Nat Sherman 536 Empire English

I've had this tin collecting dust in my cabinet for awhile now. I bought it since I recalled enjoying the occasional Nat Shermans cigarette back in the day. Having no expectations I popped the tin to a wonderful English bouquet. It certainly had all that Latakia gunpowder, but also a twister of other juicy smells. My nose was drooling for what my tongue thought was a bloody steak.

When the torch grazed it, I was immediately impressed. It rivaled many of the Dunhill blends I associate with what an English blend ought to be, but it took it one step forward by being more sublime. Other flavors made it past the charcoal wall. Notably the Virginia and other sweet hay notes.

It certainly fired the nicotine in slugs, but I was able to smoke several successive bowls without much fatigue. It was a fantastic mixture to the end of the bowl and tin! Another curiosity was the tin housed 2 oz vs the usual 1.75.

I find it ironic that I discovered another blend I very much enjoy, to only find it out of stock everyplace. I did a little digging and it turns out the company was bought out last year. If my bad luck is any indicator, I can only assume it was/will be discontinued.

This was a long shot as I went for it at a cigar shop knowing nothing about it except that it was An English blend tobacco. I got a 2 ounce tin. I took a chance at the 8 oz tin of HH ten to midnight also (which I think is a hit for me so far!) . Anyway, Back to the nat Sherman.... I Lit it up on my way out of the store. Nothing to write home about. Was a little hot because of the high moisture in tin and no drying time. I'm only on the third bowl right now. I let it dry this time for 15 to 20 minutes and it's smoking very nice and cool this time around. Smoking in a small full bent briar, it's doing justice to the baccy. I get the same sort of essence smoking this as I do Presbyterian mixture. I usuallly use this particular pipe for Presbyterian mixture so that could be part of the reason. It's nice in my opinion. It's not complex. I could get used to this for those times you want a simple mild Latakia smoke. I'd say there is a decent nic hit to it also! I'm halfway through the bowl and it's smoking wonderfully with no delights yet. I think it grows on you just like Presbyterian mixture does.i would have to compare this side by side to Presbyterian mix to see how similar they actually are. I'll give this a good rating as I think it's a balanced blend that smokes good, has good lat flavor and I find it pretty relaxing.im getting lost in the pleasure of smoking this now. It's very calming. I normally smoke a bold robust blend at night such as nightcap, artisans blend, or my newly found ten to midnight, however I really think this could be a milder blend for a fulfilling night time smoke especially considering the nic hit is better than most mild blends of this caliber. When I run out of this tin I'll either just keep smoking my Presbyterian mixture or I'll long for this and the nice nicotine content and have to buy more. The only downfall is I see this online for 12 bucks a tin but I paid 24 bucks at the cigar shop. But I'm glad I picked up the forgotten dusty tins at the cigar shop. I'm really enjoying this more and more as I puff away! Because I chose my smallest bowl here I may just pack up another for a double header!! It's a good smoke in my book!!

Update, 7/27/ /17 still a great smoke I want to revisit a lot, however smoking Presbyterian mixture now I see a huge difference. Presbyterian has very mild body and a high nutty burley flavor. It's very good but not as full or strong as nat sherman.... I don't know why I compared the two together .... nat Sherman is stronger and harder by far. Presbyterian mixture is a mild pleasant well smoking and way more laid back than the empire English, but at the same time I yearn for a hearty fulfilling English/ Balkan type blend with a good lat content. just what you get with nat Sherman empire English 536.

Update 8/4/2017 This is one fine fine fine blend!!! I really feel like it is a rare gem. This is what I'm looking for in an English pipe tobacco. It's better and better every smoke. I've got about 20 bowls of it now and I must say the only reason I reach for anything else is because I like to switch things up a bit from time too time. But every time I do I just wanna pack some of this in my pipe after. It's that good and fulfilling to me like no other blend. This makes me want to take other blends and take a star away. I am absolutely in a perfect late night pipe right now. That sweet spot is here from start to about the half way mark now. It gets a bit spicy when you puff hard and when you progress through the bowl. the drying time helps this blend tremendously. If your smoking this now I hope you realize what you've got. I always wanted to try penzance but honestly I don't think it could be as good as this.

Although everybody feels this blend resembles EMP, I thought it looked a lot like a tin of 965 on opening. However, one whiff and I knew it was not of the strength of 965. One light and I knew it for sure. It does smoke at the strength level of EMP, but with a lower register that I attribute to it's black Cavendish component. What struck me the most, though, was just how light an English 536 is. I couldn't get much out of it in the top third of the bowl and the middle third faired only slightly better. Strangely, and running contrary to the norm for pipe blends, 536 came on strong in the bottom third and finished with a much better than descent and strongly satisfying English smoke. Now, this unexpected turn of events made me rethink my initial rating of two stars. Then I began to micro blend with it as a base tobacco and this has worked out very positively, with all micro blends I've mixed to date performing better than the 536 alone; in some cases much better. All-in-all, a compromise rating of three stars.

