The virginia and oriental interplay here is really well done and the result is true harmony. Nothing is overdone. If you concentrate, you can pick out the different leaves as the bowl progresses. But nothing hits you in the head and screams at you. I tend to like that in this blend.

For me, a little drying time has always been necessary to avoid a hot steamy smoke. My tins have always had a good seal and the factory moisture has always been intact. A good all day smoke if you are into the lighter side of tobacco. A nice occasional smoke for me.

Red Rapparee has a propensity to be moderately harsh, with a fine bite, so it must be smoked with thoughtfulness. I had to re-hydrate my tin, and it smoked significantly better afterwards.

Highly recommended.

A companion infusion: pints of Bass Black and Tan.

...tastes a little soapy, moldy, oily, smoky. Almost like an old sweaty sock.

I guess i had to get used to the latakia in this blend. (on the backside of the tin, it says that it has a good amount of zypriotic latakia in it) is the latakia causing this soapy taste? But to my surprise i find myself smoking this blend all the time. There's something to it. It's very smooth, burns excellent, and once in a while a hint of cigar-flavour comes through, backed up with a subtle sweetness. Still, i don't know what to think about this soapy, smoky, oily taste, which comes through once in a while. I guess this is why some pipe-smokers do not like blends with latakia in it. Nonetheless a great blend. This tobacco tastes like a fancy oriental bazar. Meaning, that it's very flavourful...your taste buds wont be bored, that's for sure.

As received, RR was a little too moist and had to be dried out in the tin with the lid off for 4-5 days to pack and smoke properly.

The cut is easy to pack and light and after 1 false light, stays lit and burns all the way down without fuss leaving a nice dark, dry ash. Smokes cool and without bite. Leaves no bad after taste in the pipe or on the tongue. Taste, while unexciting, is a very pleasant, ongoing compromise between Virginia and Latakia without either one attempting to dominate. One thing I really like is that the Latakia is not overpowering.

While I can't call RR one of my favorites, I certainly will keep it around and order more when depleted. It is a very friendly smoke and I can't find anything to hold against it. A good, solid, pleasant smoke any time of the day or night.

You know what to expect in terms of flavor, but you don't know when the shifts will occur. It lights up very sweet in a corn cob pipe. The light up flavors are not too harsh and are a joy in and of themselves. I never realized how good this tobacco actually was until I smoked it out of a fresh corn cob. It's not so heavy and some may consider it predictable, but it has a very nice interplay of flavors. Flavors intensify at the bottom of the bowl, but it burns consistently to the end.

It pleases me to know that this tobacco has kept well in its tin for about 3 years. It's a tad dry but in a lot of ways just perfect. A beautiful tobacco to look at (reds & blacks), and I have nearly a whole 100g tin left to enjoy.

Packs and lits very easy. It surprised me with its balance. When I thought that I'm having a natural sweet smoke, the orientals took the main appearance offering a delightful spicy experience. I could swear that the blend has also a pinch of perique. But no, it doesn't. It offers a strong finish so that I prefered little bowls for this blend. Even with those little bowls, I've enjoyed this tobacco more than an hour smoking experiences.

I can't smoke the English blends every day, any time. Once a week maybe, after a good dinner, I enjoyed this blend a lot. I will surely buy more when I will have enough appetite to smoke some good English Mixture.

There is some Balkan like creamyness to it. The sweetness and spicyness is pleasant and natural. I can taste the cigar leaf which adds to the flavor. It's a full bodied tobacco with a good dose of nicotene. We ain't suckin air here.

Its a winner!

The sweetness on the Red Virginias combine so flawlwssly with the smoky orientals. This is an unsung hero of the Finest English blends!

Months passed and I found myself with a dozen-odd half empty tobaccos tins. Thrift demanded that I finish at least some of the half-full tins to justify my next internet order. And so I picked the Red Rapparee tin -- it had the most tobacco left -- and selected a pipe. I filled a large-bowled pipe to combat the expected flatness, a silver-spigot billiard, and sat down at my computer.

The months-old Red Rapparee produced some of the best smokes I have enjoyed. I don't know how the transformation from flat to great worked: more oxygen, a larger bowl (others have noted the tobaccos' sensitivity to pipes), or a bizarre change in my preferences. What I do know is that Red Rapparee is a wonderful light-medium Balkan. I found a somewhat sweet and tangy Virginia base countered by smooth orientals; the latakia was a light condiment which augmented the whole smoke with a leathery richness. Red Rapparee is perfectly blended. Every time I smoked this I was completely absorbed by the flavor and nicotine. This has more nicotine than many similar blends.

