Tobaccos Benjamin Hartwell - Chesdin Mixture

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2015-04-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I smoked a several years old tin of this one and found Chesdin Mixture to be a very fine smoke but with no rough edges. The Latakia was nice and smokey and the Virginia leaf seemed to have grassy undertones. There was a little strength in this blend due to the Virginia leaf, and I rather liked the subtle sweetness the Latakia provided (along the same line as the McClelland Froggie blends). I do think this one has potential and I will continue to age the remaining two tins for a few more years.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3025)	2014-03-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

The Cyprian latakia is sweet and a little smoky and woody as the major component. The mild Virginia citrus and grass offers some support. The vanilla topping is very light, but it helps give a Frog Morton-like impression in some respects. Has a mild nic-hit. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns clean and cool slightly less than at a moderate pace with a very consistent flavor. Requires a few relights, and will leave a little moisture at the bottom of the bowl. Has a pleasant sweet and smoky after taste. A nice introductory blend for those who are thinking of venturing into English blends with a little sweetness. Three stars for that type of smoker, two or two and half for the experienced ones.

-JimInks

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2017-08-17		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Benjamin Hartwell - Chesdin Mixture.

The ribbons are short, and apart from some occasional flecks of yellow, jet black. The moisture's a little too high, not unsmokeable when fresh, but in need of a short drying period.

The Latakia leads, unequivocally. But, isn't sharp, or cutting, instead it's very smooth and laid back. I get hardly anything from the Virginia, it's overwrought by the flavour from the Lat'. There's the presence of a sweet, vanilla, flavour, which works well with the smoothness of the Lat'. The burn from Ches' is without fault, giving a consistent burn, with a cool, bite free, smoke. I think this would suit an English/Balkan smoker who wants something insouciant to relax with, for a change, but has little interest in over-sweet/mild aromatics.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

I think this deserves full marks:

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Erik Nording

Age When Smoked: Two months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Clive Moses Apikouris (41)	2012-12-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Luscious, velvety, rich, voluptuous, how many adjectives can I apply to this blend which you can see I am obviously very much enamored with. If I could reward it with six stars I certainly would. I wouldn't have suspected such piping pleasure from an Altadis product. Chesdin Mixture has the perfect balance of texture, smokiness that is complimentary not overpowering and a rich but not cloying sweetness. Think dark chocolate (but it doesn't taste like chocolate). The contents list Virginia and Latakia but I would suspect also some quality Cavendish has been included as an ingredient. This blend lights easily, burns well but is very long lasting. No tongue bite but it is a moist tobacco so it should be sipped not huffed and puffed on. It contains some vitamin N but not in an overwhelming manner. Fill your pipe lean back and become entranced. Most highly recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2012-04-28		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My review of Chesdin Mixture is based on a tin that has a number of years of age on it so that should be kept in mind. I will echo those that compare this to Frog Morton. It smells very similar to Frog Morton on the Town in the tin. Like many McClelland blends it is quite moist and takes a while to dry down to my favorite humidity content. Once lit, it tastes like a sibling to FMOTT, albeit a not as good. It is a little stronger and a little less refined than Froggy. Where it really breaks down is as each bowl smoked progresses toward the bottom third of the bowl the flavor turns nasty. Chesdin becomes somewhat bitter and “ashey” in the bottom third.. I enjoy an occasional bowl of FMOTT as it was my very first “Englishish” blend, but there would be no reason to purchase Chesdin when I can have the real deal.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-04-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Lat dominates. It's smooth and woody and mildly smoky. The Virginias add a little grass. It very definitely has sweetened Black Cav which adds more sweetness and flavor than the Virginias do. The toasty note from it is obvious from one third of the bowl to the finish. While this is pleasant, it's also very ordinary and lacks any pizazz. 2 stars.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Added sweetness is mild. Burns well if you dry it a while and further rub out the chunks.

