Tobaccos Peterson - Standard Mixture

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2012-10-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The Virginia is mild with a little tart and tangy citrus, light earth and wood with a fair amount of grass. It forms the base of the blend. The smoky, woody, earthy, mildly sweet Cyprian Latakia is a team player that takes a little of the lead rather than being a dominant force. The woody, dry, floral, herbal, earthy, slightly spicy Oriental/Turkish is ever present in the background. The strength and taste levels are almost medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. It won't bite, but you may experience a hint of harsh cigarette if you are a fast puffer, so I recommend a moderate puffing cadence. Has a few small rough edges. A well balanced blend that burns clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent flavor from start to finish. Requires few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste and stronger campfire room note. Can be an all day smoke.

Btw, the Sutiff match is fairly close and will do when this is unavailable or if you need to save some money.

-JimInks

48 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pontificating Piper (10)	2013-02-25		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

If you enjoy a full, balanced English, look no further. This is superb. The hint of Turkish rounds this off ever so pleasantly. Filtered or unfiltered you'll find that this hits the spot with a good nicotine kick (should you enhale). It is full on the pallet and delivers satisfaction and relaxation in it's beautiful aroma and wonderfull taste. It is not cloying or overpowering, but pure smoking pleasure and something you'd do well of keeping stock. It burns cleanly and easily although you my need to tamp every five minutes or so, which proves that it is clean, pure tobacco, masterfully blended and delivers on it's promise. If you enjoy Nightcap or Dunhill 965, be sure to try this. You won't be disappointed...

35 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	johnstaf (12)	2012-09-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I often think there are two types of Dunhill aficionado -the Nightcap man, and the 965 man; and if the former gentleman delights in the oriental splendour of London Mixture, then Mr. 965 should also find much to appreciate in Standard Mixture.

Like 965, Standard Mixture has a dark and almost bitter nutty quality that lends the latakia a rich, woody depth. There is a hint of cigarettes, and a spiciness on the exhale that makes my nose react as though there were perique present -although I can imagine this becoming harsh in a large pipe.

I love every one of the current Dunhill blends, but when I first tried Standard Mixture I didn't think it would be a favourite -I am a Nightcap man ;) However, the delicately flavoured spice has a balance that is everything I love about the Dunhill blends, and I can't help smoking it.

BTW I needed to rest this tobacco for a week or so after opening it, as smoking the fresh tobacco was like smoking a blowtorch.

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldcodger (74)	2014-07-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Dunhill Standard Mixture (labelled as Standard Mixture Medium before the Orlik production) is a medium strength Virginia, oriental, and latakia blend that has its own flavor profile.

The cut is a slightly broad short ribbon, and the color varies between dark and light, along with the black sprinkles of latakia. The aroma on opening the tin is alluring for those who enjoy oriental and latakia mixtures.

Standard Mixture lights easily and stays lit; it smokes cool; and it does not bite.

The room note is not as heavy as some oriental/latakia laden blends manifest. The nicotine level is medium, not overbearing, but a bit much for smokers who have trouble with strong nicotine.

The Virginia is apparent, but it is not as sweet as many Virginias. The oriental predominates, but the latakia is ever present. The significant note concerning the taste of Standard Mixture is that it has a bitter quality. Some will find this to their liking, but not all.

I don't know if other Dunhill blends have as much toasting as this (Early Morning, for example, is definitely toasted), but the toasty flavor of Standard Mixture is very evident.

I could rate Standard Mixture higher except for the fact that there are many, many medium strength English type blends out there, and I personally enjoy quite a few of them more than this. But I have no trouble myself in smoking Standard Mixture. The bitter note is OK with me, and the toasty flavor I find quite nice.

I have a 35 year old basket rusticated prince pipe (identified only as "Italian briar), that seems to dote on Standard Mixture.

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (202)	2014-11-03		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

This is more or less my everyday’s mixture. I call this "honest tobacco," for the smell does not deceive you in terms of what you can expect from it. In my personal opinion this tastes best in a meerschaum pipe, but you can truly enjoy it in any briar. The latakia bit in it is not overwhelmingly present as it is in other mixtures (think of Balkan Sobranie), but it is still in the background empowering your smoke at every puff. This is a tobacco you can smell as you smoke it, and this is one of its features I really appreciate. Some lady companions or wives might not like the smell of it in the house, but an experienced smoker will probably appreciate it. I personally like it best when 1/3 of the bowl is gone as its taste really cures in your pipe. This mixture has hints of some aromatic woods when you burn them in your fireplace, which is something that really adds up to your smoke. Easy to fill in your bowl, this mixture will burn more or less evenly if you pay attention to it. I give this tobacco a 10 out of 10 because of this features and its flavoursome rich taste.

Pipe Used: meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Probably 1

Purchased From: John Hollingsworth's

Similar Blends: Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steerpike (156)	2007-04-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very nice, well balanced Latakia blend of the highest quality. Smells musty and smokey in the tin, as Dunhill latakia tends to, not so rich as nightcap but that sort of smell. Its a medium fine ribbon cut, lots of dark leaf, it looks tasty! Packs easily, lights easily and burns steadily and completely.

The flavouris full, not so smooth as 965, but with a toasty taste from the virginia leaf. Some spiciness from the Turkish, and plenty of Latakia flavour, which I enjoy. The flavour is complex, but does not really change much through the bowl, maybe getting just a touch richer at the end. The aroma is full quite heavy, but definitely enjoyable. I enjoyed it a lot, as far as I can see the tobacco is of the highest quality, and I can reccomend it to all latakia lovers.

----------------UPDATE-------------------------------------------

I've added a star as this blend is just so damned good. It really is what it says on the tin: the standard english mixture. One on which all others are just variations on a theme. I have a few old tins of this, whether the age improves them or not, I don't know, but the old Dunhill tobaccos are about the best English Mixtures out there. I could smoke this all day: plentifully rich, but not overpowering, never bites, burns cool, dry, all the way to the end. It doesn't change in character much through the bowl: the flavours are too well integrated for that. What a blend.

--------------------update 2018 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm now smoking the Orlik blended Standard Mixture, thought it would be a good time to update my review. Its still excellent quality tobacco, although the quality of the packaging has taken a real plunge: all the Dunhill tobacco is in giant tins for no good reason, with labels applied unevenly, and the obligatory health warning scaremongery.

The tobacco is latakia prominent (but by no means overloaded) , on a rich bed of Virginias, with the Orientals in the background. It's a mix of browns and black on the tin, with toasty bready aromas and campfire smoke on opening the tin. The fermented odours of Orientals are very subtle. It lifts with a single match and burns evenly, the flavour is medium, the nicotine is medium, and it is delicious! Bready toasty, grassy notes are prominent, with latakia smoke. There's a hint of resin and evergreen sap in the smokey aroma, with some herbal notes. It smokes like food, if you get my meaning, and could be smoked all day. It is the standard, and it is medium.

Pipe Used: Briars and Meers dedicated to English Mixtures

Age When Smoked: New

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2014-06-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Dunhill- Standard Mixture.

The blend itself is a lovely mix of different shades of brown, right from some very light (almost yellow) to some very dark. It is of an excellent moisture level and gives off a smoky, straw-like aroma.

This mix takes to the flame superbly, getting lit on the first attempt and once lit the burn is brilliantly even giving off a lovely cool smoke. The flavour of the smoke is simply delightful, with a good nicotine amount. I get the Virginia acting like the backbone of the mix with its simple hay-like note, a smokiness coming from the Latakia and some Oriental pizzazz. If you inhale the smoke it goes down with ease and does not make your head spin from the nicotine amount. The burn is fairly cool and very steady, leaving a pure white ash at the end of the bowl.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Rattrays

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-04-11		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

I have been smoking Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium for near-on 30 years, at least 3 times daily, and I believe that it has no equal anywhere on earth. But it is gone now, and so I begin a quest for my Holy Grail: A substitute to replace the standard on which all English tobaccos are based. Having smoked in the neighborhood of 1400 tins of the stuff, I believe I might be able to provide some insight.

To this end I have ordered in 40+ different varieties of English / Balkan Types, including all of the usual suspects such as Squadron Leader, Penzance, Margate, et al, as well as contacting G.L. Pease & Cornell & Diehl and having them each send 5 blends that they deem the closest to my treasured SMM.

Over the next few months I'll be going through all of them and posting results under it's own blend page (click on Briarpatch under By Reviewer to see all reviews), but when I am finished I'll sumize the results here in the hope of benefiting someone else in similar straights. When SMM was discontinued I had no idea where to turn, and I eventually ended up here. Perhaps others will as well.

Update 7/09: The winner is Samuel Gawith! The short of it is, Samuel Gawith's Skiff Mixture is the closest. But what really comes close is mixing up about 60% Skiff and 40% Full Virginia Flake. Skiff lacks the richness of SMM, which FFV has in spades. Mixed together it makes for a very nice full & rich smoke. The down- side is all the mixing and the lugging of two tins around...

In the evening after dinner a mixture of Skiff and Brown Rope No.4 is extremely enjoyable!

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-06-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Very similar to the old Standard Mixture Mild in my opinion. Different from the original as there is a lot more Virginia and less Latakia, although that leaf is certainly noticeable. If you want a smokey flavor lingering in your mouth, grab a tin of this stuff. There will be a very refined and smooth smokey flavor that lingers delightfully.

From checking out all of the reviews of this blend, it is obviously one of those love it or hate it types. Further testament to how the real gentlemen in our hobby understand the vast taste differences we have!

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wilhelm Joharsányi (33)	2018-01-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Standard Mixture is like your favorite rugged pair of boots: Sure you have better shoes to wear, from your fine leather Italian dress shoes to your French suedes, but nonetheless, your boots are what you turn to first and continually wear daily. When you get tired of wasting all your $$$ searching for the “ideal tobacco”; whether it is some hipster ‘artisanal blend’ made by the ancient monks of Bhutan or trying some ‘3 aged burleys from the sacred Malawi jungles picked by imported multicultural soccer ball kids of Brazil’: Standard Mixture will always be there, waiting for you inside your tobacco cabinet, waiting for you to open it with an “I told you so grin” on his face, as you go back to smoking this consistently good and reliable tobacco.

Is it better than London Mixture or Aperitif? No.

Is it a high quality, premium tobacco: Yes, absolutely.

Is it the most affordable Dunhill blend: Yes, the same price as London Mixture.

The steadfast, medium strength Latakia always does its duty, the Orientals spice up your mornings and nights, and together with the Virginia’s, this blend fulfills all your cravings and gives you exactly what you want, when you want.

Personally speaking, Standard Mixture is all you can ask for and expect in an English blend. It doesn’t get any better or more consistent than this. However, if “a good tobacco” involves Brazilian soccer ball kids being sent to the Malawi African jungles to pick your tobacco for the next contrived and overdone modern blend; Then don’t be surprised if you’re disappointed with it and the soccer ball kids run off with your wallet afterward (both literally and figuratively). Standard Mixture will never disappoint and would be my daily smoke for years to come if Dunhill wasn’t shutting down this year. I give it a 3.5, because you’ll be smoking a great English blend every time you light it up.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-02-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I notice that the word "balance" appears in many, many of the reviews of this blend. I see it also appears in the description. I couldn't possibly agree more with that sentiment. This is about as well balanced as an English gets. This is one fine smoke. All three components contribute very nearly equally. The Oriental lags a little at first, but doesn't take long to begin pulling it's weight. Overall I get near equal notes of smoke, wood, sweetness, hay, and spice with slightly lesser notes of butter and salt. It's very smooth and the burn is cool and near perfect. I can't find a single criticism to level against this fine tobacco.

Medium in body and taste. No added flavorings and the sweetness seems to be all natural. Hits all the right buttons for me.

Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Der Pfeifenraucher (71)	2014-12-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The Dunhill Standard Mixture is a nicely blended mixture of orientals, latakia, and Virginias in that order. Standard is well behaved in loading and burning, a very amicable weed to handle. Tin note and flavor give you orientals up front with latakia very close behind with Virginia bringing up a not too distant rear. Medium bodied with a mild/medium nicotine punch. A little too strong for enjoying during much activity but slightly lacking on neurochemistry for fueling solutions to the problems of the world. A very good tobacco, but for me, it's at an awkward place between the thinking pipe and the doing pipe.

Pipe Used: old crusty cob, old crusty briar

Age When Smoked: new-9 months

Purchased From: pandcdotcom

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2002-02-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Appearance: A slighly broad ribbon cut, about equal parts medium and dark colors. Ribbons are quite uniform, typical Dunhill attention to detail

Aroma: Lots of Virginia base, with Latakia and Turkish in the background. The aroma leads you to believe that the balance is the star.

Packing: Packs easily in most pipes, group 3 and up.

Lighting: Typical lighting procedure, not too quick or too slow.

Initial flavor: The Va comes across first, with authority and some strength. The Turkish and Latakia add their flavors soon after, and the balance I expected is there..

Mid-bowl: A classic English/Oriental blend with good layering of the components, but nothing too dramatic. Actually somewhat plain tasting, and unassuming, but very likeable This is what I started smoking English tobaccos for.. No gurgles noted.

Finish: Well behaved right to the end, leaves a gray ash and nothing else.

Summary: Not as complex as some of the newer blends, but not as challenging to get into the zone with. A real classic with unique charm, probably one of Dunhill?s oldest.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2002-06-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The deliciously smoky taste of the finest Syrian Latakia pervades this fine blend, another of Dunhill's great age-old classics. (Yes! Latakia blends taste like Latakia, ie: smoky. Outrageous, isn't it?)

This is slightly less robust than the LONDON mixture, but still an official Dunhill example of what an English mixture with Latakia ought to be. It occupies the middle ground between NIGHTCAP and LONDON at the heavier end of the English spectrum and, in declining order of strength, STANDARD MIXTURE MILD and EARLY MORNING PIPE at the lighter end.

965, which has Cavendish leaf in it and is therefore a so-called "Scottish" blend, or the clearly Balkanic DURBAR and APPERITIF, cannot be logically compared to this line of "London"-type, Latakia-dominated English blends.

STANDARD is precisely that. People who do not care for English-style blends need not apply.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-04-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Another interesting blend from Dunhill.when you open the tin you get a balanced flavour between virginias and oriental/latakia.the smell is between citruses ,fruits ,spices woods and coals.has a little moisture but needs no drying time.packs ok lights easy and burns nicelly,slow and cool.the flavours are mostly from the orientals then virginias and latakias in the backround.spices ,woods camp fire in combination with grass,citruses,sourness and some sweet notes from the latakia.some puffs reminded me cigar taste.the nicotine level is almost medium without any chance of biting.burns till the end to perfect ash and leaves a clear bowl.not an all day smoke.ideal for for evening smoking experience.definitelly a must try! In comparison with standar mixture mellow the tastes are deeper with more compoments from orientals and latakias.the virginia tastes are less than the mellow one.

Age When Smoked: When opened

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2017-11-29		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill Standard is great full bodied English blend. I read lot's of people talk about the varying iterations of Dunhill tobacco's over time and I get the sense that people think that when you buy a brand, even if you buy the recipe that you can and should replicate it exactly. I have always found this a pointless reference. If you smoke cigars you will notice that with a natural product that relies on nature there is always variance even with the same stick from the same brand, size and even the same roller (yes I have access to some cigars that year in and year out I can get from the same old gentleman that has been rolling at the store location for 20 years). In addition I like to read reviews and provide reviews that reflect the quality of what I am smoking, not what I did or what someone else did. Now let me get off my soap box and review... I love the Dunhill ribbon cut, it looks great and consistently packs well; 'ol reliable. The tin note is latakia forward, not as pungent as Lat bombs or even other current Dunhill blends like MM 965. There is also a sour woody note and a hint of grassy Virginia. This came perfect out of the tin, no dry time needed. I have to admit that I got caught up in all the hype of some of the popular English blends and chased many of them and smoked them with vigor, although I had purchased 2 tins of Standard mixture, one was included in my first pipe tobacco purchase. I have been through a tin and a half and this stuff is really quite good. I apologize to Dunhill for underestimating this blend. The sweet smoky Cyprian Latakia is evident throughout the bowl however it is very well balanced with the orientals which are also ever present. The Virginia's were tough for me to tease out in the flavor profile. I get mostly toasty smoky flavors with nutty, woody orientals. The orientals are a bit spicy and provide a slightly sour note almost citrus (maybe that is the Virginia, dunno). Burns to a fine gray ash. I have noticed (at least to me) this is a great English for a cob. In corn cob pipes it seems to sweeten the blend noticably, I have not experience that with other blends to a meaningful degree. It seems to "beef" up the Latakia and amplifies the nuttiness of the Orientals. This may be unique to my palate but I would encourage people to try this in a cob if you have one.

Pipe Used: Briar, meerschaum and cobs

Age When Smoked: 1 year and 3 year old tin

Purchased From: B&M

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Swiss-smoker (87)	2016-12-25		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An extremely short and fine Ribbon Cut, much more a Shag Cut. Too fine for a pipe tobacco, anyway. Moisture in tin is rather high, which is unusual for a Dunhill. Stuffing and smoking mechanics are not ideal. It is a mellow, tasty, harmonious mixture, but somewhat one-dimensional. Nothing particular that would call for your attention. The nicotine level is about medium. I should call this a typical, classical, balanced English Mixture. It is a satisfying all-day smoke.

Age When Smoked: New, out of the tin.

Purchased From: Tobacconist

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Don Jefe (7)	2014-01-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I was not impressed by this mixture when I opened the tin, but it was significantly better after breathing for about a month.

I was able to get a nice sweetness, and the Latakia is nice, but not overpowering. I got best results with a very slow smoke. I thought it became a little flat during the last 1/3 of the bowl, but the sweetness was there the whole time. Nicotine level was medium/high. Burn was clean with no BS.

This is not my favorite Dunhill blend, but it's a solid smoke if aged a bit and smoked slowly.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gent

Age When Smoked: 1 month

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	albfneto (184)	2012-04-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Is one of my Favorite Tobaccos in the World.

. A well blended, well combined, mixture of Virginia, Turkish and Latakia Tobaccos.

very Complex, only the Latakia flavour overcomes the other flavours.

One of the best English Mixtures, suitable for smokers that feel strong Latakia ammounts.

In my oppinion,is even better than other Dunhill's Legends as Early Morning, 965, NightCap and RoyalYacht.

Note: The new version, prepared by Orlik, and in the Can is wrote only "Virginia and Turkish" and "Dunhil Standard Mixture" is this stuff. Is que equivalent of the old "Dunhill Standard Medium Mixture".

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ASmithee (20)	2016-06-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

What can I write about Dunhill Standard Mixture that hasn't been written? Nothing really. I can only vouch that it is, in my opinion, one of the best English tobaccos on the market.

