Peterson My Mixture 965

Pretty straight forward English. Fairly complex with a nice bit of spice as the bowl burns down. Similar to Margate and Sutliff Eng #1 with more sweetness and less mustiness. The nic hit can sneak up on you. Nose note is in and out of sweet spice and toasted wood. Not amazing, but damn sure not bad. ☆☆☆12

[English version below]

La lata recién abierta tiene un fuerte aroma a latakia, donde casi no aprecio el resto de tabacos, una vez en bote, pasados unos días, soy capaz de apreciar un aroma más dulce, notas especiadas y notas a té negro, como leí en una revisión aquí.

Al comienzo de la fumada puedes sentir la latakia con esas notas ahumadas, pero no es abrumadora, es suave, dulce y con tonos especiados de los orientales, que están presentes, especialmente para mi en el retrogusto, la sensación en boca es más dulzona.

De mitad para abajo de la cazoleta, se acentúan los sabores, los tostados como en todo tabaco, el sabor a cuero, ahumado, el dulce no se pierde en toda la fumada, es un tabaco que hace salivar. Sí lo fumas a baja temperatura, puedes incluso percibir el sabor a nuez, floral y especiado, es como estar comiendo frutos secos alrededor de uns hoguera en mitad de un bosque!. simplemente delicioso.

En resumen, muy rico tabaco, mucho cuerpo, fuerza media, que te deja saciado. Ideal para personas que se inician en mixturas inglesas. De mis favoritos.

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The recently opened can has a strong aroma of latakia, where I hardly appreciate the rest of the tobaccos, once in the jar, after a few days, I am able to appreciate a sweeter aroma, spicy notes and notes of black tea, as I read in a review here.

At the beginning of the smoke you can feel the latakia with those smoky notes, but it is not overwhelming, it is soft, sweet and with spicy tones from the orientals, which are present, especially for me in the aftertaste, the sensation in the mouth is pleasently sweet.

From the middle of the bowl to the bottom, the flavors are accentuated, the toasted ones as in all tobacco, the leathery, smoky flavor, the sweetness is not lost throughout the smoke, it is a tobacco that makes you salivate.

If you smoke it at a low temperature, you can even perceive the nutty, floral and spicy flavor, it's like eating nuts around a campfire in the middle of a forest! just delicious.

In summary, very rich tobacco, full-bodied, medium strength, which leaves you satisfied. Ideal for people who are new to English mixtures. One of my favorites.

Well blended and consistent, both in burning and in taste. The latakia is always noticeable but never too dominant. The cavendish brings some lighteness to the blend, and the orientals are modest.

To me, Petersons MM 965 and Standard Mixture are basically the same blend but with some minor differences.

Standard Mixture is more floral from the Orientals while 965 comes across as a wee bit stronger - with slightly more Latakia and some sweetness from the Cavendish.

Although 965 has a tad more Latakia than Standard Mixture, both are pretty mild blends and with both blends the Latakia plays second fiddle to the Virginias and Orientals. 965 can be a bit sharper in the mouth than Standard Mixture but the mouth finish is also sweeter which is a nice touch.

(965 does remotely resemble Peterson's Old Dublin but in a "Latakia lite" way.)

965 or Standard Mixture? Its a toss up, really. Both blends lack the intensity of additional Latakia that I prefer but both blends also satisfy an itch when I'm in the rare mood for less Latakia.

I do wish STG would/could bring back London Mixture. That would provide a little better contrast to the current versions of MM 965 and Standard Mixture because as it stands, the differences between the two are pretty subtle.

Branded as Peterson's rather than Dunhill now, and thank goodness the blend has not changed. This is a luxurious autumnal smoke. The taste is rich, of burning leaves, deep wood, and definitely that incense of oriental. A slow burning tobacco and so rich, a fine contemplative smoke. It is medium on nicotine, a great evening smoke too. As others have said, this is fine with a single malt or a good coffee. I recommend this, and as a pipe smoker of some years I have come back to this tobacco with delight.

This was my first English blend,and my first WOW moment w a pipe.

When I bought this I knew not what latikia was. I new not what an English blend was. I only knew that dunhill was a seven letter word for quality.

I was shocked at the pungent smell wafting around in the car. I sealed it up cursed myself for waisting 15$ and it lived on my book case as a reminder of what curiosity did to a cat.

Fast forward 3 weeks or so and you'll find me a bit tipsy, out of cigs and feeling adventurous."huh it's not nearly as punishing to my senses, has a sweet smell to it, along w a bit of musty leather and something reminiscent of a camel cigarette.

The predominant aroma (besides lat) is musty sweet, as where I find Old Dublin smokey w a vibrant, tangy, VA,, super sweet smell. I feel 965 makes a stance, while Old Dub is riding the fence/middle of the road eng. But done exceptionally well.

