Rattray Westminster Abbey

The grassy, citrusy, mildly dark fruity, earthy, woody Virginias are the lead component. The very nutty, earthy, woody, slightly spicy, moderately molasses sweet burleys compete with the sugary black cavendish for attention. The rich cream, caramel toppings sublimate the tobaccos quite a lot, but they don’t completely drown them out. No chemical or alcohol notes are present. The strength threshold is two steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste is just reaches the medium mark. The nic-hit is almost as potent as the strength level. Won’t bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a mostly consistent, creamy sweet flavor that also sports a touch of savoriness. The burley is responsible for that latter aspect. Leaves little moisture in the bowl and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Not quite an all day smoke, but it’s close enough that the veteran aromatic smoker may consider it to be one.

-JimInks

Rattray - Westminister Abbey. One for the lovers of sweet blends!

I was a little confused when I first cracked open the tin; ribbons? As well as the ribbons my tin has a few wholesome broken flakes included in the blend, there's one that's about 3x2 cm's in fact! I don't see this negatively though, I think it gives the blend some character.

There's no missing the caramel in the tins scent. This comes over with a formidable force! Again, that's not meant negatively; it about makes me want to eat it!

As the moisture's good I can fill and light immediately, straight away I can see how this could be a bit of a 'love it or hate it' blend. The smoke is very thick and exceedingly sweet; the sweetness, however, seems a little nebulous as to what it comes from; it could be honey, caramel, maple or molasses. Whichever it comes from it's still a remarkably sweet taste!

Heavy aromatics often cause me huge tongue bite, this on the other hand doesn't. The smoke is cool and comfortable right the way through the bowl.

As I said, this has a heavy topping; it pretty much eradicates any of the natural idiosyncrasies from the tobacco's....100% false!!

A love it or hate it blend? If that's the case I'm well in the 'love it' camp! This is perfect for when I have yearning for something really sweet.

I'll have to stand out from the crowd. Four stars!

Highly recommended.

The only thing wrong with this tobacco is that my wife does not like the smell, so what is the point of an aro if your wife doesn't like how it smells ?

Otherwise, it gets high marks. 1) It is has decent strength (this is coming from an English smoker). 2) It has a decent amount of real tobacco flavor, partially mixed with the added scents. 3) It is not goopy or PG laden like a bulk aro.

This is fairly robust, as has been noted, and is not a light bulk type soggy aro. I like just about everything about it. However, since my signficant other doesn't mind me smoking Dunhill London Mixture or SWRA in her presence I doubt I'll be smoking much of this alone in my smoking area, where I take the Nightcap, Royal Yacht and other such blends.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, however.

I did not care for this blend. The carmel flavoring was strong but pleasant when the pipe was first lit. But as the smoke continued the tobacco had an unpleasant flavor, burned very hot, and had a bite. I like Rattray very much, and I smoke Jockey's Mixture and 7 Reserve regularly. But this blend was a disappointment. On the container Rattray says "Westminster Abbey is far from being religious - this blend is truly a sin!". He got that right!

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An update: I emptied the container into a tobacco jar which was old - it doesn't really keep the tobacco moist, and if you have a wet tobacco it is a good means for slowly drying it. I let it dry for a couple of weeks. And following the advice of a previous commenter, I took care not to draw on the pipe as often as I normally would. This kept the tobacco from overheating the pipe, and cut way back on the bite. It was a fairly pleasant smoke, I'll probably be able to eventually work my way through the container, but wouldn't buy it again.

In the pouch (I received this as a 20 gram sample), this tobacco has an interesting aroma, hints of caramel, sure - but also a smell of fruity notes, which I assume is delivered by the tobacco, which would indicate that the flavouring is not there to mask the tobacco & should be somewhat muted and interplay with the tobacco without dominating it (this is not entirely the case).

The appearance of the tobacco is very pleasing to my eye, consisting of Bright Virginias, Dark Cavendish & Burley.

The mixture pack well, although some of the Cavendish is a bit clumpy so may need to be separated out before loading the pipe. Despite that characteristic within this tobacco, the moisture doesn't seem to be too high, and the tobacco is also not 'gloopy' in any way.

This blend burns well, with occasional sips it should need few - if any - relights.

The room note is quite delightful, full of the caramel top note that was scented in the pouch. It's smoke is fairly copious, so it can become a bit sickly if a whole bowlful is smoked in a small room.

The taste is not what I had expected from the pouch note. The tobacco only makes very fleeting appearances, and is dominated by the topping. The topping does have some caramel note to it (can't taste any cream, though). Unfortunately, however, the taste is rather synthetic & doesn't carry the promise of the pouch or room note up the pipe. I also suspect that they perhaps overused the Burley, which, whilst ensuring a good burn rate means that without a goodly measure of caution this can get devilishly hot & can also bite the tongue.

Overall, I'll give this two stars, it is an attractive tobacco with a good room note & burns well. It's also possible that some aromatic devotees will love it, but for me (not an aromatic expert/lover), it certainly isn't calling me back, and when this sample is finished, my one experience with this tobacco is likely to be my last - in other words, if you really like & know your aromatics, go ahead and buy some, it might be your thing, otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

A very fine aromatic blend from Rattray's.

It's not the cheapest out there, but if you enjoy quality aromatic tobaccos then you will enjoy this. If you don't then just stay well clear.

The scent from the tin is amazing. Not quite as good as Davidoff's Blue or Danish, but well worthy of comparison with Larson's best aromatics.

It is sweet, yes, but not sickly. I am two thirds into the tin and you can tell it's quality as it delivers the same soft sweet smoke every bowl. The scent is, as the previous reviewer noted, not altogether identifiable. I am not coinvinced I am tasting anything like caramel cream either, it's a little more floral than that, but not like the dreadful Samuel Gawith's nail polish blends.

This burns nicely oh, and very quickly, especially in a meerschaum, because lets face it, you aren't going to let your best briars anywhere near this.

If I can't get Larson's selection of aromatics then this is a fine subsititute, although not particualry unique. Definitely one for the aromatic afficionado.

This tobacco is to me what Mac Baren Vanilla Cream should have been: I find the latter good, but quite bland, while Westminster shares with its Rattray's cousins (Buckingham and Bagpiper's Dream) a solid tobacco base and has a discreet, elegant but obvious and pleasant topping. A good aromatic, recommended.

This is my least favorite of the Rattray’s aromatics I’ve tried so far. Upon first opening the tin, the aroma was that of movie theater popcorn. No caramel whatsoever. It was intriguing but not what I was expecting.

For me the flavoring is very mild, it’s just a very subtly sweet tobacco flavor. Only occasionally do I get a fleeting whiff of caramel, but it’s more of a suggestion of a flavor rather than overt caramel. I can see many people enjoying this as a mildly aromatic smoke, but those looking for a more intense experience might enjoy Rattray’s Buckingham better, though that one is still somewhat mild compared to others.

Burns well and I got no bite. Recommended to those seeking a mildly aromatic blend.

Not bad, but not excellent. Shaggy ribbon cut with a few flakes of Cavendish. Easy to light and burns well. Flavor is not as strong as the tin note, but several layers of caramel and vanilla do come through. Burns to fine dottle. Easy to like but not easy to love.

I just became sick of this one! Usually i am very excited about Rattray´s mixtures but Westminster Abbey was a fail for me! At first it was way to moist and didn´t burn properly whilst after drying out it became bitey as hell. There´s no tobacco taste in it, just the caramell. From the beginning to the end in every pipe. This will only appeal to hardcore caramell lovers! Otherwise stay away from the abbey!