Robert Lewis 123 Mixture

I thought I would give this a try. It was a bit of a random purchase whilst browsing online. I do not regret this decision. I enjoy English blends because they have a good depth of flavour and they tend to have a complex flavour profile. I figured that this one having cigar leaf it would be a bit different. The tin note is very pleasant and sweet. Not like other English blends, not grass/fermented sweet. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it’s pleasant.

As with the majority of English blends, this tobacco tastes like it smells. Nice sweet flavour profile that is consistent throughout the bowl. It burns very cool and with little if any moisture. You can of course taste the latakia, it is very distinct but there is a flavour that I have not experienced before and I am thinking that this would be the cigar. It’s not as pronounced as cedar wood but it is earthy and woody. It’s a nice after taste to the Latakia. They compliment each other well.

This actually would be a good beginner blend for people that have not experienced English blends, it would be a good tobacco for new pipe smokers. It behaves well and remains lit.

This is a mild to medium smoke with cigar leaf, apparently from Cuban seed. The flavor is complex , with an almost Connecticut Wrapper Cigar flavor, splashed with a fi e Virginia flavor. Mild, yet complex, the blend stays complex to the end, as the bowl warms up . Its flavor profile seems to better revealed with a slightly larger bowl. The rich grassy, and wet flavors with an occasional taste of brown sugar with a touch of spice. The cigar leaf becomes more noticeable as the smoke progresses, adding a degree of seniority and fullness to an already rich flavor Highly reccomended.

A refined blend, one of the last remaining cigar leaf blends of European origin, and indeed a fine one - comparing this to the cheap-filler non-Cuban "cigar" blends from across the ocean, I do feel a pity for the fellow-smokers from the States - some of them have obviously forgotten how a true cigar leaf blend smells and tastes - discreet, medium-bodied and satisfactorily layered - not cheap, but worth it

On a recent trip to Uhle?s, Milwaukee, my piper friend picked up a tin curious from reading all the accolades at this website. This is a blend truly deserving of the high praise it receives. It?s a full English with cigar leaf. I?ve had a couple of other cigar blends but was not impressed. Wilke?s Churchill, though excellent in flavor, takes its physical toll on me as it burns and closes my throat. Iwan Ries?s crushed plug with cigar almost killed me with fits of choking and gagging. McClelland?s Domenican Glory maduro cigar offering is impossible to keep lit, as it?s dominated by sweet Virginias. On the other hand, 123 makes up for all the bad experimentation in attempting to marry pipe with cigar tobacco. This is a carefully balanced English with just the right amount of cigar leaf adding condimental perfection. It?s a smoky, spicy, peaty blend, with all the elements coming fairly into play and none overpowering the other. It?s the only pipe/cigar mixture that works harmoniously, and I will continue to enjoy this fine blend. I?m curious to try other Robert Lewis offerings over time.

Four of five stars

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update november 2005

like dunhill, iwan ries three star & others, something has happened here. this is now an outsourced tin of turd. tin aroma is grassy & mossy like 965 or standard mild mixture, but without that dunhillian smokiness & none of the elegance. the cigar leaf has been castrated from the blend; there is none in here. this is no longer an english blend, but rather, an english hybrid made by dann or kolhasse in germany. the tin has changed & so has the contents within. aromatically it's wingfield; in taste it's flat, insipid & boring. oh, i forgot, metrosexualism has all but banned smoking in england, and america is not far behind. requiescat in pace, robert lewis.

one of five stars

This is a lovely blend, which ticks my boxes of Orientals and Latakia, with a difference thanks to the cigar leaf included. This addition seemed like a gimmick when I read about it, but I bought a tin anyway and glad I did. I can't bring to mind any other mixtures with cigar leaf I've tried, I do enjoy a cigar on occasion but never thought of it as a pipe tobacco ingredient. In this case, it's a subtle component, blended with art to play a role alongside the more usual suspects in such a blend - it sets it apart from other English mixtures, without seeming in any way incongruous.

