Peterson: (Dunhill) STANDARD MIXTURE 50g

super

Wow, does this old Dunhill tobacco ever have a lot of character! And it's so unassuming, too: standard packaging, standard label, standard advertising... but believe me, there's nothing "standard" about this mixture, unless you consider it THE standard! Also, I haven't found any evidence of it, but I'm 100% positive that the orientals used here are the same Macedonian ones used in Balkan Sasieni. Gorgeous, full-rounded flavour that required about a dozen bowls in a dedicated pipe (the Charles Towne Cobbler) before it really hit me how tasty this blend is. I can't get enough of it!

It's now one of my personal favourites and, in my opinion, the best of the resurrected Dunhill line. A true sleeper!

Took about an hour of drying out first, and the tin note is pretty standard itself. This is a good medium-to-strong virginia & oriental mix with a touch of lat smokiness to finish. Medium nic hit, too, good burn, no dottle... tastes more oriental-forward, but those tasty signature virginias combine for a decent ensemble here. On par with the character of Elizabethan as a va/per, i.e. nothing complicated, just a good straightforward smoke. I might buy it again in future!

Definitely worth a toot.

This is, as the name suggests, the quintessential (English) mixture. It had been my main smoke for a good 4 years straight in my early pipe smoking days so I'm quite fond of it. Although I'm no longer an English smoker and have almost completely moved over to Burley, I still smoke a bowl or two a week of the Standard. At first smoke/glance, there is nothing very remarkable about it, except perhaps the unrivaled (in my opinion) balance of the high-quality component that reveals itself to you and makes it so endearing as you smoke it again and again. The taste is excellent: restrained, composed yet flavorful and distinctive without too much fanfare. It won't take you on a 'journey' but it will satisfy. What's more, it doesn't tire even if you smoke it all day every day (assuming you are into English mixture). A rare feat for any blend.
One of those rare defining tobaccos that take years to be full appreciate. If I had to pick one Dunhill/Peterson blend to take to the grave, the Standard would be it. Buy yourself a tin or two and keep them handy, there is never a bad time to smoke the Standard Mixture.