Tobaccos Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - John Bull Royal English

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-10-14		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

If you like lots of Latakia flavor in your blend, don't bother because this doesn't have that. This is a very mild blend with some subtleties of each aspect of the tobaccos in most every puff. I don't think I've ever seen a tobacco with several different kinds of tobacco be this mild before. The Virginia is a little grassy/hay with some citrus as the base of the blend. The lightly nutty, earthy, woody, molasses sweet burley is almost a supporting player. The Cyprian Latakia adds a smoky, woody, earthy, musty, sweet push, and is just a tad more obvious than the burley. The black cavendish provides a mild sugar note in the background. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are very mild. It's an unobtrusive all day smoke that burns a little fast, but not hot, and won’t bite or get harsh. The flavors are mostly consistent throughout the experience. Leaves very little dampness in the bowl, and hardly needs a relight. Has a decent, short lived after taste and room note. This is for the smoker who wants a little smokey taste as he goes about his daily business, but doesn't want his senses filled up with what he's smoking. It's as well balanced, nuanced for a light smoke as any I’ve encountered.

-JimInks

47 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ethan (34)	2014-01-18		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

This is English blends 101. Great for a beginner who wants to try an English blend for the first time. It's as mild as it gets, no bite, burns well, yet still allows one to experience what latakia is with out it blowing your head off. It's really not a bad blend all-in-all and you sure can't beat the price either. It's one of the only OTC blends i will even consider buying anymore. This is good to keep on hand to throw in your pipe from time to time when you want something light for a change. It is very mild so if you are a more experienced smoker you may want a large bowl for this one.

Purchased From: www.pipesandcigars.com

22 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Thorre (27)	2014-03-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I purchased 2 pouches of John Bull Royal English from PipesandCigars , it was because it sounded very interesting, and it was recommended by a staff member. I also read the reviews here and thought, what the heck. It was very inexpensive. I did not expect much latakia, and it doesn't have much. What it does have is some very good quality blond Virginia, burley, and black Cavendish. When I opened the pouch I could definitely smell latakia. It has just enough of the smoky leaf to make it's presence felt. The main flavor I tasted was a good nutty burley, and slightly sweet Cavendish tobacco. I packs and burns very well, and it doesn't seem to me to have very much topping if any. I have never smoked any tobacco in pouch, that has this standard of quality leaf. I surely recommend this to anyone who wants a good, inexpensive non biting smoke with a light English flavor.

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2013-11-06		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Unlike JimInks, about all I got from this blend was mild Latakia. Nice for an OTC pouch, even straightforward. If you're looking for complexity or a Lat-bomb, don't look here. If you like a mild Latakia, it's worth checking out. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is no.

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PeterD (91)	2014-02-28		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

...I like this in the AM...certainly not very strong but sometimes this is a good thing...A light English blend/mixture, it has the basic components that represent a English mixture. Because it is not complex, I find an "earthy" sweetness that I enjoy with coffee/tea.

Smokes well in almost any pipe and appears to be within my expectations of moistness and easy packing/lighting.

All-in-all, this tobacco meets or exceeds my wishes as a light English...

...a pipe is to be savored...

Pipe Used: usually a group 3 to 6 size

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: pipes&cigars

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-02-07		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a nice tasty surprise. Sweet, nutty, and mildly smoky. A hint of hay, earth and a touch of wood. Burn is near perfect and cool. Flavor is very consistent. No real evolution, but it taste so good that I can easily overlook that. Gonna have to stock up on some of this.

Mild in body. Medium in taste. Added sweetness is mild. As stated above this has a near perfect burn.

Pipe Used: MM Marcus, Country Gentleman, Mark Twain

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Der Pfeifenraucher (71)	2014-04-15		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

Just finished up a pouch of John Bull. It was my first shot at an English blend having smoked mostly Virginias and Cavendish. Good stuff. The operative word here is mild. The Latakia takes center stage but in the meekest way possible. The first couple of bowls didn't leave much of an impression at all but once I got toward the end of the pouch subtle nuances of different flavors began making themselves known and I found myself interested in another bowl over the aromatics currently in the lineup. Although I did like this smoke, I probably won't be buying any more John Bull because the requisite Kick of Nick is just shy of acceptable. I will, however, be trying other English blends because of the favorable introduction to the genre.

