Tobaccos Fribourg & Treyer - Golden Mixture

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2002-10-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

If you have been in mourning ever since the passing of Elephant & Castle, and their all-Virginia blend "The Roanoke" in particular, be of good cheer: F&T's Golden Mixture _is_ the Roanoke. It is the Ken McConnell blend that McConnell himself replicated for E&C at a time when the original Golden Mixture was not being made. Well, E&C is has been gone these 14 years since Ken McConnell's retirement (alas!), but Golden Mixture is back. Although it is no longer London-made, I am happy to report it has made the transition to Germany with all its qualities intact.

I can actually remember opening my first tin of Roanoke in 1983, being enchanted by its golden ribbons, and finding it so sweet I wondered if it wasn't flavored with honey. Golden Blend makes exactly the same impression. At the start it is light and sweet -- quite possibly the sweetest natural Virginia you will ever taste. The second half of the bowl deepens the flavor to a robust finish. It burns cool and reasonably bite free, but it burns extremely fast.

I recently compared Golden Mixture to a 15-year-old tin of Roanoke; the Roanoke's ribbons were darker, as happens with aging, and possessed a depth and intensity of flavor that comes with age. But other than these improvements, there is no question that these are virtually the same blend. Elephant & Castle is no more, but the Roanoke lives! Now if only Golden Mixture had E&C's wonderful gold-foil label...

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-10-13		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant

I never cease to be amazed at how subjective taste is when it comes to reviewing tobacco blends. My pipe club recently had F&T's Golden Mixture at it's tobacco bar. I had a bowl and was totally delighted despite the fact that the strength is much milder than what I normally gravitate toward.

Golden Mixture burned smooth and cool. In fact, the majority of the puffers in my club said one bowl was just not enough. I can understand why. It lacks punch for veteran smokers who crave a little more muscle in their smokes.

Golden Mixture packs well enough, but was too moist for my tastes, and required a bit of drying. Whereas most "quality" Virginia tobaccos provide layers of flavor as you work your way down the bowl, Golden Mixture remained the same from top to bottom. Different? You bet. I've never smoked anything quite like it.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2016-02-17		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Fribourg & Treyer - Golden Mixture.

This really took my by surprise! I had no idea I'd enjoy it as much as I do.

If I'm honest, I wasn't impressed when I removed the lid from the tin; that revealed a very tightly compacted, damp tobacco. Trying to find some good points I poked about in it and found a decent Virginia smell and judging by the slight build of the ribbons I assumed it would give a good burn once it'd had time to dry; it did!

The flavour of the smoke is a typical Virginia one. If you enjoy the simple citrus/grass taste of this leaf I doubt you'd feel let down by this. There is a slight background note of something sweet but nothing that suggests any kind of topping has been used.

This is one of the milder Virginia's that I can think of. Nicotine lovers; step away!

The room note is nothing capricious; lemony, hay like and grassy. On the major plus side it creates hardly any smoke in the room. This, is, the perfect smoke for a cold day when there's no chance of being able to open the window without freezing to death!

This is a wonderful straight Virginia. It's nothing like I expected.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Levent Meerschaum Claw

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: The Danish Pipe Shop

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2005-11-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

In the tin, this has very little aroma other than that of tobacco. My first bowl was right from a freshly opened tin. The tobacco did not appear to be too moist, so what the heck. I gave it a pretty snug pack because the cut is a fine ribbon. It is a little sharpish at the match, not unusual for a Virginia. But it settles down quickly. This is my kind of tobacco. It is natually, sweet, mild and mellow with no bite. It has a pleasant, light Virginia flavor. Even with a firm pack it burns a bit fast, but not hot. There are subtle little flavor changes as the burn moves down the bowl, and the Virginia flavor deepens somewhat. The quality of the tobacco is extraordinary. I cannot decide if a sweetener has been added to this tobacco. It is so sweet and tasty that you might conclude that something must have been added. Yet the smoke is so mild, friendly and biteless that you might decide it must be all natural. If there has been a sweetener added, it was done by a wizard. These F&T tobaccos are first rate. Most highly recommended. Paddy.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2018-05-24		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

