Rattray - Brown Clunee pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 55 of 55 reviews of this tobacco
Beer	08/31/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Not a bad red-brown Virginia in ready rubbed form, although with a very delicate taste. It does not bite, and has a nice fruity natural flavour. Smell in the tin is of pears and dried fruit, very good. The taste is similar, but in a much more subdued way. I still prefer the strength and sweetness of Hal O' The Wynd and Marlin Flake, or McClelland's equivalent products (which are a bit more sour and bitey, though). Right after opening it is a bit too moist for my taste. Not very complex or deep, but easy-smoking. A bit reminiscent in taste of (but lighter than) Full Virginia Flake by Gawith.
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Pounder 5000	08/30/2004	Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
This is another excellent experience as I work my way through Rattray's Va line. Not as musty as Old Gowrie, not as strong as Hal o' the Wind, not as sharp as Marlin Flake, this blend stands alone on its own delicious merits. If you've been smoking nothing but 1792 flake or Penzance, than sure this baccy might seem a little light in the loafers. But when smoked slowly and deliberately, there are many pleasant surprises in store. The flavor is all rich Va with quite alot of sweetness. This doesn't translate into bite however, although there is some spice involved. The room note is spectacular for a straight Va and I even got a compliment from my wife. It may not be near as impressive as HOTW or MF but just the same It fits the bill for a nice, light Va that would be a great all dayer. By the way the cut of this tobacco is extraordinary and perfect for packing right out of the can. With a nice strong cup of Peruvian Organic, its just what the doctor ordered.
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chaplikc	07/03/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
The quality of the tobacco in this blend is very high as ia all of the Rattrays blends. This is what I think of when I think of a light virginia blend. It smokes cool, even and consistant. The flavor is mildly sweet and tangy and does not vary alot through out the bowl. Even though this blend does not have alot of complexity it does not loose my attention and is much appreciated when I am in the mood for a light virginia blend. Highly recommended for virginia lovers.
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Noorrmm	05/12/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Appearance: Fairly uniform dark brown broken flake. Very little variation in color. Slightly too moist right from the can. Aroma: Great aroma of stoved Virginia, hints of chocolate and raisins. Packing: Can be packed as is into medium or large bowls, or rubbed out for smaller pipes. Lighting: Initial flavor: Starts very mild, slowly increases in flavor to a medium level of intensity. Good sweetness from the Va. leaf, and some depth added by the stoving process. Mid-bowl: Straightforward simple Virginia flavor. Lighter than its cousins Hal O' the Wynde and Marlin Flake, with nice layering of tastes. Not as complex as other members of the family, but this one could be the "all-day smoke". Can be enjoyed with morning coffee, and continued through the day. Maybe too light for the evening, when I enjoy a more full bodied blend. Burns cool and dry at any reasonable smoking pace. Finish: Well behaved right down to the end. Leaves a clean gray ash. Summary: An excellent mild to medium Virginia, strongly recommended for the novice or the veteran.
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Eulenburg	05/09/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Another simple, subtle RATTRAY virginia. This is a degree less stoved than OLD GOWRIE, and perhaps for that very reason some may find it even more kaleidoscopic. An indispensable classic from old Perth.
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Pipestud	05/08/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is a mild, moist blend that will need airing out before packing. It is a somewhat bitey blend that has that traditional Virginia nip if puffed too aggressivly. Upon opening the tin, I got the definite impression that I was in a barn filled with fresh hay. The taste is also somewhat grassy - but in a rather pleasant way if you don't let this tobacco burn too hot. If you enjoy Virginia blends and have patience with your puffing cadence, here you go. If, on the other hand, you want something a bit gentler on the tongue, look elsewhere. Brown Clunee will not ever find its way into my tobacco cellar, but I can't say it was an unpleasant smoking experience at all.
