Dunhill A-21000

I bought this in 1 lb. bulk a while ago (uniformly medium brown cavendish cut) and still wonder why I have smoked it from time to time. Absolutely no tobacco taste for me whatsoever. Couldn't really taste the vanilla, nor was it really sweet either. What I tasted was chemically bitter, with a fair amount of moisture, goop, and tarry dottle. The room note is fine - but that doesn't benefit the smoker much (except for the fact that maybe it won't get you thrown out of a crowd the way things are now a days)! No bite to speak of - unusual for such a heavily, as well as chemically, cased tobacco - but that's probably because I'm a more seasoned puffer at this stage of my life! It sometimes tastes as if the briar wood is burning through!

I have even tried to add - very sparingly - a pinch of this stuff to other, more natural blends for a vanilla flavoring, but with little success. The chemical taste and bitterness are still there to contaminate the mix, and my batch of Mixture 21000 is about a year old now.

If you want to use some of the tobacco (unsmoked) as a room freshener, it's great! Just put in in a container on the window sill. It's just not my cup of tea. Can't really believe Dunhill had any hand in this. Perhaps they did way back when, but now some other manufacturer is probably paying to use the Dunhill name for such a mediocre product. It does taste like a typically bad Lane Ltd. concoction. What a shame. 2 stars out of 4 for nostalgia's sake.

I'm not really sure why i bought this specific blend. I was putting together a sampler online and this one just kinda caught my eye. I thought since it didn't have a flashy name like "Vanilla Paradise" or "Coconut Bay", something gay like that... it would be able to hold it's own on the taste department.

A little moist, but again it's an aromatic. I didn't dry it out really (unless you consider opening the tin a few times a week to sniff the stuff drying out). Packed nice and good and lit well first try. Pouch aroma is that of.... well, hints of vanilla cream which is good in my book. Now lets see if the taste can live up to it.

Upon light, I get the basic aromatic, sweet flavor that i find universal among all aromatics (even some non). Smoke was very thick and the bowl burns FAST, so be careful. Even though it did burn fast, i didn't have much goop at the bottom at all, so if you treat it w/ respect i'm sure you can have the same luck.

As far as taste goes, i will say that the first 2-3 bowels i smoked i wasn't very impressed at all. Just another run of the mill aromatic to me w/ slight hints of vanilla. It wasn't till about the 4th or 5th bowl i had that i really started to enjoy it. I dunno if it's had time to dry out or what, but it's starting to taste better. Mind you I don't get the creamy vanilla flavor i was looking for until about half-way through the bowl, so that would explain my 2 stars. But after about half-bowl, the taste got much fuller in my opinion.

Regardless, i'm glad i gave this one a chance because if you wait long enough and smoke enough of it... i think you will be rewarded w/ a rich, creamy vanilla flavor that follows half the bowel all the way to the bottom. 2 stars because it TOOK SO LONG!

Dunhill - A-21000.

It's mainly gold and brown Cavendish, there's only a tiny amount of black, 10% maybe? The pouch's smells sweet, yet not strong.

The smoke tastes to me quite mild with vanilla flavouring, I'd rate it as a steadfast mild addition. The Cavendish has a flavour that's honey-sweet, and somewhat crisp; pretty pleasant. A negative point is the heat: it burns far hotter than most straight Cav's do. It also gives me a little bit of bite, it's still an enjoyable blend, but needs a gentler technique. It also can burn a touch quick, so again, a gentle technique improves things.

The room-note's nice, it doesn't 'fill' the room with smoke, and the nicotine's mild.

An OK blend, but easily a lower standard than a lot of vanilla aromatics.

Somewhat recommended.

In this style I prefer Lane’s Macanudo, which somehow has an overall lower rating, but that’s a separate review. This is a mild, simple Cavendish blend without complexity. Mostly tastes of white bread with honey, a little vanilla, and when pushed will taste like a slightly burned graham cracker pie crust. Vanilla is more obvious in the ambient aroma (room note), but not overdone on the palate. I’m kind of surprised Dunhill put their name behind this line of bulk offerings that were made by Lane. I got the most out of this in a full bent pipe, so my nose would catch more of the wafting aroma. Nothing wrong with this, just simple and burns a little fast and hot. So many other aromatics I prefer, but if simple vanilla flavor is what you’re after this could be a decent choice.

When I'm confronted with a name like Dunhill I go into the experience with a certain level of expectation. I received this batch from CupofJoe.com whom I found to be a good online retailer. As for the tobacco I'm not overly impressed. I like the fact that it stays lit and burns well which is hard with aromatics. The vanilla is subtle, so much so I would not be able to identify on my own. Generally when I go for an aromatics whether it be coffee or tobacco I want it to taste like it is marketed~ both in the bag and in the bowl. I certainly won't throw it away but I won't re-order it either. One other note from the peanut gallery: I have some serious critics here in my home regarding smoke smell and it seems that all of the Dunhill mixtures I currently possess including this Vanilla, and toasted almond all get blamed for smelling like cigarettes which as you can imagine is a low score with this crowd.