Peterson Nightcap

Mmmm well I’ve been smoking nightcap for a few years and at this point I must say something is different? I’m not sure what it is but I can detect a certain heavier flavour. Not the same subtle effect. I need to come back to this. Anyone tried it lately?

Dunhill's nightcap is the tobacco that appears in my mind when I think of English blends. And English blends, for me at least, are hard to pull off. Too much of one ingredient can throw off the entire balance of a blend and make the blend taste terrible. With that being said, Dunhhil has created an amazing, tasty English blend that will leave you wanting more and make you want to get a time machine and travel back to the Victorian Age because you feel like you'll fit in there.

The tobacco that has everything. An extremely generous dose of Latakia, and enough Perique to make its presence felt. However, it's just too strong for my taste, even though I generally prefer strong flavours. The nicotine content was just right for me while I was transitioning from cigarettes to pipes, but would probably be a bit too much for me now.

The one piece of advice I have to anyone who smokes this tobacco (which I heartily recommend to anyone who loves strong English mixtures) - the tin art is beautiful, but deceptive. It's called Nightcap, and has a picture of a starry sky, a candle and an actual nightcap on the label. So it must be good for before bed, right? Wrong! I once smoked a small bowl of this before going to bed, and I would honestly have slept better after a large pot of coffee.

Extraordinary, rich taste. An english blend that gives off its oriental, latakia taste to its best. A very balanced tobacco giving a constant and steady taste.

ok...this is my first 50g tin of 'nightcap' and i must say that its rather nice...easy to light and to keep alight..easy going and a nice aroma...im going to be getting more of this, but im going to try 'early moring pipe' as well. NC has lived up to what i was expecting and im not disapointed, very nice indeed.

Considerably stronger than EMP, 965 and Standard Mixture but this current iteration of Nightcap is no Lat bomb.

The classic "Dunhill" easy-to-pack, thin ribbon cut features a colorful mix of black, brown, tan and yellow leaf. The Perique is easy to spot. My tin came slightly dry so it was in near perfect smoking condition directly from the tin.

In the smoke, the Latakia does prevail and there is a little "Dunhill" Virginia sweetness (like EMP) that squeaks through but it's minimal. The Perique in this blend is noticeable and it definitely packs a nicotine punch - well above most of my other favorite English blends.

This blend smokes a little dry in the mouth and that's probably due to the Orientals. The pipe is also dry and the ash is white - nice. The finish is mostly a Virginia-ish mouth finish with a little residual Latakia.

I just smoked some more from the same tin today after it had sat in a sealed Ball jar undisturbed for the past 7 months. Now, we have a fuller English and with the same noticeable nicotine hit. Interestingly, the Latakia is more intense now and the Perique is not spicy but it's full on. It's a much more interesting mixture after 7 months undisturbed and it seems more complex and deep.

But, for my tastes, McConnell's Covent Garden (although somewhat different overall), remains a more interesting blend as the Latakia is more pronounced, the Orientals more exotic and the Perique (and nicotine hit) more subtle.

Presentation: Solid dark blue label with sharp yellow text. Art includes a candle, a long clay pipe, and fittingly a nightcap. The premise being this is a strong blend that will put you to sleep.

Cut: The perfect STG ribbon cut. Moisture is just right.

Tin note: A rich, smoky latakia smell.

Tasting notes: Full, deep, smoke. A bit woody and sweet. Sometimes a tinge grassy. A miniscule amount of spice but it's there.

Mechanics: This is an incredibly cool smoking blend. It burns well and slowly and you'll have no issues with bite or harshness unless you're smoking a chimney.

Extra Remarks: This is a strong, full flavor, lat bomb english blend. It is not very complex, but lat bombs basically never are. I first had this blend in 2018 under the Dunhill name shortly before they went off the market. It was my favorite blend at the time and if I was reviewing it then, I would have given it 4 stars. But I was rather new to pipe smoking and I have smoked so many blends since then. This still a very good blend however. 3 stars.

Robust and strong. A classic English and easy to see why. Hard to detect the perique, wIll have to see what a little aging does for this thing.

Dunhill - I dunno. I've been going back over EMP, 965 and Nightcap. Night Cap is to my pallet the most flavourful of the three. This is the Orlik iteration though. I've never had the pleasure of smoking the classic versions of these legendary mixtures. I first smoked Dunhill cigarettes mind-you almost 30 years ago. They were always the most flavourful smokes available along with John Player's Special here in Canada. I don't smoke cigarettes anymore and haven't in a looooong time. But Dunhill, as a brand has this legendary status that makes it seem essential to at least try their famous pipe blends before they stop producing them.

But as a relatively new pipe smoker, and with so much great tobacco available these days, it's hard not to compare these mixtures to the likes of G.L. Pease and Russ Ouellette's offerings. And as far as taste is concerned, Dunhill's current products are second tier to be sure.

That being said, Nightcap is still an enjoyable smoke. It has strength and some complexity. I loooove the tin aroma of all the Dunhill blends that I've tried and that seems to carry over into the room note. But the flavour, to my pallet is a little watery. I've cellared a few of these tins, but I much prefer smoking Abingdon, Blackhouse, White Knight, Red Rapparee, Meridian, etc. etc. etc.

2019-05-22

I'm bumping this to 3 stars because it really is delicious, but only after ageing. That's what I'm finding with all the Orlik produced Dunhill blends I've bought. None of them wowed me at first but they all improved drastically with 6 months to a year in a jar. I can't give this 4 stars because I think it should have been this good right out of a fresh tin. I've had many blends from other producers that were excellent right off the bat, but not these. For me Nightcap, EMP, Royal Yacht, 965 et. al. were all a little flat at first. Jar ageing has completely changed them for the better. Good news I guess. Should have waited a year to smoke them in the first place.