Manchester Cigarette Flavours Reviewed: All 17 Variants Sold in Australia and Which One Suits You

Manchester cigarettes come in 17 flavours in Australia, grouped into three families: 13 tobacco flavours, one menthol that cools from the first draw, and three capsule flavours you activate mid-cigarette. The tobacco flavours run from the dry, toasted and oaky Manchester Red down to Manchester Platinum, where the tobacco flavour is at its faintest.

Manchester Red, Rich Red and Royal Red are the three full-strength Reds, equal in strength and different in body and edge. Manchester Reserve has the densest smoke, Manchester Sapphire Blue the creamiest mouthfeel, and Manchester Classic Gold an airy Virginia taste with a sweet, grassy note. Manchester Menthol Green carries menthol from the first draw to the last. The three capsule flavours are Manchester Green Crush for a sharp menthol, Blue Crush for a softer mint, and Double Drive for berry and mint from two capsules.

Each review below covers the strength, the flavour profile, the smoker it suits and our verdict, and four questions at the end match your palate to a flavour. Aussie Smokes stocks all 17, verifies the age of every customer and ships Australia-wide from stock held in Australia.

1. Manchester Red: toasted, dry and oaky

• Strength: Full (12 mg tar, 0.9 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Toasted, dry, full-bodied tobacco with an oaky note
• Best For: Full-flavour smokers who want the tobacco to lead

Manchester Red is a full-flavour tobacco cigarette with a toasted, oaky taste and a dry finish, and the standard Red that Rich Red and Royal Red are compared against. It opens with a deep, roasted aroma and a firm throat hit. A long-term taste test describes its flavour as toasted tobacco with an oaky note, slightly drier than a Marlboro Red.

The smoke stays full and dense from the first draw to the last and leaves a short, dry aftertaste. Three separate Australian guides use the same three words for it: bold, rich and direct.

Our Verdict: Start with Manchester Red if you smoke full-flavour cigarettes and want a tobacco-forward taste.

2. Manchester Rich Red: roasted Virginia with Burley body

• Strength: Full (12 mg tar, 0.9 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Deeply roasted American blend, Virginia with air-cured Burley
• Best For: Red smokers who want more body carried into the finish

Manchester Rich Red is a full-flavour American-blend cigarette with air-cured Burley added to the Virginia leaf, which gives it the most body of the three Reds. Its product specification describes a rich, full-bodied taste of deeply roasted tobacco and a bold throat sensation.

You taste the Burley in the finish. It thickens the smoke, adds weight on the palate and carries the roasted note into a lingering aftertaste, while Manchester Red ends short and dry. Rich Red is an 84 mm king size cigarette in a round-corner pack.

Our Verdict: Manchester Rich Red holds its flavour to the end, for a Red smoker who finds the standard Red thin by the last third.

3. Manchester Royal Red: full depth, softer edge

• Strength: Full (12 mg tar, 0.9 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Full-bodied tobacco with a rounded edge
• Best For: Red smokers who want the depth without the dry bite

Manchester Royal Red is a full-flavour tobacco cigarette with the same body and rating as Manchester Red but a softer throat hit and less bite. Reviewers consistently call it the smoother, less harsh of the two.

Royal Red keeps the rich flavour, firm hit and long finish of the Red but rounds off its dry, sharp bite. That dryness can build up on the palate over a day of smoking Manchester Red.

Our Verdict: We recommend Manchester Royal Red to a smoker who likes the strength but not the bite.

4. Manchester Reserve: dense and earthy

• Strength: Medium-Full (7 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Rich, dense tobacco with a deep earthy finish
• Best For: Smokers who want body in every puff without a full-strength cigarette

Manchester Reserve is a medium-full tobacco cigarette with the densest smoke in the range and a deep, earthy finish. Australian reviews credit it with a rich tobacco flavour, bold but refined, and a fuller smoke than its printed figures suggest.

Reserve is rated at 7 mg tar yet sits above flavours with higher figures in this list, because each draw carries more body. The earthy finish separates it from Manchester Red, which finishes dry.

Our Verdict: Move to Manchester Reserve if you want a full mouthful from each draw but find the Reds too strong.

