Solani 779: English Mixture

A very interesting blend that's hard to describe. It has been many years since I have smoked Balkan blends but this would be a close match. The various tobaccos used in 779 are well balanced to the point that one does not overpower the others. Now the tough part of describing the taste. It taste like tobacco with a little musk and a pleasant, slightly sharp edge to it. That is all that comes to me other than to add that it is quite mellow and I like it.

Ho comprato questa miscela in Svizzera, posso dire che la dicitura Luxury è sparita dal etichetta probabilmente perchè non utilizzano più latakia siriano ed in effetti durante la fumata si sente che il latakia è cipriota . Questa miscela viene descritta come un "clone" del famigerato 759, posso dire avendo fumato anche di recente il 759 originale ed avendone ancora qualche carica in cambusa , che non c'entra nulla con la miscela che cerca di imitare. Rimane comunque un ottimo tabacco dalla ottima qualità, taglio ribbon un pò grossolano, contiene poco latakia quindi non è una bomba latakiosa, sul dolce che verso metà fumata diventa più saporito e si fanno sentire di più gli orientali . Può essere un fumo tutto giorno senza troppi problemi . Miscela nel complesso ben strutturata e bilanciata.

The room note was fairly pleasant, not extremely noticeable and didn't stink up the place like some stronger Latakia-dominant blends. I didn't get any sweetness from the Virginias and the mild Orientals were almost as tasteless as the Latakia & I didn't notice the Perique at all. However, although rather bland, the marriage of the various varietals took place at about the halfway point offering up a little bit of flavor but was exceedingly mild & rather bland for me. I guess I just prefer something a little stronger with more flavor. The burn rate was fast but smoked relatively cool. I can certainly understand why some pipers could find this appealing & I respect that & can understand why some found it rather un-pleasurable.

However, we all know that taste preferences differ considerably which is understandable & that's why we enjoy sharing opinions, right? I guess I fall somewhere in the center of the like & dislike category. Today, ten years later, I'm sure that I'd still find it a little too "wimpy" as I've come to enjoy blends that provide more of a "jolt" but that's just me. FWIW, those of you who enjoy a cool, & very mild smoke with a touch of Latakia, a goodly portion of Orientals with a pinch of mild Virginia & a smidgeon of Perique, this one's for you!

A light and faint English mixture. Moisture in tin is ok for me, some may prefer to allow a short drying time. Very good stuffing, lighting and smoking conditions. My palate detects some minor casing (sweetness, among others) what I generally dislike. All developing tobacco flavours are rather pleasant and harmonious, but far too weak and faint for my personal taste. No aftertaste at all.

This mixture does not dig deep in any way. It’s a superficial everyday/anytime smoke. I would only recommend this mixture to beginners, to smokers in transition from other blend types into the world of English mixtures, and to a heavy smoker that has a pipe in his mouth all day long.

This is one of the best med. bodied lat. blends that I have tried. The orientals are a little sweet and slightly bitter. The VA's are sweet a little nutty (I think this is from the VA's). The Lat. is there, not a bomb but a nice quantity that allows the smoky, mustiness to come through and not over power the VA's or the orientals. Yet, the sum is greater than its parts. At 1 yr. it is very balanced and each of the varieties of tobacco come together in harmony that many lat. blends reach after a few years in the cellar. For this reason I think it would reach its peak in about 3-5 yrs, just my opinion; however, I will be picking up several tins to test this theory. A great blend well worth the price.

This is absolutely the smoothest latakia blend I have ever smoked. That may be an overbaked statement for this tobacco, but it's true. In fact, I found that I could puff a little more vigorously than I usually do and not make this stuff bite or go bitter. Doing so actually brought out some additional flavors, although it did rough up the smoothness a little.

I like the term "English Luxury Mixture" because that's a good description of how I felt while smoking this. It's very luxurious and relaxing. Sometimes I found myself craving a little more flavor and robustness but then I have other blends to satisfy those needs. This one I think I'll keep around as a blend to kick back with and relax. It doesn't call much attention to itself - just a nice, smooth light latakia and oriental blend. Recommended for those who wear smoking jackets - it just seems to fit the profile. 🙂

Updated on 4/21/08

I recently opened a new tin of this and immediately smoked a bowl and at first was dismayed - I couldn't taste the Syrian. I thought the quality was down hill. It tasted like an orange that had no sugar content. I was so dismayed that I wrote Steve Monjure and asked if the blend had changed. He said it hadn't. Then, out of curiosity, I tried it again and it was better. I noticed it had dried a bit, hmmm, Thag's got an idea forming in his head. I dried it for almost a day and this stuff was back to sublime! It was just amazing, the stuff was too wet. That is a first for me, because usually I find that a dry tobacco loses it's flavor. Not so with this one. This stuff is now my hands down favorite and I prefer it a bit over Balkan Sobranie. It's that good!

Original Review Follows

Picked this up at the pipe shop and was pleasantly suprised by this one. Smoked three bowls in a row and each one tasted great and competed well with the other guys smoking cigars. This packs, lights and smokes easily. No re-lighting necessary at all and it gives up big puffs of fairly dense smoke most of the way. Burns fairly quickly and tastes great. Most tobaccos I taste one day and not the next. It's hard to imagine that I would ever not taste this one. I'm not sure if the extra kick is from the orientals or not but this one seems loaded with Syrian to me, a good thing indeed. At least it seems to have more than the HH Vintage Syrian that I have on hand now. I like that one too but this is definitely the stronger of the two and that earns it an extra star in my book. In short, this smoke is mesmerizing and just flat awesome!

I am a novice to english blends, but I have to say this a top quality baccy, period, english, mild or not, the fruity (apple/apicote sauce) and edible qualities just goes so well with the latakia in this blend. I find it almost amazing that it works so well. The fruitiness begins to fade at the end leaving a lovely slightly bitter sweet latakia. Top marks, this will be a favorite for a long, long time.

This blend is extremely good, it tastes like good tobacco, you can barely make out the Latakia despite the fact that there is a fair proportion of it. This is natural tobacco at its best!!! Solani has pulled a brilliant performance with this blend.

The blend has tones of medium brown and black, with occasional shades of golden brown. It smells like rich, good yummy natural tobacco and the Latakia smell is not predominant. The cut is average, it packs very well and burns extremely well. I still remember the first time I smoked this I just said to myself "Wow! So this is what real tobacco tastes like!" There is this little sweet tone that lasts for a while, then slowly fades away.

This is not a strong blend, for an English blend, but as I just mentioned, you understand that it's not too flat like a blend like Rattray's no 7 would be (a great blend, but it's a light English blend, so perfect for anyone who wants to start venturing into English blends). 779 blend is fit for beginners in the English blends and represents a nice change of pace for the experienced smoker, never strong like My mixture 965 or Nightcap ( those blends are gorgeous, but I just can't smoke them, the strongness just cuts off my fun, I can barely finish my pipe full so I'm staying away from those blends now).

779 Blend would compare, in terms of strength, to Sasieni Balkan Mixture, but in way less dark in terms of tobacco colour.

I highly recommend Solani Luxury English, it is luxurious and tastes like good, natural tobacco. It's great!