The tobacco comes in the familiar Dunhill tin manner which makes it easy to pack and has the perfect moisture content. I only wish they made this blend in bulk.

Once you have your pipe going, smell your bowl -- the latakia provides an enriching aroma. That smell alone is a wonderful fragrance and I find myself constantly sniffing at the bowl throughout.

The overall experience is well balanced and medium all around. Nicotine level - perfect, strength - perfect, aroma - perfect.

The only other blend, to me, that edges out Standard Mixture is Squadron Leader, but for different reasons. For those that love traditional English blends, Standard Mixture should be in your regular rotation, as it is in mine.

Now, for those who love Nightcap, and I'm one of them, you may be asking how I would compare Nightcap to Standard Mixture. Nightcap, to me, is like a fine whiskey that you enjoy once in a while. I could not smoke Nightcap everyday due to its high nicotine content. I could smoke Standard Mixture everyday.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustinCarcerated (99)	2013-08-05		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Aged this tin 1-2 years, atypical selection for Louisiana summer-I prefer the derived warmth of English blends when it's not 100+ with humidity that would saturate a dry ShamWow by mid-day:(

Be that as it is- excellent presentation, lighter coloration than Nightcap, density and cut superbly British in nature.

Humidity spot-on, fired up bowl in a Sav set up for same, burn is great, needs little to no maintenance, reduced to typical Dunhill dottle.

I see this as possibly the 'base' for NC, without the Perique, yet with that great mouthfeel and jumpy vitamin N kick. I can sense the pecan in this mix, earthy-in a metallic hearty nut manner (Pecans are the South's Walnuts).

It's a decent blend, worthwhile especially if Perique is not your thing.....yet;)

Not sure I'd buy this again, if I did it would age nicely, perhaps sweeten the Va base.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, this is the last of my aged Dunhill Murray-era tins. As is my custom, I smoked this with varying degrees of moisture content... moist straight out of the tin, partially dried and extremely dry. Unlike McClellands Latakia Flake, this one did best straight out of the tin. That's not surprising for a latakia blend.

There's nothing really wrong with this one... ok, it'll never be the classic that 965 is, but it obviously pleases a lot of smokers. I just prefer more body and complexity in my bowl. This one starts off ok, is ok in the middle and ends ok. I should state that that phenomenon speaks of high quality to me, but it just isn't my cup of tea. I found this one boring, and I wish I had seen the review below by the 30 year smoker of this stuff, as I would have passed on it and sent it to him. It's gotta suck to wake up one day and find your favorite tobacco no longer available. My hope is that an American distributor picks up Dunhill, as I too have a stake... but in 965 and Elizabethan.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MojoMilt (1)	2022-05-07		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The last I smoked this blend it was a Dunhill mixture.

Peterson has used the original recipe and it is just as I remembered, superb, intoxicating and sublime.

The orientals are forward and a blessing to enjoy. Latakia is only in the background with the Virginias rounding out this almost perfect blend.

If you haven't, try it. You'll thank me later.

Pipe Used: Jake Hackett Poker

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: 4Noginns

Similar Blends: Nothing compares.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ynrozturk (62)	2018-02-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I haven't had a nice English blend in a while, and seeing as how it's winter, I decided to dive into the cellar and pick up an English I have never tried before - Dunhill Standard Mixture.

Still going through as many Dunhill blends as possible. As always, the moisture out of the tin is absolutely perfect. Every tin of Dunhill has been flawless in the moisture department, not quite sure how they pull it off but it's really impressive. The cut is the wonderful Dunhill ribbon cut we are all familiar with. Packs and lights with no problem.

The tin note was a bit strange for me. Smelled fermented and even a bit rancid - but not unpleasant. You get the Latakia up front, and you can also get the toasted Virginia's. Overall it smells weird but the "funk" doesn't translate into the actual smoke, which is the most important thing.

This is a full bodied English in my opinion, and it's quite excellent. Not death-like on the nicotine, though it does have a fair dose. It smokes and burns cool, and produces nice thick clouds of smoke. I enjoy this with a cup of strong black tea, and it works wonderfully. It's perfect for just reading and relaxing, as its not a blend you have to worry or mess around with at all. You just light it and it's there for you.

I've had better English blends than this, but this is also right up there. Another very high quality, enjoyable smoke from Dunhill.

Pipe Used: Peterson

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2010-02-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Standard Medium has the typical Dunhill signature taste and it never bores me. However with that said it is not as complex as some other English blends and lacks the slight sweetness of 965. It is very balanced without any particular dominate player. Beware that this can be quite strong in the nicotine department. Hopefully Dunhill will reappear soon as it would be a crime to see these blends gone forever.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2016-11-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill Standard Mixture presents as a ribbon of light, medium and dark browns at just the right moisture level. Tin note is delicious: herbal, mildly woody, with the occasional floral note and hints of both smoke and sweet.

The charring and true lights bring more sweetness than I would have anticipated, but it quickly yields to wood, herb, parchment and mild spice that persist as the dominant flavor profiles in the first third of the bowl, with the herbal and slightly spicy Orientals teased by the slightest hint of damp Virginia sweetness. By the middle of the bowl, a slow cadence will bring an array of classic Oriental flavors with a foundation of subdued Virginias that bring just enough background sweet with the slightest hint of grass. The condimental Latakia adds some smoke and some damp, musty notes to the blend.

This is a subtle blend, with plenty of flavor complexity, but it's not "in-your-face". A sippers blend, the best approach here is to let the flavors come to you. If pushed, Standard Mixture will nip. Smokes a good bit damper than the average Oriental blend (my main criticism of English vs Balkan or Oriental blends) and the final third of the bowl is a bit damp compared to Standard Mixture's direct competitors - to the point where you'll want to run a pipe cleaner through the stem at about the 70% mark. The first half of the bowl was outstanding, but simply too much damp left in the pipe for this style of tobacco. Despite a glorious tin note, Standard couldn't quite take the fourth star. Nonetheless, a fine tobacco and one worth trying. Its big brother, London Mixture, is the superior blend for my taste.

Edit: It should be noted: Despite my critique, I really do like this blend. A very solid three stars.

Edit 2020: track down the discontinued London Mixture if you can. Very similar to this blend, but more vivid and flavorful.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ahmad Othman (51)	2016-10-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

So, I was hunting for Dunhill tins here since they are rare in Egypt. And I found this one in a local B&M storage, so I got it and to my surprise it was stamped 2006..So, I kept it for a good day. And finally popped it open. Out of the tin, there is a dominant, fruity smell. Which seemed awkward for an English/Oriental blend. It is at perfect moisture and cut perfectly as per the normal from Dunhill. The first third of the bowl tastes a lot like MM965 which was a surprise, since it is described as Oriental. But afterwards, it starts to open up.. The Virginias are sweet and mild. The Orientals are spicy and gives a nice aroma. It tastes a bit like Frog Morton on the town but without the vinegary taste..And the latakia is smoky like it should. My only gripe with this is that it has no character. It's just good tobacco, but nothing special. I like it, but if I have to pick, I'll go with MM965 or FM on the town. But I'll pick it up If they are not available as a good alternative

Pipe Used: Peterson System Ebony XL315

Age When Smoked: 10 years

Purchased From: Local B&M

Similar Blends: Dunhill - My Mixture 965, McClelland - Frog Morton on the Town (Craftsbury Series).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Deimitori (11)	2012-06-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

An English blend containing Latakia, Oriental tobacco and Virginia from East Carolina and Georgia. A classic blend of Dunhill, very good quality tobaccos and it's aromatic pallet on which the oriental tobacco taste with their "shades" is the main leader with Latakia to follow with its unique aroma and Virginia to accompany and sweeten the whole fumigants result. However, there is a harmony of flavors in the mix and this is even more obvious if the tobacco has been aged.

Nicely cut tobacco smoke comes in a good "wet" condition when you first open the tin. By opening the tin the smell of fragrant Latakia is here but without dominate the other tobaccos of the blend. Easy to fill a pipe. It burns relatively slowly and so, leaving this "pure white ash" at the bottom of the bowl. As soon as we open new tin it is appropriate to air for about an hour before we smoke it. It performs and smokes better.

Moderate nicotine strength, no artificial flavors. No cough or dizziness. Certainly it is desirable not to be with an empty stomach when you smoke it. A smoke that does not bite at all (always with a calm smoking style). It get's little messy in the filter of the pipe pipe.

The aroma in the room is pleasant and acceptable and not particularly heavy or annoying for those "unfortunate" not like Latakia ...In my opinion, and with my little experience in pipe smoking, and having smoked and Early Morning Pipe and My Mixture 965, the other "brothers" of Dunhill, Standard Mixture Medium is a very good English blend, honest and concise.

It's now my beloved Dunhill tobacco. With the aging of the tobacco it wins in a very tasteful harmony and fullness! When I spend my day by smoking tobaccos by Dunhill I divide my day fumigants as follows:

Breakfast bowl: Early Morning Pipe. Afternoon bowl: Standard Mixture Medium. Dinner bowl: My Mixture 965.

The Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium can be smoked all day long. It can also be an all day smoke tobacco.

For me Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium is a constant quality, a very good quality tobacco, a constant value in English blends. A classic, historic tobacco would not ever disappoint me. It will always be in my tobacco cellar.

Now, I will also smoke for the first time Dunhill London Mixture. I am sure this will also be a great pipe tobacco!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2004-10-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

As you can read from my reviews of London Mixture and My Mixture 965, I am definitely a fan of English blends, especially Dunhill. This is another fine tobacco from the glorious English brand, one that can sit proudly near the aforementioned two. Part of the considerations expressed in those reviews remain valid for this tobacco, too: the fine cut, the burning qualities, the fine choice of leaves, the extremely good balancing. Where do the differences lie? To my palate, the difference is mainly in the reduced latakia content of Standard Medium, replaced by a heavier dose of reddish-brown Virginia. The result is a blend that has a noticeably lighter "smokiness", and which is definitely sweeter and spicier due to the orientals. Its taste (while not stunning) remains constant and doesn't get bad at the end of the bowl. I like it as a change of pace from Latakia-heavy blends, but perhaps at times this sweetness doen't suit me. I also notice that it tends to bite the tongue a bit more than London or 965. On the bonus side, it might be a little more plesant to non-smokers around you. Not in my top-favorite tobaccos, but still a high quality choice!

Sadly, this blend too, like the other Dunhills, has seen a decline in quality over the past two years... Actually, it's now better than Nightcap and 965, which once were superior!!!

2011 update: I am smoking a recent production tin by Orlik now... Well, not bad! It's just what the name says: a STANDARD. Sweet thick Virginia base, plus Latakia and Orientals. No surprises, no thrills of delight, but a solid companion that could be considered an "all days" for those more inclined to stouter blends. It doesn't disappoint. A timeless classic, although there are many more exciting blends around and London Mixture is more refined.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	thesmoggypipester (77)	2022-12-29		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Its kind of odd isn't it when you think about the tobacco world on a more deeper level isn't it? It is well known that there is a minority with a deeply held and also deeply unpleasant snobbery against aromatic blends while holding on a heavily gilted pedestal any blend with the words "English" "Balkan" and "latakia". Like aromatics, latakia mixtures are ten a penny and while yes they are a number of good latakia mixtures out there, they are deffinitely a good number out there that don't deserve the hype and cult status that they have built up for themselves either due to availability so scarce that it seems the planets have to align in certain astrological rarity for a drop to hit retailers or that some floppy haired hipster type with no real knowledge of tobacco has built up such a hype on an obscure YouTube channel because its a tobacco his grandfathers friends uncles sisters cousins best friends next door neighbour smoked so it must be the best thing since slice bread, so his equally sheepish friends have joined various forums talking up said blend and now because its always out of stock it must be good.

However they are some latakia blends that although they have hype and following are genuinely a pipemans oasis. Peterson (dunhill) standard mixture is one of them mixtures. When I first tried a dunhill blend, nightcap, I was inexperienced, and went at the pipe like a bellows and didn't enjoy it much and I was one thag thought the dunhill brand was just another over rated brand that was kept going by its greatness of yesteryear and wasn't at all sad when they dissapeared a short time later.

However.

Recently I have learned to enjoy latakia mixtures and now peterson has took over the marque it was only natural that standard mixture came onto my radar.

Opening the tin, you are greeted with the usual yellows, browns and almost black and the typical latakia mixture aroma. Sweet freshly mown grass from the Virginia's, a slight spice from the oriental and the typical dickensian squalor, tarry slightly salty campfire aroma, nothing at all different from the usual latakia mixtures, however when packed and added to flame this is where the magic happens.

The Virginia adds its taste and provides the building blocks for the oriente, which in turn do the same for the latakia. This is an utterly harmonious blend where everything works in perfect synchronisation, a whisper of sweetness weaves in and out which underscores and enhances the spicy Orientals which in turn does the same for the incense like, smokey latakia, it is a magical symphony which forces you to sit down and take notice and enjoy each and every aspect of this mixture, each time you smoke there is always a new little dimension to discover, toasted nuts, freshly baked bread and and a smoke ability almost unlike any other. A smoothness and coolness that you wouldn't believe would come from a mixture that isn't laced with Cavendish. A beautifully smooth experience that bares no rough spots nor harshness nor tongue bite. This truly is a fantastic blend and one that should be savoured propperly, in a comfortable chair with a beverage of choice and to truly savour every sip. Utterly sublime and one that makes smoking an absolute delight.

This is a mixture that doesn't need all the fancy advertising blurb of university masters graduate in bullshit. It takes latakia and uses it exactly as it should be a condiment to other fine leaf. To allow all the leaf to shine individually but allow them all to enhance each other.

The taste on this one is quite full, so maybe not one for the absolute novice, much like the room note this won't win you many friends, but a mixture this good is best enjoyed alone without distraction so it can be savoured propperly, after all they are plenty of mixtures out there you can smoke with friends that given any distraction won't ruin the experience.

Fantastic and one that will be staying in the rotation.

Pipe Used: Peterson rustic system 314

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: The black Swan shoppe

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PaulMcCoy (78)	2022-11-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is an extremely balanced blend. The orientals are slightly forward with the latakia present, and close behind. They work together adding a floral, herbal, musty, earthy, smoky, spice. The Virginias form the base, and add a slightly sweet, grassy tartness. It burns evenly, and a lot quicker than I expected. I found myself tamping more than usual, but it was satisfying. It has a smoky campfire aroma, but it isn't strong, thick, or lingering. If pushed It can become a bit bitter and sour, so I'd recommend a slow and steadier cadence.

This is a goldilocks english for sure, and medium across the board. Love it

Pipe Used: Peterson, Arklow 150

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nick Prof. (27)	2022-08-07		Strong	None Detected	Very Full	Tolerable

This is a great English blend, four full starts from me. I would consider it as a strong tobacco with a full to very full taste. For English blend lovers, this could be perhaps one of the top tobaccos due to its high quality, complexity (in terms of blending), easiness to smoke, strength and experience it gives. I would have daily a bowl or two from this tobacco - it is apparently an all day tobacco, smoked perfectly in all my pipes, from briar to corncob or falcon, preferably smoked without filter to get the full taste of that. For (former) cigarette smokers, this could be a top-class tobacco, very “smoky”, relatively strong, the definition of a high quality and enjoyable English blend. It is easily packed, though recommend to pack it quite densely as it can burn fast. For aromatic tobacco lovers, this could also be a good choice for your cellar and be smoked from time to time, to give a diverse experience in smoking. Some Petersons including the standard mixture, mix.965 and early morning pipe changed my daily schedule from more sweet (and little aromatic) tobaccos to English blends, something that only the Peterson series of tobaccos could do (unlike some other brands tried before). Highly recommended - great English tobacco.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeavyTrees (70)	2020-04-22		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

First time smoking standard mix medium since I don’t know when. I remember preferring Dunhills London Mixture as I was hunting for more Latakia dominant blends back then. It seems that with the takeover of Peterson’s some Dunhill blends won’t be re-introduced to the market and London mix is one of them. So, when I was visiting my tobacconist recently I was willing to give the Standard Mixture (which is still on my mind as Standard Mix Medium) another try.

Look in the pouch is as nice as an English mix cut could be. Bright to darker brown Leaf, sprinkles of black ribbons and dark pressed, matured tobaccos. The cold smell reminds me a bit of spicy ketchup at first impression but then turns into a mild campfire fruit jam mix almost a bit like sour dough.

Left it open for an hour as it seemed a bit too moist for smoking it right away and packed it in a medium sized bowl for the first retrying. Packs wonderful and lights like you’d expect it from a thing called standard. I think it was not blended to set a new standard but to get a tobacco suiting for many situations and different kinds of smokers. Phrases could be ‘so back into the armchair, I’m packing my evening Standard.’

First lighting did not surprise me much I was awaiting a Va forward English (that’s what I remembered) and for the first toke there was only sweetness with a hint of hay. With the next few puffs the character of this blend completely changes. Spices take the lead. Roasting flavors as well as a bit of camp fire smokiness appears and both combine great with the mentioned sweet undertone. I’ve never tried a toasted tobacco that actually tasted like toast. This one does and it’s roasting is warm and deep. Sometimes almost a bit like cocoa almond and nuts. (but very different from burley f.e.) Sweet and spicy are switching dominance as the smoke continues but in whole the character stays the same until the end. There are some bitter compounds in the spicy area of the taste spectrum wich can surely be pushed by smoking hot but if carefully puffed they never get too strong. Leaving a pleasant aftertaste of smoky Virginia with a bit of sourness on the tongue this one is screaming for another bowl

Could have a bit more Latakia for my taste, nevertheless, this one is beautifully blended and pretty unique in roasting flavors. Guess I wasn’t ready for that one when first trying it. As a conclusion I’d say that some blends may deserve a second chance maybe.

Pipe Used: Medium sized briars

Age When Smoked: From tin (dried for one hour)

Purchased From: Local dealer

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PiedPiper1010 (16)	2019-06-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

You know it is a shame that tobacco companies such as Dunhill and Mc Clelland have gone out of business. I recently picked up a tin of the Standard Mixture and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a very well balanced English blend, that will not whack you over the head with the latakia. Some people like copious amounts of Latakia, I, however, do not. And, that is why this blend is very nicely balanced in my opinion. As mentioned Standard has the right amount of Latakia, adding to the smokiness of the blend in addition to the Turkish leaf that is also added in just the right amount. The Virginia in this blend adds a really nice sweetness overall to the blend which really balances it out. Right out of the tin it comes a little moist, more so than your typical English and will leave some moisture in the bowl if puffed to fast. I did not get any bite or harsh spots but will leave a little dottle in the bowl if you tend to puff too quickly. If you are looking for a true English (and if you could find it) this is an exceptional blend, one of many made by Dunhill.

Pipe Used: Peterson (Shannon) Bent Dublin

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokling pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leonidas (6)	2018-04-28		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

A predominant Latakia smell right from the tin. Orientals are there, subdued though, by the black leaf.

