Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

This a classic English OTC. It seems to be sold pretty much everywhere there and pubs if you're used to smell of it. A plunge in the past, then.

On a tourist trip, I purchased my pouch in London at the Davidoff shop, while hunting for other English things. How I regret not getting more of it!

Pouch open, the smell assaulted my nostrils immediately. A kind of sweet violence, like "slap me again, please". I stuck my nose deeper and found flowers, maybe rose and geranium, spices, maybe cloves and cinnamon, and finally some sort of unidentified liquor.

Can't help but notice that for a pouch, the flakes are clean cut, nice short length, and neatly stacked.

I have tried various packing techniques and drying times. From fold and stuff to completely rubbed out, to pouch moisture to dried out crumbs. Honestly, all worked relatively easily. As always, the full flake with more moisture gave me a slower burn with fuller aroma, but sometimes, a quicker easier smoke was what I needed to.

After a good charring light, off I went. The flavour here, from the first to the last puff, are full and satisfying. The smell from the pouch absolutely translates to the smoke. With that rich topping, a strong dark tobacco smoke, akin to a sweet cream. Yes, while this is one of the stronger tobacco's around, it is extremely smooth and easy in tongue and throat.

As the bowl progresses, the topping receded a little and gave more room for the tobacco to show. The synthesis is close to a BBQ sauce kind of vibe: very sweet and smoky, with an earthy quality.

DGT doesn't work very well here. Sure relights after a pause are fine, but if I wanted too long, a strong astringent and bitter smoke had to be puffed through to get the good flavor back.

It burns pretty easily to the bottom and leaves little dottle, considering how aromatic it is. The aftertaste is very pleasant and lingers quite a bit. My wife, who does not tolerate tobacco, accepted to sit with me on occasion, outside always.

I will definitely be looking for more pouches of this.