William P. Solomon - Presbyterian Mixture pipe tobacco reviews

Review

Please log in to add or edit a review. If you do not have an account yet, you can sign up for one here.

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 60 of 158 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
LV9	07/24/2011	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong
I"ll get to the point quick since this blend has been reviewed extensively, the latakia and virginias inter play almost on every puff the orientals provide a little bit of spice more towards the last third of the pipe, the nicotine is about right on this one for me, the room note is tolerable, in the latakia spectrum this is almost to me a morning mix by this I mean do not expect a latakia bomb, subtlety is the intention on this one, probably created originally to be smoked all day without distracting the smoker. Would I buy Presbyterian yes...but is not something that I would actively try to stock it in the cellar, there's nothing in it that makes it stand out from the competition. (My tin has been sitting on the cellar since Oct. 2003)
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
PastorPipe	06/23/2011	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Being a staunch Lutheran, I was a bit cautious to try such a Calvinistic blend. :) However, I find I like it a great deal. The Latakia is there but not overly pronounced. I tasted very little sweetness in it, but there is a bit of spice which causes tingling on the tongue. It isn't very complex and the flavor is consistent throughout the bowl. It is a comfortable smoke overall and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. An old classic that I recommend--but not to the novice.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
derlict311	05/25/2011	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong
Got this one because of the history of it. I've had my original tin I bought a couple years ago and it isn't any better now than when I first smoked it. It has a unique taste that I just can't get my head around. Nah.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
cgar	05/25/2011	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A mild/medium english blend that produces a creamy not in your face smoke. I too found that this blend does better if you give it time to breathe fresh air for about 10mins or so before packing. After reading some of the reviews here I was a little timid to give this blend a smell out of the tin, but can now share that its not an aweful smell just one that its either a win or lose depending on who you are. (Reminded me of high grade cattle feed) and thats not a bad thing, so to each their own in that department. Overall its a cool smoking medium to light English that will make a nice change up if your looking to mix things up from your everyday.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Fofo	05/16/2011	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Excellent blend and exactly what I expected: A mixture with orientals front and center, good Virginia influence, and a wisp, just a barely detectable wisp of Latakia. I would not smoke this every day, it might get boring, but perfect for a bowl or two a week. Now, if you are a fan of Virginia based blends you should definitely give this a try. I mainly smoke Balkans with a lot of oriental and Latakia, but I wanted to try something with just a wisp of Latakia, this fit the bill perfectly. I did not have any issues with moisture content though this blend will definitely benefit from a few minutes of air time. While I would not buy this again it is still an excellent blend not to be missed, it's just not completely suitable to my palate like, say, GL Pease Abingdon (my all time favorite) is.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
KahveDelisi	04/13/2011	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
One of my favorites.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Tom Servo	03/29/2011	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
The tin aroma here is overripe fruit and warm cereal grains, baked goodies, raw pineapple, rubber, hard cider, leather, Japanese plum wine and a faded specters of the scents of camphor and sulfur. Interesting scents, all muddled with the nearly lost Virginia and the more present Macedonian Turkish tobaccos. Not the most typical tin aroma for a traditional Oriental blend, but that is what we have here. Sweet, salt-air freshness of the Turkish is easily distinguished through it all, No trouble packing, lights ok. Nice burn, no worries. Tin description says “Mellow blend of US-Virginia tobaccos and high-quality Macedonian grades - exclusive, aristocratic pipe mixture.”. I agree with most of that, I’m not sure what they mean by “exclusive” and I find it more quaint than “aristocratic”. But it IS a mellow-ish blend of Virginia and Macedonian Oriental tobaccos. (no Latakia) Virginias add mellow cured grains, dusty hayloft tones, saddle leather and muted sweetness as a toasty background. But the Oriental leaf steals the show. Sweet, sour, peppery spice, sea salt, and raw green olives - all these Oriental flavors take their turn floating through the Virginia’s sweet atmosphere. Descent nicotine, cool smoking, mellow but full favored. There are better straight Oriental blends out there, but I like this stuff. I’d like to try this blend with a healthy dose of Xanthi added for a little more sweetness and complexity. Still, this blend is smooth and very pleasant, I could easily smoke this stuff all day. More like “comfort food” than a gourmet meal - which is just fine with me. Easy to smoke, easy to enjoy - 4 Stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Dr. Scott	03/23/2011	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
