Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

If Condor Long Cut was readily available in the US, it would be my everyday smoke. The pouch note is of dried fruit, with a little bit of tangyness. Smoked as a flake, the floral notes come through strong...as does the nicotine. Rubbed out, Condor is surprisingly mild, with a nice dark fruit flavor throughout, and a muted floralness. I would not consider Condor a "lakeland" tobacco. For me, Lakelands tend to be a really nice tobacco flavor, and a floral flavor. Condor, on the other hand, is a single, uni-flavor, with the dark fruitiness melding perfectly with the floral notes to produce a genuinely original tobacco. A true classic...

Oh the memories this tobacco brings back. When first opening the brown pouch - those unfamiliar, will be treated to an aroma they will either love or hate and one that will never be forgotten. Hard to describe save to say stong soap or floral -citrusy aftershave scent, which in my humble opinion smells wonderful. Long dark flakes that rub out easy and burn in a manner that defies the moisture. Rich smooth smoke that actually tastes like the pouch scent. Could be considered a little overpowering at first to the amateur. as I soon discovered. However, this quickly became a favourite after dinner smoke for me. The irony is that while one might soon tire of it, one will always return to it in the future, just like an old friend.

Very nice tobacco. Similar to Samuel Gawith No.4 Rope, but with an interesting casing reminiscent of rum, dried fruits, and perhaps a hint of tonquin and licquorice.

Based on what I've heard, I was expecting the casing to be over the top, but it's actually very well suited to the base tobacco, and for me is supportive of the tobacco rather than overshadowing it. The 'tin' note was significant, but the casing is quite mellow in the smoke. While it might ghost a pipe, I tend to smoke Lakelands mostly, and I think Condor will be the least of my worries in that regard.

I first tried rubbing out completely, which left a very nice, easy to pack ribbon, but I found the flavour to be somewhat 1-dimensional that way, actually quite similar to when I tried smoking white ox in a pipe (in fact, white ox is probably much closer to the base tobacco flavour of Condor than the No.4 rope is). The second pipe, I used my usual method, which is to fold the flake a couple of times and rip small pieces off the resulting 'log' and sprinkle them into the bowl. This provided a much more complex flavour, and the casing became more noticible.

Condor burns evenly and requires few relights straight out of the pouch.

While I prefer the Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hoggarth tobaccos, I could see myself buying this one again, as it has a certain rugged charm.

I just don't understand all this talk of soap and flowers! To me Condor just tastes like strong, natural Virginia, maybe a slight hint of something leathery in there. One thing is certain Condor is strong, I like strong tobacco so to me this is a good thing, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner. It smokes cool and doesn't bite unless really provoked. I would probably say it should be dried out awhile before smoking although I smoke it straight from the packet in a Falcon. I will happily smoke this regularly, for a readily available OTC (Here in the UK anyway) I feel it knocks several so called ‘Premium' tobaccos down a peg or two.

Condor Original Long Cut Flake is in an incomparable class of its own. Highly flavoured this will ghost your pipe. I won't have to tell you that again. Best set aside a pipe just for this strong tobacco that has stood the test of time. Solid, seductive nicotine delivery. Don't use a large bowl. Highly recommended.

The flake variety is not so far removed from the ready-rubbed, so I'll echo my sentiments regarding the latter, from a prior review:

This review completes my experiment with the three major commercially available tobacco brands in rubbed form here in the UK - those being Clan, St. Bruno, and Condor. The latter is, without a doubt, the best, and proves that there is some credence in entrusting your choices locally, as opposed to the specialist. Without a doubt, this is a classic Lakeland style tobacco, but although the usual floral scent and soapy taste that usually fires a warning shot is present, I find the casing to be much more acceptable and palatable than that found in many other brands - notably the Gawiths. Indeed, it's a good deal more nectarous, slightly spicy, and a damn sight more unusual, without impinging on what seems to be a naturally sweet Virginia base.

I don't find this to be particularly overly cased, nor that potent, if truth be told. The flavours seem well-balanced and seemed a far cry from the "Condor Moment" which smacked of the sourness you'd expect from some of the more pungent Burleys in the Peterson line. It does contain a good dose of the old Vitamin N, but it's well managed.

The only downsides are really the ghosting and the need for several re-lights; though it's a moist tobacco that burns surprisingly well, it becomes a bit top- heavy with ash. Furthermore, the room note is a tad monotonous and a touch off- putting for some, but everything is there in the smoke itself, which really sings. I can't dedicate a pipe to this, so I'm anticipating some aftercare with my Peterson System, but it's a small price to pay for a quality smoke that I can purchase where I want, when I want - and in smaller pouch sizes that neither break the bank, nor become boring.

Addendum:

The flake variant tastes slightly fuller, with a more pronounced sour note. It's moderately moist, easy to rub out and light, and it's particularly noteworthy as a consistent smoke, with a full body of flavour being generated in the second half of the bowl. Again, a great smoke that burns to a voluminous plume, and a fluffy ash of less quantity than it's rubbed version.

Overall, I think I prefer the balance of the ready-rubbed over the long cut, but the two are so very similar that you could probably juggle them in the same pipe. It's a testament to the blender that they've made a rub that can still hold it's own against the flake. Two ace cuts - and the champion of commercial smokes.

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!