I also enjoy Lancer's Slices, Westminster, Stokkebye Full English Balkan Sasieni and others. But this is my current #1 "English" blend.

I cant' guarantee this will rock your world. We all differ in tastes and preference. But it is certainly an extremely well done English and you owe it to yourself to give it shot.

It's very close to 965, but a little bit better if you ask me. The blend is more balanced with the virginia and latakia complementing each other perfectly.

It's has the right level of strength and flavour, not to munch and not too little. A great all-day smoke that doesn't get boring.

Additionally, I found this product to burn much hotter than my Dunhill typicals. If you are so inclined to pick this up, easy does it, unless you like tongue bite. It gives a nice hefty dark grey ash and packs nicely into the bowl. As I stated, my only complaint was the variety of flavor throughout the smoke.....

Anyone expecting this to be a substitute for Dunhill's Nightcap will find that it isn't. It's lighter in body and texture, and can be a wonderful tobacco without the baggage of inapt comparison.

Either some drying time or a shifting of my expectations has only increased my enjoyment of this smoke as a little time has passed.

I'll let others with more experience speak to this, but Artisan's Blend may be an illustration of the different character of Syrian Latakia which, at least in this mixture, has a lighter texture and taste. It smells much like its Cyprian cousin in the tin, but the match brings forth something like leather, which blends nicely with the Perique.

From a reluctant two stars to a confident and solid three stars.

Mr. Pease has complained many times of the poor quality leaf that today's market promotes as Syrian Latakia. He should really find out where K&K gets this stuff from. It's the real thing.

This tobacco lights easily, and stays lit, which is always a nice plus for any tobacco. It is a particularly good selection to smoke in a meerschaum pipe, and can be enjoyed anytime of day.

that complements its creamy taste in a way that makes the flavor into something that you look forward to.

eat a bit before you smoke it its not terribly strong but definitely have some coffee with it. its is a great mid-day cup compliment.

its seems to dry out fast if left in the tin so maybe use a jar or a humidi pac or something.

this stuff and some boswells northwoods are great to switch out in a rotation.

High qualities tobaccos blended in a complex mixture. I love the perique of this blend.

Highly recommended.

Opening the tin, you get a very strong smokey aroma, like a good campfire or a very smokey single malt whiskey. The ribbon cut is very dark and quite moisty. There were some dryer harder stems of tobacco which I removed from the tin.

The taste is rich and very spicy. The spicyness can be sometimes too much for me. It is also creamy and leaves a creamy coating in one's mouth. The room note is strong and is not always appreciated. It lingers long in the room after a smoke.

Smokes always dry and leaves no dottle. Produces lots of smoke.

Typical a late evening smoke. Wouldn't smoke more than 1 bowl a day of this.

I think the Latakia proportion of this blend is too high. It simply overhelms. Unfortunately with that much Latakia it was very hard me to detect the sweet Virginia, nor the exotic Oriental. I also am not sure if the Latakia in this blend is a high quality Syrian Latakia, which generally leaves a nice flavor by sticking on the palat and tongue after finishing the bowl, and remains there by inviting you for the next bowl. This one leaves almost nothing like that.

The Perique also dissapears under the Latakia taste invasion. Its lovely spicy and bitter addition to the blends is just a dream with this one.

The Latakia lovers would apreciate this blend, and that's why I've added the second star. Next time I will get some Dunhill for my gentle, strengthful, and elegant English needs. When I'll need some cool and tasty Latakia I'll choose some Balkan flake.

I know that there are sources for some truly fine Balkan blends on the Internet, but with the economy the way it is, I think it's imperative to support the local "brick and mortar" store if they've got something worth buying. This is certainly it!

Although this is an English blend by definition, and lacks the requisite Orientals to make it a true Balkan, it is nonetheless a full-bodied, lusty smoke. In the tin it smells strongly of licorice. It is a nice thin ribbon cut, comes out of the tin with decent moisture content. It will probably work well dried out a bit, as it did fight staying lit about half way through the bowl. It had all of the typical tokens of a good, stout English blend with the tastes of smoky, spicy sweetness and hints of licorice. It did bite a bit at the end, but probably more because I was relighting and am a fast puffer.

As the description on the lid states, it is crafted for the experienced smoker. I will certainly continue snapping tins of this up as my standard English blend.