All I can add is: If you are curious about trying English blends and have the opportunity to visit Montréal, you must stop by Blatter's store and buy some of this!

Fairly moist but I let it breathe for an hour which brought the moisture down to what I thought was an acceptable level. Packing the tobacco half way in my brand new Blatter & Blatter full bent pipe was easy. The tobacco takes to flame easily and stays lit without a relight.

The flavour is true tobacco with a spiciness which made my tongue and lips tingle a bit. Not overpowering but you know its there. Smokes dry and relatively cool. My briar was a wee bit too warm to hold but remember this is a brand new briar and I expect it will be a bit cooler once it cakes. If you push it the smoke will get harsh but quickly returns to a nice smoke once you slow down on the draw.

I found it an truly enjoyable smoke with a cup of coffee and it actually helped restore my scorched tongue caused by a bowl of Borkum Riff Cherry Liqueur....(I'll never touch that crap ever again!)

The room note, I am told by my wife, (I can never smell what I'm smoking while I'm smoking it) is slightly sweet but spicy...."pepperish" she calls it. Understandably not her favorite scent since she loves the real aromatics, but she didn't run for the hills either.

I agree that this is a good beginner blend or a good starter blend for the aromatic smoker looking to venture into English territory. As for me, I just love this stuff and can't wait to have enough $$ to order more. I would be more than content to stop looking for English blends and stick with this one forever!

(a second bowl was lit without letting the tobacco breathe and there is noticeable gurgle but only for the first half bowl)

This one has to be tried! Blatter's Mild English now joins my two other favorites; CB Royal and Sail Green!

Cheers!

Physical Characteristics: Predominantly light brown leaf, with a smattering of darker pieces here and there. A very short ribbon cut, and from thin leaf. Packs super easy, but of course, it would be hard not to with as small s the pieces are. Considerable swelling on the charring light, the hallmark of a moist tobacco. I will remember to dry it out a bit before smoking anymore of it. Burns to a light grey ash.

Notes: As with all new blends, this first went through a meerschaum, on it's way to finding a pipe home in my rotation. The initial puffs were a Latakia blast I was not expecting, judging from the color and aroma. I also detect some Lemon Virginia in here too; just enough to tickle the nose. This has sort of a musty taste to it, as if the condimental leaf had set on a shelf for a bit too long. There is a goodly measure of nutty burley here too, if I am not mistaken. This is definately a cool-weather blend. Smoking this outside in any kind of heat and humidity pretty much destroys the taste it has. I get the feeling that I have smoked this before somewhere, but I do not know where. Perhaps it is a bulk that I have smoked under another name? Perhaps only similiar to one. This is a tongue scorcher if not paid attention to, but the payoff for careful, attentive smoking is, in my opinion, not really worth the effort.

Verdict: There is a fine line between having the component tobaccos in harmony and having them struggle against one another. Unfortunately, this blend is not yet at that zenith where all parts are in harmony. Perhaps with a few years of age on it this will be a good blend, but it just isn't there yet.