Ashton Consummate Gentleman

It seems to me that this blend is under appreciated here on Tobaccoreviews.

People seem to note a inherent "lack of flavor," and call this blend "nothing special." I however, feel contrarily. This blend is special because it is so light in latakia, while still retaining a classic english odour and taste. Many criticise this blend, consciously, or unconsciously, because of the sparsity of the latakia, but that is precisely what makes it special, along with the addition of burley tobacco. Many overlook the fact that English tobaccos used to contain no latakia at all, so for those who say that this cannot be a proper english, may I remind you that a common and proper English, at one time, was comprised only of Virginias and Burleys, and a bit later, with just a pinch of latakia. Many englishes abuse latakia, overuse it (*cough cough* Nightcap) to the point that it will numb the palate of any smoker, experienced or not, to at least some degree. This one, however, does not. Yet it is still a fine medium-bodied blend with plenty of english character... and it won't destroy your senses of taste and smell! This is quite the refined blend, and I may liken it to SG Squadron Leader, another fine blend.

The Latakia may be lighter than most of today's English offerings, but I wouldn't classify it as light. More of a medium presence. I can't really separate the Virginia, Maryland, and Burley tobaccos from one another. They combine to present a very nice flavor akin to raisins lightly dusted with brown sugar and cinnamon spice. Closely balanced with that are the smoky, woody notes of the Latakia. This blend is delicious. It's very well put together. I think I'll be smoking a lot of this.

Medium in body. Medium in flavor. Needs a little drying time. Burns best when fairly dry.

This is a blend which I often smoked in the past. It had gone ignored for a while as recently having gone back to a dedicated pipe smoking, I had focused on types of tobaccos I had not previously experienced. Today I loaded some into an old Iwan Ries Dublin, acrylic saddle bit pipe for my first pipe of the day. I'm very glad I did. Consummate Gentleman is a marvelous gentle extremely well balanced classic English style blend. Gentle yes, but very flavorful. Smooth sophisticated Latakia in the background directs round nutty and demi-sec flavors. There is also a muted but very desirable spice to it. as English blends go this would be on the opposite end of the spectrum from a smoke bomb like Pease's Charring Cross. Very pleasurable indeed and highly recommended.

Ashton's Consummate Gentleman is a properly balanced English mixture that is satisfying, dry smoking, and a pleasurable smoke. The tin itself is rather ornate and classy looking, so you know that if you're smoking this, you've made it into the brotherhood of Briar. To start, the tin note is very strong in Latakia's signature scent, but there are mellow and creamy Burley notes as well, and of course there's that wonderful dried fig smell of the good old Virginia sweet leaf. Overall, it smells bitter, almost like fresh cut Cedar, but it has a warm toasted marshmallow scent as well. This tobacco may need a little drying right out of the tin, but not too much. It smokes very dry to begin with regardless, but if you find it wet, give it a day or so after popping the seal and it will be perfect. The taste is glorious to say the least. Very cool and smoky Latakia overtones wrap this whole smoke in a tight embrace. It's the prominent flavor, and there's not even that much in there. However, this blend has its own cool sweetness and depth. It almost tastes like a sweeter, medium strength cigar infused with Latakia. It has a nice spiciness to it that is sure to satisfy the seasoned smoker. It has subtle notes of a woodsy flavor, not unlike Peterson's Irish Oak. Very robust, full and prominent. The forefront of this blend is certainly its English crafting, but it is definitely softer smoking than more traditional English and Oriental mixtures, like Balkans and heavier Latakia tobacco blends. Its room note is rather pleasant and potpourri-like, but it lingers. This is not the best blend to smoke in mixed company. Save this one for reading in your study, poker night, or when you feel like bringing something different to the table when you get together with your cigar smoking friends. I try to seek out good English blends to recommend to those who like aromatics, but want to try something a little more traditional. This one is not too strong, not too intense, and even though it has a significant amount of nicotine, it's a slow smoker, so it won't knock you right out. Even though it does not smoke hot in the slightest, I recommend this to anybody who likes to smoke a Gourd Calabash pipe. The extra cooling will bring out the subtleties in this blend like nothing else.

Ashton - Consummate Gentleman.

To me, this is a very unostentatious blend; that's not a bad thing, to a lot of folks it could be more of a good thing, that's how I see it!