Update 2021--upgrade to 4 stars. It turns out I like my English blends mild. My favorite blends are burley based but I always have John Bull on hand for a chance of pace. Of all of the tobaccos I've smoked only Prince Albert and John Bull are always in the cellar.

Pipe Used: MM Ozark, found briar

Age When Smoked: new when opened

Purchased From: PipesandCigars.com

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2017-07-25		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Typical light-to-dark ribbons with a pouch scent of latakia and an underlying sweet-type of aroma. Hard to describe, but led by the latakia. This pouch was gifted to me and much appreciated! It was best with just a bit of drying time, but I hesitate to recommend drying since it may be perfect by the time the pouch is opened.

As I suspected, I found this to be a far superior product to the Sutliff pouched English I recently smoked. Where that one was simply boring due to the dumbed down flavors, this one tasted like a "proper English"... even though traditional proper englishes didn't contain burley or black Cavendish! This was mostly mild in flavor but a bit more authoritative puffing brought out its best. The latakia led the show for the first part of the bowl, followed by the burley. The latakia was light but everpresent and the burley had a nice sweet side to its basic nuttiness, probably the result of the Cavendish. No chemical flavors in this one, which further elevates it over the Sutliff. Mild and mellow, but with a nice rich flavor and a depth I wouldn't have thought likely with a pouched English. Not a world beater but definitely a very worthy and smokable blend - and cheap too! Recommended for cost-conscious smokers that want a proper English with some traditional flavors. This was a nice surprise!

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Black Sheep (25)	2014-08-25		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is a good all around English blend. Easy on the mouth and always burns well in the pipe. Not overpowering, but tastes good nonetheless.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puddlepirate (11)	2014-01-04		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Tolerable

Very mild english blend. Faint trace of latakia. Not bad for an OTC blend. I usually prefer a stronger smoke than this. I did mix this with C&D 412 Billy Budd in a glass mason jar to pick it up a notch or two.

Pipe Used: MM country gentlemen, great dane

Age When Smoked: unknown

Purchased From: pipes&cigars.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ASmithee (20)	2015-11-03		Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was my first English blend tobacco. I've tried a variety since then ranging from McClelland's to Dunhill. Now I've revisited John Bull Royal English and can say that this a very decent blend of tobacco. In fact, for it's price, I would highly recommend trying it. This is a great introduction to English blends.

This is similar to those English / Aromatic types -- think Frog Morton's Cellar. True, the whiskey note is not there but the Cavendish addition gives the blend a very pleasant note and sweet taste. My own negative comment would be it's mild strength.

Pipe Used: Cob & Peterson Celtic

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: any Aromatic / English blend.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TXBulldog (74)	2015-07-20		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Received this tobacco in a group kit. Wasn't expecting much - but, I was pleasantly surprised by this blend. As a big fan of Boswell's Northwoods and Dunhill Nightcap, which I keep in my regular rotation, I would also include this as a milder english as well. This smoked great throughout with a soothing Latakia flavor. You definitely get the earthiness coming through. Nicely done. This is a perfect smoke for a nice cool fall morning with a great cup of coffee. I think someone new to smoking Latakia or someone who has been around for a bit would walk away with a good smoke from this one.

Pipe Used: la strada bulldog

Age When Smoked: 6 mos

Purchased From: P&C

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CapnStuby (33)	2015-07-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

My experience was like the others: this is a good introduction to English blends. It has the correct notes of a good English blend without the volume that might scare off someone who isn't used to Latakia. It burns well, won't get too hot unless you really puff hard and doesn't tear your mouth up. It makes lots of smooth, creamy smoke and doesn't burn the back of the throat with too much pepper. It doesn't develop deep flavor like a British Woods (McClelland) and it's not as peaty as a Sobranie-style blend, but it's a solid tobacco and it's very surprising to find such a good value in a pouched tobacco.

Highly recommended for those looking to get into English blends but it's also a good blend for those experienced smokers who need a simple but easy blend as an everyday smoke.