If a blender charges a lot for blend I expect a lot. I'm quite stingy with stars. I strongly recommend this to any reader: I hope someone might enjoy this as much as I.

Red Rapparee is a good, complex tobacco. A rarity, it stays interesting throughout the bowl. But for my preferences, it lacks the richness and full-body of SMM that I crave. Reducing the Orientals, and upping the Virginias & Latakia would be more in line with my preferences. If the German translation indicating Cavandish is correct, this would also account for the lack of body.

Tin moisture is perfect (moist), burns well, too well actually, quite fast as a matter of fact.

RAPPAREE, n., An Irish pikeman or irregular soldier ? . Hence: an Irish bandit, robber, or freebooter. "We have been alarmed with a report that a great body of rapparees is up in the county of Kilkenny."

(The Red Rapparee himself is a character in a 19th. c. novel, Willy Reilly).

The reason I review it, however, is to give a word of warning. More than any other blend I've tried, RRR varies from pipe to pipe. In a biggish half-bent Dublin it's amazing (I guess it likes Ireland); in a smallish straight billiard (a nice one, too) it's terrible, hot and bland. In short, if you're trying it for the first time, you might give a it a shot in a big bowl.

The only real thing to add is the cellaring aspect. I now buy this in bulk but I've also cellared a couple of tins that have been simmering for several years. It ages like the masterpiece it is. A few years on this blend takes it to the ambrosial level where if you were only a latakia/oriental smoker, you'd need look no further.

The House of Rattray created the perfect oriental blend and KK&C continue that fine tradition. Four stars is not nearly enough.

The first thing I noticed was the quality and natural sweetness of this blend. The smoke is bright, smooth and bursting with flavour. You can tell from the first sniff of the tin that this smoke is going to be something special, and all the way from the charring light to the dottle, it does not disappoint. There are many different flavours in here, which seem both to sing out as individuals, yet work together as a team. The Latakia is definitely used as a condiment, a spice. It is mild and yet noticeable. I might describe this tobacco as "spicy" in the same way that cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice are spices without being hot. The smoke has a very fine bite, which seems to serve almost as pepper on a meal - to awaken the pallet to the rest of the flavour.

The description mentions a fine cigar, and I know what it means. Especially during the first half of the bowl there is a hint of something resembling the finest Cuban cigar. Not overpowering, little more than a suggestion, and perhaps only in the sidestream smoke.

Sweet, aromatic, dynamic and captivating. This is not just a tobacco, it is a dance. It is a symphony. In terms of 'mixtures', this is the grail.

I did get two tins of this on separate occasions, the other tin is approaching its third year in the cellar, perhaps I'll return to it in a few years and change my rating, if needed. In either case, it shouldn't be necessary to age your tin for years at end for them to become good. But for now I rate it 2/4.

So I bought two tins of 50 gr in order to be sure. Virginia, Oriental and 100% a very distinctive dose of Latakia which offers an extra sweet flavor in the mixture. It fills in, the bowl easily, it turns on difficult, it burns very slowly, dry till the end. Nice, very nice I would say.

But it didn?t give me this extra feel in order to place him among my top smokes or at least among those that I will definitely buy again. Of course I have one more tin which when I will smoke it too, I may change my mind. The perfume around, very neutral.

According to the blender (Kohlhase & Kopp) of the tin on which this review is based, Red Rapparee is:

"A classic blend of spicy latakia, distinctive cuts of virginia, dark cavendish, and a healthy dose of orientals" (Klassischer Blend aus würzigem Latakia, unterschiedlich geschnittenen Virginatabaken, dunklem Cavendish und einem deutlichen Anteil Orient).

Quite wet in the tin (recent production), but dries quickly due to the fine cut. Packs and lights like a dream, immediately revealing a spicy top note which persists alongside a range of tangy, almost sour, flavors which meld nicely with the bright tasting virginias. Although it does make its presence known from time to time, the latakia clearly plays second fiddle here. The cavendish does seem to add some texture to the blend, but not much else.