The first several times I smoked this I was not a big fan... I found it brawny and smoky; I had also just started my journey in the Pipe Smoking world.

Ergo, IMHO, this is not a newbie blend- instead it took a tour of a variety of brand-name and celebrated English mixtures (and a few months) for this tobacco to really speak to me.

In the tin the sweetness of the Cavendish/VA shines through the mesquite-cedarness of the Latakia... and theres more than a dram in this.

Complex, thick-smoke, 'classic' English with a gorgeous sweetness that is just below the surface. A contemplative smoke in the evening, call it "Your after-work 'unwinding' pipe..."

I've been a fan of Nat Sherman (via Cigars) for quite a bit and there mellow-but-true-to-form style of blending (i.e., in this case, a textbook English architecture with an everyman approachability and utter deliciousness) makes this a hit in my book.

A very nice, standard English blend. Great quality tabacky. The latakia was added with a light hand:it is always present but not overpowering. Slight nutty flavor from the burley or, perhaps, burnt Cavendish. I would happily buy and smoke it again. A very solid performer but not quite a superstar for me.

Great pre-light aroma that reminded me a bit of Dunhill's EMP. It lit with only one torch (which is rare for me; I usually require 2 good torches and 1 or 2 touch-ups to a new bowl) and burned cool and even. The flavor was slightly sweet with a bit of leather flitting around in the background. Nothing special, but a good solid smoke. And THEN...the second-third begins to burn and brings with it that familiar toastiness that I'd been longing for, and BANG! Damned if I'm not smoking EMP! This is a very close match, and I'll be trying to snatch up some more tins before they're gone (thanks to SteelCowboy for the heads up).

I smoke Latakia-English tobaccos 99 percent of the time. This tobacco is very strong in the nicotine department. On the flavour side, it is a respectable morning or all-day English. The downside to being all-day is the nicotine content might be too much for many folks. A few bowls and you might be 'done' for quite sometime.

It is very well balanced and the tobacco is of high quality, alas not enough in the flavour department. Mind you I do prefer a full-on Latakia assault like Cornell & Diehl's Billy Budd. It might be suitable for aromatic pipers who wants to try a high quality English. Other than that I shall not buy it again, just not quite my cup of tea.

- Tabaco

This review is of the tinned variety of this tobacco, which despite what some have written, is still available in brick and mortar stores - at least in NYC. The bulk variety can be bought online through the Nat Sherman website.

General impression: This is a mild English blend that has just the slightest hint of latakia in it. The tin smell is very pleasant and unusual in the sense that it smells both very sweet AND slightly smoky. The taste is not overwhelming nor bland and is best described as nutty and earthy. The latakia is not at all predominant and folds into the overall flavors well. Any sweetness is due to natural tobacco flavors, not casing, I think. It did not produce gurgle or bite for me, even when I tried to puff it fast, and burns nicely without too much relighting. Unlike a lot of English blends, this one is mild enough to allow you taste food afterwards and the room note gets compliments from non-smokers (I can't say this of all English-style blends).

Who should buy this stuff: You are looking for a mild, English-style blend that won't offend those around you and won't stay on your tastebuds all day. If you tend to puff fast or smoke outside this might be a good choice. I also think this would be a very good blend to introduce aromatic smokers (or even beginning pipe smokers) to the taste of English blends since it does not seem to have too much latakia in it. This would NOT be a good choice if your are looking for something heavy and ultra-smoky (e.g, Dunhill Nightcap).

Final notes: A good non-aromatic blend. It flavors won't have your waxing on and on with poetic lyrics, but it is very pleasant to smoke. Beverage recommendation: I would pair this with a gin or vodka martini.

A good friend brought me a eight ounces from the New York store (I'm in New Zealand) and I decanted most of it into a jar to age for a bit. I liked this smoke right from the start and found it (as has been mentioned before) to be a sweeter English mixture. As I also like sweet VA's this tobacco really suited me.

Recently I dipped into the jar (after about four months aging) and it's just getting better and better. The virginias are even sweeter and the smoke has more body (however I do think it could do with a bit more Oriental leaf to round it out and make it a bit fuller). I know many will consider a tobacco like Squadron Leader to be a "truer" English but I recommend you to try 536, you may be pleasantly surprised.

If in New York a visit to the Nat Sherman store is a must - a wonderful "old style" tobacconist.