Tobaccos Drew Estate - Meat Pie

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2013-10-05		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Being a former heavy cigar smoker, and in the “love” camp (as opposed to the hate camp) of Drew Estate Cigars, I was excited to see Drew Estate come out with pipe weed. My only regret is that six of the eight blends are aromatics, with one of the two reported non-aromatics, a navy flake, not making it to market as of the date of this review. The tin scent of Meat Pie is very similar to smelling a charred log from a campfire. It is very smoky to say the least. The moisture content will be just right for many pipe smokers although I did dry mine for a few minutes. In the pipe, Meat Pie delivers a large volume of smoke. It is rich and while described as a medium English, I would place it more to the full side of the scale. Meat Pie reminds me very much of the highly rated, but often overlooked Sillem's “London Blend.” The difference being that London Blend has a small amount of sweetness from lightly added Cavendish and Meat Pie has just a tiny hint of sweetness if any at all. I don't taste any infused flavors similar to Drew Estate cigars, but a cool burning medium to full English blend. If there is a topping added, it has been topped extremely lightly. Although full of flavor, Meat Pie is not overwhelming in the nic department either. All in all, a very good English blend. Congrats to Drew Estate.

28 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe Beard (8)	2013-12-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Meat Pie is just a plain ol' good English. Nice and mellow and smoky. Not too strong, not too mild, because its just right.

The tin aroma is warm and camp firey like you'd expect from a blend with Latakia. The ribbon cut is very nice with some dark browns and light blonds. Packs well, lights well, stays lit (actually, surprisingly well... I would dare say that this is easier to keep lit than a lot of other blends in my current rotation. I have never had a bowl of meat pie that did not smoke all the way down to white ash, and that's with little to no tamping and some lazy packing).

I wouldn't say that this would knock the socks off of a first time English smoker in the same way that nightcap or frog morton tend to do, but it is very enjoyable. Through my first tin and several others have been ordered. I'm excited to see how it does with some age on it...

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	brian stephen (8)	2013-11-26		Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mostly dark in the tin with strands of yellow and olive coloured leaf, Meat Pie is pungent and deeply scented with Latakia. Excellent tin moisture, fine cut, and visually appealing, this Latakia mixture has everything a lover of English/Balkan type blends could ask for, imo. Packs easy, stays lit and smokes cool with absolutely no bite. There's a bit of sweetness in the smoke that stays until the end, almost like MM965, but in no way detracts from the flavour. The room note is wonderful to those who appreciate rich mixtures, though your better half may disagree.
The name kind of put me off, but I'm sure glad I picked up a tin of this. It's one of the best mixtures I've had the pleasure of trying in quite some time.
A masterful blend, to say the least.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2014-03-17		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This blend reeks of quality. The flavor profile is no different than many other English blends, but it still manages to stand out in that crowd. Although it is mild to medium in body, it is nearly full in rich flavor. With all respect to those who differ, I think there is a light, sweet topping applied as it leaves a lingering sweetness in the mouth. There is nothing weak about this blend. (insert "meaty" cliché here....no, let's not do that). Just a wonderful, satisfying, top of the line, grade A English. One of the easiest 4 stars I've given.

On a side note, I never cared for their infused cigars. They hit a homerun with this pipe tobacco though. Because of the quality of this blend I'm gonna try a couple of the aros too.

Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman, MM Freehand

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piper@TheGatesOfDawn (9)	2013-10-14		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I enjoy Drew Estate cigars when I'm in the mood for something different, so I was somewhat surprised at how traditional this English blend is. It contains no flavorings I can detect, but delivers a rich satisfying Latakia fix for the Lat lover, without being overwhelming. Meat Pie has an ideal moisture content right out of the can and the tin note screams, "LATAKIA!!!!" The smoke is rich and thick (dare I say, meaty?) It burns dry, doesn't bite and smells awesome. As with most Latakia blends, this is not very wife friendly, so smoke it when you have, or need, some 'me' time. This could be the beginning of a long and meaningful relationship.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: PipesAndCigars.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigCasino (27)	2013-12-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This reminds me a lot of Stokkabye proper English, but with another level added it seems to have a certain creaminess about it that I don't find in other English style blends, and of course high quality tobacco which Drew Estate is always known to have, burns nicely

