Review of Dunhill Standard Mixture

I went out to the garden this afternoon with a huge glass of iced coffee, took my shirt off, sat back in a deck chair, and basked in the glorious rays of the sun. I like churchwardens best during summer, and short nosewarmers best during winter, although any time is a good time for a good pipe. So I busted out the churchwarden and filled 'er up with Dunhill's Standard Mixture, which, believe it or not, I'd not had until today.

The Mixture is in a way the perfect English blend. That is, it is quintessentially English, right down the middle of the English road. The blend includes a bit of latakia, what Dunhill calls "orientals", along with some Carolina Gold and Georgian tobacco (Virginias). The result is a medium-full, lightly toasted and nicely nutty flavor. I'm glad there are no burleys, since that would have lent a more acrid walnut note; the nuttiness is a more of a toasted almond. The latakia lends a bit of weight, the flavor rounds out very nicely and although it fades unlingeringly, it certainly does not bite at all.

Smoking by the tomato plants.

The only downside to this "perfect" English is that nothing in it really stands out. It's not a beginner's tobacco, if by that you mean inoffensive and mild, but it is a more advanced smoker's version of that: inoffensive and full-flavored. Only future smoking opportunities can say how often I pull Standard Mixture out, but I suspect that it will become a go-to when I have smoking guests over, something I can offer to any palate. Happily, I have pipe smokers over to the manse several times a month, which I am very grateful for. So the tin shouldn't last too long at all.