Recently I talked about my trip to Pipe Den in Vero Beach. While there I picked up a couple of their house blends one being Proper English. This blend has just enough Latakia in it to give it that rich, smoky flavor we expect from an English blend. It isn’t overwhelming, yet it isn’t to subtle to not be noticed.
In many respects, Pie Den’s Proper English reminds me of Dunhill 965, Frog Morton, or Lane’s Crown Achievement. It is a medium strength English blend that smokes great.
The room note is a little harsh on Pipe Den’s Proper English, and I have had a few people remark that I smelled like cigarettes after I had smoked a bowl. This may be the biggest turn off for the blend. Although it could be that I am a former cigarette smoker that I have found this blend to be so pleasant to smoke.
Now, some some people out there may be too concerned with keeping up appearances to go for a house blend tobacco. Those people are fools. As I mentioned before, the Pipe Den’s Proper English is every bit as good of a smoke as the more recognizable names, but is far less expensive. I guess, if you run in certain snobbish circles, you might want to keep a tin of your name brand English on hand for when you are out, but for when you are sitting by yourself enjoying a smoke, this is just as good.
Or maybe you would rather impress your high brow friends by having a blend that they can’t get. A blend you had shipped in from a specialty shop. You see, whether I buy name brand tobacco in bulk or in a tin, or I buy a house blend, I always put my tobacco in glass jars, or a leather pouch. In my opinion, walking around with a tin covered in someone else’s advertising isn’t very classy. In fact, the need to show off name brands is a sign of insecurity. It is a sign that you judge your own value by the value of the things you keep. It is a sign of insecurity.
So if you have the confidence to smoke a good tobacco because you like it, and not because your some big advertising campaign told you it is cool, then check out the Pipe Den’s Proper English. It is a good, medium strength English blend with just enough Latikia to give it a smoky, rich flavor.