Taste is full. Latakia forward, full of that woody-leathery taste. The orientals give their best appearance when the fire is slightly buring. If you turn your pipe into a caminet, this will not work. Keep it burning low, just before the fire is out. That is when you get this buttery taste, orientals are well known for. There is some spice, but its not the blends strongest trait. Virginias are just an adhesive here. The body is almost full.

Room note is torelable. For a fellow pipe smoker is heaven. For a wife is an excuse to throw you out in the back yard.

It pairs excellent with all kinds of beverages. Personally i always find myself with a glass of single malt whiskey on one hand and a bowl packed with Standar mixture on the other.

One of the most representative english blends. For me its one of my favourites. People should compare every english blend they smoke with this one. Its neither light nor heavy. Its standar but not basic. Its an everyday blend for every pipe smoker.

Pipe Used: Savinelli

Age When Smoked: aged 1 week

Purchased From: The Cygar Shop,Cyprus

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ramin (4)	2018-04-13		Medium	None Detected	Very Full	Tolerable

Standard mix was the first english blend i had tried and untill now, i coudnt find any english blend better than this. its great, carefully and prefesionally blended. very nicely balanced between vi, latakia and oriental. 4 star blend

Pipe Used: big ben

Age When Smoked: 3 years old

Purchased From: local shop, iran

Similar Blends: dunhill london mix.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhillyB (70)	2016-12-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is both a truly exceptional and a very standard English mixture. Normally I describe my experience with a blend in very specific terms, but this one just calls for broad strokes. Savory spice up front, slight sweet and spice on the finish. Strength is nothing to worry about, but lets itself be known. Exactly what you'd expect from a quality English mixture.

Age When Smoked: fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kaziwazee (8)	2016-08-05		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

It has been a while since I've reviewed any tobacco, and that is not because I haven't been smoking good ones. Quite the contrary. Among my favourites are Dunhill Night Cap, MyMixture 965, MCClennand "Frog on a Log" and G.L. Pease Westminster (all of which I haven't yet reviewed).

But Standard Mixture? Simply superb. It's what I turn to when I want to have a really good smoke and concentrate. After smoking a bowl, I simply focus better. I do believe that comes from the healthy dose of nicotine therein. It is a consistent smoke that does not disappoint. It's easy on the palette, and I love the tin and room notes. It is my favourite tobacco right now.

Highly recommend it.

Pipe Used: Bent and straight

Age When Smoked: I didn't age it.

Similar Blends: Dunhill - My Mixture 965, G. L. Pease - Westminster (Heirloom Collection).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	natibo (169)	2016-02-06		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is awesome. I don't know if it's considered a Balkan blend. But it tasted better than any Balkan blend I've ever had. This is what oriental tobacco should taste like. Not too strong, not too weak and just a wonderful flavor. And, the tin aroma is to die for.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Earl Grey (34)	2016-01-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

This is my favorite Dunhill blend. When I opened the tin, I didn't get that generic leather smell that is characteristic of most English blends. The Virginia is superb, and the Latakia is a very mild addition to the blend just giving it a perfect bit of smokey flavor. Perfect moisture level, only one relight after char. Burned down to a white ash. I would smoke this all day if I could afford to.

Pipe Used: Danish Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of tin.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2015-10-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I betray my lack of discernment, perhaps, but no matter who blends this (is it on its fourth or fifth version now?), whenever I have opened a new tin of this over the years, the aroma and presentation always seem familiar.

This is one of three mixtures I would recommend to someone looking to understand what an English blend is like.

With one proviso. I'm far from nicotine averse, quite the opposite. As I was enjoying the smooth, balance of the tobaccos used, no one thing demanding attention, I realized to my surprise that I was somewhat feeling the effect of the vitamin N! There's sinew in there...

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	point9 (114)	2015-06-11		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This is my favorite in Dunhill lines, and maybe in all Balkan blends. I practically use it as my standard to evaluate Balkan blends, and that's how I love it. I rank the room note as pleasant because I love the smell so much and couldn't care less for what others think.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	orka (66)	2014-10-10		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Opening the tin reveals tightly packed, finely cut and quite short ribbons - not totally unlike any other Dunhill mixture. There didn't appear to be many stems, at least not while digging around in the outer layer when fluffing up the tobacco for closer inspection. It appears to be a pretty even mix of lighter brown and darker to black tobaccos. A smaller portion have a nice olive green tint to them.

The tin note is remarkably unassuming at first glance. On closer inspection it does let it be known that there is indeed latakia in here, but I actually was anticipating a more powerful aroma. There is a leathery smoky component for sure, but it intermingles well with the overall sweet tartness of the scent. There is also an earthy and spicy element here that I like very much. But neither of these notes that I detect are very bold and up front. Overall the tin note comes across as quite muted.

To the touch the tobacco from the newly opened tin is drier than anticipated, and leaves some stickiness on the fingers after compressing between the fingers - this little test tells me that this is a pretty good condition for just loading into the pipe and light up.

Packing the pipe is easy and a quick pre-light draw reveals an airy sweetness on the tongue. Upon charring there is some increased spicy sweetness, and I'm briefly reminded of Old Dublin. Puffing gently after true-lighting the turkish makes itself immediately known, a bit less sweet than London Mixture, and I also think there is a greater part of latakia here compared to LM, and overall more incense like spice throughout, both in taste and smell.

Wood and spice becomes more evident in the later stages of the smoke. It also evolves into a more full finish. Never bitter or unpleasant, and always with a somewhat velvety mouthfeel. A good end to a nice smoke with a perfectly acceptable nicotine punch, just the way I like it. At first I did not pick up at all on any of the toastiness others have reported, which perplexed me a little, but eventually found it in the 1/3 of the pipe in subsequent smokes; mainly in the nasal exhales. I didn't find it to be a very protrudent component of the smoke (hence the billing as "lightly toasted", I suppose).

The room note is nothing a non-smoker, or one not accustomed to englishes, would cheer for, I'd imagine. But then again, I didn't find it lingering or too obtrusive whilst it lasted either. Definately not when compared to, say, Nightcap, Commonwealth, or even 965.

I did get tend to get the odd gurgling now and then, which makes me think that perhaps I should take care to let it air for a bit before packing the pipe, or perhaps I didn't pace myself quite as well as I thought I was. But the tobacco behaves pretty well regardless; especially considering it's still a relatively new tin. I'd say that perhaps it's not suited for mindless puffing, as some slight irritation on the tongue follows upon doing so - but that might just be me nitpicking, I've had much worse tonguemanglings from other blends at their best than this did at its worst.

My overall impression after just about half way through the tin is that there is definately potential here for something nice, and it does improve around the 2-3 week mark of being opened. In my experience this is common with any blend, but Dunhill's in particular. There is also reason to suspect that this will greatly improve if aged, especially the virginias - they are pretty sweet as they are, albeit perhaps a bit dull (they lack that clarity and edge that I always find myself looking for anytime there's Virginia involved). If that aspect gets more developed, this could become really good. Three years in the cellar, like someone before me suggested sounds about right. A bit much for the impatient, perhaps, but there are enough interesting things going on here that it might be worth the effort, and maybe when aged it can truly live up to the claim of setting the standard.

Will it replace LM or 965 for me? Probably not, but I think that if you're not quite into the sweet oriental thing that Early Morning Pipe has going on, or if the turkish is too much in London Mixture, or the force of My Mixture 965 is just too much to handle, then Standard Mixture might just be the middle ground you're looking for.

That being said, there is still a lot to like here and I might just gather an extra tin or three and see what happens down the road. In the meantime, I might just keep smoking it for the sake variation to the usual suspects. All in all, it strikes me as just a little bit too crude to deserve an instant 4-star grade. Had decimals been allowed, I wouldn't argue too much with something in the 3.5 range.

Recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson 999 (RoC), Stanwell billiard (B&S).

Age When Smoked: New tin.

Purchased From: pipe-shop.net

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StimeyStrongwater (10)	2014-05-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is my favorite English to date. From the instant I opened my tin I found myself craving the taste of this tobacco. I think this is the fasted I have smoked a tin haha. A great tobacco for any occasion whether you use it as an all day smoke or a sit and relax smoke to pick out all the complexities. It works either way. The oriental flavor in this blend is fantastic and the way it's balanced is what kept me coming back for more.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-12-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Its very hard to say, which Dunhill is or was the best.

But for sure, SMM belongs to them.

do not be fooled by the name Standard

Its a everyday and everytime stuff. And thats is the biggest for me. No one times effect as so many new stuff, wich was the last years over internet so much promoted

Age When Smoked: 1 - 5

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wibblefishofdoom (139)	2013-08-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Like everyone else, I am taking this one to be the modern stand alone Standard Mixture. I only bought this as it occurred to me that I hadn't bought a Dunhill in a while and hadn't particularly noticed this one before. I didn't have any high expectations of it as I find their offerings a bit hit and miss so thought what the hell and gave it a go.

The tin aroma is one of mild creosote, to be expected of a mild lat, which this is. The smoke in and of itself is a funny one, it can get a little rough at times, though I do wonder if that's because I've been puffing too hard. When I've managed to slow the smoke down, this manages to provide a nice, mild melange of flavours, at it's freshest giving me little hints of Special Latakia Flake, if not quite as nice. When I wasn't smoking too hard, I found this, not wildly exciting, but just nicely pleasant.

This isn't a wildly exciting tobacco and the flavours are mild, but they're varied enough to keep it interesting, just avoid the roughness and smoke it slowly. Nicely deserves three stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hottgunn (19)	2013-04-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Initially I was very unimpressed with this blend. I think that my palate has matured since then and I like this blend very much. Tasty, smooth and very rich - very much an all day smoke. More layed back than LM and 965 but a stronger blend than EMP which is more of a sweet Oriental. I must say that I cannot fault any of Dunhill's blends depending on how your tastes run. I find them very consistent and well done. As in all of the Dunhill blends, the balance is exceptional. They are the tobacco base from which I judge all others. I very much enjoy both Dunhill pipes and tobaccos. Good show!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cofj (2)	2012-12-27		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Known as Standard Mixture, it is very similar to Standard Mixture Mellow... the unique difference is the strength... a very nice english mixture, not so mellow, but a nice one... for sure, worth a try.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DavidP (25)	2012-07-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a review of the red labeled standard mixture tin.

Nice tin aroma, sweet with a nice tang on too. Nothing really sticks out in the flavor, just a cohesive blend of smokey orientals over a solid, sweet base.

Good cut, easy to stuff, light, and keep lit.

Overall a this is a solid, enjoyable smoke.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-03-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I'm placing my review under the "Medium" as my tin just says "Standard Mixture" . However, it appears the 'Full' isn't made anymore and it doesn't say 'Mild' either, so I assume this is where my review belongs. The fine print on the can says, " A balanced blend of Virginia and Turkish tobaccos".

In any case, I find this blend boring, flavorless, lacking sweetness, burns a little hot and doesn't develop in the bowl. I'm debating if I should just throw this away as there are so many "losers" in my cellar that I'll never get to smoke. Ah, I'll keep it for a few years and see if it improves.

Not unsmokable , so it gets 2 stars.

Updated 1/10/13 Well I've had this cellared for about a year and this has improved, much smoother and improved flavor. Here's the key, pack this tight and smoke it slow. Probably closer to 3 stars but since I had to wait a year, it stays at 2

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-04-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Dunhill's Standard Mixture Medium is a solid English tobacco. It looks great, packs well, and smokes to a very good ash. It is not, however, without its problems. The taste is uniform, from the beginning of the bowl to the bottom--a bit too much so. There are simply no shades of flavour here and that is rather curious. This weed, like all Dunhill tobacco that I have tried, also left my throat irritated. There is a backwash of harshness in this smoke that interferes with any pleasure that I might derive from smoking it. Indeed, a glorious sunny day in the country cannot be enjoyed with this companion. For once in my life, I found the wife better company than my choice of tobacco.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2004-02-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The name says it all.Its a classic med. english blend.It wont have your head swimming in nicotine [although thats fun at times] and the flavor isnt off the deep end in latakia.You can find it all over.A classic ! Man I wish I could still get this blend . It's been my fav . english blend for years .

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2002-10-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

A friend of mine swore this was the ultimate tobacco. Accordingly, every time he would come back from trips either to Europe or the States, he would bring back as many tins as possible and would be kind enough to share some of them with me. Having been already acquainted with other Latakia/Oriental mixtures, all unobtainable in my country, I joined in the enthusiasm.

SMMe is definitely a very good and reliable blend, with a traditional but rather uneventful taste and aroma that, nonetheless, fulfil the requirements of any English blend lover. IMO, of the different Latakia/Oriental/Virginia mixtures, SMMe is more of a working or auto-pilot tobacco than a contemplative, meditative smoke. It has a straight forward aroma, very unambiguous components, and a clear cut English flavour that, combined with its excellent burning rate, provide a satisfying but no so spectacular experience. If smoked too frequently it can reach a point of harshness unknown to me in other Dunhill Latakia blends (My Mixture 965 or London Mixture). It is a cool smoke, good at practically any time of day, but would not recommend it when in hot/humid weather.

The quality of this blend is unmistakeable. Its structure and smoking evolution are quite predictable, and the flavour and burning rate remain consistent throughout the bowl. While comparisons are not always advisable, I find there is a certain degree of correspondence between SMMe and Gawith?s Squadron Leader. Both are solid, traditional, and very English in a that standard sort of way in which G. Orwell defines Englishness.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-02-25		Very Strong	None Detected	Extra Full	Extra Strong

The perfect English blend for me! Standard is a dark blend, with a good amount of latakia and oriental leaves cut fairly fine. It may well be the delicacy of the cut that I like as much as anything, since it gives a very smooth and consistent burn for me. It sometimes has a tendency to turn a bit soggy toward the bottom, but overall it provides excellent, and very, very consistent taste and burn from package to package, throughout all the seasons of the year. The taste isn't as outstanding as other English blends I've tried, but I have yet to find anything which matches the cool and friendly smoke that Standard delivers. For the best possible experience, dedicate a new English pipe to this tobacco alone and smoke nothing else - years down the road, you'll be glad you did so every time you taste the rich flavor from this faultlessly genteel tobacco.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Frank27 (14)	2023-01-31		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

I found a tin of Standard mixture from my local tobacco retailer--it's probably over 10 years old--what a treat. Opened the sealed tin , the aromas are incredibly varied , but it doesn't smell like fresh tobacco , since it's obviously more than 10 years old....

What a spectacular taste...of all the English I have tried certainly one of the best . Strong, but less banal than Nightcap, distinctive and not monotonous with a perfect blend of latakia and orientals...mmmm

excellent. 3.5 stars.

Pipe Used: Winslow Crown 200

Age When Smoked: 10+

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RudyH (13)	2022-10-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Very well named. It is a good standard. Good savory flavor. This is a favorite that can enjoy almost every time I smoke. My favorite blends are Standard Mixture, Elizabethan, Presbyterian, and Nightcap. These mixtures have in common that I like them best when the tobacco is dried on a plate for one or two hours before packing the pipe.

Pipe Used: Various good quality briar and meerschaum

Age When Smoked: New to two months

Purchased From: SmokingPipes

Similar Blends: My Mixture 965.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SSJOH (18)	2022-09-24		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

A bit moist in the tin, but lit well and stayed lit without too much bother. Great flavor; nutty and toasty, with hints of plum and citrus in the background. None of the tobaccos really dominates in this blend; they really work together well. A good, solid English blend. Recommended.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Just Purchased

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	willie b (37)	2022-08-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

a good introduction to English blends for those wanting to venture. a good value for a tin of name brand. i keep all my tins for a year before cracking open. this one in a milder English with that leather note. a hint of sweetness and a touch of sour. not bad at all but not a go to smoke for me. I do recommend anyone to try all the Peterson blends to get a taste for what they may like because of the value. taste is subjective and that's why there are so many of the same type of blends.

Pipe Used: vauen,peterson,savi,

Age When Smoked: over a year

Purchased From: tobacco pipes

Similar Blends: so many others in the English/Balken line of tobacco..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Old Man (19)	2021-12-13		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

This is not a "Standard" English by contemporary standards in any sense and if you're expecting such you may be a little disappointed by this blend. I know I was.

The good news is that it's ready to smoke out of the tin (almost dry) and the typical "Dunhill" fine ribbon cut packs and smokes extremely well. It also has a nice, powdery white ash.

If you are expecting some Medium amount of Latakia, however, you will be sorely disappointed. There is some Latakia, yes, but it's a small amount (by today's standards).

Here we have the standard Dunhill "VA forwardness" ala EMP closely followed and possibly exceeded by Orientals while the Latakia is in the background.

This is a mild VA/Oriental forward English blend so it's much, much closer to EMP than say, Nightcap.

(Did Dunhill ever have any true medium to strong readily available Latakia blends?! Even Nightcap strikes me as somewhat underwhelming on the Latakia front.)

What prevails is very perfume-y (floral?) notes - almost a Lakeland soap essence. (Perhaps it's exotic Orientals, but I really don't know.) At any rate, there's a distinct, almost cloying perfumey/soapy/floral taste that dominates this blend and it may not be natural.

Again, there's minimal Latakia in the smoke (but it does exist in the tin note).

This is not to say that I find this a bad mixture (because it's rather unique!) but it is definitely NOT a medium or Standard English blend.

UPDATE - July 2022. Well, after some months in the jar, there has been a substantial improvement in the character of this blend. The Latakia is more noticeable and the heavy floral notes I initially experienced have pretty much faded. The VA and Orientals still prevail but the blend is much more balanced now. Some slight sweetness noted. Upgrading to 3 stars!

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greybeard (66)	2021-05-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I found an actual Dunhill tin of Standard Mixture at a local Tinder box and thought I would give it a try. It's several years old at this point, and I've never tried it under the Peterson label either.

I was surprised at how strong the tin note is when I first opened it. Very leathery / woody smell. Upon lighting I get the orientals but they're only slightly floral; more spicy and leathery. That may be due to it's age. It's a decent smoke overall, but at times I do detect a harsh cigarette flavor here. Not mild by any means, but not really strong either. Had no issues keeping it lit. Somewhat recommended as many English pipers may enjoy it more, but will only be an every so often smoke for me.

Pipe Used: Brebbia Sabbiata, Old German Clay, & cobs

Age When Smoked: 3 to 4 years

Purchased From: Tinder Box

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jalil-Amín (3)	2019-06-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

An excellent middle-of-the-road English mixture, in which none of the elements overpower, but all are very harmoniously balanced. The Latakia is just the right amount to add character and depth, but doesn’t dominate. The sweetness of the Virginias melts evenly into the spice of the Orientals, and the whole is a nearly homogeneous effect - the epitome of a basic English mixture. Forgiving and cool, it doesn’t bite hard when puffed too eagerly and yet lends itself nicely to gentle, slow savoring. It’s the latter that reveals the complexity beneath the balance. When inhaled it’s a bit harsh, and when passed through the nose tends to be a bit sharp.

