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henwrench

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Brothers and Sisters,

My 'gotta-have-'em-'cos-I-love-'em' full house selection....

Dunhill Flake
Royal Yacht
University Flake
Golden Sliced
Bull's Eye

I'm very lucky to have access to a real 'B&M' shop.
Tomorrow is 'baccy buying day. I'm gonna buy 2 tins.
One of 'em will definitely be Royal Yacht.
But what will be the other?
I'm eyeing up the Nightcap and the Early Morning Pipe.
But I'm scared of 'em both. Nicotine overload is not an issue for me. It's the Latakia. My one and only experience of the Lat was 25g's of Gawith and Hoggarth's Latakia Mixture, which, after about 4 bowls, I binned 'cos I found it to be horrible. This was over a year ago.

So if any of you good people have an opinion, I'm all ears....

Nightcap or EMP?

Thanks for 'listening'.
 
If you are not a fan of Latakia then stay away from Nightcap as it has a good helping of it along with Perique all in a nice Va base. EMP is mostly Va's with NO Latakia and would probably work better for you. Both are really nice 'bacs in there own distinct ways! :p
 
FWIW, from what I have read, Latakia actually has the lowest nicotine content of the different variates of tobacco. Nightcap is known for having a high nicotine content in addition to it's high Latakia content, so I'd avoid that one and stick with EMP, which has the lowest amount of both nicotine and Latakia.

Also, you realize that Royal Yacht packs quite a nicotine punch, right?

If your shop has it, you might want to give SG Squadron Leader a try. Its a medium English blend, falling between Nightcap and EMP on the Latakia scale, and has little to no nicotine kick. If you want stick within the Dunhill line, MM 965 is a descent medium English, but I prefer Peterson's Old Dublin to the them all.
 
Dave_In_Philly":vh566f5f said:
FWIW, from what I have read, Latakia actually has the lowest nicotine content of the different variates of tobacco. Nightcap is known for having a high nicotine content in addition to it's high Latakia content, so I'd avoid that one and stick with EMP, which has the lowest amount of both nicotine and Latakia.
I think it depends on the variety. Syrian has more nicotine than Cyprian IIRC. I read somewhere that some Syrian Latakia has as much nicotine as Burley.

Nightcap is pretty Lat heavy, EMP not so much. I do think there's Latakia in EMP even if it's advertised Virginia and Oriental only.
 
Nightcap and EMP are not equal enough to compare side by side. One is subtle and stoic, the other is strong and smokey. EMP has a bit less nicotine, at least in my experience.

8)
 
Dave_In_Philly":ny4jqaio said:
I can't find the original article that I read, but this explains nicotine content pretty well:

http://popvox0.tripod.com/pipes/guide.html

Hey, great article!

As I said in my original post, the nicotine content is NOT an issue for me, hence my love of RY. It's the Latakia that's scaring me. Been trawling YouTube for reviews of both and I'm falling on the side of Nightcap. Is it just that I want to like it? Or am I gonna regret paying nearly £13 for something I won't like....
 
Start with EMP. I like Latakia a lot, but kind of like turning up the volume on a stereo with speakers of the wrong power handling and/or impedance, beyond a certain point all I get is "noise" rather than what I want. Nightcap toes that line perfectly for me, giving me the smokey leaf to a decent amount without going into "Lat bomb" territory. EMP is much gentler in that realm (but still has a great flavor and nic level, IMO), but has just a whiff of Latakia that lightly spices the mix rather than becomes the lead role.

8)
 
henwrench":za9fu92n said:
As I said in my original post, the nicotine content is NOT an issue for me

Ah well, then, apparently I need to read a bit closer. Carry on then, nothing to see hear. :oops:
 
Kyle Weiss":d8nvan39 said:
Start with EMP. I like Latakia a lot, but kind of like turning up the volume on a stereo with speakers of the wrong power handling and/or impedance, beyond a certain point all I get is "noise" rather than what I want. Nightcap toes that line perfectly for me, giving me the smokey leaf to a decent amount without going into "Lat bomb" territory. EMP is much gentler in that realm (but still has a great flavor and nic level, IMO), but has just a whiff of Latakia that lightly spices the mix rather than becomes the lead role.

8)

OK!

Now I'm falling on the side of EMP... ;) :) And I guess if I had to, like really needed to, I could throw a wee pinch of RY in it?
 
