Rattray - Black Virginia pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 39 of 39 reviews of this tobacco
Cactus John	11/25/2005	Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
This is a nice tobacco but a little strong for me. I like stoved virginias but this one didn't have any of the sweetness usually found in a stoved virgina. This one wouldn't be good for a beginner smoker or someone starting out with virgina tobaccos. It would be good for someone looking for a full bodied virgina. It might be better with about 10 years of age on it. But just not my idea of a every day smoke. It burned good and never got harsh. I liked everything about this tobacco except the strength.
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lustra	08/14/2005	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
I agree completely with Beer on this one. I will note that I opened a 100-gram tin at least two years ago, and it is still a bit damp for smoking. In that time, I have smoked about 50 grams of the tobacco. I suspect I will continue to nibble at this tobacco for few more years, mostly out of curiosity to see if it ever dries out.
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The Keeper	08/13/2005	Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
I found the start of this bowl better than the midway or finish. It is top quality leaf which emits a nutty, tangy taste to start. This gradually develops notes of cigarette, mustiness, and a hint of chestnut. This is a good tobacco, but out of all the dark stove blends I've tried, I don't think this rates as highly as Stonehaven or Dark Star. It is a different leaf - erring more on the side of strong, straight tobacco flavor than the other two mentioned offerings. Towards the end I detect a bitterness not unlike a burley blend. Though I don't find this bad, this isn't really the experience I am looking for when smoking stoved VA. Good. I'd smoke it again, but I don't plan to stock up.
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tonyg	07/24/2005	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
If I could by this tobacco by the pipefull, I'd buy about one a year. A tasty tobacco that just does not come up to the standards of other stoved tobaccos such as Dark Star, McClelland's 2035 and my all time favorite: Stonehaven. All of Rattray's non stoved Virginia tobaccos are excellent. I suggest they leave the stoving to others.
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Daniel Morlan	01/20/2005	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I have smoked four bowls of this splendid weed just to be sure of my opinion of it. I've discovered the following... 1.) It smokes consistently, pipe to pipe. 2.) It is hard to get bit by it unless you really provoke it. 3.) From the beginning, to the end of the bowl, there is a consistent sweetness that only gives way towards the very end. 4.) It's lack of overcomplexity makes it a delightfully delicious, charming tobacco. This will become a staple in my cellar. So far this has bumped its way easily to first place. I could smoke this all day, and not have a nicotine problem, and the flavor is so great that I am not tiring of it. Between this blend, Hamborger Veermaster, and Escudo. I'll rank this as a sublimely high, surpassingly excellent blend for a straight VA. Sweet, butterscotchy hints with the occasional (if you smoke just a tad too hot) eucalyptus undertone. Unflavored, well-balanced, great character smoke. As much as I love to write, I cannot adequately describe the flavor of this wonderful blend. It's almost fruity, but not artificially so. If your tastes are sensitive, you're apt to find a medley of wonderful flavors in this tobacco that ranges from fruity to butterscotch-esque, to even a toasty finish. It's meant to be savored slowly, and while it can be described as being mild, it's quality as a VA in THIS posters opinion, is hard to surpass because... 1.) I like it's lack of overt complexity. 2.) I like that it's not prone to biting. 3.) It is easy to smoke, and enjoy at all times. 4.) The sweetness lasts and lasts. Bottom line, this is a wonderful tobacco, and if there are any others like this, I simply must know about them! Being such a lover of Virginias, now that I can REALLY taste their subtleties, I almost feel like I've graduated as a pipesmoker. This is a very, very wonderful blend, and if you're blessed with a Palate that can interpret the flavors... I'll leave it at that.
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ArtGuy	12/06/2004	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I was fortunate enough to find some tins of this being sold at a local pipe shop for 5 dollars each and bought two. I am about 3/4 done with a 4oz tin and I have to say this is a terrific tobacco. Sweet, tangy without a hint of bite. I am a big Dark Star fan and cannot decide if I like this better or not. This is one of those naturaly sweet blends that will leave that sweet tang on the back of your tounge long after you are finished. Man I should have bought more tins! What was I thinking????
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Joe Patterson	08/15/2004	Mild	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
If you like the sweetness of a straight (red) VA or the tanginess of a stoved VA you should give this one a whirl. There's a great tin aroma reminding me of nothing other than raisins, slightly sticky to the touch and coal black. It looks almost intimidating, but fear not, for this is a VA of little strength and full flavor. I lay it out on a paper towel for at lest an hour or two before loading the pipe (as this comes quite wet in the can) until the leaves are almost crunchy. Bottom of the bowl gets gravity fed and as the bowl fills, I pack it tighter and tighter to the top. Light it up and get ready for a great smoke. Two cautions: 1) if not allowed to dry considerably, this blend will eat a package of pipe cleaners and not stay lit; 2) if you puff too fast, you'll get a mouth full of flavorless steam and scorch your tounge. (I did each of these once.) Dry it, puff slowly, enjoy.
