Two Friends Deacon's Downfall

Four years on the shelf have done nothing to 'tame' the richness of this blend. This is heady stuff. The black Cavendish seems to hold the Perique at bay, allowing the Latakia and Orientals to have their say. But I hasten to add that the Perique is present, in all its glory, from midpoint onward. Perfect complement to viewing an espionage film, a who-done-it mystery or simply contemplating one's navel.

A solid blend with nuances of smoke, cheese, butter, and toasted bread. Rich flavors and medium bodied. An enjoyable smoke. Can't give it four stars, but it's a firm three.

the first bowl I had of this I wasn't sure what I thought, made by two of the best blenders out there and I was a little disappointed, I tried a few more bowls and still had the same outcome, I jarred it up and set it on the shelf 6 months later I try again, and wow what a big difference the short time on the shelf did, I don't know if there was any age to the tin to begin with as it was a gift, but I think opening the tin and giving it fresh air, and then putting it away for a short time really changed the flavors of this blend, Very Smooth, Smokey, spicey and lively to the tongue, the oriental leaf in it stands out and lets you know there is more to it than just latakia.
I happen to be drinking a Chai tea Latte with it the two go together like Peas and carrots

Deacon is a flavor packed tobacco that turns hot smoking at the 1/2 way point to the finish. I like the flavor but the heat is to much. I'm going to try this in some other pipes and see if anything changes. I will update at some point....I'm sure you all will be waiting :)haha!

UPDATE: Ist time I smoked this it was in a Castello start to finish. 2nd time in a Ascorti New Dear and a re-light from the night before. Much better working off the re-light better flavor, a little sweetness and just a touch of Latakia. Changed my rating to 3 stars!The larger the pipe the better it smokes.

Two Friends - Deacon's Downfall.

In short, fairly full but not too much.

In the tin sits a mixture of different ribbons, some small, some bigger, some brighter, some darker; you get the picture! My moisture quantity suits me, a little damp yet not ''wet''.

The Latakia is at the front, quite smoky, woody, savoury. However, it doesn't monopolize the flavour. The others give enough character to deter this from Lat-bomb land. The Perique's light, giving a sour-spiciness which becomes more evident halfway through. I get a smoothing effect from the black Cavendish, this also adds ''build'' to the smoke. There's a touch of vibrancy, an ambrosial flavour, from the Oriental leaf; fragrant. The Virginias act in the way I find congruent for English blends; their presence is definite, hay, grass, etc, but they don't shine through much as the other ''punchier'' tobaccos don't leave much room for a tamer flavour to gain recognition. It burns cool, steady, needing hardly any attention. Bite? None.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not great.

Deacon's Downfall? A definite 3 star blend; just shy of four:

Recommended.

The Deacon has confirmed that I am indeed an English tobacco smoker. I don't know that I have much to contribute to what others have already said, but here goes.

I do my smoking primarily at home in the evening and while driving. I don't consider it an all day smoke. I think the nicotine would overwhelm me if I tried more than a couple of back to back bowls.

A non-smoking friend described the raw tobacco scent as "a campfire" and I would agree with his assessment.

I have tried it in a couple of pipes and find I enjoy it best when smoked from a medium sized billiard. A strong cup of coffee and I am home with 2 old friends, nicotine and caffeine. I find the coffee compliments DD quite nicely on my taste buds.

This is not one to smoke around finicky spouses and small children, the room note is quite pleasing to me, but failed the sniff test with the lady of the house.

Recommended.

This delivers a big tobacco taste, which is what I look for in a blend. I put it a bit behind Presbyterian because I find it not as tastey a blend. Saying that, if you like big robust taste, pick yourself up some.

This is probably the most "conventional" of the Two Friends blends, IMO. This is a latakia-heavy blend, reminiscent of a strong Balkan or English. What makes this one stand out from the crowd is an odd, semi-sweet flavor/aromoa I've never encountered before. It's not strong but it's noticeable. I don't know if this is due to some kind of flavoring or if it's the leaf, but it adds just enough of a kick to elevate this to a three-star tobacco. There are a couple of reasons why I don't give this blend four stars. For one, there are many tobaccos on the market that are better examples of this type of blend than Deacon's Downfall. Also, as other reviewers have pointed out, the many tobaccos in this blend don't quite seem to "meld" together. It's like listening to a half-dozen virtuoso musicians trying to play Mozart while mildly drunk. I'm giving this 3 stars because it's a pleasant experience despite its drawbacks and I think it will improve significantly with age (at the least, adding a couple of years to this blend should take care of the drunken orchestra problem). As an experiment, I'm thinking about ordering a batch of this from C&D and having it pressed.

I like this tobacco, quite a bit! It is unique in that it hosts a wide range of tastes - latakia is steady, the virginias consistently donate flavor accented with a little perique and the orientals complete the chords of this billowing sonata.

Add this to the fact that my wife finds this "less offensive" than most other brands I smoke (ie, Charing Cross, 965, Nightcap, House of Lords, Victorian Stroll) and full in the taste department, I am classifying this as my "human-friendly" brand because of the sweet, toasty aroma.

This comes right in time as I'm leaving with the extended family to stay with other family in Thailand for a month. This is the first 2friends blend I've tried and I'm liking it a lot.

When I smoke this tobacco, images come to mind of phantasmic fiddlers serenading flames within a light-hearted, jumpy Beltane fire.