Pipe Used: MM Dagner Poker, Country Gentleman, Marcus

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Mars cigars and pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2019-03-14		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Recognizing that this blend is listed here as blended by Sutliff, I agree with reviewers Noorrmm 2005-05-20, Emeritus Account 2006-12-28, Steel Cowboy 2012-04-08, Young Piper 2015-11-30 and all of the others who compared it to Frog Morton; this is a McClelland tinning (as Howard Cosell would have put it) "all-the-way". On opening my tin, I was confronted with an English blend that was damp, dark and sweetly fragrant; just like all of the other McClelland English blends I have opened over the years. How damp was it? I plunked a wad of Chesdin Mixture on the counter top at three o'clock in the afternoon and checked on it at six, nine and midnight. At that point I just gave up and let it sit out all night long until the next morning. It was barely ready to pack and light and I forced the issue by lighting it up. Now, the tin presentation might lead one to believe that we have a stout mixture here: dark in color, some Latakia odor and fairly fragrant - but, not so. I found Chesdin Mixture to be a rather light English that, while not offensive or anything, didn't live up to the tin appearance and failed to satisfy my English cravings. I never lit a second bowl straight out of the tin. I tried blending with it as an English base tobacco but that didn't work too well due to it's lack of strength and everything I mixed it with dominated it in flavor. I can only somewhat recommend Chesdin Mixture to the experienced English smoker and agree with reviewer Jimlnks 2014-03-26 that it might be best for the beginning English smoker - two stars.

Pipe Used: LX Ashton Pebble Grain Dublin

Age When Smoked: 13 years old

Purchased From: a fellow pipe smoker

Similar Blends: a weaker version of Frog Morton.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2015-11-30		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I agree that Chesdin Mixture is very similar to Frog Morton but somewhat sweeter which is interesting since Altadis manufactured these Benjamin Hartwell blends but I would bet my hat that McClelland actually produced them. As with all McClelland blends, the tobacco is very high quality with the whole sweet / smoky English hybrid thing done very well. I absolutely love the tin art, the little background stories that accompany the BH blends and the fact that they employ top shelf leaf, also the fact that the series encompasses an aromatic, Virginia and English type blend ensures that one could be content with having a tin of each for their morning, day and nighttime smoke. I just prefer the other two BH blends and while this is a nice blend, its just not my thing.

Similar Blends: McClelland - Frog Morton (Craftsbury Series).

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Geronimo Von Klaus (76)	2014-09-02		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Disappointing for the cost.

Just kind of blends in with a load of other middle of the road English blends for me.

Nice lat, nice aroma, lit well, smoked decently, but for the cost and the fanfare that goes with it, I expected to have my hair blown back.

Refined, maybe just needs some age.

Pipe Used: Cant remember

Age When Smoked: Dont know

Purchased From: Cigars International

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2012-12-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I like this small series from Altadis. I think the packaging is nice, the little anecdotes attached to the tins are nice, and the tobacco is not too bad. Surprisingly enough my favorite blend from the Hartwell series is the aromatic in the line, evening stroll.

Chesdin mixture is a real middle of the road latakia based blend. The flavor there is solid and good but it is certainly not wow you good. It doesn't list it on the tin but I would suspect there is some black cavendish involved here? Black cavendish is not always a bad thing in the english world, as demonstrated by the great MM 965. It definitely makes a lot of sense to me that this blend is produced by Altadis. It has a lot of the characteristics of the other Altadis blends. This stuff is really moist, probably a high PG content. Drying this out is a little bit of a futile effort and you really just have to smoke it as is. It really comes off as a blend that was designed to sit in the bulk bins of small B&M's.

My main complaint with this blend is the cut. I hate the way this tobacco is presented. There are these big chunky folded mishmash of leaves here. This type of blend is so hard to pack well, especially in pipes that are of a smaller size. It is also really difficult to get this style of cut lit well. The cut and the moisture come together to make this blend a bear to get going and keep going. Once you are rolling it is not a bad blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-01-23		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I bought it in March 2010, but the tin had a seal underneath for 2- 2004. With the first puff I felt tongue bite, but I shouldn't judge hastily as it didn't only disappear as I continued, but also a gentle sweetness appeared that I particularly liked. What bothers me is that the tobacco remains highly humid, no matter how long you let it dry out. It is something that really puzzles me. It does not have the intense smell and taste of Latakia, because probably Virginia prevails. So we can say it not what Latakia smokers seek. Possibly it has a certain very vague aroma added to it. Perhaps.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jankoez (69)	2009-09-19		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a blend of very quality tobacco, smell is great upon opening a tin, it burns well and has enough strenght. Only it lacks in taste.

My rate: 3.0

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokily Dokily (13)	2023-02-07		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I was hesitant to submit my opinion of this stuff on the grounds that I don't know just what the hell I got when I purchased this. But after seeing how inconsistent and all over the board all the other reviews were in their descriptions of Chesdin, I figure my two cents can only add to the ambiguity.

