Elephant & Castle New World

Notes: Yes...New World contains cigar leaf from Cuba. It was a somewhat updated version of two Dunhill mixtures - one was, of course, their Cuba Mixture, the other won't be named - which McConnell had made over the years, but were no longer in production. There was a Sobranie mixture at this time which contained cigar leaf, but it didn't seem to gain much from that leaf. New World has a distinctly exotic aroma in the tin and while burning. The sizable amount of cigar leaf in the mixture is easy to see. New World has often been called the finest tobacco of its type. While there have been many attempts to "marry" pipe and cigar leaf, none has maintained the fine smoking characteristics and full flavor as has the New World. A truly great tobacco. Interestingly, the decision to use Cuban cigar leaf was mainly one of practicality, and had nothing to do with any perceived superiority or name value - especially as it couldn't be advertised as such due to US import restrictions. These tobaccos were conceived in the late 70's and early 80's, and in Europe at that time, virtually all cigars were Cuban. The Dominican, Nicaraguan or Mexican leaf now common, were not known. In fact, if my timeline is correct, the Fuente family had only just established their factory in the Dominican Republic, and were known mainly for their short filler Curley Heads! How things have changed over the years. The New World was another E&C original, though we acknowledge its inspirational precursors from Dunhill. As with all the tobaccos in the Elephant & Castle range, the tins of "New World" were hand blended in the McConnell factory London, England and are at least 13 years old. Information from "The E&C Story" on the Marble Arch Ltd. website: http://www.serjacopo.com/e%26c/E%26C_000.html