Jim's McConnell's Dunhill Clones Reviews.
Nov 8, 2018 20:08:22 GMT -5
Baboo, antb, and 18 more like this
Post by JimInks on Nov 8, 2018 20:08:22 GMT -5
Here's my reviews of seven of Robert McConnell's Dunhill clones.
Robert McConnell Durbar Square:
The dry, mildly floral, woody, spicy, and fairly sour Orientals takes a lead here. The dark Virginia offers dark fruit and earth as a important secondary player. The smoky, woody, musty sweet Cyprian latakia competes with the dark Virginia for attention, and at times supersedes it a mite. The citrusy, lightly grassy yellow Virginia also provides a touch of spice in the background. In most all respects, it’s rather similar to the re-release version of Dunhill Dunbar, except the latakia and especially the spice are a tad more obvious, and this is a slightly fuller smoke, so it doesn't quite have the balance that Dunbar has. This blend is a little sweeter as well, which I attribute to the dark Virginias. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste is medium. The nic-hit is almost at the center of mild to medium. Those last three attributes are similar to the Dunhill version. Won’t bite, or get harsh, and has no rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent, moderately sweet and lightly more spicy, savory flavor through out the experience. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke. I gave three to the Murray’s production, and the re-release. This gets three and a half stars.
Robert McConnell Early Bird:
The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The dry, lightly floral, sour, woody, earthy Orientals take second place in this blend. The mildly tangy, dark dark fruity, earthy red Virginia is a supporting player, and is more noticeable than the citrusy, grassy bright Virginia, which is more of a condiment. This compares favorably with Dunhill’s version, though the latakia and Orientals are a tad stronger here, and the Virginias are a hair less so than what I experienced in Early Morning Pipe. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste level is medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has a couple rough edges in spots, unlike EMP. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with very consistent, mildly sweet and savory flavor to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An all day smoke that is slightly fuller than EMP. I gave two and a half stars to EMP. This gets three.
Robert McConnell Eclipse:
This isn’t that much near Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls at all. NR doesn’t have a sugary black cavendish core, and it’s a stronger blend in every way. The various Virginias offer some dark fruit and earth, a mild citrus and grassiness along with a touch of the floral. The lightly spicy, plummy, raisiny perique is a supporting player. The black cavendish appears at various times, depending upon how you prepare the coins, so there is a little inconsistency in the taste of the blend as well as the burn rate. The strength and nic-hit are a couple steps past the mild level, while the taste is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool and clean, and a tad slow. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Needs a few relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and is an all day smoke. I gave four stars to DDNR.
Robert McConnell Majesty Elizabeth:
The citrusy, grassy, lightly hay-like and earthy Virginias also have a modicum of dark fruit. The very spicy, lightly raisiny, mildly plumy perique is a supporting player. There’s more perique and a lot less grass in this than in the current version of Dunhill Elizabethan. The dark fruit note is not present in DE either. This has a fuller flavor, also. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of mild to medium. The taste is step or so past those marks. It won’t bite or get harsh, but the spice does give a slight tongue tingle. Burns fairly cool and very clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent taste from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a lightly lingering, pleasant sweet and spicy after taste and room note. An all day smoke that is superior in every way compared to Dunhill’s latest version, to which I gave two stars.
Robert McConnell My Mixture 999:
The smoky, woody, musty, earthy sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The lightly floral and sour, woody, dry, spicy, smoky, earthy Orientals play a support role. The Virginias offer some citrus and grass with a little dark fruit and earth in a secondary position. The sugary black cavendish provides some sweet smoothness. The Dunhill version is slightly more complex with a touch less latakia, and the Orientals are a little more prominent here. This also a tad sweeter. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has very few rough notes. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a mildly sweet and more savory flavor from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. The pleasant after taste lingers a mite as does the more pungent room note. Can be an all day smoke. I gave the original three stars as I do this one.
Robert McConnell Night Club:
The smoky, woody, earthy mildly sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The dry, smoke, woody, lightly floral and sour Orientals are secondary players. The grassy, lightly citrusy, earthy and dark fruity Virginias are the third stars in the mix. The spicy, raisiny, plumy perique is a condiment. The latakia and Orientals are not as forceful as they are in Nightcap, while the Virginias and perique play a similar, but not exact role in regard to being a close match. The strength is medium, while the taste is a step or so past that mark. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite or get harsh, but like Nightcap, does have a rough edge here and there, though it’s a tad more obvious in Nightcap. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a very consistent mildly sweet and fairly savory flavor from top to bottom. Leaves little moisture in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. The after taste lingers a little, and the room note is a little stronger than that. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran. It’s fairly similar to Nightcap, but lacks a little of the strength inherent in the Dunhill product, which isn’t an all day smoke. I gave four stars to Nightcap.
Robert McConnell Virginia 5 Year Matured:
The very grassy/hay-like, mildly earthy, citrusy, lightly dark fruity Virginias take the lead. The dry, lightly floral, earthy, woody Orientals are in the background. These attributes are fairly close to the original Dunhill version, except the dry and floral notes are a tad less obvious. The other attributes of the Orientals are a step stronger. The lemon and apricot toppings in the original are extremely mild here, and mildly noticeable, unlike the original where they are a touch more potent. The toppings tone down the tobaccos a little. This version is a little less sweet. The strength and nic-hit are mild, and the taste level is a step past that. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent, mildly sweet and lightly savory flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste. An all day smoke. I gave the Murray’s version two stars, and two and a half for the re-release. This gets three stars because it’s better, even though it’s not that close a match, it's in the ball park despite being just a little stronger. While I doubt the tobaccos were aged five years, they do have the feel of aged varietals to a small extent.
