Dunhill Standard Mixture Mellow

My journey through orientals with light latakia officially comes to an end with this one. I've learned a lot, mostly that if a blend is going to contain any latakia, it needs to have enough to drive the blend. Squadron Leader is about as light as I can smoke.

This is certainly the most limp-wristed of the bunch, wimpier even than EMP. There was a dash of flavor but not nearly enough to keep me interested. I believe this is an Orlik-era tin. As someone else wrote, this might be a good blend for someone who just wants to smoke a pipe but doesn't particularly care what goes in it, as long as the tobacco isn't noticeable. Still, it might be a nice sample for someone who is nervous about trying a latakia blend and doesn't want to be overwhelmed by it. Then again, there are other blends more suitable.

As for me, I'll pass. Life's too short to be bored.

If Dunhill Standard Mixture Mild were a wine it would be a something along the lines of a Pinot Grigio or Orvieto. Light, dry and exceedingly subtle, in the bowl it offers a mix of mild, semi-sweet Virginias and snappy Orientals with just the faintest hint of smokiness. Light in body, the short finish is dry and vapid.

Drawn from a tin produced by Murray's shortly prior to their closing in 2004, the sample on which this review is based is composed of tobaccos of obvious quality which have been carefully prepared. At the same time, however, within the continuum of the original 'Standard Mixture' line (i.e., mild - medium - full) it should come as no surprise that Standard Mixture Mild is what it is: mild. One imagines, perhaps nostalgically, that in the context of Dunhill's long since defunct marketing scheme this would be a mixture delivered to the new, occasional, or trend conscious customer who laid out a substantial sum for a pipe not for the purposes of smoking tobacco but rather for the purposes of being seen smoking a Dunhill pipe which, of course, must be duly filled with Dunhill tobacco, ignited with a Dunhill lighter, tamped with a Dunhill tamper, kept clean with a Dunhill pipe care kit, and placed in a fine Dunhill leather pouch. Style, flair, elegance - the actual smoke is immaterial, being rather a potential source of irritation. There is, of course, nothing wrong with such and it was equally the case the Dunhill also marketed smoking mixtures of rare and stunning quality to an informed and demanding clientele who cared differently about the marque as such. Here one imagines gentlemen whose intentions were focused more on the mixture itself rather than the marque. While adding to the experience, in contradistinction to the former for such connoisseurs it was accoutrement which was immaterial. Rather, it was the actual smoke which was of importance. And thus Durbar, My Mixture 965, Nightcap, London Mixture, Baby's Bottom, Ye Olde Signe, and the other fine smoking mixtures which made it into regular production quite early on. While everyone is a gentlemen some are more gentile than others, yet all are welcome to contribute to the bottom line. Alfred and company well knew what they were doing.

Flash forward to the early 21st-century, where the pleasures of the pipe - perceived or otherwise - are defined by a rather different ethos. Here, Standard Mixture Mild seems to have little place, with its persistence (currently as 'Standard Mixture Mellow' in select European markets) being more of a testament to what the Dunhill marque (for Alfred Dunhill Ltd. died long, long ago) has been able to maintain on cultural inertia alone rather than the intrinsic characteristics of currently produced pipes, smoking mixtures, and accoutrements. While admittedly the continental scene is a bit different than that which has obtained in recent years in North America, in the absence of a ready 'pipe-smoker' lifestyle market it is actually quite amazing that a mixture such as Standard Mixture Mild lasted beyond the 1980s - on both sides of the pond. Whether or not it will return as part of the current Danish-produced Dunhill portfolio once a US distributor steps up to take responsibility for the line is ultimately unclear, but this reviewer cannot imagine that it would do well at all - in fact, does anyone recall it ever doing well amongst those who actually pay attention to what they are smoking (rather than those who pay attention to that in which it is being smoked)?

At the same time, however, an open tin is an open tin and for those interested, perhaps more as obsessive enthusiasts than anything else, it demands comment. While perhaps ultimately unfair to the mixture itself, while not an altogether unpleasant smoking mixture for this reviewer Standard Mixture Mild is a dud. As an open tin presents limited options, however, it must be dealt with. Barring dumping its contents into a flower bed, I would say that it is best smoked in larger pipes which have been heavily ghosted by Latakia. Alternatively, a judicious dash of blending Latakia (Cyprian) and a pinch of Perique added to what remains in said tin does the job even better, with whatever remains of unopened tins in the cellar being turned out to collectors. Given what is available nowadays by way of truly excellent smoking mixtures, beyond acquiring a tin or two for collectible value there seems to be little reason to seek it out, and even less of a reason to open one which might have made it into the cellar when it can easily be exchanged, many times over by weight, for something actually worth smoking.

