James Fox The Squire's Mixture

Tin aroma is like soap and a little fruit. No smell of latakia at all! Smoking: no latakia noticable! Just the taste of a medium quality blend/tobacco with a little aromatic toutch. Somewhat recommended.

I'm somewhat disappointed on occasion at "blend descriptions" by the brand manufacturers. Turkish, latakia, etc.....why not just say you poured plum jelly into the mix. I'm not putting this blend down by saying this as I rather enjoy it as a smooth aromatic and dare say there aren't many smooth ones around. But just say it's that and don't tease me with the different "leaf" blah blah blah. I'll probably keep a couple tins but it wasn't what I expected on my cavendish journey. If you pour a pile of maple syrup on an egg....it's not gonna taste like an egg.

Fox' answer to Dunhill's Royal Yacht.

The flavor profile of this assemblance of varietals yields an "unnatural" tobacco taste, in my opinion, like the blend was spritzed with grandmas perfume (I feel the same way about Royal Yacht).

Not my cup of tea.

50 years ago I was given a sample of "Diplomat", a store mixture, at the old Pipelane store in downtown Seattle. I liked it well enough as a change of pace to occasionally get some more and then the store closed. I was surprised then when I opened a 17 year old tin of "The Squires Mixture", to taste what seems to be the same blend.

Perhaps because the sample accompanied a pipe my wife had given me for Christmas and it was my boon companion on an Alaska fisheries patrol in February, I have a special nostalgia for it. The description on the tin states this is "A Medium Strength Turkish Blend" which led me to assume this was a Virginia/Oriental blend. There is clearly an added topping which I can't identify but it smokes cool and cleanly and is easy to light. Though my tastes have certainly changed over the years I find I still enjoy this.

Update; I decided to see if the currently available version is the same as the older, blue label tin I tried. I have to say it is not. Whatever topping is used with this was applied much too heavily in the fresh version. Perhaps aging or airing this out will help but while still smokeable, I would only give the current version 2 stars.

An all-around wonderful, complex, & dynamic Lakeland style tobacco. My main tobacco‘s are Virginia’s such as Fribourg and Treyor’s is Blackjack and Vintage Flake. Second to Virginia’s, I smoke a lot of St Bruno and Gawith and Hogarth Best Brown No.2. I am a fairly well-rounded smoker, I also have English Blends in my daily rotation as well as Burly Blends, I love Highland Targe from Rattrays, Dunhill (now Peterson) blends, LJ Peretti’s English blends such as Century, British, Royal, Prince of Wales(cross over English) and lots of traditional American Burly’s which for me all my favorite Burly and Blends Ave from L.J. Peretti’s… That all said, I do love Condor. I don’t smoke as much as I used to, it is quite hard to get in United States, but I do have plenty stock piled and have decent access, so that isn’t why. It is just that my palate has just grown; I love Condors top notes/casing, but The face tobacco doesn’t always hit the spot like it used to; although sometimes it does, and I absolutely still do like it. I prefer a lot of Gawith Hogarth Lakelands these days, if that is what I am in the mood for. “Squires and Mixture“ is the closest to Condor (ready rubbed) that I have ever had, and I dare say it is much better (for what I am looking for in a tobacco, obviously) There is about 20% less flavoring/casing in “Squyres“ compared to condor, and the base tobaccos oh that of the highest quality, and no matter white ones experience level is, I think anyone would appreciate that quit smoking Squyres. You can absolutely taste it’s about goes underneath the Lakeland flavoring, and it does not seem to ghost in the way condor does. The use of high-quality Oriental and Turkish tobacco‘s, creates a really dynamic and complex smoke. If someone is just an aromatic smoker, they may not love this. And if someone does not love Lakeland tobaccos, they too may not love this. American style aromatics are really the only category that I don’t smoke with any regularity. But if you do like Lakelands, or even traditional American Burly aromatics with unique flavors (Think Peretti’s Blend 100, or even their Cuban Mixture) I think this would be worth giving it a try. I think you’ll find this to be an very unique, interesting and well balanced smoke with an ineffable Lakeland style flavoring. You may even end up loving it like me. It is not an all day smoke for me, is it a little bit too much for my palate to be all day, but when I do crave it, it hits the spot. And for what it is, hey once or twice a day smoke, it is definitely a four-star tobacco!

This fine shag tobacco comes very moist in the tin ... so a little drying out will serve one well to start. I found the components to create an interesting smoke with a light casing that moves to the background quickly. I'm not sure if I would classify this as a aromatic but it definitely has an initial flavoring. As far as it being an English blend, it claims no pedigree, and many English blends have a light topping.

One thing for certain, if one packs this too tightly and smokes it without a moderate drying, it will be a steamy and tasteless experience. I've noticed this about Fox blends and approach them accordingly. I find by lightly rubbing half a tin at a time into a container long before smoking makes for a totally different experience than directly from the tin.

The Latakia is light and the Turkish is more abundant making the bowl more naturally flavorful as the casing fades to the background. I think this is a terrific time to time smoke that is complex without being strong.

Cheers, VC

This blend, quite frankly, smelled strange in the tin. I suspect the casing used is responsible. This blend does not burn rapidly or hot. It packs well, too. The taste of the Virginia and Latakia is superb, and the two leave the wispy spice of the Orientals far in the background. The unique casing adds to the presentation in a way that is hard to put into words. Just know that this one is a keeper for good reason!