Red Rapparee is, by my estimation, a fine oriental blend which deserves careful and measured consideration. It does have a tendency to bite, although this perhaps due to the youth of this particular sample. Should improve with age.

tip; if your like me and not a fan of the tin aroma, leave it out in the open for a few hours, cuts the smell in half.

I write this, my first, review as a long term (25+ years) pipe smoker, usually savouring blends with at least some latikia in them. I regularly try new blends and when a parcel of Red Rapparee arrived the other morning I selected a suitable pipe (an old GBD Rhodesian which I regularly smoke latikia-heavy blends in), gave it a good clean and opened the tin. The nose was nothing out of the ordinary (a bit like Dunhill 965), so I loaded and lit up, and sat down to work on a book chapter I was writing(being an academic by trade), expecting nothing out of the ordinary. I was wrong.

The complexity of Red Rapparee snuck up on me and, though absorbed in my work, it became apparent that the flavour was changing perceptably over time, going through at least three 'evolutions' from the top to bottom of the bowl. I stopped writing and just smoked... The flavour was ultimately very complex, 'oak smoked' and satisfying. I certainly tasted the pleasing salty/sour overtones which another reviewer noted. Straight from the tin it burned fully to ash. I can really not ask for anything more. My only fear is that it will 1) distract me from my work, and 2) make me sideline indefinitely my (still loved) tins of 965 and Squadron Leader!

My all time favorite tobacco (wait, did I say that about MM965?). For the English/Oriental lover. Has teensie bit of latakia (if any at all), but full of great Orientals. The delish VAs create sweet, woodsy overtones, balancing with the spicy/smokey aroma from the Orient.

Smokes/packs great, hardly a re-light needed. Smoke starts out amazing but gets even better and complex (stronger with darker and salty/sour overtones)towards mid-bowl and bottom.

Recommend letting a fresh can "breath" (unseal and cover with plastic lid) for a few days, although not absolutely necessary, however I find it somehow brings out the flavors/aroma. Has satisfying amount of nicotine, in the mid range. Could smoke this stuff all day long, regardless of season. Where is that desert island? I have found the tobacco!

Red Rapparee powerfully reminds me why I gave up smoking cigars.

Rating: 97

-- Robert, "Mr Grabow", Bonsall Calif.

Packing & Lighting: Easy to pack, gravity feed with tapping, then compress the top. Lightly moist, but the tobacco is easily rolled into a ball, but is not sticky. RRR requires no drying time. Lights easily and stays lit. No moisture problems at all; afterwards, when cleaning the pipe, there is only a little condensate left in the stem, none in the bowl. As an aside, if you were concerned about the tin description advertising, I wouldn't associate this good pipe tobacco with any aspect of a cigar.

Taste: Part of the way through the bowl, I was reminded of Dunhill 965, having a smooth quality akin to the cavendish in 965. I would say this is better than a comparable McClelland; not rough, sharp or harsh, retaining a spicy tang element as one signature component.

A quality tobacco that begs to be repeatedly tasted in short, rapid puffs. This elicits the qualities of a fine tobacco: soft balance of a cavendish, creamy, velvety, gentle sweetness, vaguely smoky.

In the starting blocks, it displays the prospects of a sharp, tangy VA, but soon settles into a splendid, multi-faceted experience: cool, dry, and clean. After getting past the tang at the top of the bowl, RRR has me constantly trying to savor the taste: vaguely sweet, musty, smoky.

Aroma: a soft, medium-strength tobacco, not pungent at all, vaguely musty, with perhaps a chocolate complexion. Nothing pungent, harsh, or strong about it, I would list it as mild to medium in all aspects, the epitome of ephemeral and eternal.

Having just finished a tin of McCranie's Red Ribbon, I'll compare it to Rattray's Red Ribbon. RRR has red ribbon, but the tin aroma is where the similarity stops. Past the top of the bowl, RRR has none of the tang and sharpness of MRR. RRR is a soft, mellow, sweet, musty, elusively smoky, piping experience. It burns clean and the bowl only gets hot right at the finish.

Nicotine: Medium, but not persistent. The quality of RRR is on par with Dunhill SM Medium or 965, except that RRR does not give the nicotine fix SMM is capable of.

Room Note: The nice soft scent of sandalwood, diminishing exponentially at bowl's end.