Compared to Mixture 965 or Stokkebye Oriental Supreme, it’s lighter on Latakia and sharper to the nose.

Age When Smoked: New to 5 years

Similar Blends: Dunhill My Mixture 965, Stokkebye Oriental Supreme.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tschenyinkoh (51)	2018-02-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Oh, when I am writing this, I have no Standard Mixture on hand, so I have to base on my memory nearly half year ago.

This is super balanced and medium deepness mixture with dry, woody, smokey and a little bit sweet note.

Just as the User Wilhelm Joharsányi said:

"Standard Mixture is like your favorite rugged pair of boots: Sure you have better shoes to wear, from your fine leather Italian dress shoes to your French suedes, but nonetheless, your boots are what you turn to first and continually wear daily."

"When you get tired of wasting all your $$$ searching for the “ideal tobacco”; whether it is some hipster ‘artisanal blend’ made by the ancient monks of Bhutan or trying some ‘3 aged burleys from the sacred Malawi jungles picked by imported multicultural soccer ball kids of Brazil’: Standard Mixture will always be there, waiting for you inside your tobacco cabinet, waiting for you to open it with an “I told you so grin” on his face, as you go back to smoking this consistently good and reliable tobacco. "

So my conclusion: a solid perfect all day smoke even though current STG version is inferior to Dunhill Murray-era tins.

Pipe Used: churchwarden

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: 50g tins from pipesandcigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Techunique (3)	2017-10-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

A good blend, not worth waxing poetic about in my opinion, but worthy of a try. Bright and sharp in the tin, almost unpleasantly vinegary before smoking. I do not detect any notes of Latakia, honestly I was surprised to see it listed amongst the blends ingredients. Mellow smoke, medium flavor, slightly below the midpoint on strength. I generally use it to accent bland blends such as frog Morton On the Town.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	maigret fan (76)	2017-08-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I used to smoke it when I started pipe smoking, decades ago. At that time it was not my favourite blend from Dunhill, giving preference to EMP or 965. Many years after that first experience I have had a go at Standard Mixture. I must say my impressions are the same: a good smoke, a nice tobacco but slightly disappointing by lack of strength. Their Durbar blend is quite superior. Perhaps for the beginner but not for the experienced smoker.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stuttgarter (7)	2017-05-18		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The Dunhill Standard Mixture is for the people that really like Latakia and oriental tobacco. This is a very nice English that you should give a try.

The room note is quite pleasant, ressembles some incense, at least my wife don't shout :)

It is a strong tobacco if smoked right out of the tin, I recomend remove from the tin and place it in a paper or something like for a while. It makes a lot of difference in your final experience.

The taste is very pleasant, it burns beatifully and tongue bite is not a problem. You can smoke SM everyday till the bottom of the bowl and still enjoy it. It burns relatively cool and leaves just a white ash.

If you used to smoke aromatics and wants to try something different I recomend the mild version, the SM might be too strong in taste and aroma.

Pipe Used: La Pipa, Butz Choquin Briar

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Barbarino Germany

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Calamiti (86)	2016-03-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

It's not without a reason this blend is called a Standard. It's like the zero point on coordinate plane, all other tobaccos being to the left, to the right, above or below, and this one right in the centre.

Carefully balanced, simple, calm and honest mixture. It tastes exactly like what its smell tells. It burns evenly and steady from the first match down to the bottom of the bowl. It's neither mild nor strong. There's no tobacco type in it that dominates the rest: Oriental is what welcomes you first but it's not fragrant, Latakia is lurking somewhere in the deep but never pops on the surface, Virginias are firmly standing at the background, potent and dry (like dry wine) and not sweet at all.

Would I call this the Golden Mean? No. Or maybe Mediocrity? No, again. It's just a STANDARD.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2015-10-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I don't smoke a lot of Latakia mixtures so the ones i do buy all have tons of reviews and high ratings. Most of the time i go Burley and Aromatic but as it is getting cooler out here in Las Vegas (still in the high 90's in October, geez you know you are a local when 97 feels like Autumn compared to 110) and i got an itch for a smokey English blend. Standard Mixture's classic red sticker reached out to me by its plainness in a sea of lovely multi colored, graphic filled row of tins. SM is a really classic toasty blend of Virginia, Latakia and orientals. SImple and yet so complex. When i smoke this i picture sitting in my home in the 30's or 40's, listenng to the tube radio and sipping cognac before a fire. A time without the internet or cell phones, nothing to distract you from the fine bowl of SM and the crackle of the fire with some Bing Crosby crooning out his "Boo boo boo da da" (he used to frequent tobacco reviews a year ago or so and i enjoyed his singing in place of a review) SM is really nice in its simplicity and a nice addition to ones rotation because it is so simple in my mind compared to Ashton Artisans or Nightcap with their Perique. I can see why this is a classic and has stood the test of time...

As one of my favorite reviewers Pipeline said years ago "Take a break from your "review race" and enjoy."

Purchased From: Tobacco Leaf, Henderson NV

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	rushm1n3r (20)	2015-08-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Full, well balanced, leathery and satisfying. Enough has been said already about this blend. The room note was better than tolerable. It smoked dry throughout, with no gurgle.

Pipe Used: MM Diplomat

Age When Smoked: 1 year old tin.

Purchased From: Some tobacco store I passed in Long Island.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Baki Oztepe (11)	2015-04-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Who am I to review this tobacco like some sort of tobacco professional? I am no connoisseur. I am also new to English tobacco. But I must say, it is the first time I am enjoying a smoke to this extent. The one word to describe this is 'stimulating'.

The tobacco out of the tin was quite moist, but unexpectedly it burns rather well. Rich flavor and Balanced, that is what it says and it is true! The smoke is rather exquisite, you get the creamy taste and it is easy on the tongue.

This will definitely become one of my favorites.

Recommended with a bottle of Jack. Sorry fellas, you gotta try this!

Pipe Used: Sav

Age When Smoked: Somewhat new

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2014-12-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I was sent a good sample of this from a forum friend and enjoyed it. This did not come as a surprise as I find all the Dunhill blends to be well done and have enjoyed them all except Durbar, but that is because it tastes like a noxious tire fire. Although I didn't like Durbar, the quality of the leaf and the presentation of the same are typical of the high standards behind the Dunhill name. As is Standard Mixture, but it did not blow my mind to the point where I would have hang four stars on it and feel the need to fill my cellar with pounds of it.

I find it a good representation of the standard latakia blend; that being a blend containing Virginia, Latakia and Oriental(s). It is a good smoke for someone curious about this mix of leaf types before jumping into deeply exotic blends like Odyssey or joining in the fray to fight for the next bag of Penzance to come across the pond.

To me, I would rather puff on the newly introduced Aperitif or even 965 before this one as I feel they offer more complexity, but I would not complain about having a tin or two of this in the cellar.

Similar Blends: Old Dublin.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Raines (52)	2014-11-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

If you don't dry it, this tobacco is overwhelming to me. But if you dry it, the taste is really good. A little bit bitter, but if you like it like me, it's all good. You can easily taste the Latakia. So if you don't like it, pass your way ! It's not my favourite blend, but I could make it my all-day-tobacco (as every English Blends). To sum up, the taste is sweet even, like I said, if it's a little bitter.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2014-10-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is what I have come to expect out of an English blend. The lat. is smokey, earthy, with notes of leather and does not over power the other elements. The Orientals have a little creamy taste and at times a musty and floral note comes through. The VA's remind me of hay and have sweetened just a little. A very good blend that is sure to be someones go to blend. I would think that with 5 yrs. on it it would be better still, maybe at 6-7 at the peak of what it will be. I will pick up more eventually and age to that mark to see. There are blends in the med. cat. that I like better but this is what a good English blend should taste like. 3. 5 stars and would be a good place of the non-English smoker to start at if they are willing to cellar a tin to at least the 3 yr. mark. The earlier tin was not what this is if my memory serves and it did bite a little at the 6 month mark. This does not unless you just push too hard.

Age When Smoked: 3 yrs. 7 months

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-12-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I did not intend to purchase this blend because I didn't think it would have enough vitamin N for my taste but as luck would have it a coworker that was traveling with me had mentioned that he would like to try smoking a pipe as opposed to dip tobacco, With the imagery of him spitting in a cup as we travel for the next 8 hours I was more then happy to oblige so off to the local Tobacco shop to purchase a corn cob and some mild mannered tobacco I chose this blend never having smoked it, I loaded his & my pipe ,gave him the verbal quick start guide, I lit mine and settled in for a mediocre smoke I assumed but was pleasantly surprised at first it tasted like a high grade Prince Albert but developed in to a complex nutty balanced blend don't know how else to describe it as far as vitamin N goes it was very satisfying which was the biggest surprise, my normal blends are FVF,Solini aged burley ,Cumberland ,1792,Royal Yacht ECT.

Pipe Used: Peterson Pot

Age When Smoked: Off the shelf

Purchased From: Local shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-07-02		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

My review consists of two words

Utterly pointless.

It really baffles me that Dunhill would put their name on this at all and to call it "Standard Mixture" is just an insult. Dunhill "I have no idea what tobacco is supposed to taste like but it has a famous name on the tin so I'll buy it" mixture would be more precise.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2012-07-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Not my favourite tobacco of all, but a mixture that doesn't disappoint. No highlights, a healthy dose of N and very cigarettish feeling with enough complexity to keep you interested in it throughout the bowl. 4.5/5, tastes sometimes a bit 'dirty' compared to other fine selections of Dunhill. Haven't detected Pecan or Walnut flavour O.o

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-02-27		Strong	None Detected	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

Orlik blend, labelled "standard mixture". Tastes like London mixture, but a bit more cigarettish, and no orientals (as far as I can tell). Full latakia taste, very, very nice. I have 2 more tins put away and will be getting more. This is one of those few special blends for me. 10 out of 10. Very satisfying.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-01-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

It stuffed well and puffed well, and there it ends! I am glad this was a sample given to me by a friend as it was awful. It was akin to smoking a bowl full of crushed cigarettes. The flavour was insipid, and it left me with an irritated mouth and throat.

There has to be very little other than Virginia in this blend, which makes it more like a home rolled cigarette than a tasty pipe tobacco. I tried nightcap yesterday, and that was a wonderful, rich experience with many flavour nuances. I'm not a big fan of virginias, but this stuff was ridiculous!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth Vader (110)	2011-10-11		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

"Dunhill Standard Mixture"My tin says "A balanced blend of Virginias and Turkish tobbaccos Fine Rich Flavour" Nothing about Lat or orientals and i dont taste or see much of them either (a few dark bits). Orlik blend.

This is a great full smoke with the usual good Dunhill nicotine dose. 1st class as always. I open and then close and rest nearly all my tobaccos for a month to let them breath out and give their true flavour. Very nice indeed!

N.B. If your a bit of a girl with stronger baccy's or have a soft mouth then EMP is probably the only Dunhill i would recommend rather than this one.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tripjoker (65)	2010-12-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Original review 12-24-10 After smoking 6 tins of this particular blend I am more than prepared to offer a solid review. The newly re-released Dunhill Standard Mixture (previously known as Standard Mixture Medium) is fantastic! I didn't think it possible to outdo the previous incarnation, but I have been proved wrong. This IMHO is even better than it was before all the drama of the shutdown in production. Perhaps change isn't such a bad thing afterall.

The look of the tobacco is beautiful. The full range of colors, red, tan, brown, black and the gorgeous light green of turkish. The cut is a fine ribbon and the tin aroma after an hour of air is sublime. The ultimate english experience. Unlike alot of tobaccos, this one comes ready to pack right out of the tin with a moisture level that is perfect. I do like to air it for about an hour before smoking though, to allow the oxygen time to start the aerobic organisms working. That's when the true magic happens and all the flavors come together at peak level. Just like a fine wine, fine tobacco needs a little air time to breathe. Nearly all tobacco is what I can 'tin dumb' when just opened.

The packing is easy, and takes to match very well. The burn rate is medium, not too slow or fast. The flavor is best when sipped and the turkish is the true star of the show. It dances with the virginia sensually, and the latakia is applied with a light touch. It's there but not the star of the show. This is the most harmonious blending of tobaccos that I think I have ever tasted. A masterpiece if there ever was one.

The strength is medium to start and builds to a nice stout crescendo at the end. Never overwhelming, just builds to match the expectation of 'more' as you smoke. Perfect. Very rarely needs a relight, and when it does, will relight well, with only a slight loss of flavor in the first few sips, then you are back to the dance!

I do hope that this becomes available in bulk when the distribution chain is well established again. I like the tins, but am a fairly regular smoker, 5-7 bowls per day, and would like to buy this in a larger bulk amount. Until then, I have purchased 50 tins through my local B&M supplier and will purchase 50 more next month just to insure my supply until a decision about bulk comes down the pike.

Sorry for the long review, but my enthusiasm for this blend is like new love, it's hard to contain! This blend and Night Train from C&D are the two blends that are taking all my attention and cellar space at the moment. I'm just so satisfied with them both that I don't smoke anything else anymore. I have about 300 tins of other tobaccos in the cellar that will have to wait for another day to smoke them now. LOL

Update 1-21-11 Over a month of smoking this about 75% of the time, and I'm still as in love as I was. I cannot thank Dunhill enough for allowing this to be released again. I know that I am dancing in the streets and I suspect that Briarpatch will be too! LOL Cheers

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well... this is standard and medium, indeed. It can very well serve as a term of comparision against other english blends. It's a nice all day smoke, sturdy, maybe a little monotonous for some folks.

Top virginias in there, no cavendish, enough tasty orientals, good cyprian latakia. White/gray ashes. Don´t expect a sweet creamy smoke, neither a spicy one... just a standard medium, very well balanced, classic english :)

I like it and don´t find it boring.

(note: my tins are labelled simply as "Dunhill Standard Mixture" - no "medium" reference)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-10		Medium	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

This was really bland. I didn't get any flavor at all. It smelled like shoe polish in the tin, and tasted like I would imagine shoe polish would taste. I've tried other english blends like this, and comparatively, this was just weak. Not at all what I was looking for.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pkloop (53)	2006-12-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I wish to start off this review by noting the tin I'm smoking is from the Murray era probably circa late 90's.

I opened this tin to discover what appears to be a fairly dark blend with some lighter pieces scattered about. It has a wonderfull full tobacco smell very similar to 965/EMP..

Packing: Packing was fairly easy as the ribbon cut complied well with my usual 3 step method. The leaf took to the charing light well and we were on our way!

Smoking: What I found as I worked my way through the bowl was an exceptionally well balanced English with each of the components popping up from time to time. VA sweetness , then the orientals, then the slightest hint of the Latakia. This smokes very..very..smooth. Yummy! Requiring few re-lights this one was just a pleasure to burn.

Finish: In true Dunhill style this finishes absolutely perfect. Never bitter..never ashy.. Smokes down to a fine grey ash.

I have read many compare this to 965. This is..imo..much more MILD then 965. Now that may well be due to the age of this tin. The VA's have had plenty of time to mellow and the blend as a whole has just plain had more time to mesh togther..smooth itself out. This blend also lacks the creaminess of 965 which may be due to the fact this blend lacks the cavendish.

By my tastes this may well be the perfect English for those that find 965 too heavy. An excellent all day blend sure to please all but the most demanding smokers..Enjoy this classic!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2006-08-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have a sneaking suspicion that if the name of this mixture had been more adventurously chosen - Nabob`s Mixture? - it would have got a better press. This is a magnificent all day mixture, and never fails to delight. The balance between the Virginias, Orientals and Latakia is almost perfect. This is the theme on which EMP, 759, Nightcap, Durbar etc are variations.

Over a period of time my taste buds have come to prefer Black Mallory to the Standard Mixtures and Red Rapparee to Durbar, but pipe smoking experience would be incomplete wthout the Standard Mixtures.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-08-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

08/02/2006 Standard Mixture Medium is my second foray into Dunhill blends. HAving tried and liked My Mixture 965, I decided to try S.M.M. I'm glad I did. I like virginia, oriental,latakia blends, and this was no disappointment. A mixture of dark and light tobacco, this was at the right moisture level straight from the tin. S.M.M. packs well, lights easily, and burns cool and clean. No one tobacco dominated this blend, but all melded together in a well orchestrated flavor sensation. When finished, I was rewarded with a clean dry pipe. I think S.M.M. would be too strong for the new smoker or for the aromatic lover, but makes a good all day smoke for a seasoned pipester who enjoys English blends.

08/11/2006 The more of this I smoke, the more I find myself reaching for it. I am upgrading this from 3 to 4 stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2005-02-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This, along with London Mixture are classic Dunhill English blends. Will not elaborate on smoking qualities, as that has been done very well above. Just wanted to re-emphasize as the first reviewer said, that this blend benefits greatly from a dedicated pipe. Started with one, and now have several dedicated to it. The tobacco just keeps improving, developing a slight sweet taste.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-09-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

As for 965 I always have this tobacco in my kabinet. I find it stronger than 965 but not much stronger. It leaves only grey ashes in the bowl and does not bite at all. I like this for a first smoke in the morning. This and 965 are sadly the only Dunhills that are availlable in Holland.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-02-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

It is with heavy heart that I write this review. As a lifelond devotee of tobacco, I have long recognized Dunhill as a benchmark in the industry, whether it be pipes, tobaccos or cigars.

I came to this mixture full of anticipation. I had read the reviews, studied the tobaccos and was ready for a treat. What I got instead was tongue trauma.

The tobacco looks and smells delightful in its ribbon cut. It packed well and took to the match with little difficulty.

I found though, that often at the very begining, (and always by halfway) of the bowl I started to get an awful taste and burn on my tongue. I am a usualy Virginia smoker so I know to go low and slow. I tried different pipes and levels of packing pressure. Nothing worked.

I know that it is undoubtably myself who is the oddball here and not the tobacco. I suspect it is the Turkish which is my nemesis. Despite that I can only recommend this to the heartiest of English smokers.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-08-13		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

As the name suggests , this is a standard blend for me . When I want to smoke and don't particularly want to brood over nuance , but just want a good smoking latakia blend I reach for this . It's good enough to be an every day smoker , average enough not to get tiresome , and blended well enough to keep the palate satisfied .If I had to choose only one tobacco for the rest of my life it would be this , not because it is special , but because it satisfies all the common denominators of my smoking needs .

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jwillis172 (6)	2022-03-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

These days, I smoke mainly Va and VaPers presented in flake. Orlik Golden Flake, Dunhill Flake, Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Navy Flake. All outstanding examples of the type. However, I do collect various and sundry English blends, especially from the Dunhill brand. I was pawing through my cellar and came across a tin of Dunhill “Standard Mixture” circa February 2014. Nice. I’ve never had a bad smoke from Dunhill.

