Gallaher Limited Condor Ready Rubbed (Green)

Crikey Moses! This was perhaps the first pipe tobacco I ever tried (when I was younger than I canre to mention!).

Not for the feint hearted, a very bold and powerful aroma indeed. Admittedly a very pleasant room note, but right from braking the seal you can tell its going to be a strong one!

I must say, for all its downfalls, this is a fantastic tobacco. Its just one which should not be touched with a barge pole until you've developed a bit of a pallete and indeed a tolerance to nicotine!

Tounge burn is noticable, and the nocitine hit can leave an unwary smoker wondering where he is. However, if smoked with caution the tobacco is very pleasant, complex and intriguing. A powerful, spicy, sweet tobacco with hints of all sorts, mentionably rum, pepper and spice.

To be enjoyed in the depths of Winter, it will undoubtedly warm your coggles!!

This is the first tobacco i tried in my pipe. Big mistake. The nicotine hit was so hard that I was left wondering what had happened. Nicotine naivety!! Now that I am slightly more matured in my pipe smoking, quite enjoy this now and then. I generally prefer aromatics but this one is the exception. Beginners beware a must try for the more seasoned ones

This one took some getting used to for me, in the end I liked it and may get some more while I'm here in europe, but it was a challenging blend. The smell out of the pouch is very soapy with overtones of hay. I recommend this particular blend for cobs and clays. It packs quite easily and for me I found it tasted better in non briar pipes, not sure why, particularly enjoyed smoking it out of my clay, but it seemed to take a natural liking to my MM Diplomat as well. I would be very interested to try the long cut version of this blend, although it is easy to pack, I'm not a huge fan of the way these more finely rubbed blends burn they tend to dry out quickly and burn a bit hot. Good blend worth trying, I would say it is somewhat unique even in it's class, you should devote a pipe to this blend, as it ghosts heavily.

This stuff is ... weird.

The smell and first taste is just .. strange. I dont know enough about tobacco to say its 'this' or 'that' flavour. Once you get over the initial strangeness it is not a bad smoke and the you get used to the flavour.

As for that 'Condor moment' unfortunately I didnt find it.

It is still worth a try and readily available

Yes there is definately a 'Condor moment' it's when your stomach tells you to quit smoking this or die! The combination of thick, heavy cigar like smoke and soapyness is overwhelming and likely to cause shortterm impotence.

Still all is not lost, because one thing Condor has in spades is strength and if blended with a mild but easier smoke the results can be quite good. My favourite combo is a 50/50 mix with Kendal Black Cherry. The B.C. is fragrant and very gentle but lacks a kick of any sort but when you throw in the Condor then you have strength and flavour aplenty. The Condor help dry out the wetness of the B.C. too and a good slow, even burn is what you get. Try it. p.s. anyone who cannot get hold of Condor email me at([email protected]) for a U.K. supplier who will send to the USA.

This used to be a four star "over the counter tobacco" in my opinion, but they moved production from Ireland to Poland and the strength and flavour are nothing like it used to be. It might be still a decent tobacco for someone who hasn't smoked the old Condor, but it's a shadow of its former self.

There is, however, some good news, Condor plug, while worse than the old plug still retains some of the magic of the old ready rubbed, and I still buy the plug frequently

RR - One/two stars

Plug - Three stars

I purchased this from a Scotsman at the Chicago pipe show. I found it to be soapy tasting on first light. This dissappered as the bowl got warm. While a tasty blend the flavor was too mild and the tobacco too mild for me. I will not repurchase.

I've smoked a number of pouches of this supermarket blend, mainly in my den, but when I've smoked it in company in (or outside pubs) the reaction has been "what the f*** are you smoking?". I was once told it smelled "like an old paddy's donkey jacket burning on a bonfire" (a turf fire perhaps?) I don't think this stuff's an Irish blend. There are far better blends from Ireland and N Ireland. My own opinion on opening the pouch is that it smells a bit like an old fashioned barbers shop with maybe a hint of peat, coal and tar. It is very black, tarry and slightly damp, and looks and feels like trimmings of roofing felt. It smokes strong and warm, sometimes hot, and gives a powerful nicotine (and no doubt tar) yield. It's a proper strong old man's tobacco. I'd recommend anyone try it (and smoke it gently the first time) because it is a big selling traditional blend with which every piper should be acquainted, and sometimes it's the only baccy you can get, but I don't think it'll ever be my regular tobacco. To be smoked outdoors only.

One thing you want to know if you want to try this is that you will sacrifice a pipe for it. It is nearly impossible to get that Condor taste out of your pipe once you have smoked it. I do not like this blend at all. As I saw that a lot of pipe smokers have the same reaction at first, I will re-try it in a few months. For those who never tried, it is really one of its kind and unique, and the taste is not what you normally expect when you smoke pipes. UPDATE. Although quite weird, I returned to this tobacco. I dedicated it a small good pipe (one of my first friends), and I find it quite enjoyable. I suspect the flavoring is special and very important in the taste of this, but ....