Rattray - Old Gowrie pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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JESTRAB	08/24/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Very good virginia tobacco indeed. Somewhat less spicy than its 'brother' HOTW but incredibly nice smell and very enjoyable taste. Like other Rattray's, also this blend is of top quality tobacco with excellent smoking behaviour.
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Coskun	08/17/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is my favorite tobacoo all times...Quality leaf of virginia...Package is fine but its needs to dry 1-2 hours... Uniq and great taste...Everything is perfect for me... No need to say too much if you are virginia fans this tobacco best of the best...
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Morgoth	08/08/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Old Gowrie is a truly excellent VaPer. Mild to medium sweet, with a definite whisper of high grade perique (as avowed by K&K). I wholly favor this blend over Hal O The Wynd...which I find less sweet, and approaching too great in strength. Highly recommended. A companion infusion: pint(s) of cold pilsner...Urquell works just fine. I believe its PlzeHský Prazdroj in Czech.
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Alguhan	08/03/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
A 4 star tobacco for all times. I try to dry this blend as much as I can for a fully satisfying smoke. The flavorful and cool smoke is suitible for an every hour and day smoke. I realy enjoy the fine and clean virginia taste with this blend. Very similar to Hal'o the Wynd, but much more bland. I strongly recommend it for meerschaum users in their meerschaum pipes. Have it for your daily smokes and in your cellar forever!
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Skando	07/25/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
OG: like HOTW, several years have passed from my last encounter, and the same way I'm wondering why... OG is another keeper ! As per the K&K site, OG share the same components of HOTW, of course in other proportions. Its strength is one notch (or two) below HOTW, even K&K puts them in the same scale degree... I feel HOTW being fruity, while OG is nutty. As HOTW may be a bit sharp, OG is absolutely mellow. OG is delivering me the most soft & velvety smoke I've ever experienced, with the very faintest hidden tones of vanilla and nuts; just a whiff of vinegar to the nostrils. A pure heavenly pleasure ! Well, the most reasonable thing I can do is to alternate the two blends ! My highest reccomendations.
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Chris Patey	06/10/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
While the sticker on the bottom of the tin says dark Virginia flake, I found this to be more suitably categorized as a medium Virginia. The tobacco is similar in texture and taste to Samuel Gawith's Medium Virginia Flake. A little darker in colour than MVF, and a little sweeter as the smoke progresses. Not significantly so, however, and certainly not enough to justify the price difference, in my opinion. I would certainly reccomend this tobacco for someone experimenting with Virginias, because I believe that there is a Holy Grail of tobaccos for everyone. While this would be a non-offensive daily smoker for me, I really crave the fuller flavoured Virginias-FVF is perfect for me. When looking for a lighter smoke, I would probably gravitate toward MVF or Golden Glow. They offer the best bang for the buck in this category.
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Requiem	05/06/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Old Gowrie is a awesome virginia blend. Just a bit sweet and very hay like, providing a high quality natural taste. Filling, lighting and burning is very easy. I prefer to smoke virginias by the morning and on the summer days and Old Gowrie fullfills those roles perfectly.
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MikeA	05/03/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Nice ribbon cut with not too much moisture content. I grab for this is if I don't feel like rubbing out a flake. A nutty, somewhat sweet taste. A little pricey though. I give it it 3 stars for now. It's a nice subdued virginia.
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frankluke	04/21/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Mild	Tolerable
i don't get this blend, it just doesn't work for me. nothing exciting about it, just boring ok tasting VA. i want to like this blend but it's just missing something.
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Korndog	04/01/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
First, I will say that this tobacco behaves very nicely in my pipes. It burns perfectly and has no objectionable characteristics. It lacks the depth and layering of other Ginny's I have been sampling, but still a fine smoke. It's rubbed out more than my preferred Marlin Flake. A very serviceable tobacco. Note: For some reason, this tobacco seems to bite (throat and mouth) a bit for me. I have to be very careful with it, which knocks it down to two stars.
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kg0mz	03/24/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I like this Virginia very much. It is one of four or five straight VAs that I smoke in my favorite pipe. I thought I might become a VA kind of guy, but my throat will not co-operate. This is not as sweet as FVF, not as rich as Gold Brick, and not as flavorful as Cut VA Plug, but it is in that class. I wish I could smoke it more often, but for my throat. There is no bite. It burns even and cool right from the tin. I like the taste, the texture, the aroma, and if I keep it to one or two bowls per week I am okay. I have tried drying it some, I have tried it in several pipes, I take my time with it, but... They all irritate my throat. I have the best luck with Gold Brick. I do not blame the tobacco. I save it for special occasions.
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Dedalus	03/23/2009	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
A good unadulterated Virginia, however, I give it three stars because I find SG BBF more satisfying.
