Davidoff English Mixture

The first whiff from the newly opened tin prompted the thought that this was Royalty Light. Deep sniffs after a half hour of airing detected a faint figgish aroma in the background.

A disappointment in the bowl. Unless coming after a totally bland and charaterless blend, English Mixture does't taste of much. Yes, there is some very subdued oriental/latakia kind of presence, but not really noteworthy. Nor is this the gentlest misture on the tongue. Packing it firmly in a large pipe helps a bit. The tin declares it to be a medium aromatic, which leaves me totally confused because this is not an aromatic in either the American or the Continental use of the term. If by aromatic is meant the presence of turkish leaf, the presence is too mild.

The final disappointment is the room note. I am blessed with a family which adores the smell of pipe tobacco, but English Mixture drew negative comments. Cigarettish was the verdict, and I concur.

A hesitant two stars.

Sadly, the Oxford English Dictionary holds no definition of 'English Mixture', but devout pipe-smokers the world over know precisely what that should mean; Davidoff English Mixture simply doesn't measure-up. Here, in the UK we have the 'Trades Description Act' - a law designed specifically for protecting consumers from misleading advertizing - Davidoff sail close to the wind here.

How can a pungently sweet, artificially cased mixture - absent of orientals (with or without Latakia),such that it's almost un-noticeable in the background be regarded as an English Mixture.

No, no - smoke it for what it is (not bad at all - I've tried worse), but don't buy it for what it definetely is not!

I agree that this is not the best of the Davidoff line. It resembles, to a certain extent, Presbyterian Mixture and some of the 4 square Offerings. It is tasty, slightly astringent and piquant, with a pronounced Turkish flavor, though the Virginias are there alright. I don`t think there's any Latakia in this blend; if there is, it's basically anecdotical. English is not exactly a memorable smoke, and care should be taken because it can bite. However, this blend can be an interesting first tobacco for those new to the pipe or for those not yet familiar with the English/Balkan/Oriental melànges.

Happy New Year to everyone!

My first several bowls seemed basic, seemed like nuiances of each tobacco. Good start to finish, pretty consistent. Almost finished with the tin now and I've received varying results from about the 1/2 tin mark. Really closer to a VaPer now with an occasional pronouced burley, no latakia. I'm not sure why, but it turned inconsistent. Its still good, but i don't know if i would call it an English.

What is 'english' about the blend? I agree with the previous review. The smell in the tin is difficult to attribute to anything special, without trying to find inappropriate equivalents. Smoking is not very interesting. I have added some Latakia (see my review about the Wellaer blend) and that was quite satisfactory. A disappointing blend from the firm. It would be better if they would use their 'special reserve' or other names to brand it rather than 'english blend' which is not very appropriate.

I must say this is not one of my recommended or favoured blends. I bought a tin of this from www.pipesandcigars.com to give it a shot. I have let the tin age out on the rack for about six months now, and it just has not gotten any better or any more interesting.

The leaf is cut nicely and packs quite well, but that is about all the positive feedback I can give. I am not sure how this tobacco qualifies to be an English blend personally. I detected very little Latakia (if any at all), but instead something that resembled a menthol casing.

It does burn quite cool, and leaves a pleasant room note, but I just can not get passed the menthol flavour it produces. The blend does not really change profile as it progresses through the bowl, and seems to just remain flat and uninteresting.

The tobacco was a bit soggy when I first popped the tin, so I put it on the rack for six months, and smoked a bowl from time to time. The leaf has dried out a bit, and behaves pretty well in the pipe, but still leaves a wide gap in my English tobacco needs.

I might say this would be a good choice for someone moving from aromatics to English blends, but I think I can recommend better blends for that especially at the price of a tin of Davidoff.