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CaptnDan	05/07/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild	Very Pleasant
Brown Clunee is a tobacco I have heard a lot about, but only recently tried. It definitely has a following. I have been smoking BC for a few days now, in different sized pipes. Bowl size doesn't seem to matter much with htis one. The tin aroma is very nice, and like most Va's it reminds me of a freshly mown field. It puts me in a slower-paced state of mind, and helps me to relax. So from the opening, BC has something good going for it. On the initial bowl, I thought, "Where's the flavor?", but I had been smoking Penzance and Abingdon for the last few days. Once I re-programmed myself, I was ready to start smoking BC for real. The initial light-up brings forth a very light and airy, slightly sweet flavor. By mid-bowl, the flavor has gathered itself and becomes darker, sweeter, yet with a hint of bitter undertone. The flavor never becomes anything approaching bold, but it is definitely a solid Va taste. Nuances are VERY subtle, but they happened consistently and in different pipes. Otherwise I would have thought them not even there. Sweetness and a natural 'grassy' flavor combine to give a hint of spice, sometimes a fruity raisin-like flavor. BC burned well, and left the pipe dry. Note that I did dry it some. Also, I found that it stayed lit better when rubbed out just a bit more than the way it comes. One odd thing - when smoked with coffee, it seemed to me that the coffee overpowered the flavor and detracted from the experience. However, when smoked later in the day with Coke, the two seemed to complement each other nicely. (I warned you it was odd...) Smoked outdoors, BC fades - I prefer it indoors. It has such a light room note that you can smoke inside without fear of the family assaulting you with cans of Lysol.
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LarryF	07/06/2003	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
This has always been dependable, middle-of-the road flake for me. It is not too demanding. It is very cool, somewhat sweet, and always makes for a pleasant, satisfying smoke. This would make a good starters blend for the Virginia flake novice.
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Paddy	02/19/2003	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is a rubbed out Virginia flake with colors ranging from very light to dark brown. The tin aroma is a combination of dark raisin, prune, faint chocolate notes and the vegetal fragrance of dried sweet clover, the barn-smell of good Virginia tobacco. Clearly, some sweeteners have been added to provide a distinctive flavor. The tobacco arrives a bit on the moist side. As a regular Virginia flake smoker, I am inclined to let Virginias dry a bit, but I decide to take a chance. Because of the moistness I am careful not to pack too tight. It takes a charring light, a tamp and a relight to get it going. I am somewhat surprised that the tobacco burns well despite the moisture content. The smoke starts out with that familiar Virginia tingle on the tongue that warns of a bite lurking. But I am a naturally slow puffer and sip the smoke along. The taste is a naturally sweet Virginia flavor. The draw appears to be just right and delivers plenty of smoke. It is not overly sweet; I taste no raisins, no prunes, and no chocolate, just Virginia tobacco that has had its natural sweetness lightly enhanced. On the one hand, I am somewhat disappointed because there is no unique flavor as promised by the tin fragrance(I was hoping for a Three Nuns experience). On the other hand, I am pleased by the straightforward taste of Virginia. The hint of a bite subsides about a fourth of the way down the bowl, and the flavors remain consistent throughout. This is a good smoke for a Virginia flake lover. It is reminiscent of SG Best Brown, the undisputed king of Virginia flakes, but just a bit too sweet and lacking the depth of tobacco flavor. This is comparable to some of the McClelland Virginia flakes, a little sweeter, a little kinder to the tongue, and without the vinegary tin aroma. All in all a clever treatment of Virginia tobacco. I do not think I will include it in my regular rotation, but will keep it on hand for a change of pace. I recommend it highly to the Virginia flake smoker. Paddy
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kcook	02/02/2003	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full

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Willy	01/02/2003	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
New Years Day, the Rose parade on TV, cup of good hot coffee, and a chance to fill a bowl with Brown Clunee. This red/red-brown RR (broken flake)VA. is one that I've smoked off and on for some time now, and it's a VA that always seems to please. This being a Honeydew blend, I chose to err w/caution on the flavor rating because if it's there, it's nearly non-existant. More than likely it's just a good natural VA sweetness that one tastes when smoking this tobak. Some may choose to rub-out the tobacco a bit more, I just pull at the pieces a bit. Packs well, lights easily enough, sweet yet slightly sharp at the get-go. Bit of a citrus note here and there, and the sharpness fades after about 1/3 of the bowl to a smooth yet slightly spicey smoke. No bite, just the VA tang that we all know will be there to some degree. Got a wee bit o' woodsiness now, very pleasant. Reminds me a little of the character of McConnell Scottish Flake. Maybe a tad sweeter. Burning very evenly all the way down to pale grey ash and leaving the pipe dry. I had no moisture problems w/this tobak, one cleaner about 1/2 way down. I've had this tin for awhile, and I feel it's mellowed w/age; I seem to remember a bit more sharpness before, but even newly opened I still say it's a rather mellow smoke. I've got a few tins that have been set aside for about 5 years, it should be interesting to see how they've aged. I wish I'd had the chance to smoke some of the older Rattray's tobaccos (blended "by" Charles Rattray not "for" Charles Rattray) as I understand they were near to Euphoria, whereas mine have the James B. Russell label on the bottom. All-in-all a good VA tobak w/an honest tobacco taste. Works for me. Belated a bit, but none-the-less HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!! Let's make this a great year, and as Mauri Tombari would say, "Mellow puff and dry ashes," and may God bless..................
