Uhle's Bishop's Move

Whoa! Deja Vu?

It's been close to 30 years since I smoked a particular house blend from a shop that has long since closed its doors. I remember a favored heavier English blend from them, a taste of which I've never discovered again - until now! Granted, tastes are somewhat hard to recall after that long, but this one tastes like that long-lost blend. I wonder if that shop bought the blend from Uhle's and renamed it? Entirely possible.

Since that time, I've found other latakia blends that I prefer to this, but this one is still very good. It's a dry smoking, robust and rich blend that is never short on flavor. It's smoky as is typical, sweet as is typical, but it has a very unique flavor nonetheless. I wish I could describe it in words that would make sense to others, but the best I can do is to describe it as "homey". It brings back wonderful, relaxing memories. I've honestly never found anything like this, aside from that early experience, even though I've smoked hundreds of latakia blends since then. Bishops Move is something unique. If you think latakia blends have no further mysteries to unlock, I highly recommend you try this one. It's a blend that I'll likely buy a half-pound of and smoke on special occasions. It'll probably be my new Christmas Eve mix! Not my favorite, but definitely worth a try to see if it could become yours.

Laden with rich Turkish, this is a luxurious Balkan. At the start of the smoke the Turkish base seems to nearly overwhelm the other tobaccos. As it progresses, however, the latakia gradually makes more of an appearance and the Turkish recedes. I am not able to detect the small amount of perique so if you are a periqueophobe, never fear. Because of the preponderance of Turkish leaf this is the most nicotine-heavy of the Uhle's blends. While I can tolerate Dunhill 965 on an empty stomach with only a minimal awareness of nicotine, under the same circumstances the Bishops Move tends to give me a noticeable nicotine rush. Another cold-weather tobacco for me, and rather rich, so smoked on occasion. A good choice for the Thanksgiving post-prandial fugue state, lounging in front of the fire and watching your tobacco smoke being drawn up the chimney. This is quite a bit richer and stronger than Dunhill Aperitif, perhaps closer to Durbar, although, I think, still considerably more full. Again, an occasional smoke for me, although I will continue to keep on hand for when the mood strikes and nothing else will do.

This is a pretty solid Balkan blend, but I really only found it so so to my tastes. It is definitely led by the monopoly Turkish, whatever that is. In the first third or so of the smoke, it bombarded my senses. The taste of this varietal borders on noxious without going full burnt rubber taste that I get from some blakans ala Dunhill Durbar. I think this is why so many reviewers claim that this could not be an all day smoke and I would agree.

It does settle some by about half bowl and then I start to pick up some of the other elements in the mixture, particularly the burley adding a nice nuttiness. Throughout the smoke it really puts off a pleasing side stream aroma which, to me, is essential to a great Balkan blend. This blend does have a bit of strength which is probably coming from the perique and the burley to some extent; however, I really don't get much of a perique taste to this.

The latakia is prevalent and probably contributes some to both the noxious taste I get at the beginning and the glorious sidestream aroma. Virginia is just along as a sweetener to the mix which is not very sweet, rather savory and bold. To my personal tastes, it is probably a two star blend, but with a four star side stream, so I am leaving it at three stars.

Uhle's Bishop's Move presents as a ribbon of light, medium and dark brown. Tin note is the smokey sweet of a good American English, and suggests a hint of Cavendish (though none is listed by the blender). The charring light is smooth and smokey, and only vaguely sweet. This blend takes a light incredibly well and barely needs a true light: a tamp and a few sips and it's burning. There's no Oriental listed in the blender's description, but like most previous reviewers, I taste it from very beginning of the bowl.

Bishop's Move is woody and nutty, with a clear Latakia smokiness, and a touch of tang that runs a bit towards the sour, at least to my taste. The Perique adds just a hint of pepper. In the final third, the Latakia asserts (as is common in some English blends, with the smoke taking on a more leathery and murky flavor and texture.

There's a lot going on within this robust blend, and the experienced smoker could spend an enjoyable evening discerning and contemplating the competing flavors. And despite the rave reviews, that's what makes this just shy of a four-star blend for me: that competition of flavors. Those flavors don't seem to meld the way they do in the great English and Balkan blends. There is great flavor here, but I never quite found the harmony.

All that said, this could be a stout English smoker's nirvana blend. Dry-smoking and slow-burning. Certainly a high quality American English, and one worth trying. But to me, Bishop's Move is a symphony of many themes that never finds resolution.

It's funny, but I probably tried about all of Uhle's blends in the $8 range, until that fateful day I went crazy and spent $10.50 on Bishop's Move. It was a good move to checkmate a pun.

Probably the first time I smoked Latakia in a blend and I found it interesting. It has this weird charcoal taste that makes me think of smoking through a charcoal water purifier, but it adds a neat effect to the smoke. This may seem insane, but I kind of feel like the briar pipe I used picked up a taste as if it were made of stone.

It is a dry, clean, almost flat smoke with little warmth in the smoke's bouquet. Worth exploring if you never moved beyond a traditional smoke.