Dunhill Durbar

This is indeed one of Alfred's best lighter English blends with layers of flavor that can't be beat. It is very smooth and has a complexity of flavors I enjoy. I am not much of a heavy latakia fan, and was rewarded nicely by the delicate use of that leaf in this tobacco while allowing the steep and ripe Virginias and the multitude of exotic Orientals to take front and center.

If you want an evening of luxury, please put this in your pipe.

God I miss Durbar! I didn't realize how good my pipesmoking life was when this was available and in my ignorance I took it for granted. A ten minute drive from home and it was there for the taking. I bought it one tin at a time not understanding that the world was changing and it would not always be around. My memory is it was RICH, RICH, RICH in flavor! To me more so than Nightcap or 965. To me those two did not keep their flavor to the bottom of the bowl, but Durbar did. They would start out with a spicy, salty bang then they would quickly fade, but Durbar didn't. It along with The Aperritif (sp?) were the only dunhill mixtures I really loved. This all took place in the late 90's early 2000's. Had I known then like I know now, I would have taken out a second mortgage and bought a lifetime supply. Ooh the regrets!!!!!!

Dunhill's Durbar is aptly named after the durbars of old, the solemn assemblies of British authorities and native nobility held in British India and marked with unimaginable Oriental exuberance and grandeur (think of the Imperial Durbar of 1911, which George V, the King of Great Britain and the Emperor of India, was attending in person). If that was the picture Dunhill wanted to convey in this choice of the name, they managed to do so just perfectly.

Durbar is a rare bouquet of fragrant, mysterious, exquisite Orientals. It packs a lot of incense and fragrant exotic wood aromas. Even the Latakia itself, sparsely measured, behaves here more like a flavoursome Oriental (I just imagine what a delight would this have been if Latakia in Durbar was of the Syrian variety!). I know no better Orientals than in Durbar. Other Dunhill's popular mild Balkans (like London Mixture f. ex.) are IMHO way behind Durbar with their simpler and harsher Orientals.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of light Englishes and Balkans as I find most of them a bit too sour and harsh. But this one is a masterpiece.

Truly, a Grand Smoke. Highly Recommended.

Appearance: A slighly broad ribbon cut, about equal parts medium and dark colors. Ribbons are quite uniform, typical Dunhill attention to detail

Aroma: Good Virginia base with lots of Latakia and Turkish evident. Promises to be rich and smooth.

Packing: Packs easily in most pipes, group 3 and up.

Lighting: Typical lighting procedure, not too quick or too slow.

Initial flavor: All the components kick in right away. Its almost overwhelming in intensity. Calms down by the time you?ve gotten a good burn going, but it is RICH in flavor.

Mid-bowl: A very complex blend with good layering of the components. My tongue thought it had died and gone to heaven. No heat and no gurgle present.

Finish: Well behaved right to the end, leaves a gray ash and nothing else.

Summary: A wonderfully rich and complex mixture, perfect for relaxing moments. Not at all suited for an all day smoke, as it will grab your attention from any task you try to perform. Not that you need to be passive, just able to concentrate on the smoke

Dunhill's Grand Oriental Mix, one of the great classic English blends.

I have always preferred it to My Mixture 965, probably because there is no cavendish leaf in Durbar. (I find the creamy ghost of cavendish filler somewhat disconcerting, in an English blend. Danish blenders like to throw some cavendish frou-frou into an English blend, and call it a Scottish blend. I say, stick to pastry and butter cookies.)

There is quite a bit of Latakia here, and I find the taste of this mélange unquestionably full?an evening smoke for me. Not so enormous in taste as Nightcap, this belongs to the same school, carefully "married" to a grand full finish, not bloated, like the old Balkan Sobranie, but far, far from macrobiotic.

A fine gift for the true Latakia lover.

I guess this review is just to relate what a good tobacco this was, for one cannot find this again. The tobacco I smoked was from 2000. I have had it sealed and resting in a mason jar since that time. The only way I can describe this old friend is, slightly burned toast with lots of real butter spread on it. Durbar really does remind me of that. It's smokey and buttery,not sweet at all but slightly savory. A real tobacco of yore.

This was my favorite pipe tobacco at one time. Load up a bowl and sit down in a chair and before I knew it it felt like I was melting into the chair and in the zone. You all know exactly what I'm talking about I hope. When you find your perfect pipe tobacco. Everyting about this stuff was amazing.

This is for the newest version.

I love this blend. The components are well married giving, very nearly, just an "English" flavor, and a very good one at that. I don't find it to be terribly complex, just smoky, buttery, sour & sweet. I do find it to be truly delicious.

It's not a perfect blend. Other than the sweetness, there's not a lot of flavor from the Virginias. Also, due to the cut, it burns quickly leaving me wishing it would last longer. Fixing the latter problem is easy, it's called "re-loading". I'm not concerned with the first. Even with the small contribution from the Virginias this tastes so good it reaches 4 star status for me.

Medium in body. Medium to full in flavor. Burns a little too well, but never hot.

EDIT: Forgot to mention just how smooth this is. Smooth as glass.

I would have to say that this is the Rolls Royce of the Dunhill line, extremely refined and very luxurious. I love the pungent herbal smell of the Latakia and enjoy sniffing it from the bowl. If you appreciate rich complex flavours, such as those provided from a fine gourmet medium roast coffee blend, an islay scotch or even a smelly yet delicious cheese (Gorgonzola or my favorite, Oka!) then you will most likely enjoy this mixture. As the ingredients indicate, this is mainly a dark leaf tobacco with a fine ribbon cut. The burning rate is quite slow and regular, which means that you get almost an hour's worth of smoking pleasure with a medium sized bowl, not bad! The taste is robust, possessing a round nuttiness accentuated with hints of incense like spice. Unfortunately the room note may be unpleasant to non-smokers and can be compared to the smell of burning leaves. This in my opinion is an ideal evening smoke, perfect for those quiet solitary moments:)