Ashton Artisan's Blend

This is not a typical English blend; having said that, this may be my favorite English blend!

Wow, chalk one up to Ashton for coming up with this excellent modern blend! They really hit it out of the ballpark with this one! Complex, yet well-balanced, and full of zesty flavor! It smokes wonderfully straight out of then the tin, and ages even better!

Smoked this for a year now and absolutely, positively, love it. Easy to keep lit, my Mrs likes the aroma, its nice & spicy, but not too spicy ! Just enough to warm the cockles of your heart, a great satisfying smoke with just the right amount of latakia . Blended well too ! If you like English blends you will love this stuff. I tend to mainly smoke Artisan's & 965, but have just discovered Royal Yacht, and I think Dunhills have been dabbling in the dark arts, R.Yacht is addictive !

This is one of the best English mixtures I've ever tried, with masterfuly balanced premium components. What makes this tobacco one of the best available, thou, it's the incredible rich Syrian Latakia used by the blender. I haven't tasted such a mellow, spicy, smokey and rich Latakia since a friend of mine had me try Blue Mountain Latakia bought in London many years ago.

Mr. Pease has complained many times of the poor quality leaf that today's market promotes as Syrian Latakia. He should really find out where K&K gets this stuff from. It's the real thing.

Artisan blend is one of the finest English blends, relatively strong and a Latakia-forward blend, despite its complexity as it has a variety of constituents. It’s smoky, mildly sweet, lightly creamy, and you also get peaty and earthy notes. It is consistent but not monotonous; after the top third or fourth of the bowl, i get it little more spicy, little more creamy. I would generally smoke 2 bowls of Artisan blend every second week; it’s not generally for every day smoke. It ages very well, even within a month or couple of months in the jar it makes a world of difference, so it is recommended you let it settle in the jar for a few weeks after you open the tin. A full 4 star blend, i mostly enjoy it in MM country gentleman corn cob pipe and occasionally in some briar pipes with small-to-medium in size bowl. It does not need any drying time, but occasionally I may let it settle in the air for 5-10 minutes before preparing the bowl. It burns slowly and pretty cool; it might need a small number of relights though it stays lit quite well.

Wonderful blend with everything I'm looking for in a good smoke.

Tin Note: Can't Wait - As soon the tin is opened, the aroma hits me right in nostrils. I'm excited to get it packed and lit so I can start enjoying.

Pack/Light: Almost Too Easy - Given how sticky it seems in the tin at first, I'm quite surprised at how easily it packs, lights, and stays lit.

Taste: Dang! That's Good! - I just love the layers of the blend. It's so well balanced and there's little surprise notes hidden throughout the smoke. It's like a seasoned English, which I love.

Mouth Feel: Oh So Smooth - The smoke comes out super smooth and rich with flavors. No worries of bite or burn. It really is delightful.

Room Note: Bask in Glory - I absolutely love the room note and the lingering aroma. I think it's the oriental that really adds that extra layer to the smell and enhances the experience.

Overall: Great/Almost Perfect - I can't say enough good things about this blend. I enjoy it from beginning to end and the little surprises along the way just push this one right to the top. It's definitely going in my rotation and I'll be buying another tin next time I'm at the shop.

This came with my new order of some previously untried English blends. Reading through some recent reviews I find Science Smoker’s impressions akin to mine.

Tin note is very pleasant, which includes a “sourish” note to some degree, which I don’t detect in the smoking experience. The tin moisture was just right, and did not require any air time.

Overall I’d describe the aromas, the flavors and mouth feel as “smooth and creamy”. Latakia is present but restrained, and perfectly complimented by the Orientals, with a light amount of Cavendish in the background. Yes, it’s smoky, but balanced, and I really don’t detect the Perique.

This one is easy to smoke, very relaxed, not at all fussy or laborious, with all the components well balanced. It’s just what I was looking for.

What a delightful blend. Ashton's Artisan's Blend is just a phenomenal, beautifully blended mix... sweet and savory and endlessly enjoyable.

