Drucquer & Sons Levant Mixture

I have been smoking on and off for over ten years and just started expanding my latakia horizons. I have a couple of the Frog Morton blends, which I love, and have determined that I am a big fan of latakia. This is a relatively smooth but full bodied and tasty English latakia blend. It's described as an oriental forward English, but I primarily get the latakia with pockets of oriental flavor. Burns well for me with about 15 minutes of drying time. Mac Barens Vintage Syrian seems more oriental forward, and I do enjoy that blends as well but reach for Levant more often. It's my favorite latakia blend as of this moment.

The re-issue of Drucquer & Sons Levant Mixture is a full English Mixture with a definite Balkan aspect. The tobacco is mostly Latakia black, the darker brown of the red Virginias and the Oriental leaf in second place, with a smattering of yellow bright Virginia. The cut is fairly thin--somewhere between a standard ribbon and a shag cut, and takes to the flame with little effort and continues burning with scant attention. The initial flavor is Latakia and more Latakia, with the fruity red Virginia and sour Orientals laying low. The sharp sweetness of the bright Virginia peeps out here and there. As the bowl progresses, the Latakia recedes a bit as the Orientals and red Virginia come into their own. The bright Virginia remains sequestered on the sidelines. A full Latakia mixture, but not quite a "bomb" or "dump." The flavor coats rather than fills the mouth. Levant is definitely an evening smoke, insofar as anything that follows will still taste like Levant.

The tin says “it’s the fullest of the range.” And it’s full. Tasty, but full. My current favorite full English is Westminster and that is not nearly as full as Levant IMO. Probably the same tobaccos in different proportions but Levant is more Latakia and bigger mouthfeel but also a bit sweeter and not as spicy. It’s a good outdoor smoke. I think the 100 gram tin may last me a lifetime because one bowl and I’m done for a week. I saw one reviewer on this forum say it has to be you last smoke of the day or else everything else tastes like Levant. Well, I can attest to that as next day bacon and eggs tastes like bacon and eggs and Levant and peanut butter and jelly tastes like peanut better and jelly and Levant and Mac and cheese tastes like Mac and cheese and Levant. Good smoke but big. Not big on nicotine thank goodness but it’s full. I would buy more if I ever run out which I can’t imagine I will but maybe. It’s good.

I don't find it as full as I expected, but still this packs a big Latakia hit. Very dry-tasting, very smoky, very spicy: it also has a hint of edginess, which can also turn occasionally on a woody/tannic/slightly bitter side. It's a great English Mixture, but in the series for me it comes behind Trafalgar (and on a par with Red Lion) because it's a little less balanced and too skewed on the woody/dry/spicy notes, while Trafalgar is rounder and chewier.

Tasty and intoxicating, but just be sure that you like this very sharp "full Latakia and Orientals" style. Very fine cut, so apply a lighter hand when packing.

This is a very good blend for a mature palate. The red virginias are very tasty. the Turkish/ oriental element is probably Basma,as the oriental component is more tangy than other blends. The latakia presence is muted. The smoking is easy with no relights for me. The nic hit is average. the flavor is mild the room note is mild. While I find this delicious, I would use this as a change of pace blend. The flavors marry better as the bowl gets evenly warm. Some additional spiciness appears as the smoke progresses.

Tin note is slightly like hazelnuts with a sweet Va. undertone. The Latakia smokey smell was muted in my tin. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of mostly dark brown with a good helping of black (Lat.) and a sprinkle of light orientals. I came across this tobacco in my hunt for a Night Cap replacement. This is better than Nigh Cap. The tobacco packs, smokes, and lights easily. The char light tastes like a grilled lemon slice. As the bowl progresses the lemony taste lessens to be replaced with a Full English smokey taste. The nicotine is just past medium. Leaves a slight floral/lemon aftertaste on the lips.

Levant is the seventh, and last, of the Drucquer/Pease revivals I have smoked during my Covid19 isolation and it is the one that I feel is least like the original blend that I smoked often during Drucquer's original run. I made a fortunate purchase of bunches of original Drucquer English blends in the late 80's and sold many tins off in the 90's. However, I kept three blends for my stash: Cook's #5, Blend 805 and Levant. Unfortunately, the first two are not in revival. I smoked many tins of Levant over the years until my stash became depleted somewhere around 2005. My current tin was only 3 months old and appeared very blond and bright among the brown and black bits; understandable for a new tin. However, it smoked with a high register; higher than I remember the blend smoking in the past. The other thing that struck me as not in the original was the noticeable dryness of the smoke. In this I agree entirely with reviewer Beer 2020-01-26 and state that this is the driest pipe blend I have ever lit. I do not fault Greg Pease for this. Today's tobacco stocks are simply not the same as 40 or 50 years ago and results like this are to be expected. I agree with the many reviewers who have said this blend is quality, blended well, great English and everything else. I just feel that it is the most off-centered of the seven revivals. I used Levant in micro blending and discovered it worked best when paired with a heavier English of a darker nature, like OVTC's London Night. I also added some Cornell and Diehl Burley Flake #5 to this mix and it was a grade A smoke all the way. So, all in all, I have no problem recommending this blend at three stars. I feel that this blend might age well and will put some tins away.

Wanted to try an old-school Pease blend and Blairgowrie continued to be out of stock so I thought about this Balkan/English. After it arrived, I waited as long as I could and dove into the tin. Broad spectrum of flavors, but as Wilke High Hat is one of my go-tos, I am on intimate terms with Latakia and immediately recognized spicy Lats as prime constituents in Levant. That said, it is a credit to the blender that it complements, but does not overpower, the more sour, yeasty taste of the Virginias, while the bright leaf keep the blend from becoming overpoweringly heavy, adding touches of sweet grass as the bowl progresses. The mouthfeel was creamy/thick and the smoke luxuriously billowy. Best smoked, IMHO, when there is time to sip and savor the smoke. I do not think this is an all-day smoke, but I have done back-to-back bowls with great enjoyment.

Next up for D&S I've got the Levant Mixture which based on the tin I thought I'd really like. It comes in a great size and opening up the tin there is a course cut ribbon that is very dark in color. There's a few stems here and there. The moisture out of tin is pretty much perfect for me. It smells exactly like a heavy English blend should: deep, rich, smokey, and sweet. It's easy to pack and light.

Once lit the Latakia comes to the front immediately. It's very earthy, creamy and smokey. The Virginias back this up with a rounded sweetness. The Orientals are more herby than incense like in this blend. It makes for a very easy sipper and one I particularly enjoy on those rainy days like today.

Lady N is taking you out for the usual in this blend. I find the nicotine very middle-of-the-road. Taste wise though, this is quite a full smoke. It's not as full as say Pirate Kake, but it's definitely more than My Mixture or Father Dempsey. The smoke does coat your mouth in a pleasant way enhancing the creaminess of the blend. Burns slow and consistent, mostly cool unless you puff like a train. Not exactly my everyday kind of smoke but definitely one to repurchase.