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CaptnDan	08/01/2004	Mild	None detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable
A surprisingly mild dark Virginia. Not a very sweet Va, it never exhibited the ?grassy sweet? taste that some Va?s do. BV burns evenly and dry. A very mild flavor. I personally like the grassy sweet taste in my Va smokes. This one left me wanting.
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omegapd	12/17/2003	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Like WxGuy said above, this is one blend from Rattrays that I found to be very inconsistent. My tins have all been extremely wet when opening and take a long while to dry out- compared to other reviewers saying their tins were dry from the start. An almost all black short ribbon cut, it loads easily and lights hard due to the moisture. If I can, I plan ahead and fill a bowl a few hours before smoking and that usually helps. The tin aroma is mild but very much like raisins. The flavor is sweet and somewhat musty and moisture builds up right from the get-go. You gotta like these black Virginias to like this stuff. It's not bad, but nothing exceptional. If I were to buy and smoke this type of tobacco all the time, I'd go with McC 2035 in bulk. They all taste the same to me...
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SFC/E7	06/26/2003	Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
Upon openning the can I found the deepest black Virginia with very little to no aroma. I have had three bowls of this delightful but yet very mild tobacco, but I find it smokes better in a smaller bowl than a large bowl. I could not detect but maybe a hint of a tangy aroma when I lit a match to the tobacco as I'm use to smoking aromatics with Vanilla cases. As a smoker of pipe tobaccos who enjoys a good Virginia I had to try this tobacco, I found really no tongue bite but I did notice a bit of dry mouth as I kept ice water close by and this may have been the result of the 108 degree tempatures we have been experiencing. There is one thing, this is a Virginia and has to be smoked as such; Very Slow, as I did notice my Peterson getting a bit warm. Very enjoyable will keep this on hand.
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Flyersfan_92	08/05/2002	Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
Upon opening this tobacco i found very little aroma at all, and the tobacco was jet black mostly, with a little brown here and there. The tobacco was definately dry for rattrays. THe tobacco packed and lit easily, and produced a nice grey ash. the initial flavors were the musty sweet flavor of virginias, wit a little sweetness too boot, bu they quicky faded and it became a hot and boring smoke. No matter how slow i puffed or if i put it down and relighted it just attacked my tounge like an agitated viper. IF you try this one, try a coencob or a clay pipe to keep it cool. This is the first tobacco i tried that i really did not like at all, oh well there are alot of other fish in the sea.
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Noorrmm	02/01/2002	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
It really is dead black, quite sweet in aroma, smelling like raisins more than tobacco. A bit moist, and hard to light, even after drying it. The flavor is not as full as Dark Fragrant to my taste, so I will stick to DF in the future.
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Bear	08/29/2001	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Thinking it had been a while since I reviewed a tobacco that a lot of Gents had been smoking in this group, I picked up a couple of tins of Rattray's Dark Virginia. I've had 5 bowls since it arrived yesterday, and seem to get a pretty good idea of what it's about. Product: Rattray's Black Virginia, purchased at JR's site for $8.50. Appearance: 95% jet black ribbon, with just a smidge of lighter colored weed poking out. Pre-smoke: Pleasant scent of raisins upon opening. Good moisture content, basically the way I like it right out of the can. Packs well. Let's take it for a drive... Flame hits weed, releasing a nice, soft smoke. Smooth with full Va flavor. The top end of the scent is clipped and some of the piquancy that I usually seek in a Va isn't there. But the low end is delightful. The bouquet is slightly sweet, with elements of fresh mown grass and curing barn lingering in the air. Nutty midrange with hints of warm toast and coffee on a winter's morning. I've seen a lot of reviews refer to RBV as "Tangy". "Tangy might describe the tin fragrance, but the smoke? Unh uh. The word is smooooth! Mid bowl, the taste becomes fuller with nuance of cashew becoming more into play. Over puffing is especially to be avoided with this one, as pepper starts to edge it's way in if you try to treat it at one might a Burley. Good nicotine. Not quite the lightweight that some might have ya think. End range. I tend to find most Va's a little tough at end bowl, and while this one isn't a complete exception, it is smoother down at the heel than most. Pepper elements present from about 2/5th of the bowl lingered to the dottle. Summary: Well made smooth tobacco, that I would say is a must for any Va Lover. 8 out of 10 Bearclaws. -- Bear Graves
