Details
| Brand | David P. Ehrlich Company |
| Blended By | |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | American |
| Contents | Burley, Latakia, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Cube |
| Packaging | tin of undetermined weight |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.23 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 24, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
As some of the other reviewers have said, I, too, have been an Ehrlich customer since college days in Boston back in the late 1960s. In the 1970s I would make long-distance pilgrimages to the Tremont Street store to pick up a pipe or two and a couple of pounds of DPE (yes, they were pound packages in bulk at that time). Except for rare (temporary) experimentation with a couple of other brands, and thanks to mail orders, DPE has been my steady pipe for more than 35 years.
But my fondness for and loyalty to this smoke are being tested. The blend is not at all as good as it used to be. The "original" was characterized by a rich, pure tang of latakia--an "autumn-leaves-burning" richness that I could smoke all day without a bite or any harshness whatsoever. A colleague whom I introduced to the blend told me that he had never smoked anything like DPE, adding, "It's addictive." And so it has been for me. But the current blend completely misses that mark and substitutes a new flavor that I find almost sweet. It's mild, but disappointing.
Over the past decade or so, there have been occasional DPE supply problems. It turns out that since sometime in the 1990s, the "original" blender went out of business, and Ehrlich's had House of Windsor producing DPE. Once I recall phoning Ehrlich's, asking if my order had been confused with another blend, or if the blend had changed (I noticed a difference in flavor). Their response was an unexpected replacement of the order, with the traditional flavor intact again. Then in the summer of 2006, I was told that DPE was out of stock, but my order would be filled when the supply was renewed. The shipment came in November, but it was not "real" DPE. An April 2007 visit to Churchill's (the new home of Ehrlich's) confirmed my worst fears: House of Windsor was no longer doing DPE; the new supplier is Altadis. They have been given the formula, but have not yet matched the blend. I have read that other tobacco blends, such as Lane's Nightcap, have experienced similar problems. Recently, I tried an order of Nightcap, in the absence of DPE, and found the flavor not to be up to the standard I remember.
I understand that other customers have expressed their disappointment to Ehrlich's and that the company is working with Altadis to try to correct the problem. It may have something to do with the curing of the tobacco rather than the formula itself. I maintain that DPE is still a good, moderately priced blend. For newer customers, it may even be a favorite. But I will have to content myself with the small "stash" of 2005 vintage kept at my summer cottage to capture the flavor of the original.
UPDATE: As of the new year, House of Windsor is again supplying Ehrlich's with DPE. I placed an order in late fall after being frustrated in trying to find a good replacement tobacco, and was pleased to hear that while there would be a delay, at least the "second generation" DPE (HoW) would be shipped. I have now begun smoking the shipment, and am pleased to report that DPE is more like its old self.
But my fondness for and loyalty to this smoke are being tested. The blend is not at all as good as it used to be. The "original" was characterized by a rich, pure tang of latakia--an "autumn-leaves-burning" richness that I could smoke all day without a bite or any harshness whatsoever. A colleague whom I introduced to the blend told me that he had never smoked anything like DPE, adding, "It's addictive." And so it has been for me. But the current blend completely misses that mark and substitutes a new flavor that I find almost sweet. It's mild, but disappointing.
Over the past decade or so, there have been occasional DPE supply problems. It turns out that since sometime in the 1990s, the "original" blender went out of business, and Ehrlich's had House of Windsor producing DPE. Once I recall phoning Ehrlich's, asking if my order had been confused with another blend, or if the blend had changed (I noticed a difference in flavor). Their response was an unexpected replacement of the order, with the traditional flavor intact again. Then in the summer of 2006, I was told that DPE was out of stock, but my order would be filled when the supply was renewed. The shipment came in November, but it was not "real" DPE. An April 2007 visit to Churchill's (the new home of Ehrlich's) confirmed my worst fears: House of Windsor was no longer doing DPE; the new supplier is Altadis. They have been given the formula, but have not yet matched the blend. I have read that other tobacco blends, such as Lane's Nightcap, have experienced similar problems. Recently, I tried an order of Nightcap, in the absence of DPE, and found the flavor not to be up to the standard I remember.
I understand that other customers have expressed their disappointment to Ehrlich's and that the company is working with Altadis to try to correct the problem. It may have something to do with the curing of the tobacco rather than the formula itself. I maintain that DPE is still a good, moderately priced blend. For newer customers, it may even be a favorite. But I will have to content myself with the small "stash" of 2005 vintage kept at my summer cottage to capture the flavor of the original.
