Peter Stokkebye Proper English (No.52)

This is a great English blend. Burns nicely all away down the bowl. Great flavor. If you like English blends, you should give it a try, it is a great value as well. Strong Latakia taste intertwined with Orientals with back notes of Virginias.

I guess I am just prone to have a slightly different expectation of what I think a good "English" is for me. Of the three PS English blends I have tried thus far (this plus English Oriental Supreme and English Luxury), this one comes the closest to those expectations. In other words, I like this the best. Close but not on target, however. May the folks who truly appreciate this continue in their enjoyment. I am beginning to suspect that just as we often read the term "American-English", the PS offerings could be called "Euro-English". Neither being what (despite the name appropriation here by Stokkebye)"proper" English. All PS English taste of a sweetness different from what I grew up encountering in my Dunhill blends. (The American-English miss the mark for me in creaminess, mellowness.)Proper English gives this same odd sweet taste to me, albeit less so than the other two PS I have tried. Perhaps my age has something to do with this. I have never tried any Orlick tinned Dunhill and I quit the Dunhills after sampling MM#965 from Orlick in bulk. Hence, many who liken these blends to MM#965 may actually find them close to what their experience tastes like if they've become accustomed to Orlik's 965 and/or other Dunhills or PS blends. Frankly, for me several McClellands and Cornell and Diehls taste more authentic. I would rate Proper English less "proper" in comparison to C&D's Stratfordshire which does give me (albeit momentarily) wisps of the old flavors and textures I miss so much. My general impressions are: if left on a desert island with my pipe and this alone, I would smoke it while dreaming of my favorite blends. I do like the Latakia in Proper better than what comes through in the other two PS blends, but not enough to repurchase Proper if other blends are available.

Update - 03/08/2014 I purchased several ounces of this while out of town and what I got has definitely changed for the better. I am not sure if the corporate changes with the blender had anything to do with this but the cut on this blend is now a quality ribbon and the Latakia is still a bit edgy, it is far superior to what I reviewed before. That was pure coal smoke.

I also found this remarkably similar to Balkan Sasieni - current production. I had also bought a tin of BS at the same time and smoked these two in alternating sequence. Frankly the difference, if there is any, might just be an artifact of the tinned product catching some aging. Both are now STG, are they not? Hmm....

Bumping this to three stars.

I like this tobac. After searching for replacements for the Dunhill tobac I have smoked for 45 years I came upon Stokkebyes blends a few years ago. English Oriental Supreme is hands down my favorite in the P.S. line-up but P.E. comes in a close second. Here is a english that has a lot of taste!! the Latakia really shines with the virginias adding a a nice body of sweet that perfectly compliments this blend. This is an all day blend that packs and burns great. Brought to you in bulk and at a great savings compared to the cost of the boutique blends available. Master blenders like Stokkebye could teach apprentices like Pease a thing or two IMHO. This blend does not disappoint

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Stokkebye’s English blends are one of the best choices in value; great quality at a very comfortable price.

Proper English features a classic indulgence of plentiful Latakia, vibrant Turkish and striking Virginia. With a very personable pouched aroma, one is convinced of its merit as a gently sweet, lemony, earthy spice form its fragrant projection.

For the taste, in general, No. 52 is suggestively sweet, tarty, woody, and floral. The softly cased fruity-citrus Virginia grounds the over taste profile. A little forward, hearty tones of smoky musty woodiness emanate from the fine strain of Latakia provide a wonderful thrust of flavor, while the Oriental supports accenting tinges of floreated peaty spice in the backdrop.

And the charming room note speaks fittingly as a respectful benchmark towards the genre. No bite, cool burning and consistently satisfying, drop this one in your bowl and enjoy the Proper English distinction. Tally ho!

I bought this recently in a deal that included a branded tobacco jar. I like to smoke English in the colder months, and wanted a decent daily smoke for work. A pound of this is pretty reasonably priced.

It came in a big bag when I bought it in bulk. It’s a moderately fine ribbon cut, with some sticks to pick out. It’s mostly very dark and medium brown, with bits of golden and yellow here and there. The nose is very smokey latakia with a little something sweet. It’s not a topping, but there is something extra in the casing. Industry secrets are fun mysteries.

