MR is a more VA/Oriental forward blend. The VAs are definitely a brighter one, so you can get tongue bite with this blend if you're not careful. Then again, I'm pretty susceptible to tongue bite, even with proper smoking technique. There's enough latakia to notice, but not as much as your average latakia mixture. The perique I don't notice as much as Chelsea Morning, but in this case, it's actually to this blend's credit. That's because the orientals in this are so marvelous! Very musky and yet creamy, the orientals stay prominent through the entire bowl. In the last half to third, they leave an almost stinky (but enjoyable stinky) nasal note. I think that that part is when I notice they meld with the VAs nicely.

This was one of the first tobaccos I purchased, based on the reviews here, but I waited a little over a year until I opened it. It's just great, and I'm debating adding it to my short favorites list.

The tobacco has a nice tin smell and does tend to give the impression of sweetness. The perique is hidden in the nose and doesn't really come out strongly. The appearence is of a dark melange. The oriental is apparent in the nose. The moisture content is not over the top, but as with all tobaccos, open the tin and let it rest with the lid secured on it for a day or two to let the oxygen open up the leaf. The flavor will be much better.

The packing is easy, as it's a rather thin-medium ribbon cut. It takes to the match readily and will stay lit well. I have not tried DGT on this blend, but think that the addition of the orientals would make it a less than optimum candidate. But, there is significant virginia here so... give it a try, who knows?

The flavor of the orientals comes through well and the perique stays in the background for me. The virginias are in good proportion, and play well with the other components. The sweetness in the smell comes through in the flavor as well. The virginias have a sigificant amount of sugar casing, most all va. does to some degree or another, but this one is on the edge of being overdone. Not quite, but close. Overall, the flavor is nice, but doesn't really progress much and the complexities are subtle at best. Not a bad thing. It just is what it is.

I think if I were to have one single reason for putting my four remaining tins of this in the back of my cellar, it would be that the strength of this blend was a bit wimpy. It just couldn't hold my attention and I didn't really look forward to another bowl anytime soon. That generally is the sign of death for a blend in my opinion. If I don't immediately start planning my next bowl, it just isn't going to stick with me long.

I have four tins left of and 8 tin order bought in 2007. I smoked what I believe to be 3 and gave away one. The remaining tins will sit in the cellar until I get the time to put them on e-bay with some other tins that I just don't have interest in and are taking up valuable space. If you like this blend, as so many of my pipe brothers do, keep an eye out and when I list them, take a crack at them.

With the non-smoking community getting it's way in almost every endeavor, I need the room to stock away things I do love for the day when all tobacco will be lost forever. I plan on having enough tobacco in the next year or so to smoke for the rest of my life if need be. Yes that's a tall order, but who knows what will happen next?

If you are into lighter style english blends like this, you will be very happy. Try some. They are re-releasing these and you will get the chance to try a new tin soon. Cheers.

Now, my tin didn't have CAO labelling on it. It's simply saying "An exotic blend of Oriental, Virginia & Perique tobaccos - Manufactured in Germany by Dan Tobacco" and where CAO version had yellow ring, this one had orange ring. That got me interested, I surfed a bit and found this http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-and-tobacco-news/dan-tobacco-re-introduces-old-cao-blends/

So it's produced by Dan Tobacco for Dan Tobacco. That explained the lack of CAO label. Now onto my review.

I have no idea what or how it was before (talking about CAO era) but this is one of the best I've ever smoked. Besides the first review by pokrsmokr was right on target "If Paul Revere was smoking Midnight ride, he may not have been in such a hurry. I know I wouldn't have been."

MR is creamy, nutty, spicy and so very well balanced, you don't want to do anything else not to affect that balance but to concentrate on flavors, then concentrate on life and everything about lost and found... that reminded me I had something else veeery similar to this description. Brazil Carmo Fazenda Kaquend Cup Of Excellence coffee!! A sweet, chocolaty, caramel-like coffee with a creamy mouthfeel which starts with lemon, berry, grape-like notes. Eh I was clever enough to combine both. And that was.... go find yourself.