The tin note is campfire, no doubt from the Latakia. Beyond that, a hint of caramelized sugar. Delightful! The cut is ribbon. The color is brown and tan.

I pack this stuff very lightly, just beyond gravity. Lighting and tamping are normal.

Wow! This stuff is good! Silky, smooth, balanced. I taste the spicy Orientals first, followed by the sweet and tangy Virginias and lastly the smokey Latakia. The taste is the same from beginning to end.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: 8 years

Purchased From: P&C

Similar Blends: C&D Oriental Silk.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Maduro (19)	2021-12-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

What a pleasant surprise. Immediately reminded me of Balkan Sasieni, one of my favorites, though a touch less Oriental-forward and, perhaps, more balanced. It was ready straight out of the can. Excellent product.

Pipe Used: Sigmund 5464, Chacom Cobra

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Cigar House, Lawrenceville, GA

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ocelot (33)	2021-11-30		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The best english mixture I´ve ever had. Maybe it is because of my first smoke containing latakia, but this blend is brilliant. I was afraid that after Dunhill discontinuation I won´t be able to get it. Fortunately, it is still available.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pacific Captain (17)	2021-11-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the mix that made the lights turn on for me, this is why you smoke a pipe. The tin note is like the smoke; spicy, smoky, peaty, and intense in a nice way. This mix has a nice hit of Latakia to keep it English, a good dose of oriental for spice and Virginia for brightness. Enough nicotine and a room note that is assertive, it satisfies anytime. Standard mixture is definitely not standard.

Pipe Used: Estate pipes and MM Mark Twain

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2021-10-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

A few months ago I was able to get hold of four tin cans of the Dunhill version, which were dated 2015. According to the tobacconist told me, they had stayed behind the other tobaccos and found them while cleaning. So I returned home very happy, thanking divine providence that in my usual tobacconist they are not obsessed with cleaning, the kind who clean at least once a year ...

Standard Mixture is a fine, smooth and rich mixture at the same time, composed of tobaccos that are appreciated of very good quality. Latakia works as a mere condiment, although perhaps we must take into account here the age of the tin that I have smoked, since this ingredient tends to attenuate with the years of storage. For our understanding, Cornell & Diehl's Stratfordshire is smokier than this. Here the components go hand in hand all the time, making this a very balanced mix (the word has already appeared). In the pipe it burns to perfection, without requiring relighting or leaving moisture. On the other hand, this is not going to bite you even if you smoke like a locomotive. After finishing the pipe it leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

The characteristics of this tobacco allow it to be loaded in a high capacity pipe. I have not smoked Peterson's version, but I would like to do it so I can compare.

Age When Smoked: 6 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cm1648 (108)	2021-05-30		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Prep: The moisture level was right on target.

If your goal was to find the perfectly balanced English blend, I'd say your search is likely over. What's the base of the blend? The Virginia? Maybe, delivering grassy, tart notes. The Latakia might be more prevalent at the very top of the bowl but evens out with its notable smoky, woody, notes. And spicy, earthy, floral, Turkish leaf holds right along the other two components.

So what is going for this blend? Quality and consistency. You can't go wrong here. If you are looking for an unique blend, you wont find it here however. That isnt a fault per se, just a fact. 7.5/10

Similar Blends: University Professor, Westminster, Squadron Leader.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kaisersoze (10)	2021-04-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Lovely blend, I find it quite nice. Upon first light the Virginias put off a little sweetness and I pick up some woodsy campfire like flavor from the Latakia. From the point halfway down the flavor kind of takes on a herbal tea like taste which I am assuming are the orientals. Only one relight, using the frank method, and it consistently burned all the way down the bowl to fine ash. I’m really primarily becoming a VaPer guy, and when it comes to English I broke the cherry on Nightcap, which I also love dearly. But I could see SM being something i keep around as a nice alternative to NC. It’s just a solid manly smoke that won’t disappoint.

Pipe Used: MM diplomat

Age When Smoked: Fresh, 5 months

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mids_pipeandcigaruk (4)	2021-04-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Finding my way in pipe smoking English blends are my go to it appears. This is definitely an everyday day go to for me. On lighting the Latakia takes a fore front with the orientals on the back ground. Further down the bowl you can pick up all components of the blend.

Pipe Used: Ratrays Good deal

Purchased From: GQ tobaccos

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gr8tefuldawg (87)	2021-03-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Dunhill- Standard Mixture

As you can tell, this is a review of a dunhill tin. Do i suspect a large difference between the two overall, No. However i would say it all depends how much weight you give on aging of tobacco.

This blend is smooth, and I was obviously mistaken as I thought this was going to be an VA/OR.

Standard Dunhill ribbon cut, makes it easy to pack and smoke, this is a 4 year old tin. Have enjoyed this blend for the past few days, however not something i would immediately add to the rotation.

Latakia and Oriental mix well, slightly smoky and sour, with a toasty Virginia flavor. Lights and packs well.

As I smoke this more frequently the more underwhelming it becomes, not a blend i will most likely re-visit and glad i didn't stock up on during the great DUNHILL scare.

Pipe Used: rossi 320, chacom billiard

Age When Smoked: 4 yrs

Purchased From: Somewhere

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Aurorasofautumn (38)	2021-03-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

There are a lot of good to very good English mixtures around. Peterson Standard Mixture also fits that bill. I enjoy it every once in a while and appreciate its clear, natural taste of tobacco. That being said, it's certainly not one of those tobaccos I couldn't live without. One thing that's also worth mentioning is that I find this tobacco to have quite some body for a traditional medium mixture.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FilipPruncu (89)	2020-10-17		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

What an interesting blend!

This is a bit difficult to review, because at first, it was more like an oriental blend, but after a while, it became an oriental-english blend.

Why oriental? Well, because when I opened this tin (this is a 9 year old Dunhill tin), the tin note was that of a perfect leathery and tangy oriental. It was actually oriental/turkish forward, not really english, since it had that spicy touch to it. It has it’s dose of turkish in it, yes, but it could also be due to the fact that it was an old tin and it had a bit of... yes, mold. But that didn’t affect me nor the tobacco to taste great. The tin note was reaaaaly really good, and got even better after it started to “breathe”. After I let it breather for a while, the smoky latakia started to be present in the tin note as well, but just after the oriental which was still forward.

The blend is made of shorter, medium cut ribbons (not really the Dunhill cut, at least not in my tin, but still great) with a very nice balance of colors, mostly dark gold leaves, some brown leaves and some black leaves. Came in an excellent moisture level, despite its age. Like I usually do, I take enough tobacco to fill a bowl and let it out to dry for about 5 minutes. It can be smoked right from the tin, but I prefer this one a bit drier, as it gives more flavor.

The first smokes were quite smooth. It’s very pleasing when you retrohale, it gives you a very interesting olfactory note. It’s not spicy but when you retrohale it gives you like a nutty, smoky taste.

The smoke itself? Well, the taste is not as strong as the tin note, it’s actually mild to medium. It’s pleasant, not super complex, nor straightforward. It is pleasing, it’s sweet, it has some leathery notes, nutty notes, tangy notes and, after I let it breathe more, it started to have the sweet latakia notes as well, but not a very smoky latakia, but rather a smooth, silky latakia sweetness. Actually, after you smoke half of the bowl you start feeling more of the latakia with its creamy sweetness, after a harsher, leathery turkish.

This gets smoother and smoother as you smoke it and it plays a lot. It’s clear that the latakia is not in the front, it’s like a backup for the turkish but they blend very well. At times it’s silky and smooth, then comes the leathery and spicy orientals which I remember detecting them similarly in London Mixture (though I enjoyed London Mixture was much better, it was more ‘in your face’ and ‘straight to the point’).

Curiously the room note is filled with latakia, but in the pipe you feel it only slightly. It’s not super smoky latakia, it’s more of a sweet latakia. but it’s a very good combination of latakia, turkish and virginia. The virginia, I don’t really know what to say about it here. I kept searching for the virginia but i guess i’m just too concentrated on these two tobaccos, the latakia and the oriental.

It delivers a thick smoke, burns well to very well, no tongue bite, no hot smoke, just cold, thick, silky and very very tasty smoke.

Oh, and I need to mention that the room note is STRONG. I mean this is something like Nightcap’s room note in terms of “power”, yet not so disturbing. So take this into consideration. I personally love it (as I also love Nightcap’s room note), but I doubt that many people around you will.

This is a tobacco that it’s good to chill, to just sit, smoke, eventually sip a fine whisky (I don’t know if it would go well with anything else. I smoke latakia with a lot of stuff but this blend isn’t excellent with other drinks, except for the creamy espresso). Not an Islay scotch, but maybe with a smoother irish whisky. And in the night, when you eventually stay and read in silence, this is a very good meditative smoke. I don’t know if you understand what I’m trying to say but I’m just trying to say what sensations and thoughts it delivers to me.

But, to sum it all up. Highly recommended!

Age When Smoked: 9 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc pipes (110)	2020-07-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This was one of the tobaccos that I first tried during my second foray into pipe smoking back in 2009. As far as Dunhill Latakia blends, this is the only other blend that suited me nearly as well as EMP. The Latakia seems more behaved in this milieu than in other offerings and acts as an enhancement instead of taking the lead role. The Turkish leaf plays wonderfully off the VA base Adding a sweet and sour contrast. Medium bodied and medium in strength. Worth a try for the all day English smoker.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lager (53)	2020-03-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I agree with Pidepiper that the latakia is not the main player here. The orientals and virginas play the main role. The orientals are somewhat bitter,while the Virginia's add the sweetness. The latakia shows it's presence but melds in the back.The cut is a fine ribbon the way I like which leads to easy packing and lighting. The moisture level is good and few relights are needed. Good intro to an English for the novice and repeatable for the veteran. Highly recommended. STG has done a good job with this one.

Pipe Used: Pete's, Savs, Stanwells

Age When Smoked: New to 2 months

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MAddMAnn (17)	2019-12-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I’m not sure what to think of this one other than that it is a favorite. The orientals are so smooth and I find it to be a very subtle smoke. Though not a very mild one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fletch (11)	2018-04-13		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Cracked this tin last month and jarred it. This tobacco is anything but standard.

Latakia is well balanced with very tasty Virginia’s. Tasty and warm as the smoke fills your mouth. Hold it and savor the light smoky flavor. Exhale for a sweet aftertaste. I am getting a little more kick/rush than other reviewers, but I’m smoking on a bit of an empty stomach. Put this one in your rotation folks!

Pipe Used: Peterson Bent

Age When Smoked: Unsure. 1 mo in a jar

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.James (39)	2018-04-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A staple in many a cellar, Dunhill Standard Mixture is a classic blend of grassy citrus Virginias, sweetly smokey Cyprian Latikia, and woodsy resinous earthy Orientals. Each tobacco sings through at various times but are present throughout. I taste a touch of sugar that lends to a harmonious palate filling blend. Burns clean to a gray ash needing few relights. Leaves a pleasant sweet and spicy aftertaste. Stock up while you can

Age When Smoked: 1 year

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lazarus77 (91)	2017-12-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I like it, - good, solid, English blend. Cool, dry smoke without tongue bite and no relights needed. Oriental forward with Latakia & Virginia in support. Worth to try it and to have it in rotation. Old school smoke !!!

Pipe Used: Various

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	westfalia_piper (3)	2017-09-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

The name already tells it all. Standard, not ment in a disrespectful but positive way. This one sets kind of a pace for the english type of blends. It's a tobacco which impressively shows how a good traditional Latakia blend is done. Medium in every measure, in tin note, taste and nicotine as well. Standard Mixture isn't boring or bland, though. The blend offers the typical english spiciness right from the tin. You can smell a nice sweetness from the Virginias, blended well with the spicy, slightly sour Orientals and a dash of smokey Latakia. Pleasant and not overbording. I would recommend this one, in line with Early Morning Pipe, to people interested in experiencing the english blends. The packing of the pipe is a laugh with its traditional ribbon cut. And after two lights, it's there and burns all by itself. The taste, as expected, is mouth- filling and satisfying, though not too strong or cloying. A nice, subtly sweet Virginia base is shown here on which the Orientals and the Latakia play their game. All in all, the taste is well- rounded but nouanced enough to provide interest . The taste gets fuller to the end of the smoke without challenging the smoker with heavy nicotine like f.ex. Nightcap. You get the typical Latakia-like feel on your tongue due to the natural oils this sort of tobacco contains. Smokey and creamy, a great tobacco. If you don't know which one will be the best to pick up out of all these blends, this one is a great decision.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Royal Prince 30, Rattrays Marlin Apple

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Danno (106)	2016-06-24		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Strong

This review is for a Murray's-era (2003) tin of Standard Mixture Medium.

Dunhill, and especially Murray's production, has been my personal gold standard for tobacco for over 20 years. I like nearly everything offered from that era, and can count several favourites.

This aged tin of SMM was no exception. The nose upon opening was classic Dunhill: rich, thick, heady, briny. Slightly ominous, there is nothing else like it, for my money.

The smoke is slightly perfumey, recalling the best oriental tobaccos, layed expertly on a base of quality virginia. Lots of taste, lots of flavour, and ample nicotine. London Mixture is at the top of my heap, but this is bloody close.

Wonderful stuff, like consuming history. Sad that it requires fistfulls of cash to obtain now. The only other downside is that you'll be unlikely to taste much else afterward - the curse of all that oral luxury.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Alhaji (33)	2015-11-19		Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Evidently, like most Dunhill blends, the tobaccos used in this blend are top notch. IMO however, the Latakia is overpowering for me and is in the forefront from the get-go. I'm unable to taste the other flavours in the blend and in all honesty cannot see the balance which some reviewers have spoken to.

The only balance is the dominance of the Latakia. For those who want a strong dose of Latakia, it can be found here and makes me wonder how Dunhill's Standard Mixture Full will taste if it has a higher dose of Latakia than this 'bakky'. Or does it? At the same level and in place of this, I will vote for Balkan Sasieni because of its more balanced smoke and less overpowering Latakia; for a milder smoke, I prefer Dunhill's EMP and its Standard Mixture Mellow. To rate it according to the balance I require in an 'English' (Oriental/Turkish/Latakia/Virginia) blend, this is a two star.

========================================================== December 21st 2015

When I first reviewed this 'guy', I might have been a little unfair. I gave it a two star. I have smoked it a few more times and seem to appreciate it better. I now find it more balanced than I originally thought and have begun to enjoy it. It deserves an upgrade to a three star.

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2015-09-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Really like this tobacco, it has aa very good taste and the latakia play a good background role supported by the virginias and orientals leafs. Still I would like a bit mor oriental, but tastes are tastes. I found it good all day tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2015-06-24		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: this appropriately-named mixture provides a middle-of-the-road English blend which delivers the contrast of flavors for which this genre is famous.

Out of the tin, this mixture delivers the olfactory experience of an English blend: the incense-like combination of scents, like a blend of herbs or spices, that contrast and balance one another internally to deliver a constantly-changing palate that is both paradoxical and logical. At first light, the smoky Latakia leaps to life, balanced by piquant Orientals and underscored with a sweet, rich Virginia that has the depth of flavor for which Dunhill is famous. Without the heavy load of humectants that many tobaccos seem to carry, this blend burns easily and well, becoming sweeter as the Virginias caramelize and the smoky Latakia melds with the Orientals to form a single bold flavor. As with all things Dunhill, the word "professional" applies here: the tobaccos are balanced in perfect harmony, the cut is thin, and the resulting mixture smokes well down the end of each bowl.

Similar Blends: Peter Stokkebye - Proper English (No.52), Dunhill - Early Morning Pipe, Villiger - Early Day (1888).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	samanfromiran (22)	2015-02-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

this is indeed an english standard mixture.good taste and good level of nicotine exist in this blend.the latakia and orientals are combined with virginias and i liked this stuff

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2014-12-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Dunhill Standard Mixture is a typical English blend. Virginia, Latakia and Oriental well-distributed and a full pleasant taste. Nothing extraordinary, but a good latakia mixture. Better than 965 (in this moment). If you are a fan of Mr. Alfred and if you are a real latakia lover, you can try to smoke Early Mornin Pipe in the morning, Standard Mixture in the afternoon and Nightcap in the evening. So you can enjoy an all day long latakia smoke and this is the only way to notice the differences among the three Dunhill mixtures. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2014-02-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I find this blend to be a middle of the road English that is nicely blended to form a very good blend. It lights and stays lit well and burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. The moisture level is just right even just after opening up the tin. Another quality blend from Dunhill that I recommend giving a try when you have the chance.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-07-30		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Being a huge Dunhill fan, I wanted to try this to see how it compared to the rest of their line. In a word "unfavorably". Although it maintains Dunhill's great cut, easy packing and reliable burning characteristics, this is my least favorite blend from my favorite blender. For me, Standard Mixture is just a good "cutter" for their more flavorful blends (Nightcap/Royal Yacht) when I want a "little less" that full strength.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-07-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very middle of the road. Nothing remarkable. No zing, no pop. I know its common to say, but this blend really is just boring. Nothing really stood out, just sort of a confused smokey experience.

Smoke in peace, brothers and sisters of the leaf.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-01-08		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I did not really enjoy this, it was bitter to me and had a bitter aftertaste. I couldn't even finish the tin. I can not quite put my finger on it, but there was something I just did not like about this mixture.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Demetri (113)	2012-10-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I seem to be negative in my reviews of the current offerings under the Dunhill label. I do hate to admit that considering how much I enjoyed MM965 pre-Murrays for years and years. You see, folks, I allowed myself to fool myself when I found Standard Mixture Mild to be closer (but not by much) to my old favorite than today's 965. I incorrectly reasoned that if Mild was not bad, Medium would be better. Mistake. False premises. I had an instant dislike of the taste of Medium from first bowl and throughout my one (and to be only) tin. I had to force myself to finish the tin. It does have quality tobaccos I guess, but the particular recipe just did not taste good for me. Others may find this their cup of tea, so to speak, but not I. The mixture of Orientals assaulted my taste buds, pure and simple. They overwhelmed everything else and did not complement themselves. I will stick with London Mixture henceforth as the best this label has to offer at this time. And I do enjoy that one very much.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AlexL (26)	2012-06-18		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Bought Danish tin of this stuff. Too mild for my taste and pretty dull. It's not that bad, but why bother when I have so many other possibilities. It can suit those who like mild tobacco with "Camel" feeling.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-03-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Not very impressed by this one, but its alright. Not very stong, but had a bit much of a nic kick which i did not enjoy

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gladi8tor96 (143)	2012-01-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

My tin just says "Standard Mixture" and was not the 'Medium' mixture, which I could have purchased at my local shop. However, it appears the 'full' isn't made anymore and it doesn't say 'Mild' either, so I assume this is where this tin belongs (Orlik Made).

