James Fox Dorisco Mixture

I cannot tell F&T's Wingate and Fox's Dorisco apart by smell, appearance or taste, so I am giving them the same review. This is not to say they are the same tobacco because this might just reflect the limitations of my abilities. What differences, if any, there are between these tobaccos, apart from price (Wingate is about 20% less expensive at time of writing), I will leave to better noses.

Both Wingate and Dorisco seem to be variations on Presbyterian. That is they are a light English mixture of Orientals, Latakia leaf tip and fine Viriginias, to which has been added a generous hit of Perique.

Visually, the tobacco is a short ribbon cut of many colours, from grey green to black. The tin note is predominantly pine needles and a gentle caramel with some spiciness.

This tobacco packs and burns easily. Altho the presence of Perique here has the effect of amplifying everything else in the blend, it is still a well behaved, moderate tobacco.

Latakia predominates from the first light, but unlike Presbyterian, shares the show with the peppery Perique. As the bowl progresses the Perique overtakes the Latakia. Between them some lovely Virginias add sweetness and Orientals add lightness and aroma.

This tobacco won't be for everyone but is a first rate blend in my opinion.

This natural, Virginia-with-Périque English mixture is one of the glorious old classics from James Fox of Dublin. Not in the least sugary, DORISCO has a stoic simplicity that is at the very opposite of the condimental promiscuity favoured by some of today's sub-tropical blenders.

The Périque is very discreetly ladled in: the memorable element is the scrumptious mélange of bright red and mahoganny Virginias, as mellow and pithy a combination as any I know. It is not unlike Peterson's Sherlock Holmes, but with more body and character, and an ineffable aroma, both in the tin and going up in smoke.

For this review, I tried it in a variety of Irish and Dutch billiards, and it played cool, dry and true every time. Highest recommendation.

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PS~11/'02:

I have been smoking this for several months, now, and it has become my favourite non-sweet, post-prandial choice. Both in-the-tin, and sidestream aromas are deelish, and as a medium-strength, "smokes itself" blend it just about beats it all. Try it!

The first thing you notice when opening the tin is the smell of latakia. This will surprise you because there is no mention of it in the tobacco description. It is a medium brown to black, short ribbon cut, not overly moist and in perfect condition for smoking. It packs and lights easily in a medium sized Peterson Sherlock Holmes Professor. My first taste sensation is of a mild latakia which almost immediately recedes into the background. Next a lightly sweetened Virginia moves to the foreground, takes a bow and makes way for the Perique. Almost immediately I am aware that this is quite possibly the best latakia, Virginia, Perique mixture I have ever smoked. The latakia stays in the background wrapping the entire smoking experience in a subtle, almost imperceptible smokiness. Half way down the bowl, the Perique asserts a modest dominance, riding on the lightly sweetened Virginia. A smooth, complex smoke. I am now conscious of the need to take this smoke in very slow sips in order to appreciate the subtle nuances of flavor playing about. There may be orientals here, but they wink in and out of the overall flavor like fireflies. All the elements are in perfect harmony. The Perique is prancing. The creator of this blend is a true genius. This is a unique tobacco, and by the end of the bowl I am certain that this is the best latakia, Virginia, Perique blend I have ever smoked. My usual smoke is Virginia flake and Va./Perique flakes. I am not a lover of heavy latakia blends, and so I find the restrained treatment of the latakia to be an artful touch. You owe it to yourself to try this one. It is destined to become as legendary over time as Three Nuns, Escudo, Balkan Sobranie, and 965. One of the great ones. Very highly recommended. Paddy.

This is described as a Va/per, but is no more so than say, Nightcap. It has quite a lot of perique, but is otherwise a rich balkan that reminds me very much of Tree Mixture. The first light is deep and rich, with the latakia sweetened by the orientals. As it progresses, the perique becomes more prominent and the smoke turns into a smooth rich spice.

The James Fox blends are of exceptional quality, and this luxurious tobacco would be a great way to turn any day into a special occasion.

This tobacco is lush, plush and I can't get enough! I now retire from my short lived poety career. So balanced, so right. The Perique with it's stewed fruitiness and the Mild and pleasant Virginias sing as one in Harmony with the Latakia. The first time I tried this was one of those stormy nights,flashes of lightning and howling wind. It was wonderful, I thought I could hear the waves crashing in on the cliffs below as I gently puffed this wonderful mixture. Alas! Maybe this is the one I've searched for all this time!

