D & R Tobacco Three Sails

(3.10)
A light bodied, British style Virginia Blend. Special leaf selection and processing, and an extra-fine cut give this exceptional blend its unique character and elegance. An impressive presentation of color and appearance, and satisfying flavor and aroma makes Three Sails an unforgettable blend. contains 100% flue-cured Gold Leaf tobaccos with natural preservatives added.

Details

Brand D & R Tobacco
Blended By Mark Ryan
Manufactured By Daughters & Ryan
Blend Type Straight Virginia
Contents Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Shag
Packaging 40 grams tin, 3.5 ounce tin, 16 ounce bag
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

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

Average Rating

3.10 / 4
11

13

4

2

Reviews

Please login to post a review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 30 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 02, 2015 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
Reminds me exactly of Three Castles, which I used to enjoy, and I suspected this is what the Castles once was, something blender Mark Ryan has confirmed to me as he blended Three Castles for years. When Three Castles was discontinued, Ryan continued to make it as Three Sails. It's a simple uncomplicated Virginia with a lot of natural tart and tangy citrus, plenty of grass and hay, some sugar and tart lemon, along with acidic, bread and floral notes. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a couple steps below the medium mark. Puff at a slow to moderate rate, and Three Sails will do well, won’t bite (even if puffed fast) or get harsh or cigarette-like. Has a very consistent, clean flavor from start to finish, and easily burns to ash with hardly a relight. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl, and being a fairly dry shag cut, burns quickly, but not hot if you pace the smoke. I do suggest a very firm pack. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and is an all day smoke. Has a pleasant room note. Makes a good blender, too. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks
44 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 18, 2012 Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
...Over the last 51 years of being a dedicated pipe smoker, I've always had an affinity for shag tobaccos...From the early 1960's onward, I've kept shag cut tobaccos in my rotation...I particularly enjoy Three Castles pure Virginia shag and while it is no longer available, I have found a rather suitable replacement...Three Sails!

A very nice shag cut, quality tobaccos, and light aroma, make this mixture of 100% blended Virginias, a first rate pipe tobacco. Uncomplicated, this mixture is plain and simple...and sometimes that's a good thing. In comparing this to the original Three Castles, of which I have several 100 gr. tins still left from 1982, it is very similar in all aspects...main difference is that 30 years of aging has made Three Castles, a very mellow smoking experience...like sipping a fine dessert wine.

A bit dry out of the 14 oz. bag, I keep this tobacco moist in order to control burn and heat rate. In a group 4-5 size pipe I get a good 30-35 minute smoke. Granted, it won't be at the "top" of everyone's tobacco list, but if you want a straight forward pure Virginia, it is a most worthy choice.

Rated 4 stars because it meets all of my criteria for what constitutes a first class tobacco and smoke...

...a pipe is to be savored...
26 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 03, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
If you have ever wished for a Virginia version of Five Brothers, this is it. The cut is similar. It is a strong and sweet.

I hydrated it a little because mine came very dry and packed it a little tight. The smoke is fairly quick even in a large bowl. The nature of a very fine cut like this is that the bowl gains strength and becomes a little harsh at the end. Essentially you are smoking the "filter" in the last 1/4 of the bowl.

Don't get this looking for complexity or nuance. It is a great basic golden Virginia smoke, and the price point is attractive.
20 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 17, 2017 Mild None Detected Mild Very Pleasant
I think there is something in Three Sails to slow down the burn rate as this is as fine a shag cut tobacco as you will find, and the strands are not long... well, in comparison to Five Brothers and other shag cut style tobaccos. This is an all Virginia tobacco and I think it would work well for the RYO crowd, too. Light, smooth and just a wee bit on the grassy sweet side. And this one, despite being all Virginia, never nipped, even though I was puffing kind of hard because it was hard for me to find the depth of flavor and strength that I normally enjoy with leaf of this type.
12 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 22, 2015 Extremely Mild None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Summary: Not a good match for "Three Castles," which was a sweet-sour thin cut Virginia mix, but a pleasant sweet Virginia.

I smoked "Three Castles" for many years. "Three Sails" entirely misses what made Three Castles great: its balance of flavors making for a pleasurable smoke in and of itself. "Three Sails" is straight sweet Virginias in a shag cut -- although half of my order was shake that is entirely unsmokeable -- and has none of the depth or the sweet-sour flavor. Instead, this is merely sweet and dry and smells like a cigarette when burned. If you add it to "Five Brothers" in a 50-50 mix and then toss in some Perique, it makes a decent albeit acidic and sweet Va/Per.
PurchasedFrom: Pipes & Cigars
9 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 15, 2016 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
I was given a much larger sample of this than I wanted. Particularly after I had the chance to try it. This is not a horrible blend, but it just did not do much for me. My first puffs of this just screamed RYO cigarette taste and not much else, but as I got down to the last third, I actually did get some nice Virginia sweetness that took it out of the cigarette realm. Then, next thing you know it was finished.

