J. F. Germain & Son Eighteen Twenty

The Virginia provides some mostly tart and lightly tangy citrus with an abundance of grass and hay, and small earth and wood notes. It sets the stage for the other components. The Cyprian Latakia offers smoke, wood, earth and a light mustiness as a competitive supporting player. The strength of the dry, woody, slightly buttery sweet, sour, floral, herbal, vegetative, woody, mildly spicy Orientals varies during the smoke, always playing an important role. There is an additional slight sweetness coming from something, maybe the topping? Perhaps it's cavendish? Whatever it is, it pleasantly adds to the experience. The strength is mild, while the taste is just short of the center of mild to medium. Has a very mild nic-hit. Won't bite or get harsh, but has a few minute rough edges. May need a light dry time. Burns cool and clean at a slightly fast pace if dried a mite with mostly consistent, mildly sweet and savory flavor that translates to the short lived, pleasant after taste and room note. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

I must confess. This is a blend I bought, tried, hated, and put away in my box of forgotten tins. The other day I was shuffling through my pipes and tins, and came across it, having forgotten it all together. I popped it open and inhaled the smoky latakia, and I got the urge to fire it up. I loaded it up in a Big Ben Fantasia billiard and an ancient Kaywoodie rhodesian. After being allowed to sit for a year, opened and then closed as tightly as possible, the moisture level was just right, it lit easily, and burned cool. It would occasionally require a relight, but that isn't a big deal to me, it kept me from over heating the bowl.....which I admit I am very guilty of when I really like something. Clean white/grey ash is all it left behind, dry as a bone in the bottom of the bowl and nary a gurgle all day. The flavors stay bright and consistent from light to heel and the volume of smoke is just right. No bite, no overdose of wood smoke from the latakia, and just enough sweetness coming of the Virginias to play off the symphony of nutty, woodsy notes that dance around in this blend. Another plus for me was that even though I had one of THOSE smoking days,the one where you over smoke the 2 pipes you brought with you, after knocking off a total of 8 or 9 bowls didn't leave me bored, or with that too much vitamin N feeling. What I did find interesting is the amount of cake this blend build in the course of a day! If you have a new pipe you plan to devote to latakia blends, this one will help you get it broken in and caked up quickly!

A very nice blend, if very 'medium' -- strength, taste, and in the amount of Latakia. I wouldn't have minded a bit stronger Oriental flavor, but this is a satisfying smoke. It came a bit wet, but dried out to the right level quickly and stayed there, leaving only some very stained paper and a bit of rust. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is yes.

I've just had to light up a bowl of this, having previously smoked a bowl of Highland Sliced Flake, (I still can't imagine what made me do that, it's not as though I'd been drinking or anything) anyway, 1820 managed to get rid of the awful taste of HS, truly a saviour in my hour of need. Although I would not say this is a remarkable tobacco by any means, it is still a good honest English, as noted by others, I find it very similar, but not quite the same as Sam gawith's Commonwealth mixture.

A ribbon cut mixture with the orientals and Latakia quite well balanced giving a pleasant and reasonably interesting smoke.

I love English and Latakia in the cold weather and although this may never enter rotation, not even in the winter, wwere I looking for Commonwealth Mix and none were available, but this were to hand, I would most certainly buy it.

Certainly recommended to Lovers of English.

This is too damned sexy for words but I'll try! I'd just woken up and got a coffee and decided to give 1820 the breakfast treatment. Oh hello! Where have you been hiding my smoky fox?? Pouch note is orgasmic: smoky, deep, primeval forests, balsamic, seductive and so damned rich! The last time I smoked Latakia was from a stash of Syrian that I bought from a tobacconists in Bath quite a few years ago. So that was what was in my memory and this is probably Cyprian Latakia so I approached the bowl with an open mind. Flake is very crumbly, moisture perfect and damn the aromas emanating from the pouch were rapidly permeating the whole room. Applied the flame, lit with no hesitation and I was transported to another dimension! It's not as smoky as I remember the Syrian version, more coal tar but with a sweetness and although the lat is there its application is near on perfect, like a good peat complements a fine whiskey. The Virginia's and Turkish Orientals play a very merry dance and intertwine in a flavoursome, quality smoke. This tobacco is a superb example of a very classy Balkan and then some. Reminds me of that jar of candy that sits in the cupboard that you want to try and make last a couple of weeks but you keep thinking about and craving and before you know it its all gone and you just can't wait for your next trip to the shops to get more! I think I need to buy more of this, its too gorgeous! 10/10!

