Dan Tobacco Midnight Ride

This is my very first review (and possibly my ONLY one) but I just had to get on here and let my feelings be known about the demise of my VERY FAVORITE tobacco. I have been smoking pipes most of my life (I am 73 years old) and this blend has given me everything I ever wanted in a blend.

I first started out at eighteen years of age smoking Mixture #79 in the usual Dr. Grabow or Medico pipes purchased at the local Rexall drug store. Over the years, I was given a beautiful GBD Virgin pipe from Smoker's Haven in the mid sixties and so discovered the joys of a higher quality pipe. I smoked the original Blend Eleven from Larus Bros. for several years and was quite satisfied.

Then for some reason I decided to try the higher quality non-aromatics and after quite a bit of experimentation finally settled on Dunhill #965. I smoked this regularly for many years until it seemed to me that it had changed, and was no longer the 'great' blend it used to be. About seven or eight years ago I discovered Midnight Ride. From the first taste, I was in heaven! This blend IMHO beats al others and I have gone through many others including Rattray's offerings, McClelland's, and several from Greg Pease among others including Solani, Friborg and Treyer, Reiner, etc.

Sadly, I have only a few tins of Midnight Ride left and will have to find a suitable substitute (probably Abingdon.) Is there someting better that would be more similar to Midnight Ride, Greg? If anyone knows, please give me a shout at [email protected]. Also, if anyone has any ot this delightful stuff that they don't particulary care for, let me know.

My highest recommendation*****

I must say that this is a really really good tobacco. The Latakia and Orientals are in just the right proportion and shine at the beginning of the bowl, then fade to the background as the slightly sweet Virginia leaf makes an appearance tapered by the spicy Perique. The last third of the bowl is an absolutely glorious symphony on the palate. So many instruments playing their part, yet blending together so smoothly as to be almost inseparable and melded.

This is a multi-dimensional treat that I intend to savor on occasion, as I would not want to belittle it's character by being a glutton and making it an every day smoke.

Highly recommended this!!!

The first time I had a hoppy beer many, many moons ago, it tasted very bitter to my senses. But I couldn't stop drinking it. It grows on you. Now I'm a certified hop head, and the higher the IBUs the better. That is, of course, if it also tastes good. I don't want bitter for the sake of bitter. It's like hot sauces: I like 'em hot, but not just for the sake of hot. They gotta taste good too!

So a few days ago I cracked this tin of Midnight Ride (Dan Tobacco version - no idea if this is the same as the CAO version) and...it was bitter!

But I think I really like this stuff. At the first couple draws I was a bit disappointed, probably because my expectations were set for something different, i.e., just another interesting English blend. But this stuff has some real character once you start paying attention to it.

The smoke seems quite astringent to me. Reluctant to give up its goods. It's got a very earthy kind of smoke, not rich like campfire smoke but strong and austere. Kind of old school. Although discernable, there is precious little VA sweetness. It is quite unlike many other English blends in that it's more "spicy" than "rich." Which makes it a very welcome change when one is in the mood for a change-up.

Consistent from pipe to pipe, and with that trademark sour smell upon opening which I believe portends a significant Oriental-forward experience.

Though the lament for the passing (if that's what it is) of Dunhill's blends is sung by a bigger chorus, some of us have also felt a great sense of loss over the demise of DAN/CAO's Midnight Ride. I'm down to a handful of bowls of this excellent blend and I don't want to hold out hope that I'll encounter a dusty tin or two of this in some out of the way tobacco shop, so now is the time to let go.

Midnight Ride is a rich, full flavored night smoke in the English/Balkan family. The blend notes perhaps suggest an affinity with Dunhill's Nightcap, but Midnight Ride is altogether softer, sweeter, gentler. The tin nose is dominated by smoky Latakia (and why some reviewers seem to feel there is none present here is beyond me) with a dried fruit note in the background. In the pipe, the sugar-rich Virginias come out strong and by mid-bowl manage to bind together a beautifully complex, richly smoky tobacco. Though Paul Revere's midnight ride was frenetic, CAO's Midnight Ride is more designed for star watching and (given its absence from the marketplace) meditations on time, impermanence, death. It is, so they say, better to get those thoughts out before sleep, so that they won't poison your dreams and make you fodder for monsters.

