Gallaher Limited Condor Ready Rubbed (Green)

Condor is a full flavored, nicotine fortified, love it or hate it blend. I happen to love it. Hard to come by in the states and having it shipped from Europe (unless you live there) will grab your wallet Its strong flavor will haunt your pipe, so smoke it in a meer, or a cob the first time to make sure you like it. I believe cloves to be a flavoring.

It was with great trepidation that I first opened up the packet to this, my first foray into this tobacco. Having tried Condors' fantastic long cut, I was a little worried that this might be like a bands' difficult second album, or a sequel to a fantastic film, you're never quite sure it will live up to expectations. Luckily, I think, it turned out more Beverly Hills Cop II than III.

The aroma upon first smell was a heady rich mixture of the original movie, SGs' fabled Squadron Leader and a more pleasant incarnation of largely atrocious Mellow Virginia. Packing is fairly easy, though, due to the large ribbons, a little care is needed. This also makes it a little harder to light than most ribbons, but it's no really biggie. The taste in the mouth is just fantastic, a mixture of Long Cut and a nicer Mellow Virginia. The room note is very good, and has a way of just nicely hanging around the place, popping up every so often to provide a pleasant reminder of a thoroughly good smoke.

A very good everyday tobacco, so good in fact, that I smoke it to the exclusion of my other stashes of the naughty leaf and finished my first 50g packet inside a week. It is a heavy smoke though, not for beginners, but can be sampled regular with no big deal once you're used to it. If Condor Long Cut is a fine steak to be eaten best in the evening, this would be a fine bacon - good all day round.

I deleted my old review of this because i felt it was now obsolete and i felt like something to write about this popular british OTC enigma,so if you feel like something to read; let me waste a minute of you life.

Condor ready rubbed

'Making friends with an old enemy'

I have been piping for about 7 or 8 years;in that time only one tobacco ever kicked my ass and it was this;it hit me like an uppercut to the solaplexus and left me winded and spunout(i was a novice at the time).. I really wanted to like this one for this act alone because it had commanded my respect in the nicoteen department even if i was not sure of the taste.

I hadn't forgot this strange tobbaco and out of morbid curiosity of wanting a rematch i went to sainsbury's and bought a 50g pouch as a folly,as well as my regular golden virginia rollup (I had bought an estate pipe on ebay recently,and whilst examining it i sniffed the bowl and it smelled of 'condor the king of floral pipe ghosts',so i decided that this would be a dedicated condor pipe whether i liked it or not).

When i got home i anxiously sniffed the unopened pouch to see if i could smell the pouch aroma that was inside,because in my memory this was the strangest smelling tobacco i had so far experienced(i couldn't actually smell anything BTW)

Anyway i took a few preparing breaths,tore open the packet and took a big (over the top) 'condor moment' sniff and then thought for a few seconds,then took another(this went on for a few times):its not as strong as i seem to remember it(possibly because i knew what i was expecting) and it has a slightly sweeter smell than i remember. Pouch aroma is still a strange one though;Pick'n'Mix foam pink shrimps sweets, meets domestic cleaning product ala wood scented wood polish,green smooth in the round tin 'swarfega' mechanics hand soap, brings long lost aromas and dejavue of my youth in the 70's;opening tins and sniffing things in my dads shed, and furniture polish of our wooden cased ITT television..

The pouch appearance wasn't as dark as my memory seems to remember either(i have since smoked 'revor plug' and 'black xx');a dark brown rubbed flake,no predrying necessary this was ready and easy to load.I then transfered the whole pouch into a glass kilner clip sealed jar incase this was going to be save it for later type. I pulled out an unused fresh 6" clay pipe for an accurate review and loaded up with that certain "i don't know why i am doing this" russian roulette wearyness/anticipation,lit it up and noted from my previous experience two cautions to be utterly obeyed; 1) do not over puff, 2)do not under any circumstances inhale!