Similar in cut and composition to the Medium version, with a strong (and to me rather unplesant) sweet/pungent tin aroma: a clear hint of the domination of the red toasted Virginias and of the spicy orientals. Luckily this strong smell (which reminds somewhat of CAO's Midnight Ride) disappears after a couple of days after opening the tin. The main difference between this and Medium is that here there's very little Latakia! Burning qualities are excellent as usual with Dunhill, but I really don't like this tobacco: in truth, it has a bit more taste than most other light English mixtures, but it is very "empty" in body and ultimately unsatisfactory. When you first open the tin, it is sharp and pungent and taste, spicy like the tin aroma, but it leaves the mouth dry: a very unpleasant feeling. As soon as the tin aroma vanishes (1-2 days), also the taste becomes blander: luckily also the mouth drying effect disappears. Pipestud was right in saying that it is almost like smoking cardboard: I often disagree with his reviews, but this time he may have been right (this tobacco has more taste than other light english mixtures, but it is a very grey and unpleasant taste). Really, Standard Mixture Medium is MUCH superior, with a full spicy sweetness that isn't found in this lighter brother! Overall, it's Dunhill's EM that I enjoy less, and the only one I will never try again: all their other offerings are good (even if I consider EMP a bit too mild and I don't appreciate too much Durbar's harshness, but they are good tobaccos anyway), but this one lacks distinction. It isn't completely bad (there are lots of worse EMs out there), but it isn't worthy of the Dunhill name. If I wanted a light, smooth English mixture for the whole day, I'd pick Frog Morton instead.

Currently I find Dunhill to be one of my two "go to" brands. (Mac Baren, oddly, the second) However, I felt a bit disappointed by this offering. The light was harsh & sour on my palate. Then, once the pangs subsided from getting the bowl started I could settle in to smoke. And waited.... This mixture is mild, almost bland until the last half to third of the bowl. I kept awaiting the arrival of Latakia, only to catch a faint whisper, "I'll be there in a minute", here and there. The Virginias aren't sweet. They're like your second cousin at the family reunion. In the room, but they have nothing to say.

Perhaps the best description for this mixture is an analogy of an old worn out hound dog. When you first arrive it tries to snarl viciously, then, flops down on the back porch & goes back to sleep. In the end, you're just glad it doesn't try to hump your leg.

I'm an aromatics smoker who likes a change every now and then. I picked up a tin of this looking for a light English and didn't find it here! This had no flavor at all. If I hadn't seen the smoke coming out of my pipe I would have thought it had gone out.

Another classic blend gone to pot.

Add four stars if you have the real thing.

I am disappointed to say I didn't like Standard Mixture Mild much at all. My tin is one of the newer ones made by Orlick. The preparation in the tin was excellent, as you would expect of Dunhill products. The aroma was pleasant, that of dried grass plus the mustiness of Orientals. To my smell and taste, there seems to be extremely little latakia in this blend. In the tin the tobacco is light brown, with flecks of darker brown and black tobacco. In my opinion, this tobacco is much more of a Virginia with gentle condimental use of Oriental and latakia than what I would consider to be an English mixture.

In the pipe, though, I couldn't find anything related to that nice tin aroma. I found the tobacco to be flat, with very little flavor, good or bad. I tried it in a number of pipes; Mastro de Paja, Kirk Bosi, GBD, Comoy, Peterson, Falcon, and corn cob. I found a little flavor and sweetness in the Falcon, but otherwise these other pipes, all dedicated to Virginia's, yielded almost nothing in flavor.

I wanted to like this tobacco, but frankly was dissapointed and found nothing to like. I won't buy it again.

I love many of the Dunhill blends so I gave this a try as a change of pace. For me I was not pleased at all. In short I found what little flavor there was to be very harsh and the mixture burned very hot. A disappointment for me.