Packing & Lighting: Easy to pack, gravity feed with tapping, then compress the top. Lightly moist, but the tobacco is easily rolled into a ball, but is not sticky. Lights easily and stays lit. No moisture problems at all; afterwards, when cleaning the pipe, there is only a little condensate left in the bowl. Taste: Part of the way through the bowl, I was reminded of Dunhill 965, having a smooth quality akin to the cavendish in 965. I would say this is better than a comparable McClelland; not sharp or harsh, retaining a spicy tang element as one signature component.

A quality tobacco that begs to be repeatedly tasted in short, rapid puffs. This elicits the qualities of a fine tobacco: soft balance of a cavendish, creamy, velvety, gentle sweetness, vaguely smoky.

As an aside, if you are concerned about the tin description advertising, I wouldn't associate this good pipe tobacco to any aspect of a cigar.

In the starting blocks, it displays the prospects of a sharp, tangy VA, but soon settles into a splendid, multi-faceted experience: cool, dry, and clean.

Aroma: a soft, medium-strength tobacco, not at all, vaguely musty, with perhaps a chocolate complexion. Nothing pungent, harsh, or strong about it, I would list it as mild to medium in all aspects, the epitome of ephemeral and eternal.

This is an update- I read reviews on 7 Reserve Medium and as you will note RR has the same constituents as 7 Reserve but 7 Reserve is blended for the all day smoker. I have tried 7 Reserve in the past but although agreeable and mild mannered it lacked something- the solution- blend it 60% 7 Reserve 40% RR. Perfect an all day smoke with a little more oomph. With regard to tongue bite, yes it can bite a bit if smoked thoughtlessly but given due respect I noted no bite, also good room note and decent outdoor performance- very highly recommended

If, on the other hand, you prefer a long, slow, leisurely smoke that's not going to kick you in the seat of your pants, then this stuff is so NOT for you.

Good flavour -- fruity at the top, malty and sweet at the bottom. But the burn characteristics and the strengths make this a one-star tobacco for me.

I am surprised to read reviewers' complaints about this blend's pungency and rough edges. I started smoking mine right out of the tin, and I find it quite smooth and mellow. I like it during the day when I'm in the mood for something a little different from my usual regimen of virginia flakes, or at night when my addled taste buds aren't quite up for going nine rounds with Penzance. All in all, a nice, solid smoke. Right now I can see myself trying out something different when my RRR runs out, but I will probably miss it badly when it's gone.

as i'm getting more into orientals/balkans/englishes, new wonderful vistas open. for me, red rapparee has been a revelation.

tin aroma: matured, fermented virginia, earthy fragrant orientals and probably the faintest whiff of latakia.(edit: quite a bit of latakia, i now believe)

perfect moisture level, easy to light. and the taste/aroma! this is splendid! sweet and tangy virginia, spicy orientals that really sing, and again perhaps a smidgen latakia. lots and lots of nuances weaving in and out. burns steadily to a dry ash without any problems. i don't see it as more than medium strength, though.

i love hal o' the wynd, and i believe it's the basis of this one - but the whole is a lot more than just it's components. true tobacco synergy.

i never tasted it in it's perth days, and only vaguely remember it from one macconnell era tin long ago. neither have i, as paddy, tried a vintage tin. but, i believe that this version of red rapparee may be splendid for aging as well as for immediate smoking.

It tastes like top quality Virginia-Oriental-Latakia, although they say it has none of the latter (Update: the more I smoke it, the less I believe it).

The DGT is delightful, and shows how outstanding the Virginias in this blend are. Even in the background, they are mainly what makes this tobacco so remarkable.

Definitely among the top five English mixtures, along with Penzance and My Mixture 965.

Update Feb. 2007 One month later and I've been smoking this regularly. I enjoy it much more after experiemnting with the right moisture. I think it is Rattray's current best offering. The virginia's in this tobacco do have a rich and sweet taste and smell nice while burning. It's style truly is a Virginia/Oriental. However, Red Raparee is a much more Scottish/English character than other virginia/oriental mixtures such GL Pease Caravan or McLleland's Virginia NO. 24. These are not even close to Red Raparee

I smoke this tobacco because it makes me think of Scotland, and because it is unique and delicious!

On a warm evening a pipe of Red Rapparee and an ice cold Pilsener or hop-laden India Pale Ale make a fantastic combination.

