This little review is up after smoking Nightcap only 8-10 times with the same little bent Jarl pinch pipe, and I doubt I’ll try this tobacco in any other of my pipes because at this point, I am completely satisfied with the results of both pipe and blend. I cannot give Nightcap a full 4 star review due to the bit, but no drying time; even packing; slow burning and wonderful flavor prompts me to give it a solid 3 stars.

Update 8/3/2012: I've been adding my personal mixes to the mix at the end of my reviews that I think folks might enjoy. Here's one now: It is half Nightcap and half McClelland Bulk MC 2040 Cyprian Mixture from pipesandcigars.com. 4 stars because it completely mellows out any bite from the Nightcap and stays clean and smooth to the last sip. Too me it is literally Nightcap without the bite. Give it a shot.

I also smoke cigarettes and use chewing tobacco so i'm kind of a tobacco addict... But anyways, i've been working on english blends that are just house bulk blends from a tobacconist a few towns away but are actually quite great. I started with their mild english blend (I wish I could remember what the blends are called)and 2 oz. later i tried their stronger english blend with latakia in the picture and i loved it so much. then i took the plung......

Dunhill Nightcap is greater that sex!!!(figure of speech) I Get every sent and taste in this that i can think of!!! Like whip cream with a small oily texture then homemade beef jerky with a great salty smokey flavor and sent and ipick up one coffee and dark chocolate! The only horrible part is that it is way too expensive, $12.95 at the place were i got it and i love it so much i can't put it down. I am smoking the hell out of it. The only draw back is is that I smoke cigarettes so i dont see the nicotine punch that everyone talks about. And i do inhale some of it ( its pretty hard on the throat).

If you like it then do what i am trying out. Pipesandcigars.com sales a bulk blend that is suppose to be a match to Dunhill Nightcap and i am going to try it out. i will post a reveiw on it after a few bowls of it. (Its way more easy on the wallet). But I still will be buying the Dunhill Brand every now and then and will be trying more Dunhill Blends!!!!!!!!!!!!

The tin aroma is decent enough, wafts of that tarry, smokey flavour that haunts the other two in various guises, promising I thought. Packing and lighting were business as usual, no surprise there then. Initial hints to this were quite promising, good hints of that tarriness came through. Sadly, though, the smoke descended into the taste of burnt toast or logs, quite unpleasant, smoke after smoke. Unfortunately I ended up ditching the remainder of the packet about half way through.

While EMP ad MM965 are hardly classics in my book and are fairly similar, they are nonetheless good solid tobaccos. This one comes no where close and isn't an experience I consider worth repeating. Still, there are plenty of reviews on here that disagree, so maybe I'm wrong, but at least we can all spend our money where we choose. In my case it will go elsewhere.

In the last year Nightcap seems to have become available at most UK tobacconists, so this is a craving that is easily sated.

First off- the tin smell is horrible. Words in my available pallet of descriptives do no justice to what I am stating here- I've dissected in innards of cadavers with less funk that this blend. Do all English Latakia blends exude this general odor- the horror?! No leaving the lid off this in a small room, nauseating.

So having puffed on Sunset Breeze all afternoon, I hit this after an extremely nice meal of Italian sausage w/red gravy, bringing the loaded bowl outside with with the bottle of remaining cab from this most excellent meal-I anticipated the worst but was so pleasantly suprised. FANstastic in every way, burn, taste, even the room -porch note really-note was tolerable.

How can something smell that bad in a tin taste to good? Taste -wise, it's akin to the pipe equivalent of Earl Grey and/or English Breakfast tea. I do question the marketing strategy of what many here have bought into: how the hell is a high nicotine tabak supposed to mellow one out late at night? I'm scribbling this at 4 A.M. for the love of God!!!! The only thing left to do is go outside and watch the sunrise... with another bowl of that tasty stinky-tinned treat:)

The nicotine in this blend is definitely noticeable, but not overwhelming nor something to be scared of. I found that is smoked better in a larger (wider bowl).

Highly Recommend it to anyone who is interested in Full English tobaccos.

It was a gloomy, dark and shivering February evening. I had just gotten home prior to picked up a tin of Dunhill's Nightcap, anticipation for what lays next awaits. The white cursive and bright yellow lettering written upon the tins lid wore at me like an old glove. The atmosphere around me was as calm and as relaxing as a sleeping child, one without worry, loved without regret. I slowly looked around in my warm and relaxing study. It consisted of an old oak desk, a small lamp and a rather large bookshelf that was made of what I remembered to be mahogany. That was my desk I thought, those are my books, this is my place. The pipe rack I had purchased off an old neighbor laid very close at hand. It was looking back at me now, wondering when I might finally decide to abandon the neglect of past few nights and come to back my senses to pick one up. Tonight, I thought, just might be that night.