The aroma given off from the unlit blend is a steadfast English one; not too grassy or hay like, not aromatic, just woody and smoky. If your an English fan I don't think you'd find it disagreeable! Typically for a sealed tin, it needs to be aired. It's not saturated but too damp nonetheless.

How does it smoke? Good! It's simple to get lit and gives a good burn; that's a good start! The flavour isn't typically English though, it isn't a huge Lat-Bomb; the Latakia's present, albeit not the star of the show. To be fair, this blend doesn't really have a 'star', it gives a very well rounded smoke; slightly nutty, a little grassy and somewhat woody. Woody, not smoky; it's the calmer variety of Latakia, calm and there's not great deal of it!

One of the few negatives for me is the speed. It seems to burn too fast, so I'd recommend filling a bigger bowled pipe with it as a small bowl will be over in a flash!

This is a good smoke that would make a great all day blend; medium nicotine, good flavour, and no bite.

Highly recommended.

I was somewhat surprised at this one, since it is not so highly rated here by some. I must say this one is really quite good and it will definitely be one to pick up whenever I get the chance to. The tobaccos used form a very nice, delicate almost, English blend that goes back to a much earlier era of pipe smoking. This lights and stays lit quite easily and there is only a fine ash at the bottom of the bowl. The taste alone makes you want to take your time with this one to fully enjoy it. The nicotine level and moisture level are just right. Highly recommended.

In a world flooded with varying English blends, this one does not try hard to stand out. Packs easily with a bit of spring, lights very well and stays lit. This tobacco requires very little attention, and is a friend of mine while performing tasks such as restoring straight razors, tying a few flies for the upcoming trout season, or goofing off on the internet writing these reviews. It is also a great English blend for road trips, as it requires no relights to burn to the bottom of the bowl. Notes of leather, sweet Va, and the backbone of burley. It is clean on the palate, pairs well with a Macallan 12, Highland Park 18, or even a snifter of Grand Marnier neat. Room note is not as heavy as say Pirate Kake, but it will still drive the wife to the other end of the house. But sometimes that is a blessing........

This is indeed a medium bodied mixture with deep notes filtering in from time to time thanks to the sparse hits of Latakia. The Burley gives this one a somewhat unusual taste sensation for an "English type" offering.

I really liked this one. Oh, and this blend's name is spelled correctly on my tin. (-;

What a wonderful blend. I received a sample of this one from a forum friend. It was not a large sample, just less than 3 bowls worth, but every one of those bowls was fantastic.

The latakia is light, but present, lending just the right amount of smoke to an otherwise nutty sweet vabur. The burley adds enough body to this blend to suit my tastes well. If I had to compare this to another blend from a taste perspective only, it would be Mac Baren's HH Latakia Flake. It has a very similar flavor profile and I also like that one. This one is a bit sweeter to my tastes though or perhaps it is just because it is less smoky as the the MB offering has a bit more latakia.

On only three bowls, I would typically cap out a review at three stars and come back to it, but I am going four stars on this one as each of those three bowls were heavenly and I definitely plan on repurchasing.

I will begin by saying that this is one of the tobaccos I smoke daily. From the first time I tried it at one of the Pipe & Cigar Club Romania meetings, it seemed like an excellent blend and went to buy myself a tin right away, which I devoured very quick. Yes, for a latakia lover this can be a daily tobacco. And it’s also a blend that I’d recommend to beginners, and you’ll understand why after reading the rest of this review.

Although the description says “with a pinch of latakia” I can say that the smell of latakia is quite pregnant when you open the tin. However, the room smell is not so strong and it doesn’t bother people much (I personally love the smell of latakia, not to mention the taste, but non-smokers will find latakia smell disturbing).

The tobacco is not very wet and can be smoked right out of the tin, it lights easy and doesn’t fade away, so no need for relights. Another good thing about this one is that no matter how much you draw, it doesn’t bite. It has a medium strenght (enough to feel that you’re smoking real tobacco).

Now lets talk about the taste... it’s not aromatic, but it is very delicious. Probably the most pronounced aspect is the cool, creamy taste, like a thick cloud of smoke that kisses your pappilae. Yeah, I think this is the best description: creamy. It has a very interesting taste, subtle but pleasant. It has virginia and we can feel a slight taste of it, it has burley and we can taste a slight taste of it’s nutty taste. And it has latakia, with its creamy, smoky taste. All of these complete each other perfectly, making it a very balanced blend.