5. Manchester Blue Special Edition: balanced, with a rounded sweetness

• Strength: Medium (8 mg tar, 0.8 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Balanced, medium-bodied tobacco with a rounded sweetness
• Best For: Smokers who want an everyday medium-strength cigarette with some sweetness

Manchester Blue Special Edition is a medium-strength tobacco cigarette with a rounded sweetness and the fullest flavour of the Blue variants. Reviews note a smooth inhale and a balanced finish, and it sits between the Reds and the softer end of the range.

Its sweetness is rounder than the grassy note in Manchester Classic Gold, and its smoke is less dense than Reserve’s, so it smokes as a balanced, medium-bodied everyday cigarette. Special Edition refers to the pack release, and no manufacturer statement says the blend differs from the standard line.

Our Verdict: Manchester Blue Special Edition suits a smoker who has found the other Blues thinner than they wanted.

6. Manchester Sapphire Blue White: creamy and aromatic

• Strength: Soft (5 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Creamy, velvety tobacco with a spicy, aromatic edge
• Best For: Smokers who care how the smoke feels as much as how strong it is

Manchester Sapphire Blue White is a soft tobacco cigarette with a creamy mouthfeel and a spicy, aromatic edge, the most distinctive flavour in the range. Reviewers describe a refined, velvety tobacco, and a long-term taste test notes a boutique character that sets it apart from the rest of the line.

It smokes balanced and mellow, with less harshness and bite on the throat than any flavour above it in this list. Every source that covers it uses the word creamy, and no other Manchester flavour is described that way.

Our Verdict: We pick Manchester Sapphire Blue White for a smoker who finds the Reds too heavy and wants texture over strength.

7. Manchester Sapphire Blue Plain: the Sapphire flavour in a plain pack

• Strength: Soft (5 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Creamy, velvety tobacco with a spicy, aromatic edge
• Best For: Sapphire smokers who prefer the plain pack

Manchester Sapphire Blue Plain is the Sapphire Blue cigarette in a plain pack, with the same creamy, velvety tobacco and spicy, aromatic edge as the White. Plain refers to the pack, not the taste, and no source separates the two on flavour.

The printed figures match too, at 5 mg tar and 0.6 mg nicotine, so everything said about the taste of the White applies here in full.

Our Verdict: Manchester Sapphire Blue Plain smokes exactly like the White and comes in the plain pack.

8. Manchester Classic Gold: airy Virginia and sweet grass

• Strength: Medium (8 mg tar, 0.8 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Airy, Virginia-led tobacco with a sweet, grassy note
• Best For: Smokers who want to taste the tobacco without a heavy smoke

Manchester Classic Gold is a medium-strength, Virginia-led cigarette with an airy smoke, a sweet, grassy note and an easy draw. A long-term taste test describes the flavour as airy Virginia and sweet grass, and a second Australian guide notes a smoother draw and a softer throat hit than the Reds.

Its grassy sweetness differs from the rounder sweetness of Blue Special Edition, even though both carry the same rating. Classic Gold draws freely and finishes without weight on the palate, for a smoker who wants to taste the tobacco more than feel it.

Our Verdict: Manchester Classic Gold delivers real tobacco flavour without the body of a full-strength cigarette.

9. Manchester Queen Limited Edition: soft and concentrated

• Strength: Soft (5 mg tar, 0.5 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Refined, concentrated tobacco flavour in a soft smoke
• Best For: Smokers who want real flavour from a soft smoke

Manchester Queen Limited Edition is a soft tobacco cigarette with a concentrated, refined flavour that packs more taste into each draw than its softness suggests. Tasting notes and one Australian guide both point to that concentrated, refined balance.

Most soft cigarettes trade flavour for an easy draw, while Manchester Queen keeps the flavour and softens only the smoke. Limited Edition names the pack release, and no manufacturer statement says the blend differs from the standard line.

Our Verdict: Manchester Queen Limited Edition suits a smoker who wants a soft smoke without trading away taste.

10. Manchester Light: mellow, plain tobacco

• Strength: Soft (5 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Mellow, unflavoured tobacco with a soft throat hit
• Best For: Smokers who want a straightforward tobacco taste with nothing layered on top

Manchester Light is a soft, unflavoured tobacco cigarette with a mellow taste, an easy draw and a soft throat hit, the most neutral flavour in the range. Light in the name is the variant name printed on the pack, not a description of the cigarette. The ACCC found in 2005 that using the word as a descriptor misled buyers, and manufacturers gave undertakings to drop it.