The various golden Virginias provide some grass and hay, mild tart and tangy citrus (orange), plenty of tart lemon, a couple drops of honey, and very slight sugar, floral and acidic notes. The strength and nic-hit are very mild, while the taste is mild. Won’t bite, and I experienced no harshness, and hardly any rough edges. Even though the tobacco is a little moist in the tin, it needs no dry time, though it does burn a little fast and fairly cool. The gentle, refined flavor is very consistent from start to finish. Hardly leaves any dampness in the bowl. Requires few relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An easy going all day, one dimensional, comfortable smoke that won’t wear out its welcome. Would make a good starter blend for light Virginias. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2015-05-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

5/20/15 This is an update after smoking half the tin in the past week. I am really loving Golden Mixture not only in the morning but as an all day smoke. This is the only all Lemon Virginia blend that I can puff on with reckless abandon and not get my mouth and tongue destroyed. Its obvious after trying to understand why this is always out of stock. I only wish that I got to try Elephant & Castle's blends before that company went belly up since this mixture is heavenly!! It's great blended 25% GB with 75% C&D Shandygaff!

Just as Jakob described, GM is a perfect morning smoke, non offending, mild to medium un topped golden Virginia that is cut fine enough that packing is effortless in any size bowl, in fact it does resemble RYO cig tobacco (just in appearance) but the flavor, oh the flavor is just magical. It's so simple and yet changes flavors as you make your way down the bowl. I can see how this could be an all day smoke for the veteran but beginners should stay away (IMHO) since GM can be stoked into losing all flavor at the very least and made into a raging blast furnace equal to that of Virginia #1 or Plumcake at it's worst but for the experienced smoker the taste of fresh hay, lemon rind, tangy citrus flavor, reminiscent of tangerines, somewhere between Dunhill Flake's lemony and Orlik Golden Sliced orangey flavors. Nicotine is relatively mild but perfect for the first bowl of the day. This is the Virginia equivalent of Early Morning Pipe and should have been named "Early Morning Golden Mixture". Great stuff but very hard to find...

Age When Smoked: ?

Purchased From: SmokingPipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2017-09-23		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Though I differ with Bertrand Russell in philosophical terms, I share his esteem for F&T’s Golden Mixture. This is an archetypal VA that delivers a singular rendition of what a “light” VA might be. In the tin, slight ribbons are almost RYO-style. The tobaccos range from golden to light/medium brown. I imagine from smoking it that there are both flue and air cured varietals in the mix, lemons and browns. Tin note is sweet wheat with very faint citrus. It looks like this stuff will light easily and burn fast, and it does. If you want it to last, you’ll need a taller bowl. As for the smoke, while many light VAs fail to deliver past the match, GM is a noteworthy exception. It is soft and blissfully fragrant at the match, with hay that’s just dry, meadow grasses and treacle, adding faint citrus and the barest traces of anise and lingon berries as it is smoked down, along with a deniable breath of tonquin. There is also just enough sparkle from spices that remind me vaguely of those found in Semois; pretty fancy for straight VAs. I get plenty of smoke when I light it up at tin moisture. Yes, GM is “light”, and I’m OK with it. I don’t pull for more flavor, and it never gets too hot for me. With this blend, you can play with the tableau by switching pipes, if you enjoy that sort of thing. I do, at times, and I have not hit a bad iteration yet. YMMV, of course. Strength is mild. Tastes build from mild to nearly medium. Room note is pleasant. Tend it well to avoid ash and the aftertaste is a sweet, lingering best-of-the-smoke.

IMO, F&T’s Golden Mixture is a delicious, interesting classic. The only way I can understand why it’s not more popular is to ass-u-me few have smoked it. I just hope F&T sell enough of it to keep it in production, and I hope they never change it.