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mo	03/03/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
I have decided to re-write my reviews. Old Gowrie is a very special blend to me. It represents all that a memorable medium strength Virginia blend should be about. From the smell and feel of the leaf, to the lighting and sheer quality of this truly luxurious smoke. I love it. With this blend i have had more memorable smokes than any other and enjoyed exclusively in my finest briars when i relax and ask NOT to be disturbed, it always delivers. The flavour is truly something remarkable.It does not develope much and thank goodness it does NOT. I would not want that delicious mouthfilling creamy, oasty,slightly toasty taste to change and i think it is an absolute masterpiece. This does not get boring, it is very well behaved and in a class it only shares with HOTW and Marlin Flake. If dried out properly, this blend will NOT bite at all, Rattrays do come wet in the tin and the moisture causes the bite so remember to air it out well. This is a masterpiece and you owe it to yourself to smoke this. I cannot put in words how important this is in my rotation. Mo, South Africa
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DK	02/19/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Although I have a tin or two of this in my cellar, it is not in my steady rotation. Instead, it's one of those blends where I stop by a friends house or a pipe shop with pipe in hand and no 'baccy, this is the one they always seem to have and that I always seem to gravitate towards. In that respect, it's an old friend that you might not spend a lot of time with, but that never lets you down when you do. Nice flake-style tobacco with a mellow sweetness. Can burn hot if you allow it to, so should be smoked in the traditional virginia "sipping" style. I would not call this a complex blend at all but it does have that air of familiarity and comfort that comes with knowing that while it doesn't have the complexity, it also isn't going to turn harsh on you. Sort of the "old dog, no new tricks" thing. Very comforting. No surprises. I'm really looking forward to what a few years of aging might do for this blend. It's a good smoke as is but it seems to have all the makings of a superior tobacco with some aging. We'll see.
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BingCrosby	02/09/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This is a very satisfying virginia with enough flavor to satisfy an English smoker and enough bang for those who like to wake up.. Very smooth hay like scent and flavor.. If you search you will find some tart fruitiness.. but the general quality here is smooth.. This is what many would call an all day smoke.. it is the sort of thing you crave.. not to say that it isn't complex - I think it hangs in there with the best of them.
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Plex	02/07/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
The aroma of the open jar brings to mine freshly made fig filing for cookies or other delightful pastry or desert. ?Ready Rubbed? or so they say in the description for this wonderful Virginia blend. Fairly thick, almost stringy clumps like those recently plucked from a juicy flake. Planned this encounter the night before and left the suitable amount sitting out for about 10 hours to dry to the appropriate level. Planned as an after-breakfast smoke and following home-made cinnamon- raisin french Toast I was ready for it. Felt much drier and crackling between the fingers. Now we rub it aggressively between two textured rubber-like gripper-pads and viola, a suitable (for me) ?ready rubbed? for loading in a pipe. Gravity fed and packed in three stages and ready to char. Still a surprising amount of moisture as I watched it twist and writhe before my nose. A tamp and a touch- up and we are off to hills of Virginia. Many seem to have trouble sipping their Virginias, but OG can't be had any other way. It makes me sip at it. Savor the smoke, rolling it around the palate over the tongue and up and back through the cave at the back of the nose. Damn fine! Wonderful sweetness and rich tobacco. Wonderful with a fresh-ground, home roasted coffee. They begin to play around with the taste-buds, complimenting and supporting one another. What a great morning smoke! Probably would even be great before breakfast; great in the afternoon; great any time you can stop, relax and spend the time to pamper yourself through savoring this blend. No harsh after tastes or undertones all the way down. Just a gradual increase in depth of flavor and intensity. No bite or suggestion of one lurking, but that could change if not dried as much. My SigOther complements the room note stating that it is both wonderful and enjoyable. That from one who suffers allergies and sinus problems! All too soon, it reaches the bottom and for a bit I consider another bowl, but, I'm forced to realize that not enough was dried for this, so until the next time. This wonderful friend is a regular visitor, but still a real treat to entertain and enjoy. Next time, we dry even longer, and see what there is left to discover.
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Quick_nick	01/31/2009	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Sweet and grassy scent in the bag mouth watering from the start. I rubbed it out a bit and let sit about 15 minutes, used the frank method to pack. Starts out very pleasant and sweet then after about 10 minutes I start to get a little nose tingle and wonder if there?s a bit of perique. Smoking characteristics were the same through the whole bowl and I once caught myself going a bit too fast but the tobacco never punished me for it. Smoked very cool with no bite and the room note was also quite pleasant. It gave me a slight head rush after I was through and there nothing left but beautiful ash. Overall it smoked beautifully and was a very pleasant smoke.
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Pipe4ever	01/14/2009	Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Old Gowrie is a top quality straight Virginia blend, while it taste full and delightful, it is not as good as Hal O' the Wynd If I have to buy 3 tins of Virginia from Rattray, I would choose 3 tins of Hal O' the Wynd Marline Flake and Old Gowrie I really dont care about.
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Iron Pipe	12/16/2008	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Who says youth is wasted on the young? Me for one! I don't know if a Young Gowrie exists, but if it does it sure has a lot of growing up to do to match it's more mature cousin. This Virginia is probably the best you can get. No bite, easy to light, very forgiving with a wonderful, rounded flavour. This is a perfect all day smoke, in long, chunky strands it packs easily and just gets better from there. Highly recommended to all.
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golfguy62	11/06/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
If I could have only five tobaccos in my rotation, this would definitely be one of them. OG is a pure, uncomplicated Va. that never grows old. Pure taste, even burning and no bite. Let it age for at least a year and you will be rewarded many times over. The quality is consistent and the price is reasonable.
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