Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

I was so excited when zi opened the mailbox and I had a package from England! When I opened it, the wonderful aroma of the Lakelands permeated the air and I found a pouch of Condor Original Long Cut. As I loved the Condor Ready Rubbed I bought when in Cork Ireland when I was there in April, I was thrilled to get the flake version in the brown pouch. So, I rolled a flake up, put it in a Peterson system pipe and let it sit for about half an hour. I then sat on my deck over looking the lake I live on with a cold beer and lit up this wonderful mana from Britain. The pouch contained flakes of a very dark brown, and of course the pouch aroma was the perfume smell of a Highlands Blend. It rolled easily and as I was impatient and did not dry it out enough for an easy light, it took several tries to get it lit. But, I did not care, the wonderful flavor of a dark VA and the special flavor one gets from this type of tobacco, rolled off my tongue and gave me a wonderful, sweet, full, taste and a wonderful aroma. Yes, it will make birds fall from the sky, but to me, it is a wonderful aroma.

This is a full bodied, slow smoking blend that one must sip to appreciate. It slowly burned down to a light grey fine ash with no dottle or moisture left in my pipe. It did leave a ghost in my pipe that made my next two bowls of PA taste like a wonderful British Blend with a burley base, but that has been a good thing for me. Then this late evening, after leaving a few flakes sitting out in fron of my air conditioning intake, I again lit a fresh pipe of this wonderful blend again, of course in a British pipe, and was gain was rewarded with a wonderful smoke that was easy to light and every bit as satisfying to me. I sure wish that this brand would be imported to the states, as I just love the stuff. I think I could live on just it. I highly recommend trying this blend and I put it as one of my favorite tobaccos.

It's been announced this has been discontinued, what is now in the shops is all there is there is. 14.01.2024.

A strong, traditional English flake - unchanged, as far as I can tell, in decades. Needs to be sipped, and certainly not one for the beginner; but if you like robust and unpretentious flakes, this is one for you. It's cool, slow burning and consistent, and the flavour gets markedly fuller and 'rounder' from about half- way down the bowl. It's a bit like a punchier version of G & H's Dark Flake, but without any 'cigar' note. You get 24 flakes in a 50 gm packet, and I can get an hour's worth of slow smoking out of one of them. Don't smoke it straight out of the packet, though. If you fill your pipe[s} about 12 hours before you want to smoke it/them and just let it/them sit, the difference in the quality of the smoke that Condor LC will give you is truly amazing. I stumbled across this trick by accident, but I guess it'll work for anyone. Worth a try, anyway.

Condor probably suits a small-bowled pipe better than a large one: the nicotine content is high, and it'll sit you down hard if you don't treat it with circumspection. The room note is pronounced and characteristic: pleasant if you like the smell of pipe-smoke, but perhaps a bit hard on innocent bystanders who don't. To me, it's intensely nostalgic: the smell of yesterday. Condor also gives you a delicious moment when you open the pouch. it used to be available in sliced, bar, twist and pigtail forms (the last two were pretty hairy, I remember), but I think these have long gone. I haven't seen them in England for years, anyway. Condor will leave a mighty ghost in your pipe, BTW.

On the whole, I think Condor is the best the best of the British OTC blends (though St Bruno Flake runs it a pretty close second). Some pipemen are a little snooty about it; it's a blue-collar smoke available in most B&Ms. I suppose it could be described (in the UK, anyway) as the archetypal blue-collar pipe tobacco. So what? It's good stuff, and let's be thankful that, unlike so many old favourites, it hasn't disappeared. Yet.

Summary: an English flake that balances sweetness with a refined malty flavor, topped in a traditional but subdued Lakeland sauce.

Condor endures thanks to legions of diehard fans, and after smoking this sample, it is easy to see why: these densely compacted flakes bring out the best of the Virginia tobaccos blended into them. At first light, the light Lakeland essence -- generally a rose-geranium smelling mixture -- mostly burns off, leaving a quick blast of the brown sugar and toast flavor for which Virginias are known. With successive puffs, the smoldering flakes heat up and the sugars seem to caramelize very quickly, similar to "Lakeland Dark" and other traditional Virginia flakes. This flavor then subsides somewhat, with the sweetness taking a background role to the almost tea-like flavor of a natural tobacco, with faint whiffs of the Lakeland juice floating through every now and then. These flakes smoke easily, last for well over an hour in a medium sized pipe, and provide a mild and gentle experience that could easily be an all-day smoke.

Thanks to pipe smoker "misterlowercase" for this sample.