Pipe Used: various dedicated VA briars

Age When Smoked: straight from the tin, also jarred

Purchased From: 4noggins

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2016-07-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The favorite tobacco of Bertrand Russell. And one of my favorites. Honestly, its just delicious. Ribbon cut Virginia, with some VERY subtle casing....just a tiny touch but its there. Burns cool...smooth, and tastes fantastic. It wont overpower you, the nic hit is moderate, but the taste is very clear and strong. And consistent. Underrated IMHO.

addendum. Returning to this blend I am struck with just good it is. Linear and not as complex as some virginia flakes, but certainly very very tasty. Also should NOT be called a starter. Bertrand Russell smoked it for fifty years. And anyway, it s a bit of an insult and not really accurate.

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: maybe a bit like Butera's golden cake, in taste, a lot like Gawith's Golden Glow (medium virginia flake), and can be compared to Best Brown flake even....and Germain;'s medium flake..

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2012-08-24		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

You can no longer buy this in the UK; I used to smoke it it years ago, for the same reason as the previous reviewer: it was Bertrand Russell's lifelong favourite. Gawith & Hoggarth's Broken Scotch Cake is to my mind enough like GM to be a satisfactory sub: see my review of BSC. Also it's a bit like a classier version of Ogden's Gold Block. GM is not for the lover of strong flavours. It's so bland and mild that I suspect a lot of people would quickly get bored with it, and there's always a temptation to puff hard, and so get burnt, to try to get something more positive out of it. Those are the downsides, but, on the basis of my own tastes, I'm happy to recommend it. It's a civilised, undemanding all-day smoke. Availability is the problem, though.

Pipe Used: Chacom billiard; Dr Plumb bulldog

Purchased From: Tranter's of Oxford

Similar Blends: Gawith & Hoggarth Broken Scotch Cake; Ogden's Gold Block (approximately).

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2018-11-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Sometimes simplicity can be very rewarding.. I avoided trying Golden Mixture for years because it sounded dull.. it sounded like a plain light virginia.. and after trying it.. yes it is a plain light virginia.. what I didn't expect was that I would love it.. and it isn't one dimensional.. there are slight shifts and pops.. and an absolutely lovely aroma (at least for the smoker).. it is absolutely right down the middle in terms of flavor.. but these pops I speak of, while not complete changes in profile are just little subtle undertones.. it's like when you are eating a cracker that is lightly salted and every so often you hit a grain of salt and the flavor takes on an abrupt dimension.. I get hay.. maybe grain.. possibly mellow citrus.. nothing sharp.. this is one of the best mellow smokes I've tried.. it is bread and butter.. it is an all day and any day smoke.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-02-09		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This tobacco should be recommended for no other reason than the great Philosopher Bertrand Russell smoked it for over 70 years.

That connection was the reason I ordered a couple of tins from the United States.

As to what I have made of it- a very stable tobacco, nothing objectionable, easy going and with a pleasant hint of citrus, in smell and clarity of flavour.

When I opened the tin it reminded me somewhat of the first tobacco I ever bought and smoked which was Peterson's Sherlock Holmes. It is not as strong, and certainly lacks the glorius orange flavour, but it is as easy to pack and appears to stay alight without any problem what so ever.

This tobacco is to be recommended to new pipe smokers and those who want a mainstay tobacco. If it is good enough for Earl Russell it is good enough for us.

As a final note, I am curious as to anyone knows where one can order it in the United Kingdom or in Europe. It appears a tad silly to order tins of it from the United States when it is made or at least packed in Germany. It is even more tedious because it used to be sold in tobacconists of the makers name in Oxford, Cambridge and London.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2009-12-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

This review might be colored by nostalgia and the fact that i owe this blend a favor - big time.

This is the very blend that took me off cigarettes. For many years i smoked Marlboros and Bali Red alongside my pipes. The problem was that I didn't want to smoke my pipe in the morning - I just did not feel like it, but my body craved nicotine nevertheless..

A friend said to me: This is the ultimate "out of the bed-blend", so I gave it a shot in a chalk pipe, to get the rough feel of a cigarette, and it worked.

Now I smoke several other blends in the morning, (in a pipe of course) and Golden Mixture is now better in the evenings, in a briar with a cup of coffee.