Anyway...I didn't detect, in the tin, the scent of Orientals or Latakia in this blend at all. I didn't notice them either when I smoked it. It was a decent smoke however and reminded me of a good VA blend, but lacking any and all sweetness. It smokes very well, was mild on the tongue, decent N-kick, but was a bit harsh on the mouth and throat and smelled over-all tasty. Was disappointed as I didn't detect Orientals and Latakia though.

Not thrilled with this blend.

Pipe Used: Bent Billard

Age When Smoked: New from store - 1-3 months

Purchased From: Jeanie's Smoke Shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-12-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have been hesitating for quite a while about trying the new Dunhill made by Orlik. I first tried the Navy Rolls - which I had never tried before - and ended up disappointed. So, for the sake of fairness, I decided to give one that I had already smoked a try. I ordered a tin of SM. Upon opening the tin, no surprise here: this tobacco looks and smells the same as the Murray production, with maybe a less spicy smell to it. Smoking it remains very similar to the Murray as well, with maybe less taste from the Turkish tobacco. It is still nice and flavorful, without any major changes trhoughout the bowl, except a bigger presence from the Turkish. SM smokes very well, barely bites - only when I push it - and left me overall pleased from the experience. The Vitamine N dose is not quite mild, but not quite medium either. I don't know about the other varieties, but this one comes to me as well done by Orlik. I think I will rebuy every once in a while. And maybe try Royal Yacht next time to see how they managed it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-09-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a new tin that no longer says medium on the tin. I was very excited to try this tobacco but I must say that I am very disappointed.

The tin smells fantastic and has the aroma of pure tobacco. The tobacco itself is a little moist and does need some airing out.

Complaint: This tobacco smokes ROUGH. I rarely get tongue bite but this blend has done a number on my tongue, throat and nose. If I were to guess, I'd say the Virginia used in this blend is too young. This really is too bad since the flavor of this tobacco is great. I plan to empty the tin into a mason jar for a few months. I will update this review around Thanksgiving.

UPDATE 9/19/11:

I decided to smoke two more bowls of this in two different pipes. The tobacco doesn't bite as bad. However, the mouthfeel is similar to smoking Perique. At this point, this tobacco tastes like a red Virginia and Perique blend. The Virginia is so tart that I can't taste the Turkish or Latakia but I will continue aging this tin.

10-17-11

Vader, there is a difference between strong and harsh. This tobacco is and continues to be harsh. Doesn't hold a candle to London Mixture.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Budman (25)	2011-09-05		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

My tin says "Standard Mixture"? Well whatever the Tin says is irrelevant. This blend, London Mixture and Nightcap have become my regulars. I think Orlik has done a superb job! Good starter blend for someone wanting to look into the English world, as the Latakia is there but not the dominate leaf. The Virginas and the Orientals play the main course and the Latakia is the backup. This packs and lights well and smokes to a medium gray ash. Thanks Orlik!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2011-09-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

This must be the tobacco with the best earned name: Standard Mixture. Should I need to describe an English mixture, I'd hand a tin over without saying a word. Well balanced, with a slight predominance of Orientals over Virginias, and the "right" amount of Latakia for a medium strength English mixture.

Note: this review is based on the current Orlik reincarnation. I never had the chance to try the original Dunhill nor the Murray versions.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-06-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Appearance is a ribbon of mixed browns. Tin smells of smoke, musty, and slightly sweet. Tastes lightly sweet, with a soft smokiness.

Standard is a good name for this, in the sense that it is a nice tobacco to make your usual. A nice mixture of tobaccos making for a very nice smoke. In the tin it smells just a bit like the old snuff my grandfather used. A nice honest tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MDP (39)	2011-05-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first review of this blend was the Murray edition, and I gave it four stars. The Orlik tin being reviewed now was opened and smoked without and with age. It was marked "Standard Mixture Medium" before the various legal restrictions on tobacco labels of the words "medium" and "mild."

Fresh, SMM was edgy, sharp on the palette and lacking balance. The tangy Oriental tobaccos almost completely overshadowed both the fine Virginia and Latakia. The tin contents were also a color wheel of bright, light browns, dark browns and black tobaccos- very attractive. There were also nice chunks of flake left un-rubbed.

Aged (w/o vacuum sealing), this tobacco really changed after just 18 months- all for the better. The edges were softened a bit allowing me to taste the various flavors without the sting. Noteworthy was the near uniform color of the tobaccos, with all but the black tobaccos turning several hues darker. The most beneficial change came from all the tobaccos shining through with flavor, albeit with the emphasis still on the Oriental component. The Virginias and Latakia playing solid, supporting roles.

This is a blend to buy and rest. It has every bit of potential to reach the flavor depth SMM achieved during Murray's better years, even outshining it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ap (57)	2011-05-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Classic mixture with the Orientals running the show, Latakia its there but more in the background. This is a medium body smoke, good for anytime of the day.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-03-18		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Hell yes. In my book, this blend is something like an Arch-English. The tin note literally makes me smile and sigh every time I load a bowl. Not my favorite tobacco, but perfect at what it does and manifestly enjoyable to smoke. Something about the warm, musty leather flavor seems uniquely Dunhill to me. It's interesting and well-balanced, with a prominent turkish component that really gives this a straight-up full tobacco flavor. Not everyone will want to keep a tin on hand, but I feel I can safely recommend it as an "ought-to try" to anyone who likes a traditional full English.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth 69 (117)	2011-02-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I smoked quite a lot of this when Murrays made it going back almost twenty years ago and still have many of the empty tins. This newer Orlik reformulation seems close but not quite the same. Nevertheless, it's overall is a fine blend and this brand is probably destined to regain pinnacle of quality english blends as it was in the past. It's a bit too moist out of the tin but dries out fairly well over a few hours. The cut is finer which I like; Makes for a more harmonious and unified character. But, there is a slight harshness that I think is coming from the red virginia. The older Dunhill SMM had a predominately golden virginia base with a far lessor element of some stoved hard pressed broken red virgina cake that had a slight tea and herbal sweetness. This red virginia in this newer blend seems to be more plentiful, not as well matured, pressed far less and more so spun out to ribbon. I can't quite tell if there is less latakia or the finer cut is attenuating it's character but, I found the level of the smokiness more subdued but very pleasing with a slight salty character which I really like. Age may take off the edge of the red virginia or perhaps Orlik could improve that component.

Addendum:

On further consideration I think this blend's deficiency due to harshness possibly due to the not so well matured red virgina as noted above is more of an issue. It irratates and tickles the back of my throat and nasal cavity less pleasant than perique with it's impact. I have lowerd my recommendation to two stars and hope for improvement in the future.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-02-07		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Revised: The Orlik Standard Mixture Dunhill is a pretty good blend. This one seems somewhat closer to the older renditions of this blend, though I always smoked more of London Mixture than this one in the past. Less sweet than London Mixture (past) but about the same strength, slightly more oriental forward and a bit more heavy than London Mixture, well rounded overall. I wasn't impressed at all with Orlik's Early Morning Pipe, My Mixture 965, or London Mixture (after a few bowls), but Standard Mixture is a tolerable, mild-medium flavored blend. Of all of the Orlik reissues of the Dunhill blends, Standard Mixture is only one I'd buy again, but it's not going to be a regular for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-02-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

It's certainly nice to have this tobacco available in the market. Dunhill Standard needs about 10 minutes of air time before loading (at least in the winter dry air months). The orientals seem to be the front runner to my taste. It lights easily and burns effortlessly with an occasional relight needed. It stays tasty down to the bottom of the bowl. It produces lots of smoke, plenty of rich oriental tobacco flavor and provides enough nicotine to satisfy a habit. Tripjoker's review says it all but I needed to put my 2 cents in to add an exclamation point.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SergentPepper (5)	2010-12-18		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

In my opinion, it's not a bad thing to have standards in your mind for every day life: you can use them as compass when you find yourself lost in a world ready to sell you anything money can buy. It doesn't mean one has to love just a single thing. It's simply because it helps "find the North" whenever you just don't know anymore... -In classical music, Bach or Mozart could be wonderful composers to refer to as "standard genius". -In Pop Music, if you refer to anything else than The Beatles, it simply means that: a)You've got no education. b)You're deaf (!) So, no better name could have been assigned to "Standard Mixture" by Dunhill: a)it's a mixture b)It's a satandard ! I always have this blend on my mind when I'm tasting a new one: a)If it's 50% as good as SM, it's a VERY GOOD tobacco. b)If it's better, it's too much for all day smoke. As an Irish descendant, I want to add this: a)The Bristish Empire didn't always produce marvellous things for the rest of the world, at the very least. b)I do admit they gave us: Football (soccer), The Beatles and Standard Mixture by Dunhill :-) Perfect balance, easy to smoke, wonderful taste for hours.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-12-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Great news! This week (1 Dec 2010) I received my order of the newly re-available Dunhill Tobaccos (purchased from Iwan Ries.) The former Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium is now called Standard Mixture Mellow (due to new US regulation, companies can no longer use words like light, mild, medium, etc.)

I was totally devastated a couple of years ago when I discovered that Dunhill tobaccos had ceased operation. (This was on the heels of Gauloises rolling tobacco having stopped US distribution, too. I felt doomed.)

I had been smoking Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium for over 25 years. I would occasionally pick up tins of other tobaccos (especially Dunhill Nightcap) but Standard Mixture Medium was my go to tobacco for day in, day out enjoyment. Other reviewers have described it as their "desert island" tobacco. I would totally agree, if I could only smoke one brand, this would be it.

It took me over six months of trying various other English Style tobaccos before I found BriarPatch's review of Samuel Gawith's Skiff. Between that and their Balkan Flake, I was pretty contented to have found tobaccos that could "almost" replace my Standard Mixture Medium.

I was absolutely giddy in September when I saw the announcement that Dunhill tobaccos would be available in the US again. I placed my order and patiently waited. Last night I opened my first tin and here is what I found.

The tobacco smoked great, perhaps just a bit milder than I remember. (But then again, perhaps smoking Skiff this past year has bumped me up half a step. I really can't tell.) Also, the tobacco was perhaps just a bit finer cut than I recall, but that's not problematic to me. It smoked smooth and cool. If you are looking for a medium strength English mixture, this is the one to try!

All in all, I would say that Dunhill is definitely back.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-07-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Murray's production.

Very rich and tasty, without being strong. A true delight.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tee-dub (48)	2010-06-26		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

This is an Orlik tin which reads simply 'Standad Mixture' on the cheap adhesive label. Alas, no quaint painted tin, but really who cares?

From other reviews, I sort of expected to be underwhelmed by a tobacco unlikely to impress or offend.

Truth to tell, this was a very pleasant surprise. It sort of snuck up on me. The more I smoke it, the better I like it. I can find nothing negative to say about it, apart from the above-mentioned cheap sticker label. Nothing about it stands out, but the overall experience is first-rate.

Compared to other mixtures in the Dunhill line, I found it heavier in body than London Mixture, but less heavy than 965, and less sweet than either of them.

Well balanced, well behaved and delicious.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I barely tasted the latakia, but this is a very well rounded English blend anyway and tastes wonderful. Nutty, complex, meaty, with a hint of spice.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2010-02-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

EU tin. High quality Latakia mixture. The Latakia dominates but the Oriental and Virginia provide the finishing touch. This tobacco taste grows on you. Good for an all day Latakia mixture.

Virginia lover

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-01-28		Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Tin: SMM is two-thirds light-brown and tan, some dark brown-black, with flecks of greyish brown. It is the standard short and long, thin ribbon cut. Maybe my perception changed, but the color spectrum seemed to change by the time the tin was finished in one week. It had changed to an even mixture of light tan, brown, and dark tobaccos. It has a very faint, difficult to detect, fruity and smoky Latakia aroma.

Packing & Lighting: It packs easily. The smoke could be hot, depending on how it is packed. The bowl was hot. SMM lit easily and stayed lit, with one relight.

Taste & Aroma: SMM is not strong or robust in taste or aroma. It is not sweet, compared to other VA-based tobacco and is no Latakia blast. Although it is an English blend, SMM is not sour or overly smoky. No one tobacco dominates. The VA's are detectable, contributing to a vaguely toasty, nutty, and smoky Latakia taste.

In the first bowl, moisture does not build up, but it does with multiple bowls. Depending on how it is packed and smoked, it might leave a small, dry dottle under a fine white-grey ash and only the slightest bit of moisture in the heel.

Nicotine: By the end of a bowl, it is moderately heady. The only aspect which might be said to make its presence known, but unwanted, is Nic O'Teen. I do not prefer, cannot handle, a heady tobacco(The original My Mixture 965 was too heady in this regard). By the time I had finished with the tin, I had come to bemoan the anticipated nicotine effect at bowl's end-like looking down a dark alley knowing Nic O'Teen lurked at the other end.

Room Note: Being not unpleasant, it has a light smell of wet hay.

Summation: It is a daily smoke, but not for all day long.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	colt25314 (42)	2009-11-22		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A tue English blend in every sense of the term. What can I add other than it is another epic blend that is, sadly, no more. BAT ownes the rights to Dunhill tobaccos (cigarette & pipe). BAT has decided, so it is said, to concentrate on the cancer sticks and do nothing with the Dunhill pipe tobaccos.

Please, Please, PLEASE join me and contact British American Tobaco (BAT) and demand that they either manufacture all of Dunhill Pipe Tobaccos or sell the rights to someone who will. It is insanity to let this and other Dunhill pipe tobacco blends die out. Shame on you BAT!!!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thorre (27)	2009-08-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This blend will always have a special place in my heart. When I started pipe smoking, like most beginners, I began with the cheap aros. Cherry, and vanilla, and ect. I got tired of those quickly. I went into a B&M in LA and asked for a tobacco that would be rich, and taste more like real tobacco. The person working there handed me a tin of SMM. I opened the tin, and it was love at first smell. When smoked, it was even better. Very rich, and exotic. More like the cigars I was used to smoking. From this blend, I started smoking the other Dunhills, and on and on. This is, or was a great newbe English. I would love having some now.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The name describes it perfectly. A very well blended , balanced and tasty English blend. Not overpowering, very tasty and rewarding. I still preffer myMIX 965 but this is a good rotation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco is really one of its kind. I love it, and get back to it every once in a while. Although not an all day tobacco for me, it is one of my preferred. I would also add that comparing side by side the Orlik and the older version, I feel this Dunhill is the nearest to the original, compared to others (EMP, 965). The orientals are very present, and it is still a real English mixture. A good introduction to English tobaccos and a great classic. UPDATE: I am finishing one tin I bought recently. Orientals far in the background. Quality is really not improving with time !

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

My tin of this no longer produced classic is of the Murray's era and has been aging for no less than 10 years. I had purchased this tobacco with the intent of selling it but said, "Screw it. I'm going to try some." This was my first experience with this particular blend. Upon popping the tin, the pungent aroma of Latakia wafted up beyond the age stained accordion paper. The moisture level was perfect and I loaded a large meerschaum with the contents in anticipation. Lighting was easy.

The first 1/4 of the bowl was smooth and tasted of Latakia and Virginia. As the bowl progressed, the orientals begam to make itself apparent, blending with the other ingredients without making it's presence too strong. Every now and then, the sweetness of the Virginia would make itself known. The combination of flavors reminded me somewhat of Aperitif, but only a bit.

By mid bowl, the orientals became more pronounced, lending a buttery element to the flavor. The Latakia began to take a seat backstage.

From then on, the smoke remains pretty much the same and burned to a white ash with no goopiness left behind.

This blend would run second behind my favorite, Aperitif, but it's deserving of a solid three stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Update: With the taste of aged, Murray's SMM fresh on my mind, I wanted to see what the Orlik version had going for it. I have not tried any Orlik production Dunhill until now.

Approximating the differences for my five year aged tin against a fresh tin, the new SMM is in the same style as the Murray SMM. The Orlik tin had brighter tobaccos by color and flavor, noticeable pieces of flakes not in the Murray version, with a heavier overall taste and a bit lighter in nicotine. I think a reasonable comparison can be made between SMM and GLP Samarra.

I think it will age well and has shown me that Orlik can make English blends without adding flavors, casing or reducing the impact of the condimental leaf. I will be happy to age the Orlik production in some quantity and look forward to trying other favorites, such as London Mixture and Elizabethan.

Original Review: My review is from a tin aged for over five years, obviously Murray-era. The tobacco was nearly uniform dark brown, grey and black with the moisture just right. Medium long ribbons were okay to pack with just a little care. Drawing on the filled, unlit pipe was a pleasure. I?m not much anymore for big pipe bowls, but this does great in larger sized bowls. It works with my favored group 3 and 4?s, too, SMM being just more subtle.

SMM lit easily, burned evenly and left the bowl mostly dry, with salt & pepper ash, heavy on the salt. This takes few relights. The aroma burning is winning. There?s just nothing like smoking aged tobacco.

As to flavor, it was round, smooth, full and impeccably balanced. The style just screams ?Traditional!? This is not a Latakia powerhouse, nor for Oriental overdose. Neither is SMM about Virginias subtly spiced with condimental tobaccos. I can taste all the ingredients without each cancelling the others out, attributes of a truly complimentary blend. There is also a lovely creaminess to the flavor and aroma.

This is little like Squadron Leader, my all-time favorite English blend. I could smoke either when in the mood for different styles without feeling slumming. Samarra might be in the same style, as well as Brebbia?s Preludio.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-07-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not a wimpy mixture by any means, but in my opinion a bit of a lightweight. The individual ingredients seem to be off balance to my palate, but this may change with some age, especially the Latakia-Virginia interplay.

The tobacco quality is very high and it is blended with care. While it doesn't push my buttons, I can easily see why it has legions of fans. It is good tobacco and I would recommend to anyone looking for that easy smoking lighter English mixture

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-05-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Update (5/4/08): Dunhill's Standard Mixture Medium is currently available, but the distribution is spotty. I cannot obtain tin's consistently through my brick and mortar locations.

Dunhill's Standard Mixture Medium was and is currently my standard English blend. Sadly, this blend has been discontinued. The availability of this blend is infinite.

I find the blending of the tobacco is balanced. None the various tobaccos in the blend dominate the flavor. SMM is smooth and full on the tongue. However, it still must be smoked slowly. I have on occasions, smoked to fast. The result was slight tongue burn. Don't the let the smoothness, allow you get carried away.

