Tobaccos A & C Petersen - Caledonian Melange No.466 Grand Reserve

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2010-09-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a nice Latakia laden blend in thick, ribbon cut form but still burns more quickly than some offerings. Because Latakia is big on flavor and low on strength, a little Burley has been added and the cavendish eases the throttle on the burn rate - but not much.

There is good depth of flavor here (due to the fine Cyprian latakia leaf & Virginia employed), and the presentation is a little on the unusual side due to the Virginia addition.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-01-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

I would swear there is also burley in this melange! No 466 is a distinctive latakia offering, with a coarse cut. The proportion of Latakia is rather modest, making it more a light condiment. I find it is fairly mild for an English.

Age When Smoked: 8 years +

Purchased From: Blatter et Blatter, Montréal

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2017-07-05		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Old non-flat tin in the C&D style. Color runs light to black, with some chunky pieces among the ribbons. Tin nose is latakia up front with some enticing orientals to the rear. Overall kind of non-descript. I ended up not drying this as much as usual. Some noticeable moisture was best, but a half hour dry time was about right.

First impressions were the obvious ones. The latakia was light in taste but was the most noticeable flavor until about mid-bowl when the orientals made a push. The Virginias held it all together but also provided a nice sweetness, although there may have been a topping present as well. It was a bit sweeter than I'm used to from just Virginia, but I could be wrong about that. Second impressions was that this struck me as tasting a lot like the Sillem's London Blend I recently smoked... except that one contains perique, burley and Cavendish and this one does not. I certainly can't explain that, and I didn't get the wispy flavors those constituents added to Sillems. But this one brought the taste of that one very much to mind - even the cut was the same. I'd have to dig deep to tell these two apart in a blind test, granting that I don't have the most discerning taste buds in the world. I wish I had saved some of the Sillems. At any rate, this was an interesting but predictable English blend of the lighter variety in a crowded field. Good but not outstanding, and as it's out of production, it's hard to recommend. On the other hand, I doubt it would sell for much money on Ebay so if you stumble across a tin and are curious, give it a shot.

Age When Smoked: 20+ years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rob73 (77)	2016-10-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

There's a soapy note in this wonderful tobacco, unfortunately no longer distributed here in Italy, that makes 466 cool, spicy, perfect for an all-day smoke. 4,5/5 in my personal rating system.

Purchased From: Bollito, Torino (Italy)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-02-01		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I rarely give a 4 star but I must say that this blend is impeccably well balanced. The tin is small and quite lovely and of the screw on/off type which I find keeps a better seal. When I popped it open I must admit that the smell was pleasant and quite unexpected. It was reminiscent of Miss's Vicky's sea salt and malt vinegar potato chips, a more fruity and sweet smelling vinegar. Tastewise, it is as already stated perfectly balanced with just enough spicy coolness from the Lat and Oriental and a nice sweetness. An absolute gem of a English. Diolch

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TEO (33)	2012-01-18		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Sweet and cookie-like flavour for this blend, orientals leading the game and VA and Latakia in the back row.

Latakia is very light in percentage and Orientals smell of a country farm kitchen. Anyway, a balanced blend, not too deep in taste, gives a clean and dry smoke.

Always cool and sweet, it has only a big fault in my opinion: it is way too light in Nicotine, much more than I expected. I smoke it with a little percentage of Samuel Gawith Brown Rope or Italia Kentucky Blend to add some punch and earthy taste too.

It reminds me of Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, with some more spice and a little less taste. It reminds me of McConnell Oriental too, which I like more, because of a major "cheese" oriental smell.

My tin was a spare one from an unknown tobacconist in town, it must be at least 3-4 years old; it is not too dry, lights and stays lit well and is still packed with different flavors.

Recommended mixture for those who seek for a not too strong EM in every department enjoying anyway some good good leaves.

