Peterson Standard Mixture

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.