Robert Lewis 123 Mixture

I may have smoked this on rare occasion during the Fox era but don't remember it prior to that. The blend I am reviewing is the Kohlhase and Kopp variant. You know; the one with the semicircle sticker on the bottom of the tin lid covering the admonition "smoking kills"! Moving right along, let's get one thing out of the way. I have smoked Pease's Robusto and most of the other cigar leaf containing blends mentioned in these reviews and none of them smoke like 123 Mixture. For the most part, I have found them to smoke rather flat with a narrower range of aromas and tastes than this blend and less sweetly. 123 Mixture is first and foremost an English blend that happens to have a small amount of cigar leaf content. My first reaction to it was, wow, is this ever a fine medium range English blend. Then I remembered that it was supposed to be a cigar leaf blend and I began to search for it. I found it, ok, but that is not nearly as important as the overall smoking profile of this blend - sweet, rich and satisfying. 123 is a wonderful English blend with the added plus of some cigar leaf all married beautifully in the tin and that equals four stars.

Robert Lewis - 123 Mixture.

An early review I'm redoing.

The smoke isn't consumed by the cigar leaf. This often deters me from blends with cigar leaf, if I want my smoke to taste like a cigar I'll have a cigar! Similarly, if I want ice-cream I'll have a bowl of it, I'd be reticent about bunging a spoonful in my jug of gravy!

The cigar leaf tastes rich, but doesn't dry the smoke out. I get a heady flavour from the Turkish, it gives the smoke a fragrance, and prevents the cigar leaf from cartelizing and hogging it. I'd say the Turkish is the leading taste. The Cyprian Latakia has a slightly aromatic, sharp-peppery flavour, and is notable with ease. The Virginia and black Cavendish are the lighter of the ingredients, unlike the rest, these require looking for. 123 burns cool, maybe a little fast, and doesn't bite.

Nicotine: medium to strong. Room-note: pleasant.

Robert Lewis 123 Mixture? Unusual compared to other cigar leaf blends. Unusual, but an anomaly I'll happily keep in my cellar! Highly recommended:

Four stars.

There is a definite sweetness here as well as a cigar like spicy mustiness. Latakia fills in the gaps but doesn't dominate. The flavour is layered and interesting but never over-taxing. The smoke is smooth and cool; 'creamy' is an often overused adjective in describing some tobaccos but I think it is genuinely applicable here.

I could smoke this all day with ease and continuous pleasure.

I have heard a lot about this blend and wanted to give it a try as the reports were very good. And so was this blend! I actually detected the fine cigar leaf (Cuban grown according to the descriptive), and the other components stayed in the background while lending support. Exceptional stuff!

Pipestud

Far from a mild or medium english, this is a full english blend with plenty of latakia. The cigar leaf is closer to what you would taste in a cigar, not a damp, mushroomy blend like pure caribe. Has the same pleasant aftertaste that I get from an ashton maduro cigar. A hint of cedar within a scottish blend. As original as it gets, and a blender's masterpiece. This stuff is mighty tasty, and as good as any dunhill offering. In fact, I daresay that this blend, for many smokers might become their number 1. The room note is much more tolerable for non-smokers than most other latakia blends. This made my regular rotation along with tree mixture. Now that dunhill is gone, and only 965 is available under the old dublin label from peterson, Robert Lewis sure has some good replacements to turn to.

The most complex pipe tobacco that I have tried, this is in the same category as 965.

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.

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.

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.