Dan Tobacco The Mellow Mallard

Well, in 2008 was first I gave a try to this tobacco, as I like very much the VAs. September, 25 of the same year I submitted on this board my review as a new blend, including also a photo of the tin, but --I guess-- unfortunately it has been lost...

However, I'm coming back to add a voice over the other two, hereunder, cheering this blend that I found to be extraordinary, thus not sure about a couple of issues: This blend is a subtly aromatic one, flavoured with nuts, figs, something alcoholic (brandy?) and a hint of vanilla; I couldn't say it is purely natural matured only virginias. It's true that is rather a dry blend, ready to fill and light, even if freshly packed. Since then I smoked more than a dozen tins and tobacco was always without an excess of humidity --at least one doesn't have to pay for water content! I found out it's aroma becomes much better and taste more "round" if, on the opening of the tin, loose tobacco rests exposed to open air for half an hour, then put back to its original tin and waiting for a couple of days to give the first light. Burns very well till 4/5 of the bowl bottom, then some more lighting requires to burn the rest. Has no tongue bite if smoked properly, but is prone to burn out the walls of the bowl if puffing too frequently. (I was amazed to see my Dunhill Chestnut sweat on the outside of the bowl!) Anyway, has a sweet taste inviting to give an extra puff from time to time. Delicious tickle of nostrils, that tiny line of smoke escaping from bowl during smoking, gives. I highly recommend this blend also for newbies.

Well, I was surprised not to see a single review of the Mellow Mallard, so this will be my first review.

I must say, this is not a lame duck! It is a nice and natural broken VA flake of medium strength, but it smokes very smooth and cool and, surprising for a flake of this strength, without any tongue bite.

This is a good one for breaking in a new pipe. Anyway you should smoke it in a very clean pipe to be able to detect the subtle aromas.

All in all an average, good VA flake, but nothing special. If you'd like to experience natural VA taste but are afraid of tongue bite, this one might be worth a try for you.

I was searching for available virginia flakes and came across this one . Being a Dan tobacco I expected something strong but this one was a little over the hill . Although the can says " aromatic" I could not detect any aromatic agent in it . The flake is dark and a little thick and there is no tin note that I recognize as virginia . As far as I can see , the smoke simply had no virginia taste , just strong tobacco with no clear direction .; After a few bowls I gave up trying to find some grace in it . This one is a dead duck .

The description on the Dan website indicates that they "have carefully fermented a quantity of unbelievably palatable and aroma-rich, sweet Virgina from Zambia by pressing until the optimal ripeness was achieved." And goes on to say, "This tobacco is good enought to get by completely without additional flavorings." Now that last statement alone is enough to make any fan of Virginias sit up and take notice, including this one. And indeed there are no top-flavorings detectable. I can't judge whether this applies to casing (or casings), but there was no indication of any that I could find. That alone really makes me want to like this one, and if it is truly uncased, this must be one of the very few out there! Virginias are tough and that is a gutsy thing for a producer to do. And if that is the case (uncased), it's well worth our attention. How else are we going to get to know about Virginias?

It has been thoroughly rubbed out, which means it is a mixture of short and broken ribbons that are surprisingly dry (good!) and tend to crumble to, well, crumbs by the end of the tin. (Buy the smaller tin!) This is all very convincing.

In the pipe it starts off very lightly, not with sweetness but with tannic tanginess. Other qualities elude this smoker for about the first third of the bowl until a sweetness begins to emerge with a bit of floral fruitiness which hits its peak at about mid-bowl. Until this occurs I always have to ask myself if this is really something I want to smoke. It is not particularly enjoyable, but then... the tannins subside as the fruity sweetness becomes more and more apparent. This sweetness thens give way to a delicious earthiness which gains in depth and strength until the end of the bowl. It is in the last third of the bowl that this tobacco shows what it can do. And, yes, there is some nicotine here, as slowly becomes apparent.

Kudos to DTM for this one! Will I smoke this often? No, but I am very grateful to the manufacturers for this lesson in Virginas. This is one instructive smoke, and it burns very well without producing much moisture, leaving the mouth feeling dry and clean with a slightly herbal earthiness lingering on. What started off as a light, tannic, nondescript smoke, becomes substantial and robust; an honest, no- nonsense smoke, that is all about the development in the pipe.

Summary: Has lots of wonderful qualities, but is too much trouble for what it gives back.

If you want to learn about Virginias, this is a must! If not, better steer clear. Two stars, since it really is not for everyone. Four stars for anyone looking to learn more about Virginias. I wish there were more tobaccoes out there without, or with this few, additional flavorings. Recommended.