James Fox Provost Mixture
(3.33)
A sweet American cavendish tobacco which gives fullness and body has been mellowed by the addition of choice bright Virginias to give a cool and satisfying blend.
Details
| Brand | James Fox |
| Blended By | Kohlhase & Kopp |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | Cavendish Based |
| Contents | Cavendish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | Germany |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.33 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2003 | Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Well, I don't know. (I bet you thought you would never hear me say that !)
American Cavendish implies cased, caked burley. But there is no burley in this mix, and certainly no casing. This might contain English Cavendish (pressed Virginia, steamed) which could account for its mild taste and lack of bite. Yet the tin calls it a "Full Mixture", and several persons, including Mr William Serad and other knowledgeable and esteemed connoisseurs, have compared this to the potent DUNHILL My Mixture 965! My reaction on reading that was to exclaim, HUH?
The English [mostly the Irish, now] take great pride in the things they can do to Virginia tobacco, without resorting to flavourings, to change and adapt its taste by affecting the sugar content through pressure and temperature. The combination of unflavoured Cavendish, red (mildly stoved) and mahoganny (more so) Virginias give this blend the sec, mildly astringent flavour of a medium-weight Balkan blend, with the darker leaf suggesting some of the smokiness of Latakia. (There is no actual Latakia here.) The result is pleasant, but slightly bland.
For my taste buds, this does not resemble DUNHILL's 965 in any way, shape or form. It tastes, if anything, like a blander, lighter version of FOX's great Dorisco blend, a favourite of mine for its pungent, mouth-puckering zest, and delicious and intensely apt application of Périque.
This blend does not bite. I smoked it quickly and impatiently, in a large Don Carlos calabash, an immense Castello oom-paul, an old Charatan Supreme with decades of latakia burnt into it and even my fake albatross-bone Butz-Choquin The Thing. It never hurt me. It is perhaps this forgiving nature that made me find it boring.
American Cavendish implies cased, caked burley. But there is no burley in this mix, and certainly no casing. This might contain English Cavendish (pressed Virginia, steamed) which could account for its mild taste and lack of bite. Yet the tin calls it a "Full Mixture", and several persons, including Mr William Serad and other knowledgeable and esteemed connoisseurs, have compared this to the potent DUNHILL My Mixture 965! My reaction on reading that was to exclaim, HUH?
The English [mostly the Irish, now] take great pride in the things they can do to Virginia tobacco, without resorting to flavourings, to change and adapt its taste by affecting the sugar content through pressure and temperature. The combination of unflavoured Cavendish, red (mildly stoved) and mahoganny (more so) Virginias give this blend the sec, mildly astringent flavour of a medium-weight Balkan blend, with the darker leaf suggesting some of the smokiness of Latakia. (There is no actual Latakia here.) The result is pleasant, but slightly bland.
For my taste buds, this does not resemble DUNHILL's 965 in any way, shape or form. It tastes, if anything, like a blander, lighter version of FOX's great Dorisco blend, a favourite of mine for its pungent, mouth-puckering zest, and delicious and intensely apt application of Périque.
This blend does not bite. I smoked it quickly and impatiently, in a large Don Carlos calabash, an immense Castello oom-paul, an old Charatan Supreme with decades of latakia burnt into it and even my fake albatross-bone Butz-Choquin The Thing. It never hurt me. It is perhaps this forgiving nature that made me find it boring.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 08, 2015 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The Virginias are a little citrusy and grassy with a touch of earth. There’s a little spice which I think comes from either a bright Va., or a honey-like topping ala MacBaren Va. #1, but without the bite. The toasted cavendish is slightly earthy and mildly sweet. There is a mild smokiness and floral woodiness that I associate with Orientals, but I don’t believe they are in here. It could be the way the tobaccos are prepared, but I have tasted bright Virginia that has some floral and spice notes, so I suspect they come from that. Has a mild nic-hit. Burns at a decent rate, but a little warm, so it needs to be puffed at a slow or moderate pace. I got some cigarette notes when I puffed beyond that. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. More of a two and a half star smoke.
-JimInks
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2016 | Medium to Strong | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
James Fox - Provost Mixture.
