Peter Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme (No.306)

Savor slowly...Contemplative smoke...Good starter for those transitioning from Aro's to English blends...With this blend patience is the key...Don't hurry...Will win you no friends amongst those who do not smoke pipes or who are averse to English blends...will buy again and again.

A nice mild intro blend for those exploring English blends for the first time or for those that just prefer milder tobaccos.

This is a nice easy going Latakia blend. Probably best for the beginner venturing into this type of blend. It can be smoked mindlessly, but I would opt for something more complex for a contemplative smoke. It is very similar to its cousin, English Luxury Mixture, but where that has a sweet vanilla type of topping, this has a more exotic spicy sweetness to it. I believe it is due to a topping of some sort.

I personally prefer this to ELM and think this is a good one to have in the cellar. Like all of the PS bulks, it is offered at quite the bargain and it is a nice smooth lat, that is pretty well balanced. The Latakia is light, but noticeable. It can easily be smoked all day without leaving that overwhelming Campfire mouth that a couple of back to back bowls of Penzance or Odyssey will leave you.

Overall, recommended, but perhaps highly recommended to the beginner wanting to experience a Lat blend.

I am pretty picky when it comes to the addition of Cavendish and/or burley to my English blends so considering EOS has both, it sat in a jar for a year before I brought myself to take it for a spin. EOS is very balanced and although a mild English, and not very complex, it's not lacking in flavor. EOS produces smooth billows of smoke and even the hardest puffers will find it not to bite. As the name suggests, it is an English oriental and the Orientals lead, but not by much. The Cavendish adds a touch of sweetness and richness to the blend. My only negative is that EOS stays pretty constant throughout and there isn't a lot of complexity here so it won't make the regular rotation. Sold in bulk, it does make for a great value. Recommended

Oriental-forward on the tin note with a backdrop of musty Latakia, Stokkebye's English Oriental Supreme is a Burley-buffered Balkan with muted Virginias. Presentation is dark to light brown ribbon and on the dry side, which I find both typical and optimal for Oriental and Balkan blends.

There's a touch of unflavored Cavendish sweetness on the charring light and each of the constituent tobaccos competes for dominance until the blend settles down. This seems like a more Oriental-forward rendition of English Luxury with significantly less Cavendish and a pinch more Latakia.

The Stokkebye Orientals start off spicy with some wood and salted nut tones. By mid-bowl the Orientals flatten out a bit, offering more straightforward pepper and parchment flavors. For most of the smoke, the Latakia is earthy and musty without the damper mushroom flavors of a more Cavendish-heavy Latakia blend. By the final quarter of the bowl, however, the blend turns more dank, earthy and moist with the crisper Oriental further in the background and a mossy Latakia capturing the most notice.

The dampness on the finish is all relative, however, and English Oriental Supreme smokes down to ash without excessive moisture left in the bowl. While not dry by Oriental standards, this certainly isn't a wet or goopy blend.

Overall, I would classify this as the Oriental-forward version of several Stokkebye blends featuring Latakia and Oriental tobacco: as certainly good as it is certainly not great. For smokers on a budget, the value here is hard to beat. Nothing to complain about here - a solid blend - though vying for attention in a highly competitive field of world class offerings. That said, an inexpensive and excellent introduction to this genre of pipe tobacco.

My overall impression is that English Oriental Supreme, fancy name aside, is a meat-and-potatoes tobacco. Just like Mama's pot roast, it doesn't challenge the palate, and it could be described as one- dimensional. However, that one dimension has a name, and it is spelled G-O-O-D. At the end of a hectic day, I'm not up for a challenge. I want pot roast that I can cut with a fork, and a tobacco that smokes easy and tastes good. When my wife learns how to cook like my mom, I'll have both. Until then, I'll settle for tobacco like English Oriental Supreme. It'll be part of my regular rotation.

Nice mild and pleasant smoke. Surprising consistency in the flavor with all that's going on here. The Orientals and burley are out front with a combined nutty woody and earthy notes. Theres also a very gentle peppery, faint bitter walnut. The Virginia is citrusy and grassy. The Latakia is a sparse condiment offering herbal, floral, smokiness. The black cavendish offers a lot of sweetness. The topping is mild. Pretty much everything is in the mild to medium range. This could be an all day smoke. It does have a little spice so that might not fit everyone.

Mild English, slightly Oriental/Turkish forward blend. Contains Black Cavendish, Burley, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish and Virginia. Short ribbon cut, almost perfect moisture from bulk bag when arrived from Smokingpipes.com.

Burns very nicely, no relights, produces a lot of smoke with a slight mouth coating. Latakia is condiment, noticeable but in the background. The Black Cavendish operates to even out the tangy Orientals in a pleasing way. Surprisingly burns somewhat hot, not sure why considering the many components.

Not a fancy blend, old school in the sense that the rich tobacco flavors shine, no noticeable topping. Moderate nic, moderate strength and moderate taste. A nice experience when one wants to just enjoy the taste of a well-balanced Oriental forward smoke.

Another good blend from Stokkebye. This is a cool burning, bite free, English tobacco. The smell is, for sure, English with presence of Latakia, but the real players are Balkans and Virginias. I think it has some Cavendish in it. But, Burley seems to consolidate the experience by adding substance. The nicotine is mild and it burns with moderately and leaves no moisture.