Nat Sherman 536 Empire English

This is one fine blend. Refined is the best word to describe it. Well fermented components that are married together to give a superb, delicious English flavor. The flavors start great and get better as the bowl progresses. Peaks at about the 3/4 mark. This is wonderful tobacco. Mildly smoky, a little spicy, a touch of earthiness, and a great underlying sweetness.

A little moist. I like it a little dryer. Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. Burns very well. This is real gem of a smoke.

Hot dog! An English blend with a nicotine punch worthy of my pipes.

This masterfully made blend has Latakia and Turkish leaf that will burn easily, cleanly and cool. I tasted quite a spicy undertone at first light, but the blend settled down into a deep, rich smoke almost immediately.

I think this has become my favorite English blend.

I would not have tried it as generally I don't want any black Cavendish in an English mixture. As fate would have it, I needed to pick up some tobacco while traveling along the highway. I stopped at a modern "tobacco shop" meaning a lottery and cigarette shop. As luck would have it, 536 was the only tin/brand in the entire shop! I would imagine that the tin was fairly old. It packed well and was at the perfect moisture level. Fate dealt me a nice surprise. This is not an aromatic, but it does smoke a little on the sweet side of English. Smooth, with a light leather, smokey taste. If you like Latakia as your lead player, skip this blend. With that said, its not like the Latakia doesn't show up, its just in a supporting role. It does have its fair share of nicotine. If you happen to be in the NYC area, pick some up at the Nat Sherman store, it's a great traditional tobacco shop worth a visit. UPDATE: One other important note, I was in the store in NYC this weekend and they have told me that they are doing away with the 2 oz. tins and are looking for a new blender. This has caused some disruption at e-tailers. 2 oz. pouchs can be found at Nat's website and they have sold off all of their tins. UPDATE 3/2014: This has returned to production in tins, this review is based on the prior production.

The earthy, woody, herbal, vegetative, mildly sour, spicy, floral Orientals are the lead component. The smokey, woody, earthy, musty, incense-like sweet Cyprian Latakia is a supporting player. The nutty, earthy, woody, mildly molasses sweet burleys are secondary stars. The grassy, tartly citrusy, lightly woody, earthy, dark fruit Virginias compete with the burleys for attention. I think there’s a few grains of sugar from a topping. The strength and taste levels are a couple of rungs past the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is a step behind them. Won’t bite or get harsh, but does sport a few rough edges. Well balanced, it burns cool and clean at a moderate rate with a very consistent, mildly sweet, spicy, savory flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste and stronger room note. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and is repeatable for the less experienced.

-JimInks

I'm updating my review based on the new blender for this re-released tobacco. This new version has become my go to, daytime English.

From memory, something has changed in the taste from the old version, but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. It's been so long since I had the old 536, though if I had to guess it seems that the kind of Orientals has changed.

Still, the essential character of 536 remains: mild-medium on the palate, a well integrated English that is creamy, sweet, with a surprising dose of Vitamin N. Surprising because it smokes so smoothly, without harshness or edginess.

The flavor of the Latakia and Orientals are somewhat distant, but intensify by dedicating a pipe to this blend. This is the key to getting the most out of 536: use an untainted pipe, dedicate it to 536, or you're not really going to taste it.

The overall impression is of a very premium product, no rough edges, no misbehavior, except in punch, which I welcome.

It should be noted that this comes in a 2 ounce tin, not 1.75 ounces, so the price is not as much as it seems.

This would be a high quality alternative to those not satisfied by EMP, London Mixture, Standard Mixture, and other light-medium Englishes.

I just want to emphasize that this blend oozes quality in all aspects, it's well worth trying.

Nat Sherman - 536 Empire English.

The tin contains a dark blend, more brown than black, and it's more of a ribbon cut than 'coarse'. It smells rich but not like a Lat Bomb. My moisture looked perfect; a touch damp but nowhere near being wet.

The smoke, that word again, Rich. Mellifluous, and rich! The Latakia/Orientals add flavour but aren't too headstrong; they season but don't govern. The Burley and Virginia make up the leading taste, with a luscious 'smoothing' and sweetness coming from the Black Cavendish; it's this that makes it quite inimitable. The smoke is very cool in temperature and doesn't bite. The burn's consistent and reliable.

Nicotine: just above medium. Room-note: I like it.

536 Empire English? Sure, everyone's idea of an All Day Smoke varies, but this would suit me as one; good nicotine hit, flavoursome, sweet, smooth, VERY enjoyable. So, an easy four stars:

Highly recommended.

I had my family that lives in NY send me 536 after trying the aromatic tins Sherman offers at my local B&M, interestingly the most flavorful blend (536) was not offered at that B&M. This actually tuned out to be a very tasty American Style English Blend. Much sweeter than what I am used to in a Latakia blend and I really enjoyed it. As I have stated before Nat Sherman really prides themselves on using the very best leaf and toppings and 536 was no exception. Sweet, Smokey and lightly briny, the Cavendish and Latakia really play off one another much like sweet duck sauce adds to the flavor of a salty egg roll. I loved the aroma in the tin, the room note was approved of by my family and the flavors were ever evolving throughout the bowl. I will come back to this blend after I finish the tin, it's really that good (if you like sweet English Mixtures)

First of all, the setting. I was visiting NYC last week and managed to slip away from the LSW in order to explore what may now be described as a shrine to tobacco: Nat Sherman's store located on 42nd Street, off Fifth Avenue. A wonderful place that any one keen on pipes and cigars should vist.

I had tried some of NS's blends before but never their English type of mixtures. I sniffed through an ample selection of jars (i bought this in bulk) and decided on 536. The aroma, texture and density of this tobacco are incredible. Your typical English mixture, but the added Cavendish gives it just that edge of natural sweetness that makes it intriguing and inviting.

Don't be fooled. It may seem a tamed English, but its smoothness belies its strength. This is a rich, complex and perfectly balanced English of meduim strength. It was rather moist from the jar, but had no trouble lightinig it and keeping it going. It somkes slowly, leisurly. Really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

NB: tobacco taxes in NYC are criminal. When the LSW found out how much I payed for this and a couple other tobaccos I felt guilty enough to take her out for lunch to Grand Central's Oyster Bar. So my 536 Empire English came out really expensive!

Myself and three other "cigar smoking "friends were in Louisville Ky. touring Bourbon distillers when we discovered that just across the Ohio River in Jeffersonville Indiana was a great Cigar Bar ("Match"). We spent two afternoons there. The ONLY pipe tobacco they carried was Nat Sherman blends , so I picked up a tin of "536" and a glass of fine Bourbon. I was pleasantly surprised with both.

The blend is a light English ( although the tin says "Full") , it's very smooth , and has that "Dunhill like" ribbon/shag cut that I find so easy to work with. The blend could be an all day blend or a first in the morning. It's close to EMP with a touch less "lemon Pucker" and more latakia or maybe similar to Rattrays Black Malory. The blend needs a little more complexity and strength, but it's very smooth and I do find myself reaching for it when I don't know what I want.

Reading some of the previous reviews, I noticed some difference of opinions. I don't find this heavy in "N' nor Latakia, nor overly sweet. Steel Cowboy Indicates that there might be a new blender, interesting.

An english mixture à l'américaine. It is a mild slightly cased offering that would serve as a good introduction to english mixtures for the aromatic smoker. I prefer my english mixtures to be more stout and leathery.