From the first puff I WAS A CHANGED MAN. It was smokey and sweet like a good Scotch, had a tasty leathery quality and my wife didn't mind the room note. It was velvety and cool. I actually noticed a creamyness to it. Lots of low-key sweetness that melded beautifully w the acrid smokeyness, I didn't really know how iconic it was, but could still tell classic and dunhill wasn't just hype. After that I went balls out for rich strong tobacco. I dove head first into such blends as, Squadron leader, Irish flake, old dark fired, birds eyes flake, Peterson perfect plug. There was a WHOLE world of tobacco to get lost in and I was just taking my first steps on the journey. I remember my fist 965 as well as any other very memorable firsts in a person's life. I found out that if your smoking a bowl and your already contemplating where and when the next will be, then you know it's a 5 star bell-ringer, not many blends have showed this quality of character to me in 10 years . This is a high water mark for tobacco, and even after being turned to shadows of their former glory, can still be a bench mark.

Growing on me At first I was unsure if it was for me, Tin note was different ( olives ). But it doesn’t taste like that, it’s sweet and smoky. It was my first Latakia blend, going to cellar it for awhile and see if it changes. But I can’t fault it, it’s decent.

I had my first bowls of this after months of smoking cigar blends exclusively. I'm sure that plays a hand in my experience. My review of 965 starts by pointing out the Cavendish impacts the smoke for me personally by smoothing and sweetening the blend. That's not my cup of tea regrettably. It results in a balanced yet boring flavor profile. I struggle to taste the other tobacco varietals. I'm a big big fan of EMP and Nightcap. I smoke outside in the wind and weather. 965 seemed too smooth and subtle for those conditions. I'll have to try another tin indoors and see if I can boost my rating.

Read to the end. I updated in September 2022 with a Murray tin review!

Original review from 27-06-2019:

I’ve waited some time to decide to review this blend, because after all, we’re talking about a legendary blend. The famous 965, included in the so-called Tobacco Hall of Fame, and a kind of trademark to Dunhill.

MM 965 and Nightcap, such appreciated blends, so renowned that they intimidate me when it comes to making reviews. I don’t want to write profanities, I don’t want people to look at me in strange ways, to be considered a heretic. But screw it! Lets give it a try!

My 965 tin is almost 2 years old, which means that the initial taste changed. I don’t know how much it changed, but usually when it comes to latakia that’s how things go. Latakia doesn’t age well like virginia. It gets lighter, smoother. So, what taste it has now can be different from what I could’ve tasted 2 years ago, when it was fresh. I’d say it’s important to take this detail into consideration.

As always, lets begin with.. the beginning. First time I opened the tin I took the tobacco to smell and touch and took notes of what I felt. The tobacco had a leathery and fruity smell, the humidity was medium. After I opened the tin, I’ve put it in a hermetic jar to keep it’s humidity and taste. In other words, I can still smell and taste it the same now, after two months since opening it (i have too many tobaccos opened). The smell is really pleasant. The humidity however is too much to be smoked directly from the tin/jar, so I usually take out for a bowl and leave it out 10 minutes to dry. I personally don’t understand people who leave the tobacco to dry 30 minutes/1 hour, especially if it’s not an aro, because you’re not taking it out of water and if you leave it to dry too much it will crumble between your fingers and it will start getting too hot in the pipe, so I don’t know how much you can enjoy it like that. But after all, it’s personal preference. I prefer it slightly dry.

The cut is a very well executed ribbon, easy to pack, it’s neither too long or too short. It has a dark color, from dark yellow to black pieces which dominate.

Lets light it up! It lights up very easy, and the taste gradually starts to make its presence felt. It is a subtle taste of latakia, which plays with the oriental. Wait, let me inspect...

... ok, i’m back. I don’t know how, but I quickly came close to the middle of the bowl. Maybe it burns too fast, although I didn’t puff fast. But this also means your pipe wont go out and it will continue burning without needing to relight every 5 minutes. Burns well, doesn’t bite, doesn’t get hot, doesn’t fade or go out. So this is very good.

How about the taste? It is described as being full bodied, but it appears to me as being a bit shy, so I’d say it’s rather medium bodied (full bodied for me would be Nightcap or Asthon’s Artisan’s Blend). The taste is very pleasant, although it’s far from being a latakia bomb. It has a balanced taste. At some smokes you feel more latakia, at others you feel more turkish. But, it can also be due to the age, the latakia losing its power. If I would smoke this blend and I would chew some leather gloves, I would feel the same taste, plus a slight note of smoked wood, and on the background a creamy sweetness.

Is it tasty? It is! Is it strong? So and so. Would I buy another tin? Yes! And I don’t usually buy more tins of the same kind, because I want to try as many tobaccos as I can, but I only buy again those that I really like. This would be one of them.