Very nice English Blend, smooth and enough of smokey latakia to keep it interesting, like most of their tobaccos it is in a nice burning shag style cut, packs easy, lights well

I struggled with whether to give this one three or four stars. My rating might change once I buy a tin and smoke more of this stuff, but for now I give it three. Oh yes, and worth noting, especially if you're like me and you like English blends with fairly high nicotine, this one satisfies pretty well in that category. The cool, mild smoke is deceiving in that way, but I definitely noticed the presence of Lady N in this one.

So, I am in Asheville, NC, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is the only place outside of Alaska that I've ever lived, and it's a very beautiful place full of great people, for the most part. One of the men who hangs out and works at the tobacconist here (B&B Tobacconists, blender of the famed Beck's Ol' Limey Bastard) smokes 1820 exclusively, and he always has several tins on hand. Well, he knows that I like English mixtures because I'm always saying so, and so he gives me some 1820 to try because he wanted me to try it, and because he's just a great guy. I packed a bowl out of his tin in my Neerup 1/2 bent sort-of-Dublin, my current favorite pipe.

Well, this stuff is pretty much a shag cut, very thin ribbons that pack very easily and light just as easily. It burns very evenly and produces a fine, white-grey ash. The taste is not dominated by any particular one of the tobaccos, but they are all there and noticeable. I particularly like the Orientals they use in this blend, very fine stuff that really balances it out.

One of my favorite things about this stuff, and one of the first things I noticed, is that it burns extremely cool. The smoke, even the stuff that you get upon lighting the bowl, is very cool and not the least bit harsh. You can just tell that this is quality stuff, as if the name "Germain" on the front didn't tell you that in the first place.

Again, this may well be a four-star tobacco, but I just want to smoke more of it before I can feel comfortable giving that rating. Right now, consider it 3.5 stars, and a possible upgrade to 4 once I get my hands on some and run a few more bowls through my pipe. Try it in something with a fairly deep bowl and straight walls, it burns well in that type of pipe. Or maybe it's just how fantastic my Neerup is. 😀 Enjoy, folks!

I love the quality of the tobacs coming from Germain. Always high quality leaf with good aging.

1820 is a tasty mild English. The tin aroma is traditional English with a bit of that Germain (or Esoterica) fermentation. Not too heavy on the Orientals.

The cut is a fairly thin ribbon. Again similar to the Esoterica tobacs. While moist, it was easy to pack and light. Burned to a clean dry ash.

The flavor is very mild and I agree wholeheartedly that 1820 has a touch of natural sweetness, much like Wilke's Pipemakers Choice or to a lesser degree Dunhill's 965. I very much like this style of tobacco (English with hints of sweetness). Is it cased? Perhaps, but I think the sweetness mainly comes from the flue-cured leaf.

If you like mild English tobacs with a bit of sweetness you should try this. If you are a Balkan vampire - or want a big nicotine hit - then stay away. This tobacco might also appeal to aromatic smokers looking to try an English tobacco.

This blend smells like peat moss when you first open the tin, but don't be put off. It is an excellent midrange Balkan/English blend. It has an earthy flavor that keeps me wanting more from time to time. It is not a complex blend but has an earthy monochromatic flavor all the way to the bottom of the bowl. I keep a tin of this on hand always and go back to it from time to time for something different. It is a good blend to recommend to first timers to non aromatics. Update: 06-15-2004 I just opened a tin from 1996 and let me tell you, this is a keeper. Quality tobacco ages well and this blend definitely has it. It has mellowed somewhat and the VA component has given it a sweet note that pleasantly pops in while you are smoking it.The Latakia is there, but not overbearing. A true classic English/Balkan blend.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 points Enjoy!