Charatan No. 10 Mixture

This blend is made in an attempt to copy Dunhill London Mixture. Another similar blend released by Gregory Pease, Westminster, is among my favorites, so it's hard for me to write a review without comparison to it.

Appearance: a relatively evenly sliced ribbon of Virginias is mixed with a much less even cut of Orientals, while the Latakia cut is "as is". Despite the fact that the tin was released in early 2022, all parts of blend are easily distinguishable - I counted three varieties of Virginias, two varieties of Orientals (one of which has a slightly greenish tint, which confused me a bit) and Latakia. The overall shades of the blend are lighter in color than the G.L. Pease Westminster, reminding the same Dunhill London Mixture. The tobacco has a moisture content close to excellent, glycerin and propylene glycol are minor. As for the condition, small sticks are present.

Flavor: suede and a bit of tar, an earthy mossy flavor, a light hay note, a bit of sun-dried tomatoes, a sour milk note and some spice, with a faint wormwood note thrown in. Compared to Westminster, the flavor is significantly less bright and subdued. In addition, the spices of Orientals are rather quickly weathered out.

Taste: The overall bouquet is quite bright, initially a bit sharp. Light smokiness and some meat juice, rather bright woody note, sour-sweet spice gathering, mild creamy sourness is present in the taste, disappearing only by the middle of the pipe. On the retrohale you can feel the peppery spice (which, however, is quickly extinguished) and a barely noticeable pine note. The tobacco quickly comes to volume, the last remnants of sweetness disappear (in Westminster the Virginia notes are present till the end of smoking and even slightly intensify). Dry woody-spicy taste with a slight smokiness accompanies you during almost all smoking, without changing in intensity and flavor nuances. The strength of tobacco is medium, in very large pipes nicotine hit is possible. The tobacco smokes extremely cool, burns slowly, burns out into fine light gray ash without lumps, leaving a small amount of moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is woody, slightly astringent.

Smoke of the tobacco has a woody-earthy odor with fragrance of fragrant pepper. It is quite persistent in the room.

What's the bottom line? A good English everyday tobacco that is somewhat reminiscent of Dunhill London Mixture from the Murray days, but seriously different from current examples. Unfortunately, it lacks the fullness of flavor of the old Dunhill. Nevertheless, if Westminster didn't exist, I would prefer the #10 Mixture to the current Peterson-branded London Mixture or Kopp's other attempt to recreate this blend in the Robert McConnell Heritage series.