It looks like the usual English mixture - a ribbon cut mix of mid tan to black leaf, no pressed material that I can find, with a fair bit of stem. Aroma in the tin is of spice, smoke, toast with a hint of muscovado sweetness and a suggestion of creosote. Any aroma of the cigar leaf is overwhelmed by the Orientals and Latakia, and the freshly opened tin has the hint of fresh yeast which so often marks a fine mixture in my experience.

It is easy to pack and light, one match does the trick towards the end of the tin when it's a little drier. The flavour leaps out at the touch of the flame, smokey and toasty and the cigar flavour is present as a subtle note alongside. A cedarwood incense like flavour appears as the smoke progresses, and the room aroma is splendid. The smoke is softened by the Cavendish but I think there's only a touch of it - it's a full flavour and not sweet. A dry spice and smoke flavour grows in the smoke, evoking leather, wood fires, and autumn leaves. The flavours do vary pleasantly as the bowl of tobacco is consumed, not always in a linear progression but stepping from spicy to dry and back again.

It's not the most potent in terms of nicotine, but it satisfies. The flavour is fairly full, complex and enjoyable. It rewards some peaceful time with the pipe and no distractions to get the most from it, but it's lovely to have on the go when out for a stroll or the like. I'll get it again.

I had a generous sample from the tobacconist on this one. Thought it might be another latakia bomb. It wasn't, but darned strong all the same.

The strength of this blend lies in the latakia and cigar leaf mix, a sharp combination, that comes across as rather dry, unlike the orcilla blend, the only other Robert Lewis tbacco I am familiar with. Not for the faint-hearted smoker this. If you don't like latakia and/or cigars then stay well away.

I enjoy a good upman cigar now and then, but they are so expensive I can't justify the expenditure except at say, Christmas or Birthday. But I am not entirely convinced that this blend has a great deal of cigar leaf in it, as it comes through only occasionally halfway through the bowl when the smokey effect of the latakia lessens a little.

Looking at the mixture itself there is no evidence of cigar leaf in there and is composed of dark and very light coloured strands (virginia ?). It's a little dry too and takes an awful lot of relights, which is surprising.

There is little room note, doesn't gas the lounge out and, surprisingly, no pipe ghost left behind on my briars, unlike something cheaper like St Bruno or Condor neither of which is really a million miles behind this. No, it's a little better than those two, and I suspect my new found liking of latakia hasn't risen to the heights of sophistication that is required to get the best out of this blend.

Certainly a complex blend then and one not entirely wasted on the likes of me, but no way could this be an all-day smoke or even a regular visitor to my bowls, but I am glad to have made it's acquaintance.

When I first smoked this Tobacco, I didn't think that much of it just a pretty nice English, and a little pricey for what you get. I took the advice of some on this site and aged it 6 months in a small sealed mason jar. The result: it was unbelievably smooth - I don't know what component(s) delivered that flavour, possibly the cigar leaf with the Virginia/Cavendish but it was like the best brandy in smoke form. I know it is a little expensive and it is weird to buy something and age it six months but it was totally worth it.

If you're looking for "Cigar" flavor, this doesn't have it. If you're looking for a smooth , darker blend , then this is it. When it comes to the addition of cigar leaf, GLP's Key largo ( has too much for me), then McC's Dominican Glory Maduro ( nice, cigar noticeable ), then McC Black Sea Sokhoum ( nice ,only a touch of cigar) , then way down from those, 123 mixture ( hard to find the cigar leaf) .

Actually , if I wasn't looking for the cigar leaf , I'd just think of this blend as another "middle of the road" Balkan/English blend . It's smooth , dark, but lacks excitement and is fairly monochromatic.

By my rating system, this might get a 2 star, but I'll give it 3, as it is a perfectly acceptable smoke.

The predominant taste to my palate is of a mild, yet very good English blend with a lovely note of Havana cigar leaf weaving in and out of the other flavours. I’ve dedicated a pipe to this tobacco, and I think it helps me get the best out of it as it is quite nuanced.

I really like this blend. I haven't tried the J J Fox version so I can’t compare it to its earlier incarnation before being manufactured by Kohlhase & Kopp, but I can say I'm just glad it's still in production and still easily available in the UK. I think this blend deserves to be tried as there just aren't many Cigar Leaf blends around.