Peterson Early Morning Pipe

This tobacco was good so good, that it reminded me of a time long ago....

Place, Vietnam. The Year is 1965. The Month, June. Day: The 7th; AKA Day 282 in 'Nam for me. June was the rainy season for 'Nam. I had been given some leave time from my base in Saigon and so I went to explore the City, like usual, my buddies didnt get leave, but I hoped to find some more GI's in some of the local bars. It was unseasonably dry that day. No rain. It was nice for once to not deal with dagum water in the shoes. I felt good, like it was going to be a swell day; I had every reason to think so. A week before, I had killed 10 Charlie in one night. I was satisfied. And now I had leave, who could ask for anything more?

I stopped in at a bar in the East Side of Saigon called Do Phing Pan Ngo, where all the action was. The bar was bustling with GI's. Different guys trying to sweep some exotic doll off of her feet and into the bed. I had similar plans. I walked to the bar and ordered myself a tall one, ready to relax and find a target. Then it happened. She walked in lookin like something out of a dream. So gorgeous, she was with her sexy Vietnamese hips and supple behind. I knew what had to be done. I ordered another beer, and started over to her. Just before I did, some officer cut in front of me. Dam. He had beat me to the punch. I was just a lowly grunt. There was nothing that I could do. The babe started shooting me looks as the Officer was talkin her up. I knew this would be my only chance to get laid until i was sent back into the jungles to fight charlie. Charlie would always be there. This doll wouldnt. I made my move. As I did it, I felt my balls grow 3 times larger. A grunt was about to steal a woman from Officer. I approached her; didnt say a word and just took her hand and left with her, leaving the officer to shove it. I led her off to a small hotel room where we made love with out even speaking. We made love many times before the morning of the next day came, i wish I could remember the number, but I lost track after 30. I would have set a company record.

As she is there sleeping I got up to watch the sun rise over beautiful Saigon, with a gentle mist sweeping the rooftops that morning and I smoked a fat stogie in honor of my recent accomplishments. It was the most incredible feeling in the world, despite my man tool nearly falling off. The beautiful woman was still asleep after having the night of her life. I dressed, and left the room, but not before leaving her my picture so that the kid would one day know who his or her father was. And with that I left, returning to base and eventually leaving 'Nam, never to return.

Early Morning Pipe felt like that special morning in Saigon.

EMP is a unique smoking experience as it contains all of the elements of what should be a strong blend, yet Murray's was able to pull back on the throttle just enough to give the smoker an "English" experience without being obtrusive.

EMP is mellow, mild, stays lit well, and delivers a sweet and unique taste seldom found (if ever), in any other blend of this type.

I'm new to pipe smoking, and have smoked cigars in the past and always enjoyed the more fuller tasting ones. I haven't a clue as to why people that are new to pipe smoking are always told to start with an aromatic. I've tried and smoked at least a 1/2 a dozen aromatics and always found them lacking something. Sure, the g/f always mentions how great they smell, but when I'm smoking them I can't smell a thing.

And then there was EMP....I bought an ounce of EMP to try to "venture" out in the "English" blend world, and I have to say, it was a good thing I was sitting down when I had my first light of this magic. Not because it's strong, but I was so surprised at how great it tasted. Nothing like the aromatics I've ever had. The smoke was tasty, and a more complex than anything else I've smoked in the past. The taste and smell of the latakia, and the orientals really played their parts well. I sat there for a good hour enjoying the hell out of my first "real" bowl of tobacco. The next day I ordered a full pound, and threw out most of the aromatics I had.

They say you never forget your first love, and I think this will have to be mine.(in regards to tobacco that is) There's always have a place for EMP in my cellar.

If you're looking to move beyond aromatics to dabble in the realm of the English blend, what better way than to purchase a tin of Early Morning Pipe from one of England's most renowned tobacconist names? Dunhill is as synonymous with tobacco as Nike is with athletic footwear. It's the perfect place to start when seeking an introduction to English blends.

Early Morning Pipe is great on its own, but I found it wanting a little help from its big, grizzled brother, Nightcap. Adding some Nightcap to Early Morning Pipe is like putting a leather jacket and red bandana on Basil Rathbone...

About a month ago I found myself in a curious predicament: I had half a tin of Dunhill Nightcap and about three-quarters of a tin of Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. The Nightcap was a tad too strong, the EMP was a tad too soft. So what did I do? I mixed them together in a large mason jar with the intent to establish a nice medium-bodied Dunhill English. And the result has been absolutely wonderful! Matter of fact, it's the blend I smoke most often.

I've ingeniously dubbed it: "Early Morning Nightcap."

So if you, like me, find Early Morning Pipe to be ohhhh soooo delicious but maybe a bit too soft, mix a little Nightcap in there with it, christen the blend "Early Morning Nightcap," and there you have it, a beautiful Dunhill medium-bodied English blend that smells and tastes as good as you could imagine.