You can do anything you like, so long as...you like it. :) EMP is so minimal in the Latakia department, I doubt you'll take exception to its presence. Plus, I really like the stuff, so of course I'll be on the side of encouragement to promote it. :lol:

8)
 
Kyle Weiss":cwo0qcub said:
You can do anything you like, so long as...you like it. :) EMP is so minimal in the Latakia department, I doubt you'll take exception to its presence. Plus, I really like the stuff, so of course I'll be on the side of encouragement to promote it. :lol:

8)
EMP has NO Latakia in it but it does have a good amount of smokey flavoring from the amount of Oriental leaf in it. Nightcap DOES HAVE Latakia in it but for us Lat liking folks it's JUST FINE :twisted: You may want to give it a try as the Perique in it does add a different note to the blend compared to many other "English" Lat forward blends. In the Dunhill family, MM965 has Lat in it, but it is smoothed out with the brown cavendish used so that it does not hit you in the face. ALL of these Dunhill blends/mixtures are GOOD 'bacs and I've smoked 'em for quite some time and enjoyed 'em all. Orlik has done a good job with it's iteration of these blends as well as the other Dunhill blends. If you are a true Va fan, you do need to add some of their Flake to your "must have" list. It's FANTASTIC :p
 
I disagree completely, Monbla-- EMP has Latakia. Not sure what kind, or in what scant amounts, but I'd bet my bottom dollar on it, unless proven wrong otherwise.

8)
 
Kyle Weiss":bya3o3zi said:
I disagree completely, Monbla-- EMP has Latakia. Not sure what kind, or in what scant amounts, but I'd bet my bottom dollar on it, unless proven wrong otherwise.

8)
Niether Dunhill, nor Murray's when they blended it nor Orlik today state that it has Latakia in it. It does have some great Oriental's in it and as GLP has said 'bout them, they can add a "latakia" presence to a blend. In the years I've smoked it, off and on, I NEVER read where it had Latakia in it. But it is a GOOD blend none the less :p
 
*shrug* Then there's a tobacco in there that went through a process very similar to what Latakia goes through that lends that special flavor. If it isn't Latakia, then it's something else that's directly identifiable...and I have yet to find out what that is.

There's also a long-standing history of very tight lips on what exactly comprises a tobacco blend or mixture, so there's that to consider, too... all I go by is my tongue. It says "Latakia." I'll hold steadfast to this until I get absolute say-so. Tobaccoreviews.com doesn't count, just in case some cheeky feller posts the EMP link... :lol:

Hell, I wish I did know exactly what it is: I love the "secret ingredient," and wouldn't mind chasing it down a bit more.

8)
 
I hate to gang up on Monbla, because he is my elder and is also undoubtedly much tougher than I am, but I sure taste (or think I taste, any way) some mild Latakia notes in EMP. Latakia is an oriental (but not all orientals are Latakia, obviously), and the tin does say EMP contains orientals. Could it be that one of the oriental bacs is a small amount of Latakia? Enquiring minds want to know.
 
The Latakia-or-not-in-EMP discussion is vast. So I made a decision. Monbla could be right. The sneaky term "Orientals" being included in EMP might be a...*ahem*...smoking gun, or it may not be. There are few regulations that require disclosure of tobacco components. Something about trade secrets, etc.

It'd be funny if the process was the culprit, like having Latakia in the same room as EMP as it is made/ages, but in a fashion that they then take it out, leaving the essence, but not the leaf: I'd buy that. Kind of like a sachet is used in certain cooking techniques, filled with herbs and spices in a bag that "steeps" the flavor (then taken out), but leaves none of the physical parts.

8)
 
I retract my statement about Latakia being in EMP and differ to Kyles vast knowledge of Latakia blends. I was just going by what the BLENDERS of this blend have stated about it's contents, but obviously they were purporting a lie about the Latakia. To think I would trust a blender when it comes to what they put in their blends. EMP does have Latakia as we ALL know! I just don't know how I could think otherwise :twisted: :twisted:
 
*cough* ...sorry, had a bit of smoke in my eye...

http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-news/dunhill-early-morning-pipe-pipe-tobacco-reviews/

Vast knowledge? Nonsense...my tongue rarely lies to me. I make up for knowledge with .........superpowers! :p <---- (tongue) :lol: Pride isn't as interesting as information, anyway--I already said I was willing to bow to confirmation one way or the other. Bob Tate does his homework, I'm willing to bet. You know, with info from Orlik. Whoever they all are.

I ain't gonna rage quit EMP quite yet. Maybe in 40 years. :lol:

(love ya Blabla :heart: :D )

8)

(...thanks to the kind fella that sent the link to me...)

 
Your discussion of EMP has convinced me to give it a try. :cheers:

(I'm also Latakia wary - my early experiences of it were not favourable. However for me this isn't a reason for not sticking with it for a while, sometimes things grow on you, like stout or blue cheese......but never, ever almonds :pale: )

........carryon!

Fraternally

Jers
 
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