Robert Lewis Tree Mixture

The initial tin note reminds me of Dunhill's Royal Yacht but not the flavor. The flavor starts with more of a Dunhill EMP ( Oriental Forward) but with a noticeable Latakia presence( Nightcap?). ( I agree with reviewer "Steel Cowboy" in that this blend reminds me of something from the Dunhill line). As I got further down the bowl the Orientals faded , latakia remained and a darker stronger burley like ( black Cavendish ?) base made itself known, almost chocolate like. This was never bitter, had some sweetness, never bit, and provided ample "N".

I especially have to agree with reviewer "Gentleman Zombie 2014-02-02" who said this blend was a "chameleon", changing form between bowls. I found the same thing, and I believe it's the unpredictable behavior of the "Black Cavendish"

The one thing I didn't get with this blend was the "Wow" factor, it's nice, but not better than other English/ Balkan blends and for the extra money, " What do they think, money grows on Trees?" .

Hi everyone As I'm writing this, I'm smoking this blend for the first time and listening to the soundtrack "from northern lands" for thr gazillionth time... So, these are my first thought on this interesting blend. The first thing that got my attention was the spicyness of the blend. It's so spicy that _believe me_ you can mistake it for tongue bite. As you go along and get the tone of the blend, you can the sour taste of the orientals and a little bit of the Virginia sweetness. Latakia plays its part accordingly too. It reminded me so much of Sam gawith's Skiff mixture, only more oriental. A little more savage and wild. Overall a nice blend, worth both your money and time.

Light brown to black ribbons with a hazy hue. Tin nose was of latakia and Virginia. I detected no oriental or Cavendish in the nose. The cut was mostly narrow ribbons but with some chunkier ones in the mix.

I smoked this and eventually started taking notes because this one was an odd one. Supposedly it contains orientals and Cavendish and I tried in vain to find those flavors. There were none of the usual oriental descriptors - no middle eastern spice (beyond the latakia), no sweet and sour or incense, etc. The blend had a natural sweetness that didn't taste Cavendish-derived. The Virginias seemed to be a mix of lemon (light) and heavier dark leaf with a small amount of latakia. Even so, the latakia ran the show. It wasn't heavy but it supplied its usual smokiness with spice, while the Virginias formed a nice base and added body. Snorking brought the latakia to the fore, but still no orientals. Every once in awhile I thought I'd caught their scent but at no time did I taste anything resembling non-lat oriental tobacco. I did some research and found that this is also known in certain places as a Virginia/latakia only blend, and that's how it struck me. If there are orientals here, they are way, way, WAY to the rear. As an oriental blend, this failed but it was a very workmanlike VA/Lat blend with an excellent mouthfeel and some moderate complexity. Nothing for the rotation, but very good.

The tobacco seems to be roughly equal mixture of dark (mainly Latakia), brown (orientals) and golden (Virginia) ribbon. The tin note is tangy and earthy with a strong smoked-wood smell backed by a distinct dried apricot-like sweetness.

The tobacco smokes slowly and cool throughout the bowl, and often with very few relights. The Latakia is upfront but is mellowed by a fragrant, slightly floral sweetness. Not particularly peppery or smoky, it is sour to tangy in character. Mid-bowl the background sweetness becomes more rich and chocolate-like and makes a very pleasurable smoke at times. But it can be quite temperamental, alternating from sweet and fragrant to sour and tangy, and not particularly smooth. Compared to other Latakia-blends, I feel this is a little unbalanced and not quite 4 stars.

A relatively mild oriental with a nice balance of latakia that, as one other reviewer noted, lets the virginia leaf sweeten up the last 1/2 to 1/3 of the bowl. I smoked this straight from the tin from 2010 and had no problems with excessive moisture.

The smoke is nicely creamy, and the tobaccos burn flawlessly, but I do tend to relight this quite a bit as the bowl progresses-- that's just me, as I really do sip VAs and I an non too keen on getting bitten.

