Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

I have taken advantage of a short holiday in Amalfi to study three products:

- Orlik Golden Sliced

- Condor Long Cut

- McBs HH Vintage Syrian

Here my impressions about the second one.

Two pouches of CLC came to me from JJFox in London (alongwith a couple of St. Bruno and one of Players Navy Flake). I have strongly desired to taste these oldies again, and still remember the small rectangular tins of Condor, Sweet Dark Honeydew (not to name the pure Latakia) and their rusted inner edges. They still were under the Gallaher's brand... and I was just twenty. The latest experience I got with Condor was with the RR form in the very beginning of the nineties. So, the new meeting with CLC was simply a sentimental matter, a very pleasant situation.

CLC comes in a sealed plastic pouch of brown colour (the tin was greenish), the rear showing a terrific photo of a wide open devastated mouth at a dentist! After the breaking of the seal, the inconfondible aroma: soapy, flowerish, fruity. The colour is dark and very dark brown with bright specs inside. Some 20/25 flakes, thin and quite short. I guess that if offered in loose cut, CLC would be a shag.

I have prepared a couple of slices and had them airing out for half an hour, folded them and rubbed a bit, loaded into an old sandblasted Savinelli Punto Oro no. 105 (small bowl billiard), which was previously used for University and Irish Flake. Just the shape of pipe a true Englishmen would use for CLC... Upon lighting the tobacco surface has a violent reaction and need a couple of energic tamperings, relight and&peaceful slow, cool smoke.

A soapy smoke, or better, the perfumes we do associate with soap on a sweet base. Very refreshing indeed, with citrusy notes over a flowery base. This is steady through to the end of the pipeful. A deserving experience, maybe not for the summer season. We are talking of a scented flake of old school, strong but no too much strong (it starts understatingly medium and steadily proceeds - puff after puff - just to the strong, never reaching the brutality of and Irish Flake).

Regarding the weed, I guess we are talking of heavily stoved Va's, but I suspect some Ky is also in the play. Who cares ? It's the whole thing which counts here. Dedicated pipe(s) is a must, Condor will be indelibly ghost your pipe. Daily use? Not for me, thank you. Do you drink liquors daily ?

Scented flakes is a genre of its own, if I am to rate it for the TR community guide, I would give two stars. But, I have said above this is a sentimental matter of mine, and the rating is just for my appreciation: four stars.

CLC is something love-or-hate: I simply love it.

I have been smoking Condor ready rubbed for over 40 years.Tried Long Cut many years ago before becoming a 'Flake man' due to finding Tobacco Reviews some years ago.Went to my good tobacconists for Ennerdale Flake....sold out.Bought Condor Long Cut.Very glad I did.To this palate there is a distinct difference between Green pack and Brown.....much deeper richer aftertaste lingering smoke than the ready rubbed.Is it due to casings dissipating somewhat due to rubbing when straight off the presses as opposed to the Long Cut still being in a compressed block albeit sliced? I don't know...maybe the casings steep more in the flake version.

Often pipe gets going on one char settling into a very slow smouldering smoke long lasting...very rich satisfying smoke verging on strong in strength...side stream more scented it seems just like old school English baccy.Stays lit when left untended for minutes sometimes.Very cool dense smoke with no hint of tongue bite....yes it's a ghoster!! But I have that many pipes -no problem.Shall be buying more of the Long Cut.Very recommended baccy for the guys who enjoy richness and strength.

My father smoked Condor all through my childhood and until his death when I was 23. By 25 I was a pipe smoker full-time and another Condor devotee. Had I not found myself in the USA, it would have been all that I cared to smoke.

Green or Brown? Green is the easier to charge and light; brown requires you to shred in your hand before loading. Brown needs more care: ensure you distribute it evenly in your pipe. With both you should be prepared to go through the light, tamp, light, ritual several times. And always use a cold pipe.

It's a slow burn and a cool smoke. A full pipe will last you hours if you put it down and relight later. Indeed it's rare that I'll smoke the whole bowl in one go.

Nice and tasty. Perfumy, floral, and sweet at first. Casing vanishes about half way thru the bowl (though not completely) and leaves you with a nice Virginia glow, with a hint of leather.

Enough nicotine to satisfy. Does ghost a pipe fiercely, so try it in a corn cob pipe before smoking in a briar.

After coming back into pipe smoking after a break of about fifteen years or so i thought i would start with one of my old favourites,'THE ONE AND ONLY' Condor Long Cut. I know all of us have our own particular tastes and for me when it comes to tobacco nothing else hits those heights of relaxation and enjoyment in quite the same way as this lovely dark brown flake.As soon as i put the first match to the bowl for the charring light i was taken back years as the taste and aroma have not changed a bit and in my estimation that is a good thing because this tobacco is unique.Other reviews i have read describe it's flavour as 'soapy' and i can see what they mean but it's 'soapyness' only adds to it's allurement.In a way this tobacco is hard to pin down but if you want a good relaxing smoke for a peaceful half hour or so a good thing is to mix:Three quarters Condor Long Cut with One quarter Gold Block and enjoy!To sum up this tobacco is dark,mysterious,flavoursome and peace friendly!

So, the birds fall stricken from the trees and dogs run howling from their masters' feet. It says much about the natural reserve of British reviewers that this towering Irish classic, and last word in the British "floral" style, fails to achieve an overall four-star rating. Still made in its home town in Northern Ireland where it has been for - I'm not sure how long - certainly decades. (And something you can't say about its great rival, St Bruno, which departed Liverpool in the mid-noughties.) If you can obtain some of this, even in ready-rubbed, which doesn't differ too much from the flake, you cannot let the opportunity pass and call yourself a pipe smoker.

