Newminster No. 52 Ultimate English

The Virginia has a little citrus and is fairly grassy/hay-like, forming a base for the other components. The smoky, woody, lightly sweet Cyprian latakia plays a medium role with some richness. The Orientals have a little spice, some wood and smoke, and a few dry sour notes in an important back up position. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Burns cool at a slightly more than moderate pace, and kind of smooth with a little inconsistent flavor. Has a real sour note toward the end. Requires few relights, and leaves a light dampness in the bowl. Won’t bite or get harsh. Has a nice after taste and a pungent room note. It’s not far from being an all day smoke. More of a two and a half star blend.

-JimInks

Received some Newminster Ultimate English in a trade and found that this is quite possibly the best English I have ever had. The Latakia is on the heavy side which I love. This is a smooth, creamy, biteless, cool smoke and is wonderfully complex with an array of creamy light and dark cocoa and warm milk flavor. Smoked this side-by-side with Larry's Blend and find I like the Ultimate English much better. Highly recommended!! Halpuff

This is an update to the above review: Just had another bowl of this this afternoon. FANTASTIC!! All of you English and Balkan lovers are really missing out by not giving this a try. Don't make the mistake of turning up your nose and by-passing this incredible blend simply because it doesn't come in a tin.

I have to disagree with some of the other reviews as I do not find this blend harsh at all. It is a very well blended tobacco with the Orientals up front. Not complex, but very tasty if you are an English fan. Funny how tastes differ as I have found many C&D blends on the harsh side. Ultimate English is a winner in my book and I will be ordering more.

When it comes to Newminster’s Ultimate English, I almost agree with Gentleman Zombie’s review word for word. There is a harshness to this blend that I find off-putting. The flavor is good but it can be rough on the tongue. My only disagreement with GZ’s review is that I don’t think the harshness comes from the Oriental component. I believe that this brand is blended for Villiger by Mac Baren. I seldom get bitten by pipe tobacco. But with the exception of HH Old Dark Fired, I get bitten by many Mac Baren made blends due to something in the way they are processed or by a topping that is applied to many of their products. I also agree that Engine 99 would be an excellent substitute. If you are a pipe smoker that has no problem with MB blends (and many folks don’t), I think you will find this to be a tasty English tobacco. If you are a person that does, I’d take a pass on this one.

This is a nicely balanced English blend. There is a slight harshness that I think is coming from the Oriental component. It's a bit distracting to what would otherwise be a great blend. Due to that I can only somewhat recommend it. For just a little more dough you can get C&D's Engine 99 that has a similar flavor profile without the harshness.

This is a medium English blend that seems to hit the right notes. Very tasty, full bodied but not overpowering in strength. Can smoke this one all day. One of the few tobaccos I've smoked that is much better after DGT. A solid three star tobacco at a very affordable price makes this blend Highly Recommended in my book.

A good English blend. It's somewhere between P.S. Balkan Supreme and H&H Larry's Blend. Not quite as smooth and full as Larrys Blend, but well rounded. Really nice flavor. The Oriental stands out more than most english/balkan blends ive smoked. A real nice smoke. I will be ordering lots more of this.

This is a highly sweetened English blend, cloyingly sweet, with a licorice flavor. It will ghost your pipe. I'd suggest something like Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme instead, which is not as sweet (though still sweet!).