J. F. Germain & Son Eighteen Twenty

Spoiler alert! This is a fantastic tobacco, given you love Balkan blends and EM. Why is it different from all others? Because of Germain's signature, the one you can find in Margate, Penzance and ... . True is the same kind as Squad Leader, a medium bodied mixture still much more smoky and less "kendalish", Earth vs. flowers, mould vs Kendal mint. Burns even, grey white ash, cool smoking. Eighteen Twenty during the day Penzance in the evening, sometime. Just dreaming. Remember Medium Dunhill (the real one I mean) and Nightcap? No substitute for that (perhaps better) but a very close relative. BEWARE! Don't get used to it or Squadron Leader will resemble to hay after a while. And, open it few days before burning it, just too moist out of the tin. Enjoy !

Excellent oriental-forward, latakia blend with a constancy that is tasty and comforting. No bite here, but a lively oriental tingle throughout the smoke that is pleasing. I have noticed some inconsistency between tins in the amount of latakia that under girds the mix - sometimes it is more noticeable than others, and carries a gentleness that mitigates the piquancy of the bowl. In general, however, this is far more oriental than anything else, which if that is your bag, is a real palate awakener. For my tastes, a touch more latakia would really set this off and put it into the realm of the highest quality blends. This is a high quality blend that never loses interest for me, however. Preferable to SLF which never really hits the spot due to the higher virginia load, and although similar to Original Latakia, this is a better blend than SLF - in my eyes, at least. There is an undoubted 'house taste' going on here, as some sort of topping must be applied that can be tasted in each Germain product, but it is subtle and stands as a background additive. In no way unwelcome, and gentle enough to fade in conjuction with everything else that is going on.

Good stuff.