Tin note smells identical to Dunhill London Mixture. i.e. like taking a whiff of creosote from a lit chimney stack. Nothing resembling tobacco at all. Once cracked, the tin stinks out the whole room, like a smoky woodburner, even while closed. Thankfully the awful charred-wood smell of what I now know to be Latakia does not translate much into the smoke.

First light is like the taste one gets when vomiting a little into the mouth and swallowing it again, only stronger. Then a very slight honey like flavour before the taste of clove 'herbal' cigarettes and overwhelming perique pepper kicks in.

I was astonished to not be able to taste anything resembling tobacco at all, just cloves, pepper and hot air with no body or tobaccoeyness whatsoever. Totally not what I was expecting. Whoever it was that said it reminds him of cheap communist bloc cigarettes was right.

The first tobacco of the many tobaccos I have tried to ever ghost my briar, even the mighty Condor didn't. Borkum whiskey made it sour, but didnt really ghost it as such. Everything tastes like white pepper and cloves now. Will have to salt it.

If you want to try an "English" or Latakia blend I would recommend getting a small sample from a fellow piper before paying for a whole tin.

To each their own, but I think you all who like this type of thing are out of your minds lol :) Its like taking a half pint of lager, diluting it in a gallon of water, then adding a pound each of charcoal, cloves and pepper, and calling it beer.

Latakia, Orientals, Virginia? Complex? Not Complex, exactly, but... Tasteless.

is clearly below, inferior, to many other English Mixtures an Balkans, less good that 965, Standard Medium, Balkan Supreme, Britts's Balkan, Chipman Hill, Merde de Cheval etc... etc... Very frar from the favorites...

Lights instantly thanks to the dryness and smokes quite fast considering so I smoked a couple bowls back to back for the sake of review. Taste is still quite mild the way I remembered it. The spicy Latakia is still present. Squadron Leader has an oak, earthy taste with a very mild sweetness imparted by the Virginia leaf. There's also a slight bitter, musty taste to it which I quite like. Room note is robust like a fine cigar. Nicotine hit is quite mild but is still there. Absolutely no bite and tobacco burns down to a fine white ash on both bowls.

A very nice entry into English blends. Not too complex, just a solid earthy taste that makes me feel like I'm kicking back after ferrying my Sopwith Camel into the hanger and lighting up some quality leaf in victory. A classic blend that ages well.

So here's my thoughts, as I opened the tin, I noticed that the tobacco was a bit moist, not "wet" as some users described to be. Upon light, I immediately noticed the virginias with a bit of the Latakia as an undertone (like a seasoning). My description was a nice sweet, tangy, hay or glass-like flavor (which was quite tasty actually) with a bit of spiciness, pepper, and saltiness from the Latakia. Everything complimented each other (like any other good tobacco). As I started moving to the mid-bottom of the bowl, the Latakia definitely became more pronounced, the tobacco started giving me stronger flavors of oak, leather, pepper, with a subtle sweetness to it. The vitamin N definitely started hitting me at the near bottom of the bowl. The tobacco smoked all the way through, leaving me with all white ash (although I had to relight a few times).

Overall, it was a very pleasant experience, a great introduction to English blend tobacco. If you're curious about trying English blends, I would definitely start with this one. It's very gentle smoke with lots of flavor. She is a bit hard to keep lit (at least for me), so maybe a little drying might work for this one. I experienced absolutely no bite, it was very cool smoke. I can definitely vouch for all the great reviews of this tobacco and keep this one as one of my "favorites".

It does come a bit too moist in the tin, and benefits greatly from a short period of drying out to keep you from steaming your tongue. Do not pack it too tightly, the broad and longer cut along with its moistness can clog up your smoking experience. Better packed loosely, and smoked in a wider bowl.

This is the blend that comes to my mind when I think of an all-around quality, consistent, tasty medium all-day English that is neither murky/harsh, nor a latakia bomb. Recommended!!!

