Park-Lane Tobacconist Turkish Mystery

One thing I love about Park Lane Tobacconist is that the moment you walk in the door, you know you are in a pipe shop. Rows and rows of bulk tobacco jars and glass cases filled with pipes, and owned by a pipe maker to boot! Turkish Mystery is a blend that was part of a group of two ounces samples of many of PLT’s house blends I purchased a little more than a year ago. I have to admit, the nose on this didn’t excite me. The cut of the tobacco is very thin ribbon, but not quite a shag cut. In order to release all the flavor of these thin ribbons, it’s important to not over-pack Turkish Mystery. As the name would imply, the star of the show is the Orientals, but there is still a good dose of Latakia here too. TM produces a large volume of smoke and burns cool, with a slightly sweet finish. The taste is medium to full and offers some complexity. I prefer this in a wider size bowl and dried some as it does come a little more moist than I prefer. IMHO, this is one of those English blends that will only improve with age. Turkish Mystery is a worthy house blend from Park Lane.

Ok I never had the pleasure of trying the original blend - but I have to say that this blend rocks!

A medium to full English that has a really nice complexity, cool smoking - no bite, absolutely delicious. Smoking this in a big bowl really brings out the flavors in this blend. Because it comes in almost a shag cut make sure not to over pack it.

It's great that Park Lane has made this and Connoisseurs Flake available - albeit very CF is a stout complex VA blend that I also think is super.

Both blends are Highly Recommended.

This has become my favorite English-type blend and yes, I've smoked many of them. It's smooth burning, easy to fill, light, etc. and remains dry in the chamber as it effortlessly burns down to a light gray ash. The flavor, however, is what gets me: full without being heavy; a mixture of tastebud-caressing citrus and virgina sweetness. More flavorful and savory than any latakia/oriental I've tried -- an unobtrusively enjoyable smoke that for me is the quintessential contemplative pipe experience for relaxing, reading, writing or just sitting alone out in the porch as the quiet dusk approaches. I usually smoke it in group 3 or 4 canadian or rhodesian.

This is Nirvana! A delightful Latakia mixture which has a pleasant taste and an excellent "nose". I never had an opportunity to try Turkish black by Ed Burak but I was assured by Park Lane that it is an accurate copy. I really find this tobacco to be delicious and can't get enough of it!