English Aromatics

ocpunk714

Currently shopping online with The Country Squire. Looking to try something different since I’m pretty well stocked with stuff I enjoy. 

Can anyone tell me what they think of their English Aros? P.S. Blend, Hunting Creek and Northwest Trek....I might grab the Tobac Du Choclat maybe. It sounds tasty. Any knowledge  would be greatly appreciated.

mapletop

Tried all three, as with all things it is subjective. First understand I am not much of an aromatic smoker in general, so just my opinion.

1. the Hunting creek is the strongest with regard to the flavoring, for me it was way overkill
2.The northwest trek was similar in flavor but not nearly as intense, smokable but still not my bag.

3. The P.S. Blend was the best of the three in my, opinion the flavoring was reasonable in intensity so you could still tell you were smoking an English, in addition I found the flavor used more palatable.

Now if you were to ask me what those flavors were, I couldn't tell you other than to say they were strong and sort of spicy,

ocpunk714

@mapletop I’m not much of aros guy myself, so flavoring really isn’t something I’m big on. Just wanting to try some new Squire blends I hadn’t tried before. Thanks for the info!

motie2

Additional info:

The Wide World Of Aromatics by Mary Walters

mary.walters@smokingpipes.com

<<When most people think of aromatics, they often imagine the sweet scent of vanilla or caramel rising from their pipe and filling the room. While yes, quite a few blenders use caramel or vanilla in their mixtures, there's a whole world of aromatic tobaccos out there. Allow me to open the door to this world by breaking down the main types of aromatics popular today.

Lakeland Aromatics — Let's start with Lakeland aromatics. Named after a region in England and therefore being a traditional English style of aromatic, Lakeland blends are usually a mix of Virginias topped with spices, rum, and rose. This type of aromatic delivers a light and floral scent as well as a smooth and pleasant smoke. The most well-known producers of these types of tobaccos are Gawith & Hoggarth and Sam Gawith. Lakelands are fantastic blends but be warned, they are known to ghost pipes, so please make sure to designate a specific pipe for Lakelands.

Danish Aromatics— Next up is Danish style aromatics. These are usually Virginia-Burley blends topped with anything from fruit and spices to wine and nuts. They deliver a rich and full flavored smoke with a lovely room note. W.O. Larsen and Mac Baren are both excellent and have a variety of options to choose from. I absolutely love the Danish style aromatic but I would highly suggest taking it slow when smoking. Danish aromatics have the habit of being a bit bitey if smoked too quickly.

American Aromatics — Last but not least, American aromatics. These blends are mostly made up of Cavendish and Burleys and are usually topped with notes of caramel, chocolate, vanilla, honey, and rum. These mixtures are usually very, very mild and good for an all-day smoke. If you want something to satisfy your sweet tooth, go with an American style aromatic. Cornell & Diehl and Sutliff are both great places to start. My only advice with these blends would be to let them dry a little before you smoke. If too wet, they can get a bit goopy in the bowl.

So there you have it! The wonderful world of aromatics. Go forth and try some for yourself. You might find some blends you never thought you'd like! >>

motie2

A variety of thoughts on the topic of English Aromatics

∙ If you look on the Cornell and Diehl site, "English" seems to refer to all the blends that aren't aromatics. [...] There seem to be a lot of blends that *might* be classed aromatics if we broadened the definition. Anything with Cavendish, for instance, like Dunhill Aperitif. That's flavored with smoke and Cavendish.

∙ There seems to be distinction made by some between "English mixture" and "English tobacco," the former indicating a blend of Latakia and other things, the latter suggesting that the tobacco isn't adulterated with chemicals. - GL Pease, 2002-12-20

∙ Any which way you call it, 'English-Aromatics' is a term a lot of people use to describe lightly topped tobaccos containing Lat/Va and sometimes others tobaccos.

∙ Try mixing in some aromatic blend into a good English blend. Start with what English you like, and gradually add the aromatic blend that you like....5-parts English to 1-part aromatic. Write down the proportions...create your own personal mixture. The possibilities are endless.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/aromatic-latakia-blends

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/crossover-aromatics

https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/33v180/aromatic_for_english_smokers/

<<As Alton Brown on Good Eats may say, picture two eggs.  Fry the first in a pan (heating is a process, but doesn't add any flavors not already in the egg).  Don't even add butter.  Just fry the egg and eat it plain, to enjoy the pure eggy goodness.  This is an English egg.