I reviewed this blend several years ago, somehow it ended up in the Condor Ready Rubbed section, a mystery as I've never liked the RR version much and never reviewed it...

This blend was a long time favorite of mine, that is now sadly no longer exported to the USA. I first tried this blend at a Yorkshire tobacconist's recommendation while purchasing a new pipe. I had never encountered a flake tobacco before, so I had to ask him how to use it. I have a good friend in the UK who can keep me supplied with Condor, and there are several tobacconists who will ship to the USA.

Fortunately, I've found that SG Bracken Flake is quite similar to Condor at least as far as a substitute goes when I can't reliably get my hands on it.

Appearance: A mostly black with some brown and tan mottling leathery flake of varying thickness.

Aroma: The first thing that is apparent when opening a pouch of Condor is that it is fairly heavily scented. What kind of defies me is to decide what that scent is. I pick up tones of black cherry, something sweet and vaguely like molasses and hints of rose. Rose you say? Yes rose, as in Greek Rose Petal preserves (not a regular on many an American table). I can also detect deep air cured Virginias and an underlying nuttiness, and musty quality. Put side by side with SG Bracken Flake they smell very similar. This tobacco seems perfect for smoking as soon as the seal on the pouch is broken. As with most flake tobaccos I simply take several flakes together, fold them in half and insert them length-wise into the bowl trimming off the excess. I find it has a much better burn this way and makes for a long enjoyable smoke.

For this review, I've chosen an Edward's Husky Canadian which is dedicated to scented flakes.

A first light is brings billows of rich white smoke, followed with a brief visit of the tamper and then a tamping light. The topping or casing is immediately there and while a bit odd at first becomes a nice compliment to the fine quality leaf underneath. Flavors of cherry, rose and a deep nuttiness are exhaled with increasing pleasure. This is a delightful flake, which rather rapidly dispels myths of 'English Soap'. The flavors are intense and build rapidly while the topping or casing gradually fade into the background. Many Americans will not likely enjoy this flavor, but I do.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and while I wouldn't call this mixture particularly complex, the topping or casing gradually fade completely into the background but never leave the scene. The Virginias build in depth and character while the topping/casing gently fade. This blend can get away from you if you are not careful with technique. That is not to say that it will bite, I've never experienced tongue-bite with this blend. Rather, the tobacco is a bit temperamental and can be over-puffed to the point of extreme bitterness. If one takes the time to smoke this slowly and methodically a sweet, rich and flavorful voyage is there for the taking.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I find that it becomes more intense though never overpoweringly so. The tobacco eventually becomes the most dominant component with the topping/casing fading in intensity. Deep and resonant forest, leather and cigar tones emerge from the heart of this blend. The sweetness and topping/casing never fully leave, yet their initial flavors have matured and ripened into a fascinating mixture of stewed fruits and rich adult pleasures.

Supplemental Notes:

I must add that now being in possession of both SG Bracken Flake and Condor Long Cut at the same time, my observation remains, they are very similar and for me at least BF is a good substitute though not a direct 1:1 'copy' of each other. BF will defiantly scratch the itch for me.

My review of this tobacco originally appeared here, but due, presumably, to some database error on this site, it now appears on the page for the ready-rubbed version. I am therefore putting it back where it belongs, as the long cut version is my regular smoke:

I was sitting on a bench in the garden the other day, smoking my pipe and studying a rare, abstruse text, when a large magpie fell from the tree branch directly above me, paralyzed from the beak down. You see, I was not smoking any ordinary tobacco - I was smoking the mighty Condor.

This was the only tobacco that struck terror into the heart of my great-uncle Jack - an inveterate St Bruno smoker.

Upon opening the tin (or pouch these days), one is greeted by a very pleasant aroma of something perfumy, which I have never been able to positively identify. The flowery aroma is different, and less pronounced than that found in Coniston Cut Plug. It is also nicer (but perhaps that is due to its familiarity over so many years). There is also an aroma of good, rich, potent tobacco, which leaves the sniffer in no doubt whatsoever that a substantial smoke lies ahead.

The flakes are dark and foreboding; just nicely moist and of consistent dimensions - three flakes for a large billiard (I just can't bring myself to smoke a smaller bowl of this).

Once the smoker has plucked up the courage, girded his loins and applied flame, the very traditional, correct and proper, British, perfumy (delightfully so) taste is to the fore. However, this soon withdraws to the wings, leaving a very full, rich tobacco flavour centre-stage. It is at this point that many reviewers will begin to describe their favourite tobaccos with adjectives such as 'nutty', 'leathery' and goodness knows what. Suffice to say that this tastes of rich tobacco and it is heavenly (blast - an adjective).

It lights easily and burns slowly right down to the bottom, leaving a fine, white ash.

Ladies love the smell of Condor, by the way.

Condor - the King of pipe tobaccos.

The magpie flew away after an hour or so.

Well this is an old stalwart for sure and though Mo and I are the first reviewers here, you will find a good few more on the other Condor pages as they were all lumped together for a while.

I've known this tobacco for nearly 50 years and it's always been a basic flavoured English tobacco, very popular hence why it still survives.

Of all the Condor varities available here, I think this one is way out the best. It's a flake of course as opposed to the ready rubbed and I prefer the fuller flavour and the longer smoke that results. For those of you who havent tried it, it is very dark in appearance with a strong leathery scent, stronger than St Bruno though not unlike it actually. It does have the effect of leaving its mark on the pipe it's smoked in...so it's best to dedicate one to it. Taste wise; it's strongish in Vitamin N, it brings a full virginia taste with the topping still there of floral/leather hints. It's a solid no nonsense tobacco though, if you are not used to strong English flakes, be ready for this. I give it full marks. It's a classic...I just hope it survives a bit longer.