Dunhill Aperitif

I have never had the Murray's version but the current Orlik one is a real let down. If it were a loudspeaker it would be all mid-range - no treble or bass. Added to which it has a sickly sweetness that I find nauseous. I find that is a Danish tobacco character that I cannot stand; it's not a sharp sweetness like you have in a Virginia, which I quite like.

Luckily I rescued it by mixing it 50/50 with Nat Sherman's 536 where it serves to "fill in" the "mid-range hole" that 536 has. The excellent latakia in 536 tones the sweetness down a bit and makes a reasonable smoke in the end.

This Dunhill blend is not available in Italy, and it's a shame. It's a lighter cousin to My Mixture 965 and London Mixture, but sufficiently different to justify its existance. It also bears some similarities to Durbar (the oriental tones are rather pronounced), but I find it much more pleasant, as Durbar can be exceedingly spicy and with a cigar-like tone that I don't like very much. Aperitif has a delicious bitterness/spicyness/sweetness that is a bit dominant over the Latakia, but not too much: it is a very dry (and with dry I mean like in wine) tasting smoke, rather tickling to the tongue, with an almost metallic note. The Virginias sweetness is more subdued than in other Dunhill english mixtures, and the result is a smoke that is perfect before dinner (as the name suggests), but also after. I still prefer London Mixture, which is fuller, rounder and more complex, but I love this one too enormously, particularly when smoked in the right pipe (in my case, a large bent group 6 shell Dunhill). I'd almost say that this mixture has some Balkan overtones, which is great. A different english mixture than, let's say, GLPease offerings: less subdued, thicker, more in-your-face (not overwhelming, mind) and very satisfying. Packing and burning qualities are similar to Dunhill's other EMs: great. Only shame of this tobacco is that I finished my first tin in a matter of days! It is also one of the Dunhill blends that has suffered very little from their recent decline!

2014 Update: Alas, in the most recent incarnation, it HAS suffered. The new version is boring. Smokable, yes, but with the same undistinguished cardboardiness and dirty taste of all the other "2014 version" Dunhill latakia blends. Nothing of the pronounced Latakia and chewy but not heavy mouthfeel of the original, nothing of the same crisp taste. This new version could almost be completely interchangeable with London Mixture or Standard Mixture.

The rating is 3 stars because the original version was 4 stars and the new one 2 stars...

I have been dipping into a tin from 2014 and "The Aperitif"only gets better with age.

Of all the Dunhill offerings this was always my favorite.

It smokes almost "cold" and the mouth feel is like silk. The black cavendish really makes this blend nice and creamy and completely balances out the turkish and latakia which play in the background beautifully as the smooth virginia sweetness delights the senses the entire time. There might be a slight flavoring added...maybe anise??

Most people try to compare it to Dunhill MM965 but that blend is a totally different animal. If you think of it in terms of brothers, MM965 would be the short-tempered, younger brother with "The Aperitif" being the even-keeled, older brother.

I always thought of "The Royal Yacht" and "The Aperitif" as the Dunhill freak blends...somewhere in between aromatic and english...but they kept Royal Yacht for some reason.

"The Aperitif" is one of those nonpareil smoking mixtures that makes pipe smoking a really special thing for me.

Please bring back "The Aperitif"!!!

After about 5 years of cellaring, I thought it was time to give this one a run. My first impression was wow. My second impression was, I wish I would have grabbed a half dozen more tins of this 5 years ago! If you read my reviews, you know that I am a die hard Nightcap fan (like many others lol) so that is the standard that I bounce most non-aromatic blends against. I do have a wide variety in my stash and am certainly not locked into strong English blends. While this lacks the punch, astringency and complexity of Nightcap, its a nice mellow compliment to it when you aren't looking for that really strong hit. Apertif checks my Latakia box, but no Perique, of which I am also a huge fan. But it can stand alone without it. It packs and lights perfectly in just about any pipe I try with it. My wife finds the room pleasant, and I love the taste. Its strong, but not overwhelming, I could go back to back bowls no problem with it. You usually can't go wrong with Dunhill products (pipes or tobacco) so if you haven't given this one a chance, I would recommend it. I can't compare this to older Dunhill products, as I started smoking in the late 90s and then I just bought the cheapest crap I could get my hands on usually. This is not my favorite tobacco, nor my favorite Dunhill, but I do like it. Not a 4 star tobacco, but a very solid one for me. Its not super complex, but it will go in any pipe, any time of day (not just before supper) and it certainly satisfies. I will definitely be ordering more soon.