It is unfortunate that DAN tobacco no longer prepares this or its big brother in the Revolutionary War series - the Latakia-heavy Old Ironsides. These were excellent and unique blends. DAN's current offerings under its own label are also fine (London Blend 1000, Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend) but none are copies of the defunct CAO blends. Pity that.

If you're lucky enough to chance upon a tin of Midnight Ride and you have the taste for a rich, sweetish, harmonious English blend, snap it up.

I have to confess. The only reason I bought Midnight Ride was tobacco shop owner's persistent insistence, that was 2 months ago. After I came home and read 2 mortifying reviews, I decided to take it back and tell him... oh wait! I was looking at Dan Tobaco's midnight ride! There's another one labelled CAO midnight ride? And it seems people can't recommend enough. What da?!?

Now, my tin didn't have CAO labeling on it. It simply says "An exotic blend of Oriental, Virginia & Perique tobaccos - Manufactured in Germany by Dan Tobacco" and where CAO version had yellow ring, this one has orange ring. That got me interested, I searched a bit and found this http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-and-tobacco-news/dan-tobacco-re-introduces-old-cao-blends/

So now it's manufactured by Dan Tobacco for Dan Tobacco, no more CAO. Well, I have no idea how it tasted before but the one I have in my possession is one of the best English mixtures. Midnight Ride is creamy, nutty, spicy and very well balanced, you don't want to do anything else not to affect that balance but to concentrate on flavors, then concentrate on life and everything about lost and found.. that reminded me I had something else very similar to this description. Brazil Carmo Fazenda Kaquend Cup Of Excellence coffee!! A sweet, chocolaty, caramel-like coffee with a creamy mouthfeel which starts with lemon, berry, grape-like notes. Eh I was clever enough to combine both which turned out to be explosive! Ride Paul Revere, ride!

The tin is just about 1 yr. old. I have to say that I was rather impressed. A very nice change of pace from by usual straight VA's, burley's and Lat. blends. This has Lat. but it is not a Lat. bomb. Rather the Lat. and Orientals balance out with the Orientals leading the way just a little. The VA's are soft and just a little sweet, which is nice as the Orientals add that great bitter finish so the sweet and bitter play with each other throughout the bowl. The perique is noticeable but only so. It provides a nice bit of spice that moves forward sometimes and at others stays in the background but is always present. This one is not one for thinking. I needed to concentrate on the blend to pick up all the flavors. I will be picking some up for cellaring.

Update 2nd and last tin opened (1 bag in the cellar now, however) this with now nearly 2 yrs on it. Simply outstanding the notes above stand but there is a harmony starting to merge that was not as unified before. I will be picking up the bags from this point on. It is fast becoming a favorite.

Midnight Ride -- an interesting name for a blend I find to be an amazing morning smoke almost on part with Pease's Chelsea Morning, a favorite.

MR is a more VA/Oriental forward blend. The VAs are definitely a brighter one, so you can get tongue bite with this blend if you're not careful. Then again, I'm pretty susceptible to tongue bite, even with proper smoking technique. There's enough latakia to notice, but not as much as your average latakia mixture. The perique I don't notice as much as Chelsea Morning, but in this case, it's actually to this blend's credit. That's because the orientals in this are so marvelous! Very musky and yet creamy, the orientals stay prominent through the entire bowl. In the last half to third, they leave an almost stinky (but enjoyable stinky) nasal note. I think that that part is when I notice they meld with the VAs nicely.

This was one of the first tobaccos I purchased, based on the reviews here, but I waited a little over a year until I opened it. It's just great, and I'm debating adding it to my short favorites list.

