Gallaher Limited Condor Ready Rubbed (Green)

Ah Condor. Upon first light you get a good whiff of rose geranium, that classic scent so favoured by British tobacco blenders. The rose geranium soon fades away by mid bowl leaving you with notes of tea, rich liquorice, and occasional smoky hints of dark fired leaf. The darker Virginia is there, but is not the real star of the occasion. The marriage of sweet floral and those superb but fleeting dark fired cigar notes make this a blend I have turned to nearly daily for over 30 years. It has a fair wallop of nicotine to boot. Yes, you probably want to dedicate a briar or use a meerschaum. I also appreciate the fact that it is available (at least in the UK) in supermarkets and some petrol stations.

This is the best OTC tobacco available in the UK...of that I have no doubt. I've loved each and every bowlful I've ever smoked. There's a creamy aftertaste left in the mouth that is absolutely wonderful and comes after a brilliantly intense smoke. I just love this stuff so much that when I die I want to be cremated with my pockets stuffed full of the stuff. At least that way I'll go out with a mesmerising aroma. One thing I will say is that this blend may not suit new pipesmokers as I hear many moaning about a soapy taste. I don't see that but I can see how this could be too overpowering for new pipe smokets. Still when you get used to puffing on the briar you will want to try this....you'll fall in love immediately

UPDATE - I recently had the winning bid on an unopened ounce of Condor dating back to the 1970's and it was an incredible smoke... so smooth and quite different to current day Condor. I'm not sure if this was due to the aging of the virginia or that the blend was different back in the day, but what an incredible smoke this was.

I bought a 25g pouch just to sample this tobacco. I've read lots of "extreme" reviews on this tobacco, from the extremely satisfied, to the extremely dissatisfied. Now I find myself loving this stuff.

Brown tobacco, smells like a true English blend, with herbal and oriental tobacco odours. The description says Virginia, but I also say Oriental, however I am no expert (I've been smoking pipes for a year now). In the pipe, it smokes like heaven with an excellent nicotine hit. A full round taste that lasts in the mouth and taste buds. Very cool smoke, not too "lakelandy" or soapy like some GH or SG tobaccos.

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This tobacco fiercely ghosts the pipe you smoke. Even smoking a completely different tobacco, you will mostly feel Condor for a while. Beware!

I tried this one for the first time as a novice pipe smoker and was nearly sick. It was strong, soapy and offensive however....

A few years latter after smoking all sorts of brands I came back to this stuff for a final go, I am glad I did. This one will not satisfy a new smoker but, o boy, when yourve tried a lot of different brands and then return to this one you find a spot in pipe heaven.

This is a strong, even burning brand that you must try. Stronger than St Bruno and richer than Royal Yacht, more subtle than Mellow Virginia but more dimensional than gold block. Its the perfect smoke for the more experienced smoker.

Enjoy

Condor is another tobacco that I have been smoking regularly for over twenty years. I smoke less of it than I once did now that it has become difficult to obtain. It is a very dark tobacco, and appears to be fully rubbed out from very thin flakes into short narrows strands and bits. The pouch aroma reminds me of fermented corn silage, sweet, strong and somewhat resiny. My guess is that it has been topped with an extract made from fermented sugar, corn or sorghum cane and probably a few other things I do not want to know about. It packs and lights easily in a little Peterson system, full bent #314, p-lip that I use only for Condor Original. As with Maltan, St. Bruno and other English scented flakes, the pipe can only be used for this specific tobacco. The aroma of the tobacco comes through from the first puff. The taste is sweet and tangy right in the middle of the tongue combined with the strong flavor of dark pressed English flake. This a more powerful smoke in every respect than is St. Bruno Flake. The nicotine content is extremely high and will get your ticker clicking. The taste effect is almost identical to heavily concentrated Perique, but is even stronger. The smoke is mild and carries no bite; it is all taste and nicotine. Other than the strange flavor, this is not a complex smoke. Each puff delivers the same piercing tang on the tongue and in the back of the throat. It burns to a powdery black/gray ash right down to the bottom of the bowl with very little tending. At times when I have had to relight it, swallowing has turned my stomach and given me the hiccups. While puffing on this tobacco during a sing-song in Kinsale, Ireland about a dozen years ago, I sat next to a gentleman who appeared to be in his mid to late seventies and who spent the evening rolling his own cigarettes from a pouch of Condor Original, so I concluded that this stuff will not necessarily kill you at an early age. I smoke it once or twice a week and enjoy the unique, exotic flavor. Paddy.