But scramble the second egg.  Put in a nice pat of butter and gently mix the egg with some cream and, oh, some shredded Colby-Jack cheese.  And put some chives and a bit of roasted red pepper in, too.  Cook and serve up your Aromatic egg:  The added flavors make this different from your plain old English egg.

The pan used for your eggs stands in for the processing of tobacco.  Pipe tobaccos, depending on type, are dried, steamed, pressed, stoved or undergo many other processes--but the processing of the tobacco has nothing to do with the English or Aromatic quality of the blend; only the flavoring or lack of flavoring makes the difference.>>

ocpunk714

@motie2 Love the Alton Brown reference. I may try this suggestion. Thank you for these articles.

mfresa

@ocpunk714 , don't know if they changed the blend, but PS Blend used to be Cavendish with a fruit topping (raspberry?).

motie2

@ocpunk714 -- Another name for English Aromatics would be Aromatic Latakia blends. Just sayin' ......

Meanwhile at https://www.pipesandcigars.com/p/sutliff-burma-road-pipe-tobacco/1472397/

Sutliff Burma Road

<<If you're a fan of blends like the late, lamented McClelland Frog Morton series, this is a blend you should try - Sutliff Burma Road. Virginias and Latakia are blended with some toasty black Cavendish and finished with notes of vanilla and rum to create a smooth American English blend that has smoky notes with mellow sweetness and an intriguing room note. If aromatic Latakia blends are in your wheelhouse, you should add Sutliff Burma Road to your rotation.>>

Over at TobaccoReviews.com, Vikingfan60 gave Burma Road four stars out of four, and wrote, <<Very nice English aromatic blend. The Latakia is not overpowering in anyway. The vanilla and rum topping is done with the light hand, you get little hints of it throughout the smoke. All in all a very nice blend you could smoke all day.>>

ocpunk714

@motie2 interesting. I have never heard of Burma Road. Sutliff has many blends though, so I am intrigued to try this one.

jfreedy

I really like Northwest Trek and Hunting Creek is nice too. I agree that HC is more aro than NT but both are worth trying out. In fact NT is my second favorite TCS blend behind Bag End. 

jfreedy

Two more English Aromatics to check out are John Cotton’s Sweet English and Lane Ltd HGL. For my taste buds there was a time when JC Sweet English even rivaled FM Cellar. Good stuff. 

ghostsofpompeii

My idea of an English aromatic is Captain Black "Black Sea". It's a great starter blend if you don't normally smoke Latakia blends. 

thebadgerpiper

So, it's not exactly an aromatic, but I'd recommend checking out GLP's Sextant. Sextant is a mashup of a navy flake with Latakia and Orientals. Both styles mesh together for an enjoyable smoke.

Kmhartle

While I don't think it's an exact match, King Frog Morton is a nice blend that has nuances of an English with an aromatic background. Admitedly, the first bowl I tried didn't knock me off of my feet as a FM replacement. However, after jarring a few ounces for a month or so, I can say it is certainly growing on me and becoming a regular in my rotation. Worthy of a try IMHO.

http://www.kingsmokingpipesandcigars.com/product-page/king-s-frog-morton-pipe-tobacco

ocpunk714

@Kmhartle I am actually just about to light up my first bowl of King’s FM Match 

motie2

The near-legendary Jiminks finds Savinelli - Essenza Cipriota to be an actual English aromatic.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/9108/savinelli-essenza-cipriota

Over at YouTube, Bradley of StuffandThings is in the process of smoking and reviewing the blend.
EDITED 4-3-19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U08YXBB2Zvs

motie2

But speaking of Latakia....

http://www.beetradingtobacco.com/
http://www.beetradingtobacco.com/index.php/products/

Michael308

@jfreedy Just had some Hunting Creek and loved it. Northwest Trek and Bag End are next on my smoke list for the day. 