Pipe Used: 9mm Generic Briar

Age When Smoked: 1 year in sealed package

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	M.T.TIN. (3)	2015-01-30		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

JOHN BULL ROYAL ENGLIEH .Have'nt wanted to smoke anything else since I stuck my nose in the pouch . Moisture content ready to smoke . Cut kind of Cavendish . Packing not a problem . First impression after char reminded me of Dunhill Nightcap . Second impression middle of bowl thought I was smoking Elizabethan . I must say this is one of the best pouch tobacco's I've ever smoked . If your a English tobacco lover don't miss this one . For this endeavor I used an estate Dr. Grabow Sculptura . (Fine pipe if there ever was one ) . Smoked almost half the pouch using the Doctor and my taste buds were rewarded the same way with every bowl . Does it need to be said always use your slow smoking technique for tantalizing results . I'd also like to mention using different pipes smoking the same blend can uncover hidden qualities . So now I tried J.B.R.E. in a ALPHA Burl Briar freehand Israel . To my surprise somewhere at the top a new but familiar old taste presented itself . Have you ever used Balkan Sasieni ? What a treat that John Bull is providing me . There are no words I can use. I know this is not much of a review but it's my way to describe the taste of a tobacco such as J.B.R.E. or any tobacco , is to compare it to other blends . Try it you'll like it ! LAST WORDS : SMOKE SLOW , TRY DIFFERENT PIPES .

Pipe Used: Dr Grabow . Alpha .

Age When Smoked: same day it arrived

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Funn (16)	2015-01-18		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

Finally ordered a pouch of this from Russ and am glad I did. This is the perfect all day mild English for me. An excellent blendation (Funn Dictionary) of tobaccos, in that no one stands out IMHO. Brings to mind an extremely mild Dunhill 965. Ribbon cut makes in perfect for packing and burning. Tastes fantastic when DGTeed as well. If you are looking for an all day mild English, it doesn't get better than this. This is something you can smoke all day and enjoy. Only drawback is it only comes in a pouch. I'd love to get a pound of this. You will not find a better pouch tobacco at this price. Smoked in a huge calabash shaped meer and a small briar. Those of you who need a breaking in tobacco for an English pipe...this is it. Highly recommended

Pipe Used: Calabash Shaped Meer, and a small briar

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars

Similar Blends: Mild 965, Mild Dunhill London Mixture.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bazsup (13)	2014-06-04		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Really not a fan of Latakia but got this as a trial pouch. For a smoker of burley and Virginias, this was a good introduction into the English genre. It smoked cool and even with a somewhat nutty flavor to go with the smokiness of the Latakia. I'll probably not buy it again but I did enjoy the pouch.

Pipe Used: Barber B

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2018-09-17		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Summary: a mild sweet English that uses Cavendish and Burley to tame the extremes of an otherwise ragged English blend.

Out of the tin, this tobacco feels slightly gummy like the moisturized mass product tobacco blends we know from the big stores, and the large English flag on the package sends warning that this may intend to be a "national product" like Fosters or Ricola. On first light, the Cyprian Latakia blazes high and creates an immense flavor that signals that this is an English blend, but then the sweetness of the Cavendish takes over, made mildly piquant by bright Virginia and emboldened by a warm, buttered-toast Burley. As the bowl burns down, the maple sugar flavors of Cavendish really dominate, which seems to be the genius of this blend: it is an English-flavored version of the traditional large tobacco company Burley/Cavendish blend. Eventually, one is left with a smoky molasses flavor as the bowl burns down. While this is not bad, and might serve as a good introductory English, my preference would be for the 30% more in cost to serve up a more classic style light sweet English as found in the "similar to" links below.

Similar Blends: Dunhill - My Mixture 965, Peterson - Wild Atlantic, Dunhill - Early Morning Pipe, Peter Stokkebye - Proper English (No.52).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old6String (27)	2015-01-03		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

Great, straight forward English that's not too strong on the palate or the wallet. I could see enjoying this when you need a "smokey" smoke without the punch in the head like Night Cap or similar strong "Lat" blends.

Every time I light up it's not strictly for a "nic" hit or a complex "guess what flavor is next" , more often it's for pure, simple pleasure. This tobacco will offer just that.

If you are fairly new to pipe smoking and want to ease into English blends I couldn't recommend a more pleasant way to start. Experienced pipe smokers I feel, will enjoy the simplicity as well; I did.

I just finished my first bowl and can't really find much fault for what this is. I enjoyed this in my new Parker Apple which I have dedicated to such a blend.

Pipe Used: Parker rusticated Apple

Age When Smoked: New Pouch

Purchased From: P&C

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2018-06-23		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - John Bull Royal English.

I think they should change the name to John Bull 'MILD' English.

