J. F. Germain & Son Eighteen Twenty

I picked-up a tin of this after reading a favorable review in P&T and I'm glad I did. After smoking a lot of virginia and light english blends lately I decided that I needed a little more of a latakia kick. As it turns out this is exactly what I was in the mood for!

Opening the tin reveals a brick of long ribbon wrapped in some sort of silver mylar. I found the wrapping a bit disturbing since it seemed as though some of the metal had come off of the plastic. I immediately discarded the plastic and deposited the tobacco back in the tin.

The tobacco has a sort of bizarre musty, yet somewhat fruity, smell which I find interesting. It packs easily and lights up well, though I seem to have a harder time than usual keeping this stuff lit. Allowing it to dry out a little before smoking seems to have fixed this though. The taste seems like an ideal blend of spicy, salty, and a little sweet.

While I'm not completely blown away by this, it is exactly what I was in the mood for at the moment and I'm sure I'll reach for it again.

The first time I tried this, I was sure there was a clove casing. The clovey smell has dissipated over time, though, so it was probably just the orientals outgassing the various fermentation byproducts they developed in the tin.



This one was quite good. There is something distinctive in the flavor, one of the orientals I expect, that I can't quite identify but is nonetheless quite tasty (when this stuff was freshly opened it was sort of clovey as well, but with some exposure to air this has moderated along with the cloveyness in the tin aroma).



The first half of the bowl is slightly tilted towards the latakia, but this changes during the bowl so that by the end the orientals have more of a role. However, they never dominate to the extent that the blend becomes unpleasant. This is an interesting medium blend that IMHO nicely bridges between the oriental-heavy style (e.g. Pelican), and the latakia-heavy style (Penzance).



This was a nicely balanced blend, with a fair bit of complexity and nice interplay between the orientals and latakia. A bit sweet, but nicely done nonetheless.

The tobacco consists of bright, black and brown leaf in very close proportions, in a somewhat varied ribbon cut from fine to medium with just a few pieces of rubbed out very dark flake. This wasn't supplied quite so wet as the King Charles but I've stored it in a wooden tobacco jar which allows the contents to dry very slowly - I've enjoyed it more as it's become drier over the couple of weeks I've been smoking my way through it.

The tin aroma is mild, it's not leaping out at you. Sweet yeasty rye bread, wood fire smoke and woody, leathery notes can be enjoyed if you get your nose right in it.

It lights with ease when a little dry, the flavour is at the start delicate, with spice, sweetness and smoke blending together. A background incense note develops and I have to say, like the King Charles Mixture it puts me in mind of my old favourite, Durbar. It contains more Latakia than does the King Charles mixture but it's not at all heavy handed with it, which I appreciate. The side stream smoke offers both incense smoke and bready aromas, delicious.

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.

Nice English blend...Nothing spectacular, or to write home about...Does yeoman's duty as an all day blend...Would buy again...But, would not find its way into regular rotation.

Somehow sweet scented but peppery taste... Not bad tobacco for any time of day. Since its quality is superior, it is good for inexperienced smokers because it burns steadily and slowly. However in taste it does not leave any exceptional mark in memory.

Although VERY hard to light right out of the tin since it's very wet. 1820 has something interesting happen to it towards the end..... The flavor changes suddenly. It goes from nothing really to write home about (except for slight hints of coffee at the start until the tobacco dries out some), to a mellow yet COMPLEX smoke that's very pleasant yet rich on the palate without being overpowering at the same time. Very interesting blend. The aftertaste also somewhat changes flavor, from slightly peppery (in a good way), to more of a mellow after coffee taste (a good cup of espresso).

This is what it is. A good change on the palate for Full Bodied Balkan lovers seeking a little cleansing of the palate. It's not meant to be a Latakia powerhouse, nor the greatest blend ever, but a nice change of pace for the lover of strong Oriental/Latakia blends. It is not complex, but has its own character and has fine tobaccos that marry well together. It is medium strength with mild to medium flavor and room note presence. With that expectation set, it will not let you down.