Mike & Russ: The Mind Meld Sweet English
(2.38)
A full mixture of the finest smoky Cyprian latakia, fragrant Turkish, naturally sweet matured Virginia and a touch of soft, mellow black cavendish. Smooth, rich, subtle!
Notes: An outstanding blending collaboration of thoughts and tastes between McClelland's Mike McNiel and Pipes and Cigars' Russ Ouellette.
Details
| Brand | Mike & Russ: The Mind Meld |
| Blended By | Mike McNeil & Russ Ouellette |
| Manufactured By | Mike & Russ |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Black Cavendish, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Mixture |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Mild
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Very Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 14, 2018 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The grassy, citrusy matured Virginia doesn’t quite reach the supporting player status. The floral, lightly spicy, woody, earthy, mostly dry and sour Turkish is barely a condiment. The sugary black cavendish adds a noticeable bit of sweetness even though it is a condiment. The strength is a step past the mild level, while the taste is just past that. The nic-hit is mild. Won’t bite, but has a rough edge here and there despite the effect of the black cavendish. Burns moderately cool and very clean at a slightly fast rate. The sweet and lightly savory flavor has a little inconsistency. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. An all day smoke that lacks depth.
-JimInks
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 31, 2016 | Mild | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Mostly black ribbons with some darker brown tossed in. Tin nose of latakia and sweet Virginia. Some clumps among the ribbon. Came drier in the tin than I'm used to from McClellands and drying out wasn't necessary. Nor did doing so help anything.
Dusty and sweet are the two words that come to mind when I smoke this. Unfortunately, I can't make out any oriental presence here, as the latakia covers them up. The latakia is prominent but not strong and the Virginia is sweet and noticeable. The Cavendish lends its sugary note but it distinguishes itself by tasting like added sugar as opposed to the natural sugar in Virginia tobacco. Unfortunately, while this was sweet, it was also dusty tasting and I found it wearing out its welcome very quickly. Beyond that dusty taste, I just found no personality to this one. Sort of an "English Aromatic" attempt and it didn't seem to lean to either the McNeil or the Ouelette camp, which makes it a nice collaboration. I guess. This just struck me as a failed experiment. I liked the other two in the series very much but this one left me cold and unexcited. Try it if you're curious - you might enjoy it more than I did.
Dusty and sweet are the two words that come to mind when I smoke this. Unfortunately, I can't make out any oriental presence here, as the latakia covers them up. The latakia is prominent but not strong and the Virginia is sweet and noticeable. The Cavendish lends its sugary note but it distinguishes itself by tasting like added sugar as opposed to the natural sugar in Virginia tobacco. Unfortunately, while this was sweet, it was also dusty tasting and I found it wearing out its welcome very quickly. Beyond that dusty taste, I just found no personality to this one. Sort of an "English Aromatic" attempt and it didn't seem to lean to either the McNeil or the Ouelette camp, which makes it a nice collaboration. I guess. This just struck me as a failed experiment. I liked the other two in the series very much but this one left me cold and unexcited. Try it if you're curious - you might enjoy it more than I did.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2016 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I had hoped that Sweet English, my first encounter with the Mild Meld series from outstanding blenders, Russ Ouelette and Mike McNeil would be something truly unique. For me, that isn’t the case as this taste’s very much like a McClelland English blend even though the tin note smells to me like collaboration. Now that isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t stand out either. SE is in the same range of sweetness as Frog Morton on the Town or Park Lane No. 8. For me it fits into that “crossover” category rather than an aromatic English, although I am sure some would debate that point. It didn’t require the dry time that I usually expect from McClelland tobaccos, and it behaves very well in the pipe. It’s mild in strength and medium in taste. It burns cool and doesn’t leave a lot of dottle. All of the component tobaccos are of the usual high quality that I always appreciate from these blenders. The Cavendish adds the additional sweetness, but isn’t overpowering at all. Fans of FMOTT, Park Lane No. 8 and Northwoods, (Boswell) will likely be quite pleased with Sweet English. SE is a good entry into that genre of blends, but for me, it leaves me wanting.
Age When Smoked:
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