An English Lat-Bomb? No. It would make a nice change of pace for an English lover, or a good entry into the field of English'. The Latakia gives a gentle nudge of smoky-wood, the Burley's an obvious flavour, and the black Cavendish and Virginia take the back seats. I was puffing this earlier on whilst doing my physiotherapy walk and although I enjoyed the flavour it didn't suit the position. For my morning walk I like a tobacco which burns slowly and lasts whereas this goes quick; luckily I do my physio in the garden so could just nip into the house to refill! So, it loses one star there!

Nicotine: just above mild. Room-note: my wife hasn't complained whilst I'm typing, but I'm not a huge fan!

John Bull Royal English? Recommended:

Three stars.

Pipe Used: Baglan Lee Van Cleef Rep'

Age When Smoked: 6 weeks

Purchased From: eBay: 757habano

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2017-12-09		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

What a great surprise! This is my first English pouch tobacco that I got in a great deal from P&C online. I never thought myself a tobacco snob but I guess this proves otherwise as my expectations were low. Man am I glad I threw this pouch in my pack when out for a late season hunt. After a successful day in the stand I lit this baby up in a cob on the hike back to the truck. The nose from the pouch was all latakia forward and a sweet raisiny smell. It was quiet nice and I left my nose in the bag for a few minutes (actually warmed my nose up as I breathed it in). It smells cased but I cannot identify with what, but it is very nice. The flavor profile for a very inexpensive pouch tobacco is astounding. Latakia forward, I have read other reviews suggesting it skimps on lat flavor, I did not see it that way in my pouch. And for the record I am not a one bowl and review it guy, I smoked 2 more small bowls and it 3peated nicely. I do not mean to suggest it is a lat bomb but I got a nice smokey sweet woody smoke with the Virginia's as a solid base. The Virginia's are sweet and bready with some toasty notes that come and go throughout the bowl. I think the characterization as a mild English blend is fair. The only down side to this tobacco for me was that it can bite. I have never had an English of any kind bite me and this may be the humectants used in the pouch presentation. I may also shoulder the burden on this as I was so eager and surprised with this tobacco that I am sure I can do better as I finish the pouch. Highly recommended based on the flavor and price point.

Pipe Used: cob

Age When Smoked: out of the pouch

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HobgoblinTA96 (60)	2017-07-10		Mild	Medium	Mild	Tolerable

A daily favorite of mine, a bowl every morning. Also quite nice after a savory dinner. This baccy comes in a nice compressed block of black & tan tobacco. A shade on the moist side (if you buy this and it is dried out, you bought old stock). Upon opening the pouch you get a nice, smokey English scent. Very similar to the old Drum rolling tobacco. This is a Burley forward blend with a sprinkling of Latikia. It has also been sprayed liberally with natural smoke flavoring. This gives it a nice illusion of being a much higher quality blend. Overall an excellent baccy. It will bite because of the Burley and it does burn hot as well. Still, for the price and quality (considering that it is an OTC pouch blend); a highly recommended blend IMHO. Cheers..

Pipe Used: Various Billiards in different sizes

Age When Smoked: One Year

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Similar Blends: OTC English.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Vogi Tobacco (3)	2015-09-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a great tobacco. I was strictly an aromatic smoker until I found the love of latakia. This was the tobacco that changed my mind on tobacco.

If you are not from the UK or Australia, this review might confuse you a little bit. The smell and taste remind me of marmite/vegemite. It has a very thick taste and on the "salty" side. This might turn a lot of people off, but it is a great taste. There is hardly any tongue bite and a long smoke.

Pipe Used: corn cob, briar, pear wood

Age When Smoked: straight out of the pouch

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: G. L. Pease - Gaslight (Old London Series).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Talltree (31)	2018-12-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

John Bull Royal English is mild with a very mild nic-hit. The tobaccos are very good quality. The Latakia is a tasty presence and adds a light sourness. The pouch note is English, or Baltic, or maybe somewhere between. I can't taste the cavandish. A pleasant smoke from beginning to end. My wife says the smell is OK, but not something she wants in the house.

Is it a keeper? Darn straight! Good year round but excellent in cold weather. This tastes the way I wished tobacco had tasted when I was a young man.

It's gone to the top of my rotation. Slightly compacted in the pouch and rubbing it out is a nice tactile experience. Top ratings!