Pipe Used: La Rocca, Fantasia

Purchased From: Allegheny Smoke Works

Similar Blends: Stokkabye Proper English.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	porshcigar (44)	2013-11-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am close to finishing my first tin of Meat Pie, and have already purchased several more, since I intend to make this blend a regular. It lights well, and burns cool and dry to the bottom. The flavor is Latakia, but there is a unique taste to this blend that makes it very enjoyable. I have not yet tried any of the other Drew blends, but look forward to doing so.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jedibastard (37)	2015-09-20		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really enjoy english blends. I always seem to lean toward very heavy, in your face blends too. But for some reason. This is one of the best mild english ive smoked in the short couple of years ive smoked a pipe. You dont get that huge nose burning ketchup/vinegary smell like most english blends.(which i enjoy) You are met with a nice smokey aroma, backed behind some very subtle spice notes. Call me crazy....but i swear i can smell the faintest whiff of clove?????? Hmmm.... love it so far. Upon taking a flame. Which no joke. ...this stuff almost offers you a lighter and helps you. The first few draws are so flavorful. Its like everything you smell is right there on your taste buds. After that first light, the first half is kind of mellow in a good way!! But again. I swear i smell the slightest suggestion of clove! But its so faint, you can miss it. But again. Its a really nice treat. Mid bowl the flavors really come together, and to me kinda intensified. But not over powering. The room note is really enjoyable. My old lady had no complaints, and even asked if there was clove there.

But honestly. You can really miss that clove aroma. Its not over powering, its not distracting. It may even be me!!!! I have no idea. But i swear, its not like those black cigarellos or whatever they are.

This tobacco burns to a very nice grey ash. I really love this stuff. I wish they sold it bigger tins.

Pipe Used: Freddie Prieto and a jake hackert

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2015-05-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a fine blend from Drew that really embodies this type of blend. I found this at a B&M I frequent when visiting my home town. This definitely made my last visit worthwhile (well one of the reasons anyway). It lights up with no effort and stays lit, even right after popping open the tin. The tobaccos really come together to make this a blend I would reach for time and again. The taste is fantastic and the room note was spot on for this type of blend. Can't wait to get my hands on more of this fine blend. Definitely recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hunterwold1 (2)	2014-10-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just smoked this blend for the first time last evening. I was very pleased with this tobacco. It was one of the easiest smokes I have had for a while. The tin aroma was very pleasant and it lit easily. I only had one relight of the bowl about half way through and it smoked to a nice fine white ash. I smoked it indoors. I found the taste to be consistent throughout the duration of the smoke. It was paired with a wee dram of 15yr. Old Dhalwinnie. Complemented each other nicely.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum apple 3/4 bent

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin newly acquired and opened

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: MM 965, Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haroldt (26)	2014-10-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

A lot has already been written here on the product, so I'll be short and sweet. If you like a simple smoke, this is it. It's no frills, just a straight forward, good smoke. This is a great English baccy. My wife LOVES the smell, very "earthy," as she describes it.

The flavor is consistent from start to finish.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: 4 months

Purchased From: Tranquillo Cigar Shop, Melbourne Fl

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tabaco (112)	2013-12-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Blended by Lane who is owned by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

This blend is simply okay nothing special and in my view not worth the extra $$ per tin, nor the scarce availability. It kind of reminds me of Peter Stokkebye English Oriental. There are many other brands which are better and less expensive: Samuel Gawith, Esoterica, DAN and more.

I won't be buying another tin of this, not recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LoneRider (24)	2014-08-15		Very Strong	None Detected	Full	Very Strong

Oh, Boy! Another English blend. These were the first thoughts that crossed my mind when I received a trial tin at the Chicago show. Side note: In today's market, with SO many blends out there, I belive coming up with something different is difficult to say the least. Hence, my skepticism. On opening the tin, the latakia hit me right between the eyes. The odor was enticing. However, after loading my Cannoy and lighting up, I found nothing in the smoke that I hadn't had many times before. I tried a few more bowls, then set the tin aside and forgot about it. Fast forward to three months later. I had put the tobacco in a ceramic jar with a good seal. It never ceases to amaze me how just a little sitting time can change a tobacco. This time, it seemed I was smoking a different tobacco! There was something that just wasn't there when I opened the tin originally. Damned if I can put my tongue or nose on it, but Meat Pie definately had a slightly different taste; a taste that separated it from all the other English blends I smoke. This tobacco will be in my rotation (much to my wife's chagrin!).

