Dunhill Durbar

In the tin, I was greeted with a clear cocoa (roasted) and woody aroma with some light floral notes.tobacco review of dunhill durbar

Lighting the bowl presented with a nice clean tobacco flavour on the tongue – well balanced. The flowery notes was present with woody notes from the Latakia. A really nice tobacco for an all-day smoke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOOo4TqoaCw

It's not the Murray made Durbar, which was a Balkan to me. This version is a middle of the road English. They should have called it Alfred's Legacy no.1 or something. Now that being said, it's a quality mixture with the characteristics of an old school Dunhill, whatever that may mean to anybody else but me, a cool smoke with a balanced flavor along with some surprise nuance that intervenes once in a while. The smell in the tin is exotic and inviting, it lights easy and burns to a white ash. A no fuss Latakia mixture to be enjoyed at any time of the day.

Virginia lover

I smoked Murray's version years ago and had some left recently. It was a little fuller and was oriental (other than Latakia) forward. This re-release is a different take on the oriental subject IMO. It is more Virginia forward.

It is creamier than before and has a mild but sweet fragrance and taste from the Virginia I presume. (I don't know of a Turkish leaf that is both creamy and sweeet as opposed to herbal.) The light spicy and added depth from the orientals (I taste just tendrils of Latakia) kicks in at the bottom half of the bowl, but the Virginia still holds its own to the end.

It's smooth and cool smoking.

So different from before but still very good and maybe better suited to a wider range of English and Virginia smokers. I smoked a full tin and have several in cellar aging (but good now).

Without question, this is my favorite Dunhill. Durbar is different and delicious.

Upon opening the tin, you're greeted with an interesting aroma. The Orientals make their presence known, but there is just something different about Durbar when you first crack the tin. It gets your attention and you begin to wonder what it could be. Then, when you light up the bowl, Durbar really begins to shine. There really is an incense like quality to it like others have noted. It's that incense like quality that the Orientals deliver to the mix that elevates this blend to its lofty level. It's divine. I love the way the smoke lingers and perfumes the air. This is what pipe smoking is all about. The aftertaste is very nice and I like the scent it leaves in the room or outside and the scent in my beard. Odd, I know, but I like it.

The nicotine hit is a tad over a medium. Wonderful tasting blend with a nice nicotine hit. Not too strong, but enough to satisfy and provide that pleasant mellowing reward at the end.

Again, this is my favorite Dunhill, followed by London Mixture and then The Aperitif. I'm amazed that more haven't sung its praises yet, but that is OK because it allows me to buy more to cellar for later.

Enjoy!

To me, Durbar as part of the Vintage Blends series is Dunhill's Balkan mixture, if nothing else because the blend is dominated by its content of almost black Latakia and dark brown Oriental leaf. The lighter Virginias are dispersed evenly among those.

The Latakia is also what you notice first, when you open the tin and take in the spicy scent, before you notice the smell of incense from the Orientals.

Filling your pipe is quite uncomplicated, just as lighting. You can even pack this tobacco a little more tightly in order to get a steady burning. From time to time you need to tamp and level out the ashes.

Durbar will give you a tart and tangy smoke dominated by the smooth Oriental leafs and the peaty Latakia, and topped off by the sweet Virginias. This is a full bodied, creamy, balanced smoke mellowed by a distinguished floral incense note. A re-light is seldom required. As long as you don't draw too eagerly on your pipe, it'll burn down coolly to some light gray ash.

The room note is rich and spicy, yet tolerable.

This Orlik version is very good, an oriental forward medium bodied English. Not the same as Murray's, but still a quality mixture with the signature leathery, spicy & buttery dunhill characteristics.

As with some people, thinking of something nice to say can occasionally be a challenge. So it is with Durbar.

I have no idea what the intent of the blender was with this stuff. I smoke it and it tastes like tobacco. No subtle this, no nuanced that, no smokey Latakia, no papery nutty Orientals. It just tastes like dry, woody tobacco.

I have nothing else to say. This blend leaves me perplexed. And I love Oriental-forward blends. But this just tastes like cheap cigar filler.

I just can't find anything good to say about it.

[EDIT - April 2018]

I'm not sure what changed--my tastes, or perhaps the tobacco left to "aerate."

I love this stuff. Amazing. It's like Aperitif without the Cavendish. The Virginias are redolent of oats and hay with just the slightest hint of coconut on the nose. I wish I were joking, but I'm not. I feel somewhat guilty I gave it such a tepid review earlier.

Another thing--you can really "push" this tobacco. It has different flavor and aroma profiles to offer when sipped or smoked aggressively. And the "room note" (I waft the smoke from the bowl to my nose) is amazing too.

Great stuff!

I am reviewing Durbar here since I believe what I smoked was manufactured by STG. This tobacco is similar to London Mixture but creamier and fuller. It is also sweeter, delivers more incense notes, and more nicotine that satisfies but does not overwhelm. Burns clean to white ash and leaves a pleasant after taste.

A luxurious evening treat. Highly recommended if you manage to get your hand on a tin.

I'm a fan of the Dunhill English mixtures, been smoking then on and off for over a decade now. I think what I like the best is the ones with that yeasty, leaf mouldy aroma when you crack a new tin open, Nightcap being the best example of this. Durbar does it a bit, so I know I'm in for a treat!

So, what have we here? A tin of relatively fine, even ribbon cut tobacco, in medium brown hues with some darker leaf. Tin aroma is the aforementioned yeasty leaf mould smell, with smells of rotting wood and a hint of campfire. smoke. Delicious! I'm drooling by the time I've filled my pipe...

It takes the flame easily, and when it's getting a bit dry toward the end of the tin, only one march is required. Orientals are the stars of this show, with their mysterious spicy, woody flavours. I keep smelling the smoke, getting nice toasty bready aromas with a hint of cedarwood. The flavour is a shade short of medium for an English, if I use EMP as the benchmark for light, and Nightcap for full. Very satisfying. Its a dry smoke, in the sense of no moisture and not much sweetness, and can have a slightly dusty quality when the leaf is getting dry. You can smoke it to the last morsel with perhaps a single relight. It doesn't really bite, although when it's getting a bit dry, it can get a little harsh towards the end in my eagles claw meer, which is a bit of a nose warmer. Slow sips are key here, or smoking it in a Calabash, as I am now with the last of a tin...

Summary: medium strength English mixture in which luxurious Orientals are the star of the show, supported by bready Virginias and a reasonable hint of Latakia in the background. An opulent smoke.

One quibble which applies to all Dunhill tobaccos now, why is it supplied loosely packed in giant tins? The tobacco dries out faster than I would like, and you need a rucksack to carry it around! Hope this isn't a permanent change.