(Originally posted by @JimInks )

Lane’s Blend Eleven Match:
I never smoked the original, so this is a review of the Match only. The burly is slightly nutty, toasty with a minor molasses note. The Virginia is a little grassy with a touch of citrus.The Green River Black Cavendish offers a very mild hit of vanilla. The marshmallow topping is not strong, and there’s a drop or two of whisky as well. The flavors meld well for a cool, smoothly mild easy burning smoke that holds its taste until the finish with no dottle.

Mapleton Match:
The Maple is the star in both versions, though they both have a dash of rum, too. The toppings are deeper and more flavorful in the Match, though like the original, the rum is not as obvious as the maple. The Virginia is very grassy and not sweet in the original, whereas they are less grassy with a touch of sweet in the Match. The white burley in both has a little sharpness, much more so in the original. A minor nut note in both exists. The original burned very warm, tended to bite if pushed much. The Match burns slower, cool with no bite, and the flavor holds up to the finish. None of that was true of the original.

Middleton Cherry Match:
Either I’ve changed or Middleton improved their cherry blend. It’s better than when I smoked it many years back. The cherry flavor is not strong and you can taste the burley some, more so at the finish when cherry flashes off a little. The cherry taste in the Match (also sold by P&C as Mid-Town Cherry) is a little more obvious, and the burley is a shade less noticeable. The cherry does not burn off at the finish as it does in the original. The original has the same fault it has always had, being bitey when puffed beyond a sipping pace. That is only true of the Match if you go at it like a steam engine trying to outrace Superman. The Match burns well, fairly cool, and is a smoother smoke with a more pleasant after taste than the original.

Middleton London Dock Match:
The rum topping tastes nice, though it does sublimate the individual tobaccos in both versions. The perique sports a very mild spice note, nearly undetectable in both versions. The Virginia is grassy sweet and is slightly more obvious in the Match. In both versions, the burley is a little nutty with some molasses and a touch of earth. In the original, the Oriental/Turkish was woody and a little smoky with a sour note or two. All of that is less noticeable in the Match, which doesn’t have a sour spot to be had. The Match is a little sweeter, a little buttery, a little more aromatic than the original was. Both versions are a fairly pleasant all day smoke with consistent flavor requiring few relights, and just a little moisture at the finish. It’s not an exact Match, but it’s in the ballpark. Sold by Milan Tobacconists as “ ‘Our’ London Dock.”

Model Match:
The Virginia has a few earth notes to go along with a little grass and citrus. The burley is very nutty with some chocolate, molasses, and earth. Burns smooth, and even with consistency of taste, and no moisture. The Match avoids the harshness of the original, and unlike the original, which could bite when pushed much, the Match doesn’t grab at your tongue. The flavor is a little deeper in the Match, though it is the same in both. There are a few cigarette notes here and there, but less so than the original. The tobacco in the Match is fairly dry as was the original, so it needs to be puffed as a reasonable rate, unless you hydrate it.

Prince Albert Match:
The Match (also sold by P&C as Mid-Town Prince Andrew) is chocolatey, molasses and nutty, though a little less so than the original in those respects. The cut and look is identical. It burns a little cooler than the original, and while it does not have the syrupy flavor (and occasional chemical note) of PA, there’s a slight alcohol feel in the topping in a few spots. The level of mildness is the same, and the flavor is consistent to the finish. Burns at the same rate as the original and leaves a similar, lighter aftertaste. The original tends to be a little cigarettish at times, a little more so near the end. That’s not true of the Match version. If the chocolate, molasses and nut flavors were a little stronger, it’d be hard to tell the difference between the two, chemical hits of the original not withstanding.

Revelation Match:
The HoW version left me with a bad impression all the way around, from the dullness of the burley to the relative lack of sweetness, depth, and flavor of the Virginia and the burley. In the Match, the medium brown Virginia has a mildly natural sweetness while the burley sports some earthy points, plus a light tangy nuttiness from the burley. The perique is very lightly added for a hint of spice, hardly noticed in the HoW. The latakia brings very mild smokey, woody bass notes to give this mixture a slight flavor push. There’s a mild fruity topping that tastes better than the one HoW used, and slightly more obvious, too. The HoW version tended to have a cardboard taste that turned bitter near the finish, and smoked hot unless you sipped it. None of these qualities are true of the Match. This is more well rounded, smoother with no bite, and the components work together with greater consistency than the original.

Comparing the Match to the old Philip Morris version that Albert Einstein smoked, I’d say the Match is a shade sweeter and a shade less nuttier, and just a little less earthy, drier smoke. The topping is the same in all three versions, though the amount and depth of flavor varies. The Virginia in the Philip Morris version seems to be a little grassier than in the Match. The flavor of latakia is about the same in all three versions. The spice from the perique is just a little more obvious in the Philip Morris version. When I get to the finish of the PM Revelation, it gets a little of the same cardboard harshness that I experienced in the HoW production. The PM version I smoked for this comparison was over fifty years old, and it is hard to say what changes happened during that time, but I would rate it as being closer to the Match than the HoW, but it has some similarities to both.

Royal Comfort Match:
The Virginia is a minor player. It’s a little grassy while the gold and black cavendishes offer a little honey and vanilla. The other flavors include maple, rum, and molasses, all of which are rather mild, though vanilla seems to stand out the most. Burns cool and smooth. The original is a shade less milder, and a little deeper in taste, though I notice an alcohol base that I hardly get in the Match, and it’s never very strong anyway. The tobacco taste is more sublimated in the original than in the Match, but there’s not much of it in the Match either. There’s a little difference in the sweet flavors between the two, and there’s one flavor note in the original that is undefinable to my taste buds. It’s not a perfect Match, but it is a pleasant smoke.

Rum and Maple Match:
The rum and maple are a little more pronounced here than in the Lane version, thought the maple is a little more obvious than the rum. The Virginia and burley are a little more sublimated by the toppings than the original was, but you do get a little Virginia grassy notes and slightly burley nuttiness. It’s fairly sweet, but you won’t be overpowered by a super strong maple/rum flavor, though it is richer than the original. The original was kind of bitey, and the tobacco was dryer, and burned faster than this version. The room note is very pleasant. I prefer this to the original. Sold in a pouch under the Tobacco Galleria name, as well as in bulk.

Sail Green Match:
The topping in the Match lacks some of the anise of the original, but it has the same - but milder - light fruitiness with fewer cocoa notes. It also sublimates the tobacco flavor a little just as the original does. Like the original, I get a slight sense of the Oriental/Turkish, and virtually none of the latakia, which is probably about one percent of the mixture. The cavendish is slightly more prominent in the Match, and the Virginia is about the same. The cut is the same, as is the burn rate. I noticed inconsistency of flavor in the original. Sometimes, it was bland and sometimes not, from pouch to pouch. This match is fairly close to Sail Green at its best with a little less strength to the topping.