Pipe Used: Walt Cannoy Tulip

Age When Smoked: 3 months

Purchased From: Recieved for free at Chicago Pipe Show

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2022-08-31		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Strong

The very smoky, woody, earthy, musty, incense-like, herbal, floral, sweet, lightly spicy Cyprian Latakia is the dominant component. The Orientals provide a fair amount of earth, wood, floralness, spice, herbs, vegetation, sourness. some incense, and mild buttery sweetness as an important supporting player. Their effect prevents the blend from being a Lat-bomb. The Virginia offers mild tart and tangy citrus, sugar, bread, vegetative grass, floralness, and a pinch or two spice in the background. There’s a very mild sugary citrus casing that tones down the tobaccos a mite. The strength is a couple of steps past the medium threshold. The taste is a slot short of full. The nic-hit is a notch below the overall strength level. It won’t bite, but it does have a little roughness, and fast puffing may result in a harsh note or two. I recommend a slow puffing pace. Deeply rich, it burns fairly cool and clean at a moderate rate with a very consistent smoky, floral, spicy campfire flavor that extends to the long lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is very potent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	S8ntsfan (21)	2018-01-23		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Purchased a few tins when these first were introduced in October 2013 and enjoyed a tin right away. I cellared the other two tins and cracked one open today (1/2018) after doing inventory of my collection. My previous notes were that this is a very nice blend, typical English with just a little something more. I noted the room note was just a tad pungent, but nothing major and if was a medium bodied smoke. For the most part those notes are still correct with the exception of the tobacco has become a lot smoother with age. Of course smoking it in my cob added a hint of sweetness, and ironically it smokes best in my Ukrainian Pear wood bent pipe. There's a bit of creaminess to it, and I really like the way it finishes. Completely recommended to all level pipers.

Pipe Used: Ukrainian Pear Wood, MM Cob, Neerup

Age When Smoked: 4 and 1/2 years

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: McClelland - Frog Morton's Cellar (Craftsbury Series), Sutliff Tobacco Company - Majestic English, Lane Limited - Brick House.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Biter (5)	2016-05-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Wow what a blend, everything anticipated and delivered with plenty of smoke, if you like great English this is for you. Pleasantly smooth, no bite and draws perfectly through the entire bowl. Not too wet but i left it out overnite and had a bowl after breakfast, what a way to start the day. A bulk offering would help those who pick this for an everyday smoke. Never had a bad DE cigar and it looks like their quality has come through again.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Army,Blowfish,Churchwarden,

Age When Smoked: 99

Purchased From: christmas gift

Similar Blends: Balkan Supreme, Dunhills early morning pipe.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2016-02-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

This is a temperate, by the book, English/Oriental mixture. Nothing spectacular, yet highly satisfying, full of flavor and very well balanced. None of the individual components dominates the other. There's enough Latakia here to quench any devotee of this leaf, but the Turkish/Orientals and Virginias stand their ground with ease. It's by no means a mild blend, but it doesn't overwhelm the palate. It's a cool smoke, at times creamy, al times sharp, but never dull. This is somewhere in between London Mixture (but with a stronger Latakia accent), Old Dublin, and Squadron Leader (but more refined). I honestly believe the Danes are finally getting it right. Masters of aromatic blends and straight Virginias, their rendering of Englis/Orientals usted to be, in my opinion, lacking in character: either too mild or too monochromatic. Not anymore. The recent versions of London Mixture, MM965 or Durbar speak of better, more complex and diverse blending components and techniques. Good news!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Dunhill straight Billiard ODA

Age When Smoked: N/A

Purchased From: N/A

Similar Blends: London Mixture, Old Dublin, Squadron Leader..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Geschichtlich (5)	2015-06-24		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Outstanding and highly recommended. As a lover of good English blends, I rate Meat Pie highly for the terrific quality of the leaf, the perfect moisture level, and the ease with which it smokes. But it's the smooth, pleasingly delicious flavor of this English that really gratified. Not too much of any single element, but a delightfully harmonious balance. Tobaccos like this remind me of why I fell in love with the pipe so many years ago. I could savor this one all day.

Pipe Used: Bjarne Viking Sandblast Bent

Age When Smoked: 42

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Similar Blends: Roughly, Dunhill 965....or any classic English..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fred T (67)	2015-04-11		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Drew Estate has a great reputation in cigars, so I thought I'd try some of their pipe tobacco. I'm partial to English style tobaccos, so I gave Meat Pie a try. It's a good English, but slightly milder than I'd like. My gold standards are Dunhill 965 and Perfection. I give this one a 3.

