Peretti Cuban Mixture

The mildly molasses sweet, earthy, woody and nutty burley is the star, and is given a flavor push by a number of components in such proportion that it takes a while to distinguish them. I certainly notice a small amount of sweet, lightly sour, vegetative, herbal, earthy, woody, floral cigar leaf (Connecticut shade?), which is nicely supported by a smaller amount of smoky, woody, earthy, sweet Cyprian Latakia. There’s a little Oriental/Turkish for a light smoky, woody, earthy, herbal, dry, spice hit. I can't detect the Maryland, and just barely notice the nutty, earthy, woody, barely sweet Kentucky. The Virginia cavendish is a minor player, too, but adds just a tad sweetness and a whisper of grass. Elusive hints of peppermint and vinegar show up now and then, too. (The addition of peppermint was confirmed to me by retired Sutliff blender Carl McAllister, who reconfigured the blend a few years back for Peretti) The licorice is more noticeable. The toppings don’t sublimate the tobaccos much, and works well with them. The strength is a step past the mild mark, while the taste is just past of the center of mild to medium. The nicotine is just past the mild threshold. Won’t bite or get harsh even when pushed. Burns cool and clean at a moderate rate with a very complex, well balanced, consistent flavor from top to bottom. Requires very few relights, and barely leaves any dampness in the bowl. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. Possibly the mildest complex blend I have smoked. I also had fun picking out the subtle varieties of flavors. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

Because I was the one who added this wonderful blend to the Peretti's roster reviewed here, I am honored to be the first to review it. It is somehwat a daunting task.

Because Peretti's has been around continuously since 1870, one has to accept two truths about Cuban mixture: 1.) It contains cigar leaf. And 2.) Being the store's first mixture, it pre-dates Castro--though not by long!

Those are safe assumptions. What is NOT safe or warranted is that the original character or intent of this blend has been altered by time and politics. This is the REAL THING.

Using cigar tobacco in pipe blends used to be a relatively common thing in America and Britain; it gives body to the smoke. Balkan Sobranie's Virginia # 10 and G.L. Pease's Robusto are the most eloquent examples of this. There are others that are brought-off with less finesse, but I shan't mention them.

This blend harkens back to the days when tobacco was all there was to lend flavor to a pipe mixture, and one will encounter a melange of flavors here. And pleasantly-so; there is no bite or ashy taste as you make your way down the bowl.

If I might compare the sublime with the less-than-sublime, Cuban Mixture is similar to Middleton's Walnut, though without the casing (cheap) and PEG. Guess which is the "sublime."

Three out of four stars...for the history lesson alone. You get extra points for savoring the flavor of a true American Original.

Update: 02/12/07

I reviewed this blend initially in the warmer months when my tastes turn invariably to Burleys. Virginia flakes are simply NOT my cup of tea. The ONLY exception was Limerick when it was first introduced. Don't know what happened to it...but now it is pure soap and no tobacco.

But I digress. Whilst rummaging through my stash last evening, I came across a well-aged and preserved quantity of this venerable blend.

As I have been smoking heavier Latakia mixtures since the frost has been on the pumpkin (not to mention my car and other things in the garage) I just wanted a smoke. Man, was I delighted I ran across this blend! It gets better, immeasurably better, with cellaring and neglect (if properly stored.)

For the tobacco snobs out there whe eschew Burley-based blends and believe if a tobacco is worth a tin it would have one...t'aint necessarily so! Cuban Mixture is as nuanced and flavorful as anything available today...plus it is an authentic taste of yesteyear. NOTHING hangs around for 137 years by accident.

For the experienced smoker ONLY....treat yourself!

Long ago in a pipe world far away, the term “aromatic” didn’t mean what it does in our current time. Cuban Mixture is one of those blends and the recipe is more than one hundred years old. This is based on a jarred I stored in 2009. It greets the nose with a bit of tang. Although there is a kitchen sink’s worth of different tobaccos in this blend, Burley is the lead player. Peretti is known for their good Burley and here’s a great example. It is nutty and a touch earthy. There is a light sweetness from the lightly added Cavendish. I can taste the cigar leaf although it is in the background. I really don’t taste any mint and if it’s there, it isn’t mentioned on the LJ Peretti web page. It burns cool and is quite complex. I have had the best results with this blend in a cob. Given that this is now seven years old, it cellars quite well too. The somewhat mundane Virginia’s that I experienced with it new now add an additional touch of sweetness. It burns to a white ash right to the bottom of the bowl. Cuban Mixture is a great example of an old style aromatic that has stood the test of time.

An old classic containing all kinds of interesting flavors (but Burley is the lead singer). I smoked a bowl of a sample I was sent last night and enjoyed the richness of the nutty Burley and I think the fullness was provided by some Cavendish. I tried a second bowl this morning mixed with a little Five Brothers added and the strength was finally (as Goldilocks would say), just right.