I’d describe it as a blend complex in aromas, which can be understood and appreciated at its real value by pipers with experience, who have the ability to discover the subtleties of a blend that doesn’t hit you with a direct and monotone aroma.

It is a blend that asks for attention in order to really enjoy it, it’s not the type you would smoke while driving or doing something else. It’s a smoke for the evening or the night, in peace and quiet, with a whisky and, why not, a tea. Yes, it is a refined tobacco for ‘real gentlemans’, not for corn cob while driving the tractor (no offense to cob smokers or tractor drivers! I smoke from cobs too)

The room note, I would say it’s ok, it’s not a stinky latakia blend (although I love the latakia smell and taste). I’d say it’s tolerable for the people around, and for me it’s very pleasant.

Unfortunately, the taste doesn’t stay long after you finished smoking. I like the tobaccos that leave an after-smoke taste. But that’s not a real problem, it makes you want more.

UPDATE September 2022: Review for Murray era (1985-1986 tin, meaning 37 or 36 years old)

I’ve hit a jackpot! While browsing some Romanian antiques groups on Facebook, I stumbled upon a tin of Erinmore from the Murray era. I asked the seller if the tin is full, but she said she doesn’t know, but she will come back with an answer. Later that day, she told me that it still has some tobacco left, and that she has another tin for sale. I asked her to give me pictures of that other tin. To my surprise, it was a 1985-1986 tin of Dunhill My Mixture 965. I asked her again if the tin is empty, she said she doesn’t know, because she can’t open it. The next day I got a message from her telling me that her brother in law came and showed her how to open the tin. The opened the tin and saw that the tin is full. I decided to buy them right away, and in a few hours I was at her house, inspecting the tobacco. There was absolutely no mold on neither of them, but they were very, very dry. Came home, rehydrated them and now I’m reviewing them. Oh, and I want to specify that I spent $61 on both tins!

Alright, so here we have this piece of history. A tin of Murray’s era MM 965, full, with no mold. I have the same emotions with this tin like I’ve had with the first MM965 that I reviewed back in 2019. This is an iconic blend! I must be precise at every note I take while reviewing this. This is exciting!

Alright! So... Tin note! The simplest way to put it is that the tin note is excellent. Sweet and smoky with lots of leather notes. The distinct Dunhill leather smell that I keep mentioning in my reviews.

The ribbons are black, brown and dark gold with lots of sugar crystals. The cut is smaller than the usual Dunhill cut. Like I said, the tobacco was very dry, but I managed to get it to a good humidity using a hydrostone with filtered and boiled water. Now it’s perfect, ready to go in the pipe.

Now lets get to the most important part. Taste! First thing that I got is some spice. It is still smoky, after 36-37 years! Leathery and spicy. After a few smokes the spice goes away and some woody notes come, like cedar. The leathery notes are not as strong as in London Mixture or Standard Mixture which I had from Orlik’s Dunhilll, but still it tastes like when you bite a leather glove. The virginia can be detected but it’s not the sweet type, it has more hay notes. Cavendish.. I don’t know. I don’t really detect it. And I don’t even know if it had Cavendish in the 80s tins. It probably had. But it might be the one that joins all the flavors. Someone wrote here somewhere that he finds some notes of grapes. I must agree. It has something similar to black grapes. Maybe that would be the Cavendish.

Reading my initial review while I was smoking my pipe I discovered that everything I wrote about the Orlik version is very-very similar to what I’m smoking right now.

I’ve let the pipe sit for about 10 minutes, and when I lit it up the taste got more pronounced. The leathery taste was more pronounced, the smokiness was more pronounced, the spice, the woody notes. As you progress, if you let the pipe sit it will become smoother and smoother and the taste more pronounced. When I first light it up it’s more spicy, but after that it becomes smoother.

By the end of the tin I noticed that the spiciness was almost gone, leaving a smooth, smoky and leathery taste.

This is a top quality medium bodied, medium strength blend that you can really really enjoy, it’s like an all day smoke, but especially it’s a great smoke for the morning when you’re having your coffee. It’s a balanced blend, balanced in taste. Like I said, medium bodied, medium strength, medium flavor.

One downside to this is that it seems to burn fast. It doesn’t get hot at all, but I always manage to finish a bowl too fast. Same thing happened with the Orlik 965 I had. I don’t know why. But this also means that you can use only one match to light up your pipe and keep it lit until the end.

Delivers e thick smoke, the room note being very specific to Dunhill blends, just like the leathery taste is specific to Dunhill blends. It has an incense smell like no other english blends. Many english blends are foul smelling, but these are actually exactly like church frankincense.

All in all, great blend. Maybe in 2019 I didn’t really know how to appreciate this blend, but now it goes into my favorites list.

Now I’ll be looking for the Peterson version.

Great stuff!

P.S.: Also review on the spot here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMQVwLgehnQ