Pipes & Pleasures Old English

My favourite tobacco, period! I grab it anytime I'm passing through Columbus, Ohio. Creamy full Latakia hits you right off the bat and continues to grow throughout the bowl but never overwhelms. Very full rich smoke that's on the sweet side I'm assuming is from the Turkish. I don't get any Virginia taste from this but it's lurking in there somewhere. The Perique is barely noticeable to me. OE is not a complex tobacco at all but is a great smoke for Latakia lovers. It burns really cool. It's light on the nicotine so I can smoke it anytime of the day and often do. If I had to compare it to anything it might be Frog Morton but on steroids without the topping. Nice aroma before and during smoke.

Update: this has fallen in personal rank since I found Whiteknight.

Upadate II: I recently bought some McLelland Dark English Full. I thought it was the same tobacco. I found out that they blend Old English for Pipes and Pleasures. Perhaps this is just a rebrand.

This was the first tobacco I smoked after I returned to pipes from a long absence. I bought 8 oz. and smoked a couple dozen bowls before I mixed the rest of a 4 oz. tin of Hal O' the Wynd with it to do something to them both. The resulting blend wasn't an improvement over the Old English.

I picked this tobacco because I remember that I was particularly fond of English/Balkan blends. This one didn't have the savoriness that I remember from my old favorite blends. There was an overall sweetness to the blend that seemed out of place. Even the Latakia had a sweetness to it that I found out of character.

Old English was an OK blend, but it just didn't do for me what I wanted it to do. I may try this blend again sometime in the future.

Old English is one of Pipes and Pleasure's better blends, and the feedback that I get is that it is popular with experienced smokers. It is a full English blend, not as potent as Pirate Kake, but probably a bit much for a novice smoker nontheless. Dark and black in the pouch, it has the aroma of a Latakia blend. It packs and lights pretty easily, although it did seem to take quite a few relights. I smoked it in two different bent Petersons and an S&R Dublin blast. The initial flavors seem to favor the Turkish tobaccos, along with a faint sweetness from the Virginias. It is a very mellow smoke at this stage. As the smoke progresses, the smokiness of the Latakia begins to show its' head, amping things up another level. It now shows its' full English side. The Virginias are still there, but not as noticeable. In the bottom third of the bowl, the Latakia asserts itself a little more, and is joined by a pepperiness from the Perique. It burns down to a bit of dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Its' room note will probably not win any friends among non-smokers. Old English is available only as a bulk blend, and it is a bit higher on the price scale, reflecting the quality of the tobaccos used.

In scoring, Old English earns 15 out of 20 for taste. Lighting and burn come in at a 7 of 10. The value rating of this one is 7. Final score is 29, earning it a high *** ranking. This one is definitely worth a try if you like full English blends.

This is probably the sweetest latakia blend I've ever tried. I don't know if it's the virginias they use or what, but it does have a very pronounced sweetness especially in the first half of the bowl. Does best in a large pipe, smokes dry and cool. It's a B+ smoke in my book. It's no penzance or even bulk 965 for that matter, but it's sugary-smokiness appeals to me when I'm in the mood for a change of pace from my usual latakia blends. All in all, this is a must try for any latakia fan who wants something full and strong, but not overwhelming.