Appearance: Nice mixture of light to dark, with everything in between. The ribbon cut is fairly long and of medium width.

Aroma: Great Oriental spicy/nutty aroma with Virginia sweetness and a hint of fermented fruit. (Perique?) Almost smells like some Latakia present.

Packing: Packs easily into any pipe, just don?t over-pack the small ones.

Lighting: Lights easily, just tamp and relight.

Initial flavor: Wow, really rich. Great interplay of Virginia and Oriental. The Perique merely adds some fruitiness to the Va.

Mid-bowl: Great complexity, marvelous nuances in the smoke when puffed slowly. Can get hot if over-puffed, but this is not a work day blend. It shines when you can relax with it. Finish: Ends on a great note, no noticeable change until it?s gone. Pipe is clean and dry always.

Summary: I wasn?t sure about the Latakia, so I waved a can in front of Greg Pease. He confirmed that there wasn?t any present. My only complaint about this blend is that Dan doesn?t put it up in larger cans or bags.

This is a great blend, but it’s definitely not beginner pipe smokers. It’s a blend that you must know how to smoke, how to tame, how to enjoy, how to understand.

From the moment I opened the tin and had my first bowl to the last bowls of the tin, it changed quite a bit. So I’ll present the phases of this smoking experience below.

Tin note: Fermented tobacco, leather, a bit smoky, quite powerful.

Aspect: Beautiful ribbons with mostly golden leaves, some brown and black leaves. Came dry!

First smoking experiences: An interesting blend, but not what I expected it to be. It was mostly an oriental blend with a lot of perique. Initially, you find the natural sweetness of the virginia and some spicy notes from the perique, then some other spicy notes, condiment-like from the oriental, and the latakia can barely be detected. Sweet and spicy, orientals and virginia in the front with some floral notes. the perique is there with its spicy, fruity and vinegary taste. but where’s the latakia? If I were to list the tobaccos from the most prominent to the less prominent it would be: A good amount of perique, orientals, virginia, and latakia behind. An interesting taste, from sweet to spicy. Not great, not terrible. So far! That was after my first three bowls.

Middle smoking experiences: After I opened the tin, I put the tobacco in a hermetically sealed jar like I do with most of my tobaccos so that they do not get dry. What happens is that, when you open a tin and put it in a jar, it also helps the tobacco to “breathe” and “bloom”, and after a while it will taste better. Same thing happened to this baby. After a week in the jar, the latakia started to make its appearance and the blend was more balanced. But there was another “problem”. The big amount of perique, or the intensity that it had, overlapping the other tobaccos. Well, I solved this by using meerschaum filters. When I first smoked the blend, I smoked it in unfiltered pipes. After deciding to go for some meer filters, it took a bit off from the spiciness, allowing me to concentrate on the other components of the blend. Surprisingly, there’s a little flowery oriental that I didn’t detect before. The smoky characteristcs are there too, but still shy. The virginia however, can be easy to detect with some hay and bready notes, as if they just tossed in some Golden Slice in there. Now, with the meer filter, the flavors dance in this very interesting and somewhat complex blend.

Ending smoking experiences: As I was getting near the last bowls of the tin, the smoky characteristics of the latakia became more prominent, the spicy perique was still there, but at a tolerable intensity, the orientals were flowery and the virginia got sweeter. It’s like a different blend compared to the first bowls I’ve smoked without a filter.

Conclusion:

One thing is for sure, this is not a blend for beginners. Not for beginners in Oriental or English Blends and not for the new pipe smokers. It’s tough and hard to understand. Will take you at least one full tin to understand it and appreciate it.

My advice: Let it ‘bloom’ in a jar and smoke it with a filter if you want to get the best of out it. If you wanna be tough, go ahead and smoke it without a filter, but the perique will almost overlap all the other tobaccos and you won’t get all from this blend.

Strength: Medium Flavoring: None Taste: Medium to Full Room note: Pleasant or Pleasant to Tolerable