It is a rite of passage. Here's my own review from when I did the OTC trade elsewhere....

Mixture 79. It sits in its baggy. Staring at me. Daring me to set forth. In the bag it is….well….typical looking. Smells vaguely Lakeland-ish, and I loves me some Lakelands. I am determined – yeah mayhap desperate – to enjoy this blend. Cob in hand, NPR on radio, I set forth. As I readied myself for this battle I thought of Poe for some reason, but I’m pretty sure that Poe would have been a FVF kind of guy.

Lovecraft. He would be into this stuff.

“I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight I shall be no more.”
Yah – that’s the ticket. So join me, dear reader. I now hurl myself into the abyss of Mixture 79.

I set this stuff out last night to dry. Yes – last night. It wasn’t overly soggy anyway, but I wanted to give this blend a shot at its crunchiest. Packed the pipe and got the fire stoked. I was immediately beset with a tidal wave of sugar. Seriously. It was like I bit into a sugar cube. The retrohale was that of a mild Lakeland, if Walmart made a Lakeland blend. Perish the thought. But overall? Surprisingly not bad.

“My opinion of my whole experience varies from time to time. In broad daylight, and at most seasons I am apt to think the greater part of it a mere dream; but sometimes in the autumn, about two in the morning when winds and animals howl dismally, there comes from inconceivable depths below a damnable suggestions of rhythmical throbbing ... and I feel that the transition of Juan Romero was a terrible one indeed.”

Slight Lakeland goodness, smooth burn, little or no tongue bite – overall this is good stuff! Not as good as the other OTCs I’ve reviewed, but not the evil harridan that I dreaded. The sweetness comes and goes, and although it is very obviously that of a topping rather than from the tobacco it isn’t overpowering. It wants to bite for a moment, then that passes. What was really odd about this was that when I was merrily puffing away with no bite whatsoever, and happened to take a sip from my morning drink. This brought on a moment of level three Mac Baren bite. Truly weird, and it only happened once or twice. I got absolutely none of the anise or root beer that I noted in the bag.

“Memories and possibilities are ever more hideous than realities.”

Mixture 79 merrily burned in my bowl as I made my way through morning fog. Tomorrow I work later and will be able to listen to All Things Considered. Is that Yog-Sothoth? Waitaminute….this Mixture 79 thing is….surprisingly burnable. If you like a Lakeland, you will get a touch of such on the retrohale. It wants to bite, but doesn’t. Dry this stuff, then dry it more.

“I was nearly unnerved at my proximity to a nameless thing at the bottom of a pit.”

As I made my way to the bottom of the bowl, the sugar cube showed itself again. Then it turned into something I could only describe as sweaty feet. If you went to the gym, shoved a flake or two of Ennerdale into your socks, and then played racquetball for a few hours before smoking it, that would be it. That went away quickly, but like the image of a disfigured streaker on a trampoline, it....lingered. It was odd, because other than this moment of footiness, this was not bad at all. If toe-jam and floral notes are something that you enjoy, then Mixture 79 just might be your thing!