Quality leaf, with a light topping - it, somehow, tastes more exclusive than some of its similar blends, and MUCH better than Astley's Elizabethan, which is the closest to this blend; at least of what I have tried before.

Excellent

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	William H. Hardy (95)	2016-04-11		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The flavors in Golden Mixture are top notch: good citrus flavor on the retro-inhale, a nice hay flavor, and malty/bready. It even has a slight top-note that I seem to agree with. This blend blows Mac Baren's Virginia No. 1 out of the water for flavor and lack of tongue bite. Oh, any Virginia will bite you, but Golden Mixture is very well-bahaved. It smokes cool, as long as you pay attention and don't tug on it really hard.

My problem is that I love straight Virginia blends, but they seem to have little body. I end up smoking a whole bowl of Virginias (and I really enjoy them), but it feels that, after I'm done, I haven't really smoked anything. I guess what I really want is a blend that has the strength of a Virginia-Burley and the flavor of a straight Virginia.

I'm having a tough time rating this. As a Virginia shag-cut, it's top-notch and it has plenty of flavor to keep me interested. It can get a bit muddled and ashy at the end of the bowl, but that;s really a problem with most tobaccos. It's well-deserving of four stars, but i'm not sure that I will buy it again. I'll call it a 3.5 with the possibility of gong up to a full four. I may get a craving for it and order it again. Who knows.

Pipe Used: Tinderbox 1990 Christmas Pot

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2002-06-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

I had a large sample of this from Mssrs Davidoff & Co in Madison Ave, who stock all the Fribourg & Treyer blends.

I largely concur with the review above, except to say that it burnt quite cool for me, to a degree surprising for so golden a Virginia. It is very mild and smooth, neither distracting nor boring. A peaceful smoke.

This is the kind of golden Virginia that is often used in "honeydew" aromatics. This one, however, is wholly un-cased, and smokes clean as a whistle. Very pleasant.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	T. Reno (2)	2022-01-19		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is the tobacco that started my appreciation of straight Virginias. It was milder than most of the ones I tried, which might have been part of the initial attraction. The mellow, somewhat sweet and grassy taste, even though it is one dimensional, as is mentioned by others, is something that never gets old for me. I have, over time, developed a liking for some other Virginias, like Newminster 400 SNF and MB Pure Virginia Flake. But Golden Mixture is still my favorite.

Purchased From: SmokingPipes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2018-04-13		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Golden to light brown ribbon cut - almost a shag. Tin aroma of hay with some spice underneath. On the non-descript side. I dried this out just a bit for best results. Not too dry... just a hair drier than tin moisture.

Nice, enjoyable flavors that mirrored the tin aroma... sweet hay with a bit of spice. Reminded me a bit of Dunhill Light Flake without the huge burst of flavor. That was this one's downfall for me. It was just too light and devoid of any real depth. If this is E&C's Roanoke recipe, the Virginias have really deteriorated in quality, as this had none of Roanoke's intense depth, nor it's strength of flavor (I smoked a bowl of Roanoke to be sure, and the flavor difference is not all aging). This was light and airy with just a bit of spice... very inoffensive but offering little in the way of pizzazz. With F&T's CVP out there, this one kept making me think "there are probably WAY too many tobacco blends in existence, who needs this one?", Bertrand Russell notwithstanding. It has its fans, obviously (and detractors!) and I am neither. I finished the tin but was mostly bored. I mixed a bit of this with stoved VA with nice results, however. 3 stars but I could have gone to 2 and felt good about it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pops Pipe (19)	2017-06-20		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Really mild and clean, in fact i can hardly taste this stuff ! Would make a good cigarette tobacco, not much fflavor wise in a pipe. Its sweet but one dimensional. Mix it with some burley and maybe you ll have something ?? Too bland for me.

