Newminster No. 17 English Luxus

Although it is stressed "non-aeromatic" in the product description, the bag note is very much like a light aeromatic and oriental. However no bad flavour leaves in the bowl and my nose, seems quite a natural blend to me.

The smoke is quite dominated by burley at the beginning, very surprisingly nutty and earthy. The latakia enhances gradually at the second half bowl. Relighting doesn't make the smoke harsh or bity and the flavour keeps constantly nice. Virginia almost does not exist. For a moment I think i taste perique....Overall it is a balanced blend, very rounded, mild and smooth.

It burns well and leaves few moisture in the bowl.

At the first bowl, I noticed my mouth and throat became very dry, which seldom appeared to my other natural blends, and it did not bother me then because the flavour was so nice. But after 5 bowls, i have to say the mouth touch is not good. It keeps your mouth and throat very very dry like drug store blends do to me. Side drinking is a must.

No.17 English Luxus is a nicely balanced blend for my tastes. I've not got a refined palate but know what I like; The Virginia is more obvious than the Burley. There's a touch of spiciness that I attribute to the Perique. The Latakia gives a nice smokiness without it being overbearing. There's a touch of sweetness from the Black Cavendish and maybe also a very lightly applied topping.

English Luxus has a nic-hit closer to mild-medium than mild. As I mainly smoke blends with mild nicotine it's rather noticeable so I smoke this in smaller bowls. It can heat my tongue a little if I puff too fast [but but it's rather tasty]

This is a pleasant blend that's smooth and tasty. I'd especially recommend to those venturing into the genre and those who enjoy Latakia and Perique when they are not dominant nor overbearing.

A solid 3 stars.

[Just to add; I know that tastes vary from person to person but I really don't understand the one star reviews for this blend. It makes me wonder if those reviewers have actually smoked No.17 EL.]

I enjoy a lot of English cross-over blends and this one rates right up there with the best of them. To my tastes, this seems to be an exact duplicate of Lane's HGL (which I also enjoy). The Latakia is perfectly applied, not to strong, not to sweet and melds nicely with the constituent tobacco's to make a tasty, well balanced smoke. The moisture content was perfect from the bag and I only had 2 relights and it seemed to burn well without getting too hot or harsh, I can see this being an all day smoke for most people and I will be buying more of this to put away and age.

I guess this is more proof that Burley and I don't get along. I tried to like this blend, smoked 3 bowls over 2 nights, trying everything to be sure that the sour burning-paper taste of this smoke was me and not the tobacco. I gave up trying. Makes my mouth feel like the sole of a shoe. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the tobacco, maybe it's both. I can't recommend it. Room note was nice though.

At one point I believe the description of this tobacco here said it was comparable to PS English Luxury. Sitting here comparing the two side by side, and there isn't much similarity between the two at all. Luxus has a sweet, almost vanilla aroma. Even though it states this is a non-aromatic, I can't believe that sweet vanilla aroma comes from the cavendish. Still, the pouch aroma is intoxicating.

This blend ships a bit moist, but not a sticky humectant type moisture. It packs quite well, and the initial moisture amount doesn't seem to hamper lighting nor smoking qualities. There is one issue that can, and does hamper the burn quality: the large chunks of Latakia. They definitely need to be broken up to proper size, lest your bowl burns very uneven.

Upon lighting, the first thing I notice is the vanilla sweetness that comes forward. The burley offers a bit of strength to this blend, also bringing on some raisin bran sweetness. The perique is noticeable only when exhaled through the nose, or slightly in the room note. I have always enjoyed sweet English mixtures in the springtime. Perfect balance, and all 5 tobaccos get along very well without fighting one another. Not as complex as some blends that contain this amounts of various leaves, but it sure isn't boring!

Great transition blend from strong, rich and heavy Latakia blends in the deep of winter, to VaPers and burley in the spring summer. This fits the bill perfectly!

Not too many reasons not to give this one a go. Price point is very affordable. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor piping. Just a great all-around blend from Newminster.

Wife enjoys the room note of this indoors, so that's a win-win for both of us!

This is a highly sweetened English blend, cloyingly sweet. It will ghost your pipe. I don't taste a specific flavor, just sweet. The Stokkebye English Luxury, of which this is a copy, is not as sweet (though still sweet!). I'd suggest the Stokkebye instead.

This is my first experience with Newminster. Overall, this is not a great English blend. While the blending notes above say nothing about perique, the contents list it. I could not pick it out by sight or by taste. Perique in small quantities can be unnoticeable so if it is there it is a very small amount. The VA's are good, a little citrus notice here and there with there usual sweetness. The Lat. is in the background and used lightly in this blend. The Cav. is present with its brown sugar flavor. There is definitely a topping here of some kind. Added sweetness that is more than the VA and more than a sugared Cav. too. I cannot place it just yet. The smoke has a drying affect on my tongue. I cannot say that it bites but it leaves my mouth very dry and drinking does not help for quite some time.

There are not many redeeming qualities for this one. I don't rate based on price, etc. but if you are an all day smoker and the smoke does not affect you as it did me this would be a great bulk buy. At the time of writing this review it can be found at under $100 for 5 lbs. However, I really don't think this will age well. Cav. plus top note blend and I have had issues when aging but that is just me. Add the smoke feel and dryness to my tongue and that is the result of the rating. Your mileage my vary.

Tin Note: sweet dark fruit, leather, slight hints of baking spices & cocoa powder. Slightly moist - dried for 10 minutes.

Room Note: Toasted Vanilla w/ subtle undertones of incense.

1/3: Brown sugar and molasses (Virginia like sweetness but darker), raisins and stone fruits, anise and nutmeg in the nose, deep warm cedar in the background, mild grass, and a slight dark tang hiding in the background.

2/3: Brighter citrus from Virginia’s come through more, baking spice turns to pepper in the nose, sweet ashiness, soda bread, bowl was slightly warm at this point.


Final 3rd: pleasant spice on palette between relights or while resting. Cedar and incense lingers in the nose, earthy notes come through, charred cocoa, coffee, spicy tang come back in finish.


Additional notes: I recently had the pleasure of reviewing this alongside P.S. #17 English Luxury. Both are excellent beginner bulk English Blends. I do detect a slight sugary casing with this blend but NOT a topping. It’s very light if it’s there at all. For that reason I am considering this an American English blend. Newminster’s gets the slight nod for its additional complexity, most likely due to the inclusion of some condimental Perique. Nic hit is between mild to medium.