Are you sold on Spilman Mixture, yet?

[RichieR]

Anybody try this one yet? I'm still holding back, because I'm not really in the mood to buy the 7oz tub, but the description of the product is so well written that I think I'm going to have to cave in, pretty soon:

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"The return of an old favorite, Spilman Mixture is a classically complex English blend of Virginia, Latakia, Turkish and cubed Burley that hasn't been available for 70 years! The reinvention of this classic tobacco took years of research and development. Presented in a detailed recreation of the original can, right down to the replica tax stamp, Spilman Mixture features the coarse cut favored by pipe smokers in the last century, and an honest, straight forward tobacco flavor. As the can says, "Discriminating Smokers smoke and recommend Spilman Mixture on account of its purity. Spilman Mixture is of incomparable Quality. The combination contains the choicest tobaccos. Its rich aroma is guaranteed to be Nature's own." Spilman Mixture is irresistible for anyone interested in trying what their great-great grandfather smoked."

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I reckon Shakespeare could not have written that any better.

Cheers,
Bald Headed Teacher in a Butz Choquin straight billiard.

[Vrbas]

Send me a PM and i'll throw some your way, let you decide for yourself

[RichieR]

Originally Posted by Vrbas

Send me a PM and i'll throw some your way, let you decide for yourself

Much appreciated, Vrbas. Check your PM.

[8ball917]

Id like to hear your opinion on this after you try it. I thought it sounded interesting, but I have a good amount of new stuff coming in that I have never tried.

[RichieR]

After going through the sample of Spilman Mixture, given to me by Vrbas, I figured I'd write a few words since 8ball917 was interested in hearing what I got out of this blend.

The coarse cut of this tobacco is pretty impressive. I recall a gigantic almost 3 inch long plump strand of black/purple tobacco. Everything is cut nice and fat, but in no way does it resemble anything like stiff ready-rubbed flake, from what I could tell. It took a while to get this blend fired up, but once it got going, it burned well.

I did not find anything sweet about this blend. It was musty with an occasional hit of salty seaweed-like flavour which reminded me of the latakia used in SG Commonwealth, but to a much lesser power. Spilman Mixture is quite mild in the flavour department, yet the quality of the flavour is very good, unlike a lot of mild OTC blends that produce little more than a cardboard taste and a lot of hot smoke.

They say that there is supposed to be a lot of burley in this blend, but I simply did not catch any hint of the nutty/chocolate taste, at all. Nothing seems to dominate in this blend, and everything stays very discrete. I can understand how some might consider this blend boring, but I reckon it has a nice relaxed pace to it --- easy going, smooth, no bite...very calm-like. So, do not even bother with this blend if you demand that your smokes must always entertain you. My sample smoked sort of like good background music.

So, am I going to dish out the money to get a 7oz tin of this stuff, just to explore this blend further? Some reviewers have mentioned that Spilman Mixture is not so good during the hotter months. I think I might purchase a tin, but not yet -- maybe in the fall, and see how that works.

If you are interested in exploring a mild smoke with a calm latakia presence, then I think this might be a good one.

Thanks again to Vrbas, for the sample, and I hope my review did not suck too badly.

Cheers.

[8ball917]

Thanks, RichieR, good review. I actually worked out a very very small trade with Vrbas, so I should also have some coming. I'm really looking forward to trying this. I don't know if I would ever buy a tin based on the size. I smoke about 4 times a week and 7oz is a bit much in my situation. We'll have to see.

[RichieR]

Originally Posted by 8ball917

Thanks, RichieR, good review. I actually worked out a very very small trade with Vrbas, so I should also have some coming. I'm really looking forward to trying this. I don't know if I would ever buy a tin based on the size. I smoke about 4 times a week and 7oz is a bit much in my situation. We'll have to see.

After you try out the sample, you should write a few words about it here, too. I did not hear about this blend until just recently, when 4noggins started carrying it, but it's been re-released since 2007, from what I hear.

[8ball917]

Well, I finally had some time to give this one a try.

This is only the 3rd English blend that I have been able to try, the other 2 being house English blends (have some sealed tins). I let it dry out a little bit on a paper towel for about an hour (fell asleep on the couch, lol).

After filling it, I found that this mixture burns well. I'm sure the hour helped, but once lit up, it was easy to keep puffing. The taste is very mild. I pretty much agree with RichieR, it is good, but very faint. This would be a great tobacco to smoke while watching a movie or just having a good conversation with friends and family. No bite at all with this one. You can smoke the hell of it, and it is very forgiving. I just wish it had a little more kick in it.

All in all, this stuff is pretty good. I probably would not buy it due to the size of the container and that is the sad thing. 7 ounces is just a bit much for me, I just don't smoke enough to warrant having that much on hand. However, if I was a 3 to 4 bowl a day smoker I would not have a problem picking this stuff up. This seems to be a pretty good value, smoking pipes has the 7oz container for $20.

[Zeabed]

Not very strong in the nicotine department, it seems? That would be a good thing for me. I like the nicotine, but at my age I can't take too much of it. Would like to know how that factor pans out with Spilman, as I have a tub of it on the way from 4noggins.

[RichieR]

Originally Posted by Zeabed

Not very strong in the nicotine department, it seems? That would be a good thing for me. I like the nicotine, but at my age I can't take too much of it. Would like to know how that factor pans out with Spilman, as I have a tub of it on the way from 4noggins.

Since I'm a regular cigarette smoker, nicotine content in general does not really do much in a noticeable way, but the reviews on this blend over at TR seem to agree that the nicotine content in Spilman Mixture is not that much.

BTW....I actually went and ordered the 7oz tin of this blend, and it should be arriving soon. I'll probably write a few more words on this blend after I smoke more of it.

[Zeabed]

Thank you, RichieR, for your reply. I understand that Spilman is a new version of a once famous blend that ceased production in the late 30s. I wonder what famous pipesmokers of old smoked the original version.