I leaned back snug in my lambs leather back and pondered. Castello or Viprati, the two rhythmically sang in my head. A broken record of the gods. Tonight just might be that night. The light cadence of perfection abruptly ended with Viprati, so I quickly plucked it from its resting bed and held it tight in the palm of my hand. The anticipation was over. Its ok, you're close now, I'll keep you safe. This WAS the night. The polished birds eye bowl gleamed back at me. And I returned fire. “If only you were alive!” I said out loud, “I'd tell you my life, my love, my lost...”.

I reached for the perfectly round tin of Nightcap and slowly turned the lid counter-clock, a little tight, but nothing that could match my determinism and will at this point. The lid popped up and open. The air immediately become intoxicating. Raisins, leather and earthy aromas swirled around the room, perfection at last.

I rubbed the fine gold, burgundy and brown stripes in the palm of both hands – the perfect beginning. The oils bled in my hands like a bleeding soldier risking his life away to better the ones of others. It was that time. I packed the pipe perfectly, fitting every strand deep within the dark charcoal bowl. I then looked around in content, fire was next. The golden red tipped match struck the box and lit up like a freshly born star. The light smell of sulfur simply could not compete with the already swirling aromas of this Nightcap, no way.

One, then two, then three puffs I took in order to get it going, it was sheer bliss. Memories then began to pop into my head like the fresh popping of popcorn. Memories of joy, of pleasure, and most importantly of relaxation. “This is the time” I thought, “perfection”.

Yeahhhh so in a nutshell it was pretty good!

-J

I went home, grabbed my pipe, and opened the tin to be greeted by what to me was one of the most fantastic aromas I had ever experienced. I loaded my pipe and sat down to what has to this day been my Holy Grail of pipe smoking experiences; the tobacco was exactly what I had been looking for and it quickly became my favorite tobacco blend (yes, this was the first English tobacco I had ever smoked). Then it disappeared; I couldn't find it anywhere. It made a brief reappearance at my local smoke shop in bulk form at one point, but it was just not the same.

Fast forward to today. I learned that Orlik was blending Dunhill tobacco and that Nightcap was once again available. I went on line and ordered a tin keeping my fingers crossed that my beloved Nightcap was really back.

I received the tin and upon opening I was greeted by that same wonderful aroma that I had experienced those many years before, and I spent the next several minutes just smelling the tin. But now it was time for the real test, and I grabbed a pipe off the rack - a medium sized Dunhill shell (what else) - and filled the bowl. The tobacco was a little more wet than I would have liked, and would probably benefit from a few days drying time, but I couldn't wait. So I grabbed my favorite lighter and fired up, and I was immediately taken back to that very first bowl of Nightcap.

But it didn't last. I found myself getting bored with it about half way through the bowl. It's not that it was bad, I just lost interest. I think the problem is that I had just built this up so much that it couldn't live up to the hype in my own mind. You see, for 12+ years every English tobacco I smoked was compared to what I remembered this tobacco to be. I'm sure that my tastes have changed over the years, but everything was sill being compared to that first bowl of Nightcap that I smoked as a novice so many years ago.

With all of that said, I still recommend this tobacco; I am going to let this tin dry out a bit and try it again (perhaps in a smaller pipe), and if anything changes I'll let you know.

Nightcap looks and smells great in the tin, with much less Latakia than I expected. Typically (and many times erroneously), when it says "full" on the labels of English blends, it usually translates into "Lat Bomb." Not so this mixture. It is wonderfully balanced and delicious, and somewhat lighter than I expected, and I can see why it has been so popular over the years.

Unfortunately, to my palate, the Louisiana weed bullies its way through the other tobaccos and seizes center stage after the first third of the bowl. I only award four stars to my favorites, and this isn't one of them, although it is a refined and tasty smoke. If you don't like Perique, even in moderate doses, pass. If you enjoy it, you'll love this.

In the tin is a mix of brown-to-black ribbons and ready-rubbed; the tin note is astonishingly fresh and fruity, with the Latakia definitely noticeable but not domineering. I smell Orientals and a good sweetness.

A bit moist out of the tin, but easy to handle and maintain; with a cool burn. The taste starts out sweet and toasty, with just a touch of sourness; not much development in there, but enough variety in the taste to keep it interesting. The room note is toasty and smoky... oh, well, whom am I kidding? Typically English; not something to improve your social life.

Beautiful tobacco; not the most affordable choice, but IMHO worth the money.

Addendum 12-25-2011: That touch of sourness starts to grate after a while, for me. Still a good blend, but I feel I need to subtract a recommendation star.