"Traditional English Blend"?! I don't think it is. There is a bit of latakia, a bit of oriental and a bit of perique on a base which is mildly cased with something sweet. It's all just too mild. This tobacco may be recommended for very patient smokers with super-sensitive taste buds who are used to milder blends, I'm not one of them. Because of the high tempratures and tongue bite this releases while combusting it may be good for training your slow smoking technique. I only smoke it from time to time with my morning coffee, but I'm sure I'm not buying it again after the tin gets empty.

Tip: let it dry on a piece of paper for half an hour before filling your pipe.

Right .. this isn't easy, but it's time for a little heart-to-heart conversation. What is Davidoff English Mixture? Is it an English Blend? - YES .. it's got Virginias and Latakia, so that makes it an English blend. Is it a lat-bomb? - NO. What are you getting when buying this tin? Opening you get a nice aroma of some latakia mixed with the Virginia grassiness, and some perique pluminess and raisins. The tobaccos are good quality. Won't bite or turn on you. Pace yourself smoking as the Virginias will get hot. Do you get the same experience as smoking Quiet Nights or Nightcap .. NO, NOT EVEN CLOSE? Basically, this is a light VaPer with a dash of Latakia and Burley. You are getting the fresh-cut grass, stoved plums, raisins with a dash of pepper from the Perique, the nuts and earthiness from the Burleys, and in the background, always present... a Latakia shadow...

This is a solid tobacco if you want to try Latakia and don't know whether you like it ... as even if you don't you'll surely be able to smoke the whole tin with time.

The name should be changed to **Fisher Price My First English Blend**. But for a beginner, this is an awesome tobacco, that lets you dabble in English blends while still feeling like you're smoking a straight Virginia or light VaPer.

The final score for a beginner is *four stars*. However, if you like Pirate Kake I'd give it a *one-star*. All in all, **2.5-star average** ...

There was no indication of a production date on the tin, but the excise stamp indicated Q3 2017, and the look of the smoking hazard stickers matched the period to 2018. So I'm guiding for the second half of 2017.

Appearance: a mixture of very thin ribbons of almost monochromatic light brown shades with occasional flecks of darker color. Moisture from the can - a little dry, perhaps, but the consistency was not affected, the tobacco is of sufficient quality. Despite the claim to be an English blend, there is very little latakia in the tobacco.

Flavor: a distinctive coffee note framed by oak bark, sour plum, pepper and nut, plus a subtle smoky, tannic accent. No halftones, no complex flavors, everything is quite simply decomposed into component parts - here's the burley, here's the virginia, here's the perique. And the traces of latakia flavor correspond to the tiny amount of it which I have found while examining the tobacco.

Taste: The ingredients are almost the same as the flavor. There is the taste of coffee, prevailing on the general background, a fair amount of spicy perique (which would be more suitable for some Va/Per, and which, however, does not overlap the coffee note), plum sourness, a little sugar, a little nut, there is even a bit of tar and smokiness from the latakia... There is only one "but" - all this absolutely does not expression. The taste is straight, but doesn't add up to a nice overall bouquet. I have tried this blend in several different pipes, but the result was always the same. The first comparison that came to my mind was "someone dipped a smoldering oak log in a liquid weak sour Americano with pepper and a drop of nut syrup". Certainly a bit rude, but there was no other in my mind at the time. Over time, the peppery note degenerates, the tobacco gets a little more sweet - and turns into a completely faceless mixture, vaguely reminiscent of English. This blend smokes evenly, moderately hot, burns quickly enough into a light gray ash with some darker fractions, and leaves no moisture in the pipe. The strength is somewhat below average, nicotine hit is not threatening even in a large pipe. The aftertaste has a sweet and grassy undertone.

The smoke is woody and nutty, with no hint of smoky latakia, easily dispersed.

What's the result? A second blend from Davidoff - and seemingly a second blank shot. But what's interesting: the manufacturer's website describes the tobacco as a "subtle English blend," and I find that description quite accurate. The blend cannot be called "bad". It just doesn't have its character. It is nothing. Perhaps it would suit a newcomer to the world of English blends, so he would not be scared by the force of the latakia. But a person who really likes English blends is likely to pass it by.