E. Hoffman Company Distinguished Gentleman

Greetings everyone! This is not a coincidence that "Thedstnguishdgntlmn" is reviewing "Distinguished Gentleman". I have been a customer at Iwan Ries for over a decade. They are the Nicest folks on the planet and run the best Pipe store in the world. My gratitude to Chuck, Susie, Kevin, Ron, Adam, Keith, & Mike for their friendship over the years and now for this new tobacco. Now, on to the review. I greatly enjoy crossover blends. I would often go into the store and tell the guys some of my FRANKEN MIXTURES that I would create using Iwan Ries blends. One day they asked me to try their new , and at the time Un-named blend. I was very impressed. It was sweet, mild, smoky, and very cool.Little did I know it would become Distinguished Gentleman.

---

The Blend is a Shag/Ribbon cut. About a 50/50 mix of light and dark tobaccos. When you pop the tin you are greeted by a wonderful old timey aromatic smell. It is fragrant but not in a syrupy way. You cannot quite put your finger on the flavor. At first light you will be greeted by a sweet and crisp flavor. It is actually like biting into a nice cold apple. The smoke has a TEXTURE to it. After about 2 minutes it develops into a creamy and slightly sweet flavor, yet all the while maintaining a true tobacco flavor. At this point you will begin to taste the slightest wisp of Latakia. From then it is all smooth sailing. There is absolutely nothing I can compare it to. It is not a crossover like "just for him" blends. They are very good but you taste Sweet Cavendish then Latakia. This mixture has all the elements come together to form a truly unique flavor.I will say that if you enjoy 3 Star tobaccos and Latakia this will be very satisfying. It is unusual and needs to be tried. Not for the Latakiaphile or the Candy crowd but definietly for true connoisseurs of fine tobacco. Well worth a try. P.S. The room note is heavenly while you taste a little Latakia. 4 STARS!

Here is my impression after a month of smoking this blend daily. The mesmerizing tin aroma is very misleading as it completely disappears when fired up, so it's useless to build expectations on it. The flavor is very subtle, so it should be smoked in a closed area to relish it fully, also DGT is recommended, otherwise you might have the impression that you're smoking tap water. It has zero tongue bite.

Update on 15 Feb 2013: Maybe it has to do with a few month's aging that I began to like this blend a lot more as it proved to be an excellent morning smoke when my senses are still not very keen. Upgraded from Recommended to Highly recommended.

This is truly a fragrant tobacco with an intoxicating aroma. Literally. Not your typical aromatic at all. The topping and casing give it an old time flavor that will make you want to take your socks off and put your feet up on a table. On the Pipes Magazine Radio Show podcast Episode 84 Chuck Levi said this was a recreation which was originally labeled as recommended by distinguished physicians and thedstnguishdgntlmn claims that he loved it so much they used the name. This is a storied blend of old and new. I definitely recommend buying this just to try it if not for the lore alone. I asked in the IRC shop what the secret ingredient was but they refused to tell me saying it was a secret or something like that. I do not smoke aromatics but this being distinguished as a crossover I will always have some of this laying around because it tastes great.

Spilman Mixture's more elegant and subdued brother. Is it possible to be too civilized? Mmmmaybe. I still like it though. The cavandish makes this a different tobacco but the family resemblence is unmistakeble. I think of this as a late evening smoke, when the day is winding down. A man needs a tobacco like that around and this is mine.

I generally like crossover English blends and this one is no exception. It is pleasantly sweet, rich and lightly smoky. It produces a decent amount of smoke and has a nice mouth feel to it. There is a light topping here but I can't discern what it is, other than lightly sweet and maybe a little fruity, but not over done. Good show E. Hoffman! 3.5 Stars!

E. Hoffman Company - Distinguished Gentleman.

Because the tin's one of the bigger in style, there's a little room to let some air circulate, thusly achieving a smokeable level of hydration. There's one or two bigger 'leafy' pieces in the blend, but none which are too coarse/stick-like to be smoked.

The Latakia's the stronger of the four, giving a rich woodiness rather than just smoke alone. The Virginia adds almost a 'freshness' to the flavour, by being slightly fragrant; slightly. The Burley could cause it to be slightly rough around the edges, but the Cavendish placates the situation. The rum has been added lightly: it flavours the smoke just enough to enable identification, but isn't sharp, or alcoholic tasting. I get no tongue bite from it, and the temperature doesn't rise above medium.

The nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Distinguished Gentleman? Four stars:

Highly recommended.

This just fits so well into the 'contemplative' niche for me. Requires no drying, packs easily, and burns at an easy pace. I am rather susceptible to tongue bite and and am pleased that this is not an issue with this blend.

The components are nicely balanced - the Latakia is a only supporting player, thereby allowing the other notes to come through nicely. Likewise, any flavoring is not predominant; rather, it is just intermingling. There is enough going on with the various notes to occupy the mind's background attention, allowing one to attend to whatever deep and worldly thoughts occupy one's foreground attention.

Another pleasant blend from E. Hoffman Company. Distinguished Gentleman isn't a blend which is going to kick you in extasy, but it is reliable for every occassion and it will not let you down. It burns well, gives pleasant sensation and it matches at evety time of day.

My rate: 4.3

Every nw and then you bump into something that is just fantastic. I have really gotten tired of Latakias, but two friends told me about this blend. So I thought why not. At any rate, about this tobacco. Wow! Creamy. Smooth. Crossover. Aromatic. I don't care what it is. Don't care what is in it. This stuff is great. Just smoke it. This the sort of stuff you to sit and smoke in the barbersop. Thus I conclude another highly antalytical review.