Peterson My Mixture 965

50g tin EU made. A rather full and heavy 'English' blend, which is going to be a bit much in terms of weight and fullness in the mouth for those used to lighter blends such as Squadron Leader. It is, to my taste, just verging on too full and heavy to be anything other than an occasional evening smoke; this is not the merry chimes of the tubular bells, but the ponderous, dull and solid "bong...bong" of Big Ben. Latakia mildly detectable in this heavyweight. No orientals noticed. May be a good smoke for the yachtsman (yachtsperson?) who can't taste anything lighter in the face-flattening winds. Good quality, clearly, and not a dull smoke (since the 'dark brown' taste has interest and nuttiness) but a bit on the heavy side for all day.

whoa , whoa , whoa .... I just simply erased my oroginal review based on the first bowl I was smoking. So I'll call this an Update . I've smoked a couple bowls of this and a couple of EMP tonight. I'm pretty sure this doesn't taste at all like natural tobacco. There is some strange flavors and it's ghosting two of my briars in a bad way. Whatever casing is used I can assure you it's the same in both 965 and EMP. Nightcap doesn't have this flavor and can't be compared to this. I am not sure I can get over this flavor. Looking through the reviews on person tastes BO ..... that is along the lines of what I'm tasting. Another said burning rubber/ plastic maybe.... that may be what I'm tasting. This aroma lingers and my mustache smells like I've been intimate with a very sweaty Michelin man !!! Not sure if I can get used to this strange flavor. Super unnatural and very pugnant. No way this or EMP is classic English. If you are not tasting the casing here you haven't ever had natural un cased pipe tobacco. I don't taste Virginia, orientals, cavendish, or Latakia. Is this even tobacco??? Shiver, quiver, wash my mouth out, nooo way this is natural. I'll smoke anything non aromatic basically but I would be careful with this. I'm actually feeling bad for my wife's cat. When I sparked the second bowl the cat looked right at me, meowed , and immediateley ran head first into the door rendering itself unconscious, clearly suicidal. Be careful out there....

Update. Okay, okay. Now that we discussed the bad , I am finding this to be a very full flavored satisfaction smoke. Don't ask me why I find myself craving this stuff, because at the same time it erks me. I think I'll continue smoking this chameleon blend. Sometimes it's a 1 star sometimes it's a 4 star. What a ghost it will leave ! I can't taste any natural tobacco flavors, unless maybe it's all overpowered by that "brown cavendish "... or some musty topping.... oh and Don't put this in your favorite pot unless you really love to smoke 965 and your sure of that.

There must be something about Dunhill tobacco that doesn't sit well with me. That being said, it doesn't deter me from trying them either. I got a sample of MM965 and I can sit and smell the bag just because I like the aroma. It's leathery, smoky, and sweet.

My issue with Dunhill tobacco is every time I light up, I get cotton mouth/throat and a headache.

MM965 is no different but it doesn't stop me from trying. On the initial light and first part of the bowl, I do enjoy the sweet smoky taste. But once I get any further, it becomes too harsh to me. This is a tobacco that won't leave you with many friends afterwards unless they like the latakia leather smell.

Personally, once I finish this sample, I don't see myself ordering any more.

I tried a very small sample of this blend about a year ago, and remember not really caring for it, but thinking it might be worth another shot. So I eventually picked up a tin, now 5 months old.

Ribbon cut, mixed colors, average moisture. Well behaved in the pipe, requiring an average number of relights. Although this blend has a reputation for being on the strong side, I'd personally call it a solid medium, but no stronger than that.

Flavorwise, latakia is up front. This is not what I would call a lat bomb, but there's enough there that your wife won't be happy with you smoking this in the den, and enough that the lat-averse should stay away. Tangy orientals next. The orientals really seem to jump out at me. No sweetness to speak of. Earthy, smoky, leathery, tangy. It sounds good on paper....but it seems lacking to me. Maybe if the latakia was more in-your-face, or maybe if the orientals weren't so front-and-center, or maybe if there were some sweetness in the mix....but then, I suppose, it would be Nightcap and not MM965. To me, the flavor seems simultaneously too busy, too strong in the wrong places, too wimpy where it should be bolder, and lacking something that I can't quite put a finger on. My thoughts smoking this sample are that maybe age would smooth things out a bit, but buying more to cellar just doesn't seem like a worthwhile gamble to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad at all, I won't have any trouble finishing the tin...it's just not my cup of tea, and I don't anticipate buying more.

A friend sent me a 20 year old aged sample of MM965 to compare. Apparently, Dunhill branded pipe tobaccos have been produced at a couple of different factories over the years. I searched, but couldn't find much definitive information on who produced what, when and where, other than some old timers saying the new stuff is garbage.

Anyway - here's my thoughts on the aged sample. The appearance, overall strength, and behavior in the pipe seems virtually identical to me, other than a slight darkening of the color (attributable to age). The flavor is rounder, fuller. The orientals are much smoother, and don't scream at me in this sample like they did in the new sample. Overall, it's well melded and just plain better. I don't claim to have the most discerning of palates, but I believe there's virtually no difference in the recipe, and the improvements that I taste are a result of age. So....yeah, it's quite a bit better. But it's still not the kind of thing I reach for often.

I just cannot seem to get my head around this tobacco. Purchased it on the back of so many rave reviews and my own recent predilection for Latakia heavy English blends. Upon opening of the tin there is a definite aroma of woody, smoky Latakia, but it is very subtle and not much else. Very subdued compared to some other English blends. Upon lighting that rich, leathery Latakia taste immediately hits the taste buds and you give that contented sigh, anticipating a long, satisfying ponder playing with a symphony of flavours about to unlock itself out of the bowl. But...after a few satisfying sips or an interruption or whatever, the bowl goes out...you relight...and...nothing. Literally nothing except a slight ashy taste. Where'd all the flavour go? I thought maybe a did something wrong and tried in several pipes, tried dryer, tried more moist....but nope. Always a decent start ending in a disappointed digging for flavour at the end. Maybe just a bad tin...will only know if I can lay my hands on some again. But for now, only 2 stars.

Let me get this out right here in the open. I’m 50, drink smoky peaty Islay malts and drink my coffee black. I like gin martinis and bold heavy cigars. However, I don’t think I’m grown up enough for this 965.

It’s bold, it’s smoky, it’s got a lot of flavor going on. It’s like rolling up a steak, sprinkling it with peat and setting it on fire. If you’re into that (and from what I can tell a lot of people are) you’ll probably love this leaf. Me, I’ll take a sweet Virginia or VaPer over this and wait for my testicles to drop before I try this again.

I've smoked this in several pipes at different times of the day. I like the cut. It's very uniform, packs and lights easily, and burns well, albeit quite HOT...and I'm a slow smoker. What's missing for me here is the Latakia. I get the Virginia out front and I don't like that so much in my English blends. The last third of the bowl just tastes like a strong cigarette. I usually dump it at this point. The Perique is there but it also sits in the background along with the Latakia. That Dunhill nutty flavour is present. This is one that just doesn't cut it for my rotation. If you like Virginia dominated English blends, go for it. I wonder if the Dunhill name doesn't help inflate its rating.

I have never had previous version of this legendary blend, but I do smoke more than 1 tin of Orlik MM965. All I can say is this: there are numerous remakes or reminiscence of this, and I am sure some of them taste better than this.

Short thin ribbon-cut and fragrant out of the tin that I couldn't open with my quarter. Certainly this is a high quality blend. I began at the 1/2 bowl with my hiccups (nicotine alert). I will weaken this wonderful blend with some mild black cavendish. For me the N brings this fine blend to 1 star.