Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

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.

Although I have been a reader of reviews on this site for several years, this is my first review so apologies if it’s a bit of a ramble.

I smoked Condor Long Cut exclusively for many years and was happy to do so. Then I had issues getting it and stumbled onto this site and discovered the wonderful world of pipe tobacco, especially those available to my European and American compatriots.

It was again several years before I returned to my old favourite recently and was I in for a shock! Some hasty investigation informed me that Condor production has moved to Poland. Well the production may have moved but someone lost the recipe in the process!

The following is my take on a 2021 pouch compared to my recollection of the tobacco I had previously grown to love. My sense of taste and smell is not the best so I will limit this to generalisations rather than details:

Packaging – It’s so covered in health warnings now it’s not really relevant but what little branding is left is the same.

Presentation – Although the size and thickness of the flakes are much the same, the old version was a neat collection of whole stacked flakes. The new pouch contains a mess of flakes that appear to be have been randomly thrown into the packet resulting in something one step up from a broken flake.

Aroma – Where’s the Soap! That glorious detergent-like smell I had grown to love has all but disappeared. A hard sniff with my nose in the pouch reveals a slight hint of previous glory but only just. Don't get me wrong, it does have a smell, I just can't work out exactly what it is!

The Smoke – This is not the Condor I remember. The smoke is much thinner, the thick, almost cloying mouth feel has gone. The ‘soapy’ strong flavour has gone. Even the nicotine hit has diminished significantly. This is now a so-so tobacco with no real identity of its own. That is something, like it or not, you could not say of the old version.

Conclusion – Condor Long Cut has gone. This new version is not even a poor imitation of its predecessor. I will mourn its loss but am cheered by the number of wonderful tobaccos I have discovered thanks to this site and will get over it quickly I’m sure.

If you read all of this – thanks for your patience!

Hi everyone, My experience with condor I guess might be related to were l live however it seems like almost all pipe smokers l have come to know in the area I live once smoked nothing other than condor, Anyway my personal experience has never been a bad one with conder and like l said or meant to add is I was no exception to my areas love of this tobacco it was and still is a no nonsense smoke. I know all the dislikes about it have heard it from plenty mostly review's so it's a world wide subjective thing once it makes the world platforms of diverse range of experiences and I'm all for the sharing of such experiences. It's cool strong deep and plain well satisfying although I have heard since it moved from Ireland to Poland some mumbles as to the originality of conder, I haven't as yet detected this and still smoke it occasionally but have nestled down with Irish flake to be honest very similar to conder. Why the change over good question because I just don't know why I started to take interest in the other tobacco products out there and before I knew it was on my own journey to see if in fact there was a holier grail of a blend I'd missed. However back to conder it's a tobacco worthy of some rotation if you like to tast different tobacco. And Condor was a famous slogan advertising product before adverts were banned from TV. It was the gent walking through the airport getting the thumbs up from the ticket woman mmm what's that lovely smell, the gent pipe in mouth carrying his luggage manages a smile with the word Condor, the add ends by saying very firmly Go live in peace with your pipe smoke Condor........ok that's my waffle over or my trip down memory lane

Considering this is a fast moving baccy it will probably be quite moist so some drying is advisable , it's easy to rub out to your own preference . Just scrapes in as being strong , a very non offensive easy smoke , no bite and my pipe stayed cool, probably because I was quite happy to sip at it , taste is well described by other reviewers , hints of floral topping and maybe a bit of licorice , doesn't seem to be very high in nicotine.

A classic pipe tobacco, the flake version of Condor is my second favourite way to have it, after the (rare as hens teeth) plug. I'm not sure if there are any significant differences between this and the ready rubbed, but I like the ritual of preparing flake and the control it gives me. Condor is unashamedly cheap, unsophisticated, strong pipe tobacco, and I quite like it!

In the pouch you'll find a pile of slightly tatty flakes, which nevertheless keep their shape and stay remarkably intact when you carry the pouch around in your pockets and bags for days on end. The aroma is of rich, stong, cooked tobacco with a subtle, slightly floral topping. It's very leathery, in aroma and appearance, and immediately recognisable as Condor.

The flakes are on the dry side of ok, and take a bit of work to rub out. They break up into ribbons and wide short chunks, this mixture lights easily, burns slow and needs few relights.

