Ashton Gold Rush

I found this blend to be quite enjoyable. Usually I rarely smoke anything that is aromatic in nature but this blend is a very satisfying mid-afternoon smoke in between my Burley morning blends and my Crooked lane english evening blend.

This is a ribbon-cut mixture of golden and mid-brown Virginias, of varying cuts and lengths. It has a nice moisture content from the tin, if slightly damp. The tin note is rather plain, slightly tangy and woody at first, with no distinct flavours or aroma. It's rather similar to cigarette tobacco and there is little suggestion of the honey and lemon flavouring which, according to blenders K&K, has been added to this blend.

The smoke starts off quite sweet with light tangy and woody Virginia flavours. The subtle honey flavouring builds mid-bowl, with traces of lemon, and remains until the end. Overall it is low in strength, but the last 1/3 of the bowl was often peppery and gave me the niccups a few times.

This tobacco lights easily, stays lit and burns hot if smoked anything more than a little fast. I bought a tin of this thinking it would make a nice light-aromatic summer-time smoke. It fits the bill in most respects, but it burns too fast to be smoked outdoors. For a Virginia blend, it is rather one-dimensional even if treated right. The tobacco dries-out quickly, and with the various small “cube-cuts”, I was soon left with half a tin of dry dusty tobacco (although it does smoke better on the dry side). I agree with others who suggest that a rather immature or poorer quality tobacco has been chosen as the base for this aromatic.

Got a new tin and popped it open right away. Moist but not too. Beautiful gold color. Packed great. As I smoke slow I taste the honey & lemon when I exhale through my nostrils. I love the smooth taste with no bite. I smell the tin again and I remember back to my childhood working in my family's tobacco fields & barns.

When i first opened the tin i realised the smell of raisin. Better to dry a bit, like all va-s. Good leaf, recommended for VA lovers. Nicely brings the lemon and honey taste.

I Don't know if the tin I got was bad, but as much as I can appreciate Virginian tobacco, this was a terrible experience.

I opened the tin and it first smelled ok, the citrus/honey fragrance coming out of the tin at first seemed inviting. I packed a corn cob and there we go, after half a bowl, I have to stop smoking, I am feeling nauseous becasue of the "overflavoring".

The tobacco is Virginian, very mild on its own, and the flavoring is VERY overwhelming in contrast with the tobacco. I felt like Ashton sold me stale tobacco soaked in citrus/honey...

I gave it a try the next day, after eating this time, but again, I could not finish it. I smoke Virginian in my cigarettes everyday, but it does not make me sick like this. I am very curious about who liked that mixture...or I really had a bad tin? Anyway, not even good enough for a home blend to my taste...one more try in a few weeks and then to the trash, update in a couple weeks.

Well not much to say. Experienced pipe smokers said well here that this blend is immature. And this situation does not offer you the rich tastes of pure Virginia smoking. I've dried thinking maybe it would offer that richness, however it smoked even hotter in this way. Dried or not be careful not to smoke it fast! Low nicotine and low taste. This "new" blend was not a memorable smoke experience to me.

I recently purchased an aged tin off a "clearance shelf" at a local tobacconist here in town, Uhley's. The blend is a pleasing straight Virginia, definitely not an aromatic, burns on a single light after an initial charring, mellows mid-way down, leaving a powdery white ash. Definitely recommended.

Opening the tin reveals a golden to mid-brown ribbon cut tobacco that possesses a rather plain tangy and woody smell. I could not identify any distinct flavours or aromas, and found very little to distinguish the smell of this tobacco from that of Virginia tobacco for cigarette rolling. The tobacco has a nice moisture content, if a little damp, and may bite the tongue if not dried out for a few minutes.

The tobacco has a mild tangy taste that starts sugary and develops into a satisfying honey and lemon flavour. The smoke is weak bodied but there is a bit of a nicotine kick towards the end of the bowl. Gold Rush is a pleasant and mild tobacco, if somewhat uninspiring, and I recommend it as a good all-day smoker.

I found this blend to be truly an aromatic. The leaf looks lovely in the tin and has a sweet, but not overpowering aroma. Truly an enjoyable smoke for morning to mid-day, during which times I can find English mixtures with a lot of Latakia a bit overpowering and tension-headache inducing. I would not recommend this to people who are English fanatics. There is no trace of anything spicy or Latakian. Just a pleasant mellow smoke.