John Patton Latakia Junction

As you would think, the Latakia leads the way here providing ample smoky, woody, spicy notes. The other Orientals provide a sour woody note. The Virginias a fair amount of sweetness. The spice and earth of the cigar leaf is barely discernible in the background. I think the Lat is just slightly overdone. It hides some of the finer nuances of flavor from the other components. I suppose the point here though is to provide a Lat fix for those who desire it and in that it certainly succeeds.

Medium in body and flavor. Burns perfectly.

I just finished a sample of this given to me quite a while ago. I did not mind this one. That is to say that it wasn't too bad and wasn't too good, but was smokable. I wished that I had more to taste as my sample was about five to six bowls worth. Of course, I just fulfilled that wish by ordering more today.

I have read the reviews and am surprised at the reviewers who bemoan the overuse of Latakia. I typically don't go for the Latakia heavy hitters and didn't find this to be one. Perhaps it is the other ingredients mellowing it out. The lat is no doubt there, but I don't have that heavy campfire mouth after finishing a bowl of this as I do with other lat heavy blends. The orientals are subdued in this blend as is the cigar; however, the latter is definitely noticeable.

I feel that this blend is not very memorable and perhaps my next go around will change that. I plan on revisiting this review, but these are my thoughts at this point in time.

John Patton - Latakia Junction.

The blends appearance is a bit hectic, there's ribbons, leafy pieces, and some chunky broken flakes. It contains many different colours, from golden to black, and the water content looks good.

If I'm honest I expected the smoke to be a lot more astringent, the smoke obviously has Latakia in pole position, but it's fairy relaxed in comparison to some of the harsh types. At first the Virginia tasted more like a Cavendish variety, there was more sweetness and hardly any sharp notes, but once the burn had settled some traditional Virginia notes peeked through. The Orientals gives some piquancy to the blend, and keep it from becoming a bore. I can't identify any Cigar Leaf, really, I get a slight cedar/woodiness, but that could be from any of the tobaccos. The same can be said for any Burley: if it's present it misses me! L.J. burns well, being cool and even, and the smoke's bite free.

The nicotine's medium, and the room-note's a bit too heavy.

Latakia Junction? Four stars.

Highly recommended.

What an interesting blend. I of course love Latakia so this was a no brainer. But adding a bit a cigar leaf was a wonderful idea. Opening presented plenty of lat and Virginia and what must be the cigar leaf. The aroma is of course smoky but honestly you can smell just a bit of cigar in there. Lights fairly well packs up easy and first couple puffs gave me that wonderful sweet wood smoky flavor. Once the bowl got too rolling I started getting an earthy and smoky sweet flavor and some cigar flavor. This is just a very interesting blend that is very very tasty. Great flavor to end of bowl. Don't get in a big hurry or you may get a bite. Burned down to a nice white ash at end of bowl. I will be buying more of this blend. The room aroma was pretty good with a definite smell of some cigar along with the Latakia smoky smell. This is a four star blend for sure!!

If you like Latakia, this is for you. The Latakia in this blend is top notch and along with the VA and orientals, it offers a very sweet full taste. However, I felt the Latakia was a little over the top on this one. Too much of a good thing. In the pouch, it is a mix of brown and black flake and has the leathery, smokey aroma of Latakia. It comes somewhat dry but not too dry and it did light very easy. Right off the bat it produced the dark smokey flavor one would expect by the name but sweet and rich. It smoked down all the way to the bottom to a dark grey ash. The room note was very strong and distinct and would chase off all but English lovers. But at the halfway point, it was so heavy in Lat that I could taste nothing else and it grew fairly harsh. I think this would have been a great blend if the VA content had been upped a little bit and the Lat content reduced somewhat. I did enjoy the smoke enough that I have to recommend it to Latakia lovers, but as I think it could be improved upon, I don't give it the highly recommend rating.

As every tobacco I've purchased at 4Noggins I had to dry it. I must tell that I like very dry tobaccos. Even dry this tobacco is rather hard to keep lit. Otherwise the taste is very good and sweet. The smoke is not too thick. Obviously if you don't like latakia smell, you won't appreciate it. I highly recommend it for whom like lataka or similar taste.

This is the only blend I've smoked w/cigar leaf where it's very very subtle. Normally blends w/cigar let me know instantly of it's presence. This mixes in so smoothly w/the latakia the blend is mild in strength. I can exhale this through my nose with very plesant results. This is creamy in a burley type of way without the burley. I can smoke this all day.a perfect marriage of everything. The latakia is there but it's not beating you over the head. Am enjoying this in a Great Dane Spool but have had it in a Peterson Billiard also & it passes the test admirably. It builds in strength as it's smoked but it's never over the top. Really a great tobacco. Good with morning tea or night time reflections. Give it a try..you'll love it. IMHO

This was my least favorite of the John Patton blends and the only one I didn’t reorder. Sure, the cigar leaf provides an interesting undertone but I kept thinking that Maduro leaf might have worked better (for my taste) with these ingredients, or maybe Sokhoum instead of cigar leaf. There is also a hint of soapiness when being lit, but this quickly subsides.

While I worked my way through my one ounce sample I also I happened to be smoking Peretti Omega and Mac Baren Vintage Syrian during this same time period, both of which I preferred. This just isn’t as compelling as the other Patton blends, which I do highly recommend exploring.

Woods galore!

Though a bit on the dry side for my liking upon acquiring, letting it age with a humidifier made the packing easier, and burn better.

From previous Latakia blends, I prepared for a overly smoky tobacco, and though smoky, not overly so. The aroma is prevalently woody, as is the taste of this full bodied smoke: cedary and that of a burning Christmas fire is both on the palate and room note, some nuttiness of that of almonds, though I’m guessing there is much more to find for my yet untrained palate. Is there some dark bitter chocolate hiding in the background? A really pleasant and interesting smoke I highly recommend to try out, though I’m not yet sure just how much I like it myself.

It leaves a nice, dry, and white ash in the bowl that’s easily removed.

I like Latakia (as known) and Rich from 4noggins suggested to try this mixture, containing 50% Latakia, 30% Virginia and several other Oriental tobaccos, plus a taste of cigar, that adds a peculiar and sweet taste that I like. It is coarse cut, exactly as I like it, and it burns slowly. Its moisture is perfect, to light it up right away and enjoy it till the end. Its nicotine level is very good, as I don't burst from it and I can smoke it all the time. However, my opinion is that it does not contain as much Latakia as promised by the mixtures blender, John Patton. I will surely re-order it, and soon, as the 2oz sent to me for tasting are swiftly ending.