Manchester Light has none of the cream and spice of the Sapphires and none of the sweet grass of Classic Gold, so it suits a smoker who wants nothing layered on top.

Our Verdict: Choose Manchester Light for plain, mellow tobacco flavour with no secondary notes.

11. Manchester Blue Flow Filter: soft tobacco, easier draw

• Strength: Soft (5 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Soft tobacco through a freer-drawing filter
• Best For: Soft-tobacco smokers who find the draw on a standard filter tight

Manchester Blue Flow Filter is a soft tobacco cigarette with a Flow Filter, a filter construction that makes the draw freer and steadier without changing the tobacco. Top Smoke’s review of the Red version credits the filter with smoother airflow and a steadier draw that keeps the tobacco’s character without a rough drag.

Here the filter is paired with a soft blend rated like the two Sapphires, so the draw comes through with less resistance while the tobacco stays at the soft end of the range.

Our Verdict: Switch to Manchester Blue Flow Filter if you like a soft cigarette but want an easier draw.

12. Manchester Platinum: minimal and airy

• Strength: Extra soft (5 mg tar, 0.4 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Minimal tobacco flavour in an airy, thin-bodied smoke
• Best For: Smokers who want the least tobacco flavour in the range

Manchester Platinum is an extra-soft tobacco cigarette with a minimal, airy smoke and the faintest tobacco flavour in the range. Its product specification describes a minimal profile, and a long-term taste test calls the bottom tier minimalistic, with the least throat hit of any Manchester.

Platinum registers more as texture than taste, and its thin-bodied smoke carries very little tobacco flavour. It carries the lowest nicotine rating in the range at 0.4 mg, a figure that only ranks it against the other flavours.

Our Verdict: Manchester Platinum is for a smoker who wants the least tobacco flavour Manchester makes.

13. Manchester Super Slims Blue: delicate tobacco in a slim stick

• Strength: Extra soft (4 mg tar, 0.4 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Smooth, delicate American blend in a super slim stick
• Best For: Smokers who want the slim format with a soft blend

Manchester Super Slims Blue is an extra-soft super slim cigarette with an American blend, the only slim in the range and the lowest tar rating of all 17. International listings of the same stick describe a smooth, delicate tobacco with a soft, refined character.

The format shapes the smoke as much as the blend does. A super slim has a narrower diameter than a king size, so less smoke arrives in each puff, and the tobacco is blended soft to suit that thinner pull. The Manchester Super Slims line sold overseas includes flavoured capsule versions, and this one is the unflavoured version. For the wider category, see our guide to slim and super slim cigarettes.

Our Verdict: Manchester Super Slims Blue pairs the slim format with a soft blend, so you keep the slim shape without stepping up to a heavier blend.

14. Manchester Menthol Green: menthol from the first draw

• Strength: Medium (8 mg tar, 0.8 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Fresh mint menthol over tobacco, constant from start to finish
• Best For: Menthol smokers who want the cooling there the whole way

Manchester Menthol Green is a medium-strength menthol cigarette with a fresh, minty cooling from the first draw to the last, the only Manchester mentholated throughout. Reviewers note that the cooling does not flatten the tobacco underneath.

The menthol at the filter end is as strong as at the first draw, because there is no capsule to crush. Manchester Green Crush, the capsule version, smokes as unflavoured tobacco until you crush the capsule.

Our Verdict: Manchester Menthol Green suits a menthol smoker who wants the cooling constant without deciding when to crush anything.

15. Manchester Green Crush: the sharp menthol capsule

• Strength: Soft, menthol on demand (5 mg tar, 0.5 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Sharp, intense menthol when the capsule is crushed
• Best For: Menthol smokers who want strong cooling on their own timing

Manchester Green Crush is a soft capsule cigarette with a sharp, intense menthol that you release by crushing the capsule, the stronger of the two menthol capsules. It smokes as unflavoured tobacco until the crush, and reviewers describe a sharp, strongly cooling finish after it.

All three Manchester capsules work the same way: the capsule is a crushball in the filter, and a squeeze releases the flavour at the moment you choose. Crushing it does not change the printed figures, which are measured on the cigarette, not on the flavouring. For how capsules compare across brands, see our guide to capsule menthol cigarettes.

