Gallaher Limited Condor Long Cut (Brown)

Condor - Long Cut.

The flakes aren't as big as the pouch's size implies. They only measure 6x2cm, and are thin. They're a very dark brown and only a touch too moist.

The smoke? Very nice! I like to rub the flakes, rather than fold and stuff, and the build of them makes this a doddle. The Lakeland topping is unquestionable, but I don't find it too strong. It has about the same strength of added flavour as St. Bruno. The burn from CLC couldn't be any better: cool, slow, to a white ash. No bite throughout a bowl.

Nicotine: a healthy amount. Room-note: I quite like it.

Condor Long Cut? Highly recommended:

Four stars.

A special thanks to StevieB for hooking me up with an English supply line. Here's to many more great trades.

This is a wonderful smoke. I smoked it in three types of pipe and processed several ways. In each case I found it to be very enjoyable. Here are the details.

Briar (Tsuge metal tankard) - For this pipe I chose a cube cut, well dried and gravity fed. There is a tangy fruitiness that is mildly sharp on the retrohale. Not sharp enough to distress but just enough to add a pleasant edginess. As the bowl progresses a mild note of "Mom's homemade biscuits" comes into play. There's a little sweetness, but I get more tang than sweet. It's quite tasty and well rounded. Has some strength to it. Burns very well.

Clay (Dutch Gouda) - I used the leftover cube cut for this pipe. Same as the briar in every respect but one, the sharpness is a little more pronounced.

Cob (MM Diplomat Apple) - I rubbed out the flakes completely to ribbons and dried well. Here the tangy fruitiness is a little more subdued providing a smoother smoke that's a little easier on the nasal passages. The biscuit note is a little more pronounced. This was a bit more to my liking. Burned very well yet remained a cool smoke. Next I used the same cob and just folded and stuffed two flakes with a little of the leftover ribbon on top as kindling. The flavors were a little deeper, the smoke slower and longer lasting. Just what you would expect them to be. This is the way I prefer it. In a cob, folded and stuffed. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. I got a feeling Steve is gonna have to send me some more of this. Thanks friend.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. I can hardly believe this has any Lakeland scent added. It's barely noted. Burns well regardless of how you process the flake or even if you don't. This was a fun flake to play with.

The flake to me is at least equal to the ready rubbed version which I love, but may be even better given that the smoker has control of how much he wants to rub out the flakes. You get that intensely wonderful Condor taste and aroma. When I first started smoking a pipe I tried condor and didn't like it but these days it is my number one OTC blend, so maybe Condor is a little too rich for novice briar puffers, but when you get used to pipe smoking Condor is an experience to be savoured. Fruity flavours abound, as well as tangs of liquor, maybe rum. I do enjoy this smoke and have several Condor moments each and every day. I puffing on a bowl of the flake as I type and my taste buds are thanking me for it. It really is excellent. The only OTC blend that even comes close in the UK is St. Bruno but Condor is the better of the two. Mty first and last smoke of the day is always Condor, either the flake or ready rubbed. In between I puff on a few different blends - Virgina Flake, Old Dark Fired and Erinmore Balken mix are a few - but Condor always makes itself stand out against these other admittedly excellent blends. Dondor is Granny's blend of choice...now for some Led Zeppelin and a bowl of Condor....ahh bliss.

Wasn't sure what to expect when I first bought this, but, being aware of the Condor brand I decided to give it a go. The pleasant aroma of sandalwood - a reminder of the incense from my neo-hippy/new age days - as I opened the packet was a fond reminder of an enjoyable well wasted youth.

Having packed my favourite pipe with the stuff and lit said brand, the sandalwood smell from the packet that rendered so many reminiscences continued to avail itself upon my senses during a I very enjoyable smoke. The lack of any tonguebite or Lesley Ash lips was a welcome surprise on top of a highly satisfactory smoke.

This is now one of my favourite tobaccos and have started making a point of keeping up a steady supply amongst my pipe stash.

