Villiger Early Day

Someone wrote "Englishy" and I endorse that with no negative connotation. A very pleasant and, for any money (but it's nice that it's so inexpensive), tasty tobacco that has just enough smokiness for the Lat fans, more than sufficient quality Virginia for the smoker in all of us and, finally, a pleasant overtone of Orientals for the eclectics. While I don't need tradenames to tell me what I'm smoking or, indeed, when to smoke it, producers seem hell-bent on doing this, with no exception here. Having said that, like EMP, Daybreak, Mid-Day, After Dinner, well, you get the point, this tobacco is not only true to its name as a nice first bowl but also a very reliable smoke throughout the day (why can't we have a 24/7 moniker for a tobacco?). A bit moist (you can always air it out a bit if you like), good quality, no-fuss-in-packing, easy lighting, nice burning, flavorful and satisfying smoke. Nuff said.

Update: four tins later and a star for each. What a welcome addition to my light English selections when I'm in the mood, and that is often. Just a great "friend" that always delivers and is far more nuanced and complex than ever imagined. If it weren't for the allure of this tobacco in the mornings, my poor terrier would split a gut waiting for his morning constitutional.

I do NOT like lat-bomb English blends that run family and friends away, but Early Day is not one of those. It is a lighter English, similar to Davidoff's Royalty and Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, and similar in its high quality. Royalty and EMP might be a little richer, but Early Day is a solid smoke and just as good on its own terms. Smoke it all day. Serious English hounds might review it differently, but I really don't get tired of it, and I am not primarily an English smoker.

Villiger has a solid winner here, especially for the price, which in recent times has not topped $6.99 for a 50-g tin, and sometimes under $5 at P&C. Taste and refinement at that price definitely puts it in 4-star range.

A really nice blend. I was a little concerned at first thinking it might be too moist after opening the tin but was pleasantly surprised to find it smoked fine with no relights. A smooth, lightly sweet, slightly spicy, never biting, not over the top English blend that could easily be renamed All Day. I'm definitely going to replace this tin when empty, maybe cellar a few as well.

Update: Has definitely earned a spot in my permanent rotation. Great all day "yard working" "porch sittin" "millin and chillin" baccy!

Summary: a good light English that focuses mostly on Virginia sweetness

Blends built around internal balance between different types of leaf create a lack of variety that leaves one little to comment on. This Danish interpretation of English tobacco aims for balance instead of clash, and the resulting harmony produces a dark chocolate woodsy taste and thick smoke in a clean-burning, moderately strong tobacco. Its faintly spicy but mostly simply rich taste lasts to the bottom of the bowl and leaves behind a strong but not unpleasant room note. While it lacks the internal contrast of a Dunhill brand, it approximates the same mixture with its parts working together, making it taste like a single flavor instead of a blend of randomly occurring flavors. It probably fits more in basements and man-caves, or outdoors, than in the living room, but it leaves behind a classic tobacco scent that you may remember from the barber shops and hunting lodges of your childhood. I consider this one extremely underrated, in that it seems to be less popular than other brands but turns English tobacco from a scattered experience into a hard-hitting wave of flavor with enough power to help you through the day.

This is quite a tasty tobacco. I had never tried any of Villiger's offerings before this one (which I picked up on sale) and now I may have to.

There is just enough latakia (I don't need much). The virginia and the orientals play with each other throughout the smoke, neither one completely overpowering the other. It is a pleasant blend with just enough nicotine and complexity to be both satisfying and enjoyable.

Recommended.

A very nice blend of Va, oriental and latakia, the blend seems to be oriental forward, and the latakia is just enough to deepen the flavors, smooth and lite on the taste buds, it definitely does make a nice morning smoke.. I prefer it over emp

This was one of many tins that was gifted to me by a nice lady whose uncle had passed away. I decided to open it about a week ago. From the name I assumed that maybe it was trying to replicate Dunhill Early Morning Pipe but I see no similarity. I decided to try this in my Peterson Pub Pipe. The tin note was very mild and with not a heavy presence of Latakia. At least that is what my nose told me. Some of the tobacco had white crystallization aka plume. So, it appears that this tin has some age to it. I did a search on Google and it appears the entire line might have been discontinued around 2013. Wow, time flies. This is a nice smooth mellow blend that for me would be suited as an all-day smoke. If my memory is correct, I believe this line was priced somewhat lower than other blends which led me to believe that it might have been targeted to more of a price conscience consumer but that is just my opinion. It is not bad but I don’t for see myself finishing this tin any time soon. If I was back in my old stomping grounds, I would just take it in to the pipe club and give it away. I will hang on to it and who knows I might try to get a pipe club started in my new locale.

I have tried all the villiger 1888 "day" themed blends so far and have generally liked them all for what they are. In terms of value all of them are quite a bargain for what you get.

Early Day is the only one of these blends that is a Latakia, or Balkan blend, as the latakia presence is pretty light. True to its name, this is a lighter blend that is most likely an Hommage to EMP. Like EMP this is pretty good with coffee. Unlike EMP though this has a little more edge to it. I chalk this up to two things. One, while the lat presence is light, it is still perceptible. EMP is one of the blends where you will still see people questioning whether it even contains Latakia.

The other is the orientals. They pack more a punch in ED than in EMP. In EMP, the orientals fold in and complement the Virginia nicely. Making a sweet, yet slightly sour, smoking experience, but the star in EMP IMO, is the Virginia.

In the way the orientals seem to stand out with a light latakia presence, this blend actually reminds me more of Squadron leader than it does EMP. But Squaldron Leader also seems to rely mostly on grassy sweet Virginias moreso than ED.

I put ED a rung below both EMP and SG SL, but at the same point, it is still a good Light latakia blend with a nice tin presentation at a great price point. So it is recommended.

Virginia-heavy Balkan/ English with very little Latakia. Couldn't say how close it is to Early Morning Pipe, but it is nothing at all similar to Hearth & Home's "Daybreak". (The silly designation of times of the day for tobaccos needs to be laid to rest....)

I bought a small tin of this a while back as it was very inexpensive, and I opened it just prior to New Year's Eve. Decent stuff, but no more so than a host of others. I think this is being discontinued due to lack of sales, and it is also as good as a host of others.

You almost have to look for the Latakia, but it's there. What you don't have to look for is the nicotine, which is more present than in any other English/ Balkan that I can recall. Shame that it will no longer be around, because it could really be someone's cup of tea.

I like this blend. It is not to acrid or smoky and the taste is enjoyable. it seems to stay lit and doesn't burn my tongue like some brands. I think I will add it to my regular list of smoking tobaccos. One note, however, is that the tin dried out really fast, so the next tin that I get will be put in a mason jar for keeping. I want to try the other Villiger blends now.