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Tantric	07/05/2002	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Brown Clunee is a tobacco with a very peculiar flavour. It?s depth and complexity do not reveal immediately (unlike, say, Gawith?s FVF or BBF). Rather, they evolve slowly, following different directions: sometimes taking a natural sweet turn, others a spicy?almost peppery?path, then switching to a kind of dry raisin taste. In the end, there is also a slight flavour of roasted chestnuts. The point is, that it is all natural tasting tobacco. There is no topping, no casing. A broken flake of high grade Virginias (I think some of it honey-dew processed), Brown Clunee is a mild tobacco only in appearance. Easy to pack, I usually find my self needing two lights to really get it going. Smoked slowly, tongue bite can be avoided. This tobacco is so rewarding for me, that I keep a medium sized Brebbia Dublin devoted to this blend alone.
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sethg	06/01/2001	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
This is a smooth and delicate Virginia, medium brown in colour, flecked with lighter-colored bits. Opening the tin, the tobacco has been rubbed out from a flake into decent sized strips, with small, tinder-like, mini-strips available here and there. The tobacco is moist and springy, moist without being terribly wet. The smell within the tin is a dark, hearty, raisin-y sweetness. The smell was so good, I wanted to just sniff it for a while (or better yet chew on it). As I mentioned, it comes ready rubbed, which I have found makes it very easy to pack, and (as someone else wisely noted in a review of a ribbon-cut tobacco, Dark Birdseye, I believe) easy to overpack. For smoking, I chose a no-name billiard I use for experimenting with new Virginias. I packed it loosely, reserving some of the tinder-type strips for the top. The charring light took a few attempts to take, perhaps in part because of the moistness I mentioned earlier. This tobacco would probably beneift from some drying, but was not too troubling to smoke as is. Upon lighting up, one is greeted with an easy sweetness from the Viriginias; the usual caution against puffing too quickly applies. The first third of the bowl is all mellow Virginia sweetness, not aggressive or cloying, merely present, like a warm piece of toast off a loaf of good warm bread. There is just the slightest hint of complexity lurking away in the distance, but nothing one could put one's finger on directly. Most of all, it is just the middle-note of sweet Virginia, the smoke a greyish-white. As the bowl develops into the second third (gosh I hate phrasing it that way), I begin to detect some of the nicotine creeping out more explicitly -- nothing overwhelmingly assertive, but a definite presence. At this point, I set the bowl down and let it extinguish to DGT . Upon relight the next morning, there is that pleasant sweetness again, this time accompanied with the hint of sourness, not unpleasant in the slightest, and acting as a foil to some of the sweeter elements. It is possible this is another development of some of the complexity I mentioned earlier. It doesn't develop any further, but continues to provide a quite enjoyable taste. This continues for the remainder of the bowl, which produced a fluffy, greyish-white ash and no discernible moisture. Overall, a very pleasant Virgina that smokes smoothly and burns nicely. I would have no qualms about recommending it to those who enjoy the lighter Virginias, or as an entree for novices to the world of ready-rubbed tobaccos.
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Jon Tillman	04/26/2001	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
A sweet virginia scent, with a dark, slightly sour, smell that, along with the uniform darkness of the ribbons, tells we that this blend was aged, probably in pressed cakes. Upon lighting, I discovered this to be a very mild virginia blend. That means that caution must be exercised to keep my greedy self from puffing too hard and turning my tongue into something resembling fried chicken. The first third of the bowl is mostly uneventful, but with a slight deepening of the virginia flavors. The second third sees the virginias start to really come alive, and by the two-thirds mark, it has developed into a fuller, richer smoke. The ending of the bowl is very pleasant, with the tobacco quietly going out, leaving only stark white ash, and a mild nicotine buzz to remember it by.
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