If a true aromatic presentation is what you are looking for then this will not fill the bill. The Chocolate/Cocoa notes are deep in the background and disappear once the first half bowl is consumed. The strength picks up at mid-bowl and the sweetness also fades a bit. Truly a nice, light Lakeland.

EDIT: half way through the tin and its turned into a full body great smoke. This is a blend that I look forward to smoking after dinner most days. Slow to burn and heavy near the end. What a great no frills smoke.

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This is pretty good. Unfortunately, it seems to be no longer available, at least in the States. I could see going to this on occasion. But really, it's not remarkable enough to be mourned too much.

Since I've been smoking Kendal Cream Flake as well lately, some comparisons won't go amiss. Besides the same basic tobaccos, virginias and burleys, and the same kind of berry-like topping which mostly makes its presence known in the tin rather than the smoke, these are not really much alike. The flake is flavored a lot more, including the typical Lakeland "soapiness," which I could not detect at all in the Mixture. The mixture is the same in every pipe I smoked it in, whereas the flake varied widely depending on size of pipe and whether its bowl was tapered or straight. Also, I found the flake to be stronger in the nicotene department.

Speaking of which: I don't think I'm a nico-wimp. I can handle 1792 and BXX in moderate quantities, after a meal. And of course, the "strength" category is ambiguous...what is "tobacco strength" anyway? After all, the taste category seems to be about the flavor strength (mild, medium, etc.). So why not just treat "strength" as nicotene? But anyway, I found this to be just a tad stronger than FVF and BBF in nicotene, thus "medium to strong" over their "medium," with all due respect to the other reviewers who uniformally rate this mild.

This performed best when packed tightly, as in the Frank Method or, in my case, a reasonable approximation thereof. Otherwise it was very difficult to keep lit. But when packed right, it smoked pretty steadily all the way down. The flavors were simple and light, a smooth subdued sweetness with a bit of burley nuttiness or bitterness. Very cigarette-ish, in the best possible meaning of the term.

A good value, too. I got 25 smokes out of it, whereas the flakes usually give me only 15. Well worth a try if you can still get it, if you want a basic burley and virginia mix with a nice nic. hit.

Being a lover of Balkan/English and VA/Perique blends and, in general, a loather of aromatics I was a little anxious about the blend. My experiences with aromatics has generally been not so great (that is, if I'm smkoing them, but I do LOVE to be around others smoking them). I selected a tiny Peterson 317 System pipe from which I often smoke Lane's HGL, which is one of the few aromatics I can tolerate.

It took me a few puffs to really form an opinion and after finishing the tin, I found myself with a desire for more. Perhaps I will try the flake version eventually, but the ready rubbed mixture is excellent in & of itself.

Though I am not regularly a cigar smoker -- one or two a year at best -- there's something in the flavor, tin aroma, room note and texture of the smoke, if you will, that reminds me of a good mild cigar. This is perhaps the only blend where I truly sensed the nutty burley coming through -- mostly near the bottom of the bowl.

This one burns cool and clean. Perfect with a good beer and a game of backgammon with the Mrs..

Strong but pleasant aroma (like cream, or vanilla).

Taste is good tobacco and a pleasing sweet creamy flavoring. The flavor stays consistent through the bowl.

If you like quality aromatics you will like this and find the flavoring unique. I haven't run across anything else like it.