I ordered this in loose pouch form so I don't know about a tins moisture but this is good. Although it says it's in ribbon form, my pouch's contents look to be a lot closer to a coarse cut/mixture; I can see a selection of ribbons, both chunky and slim with there also being a few pieces of broken flake in there. It looks as though it contains quite an equal amount of each of the tobaccos. The aroma from the pouch offers only a tobacco note, it doesn't appear to have any casings or toppings included.
On to the actual smoking now: It lights up easily, exactly as I expected from the moisture content. I find the flavour a little perplexing; normally, blends that are heavy with Cavendish can taste sludgy and thick but this has a slight citrus/lemon freshness to it which makes it taste more sprightly than clumsy.
Sadly, this gives me a bit of a kick with tongue bite. This is one of the main reasons for it getting a 'not so positive' score. But as we all differ with that from blend to blend it could just be me!
This has quite a large amount of nicotine. It's not got a huge quantity but it does air more towards strong than medium.
This has a good flavour and gives a good burn. If it weren't for the bite I would rate it higher!
Two stars.
I ordered this in loose pouch form so I don't know about a tins moisture but this is good. Although it says it's in ribbon form, my pouch's contents look to be a lot closer to a coarse cut/mixture; I can see a selection of ribbons, both chunky and slim with there also being a few pieces of broken flake in there. It looks as though it contains quite an equal amount of each of the tobaccos. The aroma from the pouch offers only a tobacco note, it doesn't appear to have any casings or toppings included.
On to the actual smoking now: It lights up easily, exactly as I expected from the moisture content. I find the flavour a little perplexing; normally, blends that are heavy with Cavendish can taste sludgy and thick but this has a slight citrus/lemon freshness to it which makes it taste more sprightly than clumsy.
Sadly, this gives me a bit of a kick with tongue bite. This is one of the main reasons for it getting a 'not so positive' score. But as we all differ with that from blend to blend it could just be me!
This has quite a large amount of nicotine. It's not got a huge quantity but it does air more towards strong than medium.
This has a good flavour and gives a good burn. If it weren't for the bite I would rate it higher!
Two stars.
Pipe Used:
Rattrays The Cave
PurchasedFrom:
James Fox
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 02, 2019 | Mild | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Not sure if the present version of James Fox’s Provost Mixture contains Latakia, but it’s certainly “smoky”, and this starts immediately when a tin is popped. In the tin one finds mostly short, chopped ribbons ranging from tan to light brown to deep, reddish brown, and there are also black chunks. Tin note is smoky, earthy silage. Though the TR blurb claims there is only VA Cavendish and bright VA here, I’m guessing the Cavendish is smoke cured, and I think there are air cured orange, brown and red VAs, as well. As for smoking PM, it got significantly better after it sat in its re-sealed tin for a couple of weeks, so I recommend starting out that way. Given this rest and some drying, PM lights and smokes down easily. Initial scents are “light, smoky English”, with earthy, savory scents and tastes added to the tin note, along with faint, fragrant meadow grass under the “smoke”. It gets more sour/acidic down the bowl, even as it gets sweeter. And that’s about it for me! Not bad at all, really, as whatever is in the blend winds up pretty well melded, balanced, and very consistent, top to bottom. On the other hand, it hardly stands out amongst 3 and 4 star English blends well known and readily available to TR readers. Strength is mild. Tastes push toward medium. Room note is tolerable. Smoked to 7/8, aftertaste is a trailing off of the best of the smoke, or it can be somewhat acrid if the bowl is smoked to the bottom.
I can remember, decades ago, enjoying Campanile and Dorisco on the rare occasions when I ran across them. As for the contemporary Provost Mixture, like I said, it’s not really bad at all (honest), it’s just not a repeater for me; so, 2 stars, it is.
I can remember, decades ago, enjoying Campanile and Dorisco on the rare occasions when I ran across them. As for the contemporary Provost Mixture, like I said, it’s not really bad at all (honest), it’s just not a repeater for me; so, 2 stars, it is.
Pipe Used:
English briars
PurchasedFrom:
Cup o' Joes
Age When Smoked:
from rested tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 01, 2013 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I recently purchased a tin of Fox Provost Mixture, circa 2002. The tin was sealed and the tobacco was still moist. The circular liner was completely brown where the moisture had soaked it over the years. I popped open the tin, and I am keeping it fresh in one of my humidors.