This is not a latakia, virginia, or oriental dominated blend. They're all in balance. That reason made it my everyday english blend. Since Dunhill stopped producing this blend, I sadly savor the remaining tin stash. There are tins available, but when that supply is exhausted. Standard Mixture Medium will be just in our memory.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-04-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

When I open the humidor, my hand seems to gravitate towards the tin of standard mixture. I will keep a small stock around.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-10-04		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a very mild version of some of my favorite latakia blends...Penzance or My Mixture 965. It is a pleasant change for me to have a latakia blend without it being overpowering. I found this relaxing and enjoyable.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-07-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Strong

Harsher version of EMP... Room note: Canned divorce

Butz-Choquin Canadian

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-11-02		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

The most appropriate word in my opinion to describe the mix is balance . Everything stays within a zone without extremes . The smokey Latakia alternate gracefully the first seat with the sweet VA's , but none of them goes to the extremes . The pleasure curve goes quite high but not higher . Very good , but not great .

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-10-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill makes more of its magical ambrosia with this blend. The hint of latakia is perfect, I've smoked it in many types of briar and meerschaum and unless overpuffed it offers a cool dry smoke. I have yet to smoke a Dunhill blend and not enjot it and though I would not lable this brand the holy grail I do smoke this weed at least twice a week. A staple for all pipe smokers weekly rotation. iannweeks@msn.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SopwithCamel (255)	2004-09-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Another truth in advertising coup for Duhill! This is a text book English blend. It is well balanced and satisfying, without being overwhelming. If you are not a fan of Latakia, it won't be your cup of tea. If you are a fan, this is a solid blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ivanhoe (36)	2004-08-05		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Like all the Dunhill tobaccos, this one has the appearance of quality. The cut is uniform and the appearance of the tobaccos in the blend is attractive. It lights easily and stays lit pretty well. It tastes like latakia in a particularly ashy way.

I have two problems with Std Mix Medium: First, the flavor is so middle-of-the road that I find it boring. About two-thirds of the way through a bowl of this, the relatively high nicotine content is felt and I start to wonder why I should keep going to the end. I notice no change in the taste from start to finish. The second problem is the aftertaste. Its ashy taste would be OK by itself, but the strong, ashy aftertaste lingers for the rest of the day. I usually brush my teeth about a half-hour after finishing a bowl of this because I want to get rid of the aftertaste and fuzzy SMM residue on my mouth and tongue.

Diehard latakia fans may enjoy this. I'll find my latakia elsewhere.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-05-29		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I used to buy this one when the store was out of my favorites or whatever English I was in the mood for. Calling it a standard mixture doesn't do it justice though, it's much more, and better than other blends such as Aperitiff in terms of being a mild English. I tend to get 965 if both on are the same shelf, but if it isn't, this one does just fine. Any lack of excitement disappears once the smoke starts and that wonderful aroma comes out. A nice blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2004-05-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I do not have the time to describe the attributes of this tobacco in detail as others do. However, as I do wish to contribute some feedback, I will simply rate this tobacco on a scale of 1 ?10, including tenths.

Unlike any other tobacco I have smoked, this one, for whatever it contains, irritated and tickled my nasal passages. For this reason alone, I rate this tobacco 5.0 out of 10.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-02-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This to me is exactly as the tin and name states a standard medium english blend. It is a cool, easy smoke which does not take alot of attention to get it into the zone and is quite friendly. This is a great english blend to smoke when you are reading a book or studying in that it does not take alot of effort or concentration to get good flavor. To me this would be a good blend for some people who would like to try english blends and are not experienced with them. I have tried many english blends and still very much enjoy this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-10-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Standard Mixture Medium is yet another in a series of Dunhull English blends. There is no question that Dunhill makes some of the best English blends- something for every taste. This happens to not be one of my favorites.

The Virginias take the reins on this blend and yield grudgingly to the more exotic ingredients. I keep waiting for the more exotic elements to come to the front of the class as the bowl wears on, but this never happens. OK, it gets a bit more latakia-ish towards the end, but not enough to satisfy. It seems to smoke a little hot for a Dunhill English as well.

Good for those that do not want an in-your-face latakia experience, but not so great for this pipester.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-09-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

There is an unbelievable smell upon opening the tin, an awful cloying stench. It seemed to me that the tobacco was musty or rotten or both! It's quite an annoying aroma, nearly a sweet nuttiness, but clinging to the nostrils and not nice at all. Packs very easily, testament to its quality. Burns very well, again a sign of the Dunhill standard, a very cool smooth smoke produced, excellent for blowing rings!

If it weren't for the vexing taste and aroma of the damn Latakis which remains aloof and vague, like a spoilt child refusing to play in the intricate and pleasant game played by the other tobacco types, this would be a 10/10 smoke. As it was, I could not finish the tin.

A dissappointing forray into the world of Latakia based tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-05-05		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another in a long line of good Dunhill English blends, but not one that I would reach for constantly. I'd have to go with 965, Nightcap and Durbar as better blends than this one. I've had an open tin of this laying around for years and enjoy it much more since it's dried out. I'm not a fan of heavy Virginia/Latakia mixtures because they're too sweet for me, but the Virginias used in here are just right. The burn is as good as can be and leaves no dottle. Like some other reviewers, I did notice a slightly harsh taste on re-lights, but this faded after a second or two. I never did it, but I don't think this would DGT well. Overall, it is what it claims- a typical Standard English blend, Medium in strength and flavor. Not bad...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JClark (26)	2003-04-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

As I have said in several other reviews, I am an english fancier. This means that I enjoy rich robust latakia. That said, I will probably get hung at the stake for this but I really don't see what is supposed to be special about Dunhill english blends. If I am being honest they are all the same to me. London Mixture, Standard, 965 they are all basically the same. I prefer 965 above all and for a while it was even my standby. But in all honesty I just don't particularly care for Dunhill with the exception of Light Flake. I find Standard Medium to be uneventful and at times even a tad harsh. The bottom line is that there are hundreds of great englishes out their that are 10 times better than the Dunhill line. But then again this is just my humble opinion and maybe this is just my particular pallate.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2003-03-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Nightcap light! This blend has a bit more sweetness from the virginias, but sacrifices taste in all the other spectrums. I think it would be a good alternative for those who wish that nightcap was a little lighter so they could smoke it all day. Alas, I would rather just smoke nightcap less frequently and not sacrifice the taste.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-11-28		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

My first reaction to this tobacco was that it was a bit on the funky side with little flavor. As the tin aired, it brought some nice exotic flavor from the orientals, and lastly some high levels of sweetness during the early part of the bowl. The blend has good burning characteristics throughout, and a nice complexity that changes through the course of the bowl starting sweet, tangy and exotic, the character moderates to a deeper and fuller character as the bowl continues.

The blend took a longer than typical time to settle once opened to the air, perhaps due to the lack of aging; it might have had as little as a year on the shelf between shop life and a short period in my cellar. Three months of airing brought important and pleasant changes from the first opening. There is a fairly strong and disagreeable room note that should be taken into consideration when choosing a location to smoke this blend.

Update November 2002: I just smoked a bowl out of a tin c. 1985 that I just opened, so it was approximately 17 years old. Tobacco was encrusted with crystals and the tin nose was deep, smoky, and musty. This loaded nicely in a largish pot, despite being somewhat dry out of the tin. This was much improved by the aging vs. what I experienced in the newer blend and I can understand why premium prices are associated with aged tins. The tobacco was smooth, smoky, nutty, and musty with little sweetness. Toward the bottom of the bowl, a red Virginia character arose. The disagreeable room note was gone in the older tin. Nicotine strength was reduced from strong to medium. The marriage of these tobaccos warrants the aging and I look forward to additional bowls from this tin. Much improved and wonderful. This seems to suggest that setting aside this tobacco to age is well worth the wait and rewards the patience.

Overall: Interesting, flavorful, but not exceptional in younger tins. Highly recommended with age on the tin. Now time to see if a three-five year time frame does any good for this blend.

October, 2002. Updated November 2002.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tillmanj (73)	2002-07-12		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin Aroma: In my aged sample, the Virginia (East Carolina & Georgian) dominated, providing a mostly sweet tin aroma, though the musky Latakia and the slightly sour, musky Orientals could be readily detected. In the fresh tins I have smoked, the Latakia dominates, making this a, as the name states, standard english blend.

Physical Characteristics: A smallish, almost wispy ribbon cut of mostly dark tobaccos. Packs easily, like almost all Dunhill blends, due to the smaller size of the ribbon cut, and burns evenly all the way to the bottom. Can be a bit soggy towards the bottom, but this is minor. Leaves a soft, fluffy, grey and white mottled ash.

Notes: One tin of this I have smoked was aged one year before opening, so my impressions are likely to vary a bit from other reviews of 'fresh' tins. I found this blend to be a chameleon in the tobacco cellar, changing subtly from a standard english mixture to a more Virginia heavy misture as it aged. Both young and old tins were pleasant and enjoyable examples of Dunhill's blending. The behavior of the virginias in my aged tins go to show the high quality of the tobaccos Dunhill puts into this blend. Without a high quality Virginia, I would have expected this blend to get a bit more sour and musky with a years age on it, as has been my experience with many other Latakia/Oriental blends I have aged, but the sea-change it has undergone leaves me with a deep appreciation for the blenders art. I can only hope to lay down a few more tins of it, and compare them with what I already know, perhaps at 2, 3, 4 and 5 years age.

Verdict: I enjoy this blend both new and aged, and for different reasons. The newer tins make an excellent, top notch all-day smoke for the latakia lover. I can only really describe it by analogy; Standard Mixture Medium is to My Mixture 965 as Blackjack is to Baccarat; more refined, more complex. Aged, the Virginias, as I have said, dominate, giving this blend an interesting punch not often found in english blends. Definately a keeper.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-04-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Recently, I decided to revisit some of the Dunhill Brands. I have not smoked any in years, and I don't know why. Lately, I have been smoking powerful, potent level 10 strength blends, so I was unable to even taste this Dunhill Mixture on my first try. I needed to cleanse my palette. As in wine tasting, one must work up from mild to strong, so for a few days, I made this blend my only English mixture, and only smoked a few mild Virginias for a change of pace. With that in mind, by day three, this hit the zone, and it is a remarkable blend.

There is nothing outstanding about Standard Mixture except its quality, perfection, and consistent taste and aroma. On opening a tin, I am immediately greeted by its wonderful pungent aroma. I think I could pick out this blend in a blind test just from the tin aroma. The appearance in the tin is something that I have not seen in a long time. It looks like a work of art. The perfect blend of bright, medium, and dark ribbons is just beautiful to look at. It is as if someone spent a good part of the day hand placing each individual piece of the quality components. It is difficult to take out a pinch and upset this image.

It has respectable age. It has perfect moisture content for most, but I have learned to smoke a bit on the dry side, so I let my pinch dry out for a whole five minutes and then it is ready. It packs easy, lights up with one or two matches, and quickly turns into a mild, soft, yet pleasant mahogany, creamy taste. It is not the type of blend one turns to for concentrating on the pipe with your favorite libation and music or book. Every puff has the same taste in almost every pipe that I own. Some may find the consistent taste as boring, but that is part of its perfection. Tin after tin, one can count on it always being the same. For me, this now falls into the category of an all day blend. I can puff away while concentrating on other activities and still enjoy it. It is mild enough to smoke bowl after bowl. yet, here is enough flavor to remind you that you are smoking a good tobacco without having to concentrate on the smoke. The nicotine component is mild to medium, and it has a decent zing if blown out the nose. It does not bite for me. The only negative is that there is a brief sour taste for the first puff or two after a relight. Standard is the perfect name for this mixture. It is the standard to use when comparing English mixtures. Surprising, at this time, the Dunhill Blends are some of the least expensive tins being offered. I think all should try it at least once.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-08-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The smell of the "raw" tobacco is strong latakia. It tells you that this is going to be a full and tasty smoke. The humidity level is just right, it doesn't need any drying. It is easy to pack and light up.

First few puffs feel a bit strong, but it settles down quickly. The aroma is just wonderful, you can really enjoy the smell of burning tobacco . Halfway and the taste is bit smoother... excellent! Also the aroma is still there. I can say that this tobacco can be enjoyed two ways: taste and smell (I can't say how my wife would like the smell, but it doesn't matter here in the balcony.) Towards the end taste stays full, latakia mostly, but the aroma starts to fade away. This mixture leaves a pleasant after taste and a crave for more...

This could be a good smoke for outdoors on a autumn evenings after a good dinner. (I can't specifye it more accurately.) Medium Mixture provides a great smoke for latakia lovers and I dare to recommend this one highly to all pipers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-08-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Another solid Latakia based English from Dunhill. This, along with Early Morning Pipe, Nightcap and 965 is what I think of when I think Latakia.

In the tin it is about equal mixed light and dark Orientals, although possibly heavier on the dark. a very fine ribbon cut as all the Dunhill blends I've tried. Very heavy on Latakia aroma.

It packs very easily. And lights and smokes great. My only complaint with this is it is a bit harsher on my throat than EMP and Nightcap. That alone keeps it out of my regular rotation. I see no reason to irritate my throat when there are other great and similar blends to choose from.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipefitter (51)	2023-03-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I gave this a 3 simply because I think that 965 blend is a solid 4. With that being said, this is a well balanced English that won’t disappoint if you’re looking for Latakia, though it is a team player with the Virginia and Oriental components in this blend. Veteran smokers will find this a good all day smoke with a medium nic hit and plenty to appreciate like a cool, clean and dry burn.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokers Discount World in North Windham Ct

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (557)	2023-02-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill Standard Mixture: Tin note of smoky tart fruit. Tobacco is light brown and dark brown Ribbon cut with a little black mixed in. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with notes of hay, smoky, floral, tangy dark fruit, spices, toast, wood, dry earth, herbal musty vegetation, mildly bitter, mildly acidic, leather, a zesty sour tart citrus background note, and a peppery retro. Latakia is leading with Oriental/Turkish and Virginia supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: Castello Old Antiquari SC 56F

Age When Smoked: 7 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	boluotou (6)	2021-03-29		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Turkish tobacco and Cyprian tobacco were selected. After lighting, I immediately feel the sweet V grass and milk nut flavor, and the mouth and nose have a very comfortable sense of stimulation. At the beginning of the middle section, O grass began to appear, l grass became the main theme, the main flavor of smoke became sweet toast, and I felt very comfortable when I passed the nose. If you take a big puff, you can feel the smell of cigar in the smoke, and there will be a slight bitter taste in your mouth. There is little change in the tail segment. This kind of grass is strong and has a good suction experience from the beginning to the end. The biggest difference with 965 is the unique o grass flavor at the beginning of the middle section. This kind of grass is suitable for the old douke who likes English blending. Be sure to try it. 选用了很有特点的土耳其烟叶和塞浦路斯烟叶。点燃后，立刻感受到了甜甜的V草和奶味坚果味，同时口腔鼻腔有着很舒服的刺激感。中段开始，O草开始若隐若现，L草成为了主旋律，烟气的主线味道变成了香甜的烤面包味，过鼻感觉非常舒服。大口抽吸，能明显感觉烟气中有类似雪茄的气味，同时会有淡淡的苦味停留在口腔。尾段的变化不大。这款草劲道不俗，从头到尾的抽吸体验都很好，和965最大的区别是中段开始的独特O草风味。这款草适合喜爱英式调配的老斗客，一定要尝试下 B站完整测评网址：https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1HX4y1G7Nm/

Pipe Used: James Upshall

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipey duck (50)	2021-02-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

This is a blend as balanced as possibly! There is no Ingredient that takes the lead remarkable. It is smooth from start to the bottom and it never turns bitter, sharp or ashy. You easily taste the latakia but the oriental and virginias also. And it has nicotine enough to satisfy me which not often the case when it comes to latakia blends. A blend that has that familar english taste we have loved by many Dunhill blends in the past. I don*t know a blend taht is more classical but maybe one or two blends from the same blender/brand.

Pipe Used: Parker 109

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Gerd Jansen

Similar Blends: Peterson 965, Peterson Old Dublin.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TCody (15)	2020-04-17		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The Peterson Standard Mixture is nicely done; of course, it doesn't taste like the original Dunhill Standard. I was lucky enough to have smoked Standard before 1980, and have smoked all subsequent versions.

Pipe Used: Dunhill Prince

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Country Squire

Similar Blends: Squadron Leader.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2018-11-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

For whatever reason, I had tried the Mellow version of Standard Mixture before smoking the regular version, and it stands to reason I ought to compare the two. Firstly it is a bit more intense than Mellow Mixture, though nowhere near the chimney burning standard of Nightcap or other Dunhill English mainstays. Within the tin and while burning, there was less Virginia detected and more of a Latakia/English thing afoot (that yummy charcoal taste).

The mix is a medley of every leaf in the brown spectrum, nicely cut, and with perfect out-of-the-tin moisture. The nicotine is bit above the middle rung, which I suppose is a good warning to those attempting to climb the English ladder. Still, this is a good English to try if you have never had one. It gives off a good impression. The Oriental is present, yet not enough to confuse the smoker into thinking this is what all English tobaccos are about.

Standard Mixture really is a great name for the stuff, as it falls within the check-boxes of so many categories, and since Dunhill delivers quality, this is a good thing! It has the feel of a blend untouched by any trendy additions and was the same weed your father's father smoked in the old country.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	easternpiper (2)	2018-07-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Standard English tobacco, this blend offers a standard line for english blend, the balance between the Virginia , Orientals and the Latakia is just perfect, although it has a bit of flavoring (to my taste..) , a sweet flavors like chocolate , cream and coffee... i mostly enjoys this blend in a Peterson pipe, a system standard 314. a mid size bowl.

Pipe Used: 6

Age When Smoked: 2 years , fresh tin

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipesolitude (23)	2017-08-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

I will confess my personal bias: I don't really like the virginias used in SM. It is the same robust virginia taste that is also at the base of Durbar (but with more orientals added), Nightcap (with perique added) and Royal Yacht (with plum flavouring). I don't like this robust taste because it is too dominant, too strong and constantly on the verge of turning harsch (unless you smoke gently). And it also has a kind of citrus (?) tone that does not appeal to me.

It is not evident what is supposed to be "standard" in SM. It is probably meant to be standard only by the measure of the various Dunhill blends, but it is not a standard english. In fact, if you are looking for a traditional english you should go for London Mixture instead, which is an excellent english (but a bit stout and strong).

In taste, SM is closer to Durbar than to London Mixture, but with a more balanced blend of the latakia and orientals and in comparative terms it is more mellow. But the virginias are nevertheless at the basis as the dominant player in this blend. If you like the robust and strong virgina used in these Dunhill blends, congratulations. But if not you will probably not appreciate this blend. So don't be tricked into taking SM to be a standard english, because in my opinion it is not. But if you enjoy a robust tasting tobacco, with a more "standard" balance of orientals and latakia you will probably be able to enjoy SM. It has a very rich smoke and the burning qualities are good. But I think it smokes better if packed loose (perhaps drying it out a bit so that it keeps lit).