Similar Blends: Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, McConnell Oriental..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bigdadz (39)	2011-12-03		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is a cased "à la danoise" latakia mixture. This is really too light of an english and more of an aromatic in my view.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2009-03-22		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of the few Latakia blended tobaccos that can be safely smoked in public; the Latakia, though, is barely noticeable. It is quite mild yet very flavorsome, and as I can recall it has a certain topping (not so much as an artificial flavor but a kind of herbal spice) that provides a muted sweetness and a very woodsy aroma. Remember: we are dealing here with a Danish (luxury) blend.

Indeed, if smoked aggressively it can lead to tongue bite. But because the cut is sort of coarse (wild?), it burns rather cool. I would classify this as an elegant blend, polite, fresh. Latakia hounds may not fully appreciate it, but as a change of pace, in the mild side of things, this is recommended. I prefer this to the red tin melànge, and it's equally good as the blue and the black tins (the latter with a rather noticeable Perique component).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-02-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This review has a bit of a story to it. I was in my local tobacconist's shop the other day, and on his shelf lay this dusty, single, elegant green tin. I pondered at it and looked at the reverse side for the blend components. As it suited my liking and the price was surely right $6.50 I purchased it. To my surprise at the counter, he told me his dating system on his labels, and as it turned out this tin was 8 years old. He also told me to enjoy it, as it was no longer imported to the U.S. I went home, packed a bowl in my Larsen, and was in heaven. The smoke was cool, smooth, and so well balanced I was taken aback. The virginas were up front and mild, the latakia chimmed in gently and fully. Mid bowl I could really taste the orientals, and it was so balanced of a blend. Smooth like a fine single malt Scotch, and full of comlex flavors. I can truly say, this would be my firing squad tobacco. If you have the means get your hands on some of this, particularly if it has been aged. Beginners stay clear (unless you're adventurous), and experienced English smokers savor and enjoy!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-08-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Ahh, I have good souvenirs of this blend; Caledonian replaced the good old, but sadly, discontinuated, Four Square series.

Very beautiful, dark green, classy looking tin. The bakkie smells of Latakia and VA, and is of long and broad cut.

Fairly easy to fill, same to lit up, smokes a bit slow. Tasty, pleasant, nice latakia and VA taste. Not too hard on the nicotine kick, rather smooth, but the taste compensates.

Becomes a bit stronger bad mid bowl, the orientals kicking in with the Latakia while the VA fades slowly away.

Nice clean, dry finish.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2007-06-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I'm not a big Latakia fan but this is one of the better such blends for me since as advertised, it has a slight touch from Cyprus. It doesn't overpower the smoke and even doesn't get much more intense near the bottom of the bowl. The VAs are sweet and I found the overall balance enjoyable. Packing and lighting were easy and relights not required even though the ribbon cut is rather coarse. That may have helped to cause a cool smoke without a hint of bite. It's getting hard to find these Caledonian blends but give this one a try if you prefer an English that's not so rich and heavy.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2006-12-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Like Ratcat, I tend to think this is a pretty wicked mix. Big chunky pieces mixed with ribbons. Not the most powerful dose of Latakia, but a nice spicey blend that doesn't leave your mouth coated for weeks. Solid medium English.

It took awhile for me to enjoy this mixture, but after a pipe or two, I found that the tin emptied steadily.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-10-22		Mild	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant

This is my second favorite Latakia blend.The cut of the this tobacco is very rough, I need to break apart into finer pieces before loading. The oriental and the viginia is very very sweet. It is very woody nutty and both blend together in a very subtle way. So what more can I say. The reason it is not on the my number one, it tends to burn a bit hot.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-03-27		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This blend is one of my personal favorites for an "eye-opening" tobacco to be smoked on the walk to class.

Phase I: Opening of the Tin upon first inserting the pipe tool/coin/knife/whatever, under the lip of the can and giving it a twist, one is greeted with the re-assuring "ssspop!" of a broken vacuum seal, and a bit of a latakia aroma rush. Removing the tin, the commonplace "coffee filter" and paper brand tab are found tucked carefully inside the tin, and when removed, reveal a very attractive, variated tobacco. Caledonian 466's tin aroma is again, very mild, but with a hint of the nutty earthy aroma of the latakia, and a bit of the sweet aroma of a finely chopped virginia, ready to be pinched and packed.

