(I have no idea what that means, but that's how it feels).

Another no horsesh*t, straight to the big-boy parlor blend for Mr. Tarler. These full-on dark blends are not for the "keep my $700 freehand polished like a billiard ball, no, don't touch it, don't even look at my pipe!" crowd, nor the "uncomplicated means unsophisticated" group.

Yeah, there's a little of this, and a little of that here, but it's pretty much one big, toasty POW!

That is my word for The Mud, "Toasty". It tastes toasty. The tin note has a lot of wang from the Perique, almost offputting. There are some bitters that cut through in the taste, not sure where from, perhaps from Lord Cavendish? Those bitters are what keeps The Mud from having any rounding to the taste.

The heavy Latakia-bomb blends that I like are all "smokey". The Mud is toasty. The L-bomb blends manage to have a small roundness in places. Not with The Mud - it's just a straight drive to Toasty Town.

Strong tobacco, proceed with caution.

For me, Cap'n Earle's Ten Russians is the dark blend constant. But having The Mud in the rotation, as a reliever, is a nice change of pace. It's exciting.

Enjoyable at any time of day.

Easy to smoke blend with funny name (maybe because of its black colour?) needs full stomach and proper attention otherwise it would kick you down.

My rate: 5.0

Though my reviews so far may do not do justice to my liking of Latakia, here goes.

Opening the tin, it's very dark browns and blacks: mud colours. The tin note shows off the Latakia pretty thoroughly. My tin contained leaf that was rather dry for what I am used to from C&D so far; still smokeable from the tin though, especially since I am used to C&D blends being rather on the moist side.

The cut lends itself to the medium-sized bowls; fills easily, lights easily, and from the beginning, there is the full Latakia taste and typical Latakia "aroma" (my GF qualifies it as "stink"...). The real surprise is the taste, which is much more mellow than the usual LA/Per combination; the Cavendish really comes through the longer the smoke lasts. Beautiful. This is one of the blends that, after a long absence, has got me back on to Latakia blends.

As another reviewer said, it is a bit scary in the tin, both in smell and even look. All black, with some very dark brown bits from the Unflavored Black Cavendish.

Anyone that says Unflavored Black Cavendish doesn't have flavor is full of poop. It is rich and smooth, a bit cigarish. The combination of this with Latakia is just phenomenal. The two in these proportions just play off of each other so well. I don't notice the Perique per-say, but I'm sure it it doing wonderful things to this blend.

Overall, I absolutely love this blend. It is smooth, creamy and rich. I get hints of chocolate and coffee when I smoke it, and I love it in the morning with a nice strong cup of joe. 4 stars all day long.

Edit: The above was written 4 tins ago. A pound arrived today. This is the first tobacco I liked well enough to order a pound. The tobacco in the 1 lb tin is no different than in the 2 oz tin.

This blend is not for the faint of heart. Loving Latakia helps here in that it is almost as full as Old Ironsides with added Perique for a slight peppery flavor. Latakia in general has a low nicotine content, but this blend has a bit of a kick to it. I can see smoking it after a big meal, not on an empty stomach.

The flavor is Latakia right up front with the Perique making a nice compliment and a little cavendish to mellow things out. The smoke is fragrant, and enjoyable with large white plumes, assuming you like the smell of burning Latakia. Room note is tolerable to those around me, but probably best smoked outside, or in a well ventilated area. My Oreck air purifier does a nice job at ameliorating just about any tobacco smoke in my home office!

The taste is a very creamy, cool leathery taste with a gentle Perique aftertaste.

I would recommend this blend to anyone who loves Latakia, and wishes for a slightly stronger blend. It smokes cool all the way down to the bottom of the bowl with a dry,white ash.

As a side note, I have seen several reviewers on this website say that they have a perique allergy. Until I smoked MM, I always thought that comment was strange. Now I understand! It made me sneeze, and left me with a frog in my throat. Not a deal breaker if I like the blend in other ways, but that definitely added to the negative experience of smoking this.

The only C&D blend I haven't tried but want to is Bow-Legged Bear. Other than that, this brand as a whole has almost always been disappointing and I'm about to say goodbye to it.

Update: Be warned the cavendish will flavor your pipe for at least the next several smokes.

I really like the middle of the bowl to the end. Like many reviews state the taste is somewhat one sided but that side is steady and deep.

An issue I must differ though is in regards to its strength, it did not seem all that strong.

Enjoyed it through my Peterson System. It burns wonderfully from beginning to end, with nary a moment from bag to pipe to ignition.

Put any strength concerns aside and try some. Sit outside, on a porch or a stonewall with only two matches (one should do) and a tamper and relax.