Talk about being pleasantly surprised! This may be the perfect tobacco for those who are not wed to the sweet and gloppy side of things. Great tin note, perfect moisture level, good burning characteristics, not too bitey: but above all, the taste is divine. I don't know enough about all the intricacies and subtleties of the various tobacco varieties to talk competently about how they might have managed this, but somehow the blenders got everything just right, and pulled off some alchemical magic that takes this weed up and out of the normal English tobacco milieu to a new and original level.

Tasty, slightly sweet and a bit spicy at the same time, interesting, right amount of nicotine, nice combination of edginess and roundness.

A truly great smoke.

I love this blend. From the time I opened the tin and inhaled the Latakia to the bottom of my well burned ash, I knew it was an instant love affair.

No tounge bite, a decent complexity as the bowl burned and developed, and that pine/camphor aroma of burning Latakia and Oriental rounded out a perfect English for me.

I still love my Squadron Leader, but lets face it, there are many blends that we are just not going to get when we want them any more. For that reason, it was time to start trying to find a readily available and consitant English, and this is my all day English now.

The tin note slapped me in the face with peat moss and something strong and salty and, after a bit of drying, smelled even better.

Old Dublin is deep, rich, dark, smoky, and sweet, and has in the background a sort of briny and savory quality. I found the flavors are fascinating and complex, rich but subtle, and command the smoker's attention; a faint salty tang can just be detected behind the dark earthy sweetness. The Latakia is sometimes in the background, and comes and goes, but is always there, yielding a nice round, peaty fullness.

Beautiful smoke.

I stumbled across a tin of this quite by accident over the Christmas holiday when my wife and I were in Las Vegas. After perusing the two Davidoff shops on the strip we decided to venture out into the town where the locals might buy their tobacco.

A half an hour cab ride later we came across a little hole in the wall pipe shop down town.

We walked into the shop, and we were greeted with jars of cherry this and coconut that. Lots of run of the mill Danish Cavendish blends that just do not fit my pipe smoking needs. I asked the shop keep what he had in the way of an English mixture. He scratched his head for a moment, and then went to the back of the shop where he pulled from the shelves the tin of Old Dublin. He blew the dust off the top of the lid and handed it to me.

I read the description on the tin, and figured what the heck I will give it a shot. If I don't like it at least I have a tin to match all the Peterson pipes on my rack.

Upon stepping out of the store I popped the tin, and was greeted with a whole lot of kick you in the rear Latakia. This was not at all a bad thing. I continued to savour the tin aroma and found some sweet Virginias and a lot of Orientals as well. I was quite surprised to find such a complex mixture in this tin.

I filled a new Peterson Arat which I had purchased in the same shop with this mixture, and got to puffin'.

The tin moisture was just right. I have since purchased about five tins of this and each one seemed to have the perfect moisture right out of the tin.

Upon the first light I was hit on the back of the tongue with a complex variation of Latakia and Oriental leaf. This was not overwhelming for me, though those new to the world of English style tobaccos might find it a bit overpowering. The flavour did not change a whole lot as I walked the strip enjoying my pipe in my own little trance. I noticed the delicate Virginias would pop in every once in a while to make a sweet appearance then just as quickly as they came, they would be blown away with the breeze.

The tobacco held its flavour all the way to the end of the bowl, and for once I felt satisfied. Rarely have I felt this entranced by a mixture than with Old Dublin. I think Early Morning Pipe, 965, and Balkan Sassini were about the only instances I could say that.

I rate this tobacco to be a very good example of a medium to heavy English blend with a lot of the characteristics found in the Balkan blends.

What is advertised on the tin is honestly what you get out of the tin.

This tobacco is one of my daily smokes; sometimes twice a day. I usually smoke it later in the evening after dinner or with a big Russian Imperial Stout.

I would recommend this tobacco to anyone who wishes to venture into the world of English tobaccos, and not be disappointed with the big jars of empty promises. If you are strictly an aromatic or VA smoker, I would say this might not be your cup of tea.

The blending notes on this page indicate "Greek" Basma Grades and I don't know if this is verified, but I think that strictly speaking 'Basma' is the generic term for Turkish derived leaves -interested to here other views on this!

The interaction between Latakia and Basma is very interesting in this blend and this, in my view, distingishes it from a typical medium English mixture, which of course it's not.

Open the tin and the Latakia slaps you in the face; however, light-up and it's the oriental that takes prominence from offing. The Basma sweetness is there from the start of the smoke and the Latakia just seems to linger in the background almost as though it's a passenger on the journey; the real action is with the oriental's in the driving seat. There is simply too much oriental influence in this blend to classify it as a straight English medium mixture. I have smoked orientals [without Latakia] for more than 30 years, and yet I can live with this blend because the Basma almost, but not entirely, neutralizes the latakia content.

