Carlos":8lszqz7z said:
I was going to call C&D with this question, but maybe Greg will weigh in with some words of wisdom.
What if I want to try to have a blender duplicate Dunhill's Marc's Mixture? I have most of a tin. I know the basic ingredients, but not the specifics or amounts. Orientals, but not which. It's not being made anymore, so all I want to do is get close. I don't have an interest in making tons of money of a clone (fat chance), so it can be called anything. Old Burnpile, Dung Beetle, Skunk Hollow Blend or something.
I would guess I would need to get part of this tin into someones hands to analyze it. I suppose that duplicating a process which contributes to the taste is going to be near impossible. I think some of the Dunhill's used a toasted Virginia, East Carolina or Georgian.
Could be it's already similar to several out there and a minor tweak is all it needs.
Carlos,
Recreating an old blend is complex to the point of being nearly impossible, and for some surprising reasons. Certainly, it's possible to sus out "what's in there," and even replicate a recipe to some extent, but that's only the tip of the tobacco plant. Mentally reversing the effects of time compounds things dramatically, as do the myriad "secret processes" that tobacco manufacturers have used through the years. Frankly, even if I had the precise recipe, it wouldn't be likely to yield identical results. Even water can play a more significant role than most realize. Couple that with the difficulty in obtaining varietal orientals of consistent quality, and the likely application of small amounts of flavourings, and you begin to see the challenge of wresting a precise counterfeit out of the primordial soup.
Then, there's the subtle differences in the mechanism of taste. I might create something that, to me, tastes almost identical to something else, whilst to you, it might not taste
anything like it.
I've done the whole recreation thing a few times, in a few different ways. Westminster, for instance, was a deliberate attempt to reproduce the old Dunhill London Mixture. Quite a few people believe I succeeded, myself included. Some have told me that Westie is even BETTER than the old LM. Still others have told me, "Well, Westminster is fantastic, but it's quite different from London Mixture." Okay. I'll take it.
Taking a very different approach, Blackpoint was my attempt to reproduce my
impressions of a very old tin of Balkan Sobranie 759. When my friend opened that tin, I got the distinct impression of perique in the nose, even though I am quite sure there was no perique in the blend. But, years of fermentation and aging had created a similar aroma and flavour. So, I blended Blackpoint to give
me a similar experience. It was a success - to me. It's NOT a recreation of the original BS759, but it very closely approximates the experience I was after.
I've tasted various recreations of vintage tobaccos - Three Nuns, Craven Mixture, and, of course, Balkan Sobranies. None of them have even come close to the mark to my taste, though, apparently, others are satisfied.
Would it be possible to create a blend you're happy with? Certainly, yes, though it might require many iterations. Would it be identical to Marc's Mixture? Probably not. That's one Dunhill mixture I'm not familiar with, so I can't help with specifics. I'd have to gain some understanding of the blend before I could provide any direction.
I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear, but it's likely the most candid response you would get from anyone with even a remote chance of doing the job.
-Naught