Peterson Standard Mixture

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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!

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 hang four stars on it and 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.

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.