I can recommend this without hesitation.

having tried this years ago when i first started pipe smoking i hated this stuff......oh how my tastes have changed in 20 odd years since i last tried it, having run out of my regular blend which i get via internet , i walked to the local shop, CLC was the only pipe tobacco they had... in a 25g pouch too. I thought "what have i to lose??". Breaking the seal on the pouch I was virtually overwhelmed by the aroma of this tobacco , hard to describe but not off-putting at all....loaded the pipe and fired up........i was astounded how good this blend tasted...a full "soapy" taste which lasted all the way to the bottom of the bowl.....after one pipeful , I liked it, after 3 i loved it and would recommend it to others. i did not think it was overly strong as other reviewers mentioned , but i did smoke it using a small briar. i will certainly be buying more of this, the good thing is it is readily available in scotland at every corner shop and supermarket....the question i am asking myself now is....why have i overlooked this blend all this time??

Update: im updating this review to 4 stars.....it calls to me in my sleep, this is truly wonderful stuff...for me nirvana!!!

Condor is crude. It is overpowering and assertive, it is coarse and inelegant; it is all these things, and unashamedly so, for what it lacks in finesse and nuance it makes up for with its own loutish charisma. In short, this is a blend that makes its presence known, whether you like it or not. Fortunately, there are those of us who can appreciate a bold, outspoken character, that knows its place in the world; and for those who identify as such, keep reading, this may just be what you have been looking for.

From the second the seal is broken one cannot help but swoon slightly under its pungent, heavy handed Lakeland aroma of citrus and stewed berries—and what to my nose resembles a soapy, almost menthol background note. Though somewhat maligned, I have to say, the soapy/citrus pouch note is probably my favourite thing about this tobacco. It is fresh and invigorating, and has a charm that can only be described as suis generis. Granted, this is not the charm of a suave, city slicking dandy, but more akin to that of an outlandish, mildly un-PC uncle—who’s scandalous dinner table regalements' are none the less considered endearing.

I have heard Condor described as being ‘bland’ in the VA department when smoked, and I’m not entirely unsympathetic to that charge; it is not a blend that revels in complexity, but then, it is not designed to be. There are tobaccos for thinking and tobaccos for doing, both have their time and place, though this is without equivocation a member of the latter camp. It is a hard-nosed, old school VA, in the Anglo-Irish tradition; as such it is strong, both in topping and nicotine content. Personally, I very much enjoy the subdued, fruity VA notes, underneath the heavy-handed Lakeland topping—though I can see why this would divide opinion. The smoke is always cool and smooth, in a way that belies its true potency; some caution is therefore required, as this will creep up and set about you like a drunken navvy, should you let your guard down and take liberties. Even as an ex cigarette smoker with a high nicotine tolerance I have had occasion to get on its bad side, receiving a brutish clout round the ear as a result. Best then to take your time, sip slowly, and treat it the respect it deserves; you will be rewarded for your trouble with a robust, fruity smoke that never bites, and is always consistent, from one pipe to the next.

To call this a mans-mans blend is, I think, an understatement. That is to say, Condor makes John Wayne look like a wine sipping, Guardian reading stamp collector, with all the virility of a poached egg. This is a flake created for men who spend their days heaving rocks around in the bowels of the earth, or forging monstrosities from iron and steel. It exhibits what the Spaniards call ‘cojones’, and it does so by the bucket; yet it is never arrogant. It courts both the masculine and the homely, in the manner of a pugnacious old Yorkshire gent—hard but fair. It is easy to see why Condor remains a stalwart of the everyman pipe smoker, if only for its consistency; this is one of the few tobaccos that follows through on its pouch note into the bowl (for better or worse) from start to finish. Granted, this is not a tobacco for everyone, and if you are looking for a clean, natural flake, you will almost certainly be disappointed. However, I think every smoker owes it to themselves to try Condor at least once, for its own sake if nothing else. You may just like it.