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Sceny	04/27/2001	Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This is the type of Virginia tobacco that I really enjoy: dark, flavorful, and sweet. It compares nicely to Dark Star by McClelland, though DS is more complex and flavorful. With a bit of caution to avoid tongue bite, the only problem I notice is some moisture while smoking. The smell in the tin is sweet and "dark", not really musty at all. The leaf is very dark, a shiny jet black with a small amount of dark brown providing visual contrast. The cut is varying, short to medium with several unrubbed chunks mixed in. It is a dry tobacco, somewhere between GL Pease and Cornell & Diehl on the moisture scale. It packs very easily and lights fairly well, burning with an average number of relights needed once lit. In the first third of the bowl, the taste is sweet and smooth and the smoke is cool. There is some bite, though, right from the beginning, requiring care in smoking. The Virginia flavor, while not very complex, is nevertheless dark and good, an excellent compliment to the natural sweetness present. That sweetness is also balanced by a background note of sourness. There are some minor moisture problems at the end of this third, but a pipe cleaner takes care of them. In the second third, the sweetness is not as quite strong, and I don't notice the sourness anymore. The Virginia flavor is fairly dark and rich, but still not overly full or complex. This is not a bad thing, since the overall taste is very good and far from one-dimensional; it reminds me a lot of McClelland's Dark Star, though not as full. The fairly minor bite from the first third seems to have vanished here, and the smoke remains smooth, though there is still some moisture gurgle. In the final 1/3 of the bowl, the flavor stays pretty much the same, sweet and dark. There is some additional complexity present here, especially if DGT is used. This blend isn't as full or complex as Dark Star, but it is very good in its own right. There is also not much moisture left in the bottom of the bowl after smoking. Overall, I enjoyed smoking this and I will continue to do so in the future. This has almost everything I love in a Virginia tobacco, lacking only a bit of complexity which would put it into the "outstanding" category. The only problem I see with this blend is the moisture during the smoke, though it isn't excessive. An excellent tobacco!
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pokrsmokr	03/28/2001	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Rattray's Dark Virginia is an interesting change of pace. The tobacco is jet black and quite dry (compared to other Rattrays) and has a sweet tangy tin aroma, though very subtle. It packs very easily and lights well. The flavor is rather one dimensional but it is quite enjoyable being sweet with a tangy citrus quality. It's not very hearty in the nicotine department but is an enjoyable smoek, though I could not imagine it as an all day smoker. It burns very cool and leaves a nice ash. Some friends and I have made our own Half & Half mixture using Black Virginia and Cyprian latakia which we call Black Lung. I am curious to see how Black virgina responds to aging and I have two tins put aside for just that purpose. I'll re-review it in a few years I guess. :)
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Jon Tillman	03/25/2001	Mild	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Upon first examining this blend, I was a bit hesitant. The color reminded me of 1792 and other ultra-powerful Virginia blends, and I wasn't sure I was up for another such adventure, but I forged ahead anyway. The tin aroma is deep and fruity, with a rasiny smell I have come to associate with stoved Virginias. The cut desreves mention, as it is truly unique. Not quite a cube cut, too short ot be a ribbon, it is almost as if someone had made a ribbon cut, and then chopped it up with a cleaver. It took a couple of tries to get it lit, but once I had it going, it stayed lit with little fuss, and burned evenly throughout the bowl. The virginias in this blend are very sugary, without as much 'oomph' as some might like, but just about perfect for a Latakia-Lover like me that quite hasn't got the palate to enjoy most virginias. For all of it's imposing appearance, I found the blend to be pleasant and fun to smoke, a perfect companion to puttering arounf the house or answering email. I will probably keep some around for those times when I need a break from heavier 'english' type blends, or just really want a straight english taste. This was great with port wine, as well as iced tea.
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Colonel Panic	03/12/2001	Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A dead-black mixture that deserves its name, this is a slightly sweet, tart tobacco that reminds me of McClelland's Dark Star with a little more sugariness. It's a very small, almost cube cut pressed and stoved Virginia that is mild with a flavor that reminds me of raisins without all the sugar. It can be a touch hard to get lit well, but once you get a good burn going it stays lit and smokes cooly. It's not very complex and lacks strength and is thus not satisfying as a thoughful smoke, but it sits well when I'm up late watching an old movie or reading and want a tobacco that tastes good but isn't distracting.
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 39 of 39 reviews of this tobacco