Pipe Used: Dunhill Billiard

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: A gift

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mville (9)	2014-10-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The perfect classic tasting english imo. Love this stuff. Not too Light, not too strong, this is pretty much the perfect balance to me. recommended!

Pipe Used: Stanwell Briar

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: P&C

Similar Blends: Nightcap, MM 965.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RyinMD (27)	2016-09-18		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I read the others' reviews and thought this would be worth a try. At first opening, it smelled leathery and tasty. It was good at first light. The tobacco tasted great from the start, but I had a problem getting too much goo in the shank with this blend at first. I set the tin aside for a month or so, and I opened it up again tonight. WOW! It seems to have smoothed out. It tastes even better, and it doesn't seem to goo up my pipe. I did have some smaller pieces that stuck at the bottom, but a few cleaners in and out cleared it up. The taste was worth it. It's not my favorite, but it is very good. Someone mentioned Stokkebye Proper English as analogous. I find it similar too, but it isn't the same. It's smoother, but I don't find it as smooth as Luxury English. Worth a try. I'm going to buy it again.

Pipe Used: Stanwell 113 Vario

Age When Smoked: a couple months after opening tin

Purchased From: Davidus in Gaithersburg, MD (B&M)

Similar Blends: Stokkebye Proper English.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lit a Kia (69)	2015-12-27		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Nice mix of blacks, browns and tans, seductive aroma of a classic English blend -- smoky, woodsy, spicy with a hint of tire fire to it. Variety of shag, flecks and ribbons show off the diverse components in this blend.

Packs easily, has needed some relights in my experience (more drying time before packing perhaps?) but smokes well overall.

At times (especially middle third of the bowl), this stuff is magical. But I'm struggling to enjoy the beginning and end of a bowl. Maybe I just haven't found the right pipe for it, but I also suspect the particular oriental components might not agree with my palate.

High quality blend and components, just not a personal favorite.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fife&Drum (34)	2015-11-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

A very solid Medium English. I'd say it has a more pronounced smokiness to the Latakia component. Earthy as well. My tin was dry as a bone as it lost its vacuum seal somehow. Not a huge problem, but was surprising. A bit of hydration added and I was on my way. Burns even and all the way down with a fine salt and pepper ash. No bite. A good blend.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Erica Fiamma pot

Purchased From: Davidus Cigars

Similar Blends: Balkan Sasieni.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	wandyhee (16)	2015-10-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is my first review related to tobacco but definitely not 1st latakia blend I've smoked. The only reason I want to share my review in here is because this one specific blend giving me very pleasant smoke. Filling tobacco into chamber is easy done (Frank Method) and easily lit up, smooth with large volume of smoke. The longer and deeper I smoke, the better taste appeared, really enjoy it when draw deeper down in my throat, giving some kind of cool sensation, with ZERO tongue bite. Once finished smoking, it will left some unique & cool sensation in my mouth for quite sometimes and that make me smile and feel like want to smoke again continuously all day long. Really enjoy and satisfying, definitely one of the best blend out there! highly recommended! The only draw back for this tobacco; price is slightly stiff for my wallet.

here is some list of Latakia blend I've smoked, (1-5 with 1 is lowest rate and 5 is top shelf): D.Aperitif - 4.5, D.Durbar - 3.5, D.Nightcap - 3.5, D.E meat pie - 5, Erinmore LS - 3, Peterson Balkan Delight - 3, Peterson Old Dublin - 4.5, Rattray's Red Rapparee - 5, Sillem's Black - 4.5

Pipe Used: Golden Gate Bent Apple

Age When Smoked: New in pack

Purchased From: romeogift.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The good Rev. Rizzo (36)	2015-08-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An English blend of the standard variety. And to this I say great work to Drew Estate. Usually they produce something totally unique and it polarizes people. This blend seems to be just plain good with any fan of medium level English blends. Now I will say this. The tin note is worth paying extra attention to. A full out leathery blast awaits you should you care to get down in there with your sniffer. It loosely translates to the smoke. But it's a bonus upon cracking the tin. Enjoy it and thank me later.

Pipe Used: Mark Tinsky Dress Coral Bulldog

Age When Smoked: 1 month at best.

