Tom Eltang English

(2.54)
Featuring an impeccable balance of red and bright Virginias, exotic Latakia, and a dash of Katerini, Eltang English is a mild, highly nuanced smoke, crafted to become a most favored all day blend.
Notes: This blend is being released on September 17, 2014 at Tom Eltang's house in Denmark. Per Mr. Eltang: For some time now (about the past 15 years or so…) I have been playing with the idea of blending my own tobacco as a natural extension of my craft. Finally this happens - through the help and guidance of Sykes Wilford, Smokingpipes.com and the American Pipe Tobacco Manufacture, Cornell & Diehl tobaccos.

Details

Brand Tom Eltang
Blended By Cornell & Diehl
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 2 ounce tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.54 / 4
2

4

6

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 13 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 21, 2014 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant
The bright Virginias have a very light tart and tangy citrus and grass taste. The red Virginia is a little more dominant, and is mildly tangy dark fruit sweet with a touch of earth and wood. The Virginias are the main players with the red Va. being a little more obvious. The Cyprian Latakia is a supporting player that offers just a little smokiness, wood and earth. The spice, earth, floral, herbal, vegetative, lightly sweet and sour and wood notes from the Katerini are very slight, and it's perhaps the most minor ingredient present in the blend. The strength and taste levels are mild. Has little nicotine. Won’t bite or get harsh. It's an all day smoke that burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a mostly consistent flavor from top to bottom. Hardly leaves any moisture in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. The short lived after taste and room note are pleasant. The level of nuance mentioned in the description is lower than the manufacturer indicates. Lacks depth and body even for a mild blend.

-JimInks
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 10, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This was an interesting blend. It's less an English and more of a Virginia with a tiny dash of lat added. The Katerini is clearly in there, it's evident in the tin note, but I wasn't able to pick it out, it's definitely a supporting player. The blend of the red and bright Virginias seems very even, as the spicy or sweet front notes seemed to alternate bowl to bowl. This seems like it would be an excellent blend for a Virginia lover wanting to explore latakia blends, or anyone looking for latakia well in the background of their smoke. The latakia is clearly the same leaf as Pirate Kake's, with a less smoky flavor and a bit of soap at first taste, but the blending is radically different, and it's kept well under control throughout. As a latakia fiend I'll probably reach for something a bit heavier on a regular basis, but I'll keep this one in the rotation for the days when I just want a little. Definitely one to smoke slow, to bring out the full taste of the Virginias.
Pipe Used: Meerschaum, Briar
PurchasedFrom: SmokingPipes.com
Age When Smoked: Less than a month
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 21, 2014 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This is great. I very admire that next english mixture that appeared on the market is not overflowing with latakia and vice versa lets the other components shine. Do not get me wrong. I love new full english blands such as Black House or Gaslight, but this is something that was missing. Something in the rank of Squadron Leader or 7 reserve. The flavors are not that bold. Here it is more about being distinctive. You can taste different components and enjoy them equally. What I love is how katerini rounds and smooths this blend. The quality of leaf is supreme, it lights easily and does not require much attention which is good. No bite, nice dry smoke... perfect. If you search for latakia bomb look elsewhere, but if english blend is what you desire, you may have found holy grail. Or not. You decide.
Pipe Used: Ashton
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: new
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 02, 2016 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
There are tobacco mixtures that are blended for contemplative pipe smoking, and there are tobacco mixtures that are perhaps more appropriate for plain-old smoking. Tom Eltang English is of the latter category. In other words, don’t expect to sit down with a bowl of this and experience an hour of transcendental bliss. However, if you just enjoy having a pipe in your mouth while concentrating on other things, and a natural tobacco mixture lightly seasoned with latakia is your preference, this would probably work just fine.

The Virginias provide the bulk of the flavor. The first portion of the bowl is on the light side, grassy at times with a thin hint of sweetness, the latakia and Turkish are subtle at best. The rest of the bowl is more earthy tasting with the latakia still sitting way in the back; the flavor of the Virginia's, which unfortunately down the stretch become somewhat papery, remain way ahead of everything else.

There’s nothing exceptional about Tom Eltang English, but there’s really nothing bad about it either. It’s a balanced blend with decent flavor and it’s smooth and easy to smoke. Perhaps Mr. Eltang just prefers something honest to puff on while crafting his exceptional briar pipes. If that’s the case, then by all means, keep on keepin' on.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 25, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable to Strong
I received a small sample of this from SmokingPipes like many other people did. I usually smoke aromatics or milder mixtures. But I'm glad I tried this English blend from Tom Eltang because I really enjoyed it. Has a very sweet taste and slight smokiness from only a small ingredient of Latakia. Nice earthy but also sweet tastes and smells. Burned clean - no bite, throat burn, no dottle or wetness. An enjoyable tobaccoey, sweet smoke with just a hint of the Latakia campfire. Slightly spicey so I'll assume there's some Perique in there, just enough to be noticeable. I'll certainly be ordering some more of this. My only concern is that is seems to burn away quite quickly - I do like to relax and enjoy a longer smoke and I'm a little disappointed that this blend doesn't seem to last very long in the pipe.

