia pushes hope of that away. Much more cigar leaf would be needed here, and less Latakia, for a genuine cigar taste.

Smokey and fairly smooth, I experienced little tongue bite. This pipe-weed smokes equally well in small to large bowls, meerschaum or briar. Not a fussy blend here.

Definitely qualifies as a full taste, and a rather pleasant one at that. I enjoyed the strength of the blend, experiencing a buzz with a kick. Perhaps I will get with P&W's blender, Carole, and ask for a customized version. Nice to know you can do that.

This tastes nothing like the McClelland Dominican Glory Maduro, another blend that promises cigar notes but also falls a tad short. All things considered, it was fun, but it's really yet another English, and there are better offerings in that realm.

UPDATE: I did take the time to contact Carole at P&W to discuss a custom blending of Churchill. Specifically, I requested the Latakia be held way back to allow the cigar leaf a chance to show its stuff. She suggested adding a bit more VA as well. The resulting customized blend is very close to what I was looking for. She takes notes on the custom blend for when you reorder. There is a minimum 8 oz. purchase and a small surcharge on custom blends. I would readily rate my custom blend at four stars (but must leave my rating of standard Churchill at two). The Honduran cigar leaf now adds its unique spice, the VA (bright, ribbon) keeps things rounded, and the Latakia plays a wonderfully subdued (yet important) role. Easy pack, easy light, and excellent burn.

The smoky, woody, lightly floral, vegetative, herbal, earthy, semi-sweet rich Connecticut cigar leaf is the base of the blend, and most obvious component. The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is an important secondary player. Competing with it is the nutty, earthy, woody, molasses sweet burley. Sometimes, the two swap positions. The lightly floral, dry, herbal, earthy, woody, slightly buttery sweet and sour Oriental is a condiment. The grassy, citrusy Virginia is essentially in the background. A few dabs of sugary black cavendish smoothes out potential rough edges. The strength is medium, while the taste just passes that mark. Both start out at little lesser levels, and each gain a couple steps as you go along. The nic-hit is closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite, and has no harsh notes. Well blended with a little nuance, it burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a fairly consistent flavor that translates to the lingering after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke depending on your proclivity for cigar blends. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

A number of previous reviews criticized this blend for not having enough cigar leaf to be noticeable either in taste or aroma. I have to say that I thought this was a masterful blend, actually, with a lovely, soft room note and full, spicy taste. The cigar leaf was noticeable but not intrusive. Best to smoke this really gently so as not to get t-bite. I just really loved it as is.

I had another experience with a cigar-leaf blend where the cigar leaf was hardly noticeable at all; and what I did was this: someone had given me a pair of what they call herb scissors which are scissors with five sharp blades on each side and they're used to cut up herbs very finely for cooking. I had 4 oz. of the tobacco blend and I figured that a real cigar, a large one, probably weighs 2 oz. So I dumped the tobacco blend into a bowl and used the herb scissors to chop up the cigar. If you first cut the cigar down the middle with a knife, then open up the tobacco leaves and shred them with the herb scissors, you get a nice ribbon-like cut which then goes into the bowl to be mixed with the blend, and presto!, you have a new blend with more cigar leaf in it.

Or, you can call Carole, the master blender, and have her add some more cigar leaf for you, which is probably the preferable way to go about it. As Churchill himself put it, "I'm easily satisfied with the very best."

A cigar blend that actually allows the cigar leaf to come through. Back in the 70s I got my hands on a tin of Balkan Sobranie #10 & was enchanted by the rich, creamy taste of the cigar leaf that came through & from time to time try various cigar blends trying for that experience. This blend is not up to that standard, but is a solid offering & will better satisfy those who occasionally (or more than occasionally) dabble in cigar blends than say a McClellands Dominican Maduro. A solid 2 stars.

This is a wonderful smoke. I find the operative word is smooth. From lighting to the bottom of the bowl, this tobacco produces a smooth, consistent, full smoke that has a nice leathery flavor. I taste little of the Latakia, and only an occasional hint of sweetness from the black Cavendish. I don't taste any other tobaccos. A medium flavor with a slightly heavier nic-hit, this is a surprisingly good, and different, smoke for someone who doesn't smoke cigars. I would definitely recommend this for someone looking to break out of traditional English styles. This would not be an all day smoke for me, but very enjoyable.

Just had my 1st bowl tonight & love this blend, I also do enjoy the occasional cigar.

Carole was a pleasure to deal with especially this being my 1st order from a tobacconist.

This is my 1st tobacco review & just started pipe smoking early last year so I'm not nearly as experienced as many of the other reviewers on TR.

Update 20 March 09 - I still love this blend, I did get some Key Largo & do a comparison, KL is good I just prefer Churchill.

Update 29 May 09 - I'm smoking mostly VaPers & Navy Flakes these days so this is no longer in my daily rotation. I do keep some in the cellar for when the craving comes calling.

I really enjoy this blend which is a bit similar the Fox Bankers blend. I love cigar blends and this is good one. It is MUCH smoother that GLP Robusto, but it needs to be dried quite a bit. If you like this style it is worth a try.

It stands midway Dunhill Durbar and JJ Fox Banker's Mixture (old recipe). The amount of cigar leaf is not so liberal as in the description, however cigar aroma is a gentle, soft constant note well balanced with the classical English latakia taste. However full it may be, I think it's a very good all-day mixture.

When the match first hit the bowl I was in seventh heaven. Since I love latakia, the spice literally bowled me over. Churchill reminds me a lot of Durbar turned up a notch. After smoking a few more bowls, though I still like this, I?m no longer crazy about it and am glad a friend of mine purchased only a small sampler of it. It?s less multi-dimensional than Durbar, and far stronger and hotter. This can be a tongue searer in the wrong sized bowl. Even in a big bowl it packs a wallop. This is quality latakia, oriental and cigar leaf, but I prefer Aperitif and Durbar for its complexity. Churchill is a little closer to Nightcap, but not as tar laden. Different tobacco producers ought to stick with what they do best. In the case of Wilke, aromatics are their forte, while unfortunately, their English blends, Churchill being no exception, fall short for me.

Two of five stars