Ok;it lights ok,smoked ok,and still tasted 'strange' but ok;I initially got placebo symptoms where my emergency body responce mechanism got ahead of itself and my heart was beating a bit and my stomach moved like a washing machine,but it wasn't nausia(infact i needed a shit and this was the first pangs) My previous notes from my first experience seem exagerated in places(due to overwhelming impression at the time),but certain factors still stand.regarding the omnipresent 'lavender soap' aspect.

After a 1/4" had been smoked;the mystery topping diminishes somewhat to reveal the qualities of the tobacco (dark fired virginia,strong nutty burley,light unsweetened cavendish?) underneath which can be momentarily quite meaty in a tinned dogfood type way(as a toddler i would help the dog consumme its 'pedigree chum') Simularities to other tobacco brands i know;'revor plug' meets 'irish flake';i may prefer this to irish flake i think because it occupies a more individual slot between 'university flake' and revor plug',whereas 'irish flake' although strong in nicoteen;i just prefer the taste of 'university flake'. This may of been my first 'burley',so its no wonder it took me out the first time when i was first inhaling it(plus alcohol).

Half way down the bowl the topping softens again from the lavender to a taste more akin to 'Barrets foam pink shrimps' penny sweets ;another unique flavour which only pink shrimps seem to taste like pink shrimps.Although these aromatic properties are present,i do not call this an 'aromatic' tobacco;its just a strong tobacco with a unique topping.

The nicoteen is about on par with 'revor plug' i would say. It can burn hotter,or seems to be felt that way in my clay compared to my long ago briar experience, but still cool and tastes clearer than my first time.( by sipping and keeping two fingers over the bowl to preserve the chamber heat at the top ,its a nice steady puffers puff of a smoke right from the go).

Floral Factor: The floral factor in this blend in no way compares to 'lakeland's' rose/pinewood-esque essence;this is something more artificial and applied,but it doesn't effect the smoking properties,it just adds an aromatic note.Its like comparing perfume to an air freshener(condor is an air freshener)

Soap Factor: The soap factor is another area where condor differs from other 'kings of soap';its soapness is not like a 'cold cream' bar of white soap or like lemon washing up liquid,but mainly more of a sweet glycerine fruity lavender soap ,,with a mild liquid hand soap aroma/airosol sweet beeswax wood polish,and swarfega/lux flakes essence for added measure,, which is ok,intersting and not atringent or penetrating of the mucus of my pallette

Condor has a natural sweetness,which suggests an unflavoured casing or maybe a touch of cavendish(cavendish is usually made from burley i think),,;the sweetness does not spoil or turn acidic, and infact is more akin to artificial sweetener than sugar..

No tongue bite makes this one of the best OTC british pipe tobacco's and i now consider this up there with 'erinmore flake'.If i could locate some easy i would be intersted in trying the flake variant of condor because flake in general has a slower burn rate better for burley.

Burns to a dry ash with no real dottle(in my clay at least)and proved to be a low maintenance reliable smoker.The tobacco quality itself is not quite as rich as peterson standard(it has a slight cardboardness)but in its OTC nostalgic economy it out performs a few more expensive tins and for the images it conjours in my mind of good times long past and the way it tested me out the first time this gets a full 4 stars****(i am now a pipe jedi after all)..

I got through the pouch quite rapidly without smoking anything else in between,and it makes a solid well behaved alldayer;i know for certain that i will be keeping some of this in my permanent rotation.

I was sitting on a bench in the garden the other day, smoking my pipe and studying a rare, abstruse text, when a large magpie fell from the tree branch directly above me, paralyzed from the beak down.

You see, I was not smoking any ordinary tobacco - I was smoking the mighty Condor.

This was the only tobacco that struck terror into the heart of my great-uncle Jack - an inveterate St Bruno smoker.

Upon opening the tin (or pouch these days), one is greeted by a very pleasant aroma of something perfumy, which I have never been able to positively identify. The flowery aroma is different, and less pronounced than that found in Coniston Cut Plug. It is also nicer (but perhaps that is due to its familiarity over so many years). There is also an aroma of good, rich, potent tobacco, which leaves the sniffer in no doubt whatsoever that a substantial smoke lies ahead.