Our Verdict: Pick Manchester Green Crush if you want a strong menthol hit when you crush it.

16. Manchester Blue Crush: the softer mint capsule

• Strength: Soft, menthol on demand (5 mg tar, 0.6 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Softer, balanced mint when the capsule is crushed
• Best For: Smokers new to capsule cigarettes

Manchester Blue Crush is a soft capsule cigarette with a smoother, more balanced mint, the softer of the two menthol capsules. The crushed capsule brings a cool, fresh draw that leaves the tobacco underneath recognisable.

Blue Crush adds only a mint edge, while Green Crush turns the whole cigarette into a menthol. It tastes of soft, unflavoured tobacco until you crush it, then of the same tobacco with mint laid over it.

Our Verdict: We would suggest Manchester Blue Crush first to someone who has never smoked a capsule cigarette.

17. Manchester Double Drive: berry and mint, two capsules

• Strength: Soft, two capsules (5 mg tar, 0.5 mg nicotine)
• Flavour Profile: Berry and mint from two capsules in one filter
• Best For: Smokers who want to change the flavour as they go

Manchester Double Drive is a soft dual-capsule cigarette with berry and mint capsules in one filter, the most flavoured Manchester in the range. Reviewers describe a cooling menthol layer with a slightly sweet berry finish and two levels of flavour control in a single cigarette.

It moves through three flavour stages: unflavoured tobacco before either crush, one flavour after the first, and berry and mint together after the second. The name Double Drive tells you there are two capsules but not what is in them.

Our Verdict: Choose Manchester Double Drive if you like a fruit-and-mint pairing and want to decide when each arrives.

How to Find the Manchester Flavour That Suits You

You find the Manchester flavour that suits you with four questions about taste: how far the tobacco should lead, what sits underneath it, whether you want menthol, and which brand you smoke now. Each answer narrows the shortlist to one or two of the 17 flavours above.

Do you want the tobacco to lead, or to stay in the background? Manchester Red and Manchester Reserve lead with the tobacco, Red toasted, dry and oaky, and Reserve just as full with an earthy finish. Manchester Classic Gold and Manchester Platinum keep it in the background, Classic Gold airy with sweet grass, and Platinum at its faintest.

Do you want sweetness, cream or spice under the tobacco? Manchester Blue Special Edition adds a rounded sweetness, either Manchester Sapphire Blue a creamy mouthfeel with a spicy, aromatic edge, and Manchester Queen Limited Edition a concentrated, refined balance. These are the flavours in the range with a secondary note beyond the tobacco.

Do you want menthol, and do you want it the whole way or on demand? Manchester Menthol Green carries menthol the whole way, from the first draw. For menthol on demand, the capsules are Manchester Green Crush for a sharp menthol, Blue Crush for a softer mint, and Double Drive for berry alongside the mint. Non-menthol smokers can stop at the first two questions.

Are you switching from another brand? Manchester Red is the closest match to a Marlboro Red, slightly drier according to a long-term taste test, the most useful single comparison published on this range. Move to Manchester Royal Red if you want less dryness. Our guide to the Marlboro flavour range applies the same method to another brand.

Use the full flavour name when you search and when you order your smokes, whichever route you take.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Manchester has the strongest flavour?

Manchester Red has the strongest flavour, a dry, toasted and oaky tobacco taste, while Manchester Reserve has the densest smoke, with an earthy finish. Red leads on depth of flavour and Reserve on body in each draw. Red, Rich Red and Royal Red carry the same rating, so their flavour descriptions tell them apart.

Do Manchester Sapphire Blue Plain and Sapphire Blue White taste different?

No, Manchester Sapphire Blue Plain and Sapphire Blue White share one creamy, aromatic Sapphire profile, and no source we found separates them on flavour. Their printed figures match at 5 mg tar and 0.6 mg nicotine, so the two differ in the pack, not the flavour.

Does the Light in Manchester Light describe the cigarette?

No, Light is the variant name printed on the pack, not a description of the cigarette. The ACCC obtained undertakings from manufacturers in 2005 to stop using the word as a descriptor, because it misled buyers. Manchester Light itself is a mellow, unflavoured cigarette with a soft throat hit, and four other Manchester flavours carry the same rating but taste different.