Loading Red Raparee is easy; light up is likewise very easy due to the cut. I gently tamp throughout the smoke. An Oriental for me has tartness. Other Oriental blends that I smoke have a mild or less noticeable tartness with the Virginia playing more of a role in the blend. This blend is tart unlike the others, the percentage of Oriental is either higher or the leaf is exceptional in this respect. Some smokers may think that Raparee is giving them a sharp bite and I would imagine that not everyone would enjoy this tobacco. After lightup and a few minutes of gentle puffing, this blend settles down. For me the Orientals are the main player, quite powerful, and stay in the spotlight until nearly the end of the smoke when the Virginia kicks in a little for a wonderful finish. I personally do not get a big hit of nicotine from this blend. This blend produces what my wife calls a neutral room aroma compared to some of the other blends that I smoke. In my experience Red Raparee burns down to a fine powdery light gray ash. Recommended for those smokers who enjoy a predominately Oriental smoke.

I don't know if the reviewers who pan this got a bad batch or what, but I can't imagine giving this less than 3 stars.

I haven't smoked enough of this to notice many of the subtleties mentioned by other reviewers, but I have smoked enough to know I need to cellar some of this stuff, for years to come.

The Cut info should probably be updated. I have only seen RR cut in ribbon. Maybe it is available as a broken flake elsewhere?

Coming back to it after several years I can attribute the gap only to an insufficiently sensitive palate thirty years ago! This is a splendid concoction that teases and tickles rather than promote repose. I taste the red virginias first and then the ensemble begins to develop into a multi-faceted taste and flavour experience. Kaleidoscopic.

Meerschaum Man Smoking a circa '42 Koncak Rhodesian Meer

The flavour is dominated by the orientals, savoury, spiced and delicious. A hint of sweetness is provided by the virginias and there seems to be an elusive smokiness somewhere in the background. It has been suggested that this blend contains no Latakia, but I suspect there may be some fired leaf in there. In any case, this is not like miost of the Latakia dominated English blends, the stronged characteristic is the orientals.

The aroma, too is rather different to most English mixtures, very pungent but without the campfire smell. Rather pleasant I think, there are probably those who would disagree.

Personally I like to smoke this stuff quite moist. There was a time when I carefully dried all my English mixtures, as it made the Latakia taste stand out. Orientals definitely work better a little moist, so don't risk loosing this blends seductive complexity drying it out- If you have trouble keeping it lit, just light it again, it doesnt suffer for it.

Highly recommended. To everybody.

Update: With more piping experience and a caveat, I am upgrading my rating to four stars. It is still too strong in flavor for frequent use but as a first or second pipe of the day it is a wonderfull tobacco blend. It is also much better to smoke it very slowly and just barely keep it lit. (10-07-2005)

This always seems to work best in a Savinelli 611 KS, Blast or Roma; it's equal parts London Mixture and Escudo. Smoke this for the exquisite flavor and the smoke that curls out both the bowl and the bit.

This holds up beside Balkan Sobranie - one of the greats.

Great blend. Higest marks.

The only problem I noticed with this blend is its moisture content. For my first bowl, I made the mistake of not allowing a bowl's worth to dry before loading up. I had problems keeping the tobacco lit and there was a lot of gurgling in the pipe. Subsequent bowls were allowed to dry a bit before smoking, and this alleviated that problem all around.

Full-flavoured, but not so high in nicotine as to make the smoker feel queasy. A worthy tobacco recommendation.

ADDENDUM, 01/16/2005: I have smoked quite a bit of this tobacco since the review above was written. If anything, I appreciate the fine qualities of this mixture more and more with each additional pipefull. Excellent stuff!

This will become one of my personal top 5. The play of the V/L/O together is amazing. Toasty, spicy, creamy, meaty; like a good lamb curry. NOV04

I really like the tanginess of the orientals in this one. I smoke it in the car on my way home from work. It is a nice way to pass the hour drive.

November 2004

Appearance and tin aroma: Medium cut ribbon, lotsa light leaf, a smidgin of dark latakia. Smells delightfully oriental.

Packing and Lighting: easy, moisture was perfect out of tin, although I like to let the tin degas thoroughly before smoking.

Initial Flavor: Surprise! I was warned that this was a heady blend, but it is a delightful medium oriental blend.

Mid-Bowl: Nice, round mellow flavor. The orientals in this are delicious.

Bottom of Bowl: A slight build up in strength, occaisonal sweet notes pop in and out. Ash is grey and dry.