How do I start? I guess that the logical place to start is by comparing it with "My Mixture 965", and go figure, both are Scottish blends, both have the same composition i.e. Cavendish, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia in this exact order, both are made by Dunhill so I guess they gotta be similar. Well, in a sense they are, with a few notable exceptions. First off - and I am starting here unlike other reviews I have written - with the taste, Aperitif has a very interesting sweet finish to it, unlike MM965 which is quite single leveled. To the naked eye - and here I am citing from memory, as I have no notes for MM (back then I didn't have a clear system in place), Aperitif seems to be a tad lighter in texture, possibly having more Virginia in it's composition, or possibly a different type of Virginia, which I suspect being the reason for the sweetness. The nose, well ... nothing out of the ordinary, a typical nose, somewhere in the neighborhood of your regular english/scottish - latakia making its presence known. Not sure what to say about that Cavendish, which I guess is dark masking the latakia on a visual examination, or it may be lighter and the dark ribbon in the blend is solely due to latakia. I might be tempted to say that although Cavendish may be the dominant tobacco - it is made out of a different type than in MM. I may need some technical help here - Cavendish is a way of making tobacco, and not a tobacco type in itself, so I guess you can make Cavendish from different leaf types. Smoking it .. yeah, we have the composition of your expected Scottish typology, but that subtle sweetness makes it quite a unique taste.

You haven't smoked MM965 yet? Well, than I will refrain to saying that you are in for a corpolent, but well balanced blend at the same time, with a mysterious sweetness that persists in your mouth once the first notes start toning down.

I would recommend this, and if I ever have a chance of running across this blend, I am seriously thinking about purchasing a few tins for long run storage. In my book, this is somewhat a King of Scottish blends, whereas MM is probably a jack or a 10.

I haven't tried the Orlik or Mac Baren yet but this Murray's version was ten years old when purchased back in 2011. I'm not new to Tobacco Reviews... just rejoined a short while back and doing some catch-up work. Aroma was predominantly Oriental with Latakia in the background. At first light, I already knew how I was going to rate this blend. I prefer a lighter Latakia mix and this blend suited my preference. Yes...this one takes me back to the time when all Murray blends were fairly easy to come by! The travesty was/is that I only started piping on the tail end of the Alfred Dunhill tobacco decline. I'm regrettably saddened by this dilemma but such is life.

Aperitif is very comfortable on the palate & reminiscent of Balkan Sobranie in flavor & also reminded me of MM 965 as well but the Latakia content is applied more sparingly. The aftertaste is also quite enjoyable and adds to the pleasurable smoke. So far, this is my second favorite Latakia blend, next to The Balkan Sobranie OM due to the modest Latakia infusion. However, it's a close race between this & MM 965 & I thought MM 965 was more of a Balkan than an English anyway but the terminology is rather academic. If it were up to me, I'd just as soon refer to them as Latakia blends.

With a little more Latakia infusion, this could be a medium Balkan mixture & closer to the BSOM or MM 965 but that's just my personal taste test impression. It is heavy on the Orientals this one is, with a captivating, sweet, exotic tin aroma... ie., you know it's probably going to be really good. It burns well & smokes cool & mild with a sweetness that develops more as the bowl progresses. I don't notice the Latakia so much approaching mid bowl. The pleasant, sweet aftertaste on my palate was satisfying & the Vitamin N content is closer to the mild than medium in strength. I enjoy this prior to dinner and any other time of the day or night & it could readily be an all day smoke.

This is a great Scottish blend. It maintains good flavor throughout the entire smoke. Very soft, creamy, sweet smoke which requires no maintenance. This is another Dunhill crowning achievement which has satisfied many a smoker for decades & I'm one of many who loved this blend. Mix a little more Latakia, Red Ribbon or simply add some 965 to this blend and you'd have a striking resemblance to "The Balkan Sobranie OM"... at least you might be caught up in the smoke from the mixture. This blend should get you rocking back on the celestial plains of life & have you contemplating better times. I'll edit this review when/if I sample the Orlik or Mac Baren version.

I did in fact wait to smoke Aperitif after an amazing meal with a few drinks, which may or may not influenced the review. Opening the tin I was met with a familiar English charcoal/fireplace aroma found in Dunhill's 965 or Nightcap, but it was not as pure having a little of that outdoor barn smell from the Virginia. This was the first time those two paths converged in a single blend for me. It was an intriguing proposal, would the Virginia soften it up?

Packed and sparked up like a champ. Gave off a fairly neutral taste with the two sides sort of canceling each other out, though the English was still the frontrunner. That first night (blame the drinks) it worked for me, repeat performances were just, fine. Landing this smoke 2 stars for me.

It never overpowered me, which made for a long lasting smoke, but it never hit any wow nerve either. It is a good smoke with smoke tang and I would be happy to buy a tin if it was the only choice available, but given all the choices out there I'd likely not rebuy it.

I cannot put this blend down. Its addictively delicious.