Update 4-6-2013: This blend is growing on me, and is quite tasty, although I admit I have been adding a bit of blending latakia to it to make it my own personal 4 star smoke and to balance the blend better, in light of the considerable oriental content.

Many extoll its virtues, but a little too heavy on the Orientals for me (excepting the Latakia for the relative lack of it).

Not bad at all - consistent through the burn, not too difficult to maintain fire, packs easily enough. Price is a bit heavy when other Scottish such as C&D's Stratfordshire is available for around 40% this price.

You should definitely try this blend and any other carrying three stars with over 300 reviews. That is saying something. Great blend I will reorder soon.

The Orientals dominate, for me, with a nice tanginess. A good does of Virginia sweetness gives it depth. Finally, plentiful Latakia for a hearty, smokey note for breadth.

This is one of four tobaccos that I keep in large jars, always available. I have many pounds of it in the cellar so as to be assured of an uninterrupted supply (there have been times when it seemed to be going off the market--it's always come back, but I don't count on that always being the case).

'Tally Ho Red leader!'

I allowed the tin to dry out quite a bit and it does make a big difference. I'll give it three stars now.

The tobacco is weak in nicotine, without any latakia taste whatsoever. The biggest problem for me is this "Lakeland" flavor. Once tobacco does not grow in England, I can not assume that some neat British bees brought the taste of flowering meadows. More realistically, it's some aromatic chemistry which contradicts my nose.

To improve all this, I'm mixing it with Robert McConnell Pure Latakia. This way it's acceptable.

Still, Virginia is sweet and good.

Will I finish the tin? Yes. Will I buy more? Not sure.

Creamy, perfectly sweet, a smidgen of the brazen latakia to keep those peepers wide, consistent burn, forgiving on the load/pack, a delightful smoke.

Drawback (notice the singular). The ONE drawback is a bit of excessive moisture out of the Tin

The tin note is that of an English that is mildly smokey and round and sweet. Very pleasing to an English smoker.

The charring light: Bold, bold, bold. The latakia kicks you, and the virginia is there to keep you on your feet. Pungent and powerful, it serves as a wake-up to a pleasing bowl.

The virginia base is the star in my Johs dublin. It's not the typical sweet and playful virginia, but more of a dark, mysterious, spicy and silky virginia that almost reminds me more of a stoved virginia. Behind the unique virginia, a latakia (that is as smooth and salty as it is smoky) dances in and out of the smoke. The orientals serve as a backbone, rounding out the gaps left by the dark virginia. Side note: before this tobacco, I never really understood what people meant when they described orientals as creamy. But this tobacco has taught my somewhat- amateur palate just what an oriental is supposed to taste like. I get a sweet and full taste in the orientals here, reminiscent of white chocolate mixed with a creamy cappuccino. And while this amount of sweet creaminess would typically deter me, it is perfectly juxtaposed with the latakia in the blend.

The room note is by no means bad, but it is still an English's room note. Like a warm campfire and roasted marshmallows. But to a non-smoker, this will (understandably) never smell as good as an aromatic.

Overall: After getting to know this blend, I'm very pleased with it. The only reason that I'm giving it a 3-star is because the latakia can be slightly abrasive at times. And while this does scratch an itch I will have from time to time, and it does irk me when a tobacco is "too perfect," I have to go against my love for this tobacco's personality in order to write an honest review. But just because this tobacco isn't perfect, doesn't mean that it's not worth adding to your collection. It's well worth it; it's legendary for a reason.

There is a nice mild smokey/leathery-ness from the Latakia and though it is the predominant flavor it is very light. The Turkish in this blend gives the perfect compliment to the latakia giving something more for you to move around your pallet a slight nuttiness and a tiny bit of spice. the Virginia are not really noticeable though i am sure they add to how smooth and mild this blend is.

I'd recommend anyone who has not tried a Latakia blend yet to get a tin or a sample and the same goes for anyone who wants to try something new. however if you are looking for something with a large dose of nicotine, hugely multidimensional or allot of latakia i'd say to maybe give it a miss but for me it has a certain charm and is right up there in my top five at the moment.

Adam.