Purchased From: samples from NASPC

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haebar (52)	2015-04-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

The first time I tried this tobacco I wasn't impressed. Tried it again tonight indoors in a different pipe and have come to appreciate it more. The latakia is at a moderate level; just enough to taste but not overwhelming. The oriental tobaccos provide ballast and character to the mix. This mixture smokes fairly cool. The first time I smoked it I was overwhelmed by a taste of something like creosote, but now don't detect it, only a satisfying meld of the Virginias, Orientals, and Latakia.

Pipe Used: Captain Black billiard; Charatan Dublin

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: gift from CigarBum.com friend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigNick (59)	2015-02-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I sampled this blend a while ago. I cannot lie, the Blend name made me hesitate for a bit. I genuinely enjoy the names and descriptions of Drew Estate's blends and found this to be a curveball. The creativity of Drew Estate stands out in the origination of this name and backstory. Apart from the description and blend name, the tobacco itself is simply vivacious! It packs well, the moisture is optimal. The rich complexity of this blend is it's draw. It's very smokey with a leather like smell as well. Hints of coffee and some sort of sweetness enters the palate midway. I found that not every bowl is consistent though, it keeps the smoker guessing and on his/her toes. At times, it completely lacks coffee notes, and is supplanted by cocoa like hints. It might be bitter-sweet at the beginning of one bowl and at the end in another. This is not bad, the term vivacious applies. It burns down nicely and even. Not much of a vitamin N kick, or at least in my opinion. It's a rich blend in flavor but very smooth and mellow, much like Dunhill MM 965. However, I find this blend to be a bit more like G.L. Pease Westminster in its robust characteristics. I find it goes well with a porter. All in all, I recommend.

Pipe Used: MM Legend, Pipemaker Rhodesian

Age When Smoked: N/A

Purchased From: Gift

Similar Blends: Dunhill - My Mixture 965, G. L. Pease - Westminster (Heirloom Collection), Tinder Box - Philosopher.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2015-02-05		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Drew Estates claim they dare to be different with this one. This couldn't be more true. This blend is just kind of weird. Smoky and sweet. Really unlike anything I have tasted. I rather enjoyed it.

I had a small sample of this, probably 4 bowls in total, but I have already bought another tin. I am going to put three stars down now and plan to come back to this review later as I think I may up this one to four later.

10-27-2022 Update

I just finished that single tin I cellared, and I am holding at 3 stars. I think I have just smoked so many latakia blends over time that I no longer find this that unique. One thing that has changed in the 7 years since my last review is that this is no longer made. I do not think this is worth paying big bucks to obtain, but if it is available at a reasonable price then I still recommend it. It is a solid english/latakia blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Nothing (4)	2014-10-07		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Funny thing about Drew Estates: once their name is mentioned, everyone snaps to attention.

Like many people, Drew Estate Meat Pie helped bring me to the world of pipe smoking. I had a couple pipes, and I'd enjoy them from time to time, but not nearly to the extent I do now.

I was excited as soon as the Drew Estate tobaccos made it to my B&M. I was looking forward to the Meat Pie (the only non-aro that is reasonably easy to find) and snatched up the first can. Opening the tin I was immediately greeted by the "last night's campfire" aroma of the Latakia, much as I suspected. I thought the tobacco was a bit damp, but nothing that couldn't be remedied easy enough.

The first bowl (in a fresh MM) was a bit of a let down. While it presented a solid mild English blend, I had hoped for something a bit bolder. I left the tin in my truck and relegated it to light duty. Some time later, I loaded up a bowl into my VA Stanwell and things changed. The Latakia became a bit more pronounced and there was a bit more sweetness. Meat Pie produces a healthy amount of smoke as well. I found the second, and subsequent bowls, to lean to a bit more medium bodied than the first. Thank goodness for that.

In the end, Drew Estate Meat Pie is not an amazing smoking. It is, however, a very solid English Blend. I'd go so far as to call it a good benchmark English Blend to judge other English Blends. There are many that are better (and cheaper) and many others that are worse. DE Meat Pie is just a good textbook English.

Pipe Used: many

Age When Smoked: 0-6mo

Purchased From: The Stash Smoke Shop, Portland, OR

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old6String (27)	2014-10-04		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

OM to the G this Drew Estates offering is top-shelf! I am now smoking my first bowl of this amazing English and think that I have found a new fav. I can't stop French inhaling, it's that good. The thing that I have found with DE tobaccos are the perfect smoke right upon opening, no need for drying, non goopy, even burning smoke that is very consistent bowl after bowl.