Similar Blends: Captain Black gold minus the flavoring.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mesh (51)	2016-05-08		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

Not for me, I'm afraid. I like Fribourg & Treyer's VAs in general but this is an exception. Very mild, not much taste, and no body - even a tin aroma is virtually non-existent. That said, it does have its fans (Bertrand Russell!), and taste is subjective, so it's worth a try at some point in your VA journey.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pseudo Nim (129)	2008-10-29		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

A very good quality mild virginia, as one would expect from F&T. A very fine cut tobacco, almost the consistency of cigarette tobacco (without wishing to be cruel or derogatory).

As has been noted, an excellent first pipe of the day. Although I myself might prefer a little more taste, of something, almost anything.

This is a nice easy going virginia, smooth and mild, well behaved, but not terribly exciting, this is the first F&T that does not have me looking forward to the next pipe. However, this is one F&T that has me going back to it time and time again when I'm just looking for an inoffensive smoke after a hard day. A good tobacco when I want a smoke while I look over my open tins (and while I'm trying very very hard not to open any more).

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2007-03-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

paddy's review says it all - with the exception that i find it a quite mild smoke, very well suited for the first pipe in the morning. i think this is very pure tobacco. can't detect that tell-tale smell and taste of propylene glycol, only grass- or hay-like, sweetish tobacco with a hint of old books (sic!).

a delightful smoke, and my absolute favourite among the f&t tobaccos which tend to be otherwise very similar.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2001-03-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco comes in a 50 gram tin and is a beautiful yellow golden brown. It comes fairly dry and didn't require any airing out whatsoever prior to smoking. No detectable flavoring in either the tin or in the pipe. Tin aroma and room note is pretty much non-descript and is all natural. Lights easily and burns fairly rapidly on it's own.

Compares favorably to Mac Baren's Va#1, Butera's Golden Cake, G&H Broken Scotch Cake, Gawith's Med Va, and Lanes's Golden Danish Slices. It's a pretty close cousin to the Broken Scotch Cake - but with a twist. It's somewhat drier than most tinned tobaccos and burns very well right out of the gate. I also think it would be a great mixer with some of the darker tobaccos...and/or possibly with a straight red to spice it up. Now that I got sort of a handle on it, I'll try some experiments.

Golden Mixture is somewhat simple and easy to understand. Either you like it or you don't. It's one of those almost monochromatic tobaccos such as Larsen's Old Belt or Red Ribbon or #5100 or Edgeworth - simple, but somehow manages to keep from being boring. It's relatively light in taste compared to most golden based blends, but may be a good alternative for those who like a golden's smoky / tangy sweetness, but are put off by it's ferocious tendancy to bite.

This tobacco is for intermediate pike smokers or those who have mastered the basics. Beginners should find this blend either taste like hot air or scalds their tongue. The strength is not likely to satisfy the veteran smoker in any other conditions but high heat and humidity. When a lighter all natural tobacco is craved in warmer weather, Golden Mixture fits the bill nicely. Recommended!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrHoo (20)	2023-03-14		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a definite 3.5 star tobacco and I agree with all of the positive comments below. I've become a serious nic-wimp in my old age and I especially appreciate the nearly non-existent nic hit. The only thing that keeps it from being a solid 4 is it's a bit fiddly. I'm mostly a VA flake or broken flake smoker and, compared to them, the thin ribbons of Golden Mixture require a lot more attention. It smokes best in narrow bowl pipes, burns very quickly, and produces a prodigious amount of white ash, _very_ quickly. If I'm not careful, I end up covered with the stuff. Maybe it's just due to my waning hand/eye coordination but I can't smoke this one while driving. That said, it's worth the extra work. Use your tamper and your ashtray and you'll be well rewarded with great, bright Virginia flavour.