Robert McConnell Durbar Square:
The dry, mildly floral, woody, spicy, and fairly sour Orientals takes a lead here. The dark Virginia offers dark fruit and earth as a important secondary player. The smoky, woody, musty sweet Cyprian latakia competes with the dark Virginia for attention, and at times supersedes it a mite. The citrusy, lightly grassy yellow Virginia also provides a touch of spice in the background. In most all respects, it’s rather similar to the re-release version of Dunhill Dunbar, except the latakia and especially the spice are a tad more obvious, and this is a slightly fuller smoke, so it doesn't quite have the balance that Dunbar has. This blend is a little sweeter as well, which I attribute to the dark Virginias. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste is medium. The nic-hit is almost at the center of mild to medium. Those last three attributes are similar to the Dunhill version. Won’t bite, or get harsh, and has no rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent, moderately sweet and lightly more spicy, savory flavor through out the experience. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke. I gave three to the Murray’s production, and the re-release. This gets three and a half stars.
Robert McConnell Early Bird:
The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The dry, lightly floral, sour, woody, earthy Orientals take second place in this blend. The mildly tangy, dark dark fruity, earthy red Virginia is a supporting player, and is more noticeable than the citrusy, grassy bright Virginia, which is more of a condiment. This compares favorably with Dunhill’s version, though the latakia and Orientals are a tad stronger here, and the Virginias are a hair less so than what I experienced in Early Morning Pipe. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium, while the taste level is medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has a couple rough edges in spots, unlike EMP. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with very consistent, mildly sweet and savory flavor to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An all day smoke that is slightly fuller than EMP. I gave two and a half stars to EMP. This gets three.
Robert McConnell Eclipse:
This isn’t that much near Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls at all. NR doesn’t have a sugary black cavendish core, and it’s a stronger blend in every way. The various Virginias offer some dark fruit and earth, a mild citrus and grassiness along with a touch of the floral. The lightly spicy, plummy, raisiny perique is a supporting player. The black cavendish appears at various times, depending upon how you prepare the coins, so there is a little inconsistency in the taste of the blend as well as the burn rate. The strength and nic-hit are a couple steps past the mild level, while the taste is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool and clean, and a tad slow. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Needs a few relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and is an all day smoke. I gave four stars to DDNR.
Robert McConnell Majesty Elizabeth:
The citrusy, grassy, lightly hay-like and earthy Virginias also have a modicum of dark fruit. The very spicy, lightly raisiny, mildly plumy perique is a supporting player. There’s more perique and a lot less grass in this than in the current version of Dunhill Elizabethan. The dark fruit note is not present in DE either. This has a fuller flavor, also. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of mild to medium. The taste is step or so past those marks. It won’t bite or get harsh, but the spice does give a slight tongue tingle. Burns fairly cool and very clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent taste from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a lightly lingering, pleasant sweet and spicy after taste and room note. An all day smoke that is superior in every way compared to Dunhill’s latest version, to which I gave two stars.
Robert McConnell My Mixture 999:
The smoky, woody, musty, earthy sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The lightly floral and sour, woody, dry, spicy, smoky, earthy Orientals play a support role. The Virginias offer some citrus and grass with a little dark fruit and earth in a secondary position. The sugary black cavendish provides some sweet smoothness. The Dunhill version is slightly more complex with a touch less latakia, and the Orientals are a little more prominent here. This also a tad sweeter. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has very few rough notes. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a mildly sweet and more savory flavor from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. The pleasant after taste lingers a mite as does the more pungent room note. Can be an all day smoke. I gave the original three stars as I do this one.
Robert McConnell Night Club:
The smoky, woody, earthy mildly sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component. The dry, smoke, woody, lightly floral and sour Orientals are secondary players. The grassy, lightly citrusy, earthy and dark fruity Virginias are the third stars in the mix. The spicy, raisiny, plumy perique is a condiment. The latakia and Orientals are not as forceful as they are in Nightcap, while the Virginias and perique play a similar, but not exact role in regard to being a close match. The strength is medium, while the taste is a step or so past that mark. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite or get harsh, but like Nightcap, does have a rough edge here and there, though it’s a tad more obvious in Nightcap. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a very consistent mildly sweet and fairly savory flavor from top to bottom. Leaves little moisture in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. The after taste lingers a little, and the room note is a little stronger than that. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran. It’s fairly similar to Nightcap, but lacks a little of the strength inherent in the Dunhill product, which isn’t an all day smoke. I gave four stars to Nightcap.
Robert McConnell Virginia 5 Year Matured:
The very grassy/hay-like, mildly earthy, citrusy, lightly dark fruity Virginias take the lead. The dry, lightly floral, earthy, woody Orientals are in the background. These attributes are fairly close to the original Dunhill version, except the dry and floral notes are a tad less obvious. The other attributes of the Orientals are a step stronger. The lemon and apricot toppings in the original are extremely mild here, and mildly noticeable, unlike the original where they are a touch more potent. The toppings tone down the tobaccos a little. This version is a little less sweet. The strength and nic-hit are mild, and the taste level is a step past that. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent, mildly sweet and lightly savory flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste. An all day smoke. I gave the Murray’s version two stars, and two and a half for the re-release. This gets three stars because it’s better, even though it’s not that close a match, it's in the ball park despite being just a little stronger. While I doubt the tobaccos were aged five years, they do have the feel of aged varietals to a small extent.
