Holger Danske Ruby Melange

(1.83)
A ribbon cut tobacco consisting of bright Virginia, brown Burleys and a touch of Black Cavendish. The tobacco taste and the sweet cherry aroma with a hint of vanilla will spoil your taste buds.
Notes: Previously blended in Germany by Planta. Currently blended in Denmark by Mac Baren. Previously known as "Cherry Vanilla". The name was changed to "Ruby Melange" due to EU regulations.

Details

Brand Holger Danske
Blended By Mac Baren
Manufactured By Mac Baren
Blend Type Aromatic
Contents Black Cavendish, Burley, Virginia
Flavoring Cherry, Vanilla
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 40 grams pouch
Country Denmark
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

1.83 / 4
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Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 29, 2012 Mild Very Mild Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
I've always had a mixed bagged with these aromatics, some have been good, some have been bad. So it is with fairly low expectations that I approached this one. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed.

The tin aroma was nothing to write home about, I was barely able to discern one, hints of vanilla perhaps. Lighting and packing were veritably standard, no surprises there. The smoke itself is alright, there is just a soft layer of vanilla, no hint of cherry and some hints of a half decent tobacco on the bottom. There is a little tonguebite but that's to be expected.

The lack of flavouring is a obvious downside given it's name but it is, nonetheless a reasonable enough smoke and deserves a two star. As the old saying goes, it sets low standards for itself and fails to live up to them.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 06, 2018 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
Holger Danske - Cherry Vanilla.

The mixture itself is mostly smaller to medium pieces, there's no particularly chunky bits in there. The aroma is definitely cherry but it is nowhere near as formidable as some cherry aro's can be! It's not only cherry but also a slighter detection of vanilla.

It's a real doddle to ignite: a shortish go with the flame substantiates a full and even burn. The flavour is very reflective of the unlit aroma, I can detect both the cherry and the vanilla albeit the vanilla is definitely the weaker of the two.

There are lots of cherry aro's about so they really require the X-Factor to make them stand out but it seems (to me) Holger Danske Cherry Vanilla is just your run of the mill cherry aromatic so I award a pretty basic 2 stars.

Somewhat recommended.
Pipe Used: Various
PurchasedFrom: Various
Age When Smoked: New
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 02, 2016 Mild None Detected Extremely Mild (Flat) Unnoticeable
I like Holske Dansks' blends.

I haven't had any cherry blends for a long time and now I remember why.

Now to be fair this tobacco looks good in it's smart pouch, smells delicious and even feels right. Reminded me a lot in consistency of Radford's Sunday Fantasy. Looks good, too, with brown and black aspects.

Just a shame it totally and unterly tasteless. Alright that's a bit strong, it isn't totally devoid of flavour, there is a faint cherry taste at the start on first burn, but that soon burns away after a couple of puffs. It's almost as if the Cherry was an afterthought top casing.

Vanilla ? No, don't be silly.

This could be any plain blend once the hint of cherry is gone.

And I've got 50g bloody g's of it too.
Pipe Used: Meerchaum and Stanwell briar
PurchasedFrom: Turmeas online (cigars)
Age When Smoked: New
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 26, 2012 Mild Medium Mild Pleasant
50g Pouch. Pouch description:"Mixture of golden-brown Virginia and Burley tobaccos rounded with Black Cavendish.Fruity and sweet Cherry extracts with some Vanilla.Extraordinary taste,discreet aroma. AROMATIC/SOFT TASTE"

Bought as a chance purchase in a tobacconist while buying some more Capstan Ready Rubbed and some as yet untried Dunhill Royal Yacht. While i was there i saw this on the shelf and thought it was about time i owed myself a 'cherry and vanilla' aromatic.

Since the hot weather has kicked in i have felt an aromatic urge and wanted someting which didn't clash with fruit drinks and ice pops,or offend others(i generally smoke the meaty ,manure ,coal tar ,rubber-esque ropes ,flakes and plugs ala kendal). And so a light summer smoke was purchased.

I didn't really have high hopes for this,and if it didn't work for me,its usually what i give visitors who might have a curiosity of having a go without me wasting time preparing some of my better stong and meaty shitty high nicotine specials.

The short story is:It lights ok,burns cool,no bite,no soap,leaves a well burned fluffy ash,tastes consistant all the way down the bowl and tastes exactly how it smells.(possibly a first with me with this class of tobacco!).

Really well behaved aromatic,possibly the best archetype of any aromatic i have yet tasted of any baccy in the true "aromatic"class(cavendish style baccy)

Even the base tobacco is actually pleasant as well,and the topping/casing flavouring is for real.

Great room note on the porch - the breeze blows my smoke back at me and gives me a passing pedestrian's impression..Definately a sociable smoke thats or sure.

The vanilla factor is practically omnipresent in any aromatic cavendish i have ever had, and so this was no real surprise (although pleasant)exept here it doesn't try to disguise a poor tasting base tobacco;this and also the fact that the taste remains throughout the smoking session without fade means the flavouring is well cased and infused with the base tobacco ,and not merely a phantom pyrophobic scent that disapears shortly after ignition.

The cherry factor which is the novelty with me(i had not yet had a cherry aromatic)is a realistic and convincing cherry (like in a cherry coke)which doesn't leave me guessing or doubting like other aromatics i have had in the past,or where i have to invent my own alternative jar notes to pretend to myself.

The vanilla supplies a mild fondant cream factor reminicent as of what is found in many a cream centered 'Chistmas selection chocolates' as a light smoother,with a full on juicy lolly sour cherry that is tasted as much as it is smelled which remains all the way down.(AN AROMATIC THAT TASTES HOW IT SMELL FOR ONCE!)