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: tobaccopipes.com

Similar Blends: Mac Baren Virginia #1 without the added goop..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Matteo (12)	2021-06-24		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

It’s a good bright Virginia. Not the best one but absolutely a good one. Sweet, some citrus note, herbaceous, hay and straw notes… not the best in evolution, but easy to load and easy to smoke anywhere and in any time. Perfect tobacco in hot summer days and, imho, for beginners and for thoses who wonna start with Virginias

Pipe Used: Castello, Ardor

Age When Smoked: 3 mounths

Purchased From: Dubini

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Golden Glow, Orlik Tobacco Company A/S - Golden Sliced (Red Tin).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	rattdogg99 (53)	2021-05-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

I'm very pleased with this mixture. A mild virginia with a good burn do to being very close to ribbon cut. The flavors are very easy to identify. A previous reviewer listed them as hay, citrus and sugar and that is spot on. The hay is a bit more up front then many other straight Virginia's I've smoked but that's a good thing. The overall flavor of Golden Mixture is beautiful. It just can't be beat paired with good coffee. I love it.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: 6 mo.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brunello (166)	2020-05-09		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Fine ribbon cut, almost a shag, with pronounced aroma of orange marmalade. First few minutes are quite tasty, almost like a lightly flavored honey-tinged Golden Cavendish, then the sweetness subsides to a good quality, smooth and mild Virginia taste which leaves an ambient aroma somewhat akin to French brioche.

There are never any harsh notes, or tastes of RYO cigarette, which is always my worry with shag cut Golden Virginias. When fresh I got barn straw, brioche, and every once in a while a hit of spicy white pepper on the retrohale. After a few months in a mason jar there is now some noticeable orange liqueur, along with hay, and some slight honey notes.

Does burn a bit fast because of the cut, but never to the point of tongue bite. I did however tire of its overall mildness and lack of depth, but admittedly I typically enjoy bolder blends.

Interestingly, and by odd coincidence, I happened to pop a tin of McConnell's Scottish Cake the same day I opened the F&T Golden Mixture, and they both share the same unusual, and unmistakable aroma of sweet oranges. Since they are both made by the same producer, with UPC codes only one number different, and share the same type of Virginia as a foundation, I found the taste experience between them about 90% the same, despite the different cuts and burn characteristics (the McConnell much slower burning). Because unprocessed Virginias are not usually this overtly orange flavored I thought at first that some orange peel may have been added to the casing solution (not unheard of) though the fact that this "flavor" burns off after about 15 minutes would seem to indicate a subtle topping was used rather than flavors derived from casing.

Pipe Used: London Comoy Blue Riband, MM diplomat

Similar Blends: Robert McConnell Scottish Cake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Berzerker (28)	2018-12-10		Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

Bland and boring. So many better choices out there. Not for me. Not sure why anyone would smoke this on a regular basis. There is just no flavour of any sort in this one. Not really recommended unless its desperate times and short of other choices.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2018-04-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Did I get a bad tin? Wow, this is awful. Like, I have no words for how bad this tastes. Cigarettes? No. Cigarette filters? Maybe.

No idea how this could be appreciated as pipe tobacco.

I hate to give a 1 star rating, and for sure this is not a "I usually smoke latakia and this cherry cavendish is awful" sort of review. I like virginias. This is bitter, acrid, and terrible.

Pipe Used: Castello

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: astley 55? Drum? Yuck..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Swiss-smoker (87)	2017-10-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Very bright (golden) Virginia Ribbon Cut and pleasant Virginia smell in tin. Good stuffing and smoking conditions, burns rather fast. Moisture more or less ok, on the damper side, though.

This straight Virginia blend offers a lot of citrus, plenty of natural tobacco taste and sweetness, bread/yeast and hay/grass notes. It’s not a revelation or deep digging. I cannot make out any flavouring, casing or topping. A delicious straight Virginia on the mild side.

Age When Smoked: New, out of tin.

Purchased From: Local tobaccconist.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2017-01-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Updated 2017-2-14- It's been 6 weeks since I posted my review and I'm moving this blend to "my favorites". Not that this blend is so complex, but that this blend is so tasty and easy to work with. I can smoke this anytime, no bite, enough interest, a great all day Virginia smoke. It's best after a month to breath and dry some.

Original: A very nice "easy" Virginia with a uniform light color and a "Dunhill Like" ribbon cut. It's naturally sweet, mild, no bitters and with enough interest to keep from being boring. However, it is what it is, one dimensional. A no bite, all day Virginia. I like it, 3 1/2 stars.

