Rattray Bagpiper's Dream

The various Virginias offer some citrus and grass to support the lightly more obvious woody earth, fermented dark stewed fruit, and a minor spice note. There’s a noticeable floralness to the Virginias as well. The black cavendish is an important second player with a deep vanilla that is continually present through the smoke, but never rises to dominate in any meaningful way. The cognac is sweetly fragrant with a little berry taste, and a mild dash of soap. I believe of some of the floral essence comes from a topping, and it reminds me of rose and maybe geranium, too. It doesn’t quite venture into Lakeland territory, but seems a little like a kissing cousin to that well known topping. The toppings do weaken a tad after the half way point, but are noticeable to the finish. Has a slightly more than mild nic-hit. Won't bite. A little moist out of the tin, though it doesn’t need any dry time. Burns cool and fairly smooth with a touch of creaminess at a reasonable pace. Requires a few relights. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, but not enough to distract or goop. Will burn to ash with little effort. Has a lingering after taste and sweet, floral room note. An aromatic with a little complexity, it’s more for the experienced smoker, and isn't really an all day smoke, but repeatable during your waking hours.

-JimInks

Now as of late I have not been to enamored with aromatics, I have all but removed them from my rotation, but when Glynn sent me a sample of Bagpiper's Dream to try I said where's the harm.

On first inspection this tobacco is the perfect consistency for smoking, not too wet and not dry. It smells divine. The sweetness of cognac is unmistakable but it is far from overpowering, it's just right.

As I smoked trough the bowl, still possessing reservations about aromatics in general, I was blown away. Smoking this reminded me why I smoked aromatics in the first place. It filled all the criteria a top quality aromatic should. It smelled divine in the room (girlfriend approved; the highest accolade any tobacco can receive in the room note category), it TASTED like it smelled for the whole bowl! (a rarity) AND as if it hadn't already impressed me enough, it didn't need a single relight.

Top quality stuff, the cognac may not be for everyone but if it is you'll agree, it's a tough one to beat.

P.S. Please take into account that my 4 star rating is based on an aromatic scale alone. I never group aromatics and non-aromatics together as they are different smoking experiences.

I tried a bowl of this at a nearby B&M at the suggestion of the salesman on staff. It was so tasty I bought some tins to enjoy in the future. Normally I would have waitied to review this until I had had some more but with so few people chiming in on this one I had to give it my 2 cents earlier.

It tastes great - sweet & aromatic for sure - but the Virginia taste comes through and it was not "goopy" or overly cased with sugar. Supposedly it's flavored with cognac and I can actually detect a hint of this alcohol in the taste. The room note will likely have non-smokers hanging out near you - its that good! Couldn't have this all the time, but it's a quality dessert smoke. The sample I had seemed to have dried a bit in the store and I suspect that is the preferred way to enjoy it as I had no bite - at least in my one encounter.

If you can enjoy heavy aromatics and like VA's give this try - it is quality smoke.

I'm an aromatic and non aromatic smoker myself but tend to smoke a few more aromatics than non for convenience. But Bagpipers Dream is by far my favorite aromatic I've ever smoked. It's sweet, mild, and a very delightful, relaxing smoke. When I bought my first tin I opened it next to my friend and he immediately noticed the smell and fell in love with it. The aroma this stuff gives off is incredible. I just want to shove it up my nose and smell it all day. It has a very distinguishable vanilla scent and the cognac gives it a nice alcohol or fermented smell, not in a bad way, but the best way possible. As soon as you open it put your nose real close and inhale deep and slowly and enjoy.

When smoked, this stuff is crazy smooth. Almost no tongue bite at all and the flavor comes through beautifully. You'll see that a lot of people say it tastes just like it smells and they are spot on. The taste is incredible, light, and you won't want it to end. It comes with the perfect amount of moisture and stays lit very well. I very rarely have to relight and when I set it down for several minutes and come back, it starts right back up. Very delicious, puts off a good amount of smoke, and people will love you for smoking this stuff around them (I've actually attracted people by the smell of the smoke, no joke).

If your an aromatic fan, this is the THE aromatic to smoke. If your not an aromatic fan, I still say give it a try and you might be surprised by it. I highly recommend to all pipe smokers, young and old, new and experienced.

Tin note is very inviting, with vanilla and caramel sweetness and a hint of woods and earth. Once lit, there is an explosion of plum and cassis on the nose. On the tongue, this tobacco has a very real sweetness that carries through the entire smoke. This might seem all over the top, and to be sure this is a very fragrant, very sweet aromatic, but there is a complexity and balance here that prevents it from being vulgar or cloying. The tobacco is perfectly presented for smoking, requires no drying, and burns cool and dry to the last. The virginias themselves are light and mild. A very gentle, friendly tobacco.

The truth is, the vast majority of us in the pipe world start our journeys completely bass akwards. We all seem to start our learning process with the most complicated tobaccos to master, aromatics.

Starting with aromatics is like trying to learn to fly an airplane in a stealth jet. The truth is, english blends are much more forgiving to beginner mistakes. They burn better than aromatics, they tend to come a little drier and require less work to reach an optimal moisture level, the speed at which you smoke has less impact on overall flavor, and most importantly, for the most part, they won't bite as harshly as aromatics.

That being said, most of us, as new pipers, grab the goopiest aromatic we can find, pack the bowl in a very unknowledgeable and inept way, spend our time doing our best impression of a hoover vacuum to keep said wet, poorly packed tobacco lit, and after a few skin grafts on our tongues decide......aromatics suck.

If you really know what you are doing (and this takes time and practice to learn) aromatics can be outstanding. And for me, one of the most outstanding ones of all is bagpipers dream.

Rattrays is one of my favorite blending houses. There is not a dud in their lineup as far as I am concerned, and bagpipers dream is a masterpiece.

The tin note is heavenly, if you can smell this and not want to smoke it, something has to be wrong with you. Inside we have a nice even mix of light, medium, and dark ribbon cut tobacco. The moisture content is damn near perfect for me, but it does benefit from a slight drying out.

It packs easy, lights easy, and smokes cool and fragrant. When done correctly, there is not a bite in the bowl.

The taste? Well, I have to be honest. I am not sure what I am tasting. Don't take that as a negative, I love the taste, I just can't really pinpoint down what I am picking up. Cognac is mentioned on the tin. Maybe I see that, but I am pretty sure if the tin didn't mention cognac, I would not have pinpointed that taste. It is mellow, kinda vanilla like, but oh so damn good.

While aromatics get a bad name in general, I will be the first to admit not all aromatic offerings are created equal. That being said this is one of the finest aromatics I have had the opportunity to smoke, and this will always have a place in my rotation.

Get you some.

When you open it a discreet sweet cognac aroma comes out.nice cut a bit moisty you might think it needs to be dryed but theres no need for it.packs well lights easy thougt it needs a few re lights.burns pretty good.it's an enjoyable blend well balanced fruity virginias and sweet cavendish.you get all the flavours promised.you can start your day with it.definitelly a good all day aromatic blend pleasant to others an excellent choise for a good aromatic smoking experience.

Until I get over the shock of the awesomeness of this blend , I'll say this

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WOW ! This stuff is incredible and I enjoyed it from the moment I lit it till the end of ash

This is one that I almost gave away after a couple of smokes. I'm glad I gave it another try after setting it aside a month or so. It's a lovely blend with a subtle sweetness and a nutty character from the Cognac, which is evident without being dominating. Soft, creamy smoke that requires little, if any, drying if packed lightly. Burns surprisingly slowly. Consistent flavor throughout the bowl, which is something I don't normally experience with aromatics. Very satisfying.