J. F. Germain & Son King Charles Smoking Mixture

It's a good tobacco and it has a good quality/price ratio too. I dearly love the long shag cut, it's easy to pack and stays lit without any problem. The only trouble is the awful moisture level in the tin, but leave it dry and it will be fine. As far as flavour it lacks something in deepness and it doesn't evolve during the smoke. A good introduction to the Latakia world.

This is definitely a unique and tasty "english blend". It is my go to blend when I want a blend that is flavorful and not too strong. It is perfectly balanced with the orientals a little more out front. Moisture is perfect out of the tin and does not have the "anise" odor that "Margate" or "Royal Jersey Latakia" have. Not that I mind the anise, but for an everyday, fine, delicious blend, I prefer no toppings. This blend has crept up the ranks in my smoking rotation and lately can't seem to save tins for aging! The tin blurb has it correct a "high class mixture" in every respect. IMO this is Germain's OPUS MAGNUM. It is that good. No tongue-bite, easy packing, decently priced. What more can you say? Go get some now!

This was the first J.F. Germain (JFG) blend I ever smoked. I was immediately impressed with its unusual fragrance in the tin. JFG's unique processing method has a way of bringing an almost perfumed quality out of the leaf, yet there is no identifiable "scent" that one could ascribe to any kind of additive, and the smoke is pure tobacco flavor.

If my tastes weren't so varied or they didn't demand much fuller-bodied blends in my regular rotation, I would probably smoke King Charles more often. I've dedicated a Stanwell Year Pipe 2000 (a Tom Eltang-designed modified Dublin sandblast) exclusively to this blend, and it's always an exquisite smoke when I want something on the lighter side in the way of taste.

The burning characteristics are excellent, although I generally like to let it dry a bit after I first open the tin. Even so, the moist tobacco right out of a fresh tin can be smoked straight to the bottom of the bowl after a couple of charring lights.

Like all the JFG blends I've tried, King Charles is gentle on the tongue & palate, yet it delivers far more flavor than you'd expect for such a cool, dry, gentle smoke. You'd have to puff pretty thoughtlessly and vigorously to get this weed to burn your tongue. Just realize that it's not designed to be a full-flavored blend.

Speaking from personal experience, don't make the mistake of smoking it outdoors in a brisk breeze; it will just burn hotter without delivering any more flavor. It's a blend to be savored in quiet contemplation, or while reading, and it makes a great first smoke in the morning.

2004, January 03 - freevito

Well, I'm going to give this same review to the one offered by Esoterica Tobacciana, as they are the exact same tobacco:

I opened the tin, and was greeted with what I can best describe as an earthy, almost plastic-like smell that had me wondering about this before I lit it.

It took a little work to get it lit, I think some drying might help this a little bit. Maybe 30 minutes on the dashboard or so.

Once she lit, I was very impressed. The smoke was actually fairly sweet, and while you could definitely taste the Latakia, it really doesn't take center stage, it shares it with the others. There's something that I don't quite recognize in this blend, and it's not BAD by any means, but it's nothing that I can compare anything else to. I don't want to say something that could possibly turn someone off, but clove-banana tastes, with a hint of sweetness, and that smooth latakia flavor combine to make a pleasant, consistent from beginning-to-end smoke. I'm quite happy that I bought this tin, and look forward to adding it to my regular rotation.

My honest opinion: You gotta try it if you like English blends. It may or may not be your thing, but if it's a heavy latakia taste you're looking for, you won't quite find it here. This brand is quite subdued compared to Balkan types.

It has more latakia flavor in it than Cornell & Diehl's Yale Mixture, and that little something else that gives it a bit of exotic flavor. I wish I were more in-tune with my palate, and knowledge of orientals to know exactly what kind of tastes they impart.

I give it an 8 out of 10. A VERY high score.

Cheers!

Daniel

Well, I'm going to give this same review to the one offered by Germain and Son, as they are the same tobacco:

I opened the tin, and was greeted with what I can best describe as an earthy, almost plastic-like smell that had me wondering about this before I lit it.

It took a little work to get it lit, I think some drying might help this a little bit. Maybe 30 minutes on the dashboard or so.

Once she lit, I was very impressed. The smoke was actually fairly sweet, and while you could definitely taste the Latakia, it really doesn't take center stage, it shares it with the others. There's something that I don't quite recognize in this blend, and it's not BAD by any means, but it's nothing that I can compare anything else to. I don't want to say something that could possibly turn someone off, but clove-banana tastes, with a hint of sweetness, and that smooth latakia flavor combine to make a pleasant, consistent from beginning-to-end smoke. I'm quite happy that I bought this tin, and look forward to adding it to my regular rotation.