The flakes are dark and foreboding; just nicely moist and of consistent dimensions - three flakes for a large billiard (I just can't bring myself to smoke a smaller bowl of this).

Once the smoker has plucked up the courage, girded his loins and applied flame, the very traditional, correct and proper, British, perfumy (delightfully so) taste is to the fore. However, this soon withdraws to the wings, leaving a very full, rich tobacco flavour centre-stage. It is at this point that many reviewers will begin to describe their favourite tobaccos with adjectives such as 'nutty', 'leathery' and goodness knows what. Suffice to say that this tastes of rich tobacco and it is heavenly (blast - an adjective).

It lights easily and burns slowly right down to the bottom, leaving a fine, white ash.

Ladies love the smell of Condor (I marked the room note as 'very pleasant', but it is appearing as 'very mild' - not my intention, but hey-ho.....)

Condor - the King of pipe tobaccos.



The magpie flew away after an hour or so.

It is difficult not to enthuse about Condor and have done so since my halcyon days in the 70's. The advert of a gentleman absorbed an absent-minded moment caused by the sheer pleasure of a puff of this magic shag was responsible for leading me down the 'soapy path'.

I regard myself as a pipe surfer and Condor is my favourite beach. Yes, it tastes of detergent, but that is it's subtle allure for me. Frequently I find myself riding a wave of pleasure when I inhale this mixture that has no peer. Furthermore the soapy sensation leaves me feeling very clean and unlike most other tobaccos I'm convinced that my teeth actually look whiter after smoking it.

On the down side my wife gave me an ultimatum that unless I stopped smoking it we were finished. I recall her saying "It's either me or the Condor". She ran off with my best friend Jim. God I miss him.

Unlike a woman, Condor really is 'for life'.

As many a reviewer has noted, this oldtime British blend is no longer available in our litigious United States. Many fine old English tobaccos are memories to us Yanks now. The judgment exposure is not offset by the sales.

If a young smoker should perchance get his hands on a package of Condor, he is in for a room-spinning awakening. Should a veteran be so fortunate...tis very Heaven. There is nothing...and I mean NOTHING...quite like this. You will either love it or hate it. Just don't make up your mind after the first bowlful; this blend will grow on you. There are times that Condor satisfies when nothing else will.

Unfortunately, though, it not only grows on the pipesmoker...but also on his pipe; the traces of this tobacco will be there forever. And don't expect complements on the room aroma. Everyone in contact will ask, "what the **** are you smoking????" Proof positive that Latakia is not alone in provoking such responses.

Unique. Unforgetable. Wonderful.

Four out of four stars.

God smokes a pipe...and in it he smokes condor and st bruno, condor is given from god!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, Condor! The grand, gruff patriarch of tobacco. Strong, noble, and smooth. This is what smoking a pipe is all about . . .

The aroma in the pouch is thick and rich. Condor has been described as "soapy." I would describe it instead as mildly, subtly floral. In my humble opinion, this slight addition works rather well. I find it to be one of the more stubborn flakes to rub out, but the reward at the end! Upon lighting, I am greeted with the dark, roasted flavour that reminds me why I smoke a pipe. The flavour of Condor does not change very much throughout the bowl. However, perhaps because it burns so slowly, I find myself, as my father would say, "smoking matches." Only available in England, it is not easy nor inexpensive to acquire. However, I urge all pipe smokers to try Condor. It is unbeatable

In the UK this is probably the most popular pipe tobacco going, along with St Bruno. It is a very distinctive tobacco, which I personally have never found any other tobacco to have the same sort of flavour and aroma as it does. With the pipe packed well this tobacco burns cool and slow and has a very full flavour. The room aroma is either loved or hated, fortunately most people love it. The taste is very fruity and has a very suble hint of woodyness.

It is said that that this tobacco can leave it's mark on a pipe, I tend to agree, try it in a cheapo basket pipe before smoking it in your best Dunhill as once the flavour is in the pipe, it's very hard to get rid of. A word of warning this is a strong tobacco, IMO you need to smoke it slowly and with a good rythym, if you overdo it will send you flying such is it's strength.