Easy on the tongue lighty toasted caramelised tasting base tobacco,non bitter,combined with definate flavouring i can taste without having to hyper ventilate while burning cool too(for an aromatic)where i don't get any punishment for my rewards.(tasting like it smells and delivering within an easy smoking pace)the baccy doesn't turn acrid on me and the flavouring doesn't turn empty.

Remarkably and unexpectedly the bowl is cool enough to easily remain touching,and i dont feel this is vexing the heat resistance of the briar like other aromatics which either burn like a furnace or dont seem to burn to a satisfactory fluffy ash when sipping.(you know those all or nothing types?)

I feel i must add here what i am actually smoking this in, because i have found pipes to be the biggest variable regarding what is actually extracted from the smoke;its a vintage "Titan" stainless steel stem moisture trap system pipe with quite a narrow gauge stem draught. I have purchased from ebay recently many samples of old metal and nylon stemed system pipes with different inner smoke tube draught diameters for trial and error matching,to get the best golden ration of baccy/pipe combination.

Either Holger Danske's Cherry Vanilla is a very well behaved aromatic, or the Titan pipe has the golden ratio of sympathetic draught for this tobacco which doesn't leave me wanting to try another sample pipe.(maybe both good?) I find nothing to argue with myself about and change pipe for where i would want to bring anything else in or leave something else out.Here its working and so i leave it.

I unscrew the bowl from the moisture trap spoon once in a while to wipe out the condensation goo which re-crispens the taste again when it starts getting muddied. My past endevours with aromatics had been unremarkable in conventional briars which seemed to gurgle and drown in heel moisture just as they were getting tasty,and needed super high temperature and gas lighters to keep going where they would suddenly turn ashy and nasty.(the reason why i went on to clays for a time because they can take the ultimate thermodynamic punishment and were more maintenance forgiving,but they have a small bowl handicap).

The nicotine is not very high and i wasn't expecting or even wanted an ass kicker when i bought this pouch.It leaves me relaxed and mellowed and delivours a good enough carbon monoxide buzz.(i am sure i get something my smokes other than nicotine alone)

This does everything i wish my other experiences of aromatics could of delivered and better.If i had tried this in my early days of piping i expect i wouldn't of written off aromatics so prematurely before going onto englishes etc;this proves that aromatics don't have to be bastard nasty crap when somebody gets the recipe right.

Maybe its the pipe here as well,and i will revisit a few of my petersons because i have a few spare bowls with this pipe and i have only sampled my other aromatics in clay pipes.Maybe its the moisture trap in this Titan simular to 'falcon' which sweetens the taste here and removes biting goo?

Although cool its not a long burner and is over quite soon compared to other things i smoke,but i suppose i can just reload and go if i want more.

This is not a complicated smoke but does and is everything it says on the packet for me. Its never going to be my best smoke thats for sure but for an aromatic it performs admirably and i havent had to appologise for anything.

I am starting to feel lately that i have tried all the archetypes of baccy in the non aromatics sector; and feeling that i am probably not really going to discover any more real novelties other than similar tasting variants between already known pillars,i have pondered venturing into aromatic territory just to give me a bit more of an expanded tobacco plethora as long as i could discover some genuinely well behaved samples.

This Holger Danske baccy seems to be a good start and i might see what else they have.This new aromatic exploration is going to be more about the aromatic properties than the complexity and subtle nuances of taste within the master visionary blended base tobaccos of the non-aromatic sector.I just want a few different aromatic flavours on the shelf with a humble tobacco base.

I am giving it 4 stars which might seem over generous, but its because of what it represents to me in the true'aromatic class'and it takes a lot for me to be pleased when deviating from my usual non-aromatic tobacco course.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 25, 2011 Mild Extremely Mild Extremely Mild (Flat) Unnoticeable
I bought this with great anticipation because of the combination of cherry and vanilla. Upon opening the packet I got a strong tingle in the nose from the scent....I can smell some fruitiness but not really cherry and no vamilla. The tobacco was very dry in the pouch so keeping it lit wasn't a problem. I hoped that upon smoking things would improve but they didn't and the other reviewer was right about the tongue burn. I'm hoping that if I leave this to age a bit it may get a bit better. Now another thing I noticed not only of this blend but also of another Danish blend (Alsbo) was a kind of weird smell that I can't quite put my finger on. It's I'm wondering perhaps a preservative. Since both blends came from the same region it could be the traditional preparation or perhaps just the preserving but this has put me off anything from that region altogether.

Update after aging a bit...I have noticed the cherry flavor come out a bit ..zero on the vanilla and still unfortunately not something I would recommend.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 08, 2009 Mild Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Although I smoke aromatics as well as more natural mixtures of pipe tobacco, Cherry Vanilla turned out to be close to a worst case scenario of an aromatic. The promised taste of cherry and vanilla is rather week, especially at about half the bowl the cherries' presence vanishes almost completely from the tongue. What remains is a quite bland taste of somewhat vanilla-like traces combined with a tingling, sometimes even burning sensation on the tongue. Room note ranges from fruity in the beginning towards vanilla in the middle and at the end simply burning, smoldering tobbacco leaf. Overall the tobacco leaves me with the impression of having inhaled some artificially flavored, soggy, hot air. Definitely not what one would expect from the description on the package.

I tried to improve the experience by different means, like drying the baccy before smoking, smoking it with / without filter and so on. Only thing that allowed a slight improving was to pack the tobacco rather dense and smoke it very slowly.
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