Pipe Used: corn cob

Age When Smoked: straignt out of the pouch

Purchased From: pipes and cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	3pipeproblem (28)	2018-10-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I'll have to concur largely with JimInks, except I really couldn't taste the Black Cavendish. The Burley had a noticeable presence, and the Latakia was a little strong for me, as I'm a complete novice with Lat. I did warm to it after a few bowls, however. A good, inexpensive intro to the English genre : a solid three stars, possibly to be revisited in the future. The package art is cool, too !

Pipe Used: Various briars.

Age When Smoked: A few months.

Purchased From: PipesandCigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2018-07-18		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Tolerable

This blend is not bad, but it is kind of boring. On the good side, it burns well doesn't really bite and has a pretty decent side stream aroma. On the bad side for me is that nothing really stands out in this blend. Jiminks coined it well with the term "mild." It is just too mild for my palate.

I really wanted something to stand out whether it be the burley or the latakia. The leading flavor to my palate was the Virginia, but even it didn't do enough. The sweetness provided by the Virginia seemed to be thwarted by the other elements to a sort of caramel type sweetness, to my palate anyway. I don't know if this was the result of a flavoring added to the black Cavendish or the small amount of latakia.

Overall, it was just decent. It would probably serve well in a position of a crossover blend for the latakia curious, but I would never recommend it to a lat lover. As it stands, it is two stars for me.

Pipe Used: Basil Meadows Bing

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fife&Drum (34)	2017-03-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Light, slightly sweet English. Overall smooth, non biting. Tobaccos nicely even in proportions. Nothing stands out over another. The description is exactly what it says it is. I found my all day smoke! Very good.

Pipe Used: Peterson St Patrick's Day 2015 Dublin

Age When Smoked: Fresh. Moisture right for immediate smoking

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Snow (3)	2017-01-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I think everybody can agree that it's surprising that this blend is found in a pouch. John Bull Royal English will put a heightened respect for pouch tobacco in you, as a mild but assertive, smooth as glass, all-around pleasant English.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320, MM Morgan

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sjdugi (22)	2016-04-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

If you're looking for a mild, earthy English blend, this is definitely the blend for you. As others have mentioned, this blend is pretty light on the latakia and has quite a subtle flavor. However, I do not see this as a bad thing at all but instead see at as an excuse to smoke more of it! I was rather surprised by the quality of this blend, considering that it's a cheap, OTC blend but by all means have no problem with that. I'd say that this is a great blend to introduce you to Englishes or to enjoy with a nice cup of coffee/tea.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bobbysmokes (15)	2015-05-13		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Very pleasant English with very little Latakia flavor. The first time I tried Latakia I did not like it but after smoking this blend I now enjoy a more robust Latakia in other blends. This may be a training wheels tobacco:)

As for the taste, very mild and enjoyable. I smoked this all day long and never got tired of it. For the price you can't beat it!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bleepy (9)	2015-04-23		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

In a word, surprisingly excellent. Guess that's two words. For a pouch tobacco this is outstanding and is, in fact, one of my faves of any type. Especially for the prices for which you can find it online.

An extremely balanced English. Most, IMHO, are overpowered by Latakia. Don't get me wrong, I like Latakia, but not when it completely dominates the blend. With this blend, everything is in harmony.

Is it mild? Yes, but so what? It's flavorful and yummy. Give this one a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	From Etten (22)	2014-11-23		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Medium ribbon-cut moist out of the pouch. A Pleasant steady enjoyment into my second pouch. Have wrestled with rating what is a 4 star pouch and this to me is my preference Latakia forward smoke that is an astonishing low cost value.

Pipe Used: Tsuge Briar, Greek Briar

Age When Smoked: Pouch Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: MM Country Pride.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	guitar2mw (92)	2014-11-21		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm reviewing this for what it is: A light English. It's not made to be a complex, multi-component blend. I think it was blended to be an everyday English, and that's exactly what it is. I keep a pouch in my backpack at all times. The Latakia is very light, so I can see someone who is new to the hobby picking this up as their first English blend. It's nothing special by any means, but it's a good everyday English that won't knock you out with Latakia or nicotine.

Pipe Used: Sasieni Four-Dot, Millard,

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the pouch

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	thechristophershow (2)	2020-07-26		Very Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I got this for free after ordering two other tobaccos from P&C. Having only smoked two other latakia blends before (Plum Pudding and Frog Morton's Cellar), that's really all I have to compare it to. And even then, I can't do a very good comparison because my palette is so unrefined, but to me this tastes like Plum Pudding but with a bit more latakia, and for that reason I think I like it more.