ghostsofpompeii

The term English Aromatic seems like a contradiction for an aromatic smoker like myself who steers towards the sweet confection flavors of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, honey, maple, rum, and certain fruits. Latakia is such a dominant flavor it takes over, and any flavored topping are lost to me. All I get is the smoky leather taste of Latakia and little else. The same holds true for the Captain Black "Black Sea" which I smoke from time to time. The Latakia is toned down and not as in your face, which is why I suggested it for beginners wanting to try a Latakia blend. But it is still the dominant flavor ... just not as harsh. And I don't detect a bit of the familiar aromatic flavors of what we've come to know as Captain Black. "Edward G Robinson" blend is also suppose to be an English Aromatic, but even the small amount of Latakia in that blend masks any other flavor. 

motie2

Mystical Magical Latakia: A Journey Back to the Old World

by rebornpipes https://rebornpipes.com/2019/06/08/mystical-magical-latakia-a-journey-back-to-the-old-world/

motie2

UPDATED 6-28-19

Research thus far:

POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR ORIGINAL FROG MORTON’S (aka FROG ON A LOG)

Boswell’s Northwoods

POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FOR FROG MORTON’S CELLAR

Cult Embassy - Close match (say 85%); (but needs just a little more Latakia......)

Country Squire’s Shepherd’s Pie

Lane HGL (Lane RLP-6 plus Latakia)

Sutliff 504C Aromatic English

Boswell’s Countryside

Sutliff Burma Road

"KING'S FROG MORTON" 

http://www.kingsmokingpipesandcigars.com/product-page/king-s-frog-morton-pipe-tobacco

 YOUTUBE FEATURES SOMETHING CALLED FROG MORTON"S GHOST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl6bd_XgTX8

It is a mixture of equal parts Lane HGL and Stokkebye 17 English Luxury

motie2

Another candidate that was -- literally -- right under my nose; More of an aromatic with a little Latakia.

Revolution Tabac Pipe Tobacco

"Developed by EA Carey over six months of experiments with different tobacco blends. A blend of our two best light aromatics and Latakia. It will have the taste of a light English blend when the strands of Latakia ignite and then go back to a light aromatic blend after the Latakia has burned. The result is a mild tobacco with a hint of English flavor. "  http://www.eacarey.com/revolution-tabac-50g-1-76-oz-personalized-tin.html

Kmhartle

I’ve tried the Revolution Tobac. Not a bad blend but more aro than English. It is kind of neat that Carey will personalize the tin with your name in English or Russian. I obviously went for the Russian.

mfresa

Bremen Pipe Smoker just put up a video on Aromatics with Latakia, if you guys have time to watch it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC4u6EezIY8

motie2

I've tried Revolution Tabac by EA Carey. Its' a blend of two Carey aromatics with a bit of Latakia. The Latakia is barely noticeable, but it's a delicious light aromatic, whose "flavoring" is unidentifiable.... but I'm not the most discerning palate.

motie2

I've been fooling around with adding small amounts of Latakia blends to aromatic tobaccos, using a three parts aromatic to one part Latakia blend.
I've used Nightcap, Nording Fox Hound, King's Frog Morton, and Lagonda, mixed into Revolution Tabac and mixed into Barbados Plantation. I've also mixed FMC with Revolution. 

In my first pipe life 1964 - mid 1980's I smoked Latakia blends and VaPers (most often Balkan Sobranie and Cope's Escudo). Today I can't stand the usual Latakia blends. ( I have not tried to get back into VaPers....) But my conclusion is: "A litle bit of Latakia mixed into an aromatic tobacco blend makes the aromatic blend better."

BTW, My three favorite tobaccos, right now, are Barbados Plantation...... and FMC <<trying to stop sobbing over its demise>> .... and Revolution Tabac (for mixing with a little Latakia).

motie2

Does anyone know anything about Pipeworks & Wilke Blend 515. I've been told it's a great English blend flavored with rum.

PappyJoe

@motie2 - I have never tried any of their blends. Here's a link to follow though:

https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/2389/wilke-pipe-tobacco-beeker-street

motie2

"Beeker" [sic] Street is not the one. It's Cavendish and Virginias, flavored with "Honey, Nuts / Beans."

The one I'm interested in is the 515, flavored with rum.....

motie2

https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/2996/wilke-pipe-tobacco-wilke-no-515

motie2

Here's another, from a distinguished tobacconist
https://www.leavittandpeirce.com/pipe-tobacco