Dunhill London Mixture

I keep good souvenirs about London Blend. Deliciously, very high quality tobacco, well-balanced and satisfying moment of smoking.

The tobacco is just great, a bit mild, like EMP, but it does the job for sure when you want a satisfying tobacco that tastes like tobacco. Very comparable to Solani's 779 Luxury English, but in less sweet in taste.

Recommended!

A mid range English. Not too strong, Not too weak, Very typical of 'Standard' English style, If you love an English Blend, EMP isnt strong enough for you and Nightcap too strong- This may be your cup of tea.

I have smoked this as my regular English for awhile. Very good middle of the road Latakia blend. However, I'm starting to get tired of latakia, so, when I finish my last two tins I think I'm going to switch to stan mix mild. Anyway, if you want a good, medium strength English blend, you can't go wrong with LM.

Dunhills London Mix is a nice quality English that reminds me of a smokey version of EMP.

Dunhills pretty consistantly get 3 stars from me, but this might be more like a three and a half, whereas 965 is more of a 2 and 3/4... I think maybe if I didn't know of other English blends I liked better that are similar (namely Peretti's British Blend) this would probably get a 4.

Out of 965 and Early Morning I like this the best. There's no bite at all, but the flavor is strong enough to be noticed.

I really want to get a tin of Nightcap for myself, however, as that one really stood out, the few bowls I had. Until whatever that may bring, this is my favorite Dunhill. I don't know how much of a difference this made, but I did have this sitting around in the unopened tin for a couple months.

The tin is Latakia at the front, the body is A-typical of a standard english. This is the basic english personified. I really got bored with it but recommend as an all day english smoke. Dare I say this a "blue collar' smoke - if dunhill could be called that. Maybe a full Birmingham factory worker smoke. I passed on this as too basic for me, but all in all a very good quality.

Another winner from Dunhill. I enjoy tobaccos with a heavy Latakia content and a bold taste (GL Pease's "Odyssey" and C&D "Star of the East" for example). LM is a great companion that can be smoked throughout the day when I want something a little quieter. The nicotine content is pleasant and the interplay of the tangy Virginia tobaccos along with the Turkish and Latakia insure that this blend never becomes boring. If you enjoy Dunhill's "My Mixture 965" or Lane's "Crown Achievement," you'll enjoy this one. The perfect English/Balkan.

01/31/05 I am updating my review of this wonderful tobacco owing to the fact that I have had the opportunity to age a few tins. While the tobacco is a great choice at any time, aging brings forth a deeper sweetness and greater prominence of the interplay between the Turkish and Latakia elements. The effect overall is a richer, earthier flavor with what I can only describe as a more sophisticated pungency. Turkish/Oriental tobaccos are an acquired taste, due to the astringency they can add to a blend. Once the taste is acquired, "London Mixture" fits it admirably. Smoking this blend slowly brings great rewards.

If you're a seasoned English smoker and haven't tried this blend, you'll do yourself a great favor by trying this one. If you've never had this blend with at least a year of age on it, buy some to put away.

10/05/05 I'm updating once again because I have now received my first tin of Orlik-blended London Mixture. It has the ridge around the bottom and the "made in EU" sticker.

What will these new people have done to my darling? I opened the tin with some trepidation. At the same time, I opened a tin of Murray-blended LM that I got two months ago. (I wanted the Murray-blended stuff to be as fresh as possible to ensure a side-by-side review.)

The tin smell of LM is one of my favorite aromas in the world, not just a favorite tobacco smell. The Murray tin smells delicious and familiar. The Orlik tin smells...the SAME! As per usual, my mouth begins to water. (No other tobac has this affect on me.)

The pasteboard round covering the tobacco doesn't have a finger notch cut out like the Murrays blend does.

The Orlik tin's contents appears to contain more lighter-colored leaf than the Murrays tin. The mosture content appears to be the same in both tins.

I load my LM-dedicated Aldo Velani Oom-paul with the standard child/woman/man packing. And the flame hits the weed.

The first taste is a little lighter than I expect, and I tamp and re-light. The gentle introduction continues.

First third: As I suspected, the lighter-colored leaf in the Orlik tin shows itself in the smoking to be Turkish rather than Virginia, astringent and pungent while remaining fairly quiet. (This is one of the things that I find so pleasant about this blend.) The Latakia weaves its way through the smoke, complementing the Turkish and never overtaking it. The Virgina stays in the background, hitting a tangy high note here and there.

Second third: The Virginia becomes more prominent at the half-way mark, and the Latakia receds to provide a leathery undertone. The Turkish leaf remains the star of the show, now providing a subtle sweetness that plays well with the more tangy sweetness of the Virginia. The overall effect continues to be quiet and refined.

Final third: The final third brings the same interplay of the three players that mid-bowl brought, with the sweetness becoming more pronounced and the tanginess attenuating. The Latakia remains in the background, providing an even, smoky foundation.

All in all, I think that Orlik has done a splendid job of maintaining the character of this time-honored blend. It may still be called the standard of English tobaccos. Long-time smokeres of this blend will not be disappointed. As ever, then, highly reccommended.

Notes: The blend has changed a lot over the years, becoming milder, less well integrated, less refined; however, the essential components remain, so do not despair. I have smoked several tins of this blend, of varying vintage, most from the 1980's. Newer tins still have the promise of aging well, in my opinion. It seems most at home in a large Billiard or the briar family.

Appearance: The lion's share is black leaf, with the remainder being dark to lighter brown leaf comprising a medium cut ribbon, fully rubbed out.

Aroma: Licorice Drop, Fig, Cow Manure, Allspice, Nutmeg, Corriander, Smoke, Charcoal, Dark chocolate, Oil, Vinegar-vanilla emulsion.

Taste: The sweet-sour taste of perique is like a ghost in the background of flavor. Very soft, smooth, silky, oily, mellow. The mouth-feel is redolent of the famed Sobranie blends, even if the flavor profile is not. Smoke, vinegar, char-cooked pork chops, rosemary, damp earth, allspice, clove, dried fig. Rich and complex, voluptuous on the palate. Dunhill's strength is the intergration of complex flavors, rather that the dominance of flavor, and this is no exception to this rule.

Comparisons: More oriental leaf than Duhnill's Standard Mixture Medium. Less perique than Dunhill's Nightcap, Similar to Dunhill's My Mixture No. 965 sans the cavendished leaf.

Bottom Line: For a rich, full English blend -- the very essence of refined dignity -- with more oriental complexity than latakia-perique overdrive, this blend will be hard to best.

Nice....a little stronger than EMP...still some tongue bite. A fine English, though I must sound like a broken record, NightCap offers the strength, smoothness, and complexity that my palate longs for.