It also burns more evenly and for longer stretches, I guess because of the cut.

And despite smoking this and the Plum Pudding in the same weather conditions and in the same pipe, I got a few instances of gurgling with the Plum Pudding and none with this, though both were the same dryness when I smoked them. I swear I was smoking with the same cadence, too, because I was reading the same book while smoking both.

As for what other tobaccos I taste, I don't know. I know from past experience that when I taste something like mushrooms, it's VAs, and I did taste the mushroom-ness here, though I haven't seen any other reviewer ever describe any tobacco as mushroomy. See what I mean about my palette?

Maybe as I get more experience with smoking, I'll come to look down upon this tobacco, but for now, I really enjoy it.

Also very mild in nicotine, and that's coming from someone who is very sensitive to it.

Pipe Used: Mastercraft pigskin straight billiard (estate)

Age When Smoked: 1.5 years

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Homesteader (7)	2020-07-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I got lucky in that this was part of a sampler of pouch tobaccos I ordered. I really like it and it is a regular in my rotation. For me this seems to be a burley-forward blend, as that is the predominant flavor I get--nutty like a lot of burley blends. Like others say, it's not heavy on the Latakia but it is for me a strong second on the flavor I get, adding some smoky flavoring. The cavendish kind of just mellows the blend and allows the different tobaccos to mix well. I get some of the Virginia, with a bit of grassy taste, in the background. This is a pouch tobacco but there doesn't seem to be any PG added. Not goopy, just the right moisture out of the pouch. Burns well, not a lot of re-lights. No tongue bite and no wet mess at the bottom of the bowl.

Pipe Used: MM corn cob

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: WV Smoke Shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	manxman (82)	2020-01-31		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

No gurgle or bite. Couldn't taste the black Cavendish. Smoky, campfire like room note. Not interesting to this aromatic smoker. I gifted the remainder to a smoker who could appreciate it

Pipe Used: Bones

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Green Leaf (15)	2019-11-07		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

Let me get this out of the way. I did not enjoy this blend. Now that isn’t to say it’s so bad I would never smoke it again. If offered a bowl of some John Bull I’d be hard-pressed to turn it down. But to pick some up on my own dime probably won’t happen again. I’m not even sure what it is that I didn’t like. But there is a flavor here that did not sit well with me. It’s rather a shame the packaging is enticing and the bag note isn’t terrible. But there’s something here that I can’t quite place, a subtle flavor that ruined the whole experience for me. I’m rather disappointed because everyone else seems to enjoy this blend. I wish I had more knowledge and experience so that I could tell you guys what flavor is ruining this tobacco for me, but alas I’m at a loss of words.

Pipe Used: Briar, Corncob and Hardwood

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	archéologue (14)	2019-03-28		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A mild and hassle-free English blend. The blend is balanced and it smells what you smoke. It burns cool and slow. No tongue bite. the nicotine level is below medium. A similar blend would be Peterson's Wild Atlantic which is, unfortunately, no longer available. If you care for an easy English blend in a pouch (that one can carry), try this.

Pipe Used: Peterson D15

Age When Smoked: New from the pouch

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nonpareil (20)	2019-03-02		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

As others have said, this is a light English with the addition of some burley and cavendish. What is surprising is the quality of tobacco in an inexpensive pouch blend. I detected a slight fragrance in the pouch which may be a light topping or perhaps just the effect of some humectants. It did not intrude into the smoke which was very smooth and bite free. This is not a distinguished blend, but it is quite a satisfactory all day English with just enough latakia.

Pipe Used: Hilson and Pipelane

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipestud

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mel64us (46)	2019-02-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I tried this blend based on reviews posted here. This is a good mild English. All of the components work together well. Nothing takes front stage. It is not a lat-bomb, but the Latakia does makes it's presence known. The Virginia makes a good appearance, as does the cavendish. I think think this could be an all day blend and a good introduction to English blends with mild Latakia flavor.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: P&C

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nicky pants (2)	2018-11-04		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was my first lakatia blend and i really enjoyed it. TheSnell from the pouch reminds me of a crisp autumn evening with the scent of wood stoves burning in the air. The first bowl i smoked was waking around the neighborhood on Halloween night. I smoked a second bowl sitting on my porch a week later and it fell a little short on me. This will definitely be thepouch i take with me not one i sit with. The tobacco burned very consistently and compared to others I've smoked there was very little left in the bottom besides ash. I'm anxious to try a stronger latakia blend now that ive had a taste.

