Gallaher Limited Condor Ready Rubbed (Green)

I do get annoyed from time to time. When someone reviews a Latakia heavy blend that hates Latakia, when someone smokes a heavily cased blend and complians about the topping etc. I now find myself in this very boat.

I do envy reviewers whos palette is far more refined than mine is, who can pick up subtle secrets that blends give away to the fortunate few.

With the above being said, i really do not care for the topping of Condor. It is the only blend to date that i find disgusting. I smoked bowls over a 2 month period, allowing myself enough time to forget the last and giving the flakes time to dry and the topping to ease a bit. I smoked it when i actually craved it, i loaded my pipe without smelling the tobacco and set fire, the results are always the same, a disgusting shaving cream taste that just does not go away. I find it eases when i smoke a bit faster but as i am sitting here, i can still smell it 30 minutes after smoking.

The reason i find it so offensive is due to me not being able to appreciate this blend rather than the blend being at fault, it is an old blend after all and many seasoned reviewers really enjoy it.

It will destroy your pipe. You will not be able to smoke anything else in that briar for a long while. I hope Latakia can kill it though.

Giving one star is something i will not do very easily and it pains me to do it. We as pipers are in a tragic time when blends are taken off the market and we not being able to smoke anywhere in peace, but i cannot allow a piper, especially a newbie to go out and start this wonderfull hobby with a pouch of this.

I hope i, with my very limited palette did not offend the many esteemed fans of this blend.

Mo, South Africa

I must admit, first of all, it's been 39 years since I smoked this stuff, I won't call it tobacco, I was 16, couldn't afford ciggies, so I bought a cheap pipe and a packet of condor flake, a lethal combination, how I continued to smoke a pipe afterwards is beyond me, I bought condor because, after all, I was 16 and couldn't possibly be seen buying something with a nancy sounding name like "mellow vagina" could I ? I was in the forces at the time, and this stuff had the same effect on my internals as CS Gas was to have on my externals, (not highly recommended, for those who have not experienced the joys of tear gas) I later found that mellow vagina was a little more to the liking of my inexperienced palate, though I could still not bring myself to ask for it from the grinning face of the N.A.A.F.I. girl serving me, never realising of course, that her grinning was probably due to the effect that condor was having on me. I know I should try this again, in order to give a more honest, uptodate and experienced opinion, but right now, I just haven't got the courage.



UPDATE 6 July 2008

I can't beleive I did this, trying this stuff again, I went to light it in my "cave" the dog, a gentle black Labrador followed me in, "you may not like this one" I told her, but she, being a faithful (or stupid) dog settled down at my feet, in the past when she has dissaproved of whatever it is I'm smoking, she looks at me imploringly. If I fail to notice, she starts to howl and whine, anyway, I open the pouche, the smell takes me back so many years, the flakes are moist and pliable, rub out well and light with ease, a sudden burst of light soap that soon dissipates, first quarter and the strength builds, faces, names and places start to drift through my mind, we were all so young then, this stuff isn't so bad after all, the strength builds further, a movement at my feet, the dog has stood up, her eyes wide and staring, her head drops slightly below her shoulders as her legs bend ever so slightly, her teeth are barred and she is snarling.

No it's still bloody awful stuff for none but the brave, and the room note could be dangerous in the presence of my dog.

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.

The extreme subjectivity of reactions to tastes and smells is nowhere more apparent than in the case of scented flakes. My system rather likes 1792 Flake and St Bruno Flake but does not react well to Bosun Cut Plug, Coniston Cut Plug or Irish Flake.

I found Condor Long Cut to be somewhat milder in scenting than any of the above named blends. The room note is commensurate with the pouch aroma. The nicotine content is substantial - anyone seeking to give up smoking cigarettes could try Condor. The burning characteristics are good and the ash fine and near white. But for all that, the base tobaccos are not quite as good as in 1792 Flake or Irish Flake. Those who like scented tobaccos or would like to enter that universe owe it to themselves to try Condor Long Cut.

I heve no idea how pepole smoke this absulutly soap taste

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.

Recommended because it's something one has to try sooner or later, a great classic. I suggest to dry the flakes a bit, because they're very moist into the pouch, then you can crumble them or smoke it the traditional way, no great difference in taste. The flavour is something you'll remember for a long time (and your pipe will do as well, so I suggest not to smoke it into your favourite high grade freehand, at least for the first time). Despite its format and strong flavouring, it smokes remarkably cool.

Notes: My review is based on an older tin, perhaps 20-30 years old, as well as old and new pouched versions, so please take this into consideration when reading. These days, it is only available from the UK, and then only in the pouch form. Due to the residual scent remaining in the pipe, it may be best to dedicate a pipe to this mixture.

Appearance: A deep brown to nearly black oily, supple long-cut sliced tobacco, cut from a dense cake. It has virtually no tendency to flake apart and is easily folded to fit in the pipe, as is my preference. It gives the appearance of being strong, and I immediately got a picture in my head of some old salts sitting around laughing as a young novitiate pipe smoker earns his stripes through dry heaves after being induced to smoke a bowl of this.

Aroma: A very soapy, oily slightly bitter aroma. I detect English tea, Bergamot, Patchouli, and myrrh. The blends of the Lakeland district were known for this distinctively British ?floral? aromatic style, which often utilized Tonquin seed pods (from their colony of British Guyana) and the rind of limes as casing agents. This blend is fairly representative of this style. It has a slightly astringent quality when it hits the nostrils, which is reminiscent of the slightly alkaline odor of Ivory soap ? pleasant and pungent if you like that sort of thing. The density and uniformity of the aroma make it seem slightly daunting.

Taste: It lit easily with a single match and I was immediately presented with a classic soapy British Lakeland flavor. The blend was bitter on the lips quite soon, a sign of its high nicotine content. It is certainly not sweet, as many aged Virginia blends have a tendency to be, but it does not display a prominent Latakia flavor either. Instead, it is simply slightly bitter and perfumed, with a strong smoky Oriental-type flavor dominating. The flavors are very strong indeed: tarry, jammy, concentrated! Condor has an honest, pure tobacco flavor, contemplative and smoky, with a wonderfully integrated floral bouquet.

It struck me as exceptionally smooth and easy to smoke, and while not a simple blend, then a harmonious amalgam of its various components well wedded into an intense whole. In all I found this to be a very relaxing smoke. I personally prefer very strong, high-nicotine blends (e.g. Royal yacht et al), so this must be considered. Despite this, toward the end of the second bowl, my nose was running a bit and I felt a bit queasy for a moment when I got up. Now, I attribute this to the fact that my first two bowls of the day had been Condor (at around 8 a.m.), and perhaps it might be easier later in the day and not on an empty stomach.

After several bowlfuls, the flavors are consistent, with the tobacco burning down to a fine ash. It does give a bit of pipe gurgle, and the pipe cleaners always come out jet black with tarry resins, so I don?t recommend inhaling this one!

Comparisons: Nothing compares to Condor; the taste is distinctive, although it is clearly a Lakeland scented flake. It falls in line with Gawith's scented flakes, such as Nos. 1-7 and 1792, but the flavor is different, perhaps closest to Black Aromatic. Having compared this with the modern pouch version, I can say this much: when one smokes the modern version of this old favorite, one is reminded of the older version as a gentle memory softened with age. The new blend looks much the same but the tobacco is very lightly flavored and the nicotine strength is markedly diminished. The new pouch version is a faint and indistinct echo of the older Condor, like the barely discernable shadow of a great monument fading into the dusk at twilight.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a very strong, high-nicotine blend with a pronounced soapy flavor, you may like this one.