I really enjoy your reviews, we get to see the tobacco, see stats about it, where to get it and how much etc. But the best thing, is that you understand that every tobacco affects people differently. if I'm looking for a tobacco review, I look for your reviews in particular!
Great review. I was pressured into trying Old Gowrie years ago by pipers who considered it the ideal Virginia, but my reactions were similar to yours. Regarding the harshness/mellowness distinction, I was suprised to learn that these have technical definitions in the tobacco trade, essentially relating to the pH level of the leaf. You can sense it blowing the smoke out the nose: a creamy pleasant note means mellowness, whereas any sting or grab on the nasal linings means harshness. According to that definition, your brother might be closer to the mark regarding Elizabethan, compared say to an extremely mellow Virginia like Dunhill Flake. One of the key reasons, apparently, why blenders treat leaf with sugar water is that it lowers the pH, making the smoke much mellower. Virginia already has a lot of natural sugar, which is I suppose why it's so highly prized in the tobacco world. Mark
Bartholomew Fotheringay-Phipps - And the high sugar content is also why Virginias tend to age so well. Good info, Mark! It's endlessly fascinating to me how the chemistry of the tobacco, mainly the pH, can react to your own chemistry, giving you an experience which could potentially be quite different from someone else's.
Thanks for your great library of reviews! A few bullet points: - "For Gentleman Only" now ommited from the tin label - My Sept '22 mfr tobacco is decidedly lighter in color than the one shown in this vid - Tin aroma was so bland I blended it immediately on opening: 80% OG and 20% HH ODF It's an outstanding smoke. Would buy it off the shelf.
Those virginia blends that tend to bite you like old Gowrie.. Try drying it out a little bit more than you would usually dry a virginia blend. That technique seems to work well for me.
I've been smoking and enjoying the Marlin flake, I've yet to try this blend. The description and review you gave makes me think this is right up my alley. Another great review. If there's ever a blend I'm on the fence about or looking for a good review on, your channel is the first place I go. 👍
I smoked one bowl of this blend a few months before and thought it's ok but not great. but I smoke it right now, and I love it! I don't like to get to the end of the bowl, I want to smoke it all day long now! Thanks for the review
Just came across your channel. Been watching the tobacco reviews. Really like the format, and your presentation. Not sure, yet, how current they are, but hope you're still producing more. Mike
A great review as always Bradley. Your videos are much enjoyed and much appreciated. They must take up a lot of your time. I've never tried Old Gowrie but am quite partial to Marlin Flake. I do hope that's on your "to smoke" list.
My tin of Old Gowrie arrived, and I have to say I really like it. Oatmeal and dried figs, yum! Not even a trace of tongue bite for me, fortunately. Inspires me to try Marlin Flake next...
Thanks for the review Bradley. I ordered some Old Gowrie last month but haven't cracked it open yet. I think I might age it a while. I have noticed that some of the Rattray's blends I have tried definitely have that cigarette smell you mentioned with the virginias. Hoping that goes away with some age as I despise cigarettes but rather enjoy a good virginia blend in the pipe. Thanks again.
Brennan Lemieux - Pretty much any Virginia blend will improve with age, so I don't think you'll regret letting it sit for a while. Thanks for watching!
Hey Bradley! love all your pipe reviews! honestly by far the most accurate videos on youtube and enjoyable to watch :) just subscribed to you! keep it up and all the best from Australia :)
Great review! Some blends like Mississippi River tend to bite me a lot, while others like MacBarren, Dunhill, or Peterson's don't bite me at all. I guess it's a P.H. thing. Anything with Perique tends to bite a lot. Keith
A tobacco and hair cut fit for a gentleman - I like both ;) I had the same experience with Old Gowrie in regards to tongue-bite; I got some when smoking it in a billiard however not in a bent pipe, for whatever reason.
Nice review, I will have to try this blend in the future, along with Marlin Flake. I do have a tin of HOTW and was pleased with my initial bowl. Virginia blends are smoking nice for me right now and will have to open a tin of EM tomorrow. Have you tasted McClelland's St. James Woods? I'm interested in what their Virginia blends have to offer and will order a tin soon enough. Cheers.
