composition:

Latakia + Virginia Tobacco

Smoke:

the tobacco presents cutting medium (mixture, ribbon). Packing is quite easy. The lighting looks easy and straightforward without burning too quickly or too slowly. After the first puffs ash is very clear and soft, until about three quarters. The last quarter I noticed that the tobacco on the bottom no longer had the initial appearance but charred but rather to make and more attention as smoke. I noticed that there was little moisture inside the pipe.

Conclusion: I smoke the pipe for a short time (a few months) and I would recommend it to beginners. I've smoke it on straight Savinelli with small capacity.

Rating: 85/100

It burns perfectly and never bites and with a mild but full flavor it makes a good smoke any time of day. I am a big fan of the Dunhill stable and along with London Mixture and Nightcap the trio would probably keep me happy without any additions. But then how would I know how great these are with occasionally sampling the others, right?

I find EMP to be a great smoke - especially in the morning (I guess due to the name). Over the last few months EMP has become my favorite all day smoke. I find it to be mild with no bite and it does not leave that strong lingering smell in my car and clothes that MB Burley left me.

I find it to be very similar to Dunhill's Nightcap - just milder. Great smoke and I would think a great starting point for the new pipe smoker. I cannot comment on the nicotine hit as I was already used to stronger tobaccos. It packs well and burns smoothly and evenly.

I have to say I prefer the Murray's version to this, so I can only give this three stars, whereas the earlier one gets 4. But the difference is not night and day, and you'll enjoy this one if you like English blends.

My experience with English blends is particularly limited, with Early Morning being only one of two blends I have procured. The other was the stronger English Oriental Supreme. I enjoy the body and fullness of these blends, but the latakia and the nicotine hits are still settling with me. Hopefully in the years to come I will learn to enjoy these elements, as I love the heritage and the pride of the British pipe smoking tradition.

My relationship with Early Morning Pipe started when I found a tin for sale in the large J.R. Cigar outlet in Selma, SC along route 95 on a trip I frequently make between my new home in Sebring, FL and my hometown of Martinsburg, PA. The packaging was attractive and the Dunhill brand was recognizable from my brief research in pipe tobacco. I picked up the tin, along with a tin of Stanwell Vanilla. The latter turned out to be a disappointment in many regards.

Upon opening the tin, my nostrils were caught in surprise at the latakia scent, which I had never smelt afore. It reminded my of the fermented alfalfa haylage that we fed our cattle on a local dairy farm that I worked at as a younger lad. I packed my pipe, finding it to have a more stemmy texture than the ribbon cut bulk blends I had smoked previously.

My first go was a late morning in June, outside at my grandparents pavilion, alongside a cup of coffee and my morning devotions in Ecclesiastes. I had not eaten breakfast, which meant that after about half a bowl and half a cup of coffee, the caffeine and nicotine had my blood vessels to themselves for their little battle. The battle ended with me lying on the ground, nearly vomitting. This was my lesson in how not to smoke your first ever English.

For the most part, the tin has remained in storage throughout the summer months. Tonight I pulled it out again, sitting on the back porch of my home in Sebring. The evening light was just right, and I was once more in Ecclesiastes. I now have an understanding for the sweet and spunky flavor of Virginia tobacco, which is the base leaf for this blend. As I lit my pipe, I was created by that familiar briskness of Virginia. The latakia oriental does sing a very nice harmony in this blend. I think that if I was a more matured piper, I would enjoy this blend twice the more I do now.

I do recommend this blend to any piper, old or new. It's a fanciful and well proportioned blend. It's great as an introduction to latakia and English flavor, as it's simple two makeup allows for these flavors to be easily identified and explored. The experienced piper with a love for English blends will also enjoy it, as it's a great mild English that really does do well as a morning smoke, and compliments a cup of coffee or tea. The flavor is reminiscent of earl grey, without the sweetness of citrus. The room note is also good, with the bright Virginian aroma in the forefront.

It's a great blend, that every piper should buy and have in their collection. But for me right now, it's only an occasional smoke, and I doubt it will ever become more.

Additional Note: It's been a bit over a month since posting my review of this blend. I am on a bit of a heavy stint with my smoking, which happens about twice monthly. I pulled out my new corncob earlier this week to take to a campfire. I accompanied the 5 dollar pipe with some of my favorite Boswell's blends. I hadn't smoked my cob for months. Tonight, I decided to pull it out yet again, and since I was in an interesting mood I decided to bring along my tin of EMP. I hadn't thought to combine the cool smoking of a cob with this mellow morning mixture, but I have quite enjoyed this, alongside my preparations for my sermon this weekend. So, give this a go with a cob, since you only live once. I have found that a good, broken in corn cob can do just as well as a briar, and though you can't quite harvest the same depth of flavor like you can in your favorite billiard, a Missouri Meerchaum can bring out some otherwise missed top notes in a blend. I also like having the cheaper pieces around, and I feel more free to smoke whilst mowing or working outside with a cob, since the mouthpieces are cheap plastic, and I'm not worried about leaving teeth marks on a nice original vulcanite mouthpiece. So go, and puff proudly.

With all of that said I have wonderful memories of looking out over the northwest Michigan woods this summer at my 80 acre retreat (deer camp) watching the sunrise after restoking last night's fire. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a pipefull of EMP in the other. I didn't pack any SL on that particular trip, but it didn't matter.

I don't know anything about this blend before Orlik, but I do like it as it is.