I realize this is a good quality tobacco. But for my personal taste this is only a 2 star blend. I would say that in SM the virginia taste is full but the english taste is only medium or mild (in contrast to London Mixture where you get a more traditional full english taste).

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	crazy owl (74)	2015-10-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This orlik version is very balanced,discrete Latakia,sweet turkish(I think some Izmir and Black Sea leave) and first class american Virginia.Really is good,but I prefer London Mixture to enjoy a almost perfect english and Early Morning for the toasted Va.It doesn´t lack of flavour but perhaps in my very humble opinion it lacks of personality.Absolutely nothing to do with the SMM 20 years ago.

Pipe Used: Dunhill Shell size 5

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: local tobacconist

Similar Blends: Squadron Leader.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ATW (110)	2015-04-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just opened a tin today. My first impression was the taste and aroma was a lot like squadron leader. So far so good. Has the right amount of sweetness and smokiness and the Turkish gives it that same buttery taste and mouth feel that I get from squadron leadwe. Burns cool. Actually burns cooler then any other dunhill blend I've ever had. I like it.

Update 12-6-15. I'm dropping this down to a 3 star. Still good but the similarities that I have between this and squadron leader are gone. I don't get the buttery oriental flavor I use to get. London mixture has this blend replaced as of now

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Setzer (6)	2015-03-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

As I'm writing I'm smoking the last bowl of Dunhill SM that I bought in 2009 in Madrid, completely ignoring what I was buying, because in Italy at the time there were only Early Morning and 965. I must admit that I really enjoyed this unique tin measuring it along the years and sinking in the sofa every time the creamy orientals came out in the second part of the bowl, overcoming the smokiness of a really nice latakia. The virginias were subtle but always there, sometimes sweet sometimes zesty and sometimes a bit pungent. If I have to take a flaw it's that this tobacco burns a little hotter than other EMs, leading to tongue bite if attention is not paid to the smoke. Sip it!

Pipe Used: Corn cob, Stanwell DM 1986, Savinelli punto oro

Age When Smoked: 1-5 years

Purchased From: Ayala 102, Madrid, Spain

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Plihopliheri (13)	2014-08-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

After reading some very favorable reviews here, I was a bit disappointed when I smoked my first bowl of Standard Mix. It did bite a little, and was not as rounded as I expected from an English blend. However, I like a bit of Latakia, and I did not think I noticed any here.

I think I should follow Don Jefe's advice and let it breath for a month or so before smoking the second bowl. I shall update the review then.

Pipe Used: Savinelli

Age When Smoked: Fresh

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-09-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Tin from 2004, possibly a bit earlier. I believe that would be Murray production.

Tin note: barbecue sauce, almost unpleasant, but not quite. Very smoky. I have a tin of '05 Aperitif that is even smokier and more of a barbecue sauce smell, which is actually slightly unpleasant, even if it is a lovely smoke.

Balanced, medium, but not average. There are subtleties here that I'm not yet able to perceive, so I'll be coming back to it sometime in the future. Delightfully smoky, but not extremely so. My '05 Aperitif is much smokier and is much heavier on the barbecue end of things.

Leaves my mouth dry and scratchy if I smoke a whole bowl, but I've only been smoking pipe for a week and a half. Eating a pickle after this sensation occurs relieves it by the time the pickle is gone, so I'd say it's the alkalinity of the smoke.

It always burns nicely, leaving little to no dottle, no matter how I pack it. When I get the packing right, I use maybe 5-6 matches per bowl instead of 15, so I'm fairly certain any combustion issues are my own fault.

I've smoked it in what I believe to be an apple shape and an egg shape pipe. The apple is a no name with a poorly drilled draft hole that gives me tongue bite no matter what. The egg is a Savinelli Tevere 606 sandblasted bent stem. In the Savinelli, if I pack carefully and smoke carefully, I get almost no tongue bite at all.

This is only the third blend I've tried, and I'll come back to redo this later on when I've got some more experience (I've jarred a bit of it).

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Susanna Hoffs (74)	2010-06-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is one of the new recently re-released tins. The reason it's only getting two stars is because the quality of tobacco was REALLY poor. It may just have been a bad tin, but there was an unacceptable amount of stem/twigs in my tin. Real floor sweepings stuff brushed up at the end of the day it was.

A quality control epic fail.......

Not that this is too bad a smoke. It's actually a steady medium English, and I do vaguely remember smoking Murray's version of this blend in early 2002, but cannot remember that much about it.

Much prefer Old Dublin, MM965, LB, EMP, Presbyterian over this.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Just opened a Murray era tin, too moist to smoke without drying a bit first.

Taste: honest tobacco, but with a slight heaviness i don't like.

I love Standard Mixture Mellow/Mild, but Medium after having tried several tins of Murray and Orlik I won't buy again.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-08-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

If you already have smoked a tin of MIX 965, this one will not be one of your favorites. It is not that much smooth, and not that much tasty. The latakia addition may overwhelm a bit here if you are not a fan of it. I prefer to smoke it occasionally, rare than the 965.

After all this is a classic tobacco of a very well known brand. A must try.

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	Fly ticky (26)	2009-01-10		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

OK alright take it easy baby make it last all night. Well maybe not that good but daddy likes.Very good english blend.From what I am reading its to be discontinued what shame.Well I better stop ranting and get back to my pipe. see ya.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-04-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I just tried this blend for the first time - I am happily puffing away as I write this. I am unsure whether the tin I just purchased is pre-Orlik or not. I hope not.

SMM smokes pretty cool, with very little bite. It has a moderate nicotine kick which is much appreciated. The taste is all natural, with a very well balanced mix of tobaccos (to my novice palate). It has a rich taste that is deep enough to keep me interested without becoming obnoxious or overbearing, and this could easily become my all-day choice if it continues to smoke this well throughout the tin. It stays lit easily and is burning down to a fine ash.

Summary: While not as tasty as Early Morning Pipe for example, it is perfectly behaved, well balanced, smokes easily and does not become noxious towards the end of the bowl. It has adequate kick without making me high on nicotine. Sure to be one of my main blends.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-01-27		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the Orlik Standard Mixture. It's a medium strength English mixture with a mild flavor and is an all day smoke. It's got a nice taste to it and the cut is a fine ribbon. Moisture level is fine, not too damp like many blends. It packs easily and lights without any difficulty. The flavor improves as you smoke down to the middle of the bowl. At the start it is overly reluctant. By the bottom of the bowl it is a bit sour. Over all it is a decent blend and I would not hesitate to give it a passing grade, but not a recommendation because the competition is too stiff. Stick with your faves and try this one out of curiosity. You might put it on your list of blends to buy. You can take mine I'll stay with the ones that brought me to the dance.

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	Stacey (40)	2007-12-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, this review is hard to write. The tobacco is completely different than the others I've smoked. I suspect this must have a lot more Turkish in it than other blends I've tried. This lights and burns pretty easily. Every time I've reviewed on here I always thought the word "Full" was a curious rating for a tobacco, because I just never thought of any other tobacco in that way. This is the first. The word definitely comes to mind when smoking this one and for some reason fits my pre-conception of what an English blend ought to taste like perfectly. I really like the way it tastes consistently strong withhout having to concentrate much or puff like mad. My wife complained about the smell, but hey, she has to get over it because the garage is my domain!

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	Fumatore (49)	2007-11-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

In my opinion this is one of the few Dunhill tobaccos that might approach the original in the transition from Murray to Orlik. I only wish I could say the same for 965, and the other wonderful Dunhill blends. I smoked quite a bit of this when it was blended by Murray and found it excellent. My latest smoked tin was 2 years old, but it was indeed from Orlik as it was stamped made in the EU. It wasn't awful.

This was always an all day smoke for me and I found it perfectly balanced with just the right strength and complexity. What I have always loved and appreciated in this blend is that one doesn't get an overload of oriental leaf, which is so common in many English blends. In regards to the quality of leaf and smoking characteristics SMM reminded me of 965.

The previous reviewer says SMM is discontinued, but I am unable to confirm that statement, and I hope not. I do however see that Standard Mixture Mild has indeed been discontinued.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-07-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Following review is based on a twenty-year-old tin.

Upon opening the tin I was confronted with bone-dry tobacco, which luckily had not turned to dust. After a light spray of distilled water (Lourdes water was the closest thing to hand) and a few hours resting a sanitised Irish Flake tin, it was ready to smoke.

First lighting: Very nice. I'm not a huge latakia fan but this was very soft on the tongue and drew me away from the real world with the velvety character of the rest of the smoke.

Second lighting: Wow, there was a huge explosion of taste. A sweet nutty tone ran to the front, the latakia seemed to split into two distinct streams and salty earthy hand slapped me in the face. It was near indescribable (that's the best I can manage to conjure the joy of this smoke. In short the firmaments of the room strained and the seraphs sang out, as the house was filled with smoke [Isaiah 6 in tobacco form!]).

Sheer and utter bliss. This tobacco is exceptional when it reaches its twenties. I shall be going out and buying a crate of the stuff at the weekend and hope that I live long enough to enjoy it at its best.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-06-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

I did not like this mixture very much, but i think it is a nice tin of tobacco. It packed and burned well; nice volume of smoke too. Personally I like just less dominance of the latakia so this was not really for me. If you like the Latakia then you will like this.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-05-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This tobacco has a very nice smoky tin note. It packs a bit tight if you are not careful, but if you resist the urge to ram a lot in a surprise awaits you. The smoky flavor is tremendous and it is well balanced with the other tobaccos that make an English tobacco my variety of choice. It is not as complex as some but really shines in the category of all day smoke. I think that it might be better suited for a winter or fall smoke but it can be enjoyed in warmer months too. Definitely one that I would try if your shop has a tin laying around.

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	drdave (17)	2007-05-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

Downgrading this to two stars. Compared to Samuel Gawith's Skiff this is nothing to write home about. After a long hiatus of not smoking my pipes (Frank Sinatra singing "What kind of fool am I?" in the background), I decided to blow the cobwebs out of the briars and visit some old friends. Standard Mixture Medium is one of those old friends and the tin aroma is, to my big old nose, dominated by the toasted Virginias with a slight smokiness. The appearence in the tin is Dunhill's typical tangle for their English mixtures - more interesting than a Jackson Pollock painting. As others have noted, the taste is consistent thoughout the bowl, but that taste is NOT 1-dimensional; but delicately sweet, nutty, slightly spicy and smoky. If smoked too fast, which I shamefully confess I sometimes am guilty of, it can get a little "ashy" tasting, but it never bites. It leaves the bowl dry and clean with a gray ash and no dottle. A very refined and elegant smoke, wonderful any time of the day, in any size pipe. Aaahh sweet reveries!

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have been smoking this as whilst in Europe, as I cant find any Dorisco Mixture!!! But, this is a surprisingly delicious and balanced tobacco, very similar IMO to Dorisco.

Spicy latakia, smooth VA, a hint of perique and tasty, complex orientals.

I instantly brought 5 tins.

4 out of 5 - my favorite dunhill yet.

Unfortunately this isnt available in Germany, and I have to get it from Holland. They certainly miss out by not having the best standard mixture on the shelves in Ger.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

To me, one of the quintessential English blends. Not as full, not as complex as some, but a really good all-day English. One of the things that I try and determine with each blend is, has it achieved what the blenders purposed with it? And in this case, I believe they have. I own tins of this from the Murray years, going back to 1996. I even have some unopened from the Dunhill days, 18 years old. I also keep the newer Orlick tins in rotation. No, they aren't the same, and while one could argue the merits of each for days, it's a moot point. We have what we have today. With a few years of age on this current blending, it will be decidedly better then than it is at present. But still, it's pretty darn good. I call this one of the monochromatic English blends...again, it's not complex. It doesn't evolve in layers, like Odyssey, Raven's Wing, or to a lesser degree, Penzance. But, it does what it's meant to do, and that is to give an extremely consistent taste right through from beginning to end. As with most Dunhill products, the moisture content of even a newly opened tin is just about perfect. It packs better than many, holds a smolder beautifully, and delivers. For yielding exactly what it is meant to, I give this 4 stars. I always seem to feel the need to enjoy this with one of several Dunhill pipes dedicated to English blends. Two are Group 4, one is a Group 5, and they all perform together equally well with Standard Mixture Medium. Great stuff. It's one of the very few blends that I could honestly say would be high on the list, if I was only allowed one for the rest of my life.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-03-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

This is a good, standard English blend. I would recommend this to any smoker who's looking for a stronger alternative to EMP, or to a less intense version of Night Cap.

This is a very smooth smoke that stays cool and even. It burns all the way down to ash and doesn't require much babying along the way...just relax and puff at your own leisure.

For those who must consider the noses of others, the room note can be a tad offensive to some. I would say that if anyone's spouse, room-mate, or others in close proximity are annoyed by light Englishes (EMP, for example), this one won't fair much better. It smells less "flat and stale" than EMP, but is stronger overall.

Concerning the taste, its a good one. The oriental & latakia leaves come through more strongly in this one than in EMP, but still yields to the lighter flavors more readily than Night-Cap. My only qualm with this tin is that the flavors remain quite consistent. While I prefer that quality to be present in an aromatic, I personally prefer to have non-aromatics change up as the bowl progresses to keep the palate amused. This one stayed the same from first light 'til I emptied the bowl.

Aside from its lack of complexity, this is a great middle-of-the-road English that serves its purpose very well. I will keep in hand as a good "go to" tobacco when I can't figure out what I feel like smoking.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-01-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I try to squeeze a bowl of this into my schedule every day. I like it a great deal. I find that it packs and burns very well and stays consistent throughout the bowl. I am a fairly dedicated English smoker, and I really enjoy the levels of Latakia in this smoke.

I find that I never seem to tire of it and it never seems overpowering to me. If I HAD to I could use this as my only smoke. It's very pleasant and satisfying in all regards.

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	Philo Beddoe (221)	2007-01-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I do not know why it has taken me so long to review this blend, as it is accepted as the middle of the English tobacco spectrum. After half a bowl I had already decided to keep this in my permanent rotation, and it will remove several tobaccos that have lingered in my 'no more surprises, basic English niche' for several years.

I enjoyed the Latakia, the Orientals and the base Virginia tobaccos, but the whole, is surely greater than the sum of it's parts. London Mixture, 965, Nightcap and now Stanard Mixture Medium are staples in my cabinet, and I do not see this changing in the forseeable future. Most highly recommended to all.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-12-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Murrays version of this is one of the finest tobaccos ever made. A rich , wonderful English blend, the gold standard for English blends. The new Orlick version is passable. certainly not as good as the Murray's. If they can improve it they may equal the Murrays. Now the Murray was different than the original Dunhill, pre 1990, if memory serves, but excellent but different. The Orlick I can not rate as excellent, decent, passable yes, but it lacks something, What I am not sure. Strength for sure, smoothness is lacking and a gentle roundedness of taste. and while it certainly is closer to the original than the Orlick Early Morning, it still has a noticable Danish taste. I don't know what the Danes do to tobacco but they have a process or flavoring they add that gives their blends a definitive Danish taste, that I don't like. Others may. Perhaps it is the fact that most Danes & Germans smoke 9mm filter pipes, and the filter evens out the peculiar Danish taste. But in my non filter pipes I would not waste my money. I'll guard my stock or old Dunhill and Murrays/Dunhill.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-12-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Classic English blend - met expectations and a good bold smoke for me. A little harsh for me though at times and room tones are not the best. Feels like a cigarette sometimes and too sharp, although a good pick you up and gets the brain going.

Not racing to keep it in the stable but certainly will keep it on my smokers choice list for a good while.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-09-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This will be my shortest, but hopefully most meaningful, review of a Dunhill mixture.

All I can say about Standard Mixture Medium is:

ATTA BOY, DUNHILL!!!!

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	zulujerk (146)	2006-04-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

The tin I bought at a local smoke shop was so old, the clerk refused to sell it to me. And after a little coersion, I got the expected line "You can't return this! We are not liable!"

That's okay, I reassured him, and walked out of the store with a Murray's version pushing five years, by my estimate.

And on to the tobacco...

I have yet to be disappointed with a Dunhill blend, even those originating from the Orlik people. This is exactly what it claims to be, a medium English. Lots of taste, but a tad light in the strength department, for my preference.

With all the talk here of Orlik deep sixing some classic Dunhill blends, I'd act fast. Stock up! Those Danes have some nerve.

Three of Four.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-04-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Update 4/5/06: Now that I have smoked more blends, I find that this is not that memorable. Downgrade to 2 stars.

My first impression of this blend was that it was rather undistinguished. I have since smoked several bowls in everything from a GBD Sir Jeffrey to a Dunhill Tanshell and I now think that I rather like this blend.

It is not an in your face powerhouse and it is not really unique in taste. It is solid, however with a nice base of latakia and some sweetness from the virginias and orientals.

I like to smoke it while walking in the park or reading or doing something that does not allow me to concentrate completely on the pipe. It is pleasant and lets me know that it is there, but is not too strong or overbearing.

I seems to be kind of hard to keep lit sometimes. I have not dried it out all that much yet, however, so that may be the problem.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This must be one of those templates against which other blends are measured. Some golden ratio of components has been reached here. More English than English if that's possible, like sitting on the steps of the British Museum on a June day. Quite decent and tasty stuff.

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	sasha (228)	2005-08-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Probably the best commercial Dunhill nowadays with Durbar and EMP; it has worsened too, but it's still the touchstone to judge the english mixtures. Notably sweeter than the other Dunhill blends, due to the higher percentage of the Virginias, it's still highly balanced and all-day smokable. Like the other robaccos from the brand, it's something you might want to have always at home, because you know you can rely on that.

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	Paddy (127)	2005-02-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Because I smoke so many different tobaccos, I could only say that I smoke this tobacco on occasion. But if I had to narrow my latakia English/Balkan blends down to a few, this would be one of them. For me the great attribute of this blend is how well the toasty Virginias play a role in the taste. The orientals complement the flavor while the latakia adds the perfect degree of smokiness. Not much more to be said. A beautiful smoke for the Balkan blend lover who is partial to Virginias and wants that toasty flavor. Most highly recommended. Paddy.

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	Emeritus Account (30167)	2004-11-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Standard Mixture Medium has been my most-smoked "regular" for ages. For at least 5 years I didn't smoke anything else unless I was accidentally away from my supply - and that wasn't allowed to happen many times. It tastes great, behaves well, doesn't knock over too many bystanders, is of good quality and smoothness, and is simply a delicious, reliable smoke. Of late, it has been replaced as my Numero Uno Favorite by Bufflehead's "Pintail" which, to me, tastes and behaves much better, is of equal or better quality, and is substantially less expensive. But SMM still has its' Well-Deserved place on my shelf, and likely always will - so three gladly awarded stars for SMM from Der Tigre.

Tiger

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	Carlos (21)	2004-03-15		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

I like it very much, typical tobacco with Latakia.

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