It's odd how tongue bite works with different people. I recently opened a tin of Chelsea Morning that bites me immediately if I'm not super careful with it. This is odd, because Chelsea Morning was the first pipe blend I tried that didn't bite me back when I first started smoking pipes. It turned me onto blends beyond the OTC brands. So my new tin of Chelsea Morning bites me, it is young. I'll let it age in the cellar, I'm sure it will be fine in a year or two. Young Virginia's bite me, always. Since learning this, I've found that it is worthwhile to learn the dating codes on tins of various manufacturers. I can smoke the worst biting Virgina tobaccos if they are at least 3 years old. However, if there is a lot of PG involved, they won't age. A PG soaked blend will need to be 50 years old (maybe exaggerated, maybe) before it will mellow out.
Would like to hear your opinion of rattray's red rapparee. I tried it this week for first time (I'm new to pipe smoking ((12months or so))) Have been smoking mostly Erinmore Flake and Orlik Golden Slice till this week .....wow what a flavour and taste sensation in comparison ....almost a "wake up call" to other tobaccos. Like your reviews ...Keep enjoying what you do! : -)
Good review. And based on what you said I'm going to stay away from this one . . . for a bit? Tongue bite turns my appreciation meter into the lower spectrum. I still haven't tried the Elizabethan Mixture yet and when I do I'll have better understanding.
Thomas Spearman - Don't be too put off by my review. I think I'm definitely in the minority as far as Old Gowrie and tongue bite. It might behave perfectly fine for you.
So Bradley , So found your channel because of fountain pens but know checking out pipes and tabacco .. Havent had a pipe in years what is for the lack of a better term " the perfect starter kit " ? And technical question what Mic are you using are you going Straight in camera or to a record? Big thanks
A Red Falcon - Perfect starter kit? That's a VERY subjective question! If you haven't already, you should check out my playlist "The Stuff&Things Guide to Pipe Smoking." That might have some of the info you're looking for. I use a Rode Smartlav+ to record audio. Since it's balanced for a smartphone headphone/mic jack, I use an adapter to allow it to work with a normal TRS input on my camera.
Nice review! I like Old Cowrie a lot but I like Marlin Flake more. For some reason I get much more flavor from Marlin Flake. Has been years since I smoked those blends, maybe time to crack the tin of Old Cowrie from 2005 that´s sitting in my closet! Have a Marlin Flake with roughly the same age too.
The bite could come from chemical balance. For me (for example) there is some disbalance in any of MacBaren tobacco and I was not able to find one that doesnt bite me. With some tobacco that I like the taste but it bites me (I already can distinguish that chemical bite) I usually go for my only pipe that can hold a charcoal filter. That usually take the bite off (and some flavor too, but it is still better to go without the bite)
Im still quite new to pipes. But is there any way to get that gross cigarette smell out of your pipe that you get when you arent smoking it? just the residual death smell? thanks.
Really toughtful review,wierd how differently we react to certain tobacco blends ,for example ;i cant stand the Irish Flake from Peterson ,i completley feel some kind of perfum -is initial taste and the Anais ...bleah so my choice is Stirling Flake from Ratrays ,dunno if you ever came acoss of it
Have 100 gms of this- so..... will it be 100 grams of bite? We shall see. Thanks for doing the review- a solid one as always. Perhaps this will be the one for me to get back to being alright with Perique again.
Colin Kelly - There's so little Perique that you probably won't even notice it, and the tongue bite seems to be a rarity for people with this blend. Give it a try!
Perhaps it`s a little harsh for you, becaus it is a german tobacco. So it`s mostly composed for filter- users, what we german smokers are indeed ;-) Greets, Fritz
As a pedantic note ; We 'limeys' pronounce the moniker Rattray as 'rat tray' (not as rat ray) as it has two 't's in the middle. Rattrays ready-rubbed pipe tobacco is never as good as the shag tobacco version. A common fault when both versions of a brand used to be on sale to the consumer. Happy smoking.
