Ashton Gold Rush

This one is frustrating. When everything goes right, it gives me the best tasting, most flavorful smoke I've yet had. The problem is getting it there.

To get a good experience, I have to 1)dry a bowl's worth for at least an hour 2)pack lightly in a cob (aluminum and briar kill it, somehow) 3)sip it so gingerly like you're scared it might be lit 4)smoke indoors, away from any breezes. (It burns hot as it is...Also, the testosterone usurping succubus I cohabit with makes indoor smoking difficult!) 5)totally concentrate on the experience. (Number 5 is the real gooch.)

A lot of y'all will think 'So what?' because this is your MO for every time you smoke. Me? Most times I'm clenching, drooling, walking, talking and generally not paying attention. This weed goes lifeless at the slightest provocation...a real problem for someone with ADD like myself.

But boy howdy, when it's on, it's on! Mmm Mmm...subtle sweet citrus. (More so than even OGS.)I love the color of the ribbon and its 'Gerber Baby' pureed apricot smell as well. (The room note whilst smoking is quite nice too.)

I wish this was a 'set it and forget it' blend, but alas, it's not. Still, I enjoy gold Rush enough to at least entertain keeping some on hand...for the rare times I can quiet my monkey mind and actually 'be one with the smoke'.

Sadly, three stars.

Even though straight Virginia blends have never been among my favorites, as soon as I smelled the tin note I knew this would be a winner, and it is! Kind of hard to figure the relatively low rating, but I'm glad I discovered this blend, which is now my favorite "light and bright" Virginia.

Being primarily golden Virginia, it is not going to be as dark and earthy as Dunhill Flake, Astley's 44, or Wessex Dark, but it seems to have more body and interest than other golden VA's I tried like Kendal Gold (and it also burns cooler than that shag cut). It also doesn't seem to have some of the (to me) negative yeasty attributes of blends like Yorktown, and it is more layered than a stolid blend like Tilbury. I found it aromatically more expressive than Hamborger Veermaster but I wouldn't go quite as far as to call it a semi-aromatic as some have (you'd have to bump up to something like Erinmore for that). These comparisons are just an attempt to place this within the world of straight Virginias.

I don't get any lemony citrus at all but depending on the pipe there is sometimes a soft sourness that reminds me of ruby grapefruit rind. But the dominant flavors are golden hay, baked honey, some sweet nuttiness like sunflower seed, and a dusting of white pepper and coriander on the retrohale. The spicy nuance adds a pleasing complexity but can dominate if puffed too aggressively. Also, in some pipes it is delicious right from first light, in others it sometimes takes a while to get to that 4-star goodness.

A quality mixture of gold Virginia ribbon cut. Moisture is fine right from the tin, but you may want to rub it out first and pack it in the pipe a while before you smoke it - I usually pack it the day before I smoke and it lights and smokes perfect.

Smokes relatively cool and mild with a light fragrance - some citrus notes - flavour is mild natural and pleasant with light nuttiness and a lemon note - it can get a bit peppery if you draw too hard on it. All in all a pleasant smoke if you like a mild full Virginia mix.

Not my favorite Virginia blend. I primarily smoke English blends and alternate with Virginias. It smokes a bit wet and on the verge of tongue bite like so many aromatics, which is why I don't smoke them daily. In addition it does not seem to be a natural Virginia blend. Perhaps a bit more aging. I think I will go back to some of the stoved Virginia Blends.

My guess is that Ashton got stuck with a bunch of second-rate virginia and they sauced it in order to provide the sweetness and flavour that should occur naturally in decent leaf. Well, they're not fooling me. This is an aromatic, not a "pure virginia blend" at all. It burns well (and smokes fairly cool for a cased virginia), and it tastes pretty much the same from beginning to end: notes of salt, pepper, and (of course) a citrus candy taste.

This isn't disgusting, but I don't much care for aromatics, and good virginia leaf should never need to be cased this heavily.

OK.. its not a dream come true but also not as bad as GUILTY PLEASURE..

If you want something mild for all day smoke this is a good choice!

If you are looking for something special with some character I think you will be disappointed..

I liked it somehow but I am not going to buy it again..

Worths a try..

This looks like art, and I will be the first to tell you that I would pick this up in a shop based on the art alone. When I open up the tin I see a mostly bright Virginia ribbon with some stems every now and again. The tin note smells of bright Virginia hay, grass, and citrus. The toppings are noticeable, fruits, citrus and honey and it makes this blend smell wonderful. It came at a smokeable dryness. It takes a light fairly easily.

Right after you get it lit that Virginia sweetness comes through. I taste hay, grass and sugar coming from the leaf. The toppings don't cover the taste of the underlying tobaccos but they augment it. The citrus plays off of the Virginia very well, and the honey marries into the inherent sweetness of the leaf. I think an inexperienced pipe smoker in the world of Virginias might have trouble detecting the toppings as toppings, which is to say that it's very tastefully done.

The taste is a mild-medium. It is a nice lingering smoke, that doesn't ask too much of your tastebuds. The strength is a mild, and it doesn't need to be any more than that. I think the room note will be a hit, the smoke is light and sweet. This can tend to burn hot, so slow methodical puffs will yield the best results.

I have smoked 2-3 pipes of this and just gave it away. It has some kind of perfume in behind, for me it was horrible... I'll definitely never buy this again... I like the tin design...

As a regular reviewer here at TR, I try to relate my own, personal experience as much as possible, without undue influence from other reviewers. However, there are times when my own experience seems far afield from others whose reviews I trust enough to try certain blends in the first place! And such is the case for me with Ashton’s Gold Rush, which fact I mention because this review ultimately takes others’ reviews into consideration, albeit I still call it like I see it, for whatever that is worth.

In the tin I popped, Ashton’s Gold Rush is clotted, wet, yellow-orange ribbons that smell rather like lemonade over fragrant meadow grasses. The lemonade fades and morphs into rose geranium over a few days rest in its “re-sealed” tin. Dried some, AGR lights OK and burns down quickly, the smoke smelling like the best of the tin note, with similar, fragrant, meadow grassy tastes, certainly in 3 star territory. However, I am disappointed to report that AGR consistently turns acrid on me as it’s smoked down. YMMV, of course but, in this case, light VAs and rose geranium notwithstanding, Gold Rush is not St. Bruno Flake, and more’s the pity, IMO. Strength is mild. Tastes are mild. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste for me is an acrid, slightly ashen version of the best of the smoke.

While I can appreciate some acidity, too much is too much, and why suffer. Reading the other reviews, it seems it must be personal chemistry that delivers such an acrid taste to me, personally. Bottom line, I can’t honestly recommend this blend based on personal experience, especially in view of the stellar “competition” in the VA category. That YMMV should be plain enough from the other, thoughtful reviews of this blend.