This all happened pretty quickly and is one reason I really don't like crimp cut tobaccos. They never pack optimally to me and this is quickly evidenced by how fast they burn. I heard one reviewer say that this is like the Virginia version of 5 brothers and I think that is pretty apt. But you won't be clobbered over the head with nicotine as you will with the brothers.

Otherwise, it is in a crimp cut, comes pretty dry and burns pretty fast. I am not a fan and won't repurchase, but I could see recommending this to the right person. Some people really like the crimp cuts.
7 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 23, 2012 Strong Medium Medium to Full Tolerable
Right out of the bag your greeted with the pleasant smell of real fresh vacuum sealed tobacco from the farm. No casing, only the expertise of North Carolina flue curing from Mark Ryan on bright leaf Virginia sweetly covering the taste buds. A full mouth of smoke is expected if you pack the pipe well and inhaled its all british kick in the lungs. The shag is tightly packed in brick formation so break it out in layers and cut to your length. Burns kinda hot if you pull on it alot and like Ryback it looses flavor 2/3 into the bowl from absorbing tar like a small fine shag does. It can be had for less than a buck and a half an ounce so why bother with a full bowl anyway. love this sweet and strong sailors tobacco, in a stick or bowl it pleases

Craig

Update; just recieved several pounds of "bulk" split amongst two bags from pipesandcigars.com. at 1.40 an ounce its not possible to find a good simple tobacco of this quality. This batch was a little dryer and not as fresh as vac sealed bags of 14oz right from D&R. It is still quite fresh and moist and in answer to other reviews forget about machine rolling this fine shag. It will jam. Just smoke a fairly tight bowl and it was classic english flavored and strong. The sweetness is very light and on the beginning of each puff. Mix it with your favorite stuff to make it really burn nice and mix flavors nicely.
7 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 16, 2020 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
I know they are buying this blend as a RYO, but in my personal opinion, this is a waste of resources at this price range. To put it simply, I do not see the point in having this quality leaf wasted this way. On the one hand, most RYO smokers won't be able to tell the difference between this blend and any other RYO of lesser quality that is currently being sold in the market. And as for pipe smokers, I can see how most of them will miss the point because of the shag cut and lack of artificial flavouring. Only and only if you are a seasoned pipe smoker with many years of experience on your back will you be able to see what is on offer here. Because of the thin cut, I recommend using the Frank method to fill your pipe and pack it tight around the bowl. The key to enjoying this blend is to smoke it at a very low pace producing as little smoke as possible. It will consume fast regardless, but you need to keep it cool to be able to fully appreciate it. If you do this, you will get a nice hearthy note with hints of lemon, but not very pronounced, which will give you an indication this blend contains more red than bright leaf. This blend is only for the very few of you with the know-how to profit from it. 4 stars.
6 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 02, 2019 Medium Extremely Mild Mild Unnoticeable
I was able to smoke a few bowls of this at ‘the club’ and it is a fairly decent cigarette tobacco with the shag cut of the old DRUM RYO tobacco you could buy a long time ago and probably still can but read there are two versions. Anyway, back to the review. Sweet smelling, grassy and maybe a little honey or sugar casing but can’t really say. With the first puff I got a blast through my nostrils like a bullet. Burns fast due to the cut and could bite if not sipped slowly. An alright tobacco but not in my preference category but always great to try something new. Bottom line is it will be sometime before that ship sails when I try this again. Pun intended.
Pipe Used: Meerschaum
Age When Smoked: New
6 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 26, 2017 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I didn’t smoke a large variety of tobaccos this past summer. The weather was too hot for some of my favorites and I was often too busy for longer smokes. This had me searching for a quick burning and flavorful warm weather tobacco. I ultimately stumbled upon Daughters & Ryan’s Three Sails, a shag cut bright Virginia mixture of good quality.

Three Sails packs and burns with ease. Due to its thin cut and lower moisture content, the flavor strength takes no time to develop. And while this isn’t a complex smoke, it does offer up a few nuances. What I like most about Three Sails is that it presents the typical light, grassy, sweet cereal and citrus like flavors of a bright Virginia blend, only with more bravado and also a bit of spice.

Frankly, I was a little confused as to what Mark Ryan meant by “British Style Virginia Blend.” I guess I was expecting something Kendal like, perhaps with an added scenting of some kind, but Three Sails tastes like natural Virginia tobacco with no additional flavorings. Altogether, I really enjoy this blend. It’s a good clean tasting smoke and an excellent bargain.
6 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.

target="_blank"