Smoke Signals - "Strength" is just the perception of the blend, not really in regards to flavor, but more in its "feel." Nicotine is simply the nicotine content. My favorite example is Dunhill "Nightcap." Most people who smoke it would call it a very "strong" blend, but its nicotine content isn't particularly high.
Stuff&Things So you're talking about fullness of mouth-feel? I thought I'd heard that NC is supposed to be pretty nic-heavy, but I haven't had any in a while. Thanks.
To some people, German Riesling is too acidic (or too sweet). To me, it's usually perfect. Each of us has different sensitivities, so your results may well vary.
How about reviewing hal'o the wynd ? Would be verry interested to see how you would compare it to dunhill navy rolls you love so much ;) I love your tobacco riviews videos :) Just an endless informations alibaba treasure cave :)
I just bought the tobacco a few day ago like in 100g since there no 50 g tin sad but after try the tobacco I could say it really worth it with the taste and texture but I felt like I am getting taught bite or I just the heavy taste of spiciness
Just came across your channel. Been watching the tobacco reviews. Really like the format, and your presentation. Not sure, yet, how current they are, but hope you're still producing more. Mike
I really enjoy your reviews, we get to see the tobacco, see stats about it, where to get it and how much etc. But the best thing, is that you understand that every tobacco affects people differently. if I'm looking for a tobacco review, I look for your reviews in particular!
The best pipe tobacco reviews!! I've grown to enjoy all of these well made reviews!
Cheers
Thanks for watching!
Great review. I was pressured into trying Old Gowrie years ago by pipers who considered it the ideal Virginia, but my reactions were similar to yours.
Regarding the harshness/mellowness distinction, I was suprised to learn that these have technical definitions in the tobacco trade, essentially relating to the pH level of the leaf. You can sense it blowing the smoke out the nose: a creamy pleasant note means mellowness, whereas any sting or grab on the nasal linings means harshness.
According to that definition, your brother might be closer to the mark regarding Elizabethan, compared say to an extremely mellow Virginia like Dunhill Flake. One of the key reasons, apparently, why blenders treat leaf with sugar water is that it lowers the pH, making the smoke much mellower. Virginia already has a lot of natural sugar, which is I suppose why it's so highly prized in the tobacco world. Mark
Bartholomew Fotheringay-Phipps - And the high sugar content is also why Virginias tend to age so well. Good info, Mark! It's endlessly fascinating to me how the chemistry of the tobacco, mainly the pH, can react to your own chemistry, giving you an experience which could potentially be quite different from someone else's.
Thanks for your great library of reviews!
A few bullet points:
- "For Gentleman Only" now ommited from the tin label
- My Sept '22 mfr tobacco is decidedly lighter in color than the one shown in this vid
- Tin aroma was so bland I blended it immediately on opening: 80% OG and 20% HH ODF
It's an outstanding smoke. Would buy it off the shelf.
Excellent review Bradley as always. Congrats I liked it so much. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for the informative review as always, Bradley. I'm looking forward to this blend arriving on my doorstep.
Three Pipe Problem - My pleasure! I hope you enjoy it.
Those virginia blends that tend to bite you like old Gowrie.. Try drying it out a little bit more than you would usually dry a virginia blend. That technique seems to work well for me.
Great review Bradley. I also enjoy this blend. As others have said, Marlin flake is just fantastic . I suggest a sampling at your leisure.
Joey Badabing - Thanks, man! I'm definitely planning on procuring and aging several of these Rattray Virginia blends.
I've been smoking and enjoying the Marlin flake, I've yet to try this blend. The description and review you gave makes me think this is right up my alley. Another great review.
If there's ever a blend I'm on the fence about or looking for a good review on, your channel is the first place I go. 👍
I think you'll enjoy it if you give it a try.
I love Old Gowie best out of the "Holy Trinity" blends. Good stuff.
I smoked one bowl of this blend a few months before and thought it's ok but not great. but I smoke it right now, and I love it! I don't like to get to the end of the bowl, I want to smoke it all day long now!
Thanks for the review
dear SIr, thank you for review, enjoy! I will try it as well.
