Rattray Professional Mixture

(2.70)
A mixture of Virginia tobaccos of various types, combined with Black Cavendish and a pinch of Oriental and Latakia.

Details

Brand Rattray
Series British Collection
Blended By Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG
Manufactured By  
Blend Type English
Contents Black Cavendish, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 100 grams tin
Country Germany
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.70 / 4
9

8

8

5

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 30 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 07, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Very Pleasant
As special as they come, IMO, and a favorite of mine in the Rattray's line when it was made by McConnell's. I've not tried the K&K version. The Latakia is smoky, dark and rich, the Orientals play off in the background and properly enhance the Virginia leaf within. And then some delicious and backbone offering Black Cavendish to boost the overall presentation.

Pipestud

16 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 28, 2012 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
Based on a couple of ounces from a 100 gram tin, sampled over a 6 month period. As I was smoking, I recalled my days as a tobacconist many years ago and how I sold about 4 tins of it in 10 years. No one smoked this stuff back then, and it appears to be a bit of a forgotten blend in the Rattrays stable... deservedly so, I think.

The previous reviewer nailed this one for me. It doesn't assert itself in any way. The virginias are so-so and don't show off much sweetness or tang, the latakia is too sparse to do much and the orientals seemed... unkempt somehow. Dirty. Not sour-sweet or spicy. Just sort of a dirty taste. I thought the strength of the blend was fine but I put this one in the same category as 7 Reserve - it just doesn't bring much to the table. I grew up on Rattrays and they distinguished themselves in certain ways. This one does not. Recommended for all day smokers that just like to have a pipe in their mouth and don't worry too much about flavor or complexity. Reminded me of Dunhill Standard Mild. What's the point?
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 19, 2014 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
It has been a little while since I smoked Sutliff's Sunrse Smoke, but Professional Mixture remnded me of that. The orientals and latakia are there in the flavor profile. You notice them, but they are fairly subdued. It is a little more oriental forward, but they are both a light touch. The smoking experience is pleasant but a little "thin." There are a few Virginia notes there.

I can believe that some people might be looking for exactly this blend. It is a mild unflavored black cavendish with Balkan tendencies. It did not punch any of my buttons, but it is a quality smoke. It is more of a 2.5 for me.
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 26, 2006 Mild None Detected Medium Tolerable
Yep, there just aren't many blends like this one left anymore. I, for one, bemoan that fact. Rattray's Professional Mixture attempts and succeeds at making an English blend that is simple, cool, comforting, and can be smoked throughout the day. In fact, for we old hard-heads who actually keep our pipes in our mouths as opposed to waving them around in our hands like some sort of professorial prosthesis, a pipe of Professional Mixture can simply be left to sit in the corner of your mouth as you go about your day. Take an occasional bracing puff and you can expect to be satisfied with a medium-full combination of good Virginia, a modest and respectable amount of Latakia(I know that's hard for some of you to grasp), and all topped off with a combination of some of the best tasting Orientals I have yet encountered. The mixture never bites, burns well, and after a time of simple bliss in smoking, one is left with fine, white ash into which no effort had to go. Somehow, I think this is more what an English blend was meant to be. Only later did bounders and juveniles decree that an English blend is a dump for Latakia, serving only to taint and turn the smoker as well as everyone around.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 29, 2002 Medium None Detected Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
Appearance: A mostly light and medium mixture, with a small amount of dark leaf present. The cut is mixed ribbon and random pieces.

Aroma: Lots of Virginia base, with a moderate amount of Turkish and just a little Latakia The aroma seems to be primarily that of Virgnias, with a smaller amount of condiments.

Packing: Packs easily in most pipes, group 3 and up.

Lighting: Lights easily, this seems to be true of most Rattray Oriental blends today.

Initial flavor: The Va comes across first, but not too assertively. The Turkish adds just a bit of flavor soon after, and the Latakia stays far in the background..

Mid-bowl: A classic Mild English/Oriental blend. I would classify it as considerably milder than medium 3 or 3.5 on a scale of 10,), but a gentle beguiling flavor. No gurgles noted. The Va continues to be the key player, the Turkish and Latakia are smaller parts.

Finish: Well behaved right to the end, leaves a gray ash and nothing else.

Summary: Somewhat lighter than 7 Reserve, also slightly lighter than Dunhill Std. Mild. A very good first pipe, or an all-day smoke in warm and/or humid weather
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 17, 2017 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Rattray - Professional Mixture.

Coarse ribbons, mostly medium and light brown. A few specks of black, but that's about it. The moisture level is great, so on with the smoke:

Easy to light, then leading is a tangy, smoky flavour. It's mostly sour Orientals, with the smoky/woody Lat' being a secondary player. The Va gives a buoyancy; a delicate sweetness, but isn't headstrong. I get very little from the Cavendish, maybe some smoothness but not much more. A bowl burns very well, giving no tongue-bite.

Professional? A good smoke. Three stars:

Recommended.
Pipe Used: Many
PurchasedFrom: My Smoking Shop
Age When Smoked: New
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 06, 2010 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
I put off opening this tin for some time. I have wanted to put down as many reviews here as possible, and as a result ended up with too many open tins. Last weekend, I bought 24 jelly size Mason jars and "cellared" all of the tobaccos I hadn't finished. They make quite a decorative collection on the table, I can tell you. After this undertaking, I felt better about opening a new tin, and made sure to smoke three bowls before reviewing. I wanted to get my first impressions down, but will consider this review a work in progress, since I really need some time to get used to this tobacco.

