Rattray Bagpiper's Dream

Made me sick to my stomach. Being a Piper, I had hoped this would be kind of cool to have in my Bagpipe case. Well, better not.

I have been smoking this since I opened it about a month ago and just can’t get enough of this. Granted I smoke other blends also but I really like the flavor profile of this one. I also find it interesting that it is comprised of ribbon, plug, curly and flake. On the tin it says that this is lightly top dressed with Cognac. So, I have obviously heard of Cognac but never had it when I use to drink a hundred years ago. So, I had to Google. https://www.foodandwine.com/cocktails-spirits/cognac-drink-more “Cognac is a category of Brandy name named for the Cognac region where it is produced.” Now that that the spirit lesson is over with, moving on. To me this is more than lightly topped as I get a tremendous amount of flavor with virtually with every puff. I had some this evening in a few briars dedicated to my Aromatics. Don’t want to obviously ghost my good English and Virginia pipes. The tin note on this to me is unbelievable especially since my senses are not as good as they were 50 some odd years ago. All I can say is if you like a good quality aromatic this is a must try. I do find the name a little odd as you would think that the name “Bagpiper’s Dream” with a Scottish gentleman on the tin would be flavored with Scotch instead of something made in France. I will probably have some more tomorrow with my coffee. Not sure if I will buy any when this is gone as my collection might wind up like the following sentence. As mentioned in a couple of my reviews, I was gifted around 60 tins from a nice lady whose uncle unfortunately passed away. This is one of them.

There is little to add to the descriptions provided by others. The blend is smooth and sweet as far as aromatics go without entirely overpowering the natural and traditional flavor of the tobaccos. I came to add only one remark, one word, really: Panettone. This is the flavor achieved by this smoke. A wonderful traditional continental Christmas confection, it is now my official holiday and winter indulgence. By this, I mean my holiday aromatic of choice. Perhaps, it will become more than that, but it simply fits the bill.

Absolutely my favourite aromatic mixture. The tin aroma recalls the best french cognacs, tobacco is a wonder to see including coins and ribbons and broken flake, extremely easy to pack, mildly moistured but burns all the way throught. Apart from the Brebbia Quartetto, this is the only tobacco my family loves to smell in the living room Try it. You must absolutely try it. Tell you this, if I'd have to choose between this and Ennerdale, i'd chose this.

This might be my favorite aro. It lights and smokes easily and doesn't bite. The cognac and vanilla flavorings are well-balanced and don't hide the tobacco flavor. I also get a little floral character, which adds a nice bit of complexity. As far as aromatics go, I think this might be considered more of an English-style due to its conservative amount of flavorings. (I could be wrong about the terminology here.) The other kind of aro is more goopy, like Rattray's Exotic Passion and Summer blends, Captain Black, Mixture No. 79, etc. I wonder if most people who avoid aros had negative experiences with the latter type. Those smokers might find that they enjoy a more restrained, less bitey, cooler aro like this one. The room note is excellent too

Those who know, know Rattray makes the good stuff, so I was curious about this highly rated and comparably more expensive blend.

The tin pops with a superb sweet/tart Brandy liqueur that is decadent and raised the eyebrow of every person (non smoker alike) I made smell it. This wasn't some spray on chemical bullsnot, it was the mouth watering real deal. The slightly moist black/brown mix packed well and had little trouble sparking up. One peculiar note is my tin had a few tiny cut disks, which I'm assuming was from the creation process?... nonetheless they were like finding some fun toys in the cereal box.

The first few puffs were rich and conveyed a smooth and booze tasty, that didn't overwhelm the senses and complimented the natural tobacco taste. Nothing felt cheap and I was enjoying the flavor all the way to the end of the bowl.

I will be rebuying this again (once in stock), it was worth the extra pennies and deserving of the 4 star hype.

BAGPIPER’S DREAM: According to my personal taste it is not a dream. Not at all. I like aromatics and flavored blends but in this expensive mixture I can not find what makes the difference. Where is the kick in it? On the whole this is a classic flavored blend: there is casing and there is topping. And there isn’t only Cognac in this blend, but many more seasoning ingredients. Perhaps it will be a dream for aromatic blends’ lovers but in my opinion this is nothing special and honestly I find it hard to find the difference between this tobacco and a simple Danish aromatic sold in pouch. Very expensive, it is a pleasant tobacco, mild, but nothing more. So, in my opinion and in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 6 and two stars.

this has become a staple of my rotation. The cognac finish over the Virginia's is a great evening smoke. Easy to pack and for me stays lit usually without any relights.

I've smoked this in everything from Meerschaum to cobs to Castello Canadians and I've never found a pipe it doesn't like.

I know I have reviewed this before, but I thought an edit was nessesary.

First impressions after trying it for the first time in 5 years was great, but I tried a few bowl today and something has happened to it, it's been kept in the tin at room temperature, it was considerably drier than when I first opened it, so the tin is not air tight (mine was a 100g tub), and I'm quite perplexed as even though it's drier it will not stay lit!. The constant relight ruin the flavour it just turns it into a sour mess, and even though it's not bone dry, it burned quite hot and scorched my tongue.

One plus point is that it smells nice out of the tin and the room note is pleasant but I don't buy tobacco for everyone else to enjoy apart me.

Do be warned though, if you are going smoke it, try it in a cob or meerschaum to be sure you like it as it ghosts as quickly and fiercely as condor.

I guess this is very much a lesson that revisiting the past can be a crushing dissapointment.

Try it you may like it but as for me, in its current incarnation , whether it is the same and I've changed or there has been a subtle change in recipe, bagpipers dream turned into a bagpipers nightmare.