Just came across your channel. Been watching the tobacco reviews. Really like the format, and your presentation. Not sure, yet, how current they are, but hope you're still producing more. Mike
We're still posting things regularly. Thanks for watching!
A great review as always Bradley. Your videos are much enjoyed and much appreciated. They must take up a lot of your time. I've never tried Old Gowrie but am quite partial to Marlin Flake. I do hope that's on your "to smoke" list.
Mike Morton - It is! Along with Hal O' the Wynd.Thanks for watching!
My tin of Old Gowrie arrived, and I have to say I really like it. Oatmeal and dried figs, yum! Not even a trace of tongue bite for me, fortunately. Inspires me to try Marlin Flake next...
Three Pipe Problem - I'm glad it's not biting you! My mouth just doesn't like it for some reason.
Great review my friend, I was just given some of this aged from 2004. I am looking forward to trying it out! Cheers - Tim
OREGON PIPER - That should be a treat with over ten years of age! You'll have to do a video on how it tastes.
Thanks for the review Bradley. I ordered some Old Gowrie last month but haven't cracked it open yet. I think I might age it a while. I have noticed that some of the Rattray's blends I have tried definitely have that cigarette smell you mentioned with the virginias. Hoping that goes away with some age as I despise cigarettes but rather enjoy a good virginia blend in the pipe. Thanks again.
Brennan Lemieux - Pretty much any Virginia blend will improve with age, so I don't think you'll regret letting it sit for a while. Thanks for watching!
Duly noted. Been watching for a while. I find your reviews quite useful! Thank you.
Nice review. I really like Rattray's British Collection. Hal O' The Wynd, Marlin Flake, and Black Mallory are some of my favourite tobaccos.
Willy R - All good blends!
Hey Bradley! love all your pipe reviews! honestly by far the most accurate videos on youtube and enjoyable to watch :) just subscribed to you! keep it up and all the best from Australia :)
snitchunter - Thanks a lot! I'm glad you're enjoying the channel.
gonna try this thanks, only 100gm available in my country:(
Great review!! This makes me want to grab a tin to put away for a few years.
Caps Piper - Glad you liked it, and thanks for watching!
I found it a bit harsh too. I like how it says on the tin 'for gentlemen only'. Wonder what would happen if a lady tried it :)
Aha! Another person that finds Elizabethan Mixture a bit too harsh. A fine palate your brother has...
Thanks for the review, Bradley!
Have a tin from '99 unopened and a few other Rattrays. Can't find it in stock these days
Great review, I have some Hal O the Wynd and its pretty good as well, I think Rattray's has a pretty good line of tobacco, have a good one Bradley
James Fontalbert - It is tasty stuff, just tends to bite me a little. I'm sure I'll review more Rattray blends in the future.
Great review. I thought the tin note was like baked apples. Which is quite delicious.
lunchie83 - Thanks for watching!
Love the videos you do... Keep em' lit
MrJacob1981 - Thanks! Glad to have you watching.
Would you like to trade tobacco some time?
I appreciate the thought, but I just get too many trading requests to follow through on them right now.
Thanks for watching!
OG ages beautifully. I opened a 4 year old tin in the summer outside and had bees and flys swarm me thats how sweet it gets.
Yeah! Once i had some rest of OG and Grousemoor, so I mixed them to fill my pipe and that was the sweeeeetest smoke I ever had!
Great review! Some blends like Mississippi River tend to bite me a lot, while others like MacBarren, Dunhill, or Peterson's don't bite me at all. I guess it's a P.H. thing.
Anything with Perique tends to bite a lot.
Keith
squidfisher99 - Everybody is different! Thanks for watching!
Good review. Would you consider reviewing some blends by Kramer's? Namely A blend for Danny Kaye.
A tobacco and hair cut fit for a gentleman - I like both ;) I had the same experience with Old Gowrie in regards to tongue-bite; I got some when smoking it in a billiard however not in a bent pipe, for whatever reason.
***** - Interesting. I think I've smoked this in both, but I honestly can't remember if there were different outcomes.Thanks for watching, man!
greAt video thanks vvery much
Nice review, I will have to try this blend in the future, along with Marlin Flake. I do have a tin of HOTW and was pleased with my initial bowl. Virginia blends are smoking nice for me right now and will have to open a tin of EM tomorrow.