Pipe Used: Bruyere Garantie

Age When Smoked: Freshly opened tin

Purchased From: JR Cigar, NC

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2014-06-29		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I've said this before in my reviews and so have other reviewers. The medium/heavy english blend field is a very crowded one and you never know quite what you are going to get when you open a new tin. No problem here; Meat Pie was a pleasant surprise and I enjoyed smoking it and blending with it. I had just finished a tin of the new era Crown Achievement by Lane Ltd. and Meat Pie appeared very similar in the tin. It had a similar aroma and, upon lighting up, smoked at the same strength level as CA. The one big difference is the presence of perique in CA - otherwise they smoked about the same. I have no problem smoking it straight out of the tin and every microblend I made using it as my heavier english component was good.

Meat Pie perfomed like many mid-range englishes I have smoked - smokey, but not too heavy; pungent to a degree, but not prickly on the tongue. I enjoyed it but felt it needed to be a little more mellow in the non-latakia portion of its formulation to be classed as a four star blend. So, as I ranked Crown Achievement as a three star blend; I am ranking Meat Pie the same. Neither is my absolute favorite english blend, but they are both really good and recommendable to english smokers.

Pipe Used: Charatan Selected 44

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: the last english I opened - Crown Achievement, but without the perique. Also similar to many medium english blends out there in that most crowded of fields..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TVS (1)	2014-02-10		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Campfire-like tin scent, on the robust side of mild. Classic English room note. hard to find Meat Pie in stock around Connecticut (or at least at the shops I frequent). My favorite of the Drew Estate tins. It's a shame that Drew Estate's approach to pipe tobacco is much like their infused Acid line of cigars.

Pipe Used: corn cob

Age When Smoked: 3 days

Purchased From: Butthead's Tobacco Emporium, Danbury CT

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	piperboy (4)	2014-02-07		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

this is a very good english blend! i smoke it often on cold nights. it burns great, no bite. i love their cigars and they make a mighty fine pipe tobaccco!

Pipe Used: peterson, aldo

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: my local tobacco shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2013-12-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

All the flavors associated with the blend are present. However, something seems to mute some of the flavor once drawn into the palate. Could be a battle amongst the components. Nice spice/pepper note on the retrohale. Mild to medium English strength/taste. 2+

Pipe Used: Cristiano

Age When Smoked: undated tin; bought 2 months ago

Purchased From: CI

Similar Blends: A crowded field..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	stinky (3)	2013-12-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

+Had to fire up a bowl as soon as I got home and loved it. Will be buying more to stash away for a while! -Priced a bit high.

Pipe Used: Leedy

Purchased From: The Market Kettering, Ohio

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Right Reverend (36)	2013-11-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Not bad, but not for me. I found it rather mild, slightly sweet, and a sustained Latakia taste throughout with some spice from orientals. I have had fuller more complex and tasty englishes. The tin note for me was a little barbecuey and I wondered if Drew Estates was related to Mcclelland. The room note had a savory scent to it I found rather unique, many the englishes I smoke have an almost inscence like quality, this did not at all. A little dry out of the tin but burned excellently right down to the bottom of the bowl. I found it got better as it went along and finished well. It is worth a share with a friend, it was a different english than I have run across, not sure if it is worth a tin though.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Anthony Caridi (30)	2022-09-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Top shelf Latakia blend! A rib eye steak! Plenty of beefy flavor yet creamy. What I really like about this blend is the balence between sweet and tart. For example Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium is dominated by a non stop almost sourness. That's why I gave it only 2 stars. Meat pie deserves no less than 3 and maybe 4 stars. The orientals are carefully thought out though I am not discerning enough to call them out. I'm an old timer who just enjoys good tobacco! A superbly balanced blend with, if compared to a steak, has great marbling.

Pipe Used: Charatan Special

Age When Smoked: 6years

Purchased From: Allegheny Smoke Works

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SiChange (45)	2017-10-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The component tobaccos are in fine cut ribbons, dark brown and black, and are well aged and married together. The Latakia component is moderate. Light to medium in body. Orientals provide a variety of nice spice and sour notes, supported by darker grades of Virginia. If you like a traditional burley-less medium English, this is a good one.

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

Similar Blends: John Cotton 1&2.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bleepy (9)	2017-10-21		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Smells good, but the flavor includes a weird metallic taste, like licking metal, that I did not enjoy. I had the same issue with 965. Not sure what it is, but it caused me to throw out the tin after two bowls. Rather disappointed.

Age When Smoked: New

Similar Blends: Dunhill - My Mixture 965.

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