Gallaher Limited Condor Blended (Yellow)

I'm going to give this a 4 as it is a lovely smoke. I don't think it's totally unlike the Condor ready rubbed - it has the same floral/soapy/vinous taste and aroma. No bite at all even though I'm a bit of a puffer. Might not be the baccy I'd choose for the desert island but it's certainly good.

Good combustion, with trend to create dampness towards the end of the whiff. It supports the flavor until the end, combining the sweetness of the beginning with an evolution later to more earthy tones. It tastes Virginias, nothing to see with the Condor Original.

My first pipe tobacco at the age of 18, and I have just received my second packet today. Once touted as a mild blend of the standard Condor green, this remains today. The familiar floral notes are there on opening the packet, and the tobacco itself is just as dark, and a little moister.

Unlike Condor green, this is a true all-day smoke, as the standard one can get a bit much for some. Less of the flavouring and aroma, easier to smoke and lighter in Vitamin N - though certainly not lacking in it. Still very satisfying, and a good stepping stone for any smoker that is still to try the original green version.

To start this out, I would like to note that my review pertains to the maker of Condor prior to the present maker of the Condo blends, which I believe are being made in Poland.

With that said, I have to say I loved this blend: maybe more than I love Condor Long Cut. Both of them are great to my tastes. I like the fuller leaf used in LC, but I really like the lighter applied topping in the blended. I think that as it pertains to relating these two, I have said all I needed to say.

Condor Blended is just lighter all around than the Long Cut. I have yet to try the Ready Rubbed version of this yet, so I have no idea how the Blended compares to this. This is not really news to anyone who has read the above description as I am really just echoing that, but I do have a little more to add.

With regard to the leaf, It is not so light so as to be like smoking air. I typically do not like the lighter Virginias because of this. I found the Bright Virginias used in this to be quite flavorful and have a nice bit of body to them giving you all the hay like sweetness you would expect.

The topping, I believe, is the exact same as LC. If it isn't than I am unable to tell any difference from my memory of LC's topping. It is just lighter applied as far as I can tell and this suits me better as I do think the topping on LC is a little heavy. Don't get me wrong. I love both of these. I am leaving four stars on this one.

I had to try this as I'm a big fan of the flake. This is a very high quality tobacco, Virginias, as far as I can tell. Straight out the pouch it is way to wet and will steam and burn your tongue. Let it air for several hours and then jar it. This is a very sweet tasting tobacco and fools you into thinking that it's low in Nicotine. Well it's not! I wouldn't recommend this on an empty stomach. As far as the smoke goes it's an extremely pleasant, sweet virginia with the usual Lakeland topping, but very ,very subtle unlike it's big brothers. The room note is very pleasant too and unlike it's big brothers it doesn't ghost your pipe. Some people find it a bit bland and boring but I don't like complex tobacco's so I enjoyed it very much. My only gripe is that it seems very difficult to keep lit. Other than that, a great smoke in my opinion that I'd highly recommend to new pipe smokers or people who find the full flavoured Condor a bit too heavy going. It's quality stuff all the same.

Very nice. Not quite to my taste as St Bruno or the other main two Condors, but an interesting and rather pleasant change nonetheless. A one to give a go I feel. I buy it occasionally to alter the usual rotation.

50g Pouch

Condor Blended isn't as common to see in shops compared to its other stable mates of ready rubbed and longcut flake..

Anyhow the appearance of the contents is of a darkish brown ready rubbed of almost identical consistency to the green pouch ready rubbed except a shade lighter.. Its a brown full Virginia I recon, maybe with some light proportion of burley.

The pouch aroma is a Lakeland floral but slightly different to the purpley lavender taste of Condor RR ;Condor Blended is a slightly mentholic coniferous lemony floral dafodils of a zesty and citric liqueur (grappa?). This translates to the smoking experience as well.. The over all experience is kind of like an Earl Grey tea with a digestive biscuit; the tobacco is quite wheaty.

Condor blended's smoking performance is as good in everyway to the green pouch Ready Rubbed; its cool rich long lasting and consistently tasty, burns down to fluffy grey ash..

No bite at all ,its fluffy and fizzy in its gentle, yet rich ,smokey and typically Condor way. The difference between Condor RR green pouch and Condor Blended yellow pouch is that the yellow pouch has less of the carbonic Kentucky stout factor.. Condor blended is marginally less stout but doesn't suffer losses for it.

Condor blended nicotine strength is probably on par with the green pouch ready rubbed I would say,it definitely got a felt kick..

Condor Blended is I feel almost a mirror of Craven Aromatic.. Its other contemporaries might be Condor Ready Rubbed, Ennerdale Flake , St Bruno Ready Rubbed. I was expecting Condor Blended to be a toned down 'Condor RR' but it isn't ;Condor Blended holds its own identity and up there in unique factor with the mysterious others of the Condor Range.

I will definitely keep some in my rotation totally deserves 4 stars.