I tried it in an acorn I use for English blends, and it didn’t work out well. Hot, and finished wet. I tried it in a pot lovat, and it didn’t burn well enough. Then a MM country gentleman to great success. And a Brigham bent billiard works great. It needs a narrow chamber to burn well and the graduated bottom end of the bowl in the acorn was too narrow to let it breathe. As it came is how I’ve been smoking it for a week now. Several bowls a day even.

It burns cool and doesn’t bite. Takes a few charring lights to get going properly. It took relights for me, but I’d imagine it could work better if it was smoked with more attentiveness. Finishes up nicely with fine ash. The flavor is solid and smokey, and is very well married in the batch I got. A little sweet zesty flavor shines through the darkness once in a while. The nic is mediumish, which is well enough, though I prefer stronger generally.

There’s not a lot to think about here. It’s good and satisfying, while not being a complex and contemplative smoke. Alternately, it’s enjoyable during quiet times. I’ve smoke a good 3 oz of this in the last week riding my routes at work. It’s a great work smoke, for a great price. I may try tweaking it a bit for strength at some point. Maybe a pinch of five brothers to give it some extra backbone.

Bulk purchase. The cut is made up of long thin ribbons and some small chunks mixed in. Lots of dark Latakia and some bright looking Virginia's.

Bag note is smoky Latakia upfront followed by some sweetness which probably is the Virginia's. The Orientals are slightly pungent and only barely noticeable.

Packs well enough for the long cut and lights well. My bag was pretty dry but that is how I like it. First flavors are of the smoky Latakia. The Virginia's give it some sweetness and the Orientals add that slight incense note. As the smoke evolves the components stay consistent. The sweetness is becomes more noticeable towards the final third. The Latakia stays as the main player however. The Orientals come and go towards the end but really become muted for the final third of the smoke.

A few relights will be required along the way. The burn is easy and produces a lot of smoke and will leave behind some dottle but most will burn to a grey ash.

Overall this is a basic English style blend that most people will probably find middle of the road as I do. It is not bad but it doesn't stand out and that's not a bad thing. I probably won't rebuy but I would recommend this blend.

Most of the other reviewers have already voiced my sentiments here. It's a solid, no bells and whistles English with a heavier but not excessive quantity of latakia. If oriental content were a little higher, I suppose it'd be more balkan than traditional English - there's only a smattering of Orientals here, just enough for some pleasing spicy notes to keep it interesting. One reviewer said it best...it's a working man's English, no more no less. Just right in the strength and nic departments, and behaves well when smoked. The quality here is above what I expected of this price point. Gotta love Stokkebye!

This is an interesting tobacco...it's not the greatest, but I've kept it on hand for about 10 years now. Today, I enjoyed...mostly...a bowl in a Dunhill bent that caused me to write this review. I say "mostly" because I don't enjoy the last third of a bowl as much as the first two-thirds. The Latakia seems to go flat toward the end. But, I keep coming back to smoking it on a continuing basis. Some of my pipes do not smoke it to ash but today the Dunhill 52021 sang and it was grand and thus I'm speaking up for the blend. The price is reasonable and it's a blend you should try once...or maybe weekly.

Today being Christmas Eve, I decided to venture out to my local tobacconist in search of some Holiday deals and perhaps finding a new favorite. Fast forward an hour, I walked out with a new pipe and several 2 ounce samples. He was not offering any Holiday deals and somehow shnookered me into buying a beautiful Oom Paul. Anyhow, one of the samples was PS Proper English which smelled delicious in the jar and was very inexpensive. Various shades of brown with yellow and black ribbons, very thin and long strands that take flame quite easily. Light up and the musty /salty taste with a slight sweetness leads me to believe I am really going to enjoy myself! If they stopped production of Dunhill tobacco's again I could actually be quite happy and content with PS PE. A very middle of the road English with just enough Nicotine to content me, just enough to not bowl one over with strength, I do prefer 965 due to the slight sweetness the Cavendish provides but again I would be pleased with PS PE as my regular go to English especially considering cost and high quality leaf.