Dunhill London Mixture

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.

Another standard in the Dunhill line, London Mixture is a fine, palatable blend that provides more dimension than 965, while it is less spicy than my much-favored Aperitif. The tin aroma is wet grass. Initially, at least, it?s not as inviting as Elizabethan nor as nutty as 965. If you?re not used to English blends, this can offend on the first try. Far from the nose, the aroma is almost medicinal, like Listerine.

This is the usual ribbon cut, well pressed, soaked in its juices packing of Dunhill. The strands pull nicely from the tin and pack easily into the bowl. The speckled blacks, browns and yellows are witness to the manufacturer?s usual attention to detail. Though not as bright as Aperitif or Elizabethan, all of Dunhill?s mixtures are appealing to the eye.

I enjoy this more than Nightcap, at least when newly opened and moist. Nightcap requires at least a week to dry before getting the slightest enjoyment from it. London is soft, mellow and lightly flavored. It never sears the tongue. It?s easy to smoke, and has a subtle aroma of pepper and wood, accented by piquant notes of Oriental and Latakia humming softly in the background. It?s not as full of tar and nicotine as some of their other blends. There?s no Perique to make me whoozy.

This tobacco behaves well over all, and is more of a go to blend than the overrated 965 or the Nightcap. I don?t believe I would make this my desert island smoke, but perhaps like so many other things, the recipe has changed over the years. Also, the unpleasant thought of troops of east Indian soldiers forced to march in the Queen?s military doesn?t exactly come to mind when smoking LM. Then again, I guess some reviewers find it necessary to regale us with literary and historical trivia to make something as simple and enjoyable as pipe smoking more than it is, in addition to puffing up their own already over-inflated egos. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Three and a half of five stars

I preface this review with the observation that of the nine heavy hitters who have reviewed this blend--lustra, Beer, Noorrmm, pipestud, Eulenburg, Tantric, Briarabbit, RCUSElder, and Pounder 5000--six have rated it four stars and two have given it three stars. That's quite an endorsement.

Humbly, therefore, I must chime in with only three stars. London Mixture to me is a quintessential Dunhill blend--quality, quality, quality in every category from blend, to smoking characteristics, to flavor. But, also like all of the Dunhill blends I have tried, it simply is not quite so multifaceted and interesting to me as some of the Pease and Esoterica English blends.

There's no accounting for taste, I guess . . .

As the lyric goes in a song by The Who, "there's nothing more needs to be said". Another fine English blend worthy of being added to most pipers collections. Some may not care for the Turkish component, but I feel that, like others have said, all the players in this blend get along quite well together. Just good harmony, yes, harmony. Works for me.

Revised: 07-22-04 This is the English standard by which to judge all others IMO. I recently acquired a tin from the early 1980's and let me tell you, it is so good! Even when a new tin is purchased, it is good, but the ageing mellows it out in both spiciness and nicotine content. The only drawback that I have with this blend is the nicotine is still a little too high for me, even when aged. I have learned to eat a full meal and then sip this blend and let the pipe go out and relight several times in order to fully enjoy without the "nic kick". So, buy a bunch of tins, date them, store in the cellar, and return to this blend from time to time and enjoy.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 points, a blend ole' Chatles Spurgeon would have enjoyed...

Though I once swore that such a thing was impossible, I am presently developing a fondness for blends that include latakia. G. L. Pease's Mephisto, por ejemplo, or Frog Morton on the Bayou.

London Mixture is infinitely superior to the base and unrefined My Mixture 965, the sledgehammer subtlety of which leaves my thus-abused taste buds reeling.

The latakia in this blend is prominent at the beginning of the bowl. However, as the bowl progresses, the latakia drifts into the background. The resulting flavour is an odd meld of tastes of different leaf.

Rather enjoyable, this tobacco, but in an altogether odd sort of way. I'll keep some on hand.

An excellent smoking mixture that exemplifies to my mind what is meant by the catch-all "English blend." London Mixture is a perfectly balanced blend, with lovely and mellow Virginias while the Turkish and latakia are in perfect proportion to make this tobacco interesting without being overbearing in any one aspect. I can see how many English lovers could make this an all-day smoke as it is a well-behaved weed overall and will not tire the palate. While my preference is for 965, this smoked well enough to satisfy me time and again, and I'm sure a tin with some age would be amazing. I found the ribbon cut to be a bit stringy, so packing required a bit more attention than I am used to. Also, I prefer slightly drier weed than what comes in many a tin, and some airing out improved the smoking of this blend for me. I recommend it without hesitation.

A nice light tobacco for mid day . I like to smoke this tobacco when I am on the go , though care needs to be taken not to smoke it too hot with the moderate Virginia content that it has.