Overall: This is a nice change of pace blend for me. I much prefer it over Black Mallory due to that blend being boring IMO. This blend was not as rich and strong as many of my fellow pipesters warned me about, but is a complex, mid-strength blend.I had no poblem with tongue bite with this one. It may be due to the fact that my tin had a few years on it.I will be sure to keep a few tins in the cellar for those times a want a nice oriental blend.

Rating: 4 out 5 points.

I purchased this blend believing that it would be more heavily influenced by its Latakia component, and although I am a big Latakia fan I was not at all disappointed with the predomincance of the Orientals and Virginas. To the contrary, I found this to be a fascinating tobacco. The Latakia was present immediately upon fireup, but then dropped into the background in deference to the complexity of the Turkish. The tang of the Virginia was present throughout, and given my propensity for fast smoking it nipped my tongue a tad. No biggie, though; I thought it was a terrific blend and will definitely keep a tin around.

The flavors in RR are indeed quite like those in the other two blends, just much more so. Like the other two blends, the Oriental leads of the opening act, and tones down quickly. The charring light and the first few puffs can be a bit harsh, but this is temporary. The biggest difference I noticed was that the Latakia comes out right after the charring light in a much more pronounced way. The Virginias have enough backbone to show themselves amongst the heavier flavors.

I have to say that this is my favorite of the three. I liked the Va strength in 7 Reserve, and the touch of Latakia in 3 Noggins was good. Red Rapparee tastes to me like a combination of the other two - accentuating the best features of each, and then giving the flavor wheel a few turns upward.

To me, the bitey red virginias are what sets this blend apart from other English blends. It is not that the VAs jump out at you, but rather that they meld with the other flavors (including a healthy dose of orientals) in a unique way. This is a fairly harsh smoke for an English blend, in contrast to its more refined brother Black Mallory. But the harshness is managable with careful smoking and the reward is a unique tangy experience.

I have since "graduated" to more latakia-laden blends, but I keep coming back to the RR for it's special character. I should also add that my current tin is about 3 years old and it seems to have mellowed somewhat during that time, though it has lost some of the edge that I appreciate.

I used this tobacco as a first smoke in a new CAO meerschaum a few nights ago and it was a thoroughly rewarding experience. Where the cigar analogy comes in, I will never understand. Cigars and pipes, though I love them both, are quite different experiences.

For my first pipe I chose a big Barclay Rex straight grain apple. I filled the bowl to the top and lit it with paper matches. At first the taste was innocuous. This quickly changed with the flavor coming through. It was rich, full and smooth. I smoked the bowl halfway through before I had to relight it at which time I received a burst of flavor. The flavor was consistent as I smoked the dottle down to a tight greyish-white ash. As I cleaned out the pipe I noticed a rich odor pervading the room and I liked it. I imagine this is how the sitting room at 221B Baker Street must have smelled.

Following this experience, I chose a calabash to smoke this blend in. As was expected the blend was more tame in this pipe. The flavor increased as the inner bowl tapered down. Overall, I preferred the consistent smoke provided by the straight-walled briar. Therefore, I chose a pot shape for my next pipe, an old Peterson. The pot is not my favorite shape and this is not my favorite pot, but I enjoyed this smoke. The bowl was cooler to the touch as I smoked this than the apple's bowl, which surprised me. Usually, it's the other way around.

The next pipe was a large meerschaum rhodesian. The blend exhibited a dryer smoke and nuttier flavor in this pipe, very enjoyable. It was the best smoke I had in this pipe in recent memory. I followed this with a couple of small briars, a Donegal billiard and a panel marked Strasbourg. The petite Pete provided a consistent smoke throughout, which is a testament to the cut of the leaf and the thoroughness of the blending. The smoke was a little hotter than in the larger briars, but just a little. The panel was a little less flavorful, but that is typical for this particular pipe.

As with all Rattray blends, it is important to distinguish the era of the tobacco. This was purchased by my retailer in Summer of 2001 and does not appear to have a lot of age on it earlier than that.

October 2002.

