I had a single bowl and found it to be a surprisingly pleasant smoke. Considering the intensity, before smoking, I found it to have a mild to medium flavor. I caught notes of very light anise and rum, leather, and mild camp fire. All in all, I thought it was an interesting and mild experience, different than expected. I would have to recommend at least a few bowls to get used to it. Worst case, it was a novel experience.

This tasted like a budget blend, or rather, more like your prototypical bulk "pipeshop" blend. From there I guessed it was some cheap Lane's product. Wrong again. The virginias in this one seemed pretty cheesy and tasted substandard. The burleys seemed fine and the latakia was light. This is an American English with an aromatic twist. Nice idea, not so good execution. The rum and licorice taste was prominent for awhile and then those cheap-n-cheerful virginias took over. The blend started out not too bad but descended into bland territory, but with an odd bitter flavor. This seemed to be a middle-of-the-road affair that might be useful when you're busy and just want something to smoke. Then again, there are other, better blends for that purpose in my rotation.

I was not surprised to learn this was an Altadis offering, as I've not had much success with them. I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend this tobacco but apparently some folks like it, so it's most assuredly for them. But definitely not me.

The tobacco is rather difficult to pack. The cut is coarse, and is in all sorts of shapes and sizes (small twigs sometimes). It is very wet, and I had to dry mine overnight to smoke it without frequent relights. It also burns very hot, which is unfortunate because that kills what little flavor is in the tobacco.

The flavors of burley, cheap virginias, and latakia all come through. It took me a while to put a finger on it, but there is definitely anise in it. I think this is the main flavor that really killed the blend for me. The overall aroma is tolerable, as it doesn't have nearly as much latakia as most other English blends.

If you can get an ounce of this at your local shop, I'd say go for it because it's worth trying. I won't be smoking it again though.

I think that if this was blended with less PG and a little more virginia it would be a great blend. Kudos to the guy who blends a bit of perique with this. I tried a bowl with a pinch of MacBarens Virginia #1 in it and it lightened the flavor and rrounded out the "light ends" nicely, but quite frankly with so many other blends out there I don't know if this one is worth the time and effort to customize.

Try a properly dried-out ounce before purchasing in bulk...

Since there is no oriental component other than latakia (no drama, basma, smyrna) the rum and anise were added to flavor the burly. The burly also adds strength.

If you want more or less latakia or other orientals or perique look at the other Altadis English blends (my personal favorite is English Oriental).

The pouch aroma is most definitely rum and latakia, smokey, pleasant but not overpowering. The anise is there but blends very smoothly.

Smoke is medium, of medium body and quite voluminous, moist and has fine flavor. Latakia is deftly applied and not overpowering. Smooth with little nose or mouth tingle. Bite less. Excellent medium flavor. But it will burn hot if pushed.

Aftertaste is slight peppery from the Latakia and mild but distinct bitter tobacco flavor. If it seems ashy clean your pipe, and try not to tamp as most burly tobacco will seem ashy if tamped to often.

On the plus side, the anise flavoring is very nice and I can see how the taste and aroma is appealing to many. Unfortunately, I just couldn't find enough of that flavor to satisfy me without scorching my taste buds. Your mileage may vary, of course.

huffnpuff

As an aromatic and burley smoker, English blends don't usually do much for me, but this is one of the better ones in my book. For the price, it is probably the best English I have tried.

If you are looking for a low priced, latakia laced tobacco, then this just might hit the spot.

Update: I tried adding 4% perique to this blend and I like it even more. I've just ordered some from www.pipesandcigars.com. I think that this blend will stand the test of time, unlike most blends that I initially like.

Update: June 16/06 This is still my go to blend. It's probably the best base blend I've ever tried, as adding 4% perique or 8% cigar leaf, or both,gives this blend multiple personalities, and all wonderful. This is the first time in my 42 years of pipe smoking that I'm not looking for the perfect blend, because I feel that I've found it.

Update: October 16/07 So much for everything I've said previously. After smoking this blend for the last couple of years, I have to downgrade my rating to 3 stars. I've been finding the taste tiring of late and don't plan to buy any more. It's still a good blend, just not great.

In the pouch, it looks like brown and black coloured confetti. It lights fairly easily, and smokes cool and evenly. One problem: it tastes like unsweetened licorice. And don't get me wrong, I love licorice. But this tastes like crap to me. I couldn't even last a minute. It's like someone played a joke and threw Good & Plentys into your Commonwealth.