Year's ago when I was a nipper Condor Long Cut came in tins of two ounces and the one-ounce was wrapped in foil and encased in a cellophane sealed cardboard box. At that time Condor came as Pigtail too and some of the old lads at the local coal mine where I started work both chewed the aforementioned and also smoked it. This pigtail was virtually pure black in colour as was the also available condor plug, these last two Condor variants tasted nothing like Condor, there was also a milder brown pigtail too. Anyway, the pigtail and plug is now consigned to another age, but fortunately one can still readily buy Condor Long Cut, but even this variant is now proving to be hard to get from over the counter, as none of my local supermarkets stock it, though thankfully the ready rubbed is still for sale, but for how much longer is anyone's guess?

So onto the review...For my money nothing out there compares to Condor, Condor is totally unique in its casings and hence the flavour. One slice in a Dunhill group three lasts me over an hour and burns to a very fine ash. The Condor moment can at times be elusive to the inexperienced smoker, but once tasted that moment is never forgotten. The trick with Condor is to smoke it gently to a point where your pipe seems unlit, only then will you attain that Condor moment. The room note is very pleasant and even my non-smoking friends let me smoke this blend in their houses. If I could choose just one tobacco to smoke for the rest of my life, that tobacco would be Condor. On opening the packet one is greeted by the divine smell, then lighting up its onto the sweet, satisfying, unique taste, a tobacco that's unbelievable and a kind of a dream-inducing blend. I personally cannot recommend any other tobacco as highly, yes I do rotate with Irish Slices, but when I return to Condor it is with a great expectation that Condor never fails to sate. A must try tobacco, that like Marmite you'll either love or hate. Footnote... I hate Marmite but love Condor.

I really enjoy this aromatic. I first tried it when visiting a forum friend in Florida who gave me a bowlful in my Altinok Canadian. I was eager to try, but was not expecting to like it, after my first whiff of it filled my nose with that soapiness common to British aros. Not being much the fan of that floral essence, I figured I would detest the bowl that was to follow.

My friend could tell by the expression on my face that I was, indeed, enjoying it, and he was correct. This was in March. A few months later he surprised me with a good sample in the mail. I, once again, got to enjoy several more bowls and finishing it yesterday. This time I was able to sample it in a briar as well. And enjoyed it out of a few, but the blend really sang out of my meerschaum.

I really wish this was more available in the US, but being resourceful, I have a pouch heading to me right now that I am anxious to receive. To the tobacco, it is aromatic, no doubt. But it is a pleasurable aroma to my taster. Similar to St. Bruno, but I found St. Bruno to be lighter topped and much more aggressive in the nicotine. Normally I would prefer this trait, but for some reason, I prefer the Condor to the St. Bruno as the topping is just more to my liking than is St. Bruno's. And the Condor certainly supplies enough Nicotine to satisfy my needs. When I smoke a blend such as this, I am not looking to get steam rolled as St. Bruno is apt to do.

The condor is lighter fare, yet it is not like smoking hot air. It is a really good aromatic and the brits are lucky to have it in their stores as common a site as the horrid Captain Black that sits in our stores. I highly recommend this tasty aromatic treat.

Splendid tobacco!

Condor Brown is even better than the Green! As where the Green unveiled mostly a good old Lakeland taste that was progressively replaced by solid, well - aged dark VAs, this unveils some liquor/alcohol taste and is stronger, richer than its sibling.

I am smoking it in a brand new MM Great Dane, for a change, which unleashes all its flavours. Surprisingly, I have a tendency to relate to SG's FVF when I smoke Condor Brown - they have the same creaminess -, but with an alcohol topping, more vitamine N and which behaves much better in its burning qualities.

Gents, this is one fine dark VA flake, with some golden VAs, that you must absolutely try if you can.

As far as I am concerned, Condor Green and Brown will be part of my regular rotation.