Peterson My Mixture 965

08/02/2006 My Mixture 965 is my first Dunhill purchase. This is one of the best blends I have tried to date. Straight from the tin, it was at the perfect moisture level, so I loaded it in a Peterson full bent rusticated apple. 965 loaded easily, took a charring light, a tamp, then another match. 965 burned cool and clean with no tongue bite. A very mellow smoke. I had to lay the pipe down for about 20 minutes to take care of some chores, but when I relit, this blend was even more mellow, more flavorful. No one tobacco dominated the flavor, but all melded together in a well orchestrated blend. 965 may be too strong for the beginner, but for seasoned pipesters, it is well worth a tin. I will be buying this in bulk. Most assuredly, this blend goes in this smoker's rotation.

08/11/2006 The more I smoke this, the more disenchanted I am with it. 965 is a great smoke, with quality tobaccos, but Dunhill's Standard Mixture Medium and many other blends top 965.

Update: july 2006. Ok. I just bought a tin of this and it's back to the way I remember, good strong, smooth stuff. 3 stars. .. .

I can only give two stars right now to the tobacco of many, 965. Who makes all these European blends these days? I have no idea. Orlik, Murray, K&K, Butera, Germain, Esoterica, Murray's, Bob's, Buddy's, Billy's, Eke& Zeke, hmmm well. I've got a friend who smokes only 965, so I'll do my best. . . . I can only give two stars because the last three tins I've had were SO different from one another. The first of the three was the same as the last I had had for years, a staple. A two and a half star tobak for me. Good body, good Latakia, and not too much Cav. Nicotine medium. Then came a dissapointment. Way too much green. Green Orientals. Sweet in all the wrong way and every flavo(u)r was un married, unfriendly, and it just could not dance. Last tin, like the good old stuff but with less of my dear friend nicotine. There are much better Latakis blends. Sorry Peter!

I once put all my Dunhills in a ziplock bag together loose and mixed, As I was tired of 'English'. I'll be damned if I really couldnt tell the difference. Dunhills are way too similar to fool with.

I acquired the bulk version of this recently in Chicago at Jack Schwartz Cigar Shop. It is most interesting in both aroma and flavor. I now will only buy bulk. There have been too many mistakes(costly ones) with tins lately. This mixture tastes as wonderful as it smells. A classic British Oriental mixture. I agree entirely with Embee( as I usually do considering we smoke the same blends) that this is Nat Sherman's #536 sans the butter and cable wire flavor. I encourage all those seeking a reliable everyday Oriental mixture to pick this up. The Latakia will not offend others or seriously frighten the Latakiaphobe.3 of 4 stars.

965 is one of the most popular of all tinned tobaccos. It?s probably Dunhill?s best seller, and judging by the voluminous reviews, is probably the most talked about and lauded blend on this website; about 34 pages, to be exact.

Like Nightcap, perhaps it was all the praise about 965 that left me wanting something more. This is a fine tobacco in many respects. It?s blended nicely, has a number of fine elements: Virginia, latakia, perique, a touch of oriental? It?s definitely lovely in the tin with its speckles of light and dark colors, like a grassy knoll covered with damp autumn leaves. The tin note is grassy and musty, characteristically Dunhill. It?s a well-pressed, moist ribbon cut that pulls easily and packs well into any bowl. It?s without a doubt a standard among tobaccos.

Overall, though, it left me a bit flat. It has a rich, nutty quality, with less power and zeal than Nightcap. It can be smoked all the way down the bowl, and at times, is very pleasing and subtle. I prefer the oriental tease of Aperitif and the Balkan bounty of Durbar. So far, those are my favorite of the Dunhill line. 965 has balance and elegance, but it never really reaches grand scale, at least not the kind that everyone here sings about. Desert island stuff? Probably not. Perhaps, like Nightcap, this was a superior blend way back when, especially before the days of blend outsourcing, which I believe Dunhill and others do these days.

Very good, though, and I would enjoy smoking a bowl from time to time when I desire something lighter, less chewy and complicated.

Three of five stars

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update - april 10, 2006

I am adding another twist to this review. I had the opportunity to try this blend in bulk form, which I did not realize existed. A good friend of mine picked some up at the venerable Jack Schwartz cigar shop in Chicago. It's so much better than the tinned product, probably because it's not made by Dunhill's tinning source. Bulk '965' is much truer to form and more Oriental than English with a rounder complexity and a deeper finish. The Balkans really project while meshing beautifully with the cavendish. This reminds me a bit of Nat Sherman's discontinued but no less magnificent '536' without the mahallah and buttery softness. If you have a shop in your area that offers '965' in bulk, do try it. I think you'll be much more pleased than what Dunhill has been cooking up in its tins of late. I'd like to know if there's any 'Nightcap' around in bulk, as I will definitely revisit that disappointing number as well.

Three and a half of five stars

It's a good stand-by tobacco. I've had Early Morning Pipe, 965, and Nightcap as far as Dunhills go. My main complaint is that they're all basically the same thing, same flavor, just in different strengths, which doesn't impress me a lot. Once you've tasted one, I feel, you've basically tasted them all. I hear the same goes for their London Mixture (I have a tin I haven't opened yet).

It's not bad, but if you like this I'd highly reccomend getting Peretti's British Blend. As far as the Dunhills I've tried goes, I would say that the Nightcap stands out as the best of the bunch. If you want to try Dunhill, go with that one.

For the record, I am not really a Cavendish fan at all, but it works in this blend, just a little hint of it.

Update 4/5/06: I still like this blend, and always have some around. However, there are other English type blends that I enjoy more, so I will have to drop this one star.

I don't have much to add, except that I really enjoy this blend.

There are other English blends out there, and I plan to try them all, but there will always be an open tin of this in my house. Smoke it in three different Kirstens, and it is great in all three.

My wife says that it really stinks, both in the tin and when I smoke it.

July 2004

UPDATE: ORLIK (New) Version:

"This [name any dunhill blend] is not the same as it was, yadda-yadda, and our beloved 965 is nothing like what it used to be..."

You've heard and/or contributed to the hype. The previous version was a harsh experience and made me turn green like a cheap cigar on an empty stomach would. The new version ain't messing around either---you have to be patient with this stuff or it will send you reeling. Slow and steady is best.

But the quality of the leaf and the marrying of the blend (even though this hasn't been in production with the new manufacturers for very long) are far, far superior to the 965 offered at the end of the Murray's production.

The new version is smoother, and much, much less harsh. Balanced in cut and moisture, loaded and smoked with ease and pleasure. This is a 965 I can enjoy, and will keep around.

Yes, this is an almost totally different experience from that of the previous incarnation, but in my opinion, a vast improvement has been made.

Murray's (OLD) Version:

965: The impetuous darling of the english blends. Adored by millions, held up as the grail by many here, 965 seems to set the bar for many pipe smokers.

But for me, it's EMP turned up to "11". I'd probably like 965 a whole lot more if I could stand the nicotine hit. Not sure why this blend makes me turn green, but it's just too much. I'm overwhelmed by it.

But do try it. If you can stay on the bull you'll win a ribbon.

I must admit to a chronological bias with this blend: it's what was first recommended me by the bespectacled proprieter when I bought my first Sasieni, and exactly as timeless. I keep coming back to it, as one returns to Lagavulin, though Laphroaig is in the cabinet.

Autumnal brightness ablaze, aged aromatic leather, cafe con leche and bisteca con pepe verde all amalgamated.

Classic as the OED.