Sweet, creamy and rich. A bit of spicyness. With pleasant and light sweet notes that randomly appear at later stages of the smoke. Sweet and creamy all the way to the bottom of the bowl. A work of art.

A Nice mixture. If you smell the Tobacco straight out the tin you could think that the Latakia would be dominant in this tobacco, it's far from that when it's smoked. I find the balance of the various tobacco's in this mixture pretty awesome. I taste them all, not one overpowering the others. Sometimes I don't like too much Latakia and find this tobacco perfect for that, as an all day everyday Latakia blend. I enjoy this a lot and will definitely get more. A very pleasant smoking experience.

While a good all around smoke, I found this to be not all that distinctive. It was indeed mild, but that in and of itself cannot be a recomendation. I have smoked my way through most of the Dunhill mixtures and many of the McClelland mild Virginia oriental mixtures such as Mixture number 6. Aperitif, while pleasant, is simply not distinctive enough to warrant a repurchase.

This smoke is full of warm spice. The Cavendish and Orientals combine and jump to the fore to create a flavor which is very similar to cinnamon. And I'm not one of those people who pick out food flavors (hints of nutmeg, pear notes etc etc) out of wine, pipe tobacco, or at the worst, cigars (they nearly all taste like cigars to me). But I swear I taste cinnamon here, more at the beginning of the bowl.

There's not a lot of Latakia and it's not as full and round as my current favorite Dunhill English (Durbar). Nor is it like London blend as the VAs here are very much below the radar, plus the Cavendish skews the flavor in an entirely different direction, toward the creamy sweet direction.

I do agree, it is not quite harmonious, and there seems to be something lacking, but it does stimulate hunger.

I have to give it 4 stars nevertheless, for being unique, and of very high quality.

Smoked slowly, it is not at all "strong".

The moist content (and I found this to be true in most of the Dunhill's) is just about right to pack your pipe and light up. I am finding the tin note a little bit acrid, but not as much as in Squadron Leader. They call this blend "Scottish" because of the added cavendish, which sort of adds a sweet dimension to your smoke, but not as pronounced as in my Mixture 965. This might as well be the same tobacco as the aforementioned, but tweaked, with adjusted proportions, modified and changed in nature. In contrast with lighter mixtures, the latakia content is deep and rich with subtle silky/velvety undertones (this evokes a glass of wine). That is to say this is an after-tea latakia/orientals dominated mixture more suited for afternoon/evening sessions. Being robust and medium/full bodied at the same time, I find it quite moderate on the palate, I cannot detect any tongue bite and it is easy to smoke and keep lit for long periods of time. All and all, this tobacco is a bell ringer in so many fronts, but I'd not recommend it to all the latakia haters out there.

I have a about 1/2 left of my stock of what was my favorite Dunhill blend. Long gone for U.S. residents, it is definitely our loss.

The latakia in this blend has always stayed in the background and was it's the buttery orientals that sing the loudest in this tobacco. The combination produces a very unique flavor not found in any other blend of it's kind.

I always loved this tobacco and would even smoke an Orlik version of it if it were available.

Sampled from a 2001 vintage tin. Aroma was predominantly Oriental with Latakia in the background. At first light, I already knew how I was going to rate this blend. I prefer this light Latakia mix and these tobaccos develop a mild, sweet melange of flavors. Yes...this one takes me back!

Very confortable on the palate & reminiscent of Balkan Sobranie in flavor & also reminded me of MM 965 as well but the Latakia content is applied a little more sparingly. On the other end of the spectrum, it is similar to Sullivan & Powell's, Gentleman's Mixture Original. The aftertaste is also quite favorable and adds to the delight. Did Alfred Dunhill know how to blend tobacco? So far, this is my second favorite Latakia blend, next to The Balkan Sobranie OM.

With a little more Latakia infusion, this could be a medium Balkan mixture & closer to the BSOM but that's just my personal taste-test impression. It is heavy on the orientals this one is, with a captivating, sweet, exotic tin aroma...ie., you know it's probably going to be really good...and it is.

It burns well & smokes cool & mild with a sweetness that develops more as the bowl progresses. I don't notice the Latakia so much approaching mid bowl. The pleasant, sweet aftertaste on my palate was satisfying & the Vitamin N content is sufficient. I "enjoy this prior to dinner" and any other time of the day or night. Could readily be an all day smoke.

I suppose one could classify this as an a Light Balkan. It maintains good flavor throughout the entire smoke. Very soft, creamy, sweet smoke which requires no maintenance. This is another Dunhill crowning achievement which has satisfied many a smoker for decades & I'm e pluribus unum on this one.