Phase II: The packing Since I smoke this traditionally while walking to University classes, I smoke it in a smallish (group 3 sized) meerschaum pipe (surprise!), and found almost no problems with the pack in those groggy times of morning. The feel of the tobacco is quite nice, almost like a soft carpet, with nary a shag-cut, or rough cake peice in sight. No rubbing is necesarry since, like I said, its perfectly prepared from the tin. Just take a pinch, let it fall into the bowl, and repeat. A simple gravity feed with a bit of finger tamping will suit this one just fine, and will get you ready for pleasure to come.

Phase III: The Smoke Ahh, the most important (and satisfying) part of the piping experience... the smoking part! Once the tobacco is packed neatly into a pipe, I like to suck a couple breaths throught the pipe for some reason. This serves two purposes; to elilminate the in-tin moisture of many blends, and also to prepare the palate for the flavor of the same stuff burning. Anyway, after the initial char-light, the tobac is lightly tamped and lit again. This is the last time you will need a fire for the duration of the smoke (unless its raining, or windy, or you like to drool in your pipe bowl.) At first, the flavor is almost undetectable, but its still there. The latakia is the first thing to hit the palate, my theory on this is that your tastebuds are still 'waking' up in the morning, so they detect deeper, richer flavors first (of course, I may also be completely wrong, but it helps me understand), and the sharper, 'higher' notes of oriental and virginia later, mid bowl-ish. As I've stated, moisture isn't a problem with this one, so constant relightings won't be necessary at all. By the time you hit mid-bowl, the flavor will begin to mix in your mouth, and the joy of a dead even mix of virginia, latakia, and oriental will take you in its hold. After the introduction with the small, subdued taste during the top-bowl, you glide smoothly into the mid-bowl, and then to the plateau of the end of the pipe. The flavor, unlike most tobaccos, doesn't get much stronger when you get near the end of the bowl, instead, it stays rather steady from mid to finish.

This is, by all means, a wonderful wake-up tobacco to get you all happy about being alive for another day. I've noted the room aroma as 'medium' only because that is the flavor and aroma I get from the burning tobacco. Like I said, I smoke this while walking to class, so I honestly have no clue whether this one will please or offend, but I can't imagine it would be too different from any other VA/Latakia/Oriental blend. Another thing I recommend for this is a dedicated pipe, which for me, is no problem (not because of many pipes, but because I love this blend so much!).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2001-03-11		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Pouch Aroma: This blend smells lightly of Latakia, very subtle and well-balanced and underlaid with what smells like some Virginia and Burley. It's pleasantly light and spicy-smelling without being too mild.

Appearance: Composed of around 30% medium brown, 40% dark brown and black and the remaining 30% light brown and yellow, this is a blend that's mostly coarse cut of short, broad ribbons and a crimp cut that appears to be Maryland tobacco.

Packing and Lighting: I'm trying this first in my Upshall ?P' straight Dublin which smokes well with any tobacco but seems to like mild Orientals. The cut is a bit bothersome for me as I've never cared for coarse tobaccos, but it loads nicely enough. The first puffs remind me somewhat of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, but with a bit less sweetness and more spiciness when blown out of my nose. The second light is short and takes little effort to get a good burn going. The smoke is cool and flavorful; I'm not a huge fan of Latakia, and this is how I like it!

Exposition: With a nice cherry going, this is smoking slow and cool with a nice smoky tang and none of the bitterness that happens when Turkish tobaccos are overzealously used. Neither is there much sweetness - the flavor is very dry like leather, old books or a distant barbecue in the neighbor's yard. The cool, musty aftertaste is thought-provoking and is also making my mouth water a bit, but I can't put a description on it. I think there is some Burley here, but it's very well used and isn't trying to go solo on me. Actually, nothing is soloing right now - every tobacco is moving subtly around all the others in a very stately dance that in no way brings my attention to any one flavor. This makes the smoke pleasant in a bland way, and I'm hoping some more interesting things will happen later in the smoke.