Update: I found myself smoking more of this and I've now ordered an extra three tins. There's a deep creaminess to this tobacco that becomes more and more evident as the pipe is smoked. The slight spiciness and mild Latakia tastes and smell start to disappear during the first third of the smoke, then a gradual creamy finish starts to appear. This creaminess is really rather attractive and moreish. When I'd finished my second sample of this tobacco I was really rather sad about it - I wanted more, so I ordered some tins. I think it's a sign that when finishing a smoke one almost says out loud " that was a damn fine smoke - I'd like to smoke that all over again".

I'll be interested to see what I feel about this Tom Eltang English when I've smoked the three tins I've ordered.

3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 28, 2015 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
This blend did not do much for me. I was given a free sample of this from Smokingpipes.com with an order. I immediately knew this was blended by C & D before I actually knew it, by the style of the blend and the way that regardless of what the description says, there is something earthy and burley like to the blend.

It seems that everything that comes from C&D has this similar to the way everything from GH has a unique scent. So this description does not say there is burley in the blend, but to me it smokes like what one would refer to as an American English blend. Very easy on the palate, no bite and a little mono dimensional. There is a nutty sweetness that could be coming from the orientals, but I would swear there is a little burley in the mix.

Overall, it was a decent smoke, but nothing I would reorder. As I feel it most closely resembles the American English Genre, there are so many others I would reach for before this one including several made by C & D. So far, I have been underimpressed with these Tom Eltang blends trying three of the four so far. YMMV
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 12, 2015 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The red VA's seem to lead the way. They are earthy, tangy, with notes of sweetness like roasted grains/whole grain bread. The bright VAs bring a little more sweetness and citrus notes. The orientals add a little sweetness with a musty note here and there. The Lat. is a low wood smoke note that hits here and there but for the most part stays in the background. The Katerini leaf, which is an oriental, is a sweet but spicy note that is also a background player. Because of the mildness of the blend I think the Katerini use for the spice is a far better option then perique, which would overpower the blend. I should not that while I have mentioned the sweetness of this blend it is not really a overly sweet blend and the sweetness comes from the leaf itself. However, truth be told, there are so many English blends out there that are mild that to be noteworthy, it takes something that stands out and makes me want another bowl. This is not that. It is certainly a fine quality but really nothing that would bring me back to it.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 11, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Tom Eltang’s C&D made “English” is my first venture into the new line of Eltang blends. The tin note is leather mixed with sour. It needed some dry time in order to be ready to smoke. The blend is balanced and smokes cool and dry and offers some earthiness and a bit of sweetness. There is also a touch of spice too. Latakia lovers won’t find a home here as it is just a condiment in this blend. All in all, it’s not a bad tobacco. The problem for me is that it doesn’t stand out and wouldn’t make my rotation. There are so many well established lighter English blends on the market that a new entry needs to have something to stand out in the crowd. English doesn’t have it. On the positive side, this could be an all day smoker for the smoker looking for something in that vein. The other plus is that I think this blend will age well. But for me it isn’t a hit right now.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 20, 2014 Mild Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
Like others I received this as a small sample so my perceptions are not based on extensive use. I picked up a slight non tobacco perfume from the bag note. This might have been from contamination by hand, but it was certainly there.

This baccy is a very light English, intended it seems as a regular daily smoke. It is fresh, light and sweet with a pleasant acidity. The aroma is mild but nice.

I would happily smoke this if it were offered but it's not my cup of tea as a regular smoke. Nothing wrong with it to be sure, but not enough points of interest in a genre bursting with competitors with exceptional alternatives.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 29, 2015 Medium to Strong None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
This is as good as any traditional English blend I've tried and it deserves some recognition.

It's definitely made of high quality leaf, blended very nicely to make a nice, mild, but tasty traditional English blend. Certainly not a "Lat-bomb" by any stretch, but there's still just enough Latakia there to make it worthwhile. It burns evenly, into a fine ash.

It reminds me a little of a cross between Sutliff's CD Blend, and Fox's Dorisco Mixture (minus the Perique). Give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it (unless you exclusively like Latakia heavy/Balkan-like blends).
PurchasedFrom: sample from Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked: new
1 person found this review helpful.
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