First of all, I can see how anyone who bought this thinking it was going to be an English or even a light English blend might be disappointed. It is predominantly a Virginia, with Oriental, and a mere touch of Latakia. One must concentrate on the Latakia to even know it is there. I must say that after three bowls I can't see myself putting it in the category of my favorite Virginias, but it has a "certain...special...something" which makes me want to learn to appreciate it more.

I loved the smell in the tin; it has that plum and raisin Virginia sweetness, but it is definitely not an aged or stoved product. The first bowl gave me a MacBarenesque tongue bite on the first few puffs, even though I was only sipping. This went away, however, as I progressed. What developed was a pleasant though not at all complex smoke in which the undertones were much more important than the overtones, if you know what I mean.

For my second bowl, I used a smaller bowled pipe than that I had used for the first. I also added just a pinch of blending perique to try to control the bite. As before, I got bit on the first few puffs, but this completely disappeared soon after. Now, this is the kind of tongue bite I can handle! This second bowl, nevertheless, seemed to smoke too hot and was cashed in only twenty minutes. At the end of the bowl, there was some bitterness perhaps from the Oriental which took away from the customary end-of-the-smoke Virginia sweetness.

Not to be discouraged, I loaded up an even smaller bowled pipe, but one which I know to be long-smoking, with a tightly packed wad, this time not spiked with perique. I am starting to get the hang of this tobacco-it likes to be packed tightly, or at least that is my first impression. I got more depth of flavor this time, but still no real depth, only an enigmatic something which I have seldom tasted in my pipe smoking career, which I would like to further explore.

No rich overlappings of flavor here, nothing beyond the subtle dried-fruity notes of any quality Virginia. But smoked at a medium cadence, with care not to let the tobacco burn too fast (it has that tendency), it was very pleasant. I am not usually a nose-smoke-blower, but this blend seems to be good for that exercise. I will use this blend as my main tobacco for the week and record any additional revelations that occur to me. Then I will probably leave the tin alone for a couple months or more to see how it ages opened. I do not see myself giving it four stars unless it improves dramatically, but there is something in the taste and overall ambience of this blend that may develop for me over time.

1-11-10 A few days opened have already tamed the bite I was getting on the first few puffs. Really a nice mild Virginia. Figgy and sweet! The dark specks in the tin cannot all be Latakia; in fact I am wondering if there is more than 1-2% in here at this point! Maybe it's a darker Virginia. Doesn't bother me-this style of Virginia pleases me more without Latakia. I will update again when the opened tin has aged some more.

4-27-10 Three more months in the jar has really mellowed the blend. Had a big bowl this morning in a Marxman Jumbo. Only a few bowls left, and I have really enjoyed this tobacco.

6-7-10 Yes, I have enjoyed it, and am now finishing the tin. It will keep its three stars, but is not the sort of blend I would buy again unless I were to get a deal on it. Too finicky. (maybe it's just me!)
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 18, 2007 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
It is abundantly clear that most of the reviews for this blend were done by people who had no idea what this blend is about.

It is meant to be a mild Virginia blend, with the "suggestion" of orientals. It is indeed just that. It is cut in short ribbons, and packs very easily. It is fairly dry, so it burns well. The flavor profile is subtly toasty, tangy, with an almost imperceptible dose of Turkish and Latakia.

I suspect this blend was made for people who spent time around others while working in their profession, leaving the stronger scented mixtures for private enjoyment. (This of course back in the days when professionals were allowed to smoke their pipes while working...)

It makes for a fine first smoke in the morning, or perhaps a good choice for the aromatic smoker looking to try more natural style blends. The tobacco is top quality. It smoked quite cool and dry for me. I find it to be delicate and discreet, a good choice for hot weather, or when I don't want to end up smelling like I've been toiling over a barbecue pit!

If you seek a mild English blend, with a light, natural aroma, this will serve you well. If you want a rich, full, contemplative smoke, you will most certainly be disappointed.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 21, 2017 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
This was something of a surprise to me. Normally a latakiaphile, and never having enjoyed either Marlin or Hal o' the Wynd, I wondered how I would get on with a blend that is purported to be Virginia-heavy. For me, the proportions of virginias against cavendish and orientals (including latakia) combine to make a sweet and sufficiently complex mixture that is really satisfying. Similar to Accountant's Mixture, this could easily be an all day smoke.

I am starting to think that Rattray can do nothing wrong as long as they remember to add latakia. Slow and easy, tasty and something of a revelation. Highly recommended to those who want a gentle oriental blend with sweet virginias.
PurchasedFrom: Turmeaus, Chester
Age When Smoked: New tin
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 16, 2011 Mild Extremely Mild Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
Professional Mixture misses on a lot of levels for me. Professional Mixture seems to try to please too many tastes without mastering any of them. I agree with Claudius Stradivarius that PM is very similar to Accountant's also by Rattray. Professional Mixture is really a Virginia blend with a hint of Latakia. As an English blend it lacks Latakia. As a Virginia blend, the combination of Virginia's doesn't stand up to other Virginia blends on the market. As a Virginia/Oriental blend it lacks enough Oriental to win my heart. In the end it's just plain boring. It reminds me of Number 7 Reserve, another blend by Rattray that is also simply bland. I did have the chance to smoke a tin of the original Rattray Professional Mixture from Scotland recently. It was somewhat better and nice to see what the original blender had in mind when making this blend, keeping in mind that the age of the tin had changed the blend a bit. But in that case, while better, it didn't warrant the additional cost. I gave Professional Mixture two stars because it may be a nice entry level Virginia blend or an introductory very light English blend.
4 people found this review helpful.
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