Back in the 1980s I used to smoke Condor ready Rubbed on occasion but remembered it to be more flavorful than I find the currently produced Condor Long Cut. About 2 dozen 1 inch by 3 inch dark brown flakes with light flecking were in the pouch and fairly thin cut. There was the familiar Condor pouch note that I remember from the RR version, but not quite as strong as I remember. Moisture content was just right for smoking and loading/lighting were easy. The overall smoking experience was delightful. The Condor taste was present but not over the top. This smoked cool and dry to the heel and without moisture. There was a bittersweet element to the smoke that I've experienced with many of the Gawith Hoggarth tobaccos I've smoked in the past and not a typically tasting hay-like Virginia either. As with Original Flake, the cost of ordering from the UK for USA delivery is the only negative for me not including this as a regular rotation smoke ($25.50 plus around $10 shipping). A unique smoking experience for sure. However, as compared to similar offerings from Gawith Hoggarth, a much milder smoke in terms of Lakeland essence. I also can say that I don't find it strong enough in Lakeland essence to worry about ghosting my pipes. A good smoke but price prohibitive for USA consumption.

UPDATE 3-19-18: I just received an estate pipe from France; a K&P Peterson 309 system (no longer produced) that arrived in a very restored state. There was the fainest taste of mild, Lakeland-like soap upon drawing through the stem with the bowl empty. It reminded me of Condor so I loaded up some. A totally different smoking experience for me as compared to the smokes I had when I wrote this initial review. Now it tastes like the Condor of old I remember from the 1980s...what a difference a pipe makes! Raising my rating to 4 stars.

Having tried most of the OTC tobaccos available in the UK, I decided it was time to brave the mighty Condor, long cut. On opening the pouch, the aroma is very pleasing indeed. A very fruity scent, not unlike St Bruno, with a touch of figs and raisins. The flakes are very thinly cut, with very dark tobaccos with the odd light fleck. So to the smoke! I loaded up a falcon International, after fully rubbing out, with a bowl already used for aromatics, and was pleasantly surprised by the flavour of this tobacco. Firstly this tobacco is wonderfully creamy and smooth, with no tongue bite whatsoever. Typical lakeland flavouring with a hint of floral toppings, but not overbearing. Is it soapy? well yes it is I'm afraid, but somehow it doesn't distract you from a very enjoyable smoke. The tobacco burns beautifully, straight from the packet, the moisture content is about perfect, and the pipe remains cool throughout the whole bowl. I think I can detect a touch of Latakia lurking beneath the casing, but I'm not sure. Now for the negatives. It will, as most other reviewers have warned, ghost your pipe to hell and back, forever!. I would recommend a meer or a Falcon to enjoy this tobacco. The Falcon being a perfect choice as you can reserve a bowl for it, and it's worth it!. My only other gripe is it can be a bit sickly if smoked too often, so a once a day smoke for me. A well deserved reputation then for Condor. I prefer it to St Bruno in many ways and wasn't aware of any extreme Nicotine kick. It will certainly enter my rotation, and unlike some reviewers, I would recommend it to beginners as it is so fuss free and smooth to smoke, unlike the dreaded Clan, which will put you off pipe smoking for life! If you find the Nicotine overwhelming then use a filter, as this will calm it, without spoiling the flavour of this very high quality tobacco. Highly recommended.

Waiting for another pack, tried this a while back, I really liked it. It won't replace St Bruno as the best all rounder, but it is a good, strong flake with a pleasant (to me anyway) overtone to it. I don't find it too soapy although with S Gawith tobaccos I favour Full Virginia flake, Kendal Cream Flake, Navy Flake, Chocolate Flake and the like over the more floral blends. Condor is very much worth a try in this and the ready rubbed form.

Easy to light, will have a floral smell at first, but soon fades, don't be fooled by the gentle smoke, nicotine is strong enough.

At the bottom of the bowl, I get a taste similar to agarwood, very comfortable, I will prepare a bowl specially for it, such nicotine is what I need

Package note of lakeland, sharply sweet fruit and spices. Tobacco is a flake of a marbled brown and dark brown. Moisture content is great, flakes rub out with a little effort. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium to strong and nic is medium. Flavoring is mild to medium, with notes of lakeland. Lakeland flavoring is moderate in the beginning after lighting but fades to the background relatively quickly and remains in the background. Taste is medium to full and very consistent, with notes of floral, mild tonquin/lakeland, rich, savory, herbal spices, zesty citrus, leather, fermented sour and tangy dark fruit, woody, earthy, mildly bitter, a lemon grassy background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.