Ashton Rainy Day

Couldn’t wait get home and try this. Pouring rain outside, freezing cold. Looking forward to a pipe and strong coffee. Upon opening the tin the blend looked very much like Solani Festival 333, smells ok, hard to pin down the exact aroma, fruity, liqueur kinda smell. Filled a bowl and lit up. That’s were the pleasure ended, within a few puffs my tongue was on fire! No way hot coffee! A couple of more puffs then the pleasant taste tasted acrid and my bowl was burning hot. Had to lay the pipe down. I tried different packing techniques and different pipes but the results were the same each time. Bought a 50g tin and as a canny Scotsman it’s not going to waste! Will blend it with some sweet black cavendish and smoke when drunk! Ha ha ha. The only other Ashton I’ve tried was “Guilty Pleasures” and I didn’t rate that either. We live and learn. Off now to suck an ice cube!! Happy puffing folks.

Ashton - Rainy Day.

What an un-lit aroma! I cant particularly give the smell a definite identity, all I can say is it's a great aroma being lively, fruity, with a touch of liquor, and a good tobacco hit, one of the best aromas as of yet! There isn't an issue when it comes to the hydration amount, mine is fab'!

I get this lit, with ease and straight away I am impressed with the flavour. It's by no means a harsh aromatic, there is a very good selection of tastes, all reflecting the un-lit aroma, some whiskey but I find that the lightest addition with the fruit/citrus taking the lead with an almost pineapple note to it. The balance of the different tobaccos is an impeccable one, neither of them take the spotlight but they all have an equal share.

Vitamin N I find to be just right: not strong and not weak. The room-note resembles both the un-lit aroma and the taste: not too heavy, quite fruity with good tobacco notes.

Three stars.

After 4 bowls and now a dedicated pipe this has become one of my favorite blends (if not #1). When you open it, it has a very pleasant smell with a hint of berries. Not a ton of flavor or overpowering by any means but I never get bored with it and I find it a very relaxing and calming blend that is perfect for contemplating life on a rainy day.

I would highly recommend everyone to give it a try for themselves.

PATIENCE WILL HAVE ITS REWARD I was offered this blend from a friend at my favorite tobaccanist. Opening the tin I smelled a delicious honey, nut and apricot. The smoke however was under whelming and a bit harsh. Took several re lights to finish. I immediately put it in a ball jar and left it. For five years! One day I picked that jar back up and decided to give it a try. WOW what a difference. The smoke was mellow, the flavor sweet and the smoking itself more cooperative. Starts a topical fruit burns into a caramel and finishes with a cigar note. Age this , sip through and. It will have its reward. For English lovers looking for a moderate aromatic fling.

This is the most forward of the Ashton's aromatic blends I have so far attempted. In many ways it is massively flavoursome, but suffers from being a biter which The Walking Dead could employ. The open tin is akin to MacBaren's Cube, with the spicy Juicy Fruit immediately obvious. None of this is lost when packed and lit - it is a huge flavour bomb of burleys and virginias which have been doused in casings that infuse every puff. In the nose, it proves pretty sharp to the point of harshness, and my experience has been of a fast burning and almost volcanic temperature. Does it taste of tobacco? Yes, but it is a very potent mix of added ingredients which mask the base constituents.

I would only recommend this to those who love aromatics; there is no middle ground for uncertainty in the strength of what is added. Avoid if you want something gentle!

Although most Ashton blends are quite good, I found this blend almost vile. Over cased and over flavored. Not a positive smoking experience even for aromatic fans.

It's tangy. It's a little fruity and leans towards the citrus side. Smoke it improperly and it will bite you.

The name alone should tell you this is not an everyday smoke. It's got that flavor you want to try every now and again. It's ok.

puff puff pass...

Smoke this right out of the tin and it can be cloying and can bite, but let it dry out and it becomes a really nice blend that I am enjoying very much. It claims to have a nutty, fruity flavor which I don't taste at all, but I do taste the whiskey in it and it gives it a smooth sweet taste with the VA sweetness coming though, the burley giving it body as does the black cavendish. In the tin, it gives off a sweet aroma and smells typical of an aromatic. It is composed of rough cut ribbon flakes and run the gamet as to color, from light brown to dark almost black brown. Dried out it packs very easy and lights right up and stays lit giving a very slow nice burn that burns right down to the bottom of the pipe into a powdery ash. NO dottle and no wet crud at the bottom of the pipe. This is a very tasty relaxing smoke for me and the room note is very pleasant and will make friends for you. The leaf used in the blend is quality, has a velvety hand feel and it is a top notch aromatic. I recommend trying this but like I said, let it dry out some and you will be rewarded.

This is a tobacco that I actually liked, but, after opening it and trying a bowl, I thought it was much like a tin that I already had opened: "Dan Tobacco Treasures of Ireland - Shannon."

Same sweet and fruity flavor, though not as sweet and pronounced as Shannon. Also, I've started to wonder what manufacturers are thinking when they label tobaccos. Does anybody here think of sweet and fruity scents and flavors when they think of a RAINY DAY? I for one don't. On a rainy day, you're just never going to beat a good English blend, which "Rainy Day" is not, nor pretends to be.

It's a pretty decent tobacco, sort of a "Shannon Lite" if you will. My wife liked the room note, and it is a nice, pleasant smoke, best suited for a mild after dinner pipe.