This blend certainly wasn't anything I anticipated. When I asked my tobacconist to try a good English mix, with a bit sweeter, darker profile, but not too heady, this is what he suggested, stating that it's close to McClelland's Frog Morton. I'd have to trust him on word alone, as the tin description was vague to say the least, (and I unfortunately never managed to try FM when it was around) but it sounded good enough. Latakia...Virginia..."Fine Old Recipe..." Call me nuts for expecting English style blending...smoky...leathery...figgy...you know...English?

What I encountered was another beast entirely. A uniform mixture of long, thin, brown and black ribbons of extremely moist leaf, speckled here and there with some light golden flecks. When I say moist, I mean the paper in the tin was disentigrating because of just how wet it was. But the hermetic seal was intact, so I didn't suspect any spoilage, then again, It'd certainly be difficult after being so enraptured by such an alluring smell. It smells like a chocolatier's kitchen-Vanilla, caramel, molasses, cocoa, and a subtle aroma of dried fruit that just sets your mouth watering. I didn't detect much in the way of Latakia or other condimentals, but there is a whiff of some "X" factor that can only be described as "deep and rich smelling," so maybe my sniffer just isn't refined enough.

Despite the saturation of moisture, it takes to the match like a dream. Its flavor is rich, sweet, and creamy. Like espresso and ice cream, but theres another, nutty and woodsy note that rounds this out beautifully. Does smoke a touch wet out of the tin so I'm going to leave it be in the popped tin and see what it does. Maybe the English flavors will become more prominent. I saw some other folks say that they suspect that this may have some Cavendishes or even Burleys...it does have a touch of vanilla casing that is undeniable, but it is not overbearing, and I believe the sweetness in Chesdin Mixture is solely from top notch leaf of high caliber, which was the only congruent theme in all the reviews I read. NOBODY can agree on what exactly comprises the composition in Chesdin Mixture, or how the smoker experiences it, but everyone seems to be of the opinion that regardless of whatever it is, it's crafted from good leaf. This stuff was delicious, and very pleasurable for me and those around me, so I refuse to say that it's bad, even if it wasn't what I was going for.

Nevertheless, it remain confusing, and after lurking on here to see if my confusion was an outlier, I can only conclude that this blend has been enchanted with some kind of black magic or hoodoo sorcery, meant to confound us mortals and leave us pondering and bewildered...but to what end the wizard responsible for this enigmatic spell did so, I haven't the foggiest. Maybe even that element of ambiguity is just part of it, and our unnamed tobacco warlock (What if it was Ben Hartwell himself???) is just some absurdist prankster...or he's just a lunatic. Either way, for whatever it's worth, Chesdin has my endorsement as a quality smoke.

I am always fascinated by polarizing indulgences in the world of consummables...the "love it or hate it" stuff. Weird cheese, weird wines, funky foods that come in jars and cans that are simultaneously adored and reviled...now I can add a tobacco to this list. Try it out for yourself, and see what you think. I'll let you know when I finally figure it out for myself, then again, pipe smoking is all about pondering the bigger questions...maybe that was the intent. Chesdin Mixture certainly has me questioning reality now, and I can't say that it's a bad thing.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: ???

Purchased From: Jon's Pipe Shop (Champaign, IL)

Similar Blends: Erik Nording Hunter Blend series- Labrador, McClelland-Frog Morton On the Town (presumably).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	crapgame1967 (61)	2017-01-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

After trying Evening Stroll I decided to try this English blend and once again I was quite pleased with what I smoked. It is not overly strong and will not make the smoker new to an English blend woozy. I have been told that there is some type of flavoring but I can't find it. A nice light English I would be able to smoke all day

Pipe Used: italian basket

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: local smoke shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Demetri (113)	2009-08-23		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I purchased a tin of this about 6 months ago and it sat in my cabinet until last week. I finally, curious as to what it might be, cracked the tin and loaded a pipe for the drive into work. First reaction: an incredibly exquisite Latakia based blend. Second opinion, later into the bowl: is that all there is? The Virginias seemed AWOL.