Similar to SG's " Golden Glow"

Pipe Used: Cob & MM Maple

Age When Smoked: 1 month open/revision open3months

Similar Blends: SG's "Golden Glow".

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2014-11-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Back in the old days, the early 90's, I used to smoke Elephant & Castle's Roanoke. The reviewer who stated this blend is Roanoke, is right! It was like being thrown back in time when I fired up a bowl of this wonderful blend. I loved Roanoke then, and, apparently, still love it now! How cool is that?

This is a simple, straightforward, old school smoke. Anyone who likes simple blends will likely appreciate Golden Mixture—it's not too strong, a wee-bit rough (peppery), volumes of smoke, and just enough taste. My only downer here is that I wish someone still produced Elephant & Castle's Isle of Skye, my favorite pipe tobacco of all time! Any takers?

Pipe Used: Parker Zulu

Age When Smoked: ?

Purchased From: 4Noggins

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2007-04-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

Nice and mild -- this is a nice easygoing change of pace and is amicable in the home.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2002-07-15		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

Another quality smoke from this blender. Just good tobacco as in all natural light brown and yellow VAs. I enjoy the mild and smooth taste in the hot weather. The intitial moisture content from the tin resulted in some packing experimentation to prevent a hot smoke and multiple relights. Once this was resolved, a smoke with no bite or moisture buildup in the bowl resulted. I actually got better results near the end of the tin when the tobacco was drier. Since its a rather finely cut ribbon blend, it burns very quickly but not hot. For a quick smoke @ work or when out socially it's fine. For a longer and more relaxing smoke, I still prefer a good flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (563)	2023-04-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of musty hay, sour and bread. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of light brown and brown. Moisture content is great. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is mild to medium and very consistent, with notes of sweet grass, floral, earth, bread, orange peel/zest, tangy citrus, spices, fermented sour vegetation, wood, tart dark dried fruit, mild sugar, a mildly bitter hay background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Pipe Used: Peterson Bard Rusticated 221 Fishtail

Age When Smoked: 7 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Aurorasofautumn (38)	2020-05-05		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I am usually not a big fan of writing reviews about tobaccos I did not particularly enjoy. However, I will make an exception for F&T's Golden Mixture since it is generally held in high regard. Why? I really couldn't tell. True - with straight Virginias I favor flakes and "brown" VAs in general (for what the term is worth). But still - what I have just smoked (several times) I consider simply an insult to the tobacco world.

The first thing that gets me ranting is the tin note. Come on folks, I could accept a subtle topic but this one is reminiscent of my worst aro dreams. Trying to overcome my prejudices, I put the tobacco (which is quite nice to loot at to be honest) in my pipe and light up only to be disappointed once again. There is not much taste here and the little bit that is, is so much out of balance to me that there's hardly any enjoyment to be found. I am convinced that it must be me. I try different pipe shapes, different pipe materials, I smoke it in the morning, in the afternoons, with a cup of black tea with milk, with a cup of tea without milk, with a cup of coffee, it just won't work for me. So finally I give up and light a pipe of McClelland Matured Virginia #22 instead and recognize that all along I was not suffering from a bad cold that wouldn't let me enjoy the subtleties of a fine pipe tobacco but that F&T's Golden Mixture was to be blamed for the lack of enjoyment after all. The quintessence of the whole story: Well, first of all, if you like F&T Golden Mixture then you certainly have a very different palate than I do. You shouldn't be worried, though, but probably not follow any of my advice on which tobaccos you should try. And secondly, what a cleansing feeling it is to write a review and indulge in a good old rant every once in a while. It's second only to a great bowl of baccy I guess :)

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldpaths (6)	2019-12-28		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

A delightful golden VA. Almost a shag cut and will burn quickly but slow puffs will reveal hay, citrus and some sugar notes. Perfect as the first bowl of the day and could be used as an all day smoke.

Because of the cut and strength, this could be happy in a larger bowl.

I'm not sure I would recommend this one as a starting place to try Virginias, but once a smoker understands VAs this will become a treat.

Pipe Used: Johs Freehand

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: smoking pipes

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