First off, this is not quite your conventional review, more of a rant. I have managed to get my hands on this, my parents brought it over from Tenerife when they went there - I understand that it is a common OTC blend all over Spain though. I am not sure how to describe this blend. After my first bowl all I could say is that ... it's soapy. After my first puch, well it grew on me so much that I bought another 5. There are various hints of flowers and other stuff over there, but that casing is so in your face that on my first impression I couldn't say anything beyond that. It's a fine smoke, no bite, no moisture, easy to handle ... but boy, that soapy stuff sure is persistent. At the end of the day it grows on you, so yes, I actually grew to like it so much I keep it in my rotation permanently, but I can understand why some simply love it and some do not at all. Probably in the past there have been versions of this tobacco that were less soapy (?) but this EU made version (Poland I believe) may not be the best version of condor, still a unique smoke - a splash o color any day of the week.

The classic British over the counter tobacco. Ostensibly an aromatic, heavily cased with a tin note of fermented fruit and alcohol. But also unexpected hints of English Lakeland with occasional whiffs of Latakia in the smoke, although no such is mentioned in the description, so whether it's really there or just a feature of the casing who knows.

There is also a slight cleaning product soapiness, which fades in and out and simply contributes to the complexity.

Dry before use else it can bite. Otherwise a cool strong smoke with a nic hit that can catch the unwary.

Sorry to the haters, but this really is one of the best pipe tobaccos in the world. And a blend I return to time and again.

I've been smoking Condor on and off for over forty-eight years. It was the tobacco that I started out on, because I'm going to omit the ghastly Clan blend that most newbies used to start out on, to which I also fell foul of and paid the price of a very burnt tongue and rubbish smoke. I worked in the coal mines and Condor was the tobacco of choice of the majority. Not only that, the Condor twist was both smoked and chewed by some of the old lads, anyway back to Condor ready rubbed. Condor ready rubbed despite now being made in Poland remains to my palette totally unchanged in taste and quality of smoke. The smoke is always cool, sweet, slow-burning and satisfying, with enough nicotine to satisfy anyone. I smoked this at a none smoking friends house and they were loving that unique Condor room note, whilst I was loving that legendary Condor moment, which lasts to the final puff, leaving no dottle, just fine ash. The trick to smoking Condor ready rubbed is to leave the packet open for a few hours or pre-load your pipe an hour before smoking it, because the ready rubbed is very moist. If you follow my instructions and gently sip at the pipe you will be rewarded by the aforementioned Condor moment and not want to smoke much else, apart from the long cut variant, plus here in the UK Condor is very easily procured from any large supermarket. So with all that said, I'll just add this...”If I had to pick only one tobacco to smoke on a desert Island, that tobacco would be Condor, either ready rubbed or long cut.” To be fair I do prefer the long cut, but it's getting rather hard to source at Tesco, so hence the ready rubbed review. Footnote: One slice of Condor long cut gives me over an hour of pure smoking ambrosia. The secret Condor casing is unique and for me no other tobacco can match that Condor moment. Yes I do rotate once in a while with Irish Flake, Petersons 3ps and the like, but returning to Condor is like embracing a long lost lover, such is my undying fondness for this tobacco.

This tobacco has been around forever in the UK and remains a big seller, likely only rivalled by St. Bruno in the sales stakes. There is a reason this tobacco has been around so long while many other blends have come and gone, and the reason is that it offers a smooth no-nonsense taste and true smoking satisfaction.

I would think that new smokers may find this blend a little strong and many report a soapy aftertaste, but this is common across lake-land styles of which this is very much one. Condor is very much my favourite blend but I do remember many years ago, when I first took up the pipe, finding this blend vile and I didn't smoke it for a long time after. However, when I gained experience with pipe smoking I tentatively tried it again and have never looked back. I smoke a bowl of this with a glass of decent Scotch most evenings and it is a pleasure at the end of a hard day.