Condor Long Cut (flake)

[kevie49]

This was my great grandfather's pipe tobacco of choice and after trying a few different smokes I thought that I'd give it a try.


Condor is widely available in the UK, but I'm not sure how easily it can be bought in other countries. I popped into the local news agent and found that they offered Condor Long Cut in 50g pouches for £14. They stocked the Condor Blended and Ready Rubbed in 25g pouches, but the flake only came as 50g.


Upon opening the pouch there is a lovely scent of tobacco with mixed dried fruits. I've heard people describe it as having a soapy scent and taste but I simply didn't get this. The flakes rubbed out very easily and it came at the perfect moisture content for smoking directly from the packet: not too wet that it was difficult to light, but not dry and crusty either. One rubbed out flake filled three quarters of the bowl in my Country Gentleman Missouri Meerschaum pipe.


The tobacco lit without a problem and the first thing that I noticed was the plumes of smoke it produced. These weren't overly potent in scent, but this was definitely the most smoke output I've experienced from a pipe tobacco. Condor Long Cut produced a smooth and full bodied smoking experience. It produced absolutely no tongue-bite, however it did leave a bit of a bitter taste on the tongue after the smoke was finished. Regarding tastes this was simply a straight up tobacco taste, I couldn't pick out which tobaccos exactly, I would guess that it is quite a mixture as none stood out. Sadly the pleasant fruity note was present when in the pouch notes didn't come through to the lit taste, but neither did the soapy/floral notes that I had been warned about.



Overall I would say that this is a solid flake tobacco. It seemed to be medium to full flavoured, but it did lack depth; the notes didn't change for the 50 minute duration of the smoke. Certainly not for those that like a light smoke or are into aromatics, but if your a fan of straight up tobacco flavour then this is worth a try. However if it is unavailable in your country, then I don't think it's worth paying over the odds for. Decent, but not great.

[xrundog]

I really like Condor. I've had the R&R and tried stretching it by mixing it with Gawith & Hoggarth Dark Flake unscented. It really ups the potency and the Condor flavor stands up to the mix. I think it improves both tobaccos.

I also once had an old style Condor Plug that I bought sealed on eBay. Totally different from the new stuff. Very floral. And it really ghosted some pipes back in the day. I've bought a few old timers with that scent and nothing ever came close to eradicating it.

[Rob G]

Nice review.

[SLR]

Thanks for the review. Nicely done.

[kevie49]

Rob G & SLR thank you gentlemen for the kind words.



xrundog: what is Condor Ready Rubbed like? I've not tried it yet. I sampled the Condor Blended but I found it a bit too light for my tastes (maybe a great early morning pipe, but I tend to spark up in the evening).

[xrundog]

Originally Posted by kevie49

xrundog: what is Condor Ready Rubbed like? I've not tried it yet. I sampled the Condor Blended but I found it a bit too light for my tastes (maybe a great early morning pipe, but I tend to spark up in the evening).

Hard to describe. I always had the green pouch. The tobacco is I think (it's been awhile) ribbon cut. The flavor is definitely in the Lakeland category. That is, heavily flavored with a bit of sharpness. Like most of the Lakeland flavors, I can't say exactly what it tastes like. It's unique. I like it. If it had been available here when I was huge into pipes I would have smoked pounds of the stuff.
Bracken Flake was my absolute favorite Lakeland style tobacco. Condor was a close second.

[Smokestack Jack]

Where in the U.S. can I buy Condor? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

[xrundog]

Originally Posted by Smokestack Jack

Where in the U.S. can I buy Condor? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

You can't. There used to be a site that would send you the stuff. But it was around $20 for a 50g pouch plus shipping. They had Revor Plug and some other tobaccos as well. Expensive!
I always got mine in trades with a UK transplant to Chicago. He would bring the Condor back from trips or have it sent over.
The stuff is strong! 2 pouches would turn a pound of rubbed out Dark Flake into all Condor.

[kevie49]

Just a quick update on a wee experiment I tried out today.

I tried to introduce a wee bit of sweetness to the Condor Long Cut by mixing it 50-50 with SG Full Virginia Flake. However the result was not good. The Condor completely dominated the taste, but all the FVF seemed to add was a bitter note that was almost reminiscent of burnt tyre. I smoked the concoction for 25 minutes, thinking it may mellow, but it only became more bitter. This is not a mixture I will be trying again.


I'm glad that I did this in my corncob as I can bet it would have really horribly ghosted a briar pipe.

[kevie49]

Originally Posted by xrundog

around $20 for a 50g pouch plus shipping.

At the present time I pay £14 for a 50g pouch, that works out at $18. As you correctly point out that is before shipping is added, but also isn't there something about shipping tobacco products from the UK to the US? I have a strange feeling that if customs pick them up then there is extra duty to pay. Please correct me if I'm wrong.