My preference is for Virginias and VaPers. I am quite picky about English blends. So it has taken me a long time to get around to this one. I understand that PM is now blended by Planta in Berlin. It is only this most recent incarnation that I have the pleasure of knowing. It is so well-crafted, I can not imagine that the original was this good. The Latakia is evident, though applied with a light touch. The Oriental leaf defines the blend and gives it a unique character. Although it has a strong floral taste, the Macedonian is included in just the right amounts. I suspect that this Oriental leaf is what many mistake for a casing. But any added flavoring is so subtle that it escapes my unsophisticated palate. Nicotine is on the high side of medium. When dry, it burns faster and gives a bigger nic hit, and tastes just as good. This is a great every-day Oriental! This blend, concocted for a Presbyterian and named by a Conservative, is equally at home in the pipe of this Anglo-Catholic Socialist. Addendum: I've had the pleasure of smoking some 10-years-old tins, also made in Germany. Either the Orientals lose some flavor with aging, or the recipe has changed. The new tins are more sweet and floral. The older stuff is more smokey, and seems heavier with Latakia. I prefer the new stuff. It may be heresy, but I believe that this Mixture is at least the equal of Penzance, and certainly easier to come by. I don't believe in Predestination, but I do believe it is the Grace of God that has led me to this Epiphany.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Wellpipe	03/11/2011	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I just had to try this because, well, I am a Presbyterian. I wish I had liked it more. Awesome fragrance out of the tin - figgy and dark fruit, but overly moist - wouldn't stay lit and just tasted strong with no particular flavor dimension. The burning qualities improved after drying a bit and with that slightly more flavor came through, but still pretty one-dimensional to my taste - mostly just strong and ashy. Perhaps an earlier version of this blend was better, but the tin I got was not worth the trouble or the price.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Arkie	03/04/2011	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable
This might be the blend that converts me from aromatics to English baccy. The taste is exotic and yet not harsh. It leaves a nice after taste (wine connoisseurs would say it "finishes well"). My wife didn't particularly like the room note but she didn't find it terribly objectionable. Everyone ought to try this blend at least once. Even if it isn't loved by everyone it is hated by very few.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
fireball	02/28/2011	Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Works for me. A slightly sweet, mild English is how I categorise it, spicyness from the latakia, a little sweetness from something else in there. Tingly or nippy rather than bitey, it contains the all important (for me) Vitamin N in decent amounts. Can be puffed into oblivion pretty quickly in a small bowl.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
rewozz	02/21/2011	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Billy777	01/23/2011	Medium to Strong	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
I'm smoking it as I write this: So what can I say about it? It's really wet in the tin but a few minutes drying time solves any problems with it going out. In the tin it smells like old dung - thankfully it does not taste like old dung, not that I have ever tasted dung. Instead it tastes of Latakia and that is the problem with this tobacco: It's one dimensional. The Latakia dominates the Virginia and Orientals, and sadly that is it right down to the bottom of the bowl. It's also high on nicotine, too high for the first smoke of the day. So it's not an everyday smoke for me, it's just something for an occasional change and nicotine blast.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
brogreggblues	01/16/2011	Mild	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Sometimes, only a dark, smoky, spicy, deeply satisfying blend will do. Woodsy, smoky, like a campfire in your pipe! Very rich, very full. I love Presbyterian blend! UPDATE: I recently bought another tin of Presby Blend because I enjoyed the first one so much. Maybe I got a bad tin, or maybe my body chemistry has changed, but I didn't enjoy this second tin nearly as much as the first. What once seemed leathery, spicy and complex now seems bland, flat, almost cigarette-like. I may try another tin just to see if the problem is with me or the blend, but there are lots of other great English blends out there for less money. Reducing review to three stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Poppy	01/07/2011	Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Mr. Brizzi	01/01/2011	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant
