Boswell Pipes & Tobacco Magnum Blend

Unlike the descriptive, I did not find Magnum to be a light English... in fact, not even mid-range. It was fairly strong stuff and I found it to be similar to Dunhill's Nightcap without Perique and less depth of flavor in its overall presentation. Still, this is a very nice smoke for times when Latakia comes calling.

Pipestud

This is pretty darn fine smoke. This is again a milder form of something like Northwoods. Probably not as much Latakia and a bit more spice. Has a nice smoky tin note. Lights just fine and burns very nice. I get smoky flavor wit hints of vanilla and nuts but those are very faint. Has a pleasing room note but very mild. This is fine blend particularly for a evening smoke or for those that are looking for a milder English/Latakia blend.

Magnum Blend is a light English developed by Dan Boswell for a friend that has become very popular. The ingredients are not listed on Boswell's website but peering into the jar I have here it appears as though there are gold and red VAs, Black Cavendish, and a little Latakia.

MB packs and lights easily due to its' almost perfect moisture content. Once going, it requires a minimum of relights. The taste at first is dominated by the sweet VA and Black Cavendish, then you notice the Latakia there in the background providing body to the smoke. It's a very pleasant early morning smoke before you're ready to take on a full-fledged Balkan. In fact, I sometimes smoke it all day, it's that good.

Boswell's prices have gone up steadily in the last few years, as have most tobacco suppliers. Nevertheless, I'm deducting one point on value.

Scores for Magnum Blend: Taste- 18 of 20; lighting and burn- 8 of 10; value- 8 of 10. 34 points equals a good **** score.

1st Smoke: Smoked my first pipe load in my Balkovec. My first thoughts would be that it is very mild English with almost aromatic notes. 2nd Smoke: Smoked a pipe load in my Hackert. Light English is a perfect description. The aromatic tones I picked up on my first smoke of it have seemed to diminish. I think I mistook the sweetness of the Virginias for a vanilla casing. I didn't pick that up at all in the second smoking. The Latakia is apparent, but far from overwhelming. It produces a nice smoke, and burns a little warm. As with all Boswell blends I've tried, no tongue bite whatsoever. The room note is very nice, pleasant and inviting. I liked it and will look forward to my next bowl of it. 3rd Smoke: Ribbon cut packs well and lights easily in my Moretti Chimney. No problems lighting it and it stays burning with no problems. I could very easily see this blend being an all-day smoke for me. Mild, tasty, and an overall pleasant smoking experience. So pleasant in fact that I huffed it down unusually fast. It burns fairly dry and produces a nice gray ash. I should have ordered a bigger bag of it. Conclusion: An English that isn't overpowering. This blend provides a smooth, tasty, smoking experience. This is one that easily falls into the class of an all-day smoke. Most defiantly worth a try.

The tangy, very dark fruity, earthy red Virginia takes a lead over the citrusy, lightly grassy bright Virginia. The sweet red Va. is the most important component. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia is a little more than a background player. There’s a light vanilla note that I suspect comes from the sugary black cavendish rather than an overall topping. I also detect a hint of whisky which, along with the vanilla, very mildly tones down the tobaccos. The strength level is a step past the mild threshold while the taste level is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. The nic-hit is a shade past mild. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with sweetly consistent flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires slightly more than an average number of relights as the tobacco is lightly moist. Has a pleasant after taste that sports a slightly distracting syrup note, for which I deduct half a star. This is an all day semi-aromatic English smoke. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

One would expect when a blend is called MAGNUM, it would be strong. Stout. Powerful. But it's not. I don't quite know if I got the bottom of the jar when I ordered my 2oz, or if this is the normal state of the blend, but I got a lot of "shake" in my pouch. a lot of tiny, powdery tobacco that settled to the bottom. Hmm.....

Pouch note appears to be a great crossover type sweet English blend. I detect some faint natural vanilla aroma which is quite pleasing! Just a touch of smoke to make you realize it just may be an English blend. Moisture is the same as just about every Boswell English blend.

Packs well, not much spring upon lighting.

Initial Flavors of the cavendish are most discernable. Sweet, vanilla notes are the most prominent, but that hay-like sweetness from the Virginia also comes through. It's very easy to detect what flavor is coming from which leaf. The latakia is added perfectly. The sweet and smoky leaves are meld together in perfect harmony. What a terrific indoor room note!! Even the wife commented on how wonderful it smells. It has that old timey pipe aroma with a touch of Latakia. I am a sweet English tobacco fanatic. I love them, and this is no exception. This is a perfect crossover blend for those looking to start sampling English and Latakia, but its also a great English blend for when the weather is too hot for a full strength Balkan. If any tobacco has a flavoring or topping, Boswell knows how to produce them!

The cut is a narrow ribbon. The pouch note is a slightly sweet smoky. There may be a hint of vanilla in the pouch note.

Smoked this reminds me of a less intense Capt. Black "Black Sea." It is sweet with some condimental latakia. The sweet is hard to identify, and the smoking experience is mild on mild. When puffed, I get a little tart Virginia in the profile.

This is OK, and I can smoke it. I am not going to be stocking up.

This is another blend that I'm shocked there isn't more reviews on. I have to note again that Boswells English blends are the first and only English blends I've tried. I am also not a full English smoker, but I am finding them very enjoyable when the taste arises. I'm smoking a bowl now to help this along. With that said, this is another nice English blend from Boswell, all three of them are great. They are all a little different but make for a similar good smoke. Using Northwoods as a reference I feel the Light English is a "little brother" to Northwoods and this Magnum Blend may be more like a cousin. Upon lighting you notice the Latakia, but just enough to know its in there. Later in the bowl you notice it more in the aroma. This one holds onto the Latakia but also blends with the other tobaccos. The flavors dance back and forth on different puffs. I notice more of a subtle sweetness with this one...my guess from the virginas or maybe a very slight topping flavor, but I doubt it. That is the only reason why I put Extremly Mild for Flavoring.

This is a similar smoke to Boswells Light English, but even milder. It packs well, stays lit, and smokes fairly cool. This one is a very, very dry smoke...almost dries out the back of my throat. Like the Light English, I don't feel this one is as creamy, or velvety as Northwoods, this one isn't as smooth either but neither are as bold as Northwoods. All in all a nice, milder English that has some characteristics of an aromatic. It's an easy going smoke, but my least favorite out of the 3 English blends from Boswell. I might not get it again since the Mild English is so perfect. But thats not to take away from this being a great blend and something to recommend. Just maybe not 4 stars in my opinion.

This blend was my first english i've smoked. I right away liked it! The latakia and virginia in it make it great too. One of those all day smokes for sure.

Good stuff. Yeah, it starts out a little slow, but give it a few minutes to develop some depth. I get an almost creamy bourbon and malt taste from the Cavendish, the tasty red Virginias seem like they may be lightly toasted (?), and the light application of Latakia is clean and without sooty grill scrapings. This makes for a pleasant summertime dose of Latakia without going for the heavy hitters. It really hit the spot on the evening of the Fourth of July watching the fireworks.

Although this is a more of a 3.5 star blend for me I can’t quite round up to four, as that spot is reserved for Solani White & Black, which has even more depth and complexity. But Solani is not always available and costs more. I like Magnum better than several of the bulk offerings such as Sutliff sweet English, and quite a bit more than the disappointing Mind Meld Sweet English. If you are inclined to enjoy an occasional mildly aromatic light English, this is a good option, so next time you place an order with Boswell try a couple ounces!