Have you tasted McClelland's St. James Woods? I'm interested in what their Virginia blends have to offer and will order a tin soon enough.
Cheers.
Briar Thorn - I'm always a fan of Virginias (especially with Perique), but this time of year, I'm even more likely to smoke them. Just seems to fit.
Great review
+Kurt1600www - Thanks!
Is this like Orlik Golden Slice? Or is the Orlik more sweet in the taste? And funny about the Dunhill and your brother, same thing here.
Haddock60 - The tastes are not very similar.
Hello. Could you recommend me any Aromatic blend? Perharps, talking about Rattray's, the Bagpiper's dream? Thanks. Cheers.
+VICTOR CARBONELL AGUILAR - Sorry, I don't smoke any aromatics, so I can't really recommend any to you.
It's odd how tongue bite works with different people. I recently opened a tin of Chelsea Morning that bites me immediately if I'm not super careful with it. This is odd, because Chelsea Morning was the first pipe blend I tried that didn't bite me back when I first started smoking pipes. It turned me onto blends beyond the OTC brands. So my new tin of Chelsea Morning bites me, it is young. I'll let it age in the cellar, I'm sure it will be fine in a year or two. Young Virginia's bite me, always. Since learning this, I've found that it is worthwhile to learn the dating codes on tins of various manufacturers. I can smoke the worst biting Virgina tobaccos if they are at least 3 years old. However, if there is a lot of PG involved, they won't age. A PG soaked blend will need to be 50 years old (maybe exaggerated, maybe) before it will mellow out.
Would like to hear your opinion of rattray's red rapparee. I tried it this week for first time (I'm new to pipe smoking ((12months or so))) Have been smoking mostly Erinmore Flake and Orlik Golden Slice till this week .....wow what a flavour and taste sensation in comparison ....almost a "wake up call" to other tobaccos. Like your reviews ...Keep enjoying what you do! : -)
It's definitely on my list.
I thought for sure this would replace elizabethan for you. I love this stuff and telegraph hill for vapers now that mcclellands is gone
Great review....i have some of this aging
Big Al The Crusher - I'm going to put some away too. It should age quite well.
Good review. And based on what you said I'm going to stay away from this one . . . for a bit? Tongue bite turns my appreciation meter into the lower spectrum. I still haven't tried the Elizabethan Mixture yet and when I do I'll have better understanding.
Thomas Spearman - Don't be too put off by my review. I think I'm definitely in the minority as far as Old Gowrie and tongue bite. It might behave perfectly fine for you.
So Bradley , So found your channel because of fountain pens but know checking out pipes and tabacco .. Havent had a pipe in years what is for the lack of a better term " the perfect starter kit " ? And technical question what Mic are you using are you going Straight in camera or to a record? Big thanks
A Red Falcon - Perfect starter kit? That's a VERY subjective question! If you haven't already, you should check out my playlist "The Stuff&Things Guide to Pipe Smoking." That might have some of the info you're looking for. I use a Rode Smartlav+ to record audio. Since it's balanced for a smartphone headphone/mic jack, I use an adapter to allow it to work with a normal TRS input on my camera.
Stuff&Things thanks for your time and Audio tip ..
Nice review! I like Old Cowrie a lot but I like Marlin Flake more. For some reason I get much more flavor from Marlin Flake. Has been years since I smoked those blends, maybe time to crack the tin of Old Cowrie from 2005 that´s sitting in my closet! Have a Marlin Flake with roughly the same age too.
TinFoilHatPipeDude - Ten years of age! I'm sure they're going to taste amazing.
What about revisiting this one ?
A fave. But off the market now, here in the UK, anyhow!
By the way, have you had the chance to try the new Dunhill My Mixture BB1938 yet?
Willy R - Not yet! It isn't available from my supplier yet.
