Sillem's London Blend

This is another english blend that I really love it. The taste is full, loud, and clear. Nice and tempting tin note, really mouth watering look when I open it and just made me can't wait to pack it nicely on my Peterson Dublin 999 pipe.

The cut is very nice, is easy to pack at almost my pipes, even I think to my self if this blend taste more better at wide bowl such a pot or prince shape but this blend smokes so great at almost any of my pipe. Just give a nice cherring light, tamp it and I'm enjoying pleasant smokes for an hour or more.

The taste is full, nice smokey with a little sweetness and the power is not too strong. The nicotine amount just at proper size to make a delightful smoking time. I'm enjoying the smokey herbal taste, almost similar with oriental spice or oriental herbal with an exotic taste and the taste is quite consistent until I finish a bowl.

So without doubt I put this blend at my favorite list. For me who loves a full taste blends, sure this blend will be come a favorite too. Full taste, nice strength, well burnt, great smokes, and no tendency to harm my tongue, that is my smoking experiences with this wonderful Sillem's London European Blend.

Well, you never know what you're going to get in an english blend these days as the field is very crowded and everyone is trying to get your attention. No problem here; this tobacco blend is wonderful and it comes through loud and clear!

First off, some observations based on prior reviews. Mr. Big - we've done it again. I'm first to review this blend after you just as in our reviews of C&D Crooked Lane, however, I seem to like this one more than you do. Jacques 1960 - I agree; the blond bits in this blend are very big and flag-like and must be torn down into smaller pieces. FFDan - I had the same reaction you did on opening the tin. I pulled the paper disc out and thought "what, another rough-cut english". I sniffed it and said to myself "this blend has the same sweetish aroma of the lightly cased Peter Heinrichs english blend #39 that I'm smoking".
Since the're both German-tinned it makes me wonder. Steel Cowboy - this slightly sweet and faint casing must be what you were reacting to in your review. Brother K - I agree, this tobacco blend rocketed right up to the top of my favorites list.

As you can tell, I really like this blend. It smokes wonderfully, thick and creamy and very varigated in its aromas and tastes. It is a delight to look at with its color range from extremely light blond ranging down-scale to very dark brown. I rank it right up there with the likes of Wilderness, Blue Mountain, Ambassador's Blend and Black House. I highly recommend it to all english smokers and rate it a very solid four stars.

My new favorite. Perfection in a pipe. I loaded my first taste into the bowl of my Peterson Kildare and from the moment I lit up I experienced nothing but pleasure. This is an incredibly smooth, flavorful and complex tobacco. Sillem's London blend is perfectly balanced. I love Latakia and this has just the right measure to blend with but not overpower the other tobaccos. The addition of the Cavendish adds a fabulous velvety texture to the smoke. I'm not usually a big fan of Perique but a just enough here is present to add a bit of nice dried fruit essence. I perceived a bit of nuttiness, I believe that must be from the addition of the Burley. No tongue bite, just the right moisture content it burned dry and cool but never acrid. Perhaps it is the Kentucky that helps this blend offer just the right degree of natural sweetness. As for the nicotine content it is not overpowering, something that I appreciated as I don't enjoy tobaccos that are nic-bombs. Most highly recommended. Note: this tobacco is listed here as originating in the UK. It is actually blended in Germany.

This is hands down my favorite tobacco. It is my daily tobacco and I always have it on hand when possible. It is the most complex of all the English blends I have tried and found it to be mixed just right, not too strong, not to spicy, but just right. And of course with just the right amount of Nic in it also. This is the tobacco I do not just recommend but I preach.

Try it you will not be disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoy smoking this rich, full-flavored blend! Sillem's has knocked-it-out-of-the-park again with this great Latakia-driven English blend.

A very satisfying English-Balkan, without the bitter heaviness that accompanies some latakia-heavy Balkan blends. There's perfect balance between the hints of sweetness and smokey fullness of the tobaccos in this blend.

It isn't too moist or too dry, and it smokes cool, with no bite at all. It lights easily, and burns evenly, producing a thick, dense smoke, and leaving a fine white ash, as a good tobacco tends to do. I can't describe it any better than KingWeed does when he describes it as, "...thick and creamy and very varigated in its aromas and tastes." That's a perfect description of this excellent blend.

I have begun cellaring a few tins of this great blend to see what more it can do with a little age.

Color runs the gamut from light tan to black, this is mostly a ribbon cut but there are a lot of wide chunks as well. Tin note is latakia up front, with some muted oriental and perique. I found this worked best dried about halfway to crispy from tin moisture, as fresh out of the tin predictably dumbed down the flavors. Some drying was required to get the flavors to snap into focus.

Unabashedly English in presentation, with the latakia up front and center but nowhere near overpowering. There was some mild complexity as the orientals moved closer to the fore. The perique was lightly noticeable as a slight pepper essence with even slighter fruit and the Cavendish was more of a "smoother-outer", but it (or something) gives the blend a twinge of sweetness. The burley may have been responsible for a very mild nuttiness but overall I couldn't really tell there was burley or Kentucky, specifically - whatever it brought to the table was not overt. This was a wonderfully balanced blend beneath the latakia but far from boring, and the main thing I found interesting about this one is that it never lost its cool, even in extreme circumstances. When I puffed harder, it actually smoothed out... which wasn't necessarily a good thing, as it became more monodimensional, but it never got harsh or hot. It always smoked cool and dry, rich and flavorful. There was never a time that the large amount of constituent tobaccos threatened to turn this one into an unfocused mess, as often occurs when there are two many different leaves. I'm not the biggest fan of English blends (latakia upfront), preferring Balkans (hugely oriental with latakia) or Scottish blends (very light lat, heavy oriental, heavier VA), but if you like things like Dunhill Standard or Squadron Leader, you will most likely love this one. I don't know who blends for Sillem, but the few blends of their's I've smoked have been excellent. 3.5 stars for this rounded up to 4 because it's so well done. Very impressed with this blend.

Prior to taking up the pipe, I smoked Partagas cigars, having been attracted to the peppery nature of their taste.

While I typically smoke aros, this was a wonderful reminder of all that is good in a truly good cigar.

Truly wonderful, particularly with caffe normale (or otherwise) on the side.

I did not dry the tobacco, and may well do this next time as two relights were required; might also advise a slight rub as some of the blond bits are rather large.

A beautiful smoke.

Love this blend. The latakia takes the center stage in this one giving it a very peppery flavor. The tin I bought was just perfect, not too dry, not too wet. Packed well and took a light right away staying lit through the bowl. Dense cool smoke from start to finish. Will be buying more of this in the future.

It's hard to find information on any of Sillem's blends save for 'Black.' I was hesitant to try this one out due to the dearth of informational reviews.

Having said that, this is a great tobacco, albeit one that doesn't have a distinct identity. It has the entire kitchen sink thrown in, so you'll find it showing you different notes during smoking and variations during subsequent smokes.

There's nothing to disappoint here, but little to make it a standout. I compare it to Peter Stokkebye's 'Proper English' save for the Oriental component, which smooths that tobacco out slightly. Nice Latakia component.

Very nice, if not slightly underrated, English blend.