As a rule, I don't review tobaccos that are "ok". I'll either review the ones that "WOW" me or the ones that I think are horrid... an "ok" doesn't deserve my time.

Normally when I receive tins of tobacco in the mail I'll code them with marker on the bottom of the tin so that I'll know how old they are. On this tin of Dorisco (or rather, this batch) I did not mark the tin. So let me say that I ordered 10 tins as soon as Dorisco became available on the US market, I believe it was 2 to 3 years ago (2000).

I'd wanted to open a tin of this since receiving it but didn't. Today is a special occasion so I pulled a very trusty KKK sized Castello Sea Rock bent bulldog out and decided to celebrate with Dorisco.

Upon opening the tin I found that the waxed paper was just beginning to brown. The tobacco itself was a bit moist with about 40% of the blend being black leaves and the rest a brown/golden brown. The aroma of the tin made me want to eat it - there is no mention of latakia anywhere on the label or description of the blend but there is a waft of latakia here. The Perique I could not smell but my nose doesn't work as well as most folks.

I spread a good bowlfull out on a plate and let it sit for about a half hour. The Castello pipe I chose is one of my favorites - being one of those magic pipes that never smokes wet and always leaves me trying to light the dottle at the bottom of the bowl, only to realise that all of the tobacco, every strand, is burnt. Yes, a favorite.

This tobacco is easy to fill and easy to light. I noticed at once that the Virginia here had that well cured, "leathery" taste..and that the Perique outweighed the latakia. Never harsh, the virginia stayed up front with the perique playing in the background and the latakia adding a bit of roundness into the mix without ever jumping out to say HELLO - I AM LATAKIA.

The ash was a fine, fine grey and the flavor never really changed much down the bowl. The tobacco smoke did get a bit stronger but never strong, this is a full blend.

All I can say is that this is a MASTERFUL blend, subtle and fine in a way that most blends today aren't. Greg Pease's SAMARRA blend is this way but not many others that I've smoked.

Highly recommended, please order a few tins of this and put it up for a couple of years. I'm ordering more - this is a classic!

I have read somewhere that this tobacco is one of the biggest practical jokes in the pipe tobacco world, due to its description of the old tin depicting it as a Virginia / Perique blend without mentioning the Cypriot Latakia it contains. The new tin, with a more sober and classic design, does not describe the ingredients that make up this mixture, but on tobacco sales pages and in this same, it is presented as a Virginia / Perique / Latakia mixture. However, as some user here has mentioned, I would say that it also has some oriental flakes that are visually appreciated with their classic greenish yellow color, and also seem to be subtly appreciated during the smoke.

Beyond labels and the actual composition of its ingredients, it is a fine and elegant tobacco, well balanced in the combination of its ingredients, which makes it smoke with pleasure, and so smooth that it can be smoked at any time of the day and even repeat.

When I first started smoking a pipe, not long ago, I liked blends with plenty of latakia. Now I appreciate the seasoning with other ingredients and I prefer that the latakia does not overshadow the other components of the mixture. Dorisco is undoubtedly within this description. I smoke it every day with great pleasure, and have already provided myself with some spare tin.

Simply smashing stuff with Perique that is readily identifiable as it supports the Latakia and Virginia. Lots of smoke comes out of the pipe when this one is burned, and the ripe and sweet Virginia interplay with the Latakia and Perique is what mesmerizes me most when I smoke this classic.

James Fox - Dorisco Mixture.

My tin contains an equal measure of black, light brown, dark brown, pieces. Mine had a perfect amount of moisture to enable quickly lighting it up.

To me it tastes a little different to what I'd expect from something labelled English. It isn't only a smoky taste, there's more depth. The Perique's answerable for this: sharpness, spiciness, and it gives my tongue a cold sensation, becoming spicier as the bowl burns. Rather than just smoke, the flavour from the Latakia, although it does have a slight smokiness, is buttery, woody, and savoury, as well. The Virginia gives a hay like taste for the initial quarter but gets masked by the other two as the bowl burns down. I notice no added flavourings, it seems natural. It burns brilliantly.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Dorisco Mixture? An easy for stars:

Highly recommended.