One of my favorite English blends. Complex, shifting flavors. Very well-integrated Oriental tobaccos with a restrained Latakia element. This is my favorite Dunhill, and Dunhill's only Latakia blend that I like. It was one of my first tobaccos, and has stood the test of time magnificently.

Many say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Since I am reviewing this while smoking what little EMP I have left, I guess it could taint my review. I have always loved the Dunhill blends, especially EMP. It leads with wonderful Orientals with the Virginia's and Latakia playing great supporting roles. EMP has a subtle sweetness with a "leathery, toasty" taste. The topping is, I am nearly sure, a fine mist of scotch applied so lightly that the spirits flavor normally found in some blends can easily be mistaken for something else in this blend. I find Red Rapparee as my new "go to" in this category. EMP will sadly be missed. Like many folks, I have sent a note of protest to BAT. Hopefully they will sell the blend to another manufacturer.

UPDATE 2/10/11. I enjoy the Orlik EMP very much. It is my desert island smoke. I disagree with those that say this is half strength and half taste of the Murray's. I think that opinion is true of the Orlik 965 but not of EMP. I have smoked EMP every day of my pipe smoking life and tasted an entire sleeve of Murray's side by side with Orlik and Orlik might be just very slightly lighter, but its so close that I think many would have a very hard time in a blind taste taste. Don't be swayed by old memories. Still highly recommended!

The textbook light English blend. The standard. If a blender can beat it, they've done something extraordinary.

EMP is perfect. Perfect moisture and cut, so it lights and burns easily. Perfect use of a little Latakia to round out the flavor and cut the edge off of the Orientals. Perfect use of tangy, mouthwatering Orientals that never smoke bitter or acrid. Perfect blend of bright and red Virginia, lending that malty sweet red VA flavor to the back half of the bowl.

I understand the hit-and-miss reviews, lots of folks have palates that aren't tuned to mild blends. I sometimes smoke a full Balkan for breakfast, I could see how EMP would not scratch the itch if that was what you were looking for. However, it makes no sense to sell this blend short. There are lots of sins a blender can cover up with a Lat bomb or by using overpowering flavors. With EMP there is nowhere to hide any mistakes - the blend is in such careful balance that flaws would be overwhelming, but there are none.

This one I judge reviewers by. It's like Casablanca, some film student can say that they didn't like it and I won't grumble, but if they've got to be contrarian and say that it's shit I don't need to hear their opinion any more.

Dunhill Nightcap is one of my favorite tobaccos, so I've been anticipating this blend for a few weeks now. Tin notes, leather, raisin, and pear brandy(?) - some kind of fruit sweetness with an alcohol/phenol bite at the end. Faint smokiness, and big bready/yeasty strawlike compounds.

Initial char, hey... where did the brandy go? I'm getting rye bread with lots of caraway seeds, roasted marshmallow, and as I work my way through to midbowl, a strange nasal curry spice, like fenugreek or brown mustard with lemon. It's really good. I'm also getting a little burley burp, but that's probably more because I went straight to a bowl of this instead of coffee and breakfast. There is a slight spice, and a slight smoky flavor, but I'm still getting mostly a very subdued English flavor from this tobacco. Room is roasted marshmallow and fruit brandy.

At the bottom of the bowl, the phenolic sweet flavor got a bit more intense, that is to say, I could actually taste it. Everything started to come together wrapped up in a neat little bow, but then I started tasting burned maple and realized I had sadly hit the bottom of my new cob.

All in all, the tin description of "delicately flavoured" is spot on. I'm surprised how prevalent the "rye bread" notes were, that's pretty much exactly what I thought of Nightcap, however Early Morning Pipe was much more subdued and mellow, and the topping (if there even is any) was so mild that I really didn't even taste it until the last 3rd of the bowl. I was half expecting to hear Edvard Grieg's Morgenstimmung as I puffed this morning, but nope, just a good tobacco and landscapers trimming my hedges at 7:15am.

Summary: a sweet English blend with less of a Latakia blend and more presence of Orientals, with the Virginias leading.

Dunhill tobaccos are known for their elegance and simplicity, and this blend benefits by showcasing its powerful sweet and rich Virginias but using slightly less Latakia than a full English with a higher proportion of Orientals, giving it a sweet-sour taste with the smoky Latakia backing that up. With the characteristic thin cut and perfect moisture balance for which Dunhill blends are known, "Early Morning Pipe" lights magnificently and burns evenly. As the bowl goes on, the Latakia flavors become more pronounced but also less acidic, bringing out more of the smoky taste than a tangy one. The Virginias caramelize and meld, becoming less sugary and more like honey bread with lemon, upon which the Orientals continue to build, making the mixture more tangy and addictive over time. Many combinations of these flavors appear in ephemeral form, barely grasped before they are gone and not forgotten but reduced to vague impression like waking after a dream.