The tobacco? Ready to smoke right out of the tin. The tobacco is on the dry side. Packs easily. Burns like a fuse headed toward dynamite - I don't think the entire bowl of tobacco lasted a half hour. Any type of frequent puffing resulted in my bowl getting much too hot to touch. I had to set my Peterson bulldog briar pipe down several times, to let it cool down, for fear of cracking the pipe. Zero tongue bite. Zero nicotine. Pretty much zero enjoyment.
The flavor? Meh. Mild Cavendish tobaccos and mellow tasting, without any notes to savor. The tobacco burned so quickly, and so cleanly, that there was nothing in my pipe after I dumped out the ashes. Zero ash accumulation in the pipe. I will eventually smoke all of this tobacco, albeit at a much slower pace. I don't think that I will be buying Fox Provost Mixture again anytime soon.
The tobacco? Ready to smoke right out of the tin. The tobacco is on the dry side. Packs easily. Burns like a fuse headed toward dynamite - I don't think the entire bowl of tobacco lasted a half hour. Any type of frequent puffing resulted in my bowl getting much too hot to touch. I had to set my Peterson bulldog briar pipe down several times, to let it cool down, for fear of cracking the pipe. Zero tongue bite. Zero nicotine. Pretty much zero enjoyment.
The flavor? Meh. Mild Cavendish tobaccos and mellow tasting, without any notes to savor. The tobacco burned so quickly, and so cleanly, that there was nothing in my pipe after I dumped out the ashes. Zero ash accumulation in the pipe. I will eventually smoke all of this tobacco, albeit at a much slower pace. I don't think that I will be buying Fox Provost Mixture again anytime soon.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 06, 2012 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable to Strong |
The Latakia-like flavour fades somewhat after a few puffs, which is fine with me, as I'm not a fancier of the English blends.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 2006 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Let me start by saying that Dorisco Mixture is one of my top three or four tobaccos and that I was hoping that anything by Fox would be of the same caliber. But it was not to be, I found Provost Mixture to be flat and bland with no character.
It smells bland in the tin and the taste was just not there, I wanted to find a sweet light English but this is just too mellow for me.
It smells bland in the tin and the taste was just not there, I wanted to find a sweet light English but this is just too mellow for me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 15, 2004 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium to Full | Strong |
I am afraid that this one is not according to the description given above. Rather, I found this just a typical English blend.
Appearance: After opening the round 50g tin, you are greeted by a medium ribbon cut with all the typical brown's, yellow's, black's of a typical English blend.
Tin Aroma: A mustiness typical to a English, maybe a tad more orientals, I think there might be a pinch of Perique. Moisture is perfect.
Packing: Easy
Lighting: 3-4 lights max, normal.
Initial Flavor: Definitely tilted to the orientals, with the VA and Latakia close behind.
Mid-Bowl: Good English, similar to Squadron Leader, but with a little more Oriental pungency.
End Of Bowl: Some strength build-up, a Perique tartness, very faint though. Ash is grey and dry.
Overall: This is a good blend, but there was nothing outstanding to keep me coming back. It is pricey, $12.50 a tin in So. Cal. I found it to be a little bitey at times, worked best in a group 5 size bowl. Nicotine cont. is med. (which is good for me!) I suppose if there were not so many excellent blends out there, this could be in the rotation. The room note is strong, will definitely disturb the non-smokers.
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Appearance: After opening the round 50g tin, you are greeted by a medium ribbon cut with all the typical brown's, yellow's, black's of a typical English blend.
Tin Aroma: A mustiness typical to a English, maybe a tad more orientals, I think there might be a pinch of Perique. Moisture is perfect.
Packing: Easy
Lighting: 3-4 lights max, normal.
Initial Flavor: Definitely tilted to the orientals, with the VA and Latakia close behind.
Mid-Bowl: Good English, similar to Squadron Leader, but with a little more Oriental pungency.
End Of Bowl: Some strength build-up, a Perique tartness, very faint though. Ash is grey and dry.
Overall: This is a good blend, but there was nothing outstanding to keep me coming back. It is pricey, $12.50 a tin in So. Cal. I found it to be a little bitey at times, worked best in a group 5 size bowl. Nicotine cont. is med. (which is good for me!) I suppose if there were not so many excellent blends out there, this could be in the rotation. The room note is strong, will definitely disturb the non-smokers.
Rating 3.5 out of 5
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