Peter Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme (No.306)

I suppose it was bound to happen -- with something like 80 blends -- I was eventually going to run into a Stokkebye I didn't care for. However, that doesn't mean you'll feel the same.

The problem I have with English Oriental Supreme is that while it's a blend of four different tobaccos, all that really comes across is the Latakia, which completely over-powers the other three.

While I think Latakia -- with it's clove cigarette flavor -- can add some complexity in very small doses, the dose in English Oriental Supreme is far from very small. It's a bit of a shame, as you can taste a deep, rich, somewhat spicy blend somewhere far underneath, and the it certainly smokes well. But at about the mid-bowl point the Latakia begins to exhaust my taste buds.

Now with all that said, if you're a Latakia fan, English Oriental Supreme will give you a lot to cheer about. But personally, I feel a lighter touch in the blending would have made this as supreme as it's name.

UPDATE 9/27/13: I've began mixing this about 50/50 with the Stokkebye Virginia Long Cut, and am finding it pretty enjoyable. So while I can't recommend it on it's own, it does offer a full, rich, complex smoke with a somewhat neutral mixer.

A mellow, sweet and nicely balanced mixture that sometimes reminds me of My Mixture 965, although the taste is more uniform throughout the bowl (less complex), a bit milder overall, and more strong on Cavendish. Kinda monotone and too sweet to smoke all day, but not bad.

This blend does allow the orientals to be a little more forward than most English blends, if smoked slowly. They have a dry woody note that reminds me of something between Cedar and Cyprus a slight smokiness with a light spice and that sour note I love from them. The lat. is lightly smokey and sweet and competes with the orientals for which is prominent. The black cav is sweet and has a vanilla top note that goes with a slight note of brown sugar. The burley and VA's are really not that noticeable for me. The blend when smoked slowly left me with the feeling that something was missing it just is not full, it is muted for lack of a better way to describe it. It lacks any depth or complexity. However, if you push this blend the black cav takes over and all you will get is the vanilla/brown sugar, which is too sweet as it is. So if you puff quickly you will miss what this blend can offer, which is limited as it is. It will not bite and the nic is closer to the mild end to me.

Well this isn't "Supreme", It is Oriental and maybe some English. If you like Rattrays Red Rap., you might like this as a cheap alternate, but just don't expect it as a replacement. It's probably deserving of 3 stars but I can only give it 2, no complexity or strength

Pouch: Moderately moist. Smell latakia, some other pleasant fragrance, must be from the cavendish, either chocolate or vanilla.

Flame: Burns well, lots of medium body smooth dry smoke. No harshness, slight nose tingle. No tongue bite. Mild taste.

Side stream: Smooth, fragrant, but dry smoke. Slight nose tingle. Seems to have a slight floral smell.

Down Bowl: Stays dry, no bitterness. Subtle but sweet taste of the virginia and cavendish, floral overtone from the latakia that is refreshing, almost like a menthol cigarette. Chocolate overtones, similar to nugate with latakia added. Little wetness in pipe. Few relights necessary. Mild flavor for the morning. Need quite to enjoy the subtle flavor. Pipe was damp at end of bowl. NOT a smoke to rush. Nice room note. No tongue bite.

Aftertaste: Tingle of Latakia, slightly peppery. Astringent with a slight bitterness. Tongue bite if smoked day after day. Tobacco flavor on tongue. Flavor in nose is chocolate light tobacco. If it seems ashy clean your pipe.

Conclusion: Great light english with black cavendish sweetness. Smoke with a sweet coffee. This is mild, a morning relaxation smoke. Overall I find I prefer latakia with a virginia base but enjoy this in the Florida summer heat. Lighter in taste than Count Polaski or Squadren Leader.

09/10 UPDATE: I find this leaves a metalic aftertaste with an ashy pasty feel in my mouth (burly mouth). Will toss the remainder and not buy again.

While I have not directly reviewed Stokkebye's English Luxury here, I did do so indirectly under Finck's English and Finck's Istanbul, both of which (at least right now) are Stokkebye's English Luxury. Yesterday I dropped into Jernigan's Tobacco Village in Mt. Lebanon, PA to look around and found some of this English Oriental Supreme. I bought a couple of ounces to try in my quest for a new, affordable everyday blend and to compare with the other from Stokkebye that I already own 2 pounds of. My impressions are in line with Deadmenspipes on this one. It is definitely better than English Luxury although at first light it has some of the astringent dryness of English Luxury. I too ran into a soapy taste about 1/3 into the bowl, but it disappeared after a short while. Last night I tried a second bowl...ditto report. This morning a third and found it a bit better - acceptable, but not great. Perhaps there were some residuals left in my pipe from the Luxury blend? Quest continues.

If you smoke aromatics and you're looking for a tobacco to transition into English, this might be for you. If you smoke English, you may want to look elsewhere. The latakia is there, but you kind of have to look for it. Once in a while you'll get a little hint of spice. There's some type of casing on the cavendish that I can't quite put my finger on (licorice? something like that). It's very subdued but, once I isolated it, I could not un-taste it. I thought the generous helping of cavendish sweetened the room note quite a bit (over other english blends), but my wife still crinkled her nose, so maybe not.

I went to the local shop looking for the Balkan supreme which they did not have, so I picked up a couple ounces of this instead. I was on a Balkan kick and this seemed to suffice for my next go. The orientals were there which was good, but there was something about the smoke that seemed a little rough to me. Like the flavor had too many edges. Maybe it was because the bulk jar it came from was old, as it was a little dry, but it wasn't crispy or crunchy at all. The next time I see it I'll try it again if it's a little more moist, it wasn't bad at all, but I'm not running back for a half pound of it so take that as you will. I have some C&D super Balkan still so I'll be just fine.

I bought this blend bulk. I did not buy much. I am glad. This blend is not for me. It does have some good points, but I am troubled by its faults. It does indeed smoke cool. It is smooth. The room note should not offend. However, the black cavendish does not work for me. The addition of this tobacco shrouds the other tobaccos in the blend. I also miss the presence of oriental tobacco.

If a mild cool blend is what you seek, try this. But if you are seeking a traditional english mixture, such as Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium, take a pass.