Aroma: Very rich English/Balkan aroma. The Latakia, Oriental and Virginia all are readily detectable.

Packing: Packs easily into almost any pipe. You may want to tear the ribbons when loading a small bowl. Lighting: Starts burning readily, just tamp and relight.

Initial flavor: Just as promised by the aroma, lots of condimental flavors on a good Virginia background. Nothing stays in the background here, all the elements come out to play immediately.

Mid-bowl: If asked to pigeon-hole this blend, I would have to call it English with Balkan tendencies, not a Balkan per se. The Virginias are still slightly dominant.

Finish: Burns cool and dry all the way down. There is a fairly strong mouth feel here, but not overpowering. Summary: An excellent blend from Germain. I wish it were offered in larger sizes, as is the Esoterica line. That?s my only complaint.

Meerschaum Man Smoking a bent textured Meerschaum

King Charles, though, is a blend that could make me return. This is among one of the finest English blends I have had in quite a score, though not perfect.

I love the long, almost shag cut that burns so well once it is got going. The flavor is all that an English should be, without any one component taking centre stage.

This said, it was not all that it could be and I think that I will be with my classic American style mixtures for some time still. I noticed a tendency to go out at the first stages of a bowl. Also, the restrained hand with which the condimental leaf was applied in combination with the blonde virginia base did make for a bit of a bland smoke at times. A bit more turkish, I think, would do the trick.

If my tastes weren't so varied or they didn't demand much fuller-bodied blends in my regular rotation, I would probably smoke King Charles more often. I've dedicated a Stanwell Year Pipe 2000 (a Tom Eltang-designed modified Dublin sandblast) exclusively to this blend, and it's always an exquisite smoke when I want something on the lighter side in the way of taste.

The burning characteristics are excellent, although I generally like to let it dry a bit after I first open the tin. Even so, the moist tobacco right out of a fresh tin can be smoked straight to the bottom of the bowl after a couple of charring lights.

Like all the JFG blends I've tried, King Charles is gentle on the tongue & palate, yet it delivers far more flavor than you'd expect for such a cool, dry, gentle smoke. You'd have to puff pretty thoughtlessly and vigorously to get this weed to burn your tongue. Just realize that it's not designed to be a full-flavored blend.

Speaking from personal experience, don't make the mistake of smoking it outdoors in a brisk breeze; it will just burn hotter without delivering any more flavor. It's a blend to be savored in quiet contemplation, or while reading, and it makes a great first smoke in the morning.

2004, January 03 - freevito

The taste is dull, grey, terribly unexciting, too. It burns very regular and with little flavor development: the Latakia doesn't make its presence very evident, and all the flavors are "drowned".

Try it, by all means, as some of my friends were more than happy to snatch the remaining tins at the local tobacconist and enjoyed them, but I have much better stuff to smoke...

2011 Update: After several years, I decided to give it another try. This time, it was not as moist as the previous two tins I had smoked some years ago: actually, it was almost perfect in humidity level for smoking right away. My impressions about the smoking experience are overall better, too: this time it has more taste and body, though I still feel that it's quite an unimpressive mixture. The Virginias have good quality, and it's not a wimpy smoke: especially in large bowls, their sweetness s comes out in the second half. Latakia still is very subdued, and alas I think it's a monochromatic (though pleasant) smoke. Once in a while, in some pipes, it seems to shine, but it's not so frequent. I think that Samuel Gawith has a much better (more complex, more pleasant, more fascinating) product than this one in the same style (EM light): Skiff Mixture.

While King Charles is not bad, with Skiff Mixture around I have not many reasons to buy it again.

I opened the tin, and was greeted with what I can best describe as an earthy, almost plastic-like smell that had me wondering about this before I lit it.

It took a little work to get it lit, I think some drying might help this a little bit. Maybe 30 minutes on the dashboard or so.

Once she lit, I was very impressed. The smoke was actually fairly sweet, and while you could definitely taste the Latakia, it really doesn't take center stage, it shares it with the others. There's something that I don't quite recognize in this blend, and it's not BAD by any means, but it's nothing that I can compare anything else to. I don't want to say something that could possibly turn someone off, but clove-banana tastes, with a hint of sweetness, and that smooth latakia flavor combine to make a pleasant, consistent from beginning-to-end smoke. I'm quite happy that I bought this tin, and look forward to adding it to my regular rotation.

My honest opinion: You gotta try it if you like English blends. It may or may not be your thing, but if it's a heavy latakia taste you're looking for, you won't quite find it here. This brand is quite subdued compared to Balkan types.

It has more latakia flavor in it than Cornell & Diehl's Yale Mixture, and that little something else that gives it a bit of exotic flavor. I wish I were more in-tune with my palate, and knowledge of orientals to know exactly what kind of tastes they impart.

I give it an 8 out of 10. A VERY high score.

Cheers!

Daniel

The Taste, though not strong, is by no means monochromatic. The Virginias of course give their natural sweetness while the Latakia and Oriental components lend a teasing smokey-spicey interplay. This is a blend best enjoyed while seated quietly on a still evening, listening to the crickets and tree frogs calling out their love songs. Any activity, for me at least, will distract from the enjoyment of KC's subtleties.

The most positive point for this blend is that the moisture content was perfect out of the tin. I have hardly ever had to relight a bowl of KC.

My tin was about 4 years old, so, it was aged nicely. I enjoyed the subtle tones of the Latakia, which did not overwhelm my palate. The semi-sweet taste of the orientals came through as well, but it was the Virginia base that I tasted most.

If you like a very light English blend without casing, then pull King Charles out of the can. If, on the other hand, you prefer a stouter Latakia blend, leave the King in his coffin!