Pipe Used: Danny boy hard wood

Age When Smoked: Just purchased

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bruck (27)	2018-04-19		Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The mixture of non-sweet cavandish, burley, and a hint of latakia give this blend a sort of hardwood smoke flavor. Slight tongue bite but not bad.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: online

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jevverrett (106)	2017-04-29		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

I got this bc I have been checking out pouch blends.

Doesn't smell like much overall, maybe a light whiff of the lat in it. It's a pretty fine ribbon cut, and it packs well. It ease of use is probably its best feature. It's a tad dry off the get go, and smokes mindlessly once it gets going. Burns a bit warm for me, and it stays dry all the way through.

Overall, it's an ok blend. Don't expect much from it, it's not there. What is there is dependable easy smoking pouch tobacco. It's cheap enough, and is a decent diversion from heavier blends.

Pipe Used: Many

Age When Smoked: Fresh pouch

Purchased From: Smokingpipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (556)	2022-11-19		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Package note of chocolate, tart, and mild smoke. Tobacco is a dark brow ribbon cut with a little amount of black and an even smaller amount of tan. Tobacco is moist and doesn't need drying. Burns moderatly fast with few relights. The strength is very mild and nic is very mild. No flavoring detected, despite tin note. Taste is mild and consistent, with notes of sweet grass, tart lemon, mild nuts, dry earth, woody, slight smoky, very mild musty bitterness, and a smooth retro. Virginia is barely leading with cavendish and burley supporting. Latakia is waving from the background. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: Wally Frank Limited White Bar Sandblast 128

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SSJOH (18)	2022-06-13		Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

An English blend that I found to be rather heavy on the Virginia, light on Latakia. If you like a Latakia-forward English blend, this won't be for you. The predominant flavor is a bright, tangy, almost citrus Virginia, followed by a decent body of Burley, a fairly faint whiff of Latakia, and a mild topping of Black Cavendish. A good, all-around, light-flavored smoke, excellent when paired with a medium-roast coffee. I prefer more Latakia, but it's still a solid blend. Recommended.

Pipe Used: Mr. Brog No. 82 Consul

Similar Blends: John Bull True English; Missouri Meerschaum American Patriot.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimPM (153)	2021-04-10		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

Well Easter weekend had come once again. As usual, my wife’s agenda involved the annual road trip to her sister’s house to celebrate the holiday. Our point for departure resided roughly a 3.5-hour drive to the next state over from the land of the Buckeyes. Per her instructions, I was ordered to make sure I had all my essentials packed for the two day stay. More specifically she was emphatic about it by stating “make sure you pack your pipe and plenty of tobacco, because there will not be any place around to get some”. Needless I did not need to be told that as those were on the first items entered on my written packing list; what else do I expect me to say?

Knowing that the forecast was for cooler weather and that I would be forced to smoke outside anyways, I scooped up a couple of my workhorse cob pipes, as they provide a nice basic short smoke that would fulfill my essential and immediate need. My choice of tobaccos included a sample English blend that I had secured as part of one of those e-retailer promotional package deals. A day without my beloved English is a day I hope to neither encounter nor live through.

The blend that I absconded with was John Bull Royal English. It had been sitting on my cellar shelf for quite a while. This pouch was earmarked as one of those miscellaneous samples that I had plan to get to in due time. Ah, the holiday voyeur presented itself as the appropriate occasion I quickly surmised! If it showed itself as a dud, well then, no real loss as my limited objective was to have something in the English vain to smoke period.

Getting straight to the point, my inaugural bowl tasting of Mr. Bull’s mix was an exercise in disappointment of king-sized proportion to say the least. Too light, no character, weak rather than majestic in presentation. With a strong note of rebuff, I poo-poo’ed the tobacco has unimpressive and not worth the smoking effort for even the realm’s resident oaf. Yet here I was stuck with Royal English as my only gratification for the weekend, so I made do.

