Within today's realm of pipe tobacco blends, this one suffers a bit. But as far as "drugstore" American burleys, this one is pretty good. I put it ahead of Prince Albert, head and shoulders above Carter Hall and Granger, and in another dimension from Half & Half. But this one also has a bit of latakia in it so it should be compared to blends like Revelation and Country Doctor. Unfortunately, I've never smoked those two. I was mostly referring to my view of overall tobacco quality, and this one appears to be of a higher quality than your basic drugstore stuff.

It's a decent enough smoke and burns well. I rarely needed a relight. It does leave one hell of a ghost, though, so I gave this its own MM cob, where it performed very nicely. Not sure if this stuff is around any longer but it would be a good one to try if you like a fairly mild latakia blend with some body to it. I've ordered an Altadis "mimic" blend of this to see how it compares, as its the best low cost tobacco I've ever smoked... which isn't saying a whole lot but at the same time IS saying a lot.

After purchasing the tin 20 years or so ago, I wasn't a big fan of Latakia. I purchased it on the recommendation of someone who said, "If you like Captain Black, you'll like this." How many times have you received, and acted on a similar recommendation only to say, "No way!" Well, since at the time I wasn't ready to join "Club Latakia," I smoked very little of the tobacco. After reading reviews of this blend, I decided to give it a try again. My tobacco wasn't as dry as one would expect after the long term storage in its original tin, and looked surprisingly fresh. It seemed to have just the right consistency to touch that was necessary for a successful packing - which it did very well. It still retained its musty, Latakia aroma. I smoked it in a Hardcastle, sandblasted bent billiard, medium sized bowl. This is one of the two pipes I use for blends containing Latakia. I was not disappointed by any means. The tobacco had mostly the taste of Latakia, but I could taste the Burley as well. Not much of a flavoring beyond that to my taste buds. I could not detect any of the Virginia as some have previously described. Others have said there was deer tongue; no evidence of the green flecks in my tin. Some have described citrus and other flavors. I couldn't detect any. Just Latakia and Burley for me, which was not a bad thing as these days I prefer more naturally flavored smokes with very little casing or top dressing. The result was a dry smoke with zippo moisture left behind. The room note for others was not offensive. After smoking stronger Latakia blends, I've been asked by non-smokers, "What's in that pipe, goat dung?!" I didn't have that problem with Brindley's!

When I want a Latakia smoke, this is the one I would go to as it is not overbearing. I smoked Revelation way back when and I would compare Brindley's to that, however, Brindley's seems to be a better grade of tobacco (at least in my 20+ year sample). As stated, I have 2 pipes reserved for this blend as it leaves a fair amount of Latakia presence in the bowl after smoking.

I give it 3 out of 4 stars for the very well balanced tobacco that it is; even though Latakia is not one of my first chair players. A fine Latakia go-to for when the mood strikes.

Appearance: A firm pressed lightly topped dark brown flake with nut brown strands mixed in, also available as a ready rubbed mixture of medium cut ribbon.

Aroma: Sweet orange juice, lemon zest, a hint of lemony dishsoap wafting over a mild sweet nutty Virginia tobacco aroma, with a hint of smoke.

Taste: Oranges, citron, and cherry. Rather aromatic in a Lakeland way, not in a goopy way. Good Virginia tobacco flavor, walnuts, filberts, sweet chestnut, a bit soapy. Heavy. The mature Virginia leaf shines through with the topping adding strength to the smoke.

Comparisons: I would call the English mixture "Saint Bruno lite" in many respects, although that doesn't do it justice. Comparing the English to the standard mixture, the standard is a true crossover blend where the English is heavy enough to fall into the Lakeland category.

Bottom Line: Fans of Lakeland blends who find St. Bruno too strong will enjoy the English blend. English-aromatic crossover smokers who enjoy citron-orange flavor will find a winner with the standard mixture.

Anyway, the older tinned tobacco was much smoother, more flavorful and less aromatic. A real tobacco tasting treat! More of a Burley sweetness rather than an overwhelming cavendish orange flavor that I detected in the new stuff.

Again, Brindley's Mixture also comes in the English variety which I suspect another reviewer above may have described for us.