Craven Craven Mixture
(3.18)
The famous mixture of cool and aromatic tobaccos, first specially blended for the third Earl of Craven in the 1860's. A very traditional latakia mixture.
Notes: Another Murrays brand has just come to mind - Yachtsman, which in the 70s was not an aromatic.
Also in case anyone wonders why Mick McQuaid ( a Carroll's brand) was on our price list, Rothmans International owned a large slice (or all?) of Carroll's, and we sold their products in the UK, including Sweet Afton cigarettes which took their name from the famous poem by Robbie Burns.
Details
| Brand | Craven |
| Blended By | |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Other / Misc |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.18 / 4
|
Reviews
Please login to post a review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 03, 2003 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
(From blind tobacco tasting review)
Appearance: A blend of roughly 50% brown tobaccos and 50% black tobaccos, cut short, no pressing evident. Not much contrast in the tin.
Tin Aroma: A strong Latakia smell hits you first (I would guess at least some Cyprian Latakia). Beneath this, aromas of barbecue sauce/Slim Jim, smoky campfire and wet dog become apparent. In short, an overall smokiness which covers any other aromas which might exist.
First Smoke: Again, I used a corn cob. The first sip of smoke came on as a fairly typical Oriental English, that is, dry, mouth-drying, Latakia-dominated flavor, a significant Oriental presence and very little Virginia toastiness and warmth. To be fair, I don?t love this type of blend, with the exception of Dunhill EMP. So, not surprisingly, I find the smoke to be somewhat boring, with little development or variation of flavors from beginning to end, and very little complexity. It isn?t terrible, but I ?m quite indifferent to it. I wouldn?t willingly choose to smoke it again.
Second Smoke: In a Hardcastle Deluxe that smokes English blends like a champ. Unfortunately, the smoke is virtually identical to the first smoke in the corn cob.
Third Smoke: In a ?London Pipe Shop? pipe, a thick briar no-name straight Dublin. Given the lackluster results of the first two smokes, I approached this tobak with some reluctance, on a dog walk at 11 pm, around 22F. I believed that this would be my last smoke ever of this blend. The pouch aroma was of a smoky barbecue sauce, not especially pleasant. The flavor, however, was very different from my first two attempts. Sweeter, better balance, more VA character. Then, did overnight DGT.
On re-light, immediately gave good flavor without bitterness (again, Vas). Not a heavy English, and the bass note is only an accent, with a ginger-like bitterness common (for me) with English blends. A honey-like mild sweetness plays throughout the top and mid-levels, with faint suggestions of licorice, barbecue sauce and fresh-cut wheat. The Virginias play a gradually increasing role, and the toasty/sweet trademark of high-quality leaf is most welcome. In the last ¼ of the bowl, the Vas drop out, leaving mostly a smoky flavor and a moderately ashy bitterness.
Summary: This blend is neither great nor terrible. I would say that it is ?good.? It certainly poses no threat to Renaissance, Raven?s Wing, Celebrated Sovereign, Mc #2020 and a few others. The pipe, or maybe tester? s hydration/dehydration, makes a big difference. If it smoked like it did the first two times, I would probably dump the bowl before the halfway mark. If it smoked like the third smoke, I would smoke the entire bowl without any regrets.
Appearance: A blend of roughly 50% brown tobaccos and 50% black tobaccos, cut short, no pressing evident. Not much contrast in the tin.
Tin Aroma: A strong Latakia smell hits you first (I would guess at least some Cyprian Latakia). Beneath this, aromas of barbecue sauce/Slim Jim, smoky campfire and wet dog become apparent. In short, an overall smokiness which covers any other aromas which might exist.
First Smoke: Again, I used a corn cob. The first sip of smoke came on as a fairly typical Oriental English, that is, dry, mouth-drying, Latakia-dominated flavor, a significant Oriental presence and very little Virginia toastiness and warmth. To be fair, I don?t love this type of blend, with the exception of Dunhill EMP. So, not surprisingly, I find the smoke to be somewhat boring, with little development or variation of flavors from beginning to end, and very little complexity. It isn?t terrible, but I ?m quite indifferent to it. I wouldn?t willingly choose to smoke it again.
Second Smoke: In a Hardcastle Deluxe that smokes English blends like a champ. Unfortunately, the smoke is virtually identical to the first smoke in the corn cob.
Third Smoke: In a ?London Pipe Shop? pipe, a thick briar no-name straight Dublin. Given the lackluster results of the first two smokes, I approached this tobak with some reluctance, on a dog walk at 11 pm, around 22F. I believed that this would be my last smoke ever of this blend. The pouch aroma was of a smoky barbecue sauce, not especially pleasant. The flavor, however, was very different from my first two attempts. Sweeter, better balance, more VA character. Then, did overnight DGT.
On re-light, immediately gave good flavor without bitterness (again, Vas). Not a heavy English, and the bass note is only an accent, with a ginger-like bitterness common (for me) with English blends. A honey-like mild sweetness plays throughout the top and mid-levels, with faint suggestions of licorice, barbecue sauce and fresh-cut wheat. The Virginias play a gradually increasing role, and the toasty/sweet trademark of high-quality leaf is most welcome. In the last ¼ of the bowl, the Vas drop out, leaving mostly a smoky flavor and a moderately ashy bitterness.
Summary: This blend is neither great nor terrible. I would say that it is ?good.? It certainly poses no threat to Renaissance, Raven?s Wing, Celebrated Sovereign, Mc #2020 and a few others. The pipe, or maybe tester? s hydration/dehydration, makes a big difference. If it smoked like it did the first two times, I would probably dump the bowl before the halfway mark. If it smoked like the third smoke, I would smoke the entire bowl without any regrets.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 09, 2012 | Medium to Strong | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable |
Craven Mixture is an interesting tobacco in that I normally do not like Latakia blends. I bought a couple of tins of this a while back not realising it had latakia and was pleasently surprised how rich, smooth and flavoursome it was. Medium to dark brown ribbon cut tobaccos with almost perfect moisture, which burned well from the first light. The flavour could be best described as coconutty but definitely not overpowering. I don't know how much Latakia is in this stuff, but it certainly didn't smell like traditional English blends. Definitely worth a try.
target="_blank"