Upon returning home, hindsight fell upon me and as they say it is always 20/20. In all fairness to this mixture and my own better judgement, my preliminary smoking excursions were not unlike that of Humphrey Bogart puffing a Lucky Strike on riding on a fast-moving freight-train. Namely, due to the inconvenience of the circumstance (i.e., standing by the garage in windy mid-40° temperatures), I found myself herfing the stuff, with overly zealous vigor of course, like a crazed tobacco junkie trying to get my fix in before I froze to death or experienced flash burns from the swirling cinders of ignited tobacco, not a pretty picture by any means.

Let me clarify one very more important about my methodology. Typically, whenever I try new blends, they are partaken in specific pipes under much more conventional and controlled circumstances. In the case of an English/Scottish/Balkan blends my test pipe 100% of the time is my favorite Savinelli Baronet Bruyere briar. Call me quirky but this is how I attempt to be objective and consistent in my comparative analysis. Same pipe equals no noise attributable to pipe construction variance that can or may skew a clean overall evaluation, a tad bit obsessive, but hey that is what I do.

Resuming normalcy, I thought to give Mr. Bull another shot. I smoked 4, 5, …6 bowls of the preparation by way of a sampling arrangement using my trusty Savinelli briar. With each successive bowl the true character of the blend began to morph justifiably. Bottom-line there was a world of difference compared the disastrous cob experience. Lesson for the day, consistency in the review process is tantamount and righteous to the cause be default.

John Bull’s Royal English is a course ribbon-cut medley encompassing an array of assorted tobaccos. By its general make-up, it is categorically a complex concoction. The blend offers a recipe matrixed by the presence of Latakia, assorted Burley, Virginia and pressed Cavendish types. From appearance one sees an interesting pile of predominantly brown cluster hues with maybe 10%-15% occupancy of the black Latakia/Cavendish strains, not a lot respectfully. Texturally the pillow is very springing and a little wayward in the loading of the pipe. As this is a pouched blend there is a level of considerable moistness.

The pouch note is somewhat concealed as I had to really take voluminous and repeated sniffs to form a proper registration. Once the aroma hit, I gathered the standing vinegary, smoky, campfire essence being expelled from the Latakia. There were some notable yet reasonably sour-woody pings emitting from the noted Burleys and a distant pungent grassy wisp offered by the Virginia. Nothing too presumptuous, but overall, very mild if not modest in character.

As I alluded with the repetitive briar-based smoking sessions, Royal English gradually displayed the jewels of its crown, unpretentious in the revealing. The flavor produced is consistently very mild yet balanced, I guess one could say. Its rather smooth mellow character comes to life about halfway down the bowl. Nothing really pops as the distinct monarchial lead figure, although there is some entertaining interplay between the soft Latakia and Burley on the bottom.

Frankly, each and every component is experienced to a degree, but the overall presentation is on an even, gentle keel. Again, nothing really grabbed me as the alpha lord here. Meaning, the flash hints of native nuisance of each varietal are somewhat distinguishable, which not necessarily a bad thing, yet it is a very unassuming, non-opinionated taste saying it somewhat differently. Royal English is characteristically moderate and non-committed in the overall flavor cast.

The effects of the base Latakia, being openly generous in one respect, marginally register with a subtle smoky cedar leather flair. There are trace notes of dark molasses and sour woodiness stemming from the competing Burley and a little grassy tang offered by the influence of Virginia. The pressed Cavendish adds a pleasant, little sweet accent note to finish the drawl’s persona. In summary, not quite the celebration of fullness that one might expect especially in reference to the blend’s constitution.

As to the fragrance, very English in countenance but exceptionally light in density and girth. Royal English imparts a pleasing smoky, woody perfume that is highly tolerable and permissible to even the most averse non-aficionados. This mixture burns cool and evenly as the smoke’s texture is genuinely creamy and smooth. No harshness although I did feel a little tingling on the tongue.

Honestly, the John Bull blend would be is a nice little introduction into the genre of English tobaccos. Its mild flavoring and mellow experience do offer a neo-smoker a neutral base for experiencing the flair of the standard elements that embody traditional English blends, (less Orientals) without too much emphasis on one specific ingredient. Otherwise, I can see the experienced enthusiast opting to pull out Royal English as a comfortable all day casual selection to drop and burn at leisure. It will not knock your socks nor is it full and robust. It is a relatively simple yet enjoyable fair, nonetheless. Just make sure you are comfortably set for the adventure ahead of time; trust me.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Briar

Age When Smoked: 2 months in pouch

Purchased From: Pipes&Cigar.com

Nobody has rated this review yet.