Mix a little Latakia & Red Va, Nightcap, or MM 965 with this blend and you have a striking resemblance to the "The Balkan Sobranie OM"...at least, you'll be caught up in the smoke from the arrangement, unless you or your palate is dead. If this one doesn't get you rocking back on the celestial plains of life or entice you to contemplate ascending Mt. Everest before breakfast, nothing will! Therefore, IMHO, Aperitif merits four stars. Sampled in a size two Dunhill.

Contact British American Tobaco (BAT) and demand that they either manufacyure all of Dunhill Pipe Tobaccos or sell the rights to someone who will. It is insanity to let this and other Dunhill pipe tobacco blends die out. Shame on BAT!!!!

EDIT REVIEW OCT06/2015:

the current edition by ST is something different, just like other Dunhill's.

Very nice burning qualities, no bite. It offers a smooth & refreshing medium smoke with a dry quality to it. All the components are very balanced, the Latakia contributes to the flavour in a very lesser measure one would expect from the tin aroma. I don't feel a great sweetness, but a buttery tone which I associate to the unflavoured Black Cavendish.

A nice medium EM in the Scottish style. Not going into the list of my preferences, in comparison to other EM's available in Italy (Sam Gawith's in the top list).

***

Alongwith opened tins to be cleared out from cellar, here is a case of something to be religiously kept well protected...

This tin is marked "dunhill" (not "Dunhill" in italic font, know what I mean ?) and shows the Mark "by appointment of Her Majesty... as purveyors..." upon it; the rim is also showing "Manufactured and blended in the United Kingdom" and "Alfred Dunhill Ltd. Duke Street St. James's London". I bought it in Munich (DE) circa 1990, I well remember how many good tobacconists with products we never had in Italy!

The tobacco was taken out from the tin time and time ago, well before it went ruined by the rust, and put on a glass vacuum jar. I'm still keeping the tin, just to remember the good times... and regarding the tobacco, I know where to go when I want celebrate the true english mixtures of old.

It was supposed that the "appetizing" qualities of Apertif were due to some cigar leaf added, maybe there is a small quantity, I could't swear.

The smoking experience is heavenly. I would name dozens of nice conjugations to this superb mixture, whose colour the time has melted into a deep brown and black colours. The smoke is extremely balanced, spiced, biscuity, naturally sweet. No way to have the bowl hot, indeed!

Lucky I am that enough is remaining, I keep me enjoyed as one does with vintage liquors.

A heaven of stars to Aperitif.

Tin: Dull brown to black, 50:50, slight mold, no bright blonde at all, though still a familiar Dunhill complexion and aroma. This is a Murray tin, pre-2004, based on the shape of the bottom of the tin, being almost flat. Orlik uses a bubbled edge around the bottom perimeter, allowing the tins to be stacked more readily. Orlik took over production in 2004. Dunhill migrated completed out of tobacco merchanting a few years ago. The Dunhill exit started in 1995 when Murray became the licensed blender for the Dunhill name brand.

Lighting: Burns all the way to the bottom with one match.

Taste & Aroma: Smooth, cool, dry, biteless, not as flavorful as some corresponding GL Pease blends. Supposedly the purpose of the Cavendish is to buffer and smooth out any harshness or rough edges of the other components. It must, because the Latakia is the main, smoky element, though moderate in effect, or is it the Turkish; it's too bland to discern. Apertif is not sweet. I just finished a tin of McClelland's Christmas Cheer 2001. Now that's a sweet tobacco.

Nicotine: medium to moderately strong, and definite.

Room Note: moderate English, not long-lasting.

Overall: A standard moderate English, with Latakia, or is it Turkish, the feature? 3.5 stars for this Murray vintage.

What a bloody elegant piece of junk!

Tin: Beautiful.

Marketing: Great.

Brand: Famous, classical, overrated nowadays.

Tin aroma: Fraudulent promise that this is good weed.

Real contents: Nasty ribbons from the vegetable kingdom.

Flavour: Harsh, boring, bitter, harsh, boring, bitter (at least it is consistent as you can see)

Note: this review applies only to the Orlik version. The Murray one must have been better, not to say the original Dunhill´s. What would have become of old Alfred´s liver nowadays?

THe mildest of the true English Dunhill tobaccos (EMP is in my mind not an English tobacco). This cool smoking tobacco has all the typical attributes of an Dunhill English with the added twist of Cavendish. This provides the unusually cool mild flavors that make this an alternative to most full bodied English tobaccos. The Cavendish does not water down the flavor but adds its own soft silky earthiness that balances an already well balanced tobacco. THe latakia is woody but not salty, and has the tin note of smoke. The orientals are very mild and slightly spicy but not as pronounced as I would like. Other mentionables are the exceptionally sweet VA's that could use a bit more aging to add consistently, and the room note which for the mildness of the tobacco seems to be a bit more forward than I expected. Very good tobacco I plan on buying more to add to my ever growing collection.