I bought this tin in 1991 - three, actually - but I smoked the other two many years ago. I remember it being a very nice tobacco but nothing I could call a "desert island" blend. With an additional 18 years of aging, this is truly ambrosial. And the good news is that any of this you find is going to be very old. I recommend you either open your pocketbooks and buy whatever you can find of this or contact me immediately so I can do so! This is an absolutely wonderful tobacco blend, and it's one of many that I wish were still around. This is what every VA/oriental I've ever smoked is trying to be but misses. Truly one of the finest blends of any genre.

I grew-up with the aroma of this tobacco filtering through every room in the house: this was my Father's favourite oriental for as long as I can remember - he passed away in 1976, and went with him, Sullivan Powell. Sadly, at about the same time, we saw Astley's and Charatan's in Jermyn Street close; followed quickly by Friebourg's in the Haymarket.

Having visited Sullivan Powell's shop with my Father on more ocassions than I care to remember, I can absolutely confirm that there was no latakia in this mixture - he was not particularly fond of latakia, nor am I - it must be in the genes. It was as you confirm - predominently virginian with a top-grade oriental (not Latakia) topping.

All Sullivan Powell's tobaccos were generally more up-market and more expensive then their competitors including Dunhill's hand blends.

Incidentally, I was in J.J. Fox's shop in St James's today and there was a customer looking for Sullivan Powell Turkish cigarettes - a clear indication of their renowned reputation as blenders.

Thank's for the memories!

*** Long story short: The gentleman I was selling that Gentleman's Mixture for is quite a gentleman himself. Gregory Pease coveted the blend and the owner of the tins just flat gave them to Greg. Also wonderful was the fact that the gentleman told me to pop a tin and smoke a bowl or two before sending it on to Mr. Pease (I smoked three bowls, but whose counting, right?) I had a near religeous experience. It was better than I remembered it being. I have now sent all the tins to Greg. You ever seen a grown man cry?

I had previously made references to it, and to its siblings (Special Mixture, Finest Smoking Mixture, Original Virginia Flake--an all time favorite of mine, and one I suggested should be included in the Tobacco Hall of Fame--and Cut Plug) when reviewing other brands, for they belong to a bygone era when English blends were at their best, such as the original Three Nuns or Sobranie's Virginias and Balkans.

Alas, they are all gone now, or else rendered unrecognizable. I had the opportunity of smoking a number of tins of this and its aforementioned siblings in the late eighties and early nineties, when living in Britain. It was not a very well known brand even then, and only a few mature professors would smoke it.

I agree with Pipestud: Gentleman's Mixture Original did not have Latakia. It was "a blend of rarest Oriental and Virginia tobaccos". Special Mixture and Finest Smoking Mixture did include Latakia in different degrees.

If anything Mixture Original would be closer to Presbyterian. But where Presbyterian is kind of harsh and raw, MO was exceedingly smooth, almost velvet like, yet with quite enough nicotine and strength to deliver some punch. The closest brand I can pair it with--also recently disappeared as such, and transformed into something completely different--would be Fox's Campanile. Again: Campanile used to be a tad lighter and less robust than Mixture Original.

The aromas and the taste of Mixture Original were really extraordinary, and truly belong to a different era, when the word Gentleman actually meant something. It was a rather expensive smoke, as I recall, and best reserved for a quiet evening when reading and having a glass of scotch were in order.