Peretti Cuban Mixture

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.

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.

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.

I was hesitant to try this one as I'm not usually a fan of "cigar" mixtures from past experience, but when placing an order with LJP I decided to add an ounce to try an old school blend.

To my taste, it is burley forward. I get some spicy backnotes with sweetness that comes through more in the second half of the bowl. If there is cigar leaf in there, its not forefront. For a mixture with so many blends, its very enjoyable mixture which I realize now why its been a crowd pleaser for so long.

Summary: enjoyable melange of many types of leaf, with Cigar Leaf and Latakia taking center stage, supported by a gentle Burley mixture.

Cigar Leaf dominates most blends it encounters. In "Cuban Mixture," it pairs up with Cavendish to form a sweet flavor continuum reaching up through Maryland and Virginia leaf. This then picks up some texture from a small amount of Latakia, expands into the warmer space of Burley, and then complements the topping of multiple natural elements, similar to "Mixture 79" or Lakeland sauce. The Burley does not take the center stage but serves an entirely complementary role, allowing the Cigar Leaf to really shine from within a background of complementary tastes that avoid the somewhat jagged intrusion it normally creates in a pipe blend. Thoroughly enjoyable, this blend can be enjoyed without much thought, is mild and clean-burning enough to be a good all-day smoke, and showcases some of what can be done with the power of Cigar Leaf, even if it does require a kitchen sink style recipe.

I purchased this tobacco after reading the reviews and becoming intrigued. I have smoked a pipe off and on for more than 40 years, but I am new to L. J. Peretti tobaccos. I was looking for a burley, and they are famous for burley blends. Upon receipt, I pulled out a little of this tobacco and let it dry for 30 minutes, then packed it into a brand new billiard. I have never tasted anything remotely like this tobacco, and I have never used the words "complex" and "burley" in the same sentence before now. Amazing blend, and very complex. My hat is off to smokers who can pick out all the individual tobacco tastes in this--Burley, yes, Cigar leaf, yes, Oriental, yes, but beyond that, I'm lost. I do smoke Virginias and there is an tingle, a zip, here, kind of like seltzer water or club soda, (no, no, it's a GOOD thing) that may be from a Virginia. I've never experienced this taste before in any tobacco, and I find it extremely pleasant. I will cellar this tobacco and enjoy it for years. Highly recommended. (To allow me to save my review, this website requires me to rate a room note, but since I smoke alone and outside, I really can't tell. I rate it "unnoticeable", since I have to pick one option.)