J. F. Germain & Son Royal Jersey Original Latakia Mixture

I don't know about this one.

Try King Charles, it is much better than this one.

Preface: I have been smoking Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium for near-on 30 years, believing that it has no equal anywhere on earth. But it is gone now, and so I begin a quest for my Holy Grail: A substitute to replace the standard on which all English tobaccos are based:

Royal Jersey Original Lakakia Mixture (RJOLM) jumps right out of the tin at you. Sweet heavily fermented fruits can be smelled across the room! There is no question in my mind that this blend is cased. Aromatic fans might find something here, but it's all a bit too much for me...

This is a quality tobacco and delightful in the tin. Once it's in the pipe though, it's only okay.

Upon lighting, the intial taste is very light latakia and not much else. As the pipe progresses I taste a light anise or sassafras note, which I suspect comes from the orientals. The most remarkable thing is how 'dry' the flavor is. I don't sense much of the sour apple or cider flavor that other reviewers mention, but I do get a bright sour burning taste on the roof of my mouth which is not all that pleasant. An experience I also have with other blends high in light or lemon virginas. The bite does go away fairly quickly, but why bother, especially for a blend with no disernable virgina sweetness. The surprising thing is how cool and dry it burns for a blend I find a bit nippy. If it were a straight VA that bit like this I'd expect the bowl to be scorching hot, then you'd just have to slow down to keep it in check.

Exhale through your nose, and you're likely to be surprised at just how light and airy this blend is.

Not much nicotine to be found here.

Overall I find that this blend is just too light for me, and would only recommend it to someone looking for the lightest english blend possible.

This is similar to the King Charles blend and the 1820, though more tart and appealing. Typical of all Germains, the dressing gives the manufacturer away. This is a nice stringy cut of VA/MD & Orientals that packs well. I?m not sure if I ever tried Maryland tobacco before, so perhaps that?s what gives this its unique texture and flavor. It?s similar in style to ?And So to Bed,? though a lot more interesting and not as licorice tasting. The base taste is reminiscent of sour apple or cider. I wouldn?t associate that sort of flavor with tobacco, but it seems to work well here. It?s also briny and chewy, like an Ardbeg or Bowmore malt from Islay. As McClelland is woodsy like BBQ, Dunhill is smokey and IRC Three Star is characteristically licorice, RJ has that unmistakable note that?s Germain?s alone. If one can imagine the rugged landscapes, lonely moors and windswept dales of the Channel Islands, Royal Jersey is all those things in both tin and pipe. An unusual blend worthy of attention and one that I will turn to from time to time.

Three and a half of five stars

With the prevalence of quality english mixtures available round the globe, I do not see myself reaching for this one again. I had a tin(a gift) sitting in the closet for some time, seemed a likely canidate for this past week, as it snowed incessantly. I enjoy alot of latakia blends, coupled with orientals, perique, va, et al. I do not like this. It is flaccid to the point of being nearly flavorless. The tin aroma is good-typical english/oriental. One reviewer made mention of the aroma being similar to Margate. I find the only thing the 2 blends have in common is maker. There is nothing here of interest. The strength is completely absent, the orientals are muted and the latakia is bland, completely lacking the shivery richness of so many other blends. I gave the last half tin to a fiend who has never smoked an engish, perhaps he will fare better.

A very good friend of mine from the pipe club brought in some Germain’s that he had purchased from someone. For me and probably likewise others, Germain’s is a rare find if you can purchase it. This tin was circa 2017. This comes in a nice shag cut which had still maintained some of its hydration or so it seemed. Fired up smooth, with a slight sweetness to the smoke. Forgive the review as I only had two bowls of this fine blend. I would purchase this if I could. Side bar: "Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands, an island group in the English Channel near France." Wikipedia. New Jersey was named after the Isle of Jersey.

You guys are crazy.... two star average for this??! Wow. I just can't.

This tobacco is lovely. If you've ever smoked "And So To Bed" you'll know Germain's anise flavor profile. Personally, I love it, but if you hate ASTB, you'll hate this too. It's slightly sweeter and more incense-noted than ASTB, probably because of the cavendish. The latakia is not powerful, despite having Latakia in the name. And whatever Germain does to his virginias is absolutely unrivaled.

It's really a semi-aromatic, but there's nothing sticky-sweet-chemical-etc about this at all. To me, its like a happy mixture between ASTB and Stokkeby's English Luxury. If I could find more tins of this, I'd absolutely load by cellar with it, and happily call it my guilty pleasure smoke.

After reading the reviews I think this is an under-rated blend. The Latakia and Oriental are forward in this blend that is light in Virginia by taste. At times it tastes like the Gourmet English. Similar smoking experience at times with slightly more Oriental forward taste. I recommend this blend to anyone looking for a full English.

This medium English blend tastes more like an Oriental blend, the latakia is less pronounced and so are the VAs. This has an odd taste to it, as if there was some sort of topping of which I have no idea. In a way it leaves a taste of metal. I know that is sort of non-descript for it isn't iron or copper, I know those tastes. Well that's a big question mark for me, but it certainly isn't the type of taste you want to encounter while hoping for a rich English blend. Maybe some of the tin rubbed off on the tobacco? 🙂 I'm not sure if I got a bad tin or this one just didn't go well with my constitution when smoked. I'll give this 2 stars just because of the odd interaction with this blend, otherwise it would be only 1 star. I must admit I'm very hesitant to buy this again.