Dunhill Blenders Own

Highly regarded, this blend is semi-aromatic and mild to medium in strength, with rich Flake and Burley, Virginias and Perique. Some Latakia is added before it is finally flavoured with vanilla essence. It is designer made for the customer who prefers character rather than an aromatic blend. The good news: the vanilla here is very subdued, more noticeable to the nose in the tin and in the room aroma (though not overwhelming) than in the taste. The bad news: the Latakia is subdued, too... I expected this to be an interesting light English-aromatic crossover, but the end result is a bland and quite uninteresting mixture. I am not saying it's bad, just that it has a weak taste and bores me to death. However, it burns fine, slow and even to the bottom (though it becomes increaingly bitter and unpleasant). It might have some appeal to fans of Bob's Chocolate Flake, which is another Virginia blend with just an imperceptible sprinkle of Latakia and sweet flavoring: the main difference here is that the Dunhill comes in mixture form and is sweeter (especially in the first half of the bowl), and of course the price (Bob's Flake can be bought in bulk and is considerably cheaper!). BTW, I consumed my tin in 4 months, and at the end of it the tobacco was still sticky and wet (while other Dunhill store blends dry quite fast).