Yes, it reminded very much of Frogmorton (which I gave a 4 star -actually a 3.5), but it was still somewhat different. It seemed to share the same Latakia, seemed very, very close, but still different. The following day, a day 0ff from work with ample leisure time to experiment, I compared my open tins of the Frog and CM. Tin aroma was very close but the CM, my sample at least, seemed sweeter. Appearance was identical. Was I imagining a difference in the pipe? I loaded up one of my favorite Custombilt bulldogs and puffed away on the CM. Same experience as the day before. Two hours later (resting my palate some) I loaded another, identical pipe - both newly cleaned- and smoked the Frog. Very similar as my memory guessed BUT a discernible difference nonetheless. The Va components came through with the Frog where I tasted little if none in the CM. Edge to the Frog - more depth of favor. I could smoke Frogmorton everyday (but not all day) whereas I couldn't see my smoking CM except occasionally. Was the difference I tasted only a variance in two tins of the same blend. Obviously we're dealing with an agricultural product with all its variabilities. So, is CM the Frog? I've no idea. Based on my very subjective sampling I must knock a star off my frog rating for CM...down to three. Then comes PRICE. CM is the most expensive blend I own and I can't justify its price (perhaps from a double layer of markup being a contracted blend). Down another star.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-07-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

07062008 This blend, while very good from the fresh tin, is even better with age. I recently opened a tin that had been in my "cellar" for over a year, and I was greatly impressed. I now have 7 tins ageing and am smoking another. For me, IMHO, this is the perfect end-of-the-day blend, calming, relaxing.

06242007 Chesdin Mixture is a blend I go for when I want something mild. Being a lover of heavier english blends and the occasional VA, I wanted something that didn't demand a lot of attention at times, and Chesdin Mixture fills the bill. CM loaded easily in any size pipe I tried it in. It took the flame well, burned cleanly and smoked cooly throught the bowl with only the occasional tamp. No gurgle, no tongue bite, a clean, dry pipe. Could be an all day smoke for some. Certainly a good starting blend for someone wishing to experience English blends. 4 stars for this Benjamin Hartwell blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	al1 (58)	2008-03-17		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Not too bad. Too bad better tobacco can be bought in bulk cheaper though. Try mclelland 5110 if you like this and don't mind sweet.

I could smoke this again though, really a pretty decent english style latakia blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-07-23		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I have a feeling like many others this is a copy of the Frog Morton blend... the only difference that I can distinguish is that the black Cavendish is a sweeter than I remember Froggie being. The VA. in this blend is quite nice and contrasts the dark leaves very well. Overall a nice blend I just think the blend could tone down on the sweetness a bit.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-12-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

I love all McClelland products that are made for other companies! This is no exception. A very nice variation of "FROG MORTON ON THE TOWN". Not at all the same, but in that vein. Lightly cased with Vanilla, a rather pleasant smoke while cooking or doing laundry. Better priced than the "Frogs" and a little different. Don't rush to buy it , walk slowly to get it and I think you'll be more satisfied.Good Stuff.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-09-23		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I enjoyed smoking this tobacco. It's a wonderful latakia blend and not so expensive as tinned tobaccos go. Smooth smoking, rich aroma and elegant label adds to this tobacco as a sophisticated latakia blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	stoic066 (7)	2005-07-25		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Tolerable

I disagree with esteemed Professor. It is almost identical to Frog Morton. In fact I smoked both of them one after another and I could not find any difference. It is definitely mild tobacco which to me is a weakness. I found myself puffing as hard as I could and all I was getting out of it was steam-like smoke and very little taste. I will not try it again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-07-24		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Benjamin Hartwell's Chesdin Mixture is not Frog Morton relabelled (as some have indicated). Granted, I was able to obtain some well-aged Chesdin Mixture, but unlike Frog Morton I like Chesdin Mixture. It is certainly a 'crossover' blend--appearance like an aromatic (dark and sticky) with a Latakia influence. There is a casing that reminds me of dates when I smell it in raw form and a vanilla nuance in smoking (as noted by others). Still, it is not overly or sickly sweet and does have a medium punch that pleases my smoking desires. On the downside, it occasionally burns a bit hot and leaves a residue on my skin when I touch it while packing. Still, this is a decent tobacco ('smooth' as the tin says) and a nice change of pace every now and then.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2005-05-20		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Appearance: Mostly dark leaf, combination of wide ribbon and rough cut. Fairly moist and stays that way for a long time.

Aroma: Smells like a crossover to me. There is plenty of Latakia, but there is also a definite sweetness here. This is not as heavy as Frog Morton, but does bear a strong resemblance to McClelland Coyote Mixture.