First few puffs... omg, so good. It's one of those blends that's so well mixed that It's sometimes hard to break it down into various components. The Orientals, even more than the Latakia, are the stars of this blend. They work perfectly with everything else. The very smooth and mature Virginias are there mixing with the Perique, making a Va/par base of fermented, lightly sweet fruit and grass, with some pepper tang. And the incense-like Orientals are enhanced by the Latakia campfire to make this beautiful new flavor. The sweet Black Cavendish is important, tying everything together. I'm sure I've said it before... but the combination of sweet Cavendish and sour, musty, incense-like Orientals makes for a such a pleasant, satisfying blend.

I have to be clear... it's not just a matter of the blend having lots of Latakia or smokiness... it's the combination of sweetness and smokiness and other flavors that makes it so delicious. It's just a masterfully blended tobacco.

Bottom line: Artisan's Blend is a very full, deeply rich, and substantive blend that is super satisfying to anyone who wants a sweet and smokey English blend.

This blend initially has been produced with latakia from Syria. However, unlike some manufacturers who have discontinued blends that included Syrian latakia, the pragmatical Germans of Kohlhase & Kopp didn't chop the hen that lays the golden eggs, and simply replaced the Syrian latakia with latakia from Cyprus, but the quality remained high.

Update at May, 20, 2022: I was lucky to catch several tins with Syrian latakia circa 2012. Taste of Artisan blend with Syrian latakia, definitely, is very different. So everything written below is about the version with latakia from Cyprus.

The 50 gram tin had a late 2020 excise tax, but came with a fresh batch in late 2021. I'm guided by the summer 2021 release, which means the tobacco is practically fresh.

Appearance: a scattering of ribbons of varying shades of brown, from yellowish to a predominant deep dark, almost black. The different varieties are easily distinguishable, and you can see that there is a lot of latakia and cavendish in the mix. Occasionally there are uncut flakes of Kentucky. The tobacco is loose and dries out quickly, but the moisture from the can is just enough to fill a pipe with it.

Flavor: A good dose of latakia yields a rich smoky note with hints of tan leather and tar, wrapped with wood and wheat tones of Virginia. A pleasant note of dried fruit, red wine and vanilla from the dark Cavendish and a touch of Kentucky walnut are added to this base. Rounding out the bouquet is a light set of perique scents - a bit of iodine, salt and white pepper - and barely noticeable nutmeg-cinnamon oriental notes.

Taste: mild, but very full-bodied. The undeniable smoky sweetness of the latakia with the support of Virginia bread and woody notes with a very slight citrus acidity is complemented by the very tangible fullness of the cavendish with a hint of vanilla and fortified sweet wine, which is enhanced by cinnamon, nutmeg and slightly salty white pepper - a mix of oriental and perique. There is just enough perique to make you feel the spiciness, but understand that it doesn't play the first fiddle here. On the other hand, Kentucky is completely displaced by the dominant players, and it is practically not felt, giving you only the strength. The blend tastes clearly closer to the Scottish group than to the English group. As you smoke, the smokiness of the latakia recedes a bit, allowing the Virginia and Cavendish to bring even more sweetness to the bouquet. The strength is slightly below average, but in very large pipes a nicotine hit is possible. The tobacco smokes quite quickly and warmly, but not hot, burning into a light gray dusty ash. There is literally a drop or two of moisture left. The aftertaste is sweetish-winey and smoky, with a slight astringent tinge of nut skins.

The smoke from the tobacco has a sweet-smoky smell, quite stoic in the room, but pleasant.

Bottom line: a luxurious dessert blend for latakia lovers. I don't even know what the drawbacks are to it - well, except that it dries out and smokes quickly. I need it more.

P.S. If you'll have a chance to get 'old' version with Syrian latakia - grab it all cost.

Holly Latakia ! What have I just smoked? This is the best I've tried! Why do you need Aromatic tobaccos when there is such a thing ?! Ashton never ceases to amaze me. The taste does not leave me . This is the one that you cannot regret.