UPDATE: As of the new year, House of Windsor is again supplying Ehrlich's with DPE. I placed an order in late fall after being frustrated in trying to find a good replacement tobacco, and was pleased to hear that while there would be a delay, at least the "second generation" DPE (HoW) would be shipped. I have now begun smoking the shipment, and am pleased to report that DPE is more like its old self.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 07, 2023 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
I first began smoking this blend when I was on River Patrol in the Mekong Delta back in 1969. I continued smoking it throughout my tenure in graduate school and in real life into the late 1970s. During the summer of 1972 I had the pleasure of visiting the flagship store on Tremont Street in Boston. Ah, those were the days There were brick and mortar stores that abounded throughout the country, but few could compare with David P Ehrlich. There was a real live human being, whose full-time job was sitting in the window of the shop, making and repairing fine briars. In the shop itself, sales personnel moved about, offering to assist you with pipes, tobaccos, or whatever it was that your heart desired. The shop is long gone, but Leavitt and Peirce remains in the same location on Harvard Square, still selling pipes and tobaccos, but sadly, few of each compared to what there was in its heyday. DPE remains the largest selling blend though Cake Box runs a close second. The formulation of the former has changed slightly, though the latter remains exactly what it was back in the good old days. The people behind the counter, know little of pipes and tobaccos, but they are courteous and willing to assist the buyer. smoking is prohibited in the shop by state law, but of course you can stand outside on the street and puff away to your heart’s content. I purchased a pipe and 8 ounces of DPE, though it felt almost as if I were making a charitable donation, helping to keep the doors open. The taste of the tobacco was familiar, those something was lacking, but I could not tell you what it was. But there is something about the old cube cut that brought back a bit of nostalgia. I had to give the tobacco three stars, so I wanted to give it more, but it just wasn’t in me. Maybe someday they will be able to reformulate the blend to make it back into what it once was. In the meantime, visitors to Cambridge, should drop by the store – – it’s in the same location, and who, and who knows, if a meth of us drop by, the old business will be able to rebound, and one of the great of the tobacco world will be back in business as it once was.
Pipe Used:
Dunhill Shell Briar
PurchasedFrom:
Leavitt & Peirce
Age When Smoked:
4
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 13, 2008 | Medium | Medium to Strong | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
Well first off my first pipe was an Ehrlich and back when they produced them they were sometimes called, 'the poor man's Dunhill' because of their quality. They are long since gone but their couple tobacco lines remain. This is a respectable tobacco blend that is mildly surprising. It builds in flavour. Almost to a point of a smoked ribeye in my opinion. It's a natural smoke and tastes like a quality burley/virginia to me. If you smoke it slowly it is quite refreshing on the palette and doesn't bite. A good quality natural tobacco that is somewhat hard to find. Give it a try if you pass their store some time. I got mine online from a friend who i was researching my pipes through. The brand has been around for decades and was a corner stone in Boston.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 01, 2007 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
It might be different from the original, I don't know. I've only smoked its current iteration. It's still pretty darn good. It moves in waves... starting with the burley - first bowl of this I'm thinking, man, the latakia barely comes through. Then maybe a third of the way through the latakia comes out, and it's nice and smooth and smokey. Then nearer to the bottom the VAs start to sing. You're always aware of the other tobaccos, but at different levels in the bowl they all come out in different increments. It's quite a nice smoke.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 06, 2006 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
05/21/2006 Very well balanced, easy smoking American-English blend. Has more Latakia than I am smoking these days but a good one when I want a mild dose of it. Give it a try if you want a full flavored blend without being over-the-top with any one component. Update 11/06/2006: Four stars for Latakia fans, two and one-half if not.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 05, 2006 | Medium to Strong | Medium to Strong | Full | Pleasant |
I too was a frequent visitor to the old shop on Tremont St. when I was in college in the late 60's. What a wonderful way to be introduced into the world of pipe smoking. DPE became my standard and no matter where I travelled I was able to have a tin shipped to me. Eventually the company was unable to provide DPE on a regular basis as they were having trouble finding blenders to produce the product so I was told. So, I became a fan of the other neighborhood shop, L J Peretti. I was in Boston recently and shocked to find Ehrlich's had moved. When I found the new store I was even more shocked and disappointed. They have pretty much given up on their heritage of pipes in favor of cigars and the DPE jar was empty. However, all was not lost as their other store, Leavitt and Pierce, in Harvard Square was still much the same as it was in the 60's. Oh joy they had plenty of DPE! I bought a pound and headed home with great anticipation of enjoying once again my beloved tobacco. Unfortunately like so many other great smokes, DPE is a mere shadow of what it used to be. That wonderful pouch aroma is gone as is the satisfying full taste. Changing blenders has had a disasterous IMHO effect. DPE live in my memory but probably not in my humidor.
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