The bite could come from chemical balance. For me (for example) there is some disbalance in any of MacBaren tobacco and I was not able to find one that doesnt bite me. With some tobacco that I like the taste but it bites me (I already can distinguish that chemical bite) I usually go for my only pipe that can hold a charcoal filter. That usually take the bite off (and some flavor too, but it is still better to go without the bite)
Im still quite new to pipes. But is there any way to get that gross cigarette smell out of your pipe that you get when you arent smoking it? just the residual death smell? thanks.
I've only had old gowrie.. is hal o' the wynd much different?
Great review. Virginias tend toward biting me too........
Really toughtful review,wierd how differently we react to certain tobacco blends ,for example ;i cant stand the Irish Flake from Peterson ,i completley feel some kind of perfum -is initial taste and the Anais ...bleah so my choice is Stirling Flake from Ratrays ,dunno if you ever came acoss of it
use to love this t but it is now unavailable in the uk
Hey Bradley who does the opening song in your reviews? Keep up the good work!
Adam Koenig - That's one of my songs, performed with a band I was once in. Nope. You've never heard of us!
Cool! Can we buy the recording?
Sorry!
Can you review Rattrays Westminster
Is this blend similar to Orlick GS ?
Have 100 gms of this- so..... will it be 100 grams of bite? We shall see. Thanks for doing the review- a solid one as always. Perhaps this will be the one for me to get back to being alright with Perique again.
Colin Kelly - There's so little Perique that you probably won't even notice it, and the tongue bite seems to be a rarity for people with this blend. Give it a try!
Will do
Accidentally inhaled a perique-heavy blend once. Will NEVER make that mistake again.
Perhaps it`s a little harsh for you, becaus it is a german tobacco. So it`s mostly composed for filter- users, what we german smokers are indeed ;-)
Greets, Fritz
Fritze Fratze - That's definitely possible. We tend not to use filters very much here.
Thanks for watching!
As a pedantic note ; We 'limeys' pronounce the moniker Rattray as 'rat tray' (not as rat ray) as it has two 't's in the middle. Rattrays ready-rubbed pipe tobacco is never as good as the shag tobacco version. A common fault when both versions of a brand used to be on sale to the consumer.
Happy smoking.
Theban Ned Greenman - Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the wealth of information in your videos . It is greatly appreciated.
My pleasure!
What is the difference between strength and nicotine?
Smoke Signals - "Strength" is just the perception of the blend, not really in regards to flavor, but more in its "feel." Nicotine is simply the nicotine content. My favorite example is Dunhill "Nightcap." Most people who smoke it would call it a very "strong" blend, but its nicotine content isn't particularly high.
Stuff&Things So you're talking about fullness of mouth-feel? I thought I'd heard that NC is supposed to be pretty nic-heavy, but I haven't had any in a while. Thanks.
It's all a bit subjective I guess. Thanks for watching!
To some people, German Riesling is too acidic (or too sweet). To me, it's usually perfect. Each of us has different sensitivities, so your results may well vary.
Very true!
"Rat-trey".. there's two T's in there!
How about reviewing hal'o the wynd ? Would be verry interested to see how you would compare it to dunhill navy rolls you love so much ;)
I love your tobacco riviews videos :)
Just an endless informations alibaba treasure cave :)
Hello from Germany.
It is pronounced: cool huh se oond kopp (cop)
Greetings
Thomas
+Grizzly MausBear - I appreciate the pronunciation information!
+Stuff&Things Your welcome. And of cause it's coal huh se. The Auto-correction striked one more time. Sorry.
Ah. Okay. Thanks!
I just bought the tobacco a few day ago like in 100g since there no 50 g tin sad but after try the tobacco I could say it really worth it with the taste and texture but I felt like I am getting taught bite or I just the heavy taste of spiciness
tongue*
Old Gowrie can bite a little bit.
still I kind of enjoy the tobacco even if I got the tongue bite great review as trustable as Alway
I don't understand how you can just start smoking a bowl halfway through, it always tastes awful when I relight a cold bowl
2019 theyre still out of stock
Thanks for the review, Old Gowrie is my go to. However, it is pronounced "ruh TREY's."
Just came across your channel. Been watching the tobacco reviews. Really like the format, and your presentation. Not sure, yet, how current they are, but hope you're still producing more. Mike