Not unlike Squadron Leader, but it does have the mouth-feel of being fuller and slightly more rounded, if a little less interesting.

Purchased from The Owl Shop, New Haven, CT.

I smoked half of a sample tin of this in a Wiley pipe dedicated to english blends, thanks to Joe of my local Metairie Tinder Box. I am smoking the other half now. The flavor is so distinctive and consistent that I felt a review now is appropriate, though normally I wait for a full tin or two to comment.

William Serad of Pipes and Tobaccos said this blend is rich, rich, rich. It's true. He wasn't kidding. It is a english oriental (or even balkan blend) with a good dose of latakia. More richness that Butera's devine Pelican blend. It's richer than some of the Dunhill line, e.g., Early Morning, London, Standard; is as rich as Fox's Provost, Dunhill's 965, etc., but not as heavy as a full balkan or a real strong english like Dunhill's Nightcap. So a very rich, full, delicious natural taste, but not quite as heavy as you would think a blend would have to be to produce that experience. It is close to balkan in strength though. No bite to me.

No trouble in moisture content, packing, keeping lit, or consistency in rich oriental flavor. Not hot, as the latakia keeps it cool.

I recommend this for the full english oriental smoker. This has the extra oriental kick many good english blends lack. A step up in strength from Pelican or Esoterica's Penzance and at least two from Germain's King Charles. A no nonsense smoke, especially good for outdoors.

I have to start with complaining the way peolple estimate strength here. Strength means the content of nicotine, right?This in mind a heavy latakia mixture is mostly low in strength. Because of the fact that latakia per se has almost zero nictotine. So I was glad to read about some strength in here but it wasn't. The flavour reminds me a bit of Royality by Davidoff and is not bad at all. A semi brut Virginia in a forefront some orientals and just a pinch of latakia makes it at allday smoke . It is very enjoyable and the tobaccos are of very good quality. I like it a lot but the strength.......could be higher. A big plus for not getting sharp like most latakia heavy blends

This tobacco is like an old and trusty companion. The sort of friend with whom you sit together, don't talk much, if at all, and just enjoy knowing each other. Other friends may take you on crazy rides or tell fascinating stories or be the life of the party. This one is just there, but you are glad that he is and he is always reliable when you need someone. Don't want to miss him.

And a little more prosaic: An all day smoke if there ever was one. Mild, yet satisfactory. Rather straightforward, yet not boring. Doesn't demand much attention, will burn easily and steadily. You can taste every component if you want to, but the taste remains steady. Fine ash, little dottle, very few relights if any.

A very smooth, oriental-forward English blend, the first flavor to make an appearance is light, warm butter on toast (I don't know how else to describe it), yielding almost immediately to the muted yet citrusy orientals. The toasty flavor returns a bit later to share the stage for good. There is also another flavor which I find harder to define, perhaps a dry tangy wine, like some Pinot Noirs.

This blend appears to be mostly orientals; if there is latakia here it's well in the background. No one component predominates and the tenor of the smoke remains muted and relaxed throughout, although a bit darker towards the end if you draw too frequently. As I do not like strong or overpowering blends this smoke was eminently satisfying to me, and to the eponymous Col. Tree, for the tobacconist at Robert Lewis blended it for and named it after that customer. It's far from being a nic bomb and meant to be enjoyed placidly and, arguably. as an all day smoke. Others may judge it to be a mite weak in the nic department.

It fills well, remains lit with minimum fuss and is frankly, amiable. It reminds me a bit, at least initially, of Dick Silverman's Chief Catoonah blends, specifically Princes Street Mixture and its predecessor the John Cotton #1. The first part of the bowl promises a very relaxing smoke, and it delivers on that promise. It also promises to be a more complex smoke than its low profile would suggest at first hand. And on that promise too it delivers. This is a sly blend, easy to enjoy but difficult to understand completely from just a short acquaintance. A strong three and a half stars, for now.