The Story: Later on the flavors have deepened and gained more of a bottom end, but there's still not a lot of complexity here. It is quite tasty though, and could easily become a daily smoke for me during the early afternoon when I want something good but not distracting. It is holding its flavor well, and the burning qualities are great! The only time I have to relight is when I let it go out, and even that takes quite some time. This is surprising with a cut as coarse as this, and this also leads me to suspect the presence of some Maryland tobacco.

The main flavor is still dry and slightly spicy and the undertone and body of the smoke is creamy and smooth. It blows excellent smoke rings and doesn't seem prone to biting me at all so this would be an excellent tobacco for reading or listening to music.

Denouement: The end of the bowl is still quite tasty, and I'm picking up some honey/brown sugar tones which is also similar to Early Morning Pipe. It's really nice with strong, black coffee (Mocha Sanani, no sugar please!) as the spicy flavors really complement one another and the chocolatey notes in the coffee add just a touch of dark sweetness to the finish. Yum!

Pros: This one started bland and uninspiring, but it picked up quickly into an interesting smoke. A few more bowls will undoubtedly show me the underlying complexities to it, especially in a dedicated pipe. This Upshall smokes very dark, so I think I'll give it a try in an Italian pipe or a meerschaum next and see if I can find some more goodies lurking within.

Cons: I really can't find any! I'm used to very complex Latakia blends lately, and a lot of Orientals, so this was a bit offputting at first.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2013-01-12		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A light Latakia mixture that burns cool with interesting notes. A tin was offered to me by a fellow pipe smoker and while I could say that it has a light Latakia presence, the Oriental and Virginia complement this mixture quite nicely. There is a topping that shows up once in a while but it doesn't deter from the experience. All in all a balanced choice for a Latakia beginner and a change of pace for the Latakia journeyman.

Virginia lover

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-07-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is an excellent introduction to English mixtures if you can get some.

The latakia is not the dominant player but detetctable. The VAs are amazingly tasty and tangy.

It's a nice, big cut mixture that burns rather slowly.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sinister Topiary (84)	2009-03-17		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I like this one a whole lot.

It was difficult for me to determine whether to give it three stars or four. I opted for three since I like to reserve four stars for my personal masterpieces. But even though I don't consider this one a masterpiece, it's one of my favorites. I mean, you just can't listen to nothing but Beethoven's last string quartets all the time, right? Sometimes you want something lighter and more simply entertaining but still quality.

That said, this is a manifestly pleasant smoke, with enough complexity and subtlety to maintain interest. It's very smooth and remarkably balanced, with the subtly sweet virginias sometimes coming to the forefront, other times the slightly tangy orientals or nutty burleys, with the latakia always gently lurking in the background. It's smooth, and delightfully and delicately spicy, mild, but not too mild.

As has been observed by others here, one peculiarity of this blend is the subdued opening. I won't pretend to understand how this can be, but the "flavor is almost undetectable", as fortezero says, when you light up, though there are some hints of what's to come: it's like a soft, shapeless ambient texture that, as you get a little further into the bowl, gradually blossoms and develops into a fugue of flavors. I don't know any other blend that opens up like this one does.

This has become one of my default blends, one I just naturally grab when I want a great smoke that's not a gourmet delight. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's perfectly satisfying. (Maybe I should give this four stars... no, not yet.)

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-03-23		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

This is a fairly lightweight (flavour-wise) "Modern English" style blend. It does what it sets out to do well, but didn't have enough character for me to come back for more. I like my Englishes to be clearly English: rich and heavy. This one's more middle-of-the-road. It's a bit coarse too so it doesn't pack as easily as some tobaccos. Other than that there's really nothing to criticise in this tobacco.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2003-02-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

As I opened the tin, a full latakia aroma told me what it was. No surprise under the match - a rich latakia blend shows character. It is a bit harsher and less balanced than my favorite dunhill latakias - london mixture and night cap, but still a nice bowl.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2002-01-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Tended to smoke a little hot for me . The taste was a bit bland , though not all together bad . I plan to try this one again soon and should I feel it necessary I will revise this review . As it stands I find it uninteresting .

Nobody has rated this review yet.