Dan Tobacco Midnight Ride

I?m a product of public schooling alas and alack a day, I always thought Paul Reveres ride was through Boston. The folks at CAO seem to differ with that misguided notion; Paul Revere clearly rode through St. James Parish. This is some Perique serious smoke. I?m guessing the fellow with this regularly in his front pocket has a back pocket with a bottle of hot sauce in it. I am not panning this, I liked it a lot, just as I like to put some habaneras sauce on crawdaddys; just not every day and never for breakfast.

I have little to add to Noorrmm's excellent review except to say that I suspect the confusion that have about the latakia which is NOT in this blend is due to the fact that for some, the interplay between the orientals and perique may be the source of said confusion.

Highly recommended.

I like this blend for the reasons stated by others. It is a great combination of tangy, sweet, and smoky. It reminds of a barbecue on the vinegary side, and that is a good thing. There is a great confluence of flavors in this blend. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Caledonian Grand Reserve no. 466, which was an all-time favorite.

Really unique blend, a favorite.

10/02/2004:I gave this four stars even though G.L Pease Blackpoint is one star ahead of Midnight Ride. This one is on a par with Dunhill Medium English, Squadron Leader, Presbyterian Mix and many other fine tobaccos. Here's the problem, once you use a large enough portion of quality Latakia, these English and Balkans to some extent are hard to tell apart. The Latakia sort of overwhelms the tastebuds and all the other tobaccos and flavors become hard to find in the blend. I think it would be nearly impossible to judge this type of tobacco in a double-blind test for that reason.

11/17/2006 Update: Too much Latakia for me. Three stars if you love Latakia.

EDIT:

Removed review, as I mis-clicked...original review was intended for "Midnight Smoke" by Altadis.

I've not sampled much of this blend, but from what I tasted, I liked it. Full bodied without too heavy of a latakia hit, but enough for enjoying. Room note wasn't all the outstanding, however, and resident room-note expert gave it one thumbs down.

I'll revisit my review after getting a full tin. For now, 3 stars.

The first thing I noticed with this blend was the perique. I enjoy perique so this didn't bother me. The latakia & orientals shine here, with the spicey perique coming in subtly as you smoke your bowl. A wonderful smoke can be found by taking it easy. Go too fast and you will end up with tongue bite. Smokes consistent in any size bowl. TASTEY!

Oh, Mr. Revere, I didn't know your midnight ride could inspire such tobacco greatness! I made the mistake of smoking this at the end of the day after my mouth was seasoned from soul food and latakia; big mistake. This is the first smoke of the day or early afternoon blend. You need a clean palate to taste the myriad of subtle yet sublime flavors in this contemplative mixture. This is the perfect VA/Oriental/Perique with hints of latakia for spice. CAO blended these consummately without one overcrowding the other. I hope all the batches are consistent because if they are, this will be counted among my regulars. The aroma is very similar to Germain's Royal Jersey or 1820, with that sour apple tanginess. As Old Ironsides is CAO's signature latakia chorus, Midnight Ride is its VA/O/P counter melody. My pipe pal indicates to me that he much prefers European VA/Perique blends to American. Though I don't favor one over the other, I must admit, European VAs are different and less forward than their American counterpart. Should you choose to smoke this at night, make sure you haven't smoked heavy blends or eaten spicy foods, as you'll never taste all of MR's delightful subtleties. Hats off to CAO/Dan!

Five of five stars

---

Update - 12/7/05

Something happened. As with a number of European tobaccos I've revisited, Dan, Dunhill & Rattray among them, these blends they are a changing. This stuff is strong & juicy. It lacks the depth of aroma & flavor it once had. It's not terrible, but compared to my glowing review above, it has changed. It's less smokey; less apple flavored; less Germainy. Or maybe I'm getting so much pleasure from American English blends by C & D, that this stuff doesn't do it for me any longer. Old Ironsides, also by Dan, was a big disappointment when I tried it the second time. Another tobacco which will live in infamy.

Two and a half of five stars

Suprisingly bitey for an English, Midnight Ride starts out with a big perique blast, and then settles down to a nice, full English in the second half of the bowl. I care for the first half of the bowl--nippy and pungent--less and less the more I smoke of this tobacco. The second half is uniformly good, although it can run to some bitterness in some pipes. I've smoked a full tin of this blend in a variety of pipes: clays, large and small briars, pyrolitics, cobs. Midnight Ride is pretty consistent across all types of pipes, although the full experience, such as it is, is muted somewhat in smaller-bored pipes. This is the badger of English tobaccos.