Quaintessential typically delicious English blend. I think of it as, "High Class Walnut". Room Note: Light, warm, and spicy. Flavor is Virginia prominent, peppery Perique noticable, and Oriental/Macedonian spicy. I taste honey tones of Greek Barsa. Strength is mild. My opinion, as this was fresh, that it would be considerably nicer when cellared and aged, to a dry product. Sipping is the way to bring out the sweet and mild tones. Absolutely zero tongue bite. To start the New Year off correctly for 2011, I smoked Presbyterian Mixture in a 1959 Pre-Comoy Archer's #9438 Rhodesian in Brown "Blonde" Ebony. Superb! My spirit was immediately uplifted and my morale brought high. I had even contemplated having my wife for breakfast, but she was too busy making prune faces and complaining. The mellow richness of smoke, in my mouth, refused to permit my good mood to be rendered low. The very first time I smoked Presbyterian Mixture was in 1978, after a dinner of mutton, at Keen's Steakhouse in New York City (Manhattan, E.36 Street off of 6th Avenue?) and the memory of an expensive but delicious and filling dinner, returned. A clay Churchwarden was the instrument of choice at Keen's. I like dark Burley tobacco, or full bodied Balkan blends, so I rate Presbyterian Mixture at 3-stars. You certainly will not be disappointed.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Claudius Stradivarius	12/26/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Presbytarian has a plum-like aroma to it. is there some Perique added? I am not sure, however, that there is Latakia...But this debate has been going on for a while about this tobacco. This mixture is not strong by all means, is tasty and rich, and is another great option with Rattray's 7 reserve for anyone wishing to venture into English Blends.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
fruktflugan	10/29/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable
This is the german variety (kopp and kohlhaase?) that's being reviewed. Opened the tin for airing out and drying and the smell is like barnyard, cows and ducklings. My girlfriend said "what the hell is that smell" so I guess that's a bad thing. Opened it up side by side with Gawith's Skiff and skiff has a cleaner, crisper and more attractive smell. So, pulled up a pipe thinking that I would probably dislike this blend and whoah I was SO wrong! Tasty leathery "English" blend with a small amount of latakia thrown in. Dried charcoaled firewood-sy like flavor that sometimes goes into the area of catholic church incense. When the bowl is done you are going to wish you had more! This tobacco is on the same level as Squadron Leader for me. A real interesting english smoke that really stands above the competition. My Ranking: #1 Presbyterian 2 Northwoods 3 Squadron Leader 4 Skiff 5 Dunhill 965 Early Morning Pipe does not even make the list. I don't understand that really, but EMP is just revolting and stinks up your skin, breath and smoking paraphernalia. My girlfriend shunned me half the day after smoking EMP. ...But Presbyterian is World Class! 5 pluses and then a couple of geese thrown in as bonus points! :D
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Taylor3006	10/13/2010	Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant
I am a novice pipe smoker & prefer aromatics but bought a tin of this because of the recommendations here & of other pipe smokers. The smell of this tobacco in the tin is one every horse owner recognizes, its the smell of urine soaked hay like when you are mucking out a stall, just no ammonia. I was a bit hesitant but went ahead and loaded up my pipe. Its a bit wet but nothing an aromatic smoker isn't used to. Can be a bother to keep lit, drying it out a bit would surely help. The taste of this tobacco is wonderful, it is very "woodsie" like everyone says, almost like smoking a forest floor. I liked it very much. No tongue bite and a decent room note. Not sure what perique or oriental tastes like but I really really enjoyed the flavor of this blend. Probably not something I will smoke all the time but will definitely keep it on hand. For novice smokers or "aromatic only" peoples, this is a fun blend and well worth the money. One warning though, like most tobaccos this leaves it's "scent" in a pipe but this one is VERY STRONG. You might wanna make sure you can dedicate a pipe to Presbyterian if you plan on smoking much of this.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Nash Brown	10/12/2010	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This was my first aromatic blend, and it was a little overpowering at first. I'm getting used to it, though, and it may become one of my favorites. Excellent with lemonade and/or dark chocolate (in my opinion).
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 60 of 158 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >