James B. Russell Bengal Slices

I was lucky enough to score 3 tins of this storied blend from my local tobacconist, who acquired it in an estate purchase from a former patron. Nothing like smoking a dead man's tobacco stash to put you in a contemplative mood...i felt very lucky to get my hands on it, but also vaguely wrong somehow as well. Not badly enough to not come back for 2 more tins after my initial smoke mind you, but a bit uneasy all the same.

This blend is lovely. It is a crumble cake of dark luxurious latakia, virginia and cavendish. Somewhat ahead of its time i think. The scent is what you'd expect from the contents, though the latakia has much softened in the nearly 30 years since it was tinned. The top dressing is still apparent in the nose as well, though less so than in Fusiliers Ration or the new Bengal Slices. More subdued, but very similar. I have smoked all three side by side, and i find them all to be tasty and very similar in effect, but this older version was my favorite. Its not a fair comparison, as tge virginias here had a whopping head start in aging, and the result was a sweeter, more perfumey richness. The lat here was also more muted, which was to my liking. I think the cavendish used in fusiliers ration was a bit better than the other 2, in that it was slightly less cavendish sweet, as opposed to virginia sweet. Overall not something i reach for often at all, but it fills a certain place. The gorgeous tin and the history and laurels of this blend also make it well worth the purchase. A true classic that is unique, rich, and satifying. I am glad i was able to find out what this one was all about.

I'm smoking through the remains of a tin I purchased about a dozen or so years ago..

At this point the Latakia has softened substantially and the VAs have more of a say in the smoke then when it was fresh. I think the black cav adds a nice subtle sweetness to the two combining for a pretty well rounded smoke.

The well aged version I'm smoking has a nice creaminess to it but also displays that "greasiness" a fellow reviewer mentioned below..a characteristic which was indeed much more pronounced smoking tins back in the day when they were still in production.

I like the thick little flake presentation they used as it facilitated easy prep. Crumble & go was all it took. Easy to pack, keep lit and enjoy. I like the room note but I doubt it would win over any non smokers.

A fine smoke both back when fresh and the quite aged version I'm finishing now. I'd seek out another tin but wouldn't get too carried away pricewise..its a good smoke not a legendary one..for me anyway.

Try it if you can find it..

I had a tin of this given to me from 1988 and it was wonderfull. The smoke was cool, smooth, soft, light and sweet. The taste is smokey, light and slightly sweet. There were some nuances of an earthy grassy type that weaved themselves in and out through out the bowl and were very tastey as well. This is really a wonderful blend and I much Appreciated it. I just wish I could acquire more of this since it unavailable to me right now. If you have an opportunity to acquire this, do it. You may like it or even treasure it!

Too bad it is not available aymore in its original form.

The sweetend black CA brought a nice touch to this Latakia & Va flake.

This has been my first Latakia flake and I enjoyed it.

Review based on a pre-2000 tin, opened January 2010; so this comes with more than a decade of age on it. (It always seems a bit pointless to review a blend no longer in production. But maybe there are tins still hanging around out there for the curious...)

I largely agree with the reviewer here who wrote: "Of the blends of today, it would be somewhere between Esoterica Penzance and J.F. Germain Special Latakia Flake." Bengal Slices, however, lacks the distinctive Oriental presence that makes Penzance such a unique and wonderful smoke. Minus the orientals, it is an ultra-smooth and soft mixture that seamlessly blends a constant latakia presence with an equally constant VA/Cavendish underpinning. It is surprisingly mild in flavor.

It is also surprising in its production of smoke from the bowl: This is the smokiest blend I've had in a long, long time. Not a concern whatsoever, unless you're in the company of others who don't share your love for a fine English mixture.

I haven't had the original Bengal Slices -- the flaked version of Balkan Sobranie -- since it was in production. But I can say that this is a completely different blend. The original bore the distinctive spice and rich latakia presence of a true Balkan blend; later-era Bengal Slices had moved into quite different territory. Both are enjoyable. But the original still remains a truly amazing -- and unduplicated -- mixture.

This was among my first good ventures into english/balkan blends, after the light english mixtures - Rattray's no 7, Blatter & Blatter Light english Mixture, for example- were not enough anymore in terms of strength.

There are not many latakia flakes on the market; this one was very tasteful, satisfying, but not extremely strong. The black Cavendish mellowed it down.

The flakes were very dark, with a bit of brown and golden streams, easy to rub out but harder to keep lit because of the overall darkness colour. Slow burning, obviously, big latakia taste - I suspect syrian- and VA, kind of heavy room note.

Too bad, I haven't had it in a while, would love to retry it but can't find it anywhere!

A good flake, recommended!

I still have old tins from this stuff when I smoked it twenty years ago. It was good stuff, albeit a bit too moist and thus needing rubbing out first. Also, the flavor was near excellent, but didn't match other slices that I was smoking at the time (I was into slice a lot at the time). A find old brand, that almost is a great one, but has a very slight undercurrent of blandness almost like there was cheap burley mixed in or something. Nonetheless, the drier it got, the better it smoked, and was always in the rotation.

Rich and flavorful. Probably won't pass the wife test due to the latakia. Rub it out good it smokes cooler that way. Well balanced medium english smoke.

Is it that we're so spoiled by the likes of great Dunhill, C&D, McClelland and Peace blendings - that the old mainstays are vanishing? There is certainly genius at work in today's American crafters and time tested quality from Britan...here, is a dull but faithful companion. Mild, not potent...simple, not exciting. Perhaps it takes a tour on the sub-continent and yearnings for the cool, damp, green countryside to generate warm feelings for the comforts found in Bengal Slices. I have one tin in a well sealed glass jar on my shelf - that's enough.

Hmm-m-m-m. I wonder if I mixed it half and half with Penzance if that would.....

Oh, why waste the Penzance. If you want this sort of profile, but with flavor...then that's what you should have in your pipe anyway!