Soli Deo gloria!

I highly reccomend, for all well balanced EM lovers, the following mix: 50% Commowealth, 50% Squadron Leader. Supreme!!!

Commonwealth Mixture is a nice tobacco, slightly sweet Virginia mixed with a basic Latakia smokiness. Occasional deeper notes creep in. Toward the end of a few bowls there has been something there that reminds me of a nice maduro cigar. I can recommend Commonwealth Mixture, yet it has very little to keep my interest beyond this tin.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I have had both nondescript and awe inspiring smokes with this one. I have not been able to figure out what made for the good ones, and anyway no tobacco should make you work so hard to play to its strengths.

On a good day, there is a marvelous sour tang to the Latakia here that elevates this smoke into incredible territory. Good luck replicating that experience though. Most bowls are a lackluster, ordinary smoke that you could easily miss if something else in the room caught your attention. This one should age well due to the 50% Va content. Also worth mentioning is that this is pretty tame for a blend that is 50% Latakia.

Update 11/21/2011

I am adding one star. I don't know what it is about this simple 50/50 mixture. I get wildly inconsistent experiences with it. At its worst, it's an ok medium-full blend. Somewhere in the neighborhood of average. But I've had numerous bowls of this that had me singing its praises. I need to narrow down the factors that contribute to making this one sing. If you can dedicate yourself to figuring this one out, it's a great Lat blend.

Commonwealth needs some drying but please don’t overdo that! The smokiness of the black weed keeps the center of the stage all the play long, the mellow dark Virginia adding some buttery-sweet colours. Mild-to-medium, smooth as silk, perfectly cool and refreshing.

Some predictable problems with my SWMBO, I can perfectly understand her …

Three full stars.

** UPDATE ** It's got good Latakia, but is a bit flat...needs something else to help round it out. Still a wonderful smoke though!

For Latakia lovers i'd rather say.

This tobacco was so wet on opening the tin that it was impossible to light. It smells devine. Once dried out I sat expecting that this one was going to blow me away and end my non-pas with Sammy Gawith blends. Disappointment again im afraid.

I give up!! I really wanted to enjoy this tobacco but unfortunatly this tin is going to join the other Gawith blends at the back of my cellar only to come out when I have nothing else (highly un-likely that will ever happen!!)

There are so many high quality blends out there, this one just cannot compete!!

I had earlier finished up my Balkan binge (Odyssey, Charing Cross, Abingdon, Bill Bailey's, Balkan Sasieni), successfully placing the Oriental leaf I had in the past found so elusive. In the meanwhile, I received a large shipment of Englishes (Quiet Nights, the newly redistributed Dunhills--Nightcap, 965, Standard Medium, London Mixture...and Old Dublin), promptly setting the blend aside.

I found that the Englishes kind of reset my palate from the Balkans, and I was better able to appreciate Commonwealth for its simplicity after having abandoned the initial effort. Now, by the time I returned, my tobacco had petrified to a solid mass, requiring rehydration (Listen here, Gawith: you really need to invest in some better tin technology, your stuff just doesn't work).

Where I had first found Commonwealth unbalanced, I began to understand that going from an Oriental overload to the state of deprivation was unwise...it required an intermediary step, which the English binge had done so successfully. But even on theoretical grounds, I questioned my former opinion. Why should all Englishes require Oriental leaf? I often praise blends that try something different, and it's not fair to rail against this one for doing the same.

There must be trade offs in such a radical departure, and yes, unlike your average English, with a Virginia component hovering around 30-35 percent, the high Virginia content here makes for a comparably sweet blend (test this for yourself to see whether I am wrong) and a meaty, sonorous note, more so than many of the traditional mixtures, at least. The Latakia component, similarly in its hefty proportion, imparts a dense smokiness that will coat your palate thoroughly of its fumacious nature.

Though I disagree with the "Full Strength Mixture" proclamation, I doubt many smokers will complain--Commonwealth is easily comparable to Squadron Leader in this regard.

Yes, the blend has its flaws, but I'm sure most people out there will find the smoke satisfactory enough--certainly not bland, boring, weak and steamy. Tobacco snobs will probably disagree.

It excells in every aspect, it impresses, it soothes, it tastes perfect and it's what every other English blend wants to be but not quite lives up to. In short: THE best! Commonwealth is like a buffed up Squadron Leader but with less tangyness and more flavor. It's like a Skiff mixture that doesn't need slow smoking and sherlocking to investigate the flavors. Don't know if I could call it broken flake though. More ready rubbed than broken flake.

For me after one full year of English Exploration I have decided the following: SG Commonwealth is my absolute favorite English mixture. SG Balkan flake and Germain's Special Latakia flake are my favorite flakes!

This is as close to tobacco divinity you'll ever come! (sorry if you think this is sounding like a salespitch)

It has a nice taste (combination of Cyprian Latakia and fine Virgina) and creates clouds of marvelous smoke, but I just do prefer when you have some Orientals in the mixture. I want some sour & tangy taste in my English and Balkans Tobaccos.

Recommended when needing a Cyprian Latakia kick.

And not to be smoked in company of partners who only appreciate Aromatics.

Rdx score: 89 (10 pipes smoked)

The generous quantity of latakia means this is one solely for the latakia fanatic. All other pipesters should stay well clear. And for those of you who like your latakia large and mean you won’t be disappointed. Upon opening the tin you are met with a deep, rich, almost overwhelming smoky aroma. The tobacco is of the usual high quality you expect from SG, however it is slightly on the moist side and requires some drying out before smoking. Once dried it handles nicely, packs without a fuss and stays well behaved. It lit after two lights and stayed light for the reminder of the bowel.

This is a big flavoured tobacco and for best results smoke in a large bowel so the flavours can really open up and engulf you. From the fist puff the latakia takes control and pretty much stays in charge for the reminder of the bowel. The va’s add a pleasantly sweet undertone thus ensuring a somewhat restraining hand is placed on the latakia. And don’t fret, SG haven’t forgotten the vitamin N. There is a very charitable helping of it, easily enough to keep even the most hardened nicotine lover satisfied. The strength of this tobacco (believe me its strong) means that for me it’s not an everyday smoke. The heaviness of the blend tends to restrict my smoking of it to the months of early darkness and morning frost and icy gusts when its smoky warmth is much needed.

So to sum it all up, Commonwealth is an excellent full strength mixture. Latakia devotees need apply only. Another classic from SG.

In the end, though, there was nothing to set this blend apart from countless other Englishes. Like most of SG's mixtures of this type, it was far too mild for my tastes. I prefer full Balkans, and this stuff was positively wimpy (IMO, of course). I don't mean to disparage the quality, however -- I think it's a top-notch blend, just not for me.

Your mileage may vary, of course.