Curious about English blends

[Columbo]

My wife, back when we were dating, would routinely pay for a date in Dutch country by smuggling a trunk full of Yeungling back in her car for her friends in college.

@Benzadmiral, I'd recommend an ounce of two of Match Walnut in your next order. That was a fairly mild English I'd my memory serves. Sutliff's Revelation Match is good, but that's an aromatic English, much like EGR. And I cannot vouch for its quality, but Amphora makes an English at a decent price. For a heavier English, and quality tobacco all around, Peter Stokkebye is pretty hard to beat for the price.

No matter what, be sure to come back and tell us. Then reviews!

Original Walnut and Revelation were both somewhat more complex blends (as we'll see in a few more weeks elsewhere). While both contained the requisite Latakia, they were more American interpretations than a traditional English. Original Walnut was labeled as an aromatic blend, and was a true premium-priced tobacco back in the day. I can't speak to the current match version recipes, and whether they share the same complexity of those originals.

 

[srgjazz]

I have been smoking English blends of and on for over 40 years. I cannot recommend any of the match blends and I have tried several. Proper English, or English Luxury are good for bulk. 965 or Standard Mixture from Peterson are great benchmarks and readily available.

 

[Tirvine]

I am ignorant and have tried very few pipe tobaccos. I have always loved Rattray's Black Mallory.

 

[8 Track]

Country Squire Cornishman, Angry Cornishman and H&H Larry's Blend are available in bulk. H&H Magnum Opus and Fusilier's Ration are more expensive but equally suitable beginning crossover type English blends. All are normally available.

 

[Columbo]

I have been smoking English blends of and on for over 40 years. I cannot recommend any of the match blends and I have tried several. Proper English, or English Luxury are good for bulk. 965 or Standard Mixture from Peterson are great benchmarks and readily available.

The few times I‘ve tried American-blended English matches, they came across as more of a crossover to me. So I am careful to delineate crossovers from more traditional Englishes whenever someone asks.

Thanks for pointing out Standard Mixture. That one slipped my mind, and Dunhill’s Standard Mixture was indeed the Standard.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I've ordered some Match Walnut from Pipes&Cigars. Should be intriguing, to say the least!

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Milan Tobacconists in Roanoke has several in-house blended matches of some old Middleton blends, including Walnut. I'm going to order some to compare to the P&C match. Gonna try their PA and CH match blends while I'm at it, plus a match of one of my old favorites, Kentucky Club Mixture.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

I am ignorant and have tried very few pipe tobaccos. I have always loved Rattray's Black Mallory.

I just cracked a new tin of Black Mallory, it's good stuff. Rattray's blends aren't as hard to find, and the price per 100g tin is a bargain.

 

[Isaac]

I’ll give three blends that I really enjoy

Wilkes Best Make
Country Squire Cornishman
Peterson Nightcap (aged if you can get it)

while not technically an English

Match Revelation.The Latakia is there, but more of a compliment and really is not more than whisps

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Another fan of Squadron Leader and Presbyterian Mixture here, and I'd add Skiff Mixture to those too. They have around the right level of Latakia for me. Early Morning Pipe had a kind of aniseed taste to it, which didn't sit well with me. I'm not a fan of the heavier Latakia blends though, and consider the likes of Commonwealth Mixture and Nightcap to be rather gruesome.

Foolishly, I did buy a couple of Lat heavy blends which I haven't opened yet (Ashton Artisan blend, and the same stuff rebadged as Chieftain Blacksmith's Blend). I bought them without doing enough reading up on them, and will be ageing them as for a loooong time, to try to get the Latakia to subside.

 

[Columbo]

Another fan of Squadron Leader and Presbyterian Mixture here, and I'd add Skiff Mixture to those too. They have around the right level of Latakia for me. Early Morning Pipe had a kind of aniseed taste to it, which didn't sit well with me. I'm not a fan of the heavier Latakia blends though, and consider the likes of Commonwealth Mixture and Nightcap to be rather gruesome.

Foolishly, I did buy a couple of Lat heavy blends which I haven't opened yet (Ashton Artisan blend, and the same stuff rebadged as Chieftain Blacksmith's Blend). I bought them without doing enough reading up on them, and will be ageing them as for a loooong time, to try to get the Latakia to subside.

No MB Latakia Rolls for you!

 

[Columbo]

I've ordered some Match Walnut from Pipes&Cigars. Should be intriguing, to say the least!

I no longer buy from P&C (because they’re great until there’s a problem). So I’m curious as to who is blending their match blends if a house offering, or whether they are just selling the usual Sutliff suspects.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I no longer buy from P&C (because they’re great until there’s a problem). So I’m curious as to who is blending their match blends if a house offering, or whether they are just selling the usual Sutliff suspects.

P & C doesn't have the Walnut under their Sutliff section, but Tobaccoreviews says that it is a Sutliff product.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

No MB Latakia Rolls for you!

I've not found any MacBaren that I get along with much, to be honest. Old Dark Fired was a big no no, as was one of the other HH flakes. I forget which. I can tolerate Cube as an occasional summer smoke, but there isn't a single pouch of MacBaren lurking in my stash. I might try Navy Flake at some point, but have quite enough pouches I need to work through at the moment. There's no tins by that company in the UK.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

I no longer buy from P&C (because they’re great until there’s a problem). So I’m curious as to who is blending their match blends if a house offering, or whether they are just selling the usual Sutliff suspects.

Milan's match blends are their own concoctions.

 

[steveclarkus]

Original Walnut and Revelation were both somewhat more complex blends (as we'll see in a few more weeks elsewhere). While both contained the requisite Latakia, they were more American interpretations than a traditional English. Original Walnut was labeled as an aromatic blend, and was a true premium-priced tobacco back in the day. I can't speak to the current match version recipes, and whether they share the same complexity of those originals.

I have smoked a lot of the original and the Match version is a dead ringer. The only difference I’ve noticed is that the Match does not bite where the original did from time to time perhaps because it was packed a bit wet. It is a very nice smoke blended with seven tobaccos

 

[Columbo]

Milan's match blends are their own concoctions.

Yes, they are. That's a nice husband and wife-run shop. Very pleasant to work with. He also mixes some nice seasonal blends for the holidays.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I have smoked a lot of the original and the Match version is a dead ringer. The only difference I’ve noticed is that the Match does not bite where the original did from time to time perhaps because it was packed a bit wet. It is a very nice smoke blended with seven tobaccos

I'm looking forward to trying the Walnut Match.

 

[emwolf]

Boy, this really brings back some memories (and stirs the desire to pick up the pipe again). My personal favorites were Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe and then a local mixture from Jon's Pipe Shop in Champaign, IL. Pat (the owner, don't ask me why it was Jon's) blended tobacco for many of the Univeristy of Illinois professors. I always bought a store blend of his.

 

[RookieGuy]

[Snip]

while not technically an English

Match Revelation.The Latakia is there, but more of a compliment and really is not more than whisps

It occurs to me that I may have been thinking of Sutliff's Voodoo Queen when I mentioned Revelation. Having a bowl of both recently had me thinking I got those two confused with each other.