There are a lot of flavors here at first light, but it settles down. The nutty burley is the main attraction, but the the latakia and orientals are always present and add some complexity. There is not much of a Virginia note, and the cigar leaf adds a full earthy flavor. I am not detecting any topping. I know the description says "mint," but I am not tasting it.

My best description of this is probably Walnut's older brother who has been working out a little. The cigar leaf adds another layer. It is a similar taste to me with a little more fullness and the addition of the cigar leaf.

This is good and an especially satisfying smoke. For my money, I will buy Chestnut on sale and get most of the experience. This is easy to recommend and is something that is worth trying if you get a chance.

This is one of those "everything but the kitchen sink blends", or more specific, everything but Perique. I had wanted to try this one for quite some time and I only wish I would have tried it before I exceeded my cellaring goals, because this is just a great blend. I truly enjoyed every bowl I smoked.

Peretti lists this as a burley blend and I would agree that this is the most accurate pigeon hole for this blend. Burley is the dominant flavor, but it is not your normal nutty burley. Mint? Yes, it is kind of minty, but it is ever so subtly minty. If it wasn't in the description above, I would have never even been able to pinpoint this as mint. Needless to say, this isn't like smoking a menthol cigarette or anything like that.

This blend is mild and smooth. I really can't pick out any of the individual leaves as they all really work together well to provide a smooth and tasty experience. I don't think this one could ever turn harsh on you no matter how much you provoke it. This is a great all day blend even for the locomotive puffer. Takes a light well and requires few relights. What more could you ask for? Four stars on this.

Well, this is my first review. I have only been smoking pipes for about 6 weeks (cigar smoking for years), but I have tried about as many different varieties as the number of days since I started. This is the blend I have been seeking.

A great tasting blend, with a cool, sweet smoke and fullness of taste. No tongue bite whatsoever. Somewhat of a pleasant room note, although not really aromatic at all. The tobacco burned exceptional with minimal relights.

I am still working out all the nuances of the different tobaccos, but I just wanted to voice my opinion : I love this blend. It's no wonder it's their oldest mixture!

*I've received a confirmation Email from LJ Peretti that There is NO Mint in Cuban Mixture.

The majority of my tobaccos are English so I wanted to change things up with some Burly blends and ordered some of this and after my first bowl

1) Depending on how you smoke the NIC hit is very nice and not overpowering.

2) The flavor was something I've never came close to smoking before. A lot of English tobaccos have something in the mix that I can identify within others, not this and I've had many Burly blends before.

3) it does seem old school from my imagination compared to other pipe tobaccos I've tried (simple but a lot going on) especially compared to other old English mixtures and old Burly mixtures it's very different and surprised me for being so.

It will definitely stay in rotation, it has a natural Nutty flavor.

This is the Burley that keeps drawing me back. I love the cut, and while it may burn faster than a cube cut, it stays lit and doesn't clog the airway the way a cube sometimes can.

The cigar here is not intense, but merely adds a little backbone to the smoke. This is still first and foremost a Burley, despite all the other leaf present. It's sweet and nutty, but the other leaf also makes it meaty and substantial. Nictotine? Well, it's no Old Joe Krantz, but it does the job. Speaking of C&D, Billy Budd does not hold a candle to Cuban Mixture. Cold and dark versus warm and golden, as was so eloquently detailed by another reviewer. That comparison is right on the money.

This is my go-to Burley.

Updated 11/21/2011

I have to take a star away. I've spent a lot of time getting to know C&D's catalog of Burleys and American blends, and frankly the Peretti stuff just doesn't hold up in comparison. I can't get past the scenting either. Some times I'll get a great smoke out of one of these Peretti Burleys, but more often than not I am overwhelmed by the floral, soapy scenting they all have. I'll stick to the C&D Burleys.

Tin note is tangy, slightly sour with a hint of sweetness. It is hard to detect any one tobacco in the tin note but if you stick your nose in good you can smell the latakia along with I would say is the orientals. I can see why this blend has been around for over 100 years. It is a straight forward, flavorful tobacco with some complexity. I am convinced Peretti uses peppermint in all of their blends (at least the ones I have smoked and I have smoked a bunch). It is expertly applied and never overshadows the tobacco but enhances the flavors, I believe this is there trade secret ingredient. The nutty and slightly sweet burley is the main player with the Oriental/Turkish right behind it. For me the cigar leaf is barely noticeable and the Latakia provides more sweetness than anything else. I cannot detect the other tobacco’s at all with the exception of the cavendish which gives a slightly vegetal flavor along with some mouth feel. I notice the cigar leaf and perhaps the Kentucky as you pass the 2/3’s mark in the bowl. About this time the smoke becomes a bit bolder with leather and earthiness entering the profile.

Burns to a white ash with few if any re-lights.