The flavour is strong from the beginning, building intensity as the bowl goes on, but not changing much. It has an astringent quality, like stewed tea. During the smoke, the floral essence is very much a background note behind the leathery strong tobacco, but its a strong part of the aftertaste. There seems to be a hint of fired leaf, and the flavour is at times akin to the black ropes from the Gawiths, but sans the meaty edge. Its of the same ilk as St Bruno (British style dark flake, scented), but St Bruno is slightly sweet while Condor isn't, and Condor is stronger. To draw comparisons, St Bruno is like a rich porter, Condor is like a dry Irish stout, and a strong one at that.

The aroma will displease your spouse and horrify her friends as well, which may have its advantages... It's like burning autumn leaves and tar... Lovely!

Make no mistake, this is powerful tobacco. Milne was probably smoking something like this when he said that "a pipe in the mouth makes it clear there has been no mistake, you are indeed a man". It will cause hiccups and worse in the uninitiated, but should bring satisfaction to the leathery old badgers of the pipe smoking fraternity.

For me, I prefer St Bruno, but Condor is good strong weed and very nice in the winter. Light up and enjoy!

Condor long cut is a typical lakeland style blend.once the seal brakes a tense sweet alcohol smell comes out.a deeper smell reveals some soapy and citrusy notes too.the dark/brown flakes are moist and very manageable.drying time does not help and the flakes can be folded or rubbed for easier lighting.while smoking the lakeland style topping is dominant from the beginning till the end.sweet alcohol,nuts and cocoa(burley??) give a nice experience but subtlimate the tobacco flavours without being overwhelming.the virginias are grassy,citrusy and earthy.generally the flavour is pleasant but not natural°besides that's the Lakeland style blends.burns slow and medium hot with a few relights needed.the nicotine level is medium and the room note bareable.the moisture being created at the filter is a lot without tongue bite though if you push it it can produce some bitter notes.the aftertaste is sweet.it can ghost a pipe easily.not an all day smoke but a repeatable one.in conclusion this is a pleasant blend and a must try for the lovers of this type of processing the tobacco.

This was a sample of about an ounce of flake in a "long cut" pouch. I may be entering this review in the wrong place. The tobacco came fairly dry and I smoked one bowl of it that way. I found it to be medium strong and good but without much flavor. Hydrating it really brought out the flavor.

In the hydrated tobacco I got grassy and some heavy overripe citrus. It is a little like St. Bruno turned up a notch. It burned well, and I smoked it rubbed out. The topping has what I would term a fairly mild floral note, but mine may have flashed off a little. I think others seem to be getting a little more of it.

I am smoking this in the Old Ted corndog which came as a dedicated "lakeland" pipe, and I will have to get some lakelands in.

This is a pleasant tobacco and a great English OTC. I recommend trying it if you get a chance.

Opening the pouch, I get the old version of Irish Flake smell. The moist, dark and short flakes are neatly packed. The slow burning tobacco is quite a treat for experienced pipe smokers that dabble into British tobaccos. For the rest, well one might come with words like cheap perfume, soap, floral and they would be right.

The liqueur topping reminds me of licorice and treacle with some dark fruit. The tobacco is earthy, with a beef jerky interlude as the topping is less present by mid bowl. The best part is the bottom of the bowl where tobacco and topping have a kind of synergy that is dark fruit sweet and earthy with a good amount of nicotine. I somehow find it more complex than Revor Plug but in the same vein as a strong British aromatic.

Virginia lover

It's amazing that this is considered an "over the counter" tobacco in some countries. The dark brown flakes come packaged in a sealed pouch suitable for short term storage. I like to cube cut the flakes and gravity fill my pipe. The top dressing was added with a conservative hand and it adds amazing nuances to the natural flavors of the tobacco. I get some floral notes along with citrus notes that intertwine beautifully with the overall composition of tobaccos. Think St. Bruno but with a more stout, full bodied base and you've got a good idea of what you'll get from Condor. I let the flakes dry out for about 15 minutes before I light up and it smokes effortlessly all the way down. I consider this to be a top shelf tobacco so don't let the "OTC" label turn you off, this is as good as it gets, I absolutely adore this stuff. You may want to try it out in a cob as it most definitely will ghost your briar however, I welcome this ghost and Condor can haunt my pipe anytime. I'll always have a place in my cellar for the almighty Condor, long live Condor! Absolutely, definitely essential.