My honest opinion: You gotta try it if you like English blends. It may or may not be your thing, but if it's a heavy latakia taste you're looking for, you won't quite find it here. This brand is quite subdued compared to Balkan types.

It has more latakia flavor in it than Cornell & Diehl's Yale Mixture, and that little something else that gives it a bit of exotic flavor. I wish I were more in-tune with my palate, and knowledge of orientals to know exactly what kind of tastes they impart.

I give it an 8 out of 10. A VERY high score.

Cheers!

Daniel

The ingredients of this one lead me to expect another typical English, but hay ho this one is different . A tobacco which is medium all the way down. Im not sure that some sort of casing may has not gone into this blend, I found this blend to be so different from other blends that it may become a firm favorite in time, as my all my lasting relationships with tobaccos always begin with this intial reaction. If your looking for something out of the ordinary this blend is worth a try.

King Charles is far too hard to get a hold of these days. That's unfortunate, because it's an outstanding blend.

The tin note smells a bit like "Margate lite". It has the scent of years past... the "old" scent, not musty, but more like old leather chairs and 19th century libraries with fireplaces. There's a total lack of the "freshness" that sometimes comes with bright Virginias... but that's not a bad thing. It's a great smell. The cut is a thin, ribbon-style shag, which is my favorite cut... it's a classic style, and I feel like that cut helps the flavors more easily meld together. It's fairly moist out of the tin, but the thin cut means there is still no problem staying lit.

First few puffs: there is a really nice natural tobacco flavor. Again though, it's a very "old" flavor. In recent years, many English blends have become somewhat overpowering, but this is a mellow, all-day smoking blend. It tastes like something a man in an English pub in 1930 might have smoked. And the flavors mesh together so well, it can be difficult to pick apart the individual components. At first it just comes across as a single, very smooth, English flavor. If you take some time to appreciate the subtleties of it, you can start to taste the individual tobaccos. There's just enough Latakia to enhance the Turkish "exotic-ness" and to balance out the Virginia's sweetness. It's really a very well-balanced blend.

It generally burns cool, with zero bite, and in my experience, it tends to burn much more slowly than most shag cut blends. So it sticks around for a while.

Bottom line: Brilliant blend. King Charles is the king of the light English blends. If only it were more easily accessible... oh well.

There is something special and unique about the genre of "light English mixtures". If blended properly by the producer and smoked correctly by the consumer (as indeed they ought to be), they reveal a flavorful smoke that is incredibly smooth and fairly ethereal with just enough body to keep your palate ready for another bowl and yet another bowl. That being said, I do not think of these tobaccos as "beginner tobacco", as in my humble opinion, you need to know the individual flavor profile of the component tobaccos quite well and also need to have acquired the correct smoking technique. I am also convinced that you cannot properly find the true merits of King Charles Smoking Mixture by a sample in between your regular tobaccos. This tobacco can take some adjusting to, especially if you come from where I came from, being completely accustomed to a bowl of Nightcap or Special Latakia Flake with a cup of coffee early in the morning. If you seek to replicate that great pleasure and just switch from Nightcap/SLF to King Charles, you are bound to be disappointed. Maybe go for black tea with a splash of milk instead of coffee, smoke it inside at your breakfast table (instead of having breakfast in my case) and enjoy a great start into the day. I assure you that after maybe a dozen of bowls you will know what I am talking about.

This blend is sweet but in a restrained and elegant way. It has a touch of saltiness that makes it quite special and sets it apart. It also delivers a delightful taste of tactfully applied spices and has some woodsy nuances. I am astonished to find comments on this blend's monochromatic taste, as I think it is utterly complex and changes its character quite considerably throughout the bowl. Butterscotch and indeed porridge with honey and salt (as a previous reviewer mentioned) are the best analogies I can come up with - yet this tobacco never becomes overpowering or as filling or cloying as the culinary treats just mentioned. I love Samuel Gawith for their St. James Flake and Best Brown flake, but their light English mixtures are just no match for the best that JFG has to offer.

Perhaps you have to be a "light English"-fanatic like I am, but for me this blend is really one of a kind in the genre that I came to consider the pinnacle of tobacco pleasures.

This is in my view, one of the few old school English mixtures that are still in production. I find it very well balanced, the latakia is present without dominating the orientals and virginias. Medium strengthed, but definitely not lacking in flavour. There is a balkan like sour note that I appreciate and that intensifies as the bowl progresses. It is quite moist fresh out the tin, and I would suggest drying it out a little before smoking.