Other reviewers have noted that the latakia is not over-powering and they are absolutely right.

On the practacalities: the blend is very moist and benefits from drying almost to the point where it's toasty in texture. It also 'smarts' the tongue if pushed too quickly - especially in its moist form - allow it to breathe out of the tin before smoking.

Only somewhat recommended (because of the latakia), but I would consider this a short-term alternative, if for some reason, I could not obtain my favourite latakia-free oriental.

The taste also became quite alright after the tin had been opened for a month, but somehow it took me 3 months to smoke 3/4's of the 50gr tin. it's good but l tend to pick another of my opened tins when choosing what to smoke. No reason for it but there you go.

In short a good EM, but I prefer others, hence the low rating...

In the can, this tobacco has the typical English characteristics of dried dark-fruit and smokiness. The cut is typical, medium-length. It packs easily into all but the smallest bowls.

Old Dublin lights easily and burns well to the very bottom of the bowl, with minimal relights. It smells like a typical English, where (to me) the latakia plays a prominent role.

The flavor is nice, with a mild complexity. There is a sweet background provided by virginias and an unflavored cavendish. Against that, there is the woody smokiness of the latakia and the zest of the orientals. I find that this tobacco leaves a menthol-like aftertaste, which isn't a bad thing.

This tobacco has a mild strength for an English blend, so it is great for newbies or as an all-day smoke when you don't want to get wrung-out on nicotene.

If I compared this to a beverage, it would be a decent Pinot Noir. It is somewhat rich and interesting, but not very strong. Recommended.

*Original Review* Old Dublin is a medium Balkan with delicious, core Oriental flavors and a pleasing richness that is balanced nicely by the Latakia, which is well apportioned and doesn't dominate. But all of the goodness is obscured by an unnatural, spicy bitterness, an artificiality that lingers unpleasantly through the finish. All of the Peterson tobaccos I've tried so far have this "chemical" trait, which conflicts with MY mouth chemistry. And that's unfortunate, because OD would have been a top choice for me -- and was, until I compared it to other blends in the category, such as G.L. Pease's Kensington and Samarra, which I encourage you to try and compare for yourself.

The taste and burn on lighting up still held promise, then ... the chemical tingle and burning. Oh please let me be wrong....maybe I shouldn't have cleaned my teeth before, maybe not that blend of tea ..

All hopes dashed to pieces. Sore throat,numb tingling tongue.Another one added to my never again list I'm afraid.

I ordered a tin of this as the reviews on here sounded promising. Admitedly I am a fairly new pipe smoker having dabbled for a while whilst trying to give up the cigarettes. I have now devoted myself to the art of pipe smoking and am currently in pursuit of the pipe smokers nirvana.

Sadly I have not found it in this tobacco. I know that many on here praise this tobaccos qualities but maybe my palate has just not acquired the taste for this blend. Whilst I can appreciate the quality of the tobaccos in this, I find it is just not doing it for me. I am not saying that it is bad, it just is not my cup of tea.

On opening the tin there is a promising note of good tobacco with something going on in the background. This you discover is the Latakia which to me is an acquired taste. Somewhat like discovering that Earl Grey tea tastes different from normal tea. Nothing wrong with that its just different.

At the moment, I cannot give chapter and verse as to the merits of each variety of leaf just an overall impression of whether it tastes good and to me as a newbie pipe smoker it is not for me. Maybe in years to come I will revisit this tobacco and change my opinion but it is not one that I shall be ordering again soon. I will finish the tin, as I hate to waste money. I ordered this with a selection of others Old Gowrie, Connoisseurs Choice and Sunset Breeze and so far this is my least favourite. I can only put that down to the Latakia as I know they are all quality tobaccos.

In conclusion, it lights well, burns well, is not too moist out of the tin, burns cool in the pipe but is an acquired taste for the more experienced pipe smoker and not for the new boy. Incidently, it also gave me hiccoughs but maybe thats just my inexperience in smoking too quickly.

two stars for the quality of tobacco but loses two because its not for me.

The Virginias and Basma unite to provide a wonderful platform for just the right amount of latakia to raise it's smoky head. I find the consistency of flavors throughout the bowl one of the pluses of this wonderful blend.

Is it too much to fire a pipe of Old Dublin, close one's eyes and expect to feel transported to that lovely isle across the sea? I think not.