Midnight Ride is a rich, full flavored night smoke in the English/Balkan family. The blend notes perhaps suggest an affinity with Dunhill’s Nightcap, but Midnight Ride is altogether softer, sweeter, gentler. The tin nose is dominated by smoky Latakia (and why some reviewers seem to feel there is none present here is beyond me) with a dried fruit note in the background. In the pipe, the sugar-rich Virginias come out strong and by mid-bowl manage to bind together a beautifully complex, richly smoky tobacco. Though Paul Revere’s midnight ride was frenetic, CAO’s Midnight Ride is more designed for star watching and (given its absence from the marketplace) meditations on time, impermanence, death. It is, so they say, better to get those thoughts out before sleep, so that they won’t poison your dreams and make you fodder for monsters.

It is unfortunate that DAN tobacco no longer prepares this or its big brother in the Revolutionary War series - the Latakia-heavy Old Ironsides. These were excellent and unique blends. DAN’s current offerings under its own label are also fine (London Blend 1000, Bill Bailey’s Balkan Blend) but none are copies of the defunct CAO blends. Pity that.

If you’re lucky enough to chance upon a tin of Midnight Ride and you have the taste for a rich, sweetish, harmonious English blend, snap it up.

I first started out at eighteen years of age smoking Mixture #79 in the usual Dr. Grabow or Medico pipes purchased at the local Rexall drug store. Over the years, I was given a beautiful GBD Virgin pipe from Smoker's Haven in the mid sixties and so discovered the joys of a higher quality pipe. I smoked the original Blend Eleven from Larus Bros. for several years and was quite satisfied.

Then for some reason I decided to try the higher quality non-aromatics and after quite a bit of experimentation finally settled on Dunhill #965. I smoked this regularly for many years until it seemed to me that it had changed, and was no longer the 'great' blend it used to be. About seven or eight years ago I discovered Midnight Ride. From the first taste, I was in heaven! This blend IMHO beats al others and I have gone through many others including Rattray's offerings, McClelland's, and several from Greg Pease among others including Solani, Friborg and Treyer, Reiner, etc.

Sadly, I have only a few tins of Midnight Ride left and will have to find a suitable substitute (probably Abingdon.) Is there someting better that would be more similar to Midnight Ride, Greg? If anyone knows, please give me a shout at artlo@netscape.com. Also, if anyone has any ot this delightful stuff that they don't particulary care for, let me know.

My highest recommendation*****

One of the first English/Latakia-based blends that I tried, when I began exploring the joys and mysteries of pipe tobaccos in earnest 5 years ago.

Lacking the accrid intensity of, say, The Balkan Sobranie (I've only tried the last, pouched offerings of that revered blend), this is nonetheless not a meek smoke. There is a poetic sweetness about it without even a twinge of caramelized, cavendishy sugar essence. Midnight Ride was my first experience of just how rich and complex an English can be while retaining a sweetness and a lightness that simply can't be appreciated or understood by the uninitiated who pass by and sneer at its smokiness. Which, by the way, I've never understood, since I love it when I get whisps of Latakia and full VAs from another smoker. It's like a campfire or other intoxicating smells of nature.

By the way, isn't this tabak produced BY Dan FOR CAO, or are there actually 2 different MRs available (tobaccoreviews.com features 2 different tabaks with this name, one made by "Dan Tobaccos" and the other by "CAO") ... somebody help me out here ...

Highly reccomended for the Latakia lover who enjoys strength without the severity of the strongest English/Oriental smokes. Ride on, man!

The ribbon cut burns very well and I would give this blend four stars if it were not quite as heavy. It is just a bit too smoky. I like the lighter English blends; I like tobaccos where I can smoke three or four bowls consecutively. This is not a light blend, but for those who like the heavier tobaccos, this is much more interesting than Dunhill 965, which is as much a standard as 'night and day'.

In every category I find that Dunhill is excellent, but someone else is better. If you like full bodied English blends, Midnight Ride is an excellent choice, perhaps the best because of its interesting, rich flavor that does not rely solely on brute strength.

The tobacco is well conceived and burns clean with no harshness or bite. Perique fans will rejoice, particularly at mid-bowl. The Orientals have been revved up and will present an almost "English" taste to the overall effect.

I personally did not find Midnight Ride to be as impressive as I had hoped. Too little clout and too "smokey" tasting for my palate.

Highly recommended.

Really unique blend, a favorite.

11/17/2006 Update: Too much Latakia for me. Three stars if you love Latakia.