Packing: Packs well into medium to large bowls.

Lighting: Fairly typical two match light, occasionally needs three.

Flavor: Just a crossover blend for me, nothing enticing about it. All I can taste is the Latakia and a major amount of Black Cavendish, which is sweeter than I like it.

Summary: I won a can of this at a raffle. I won?t try it again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-03-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

At this point in my current circulation of tobaccoes, this is the Latakia i reach for when i'm in the mood. The tin smell reminds me of smoking hickory chunks. It feels very damp at first, but on closer inspection it is revealed as only very springy. Thus, it packs well, and the moisture is not a problem during the smoke. It burns slowly and provides a rich cool taste... one of the smoothest ive encountered. It does not however leave a satisfying cake, and i rarely am in the mood for latakia, though i keep this blend on hand.

~Lord Cavendish~

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2004-08-04		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Revised: 08-04-04 Many have complained that this is just Frog Morton repackaged for Consolidated. Whether this is true or not, is not for me to figure out, although, I don't believe that it is exactly like the Frog.

Appearance: Medium to fine ribbons. Mostly dark leaves, an occasional medium brown.

Aroma: This is where I think it differs from the Frog. There seems to be a discrete amount of Vanilla casing present ala SG'S "Perfection" blend.

Packing: easy, but it is a littlle too moist, airing is recommended.

Lighting: Easy, once aired out.

Initial Flavor: Nice, smooth, light latakia flavor, vanilla is noticable, but in the background.

Mid-Bowl: buttery smooth, but monochromatic, not much complexity.

End of Bowl: Nice build up of strength, ash is grey and dry, no goop at all in spite of the casing. Slight chemical aftertaste that does not mix well if you plan to smoke other blends that day.

Overall: This is a nice easy latakia blend, perfect for those crossing over from aromatics. Not enough to keep me interested. I much prefer the original Frog or for more richness in this genre, prefer SG's "Perfection". Hard to get tongue-bite with this blend, the room note is tolerable to non-smokers.

Rating: 3 out of 5 points.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-29		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I had an unopened can of Chesdin Mixture in my cabinet for about 5 years. I finally decided to break it out today. The first thing that I noticed that it is very sweet, with an almost maple-like flavor. I noticed that it lit well, and stayed lit without much trouble. It was also remarkably cool smoking. While it is not exactly what I look for in a Latakia blend, but it was a pleasant smoke.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stacey (40)	2007-06-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

A very slow burning tobacco that you have to puff on like mad to keep going. The smell reminds me of they way your clothes smell after camping out for a couple of days and messing with a campfire almost continuously. The taste is slightly bitter and the whole thing is pretty uninteresting. If this is as good as Latakia gets, I won't be bothering any more.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-07-28		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This appears to me to be McClelland?s Frog Morton relabeled for Consolidated Cigar Corp.?s Benjamin Hartwell line. Not that there?s anything wrong with that. I actually prefer this, as it tends to be priced a little lower than tins of the Frog. The same great smoothness and aroma of Frog Morton, and a great introduction to Latakia blends.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-02-12		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Revised 02-12-04 This is one of those old blends that has been out there for a while, but for whatever reason, I just recently tried. I initially gave this a high rating, but after reviewing many other blends, have to downgrade. This really is not a true english blend, but a cross-over. It has a very light vanilla casing. Upon opening the tin, you are greeted by a medium-cut ribbon with a good mixture of light and dark leaf. Aroma is mostly latakia with the afoementioned vanilla. This blend reminds me of SG's perfection, albeit less full. This does need to air out a bit before packing due to moisture. Packing is easy, lighting is easy. Overall, this is a decent flavored, middle of the road, smooth blend, easily smoked all day, difficult to get tongue bite from. It is inexpensive and the casing is very restrained. Might be a good intro to "English" styled blends for the beginner or something with decent leaf to satify the occassional sweet tooth. Rating 3 out of 5 points.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-02-08		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Strong

This reminds me a lot of Frog Morton but it seems a little bit more sophisticated and complex. Notice that i am comparing this to Frog Morton and not to more complex latakia blends. I find this to be a pleasant smoke. This may be a good all day smoke for some in that it is mild in strength and is hard to get to bite. If you like Frog Morton give this a try, as for me I smoke it once in a while.

Nobody has rated this review yet.