The aroma of Red Raparee really got me into trouble with the LSW, who has never liked the scent of Latakia mixtures, but found this one completely unbearable (I was propelled out of the house in order to finish the bowl, for not even the opened windows, which I invoked as a palliative, seemed to be enough to dissipate the smell). It took ages to finish that bowl, and by the end of it I felt transfixed. My taste buds, my palate, my clothes and hair were all suffused with one of the strongest Latakia/Oriental smells I can remember, which lasted for days! I do not know if Rattray?s use a particular type of Syrian Latakia, or if they also use the Cyprian variety, but boy is this stuff ?heavy? (in the 60?s sense of the term). Compared to RR, My Mixture 965 seems a medium tobacco and Squadron Leader, pale.

All in all, a very peculiar smoke, full of flavours and complexity, which is very enjoyable for Latakia/Oriental smokers, but should be approached carefully and IMO smoked only from time to time.

That all being said I now like RR, but only as a change of pace. I cannot think of any well known tobacco to compare it to. Suffice it to say that RR is a very good English/Scottish mixture with a somewhat spicier than usual flavor and good burning qualities once it is dried out a little.

My wife does not like this at all. She says it has the aroma of "burning tires" and she will generally leave the room. Ahhhh. Perfect.

Gretchenm my German Shepherd hates the smell but loves the way it smokes. She gives it a 4.5 out of five. I love it and smoke it generally as an after dinner smoke.

I think there is too much virginia and not enough black cavandish in this blend. More unsweetened cavandish may help, but the virginia just didn't taste aged.

If you like a tobacco that hits hard and fast and stays with you for a long time, punch this ticket. But, if you are like me and prefer some refinement in your English blends, keep looking, this is not going to float your boat. In fact, the following review by Newman is excellent, and he really does a better job than me in describing how this blend rates.

To be perfectly candid, I enjoy extreme tastes, or highly-flavoured food, less than I used to in my [non!]salad days. Eulenburg is much more likely to smoke a Virginia flake washed down by some very smooth cognac nowadays. But this is still One Of The Greats.

Appearance: Generally short, slightly fine cut ribbon with about 40% red/brown leaf, 40% dark and 20% lighter leaf. I could not determine if all of the dark leaf is Latakia, or if some of it is Dark Cavendish. The blend was just a bit moister than I prefer, but was smokeable right from the can.

Aroma: The aroma is that of a fairly full English/Oriental blend, rich and smokey but not particularly spicy. The blend seems to be well matured, so that individual components do not jump up and shout out their presence. In other words, they all play well with others. I remember RR having a slightly more piquant aroma (almost like a touch of vinegar), but this could be owing to the German method of steaming their tobacco to take off the rough edges. The aroma reminded me somewhat of Black Mallory (can't complain about that).

Packing: This is a fairly fine cut, so it packed easily in any size pipe that I tried. I tend to use the "drop a pinch and tap the side" method for non-flake blends, and it works very well with this one.

Lighting: The blend lit easily, taking a char readily and starting to smoke before tamping. A quick tamp and relight and the pipe was ready to enjoy.

Initial flavor: The flavor was right up front, full bodied and dense tasting. Nothing too subtle about it, the rich sweetness of red Virginia balanced the smokiness of the Latakia, and the spicy Oriental stayed slightly in the background. Slow puffing gave me nice layers of flavor, one or another of the ingredients always popping up to remind me of its presence.

Mid-bowl: The flavor stayed consistent through the second third of the smoke, continuing to yield a variety of delightful impressions. There was absolutely no gurgle, or trace of steam to contend with, and it remained cool to the tongue.

Finish: There was a slight intensification of the flavor and strength at the bottom of the bowl, but it never became harsh or wet. It burned to the bottom with only a few relights at the end, leaving a fine, darkish gray ash which clung to the sides of the bowl.

Tried in the following pipes: Because of nostalgia and reputation, I passed on the cobs and went right for a Castello Sea Rock KKK #31. This was a perfect choice for the blend, but this pipe burns everything well. Next pipe was a large GBD Prehistoric Billiard which has not been fully broken in. After letting the tobacco air out for about 30 minutes before loading the pipe, I got the same results. Ditto for a large Becker & Musico Apple. So far, I haven't tried it it any group 3 or 4 pipes, the blend seems to want a larger bowl.

Summary: This is a wonderful tobacco, but not necessarily the Red Rapparee of old. It appears to be just a bit richer than the original, but not overwhelming. It is not a blend for "all day" constant puffing, but I would recommend it for quiet moments at any time of day, weekend mornings with a good cup of your favorite coffee or tea, taking a walk, listening to good music, etc! In other words, I plain LOVED it.