D & R Tobacco Ramback Regular

The Turkish is choice: fairly woody, earthy, and toasty, slightly floral and spicy, with a few sweet and sour notes. There are no toppings, and the cut is closer to shag than ribbon. Dry as are all the D&R blends, it burns quickly, and can be harsh if you puff fast. Not very nuanced as it is a straight Turkish, and not an all day smoke, but it does well in small to medium doses. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Won’t bite. Burns clean, leaves no moisture in the bowl and hardly needs a relight. It reminds me a little of smoking a Camel cigarette in your pipe, and if you like that, you’ll like this. Would make a good mixer, too.

-JimInks

From my favorite online tobacconist I placed an order which included Rimboche SJ. When I opened the package I found they had instead sent me a tin of RAMBACK the blend that rams you back™. No prob, I like turkish too.

The tin note smells like a freshly cracked pack of Camels and is also faintly ketchupy. The leaf inside is various shades of golden brown and very dry. This is neither a leathery nor minty oriental but rather a delicately sweet, "kitchen spice" type oriental. I find the taste to be reminiscent of McClelland's Yenidje Supreme but somehow bolder. This blend has a brother called Ramback Gold who admits to having a percentage of virginia -- this Ramback claims to have none, yet occasionally I catch that creamy hay like virginia taste. Also I consistantly find some measure of that back of the mouth spice a la perique but the liner note still claims 100% turkish, and there is no dark leaf present in the tin. There does seem to be a detectable amount of vitamin N here. Seems like a good price-to-value ratio. IMO this would make a good all day tobacc, which is exactly what I plan to do with it.

I really enjoyed my adventure with the Ramback tobaccos and mostly because I received full flavor and strength, and Ramback regular sure delivers in both categories. Izmir leaf has always had a sort of cinnamon spice effect on my palate, and I like the combination. The Izmir here is rather forceful though and a slow puffing cadence was need for me to fully appreciate what Ramback has to offer. Not an in your face type of smoke but you know you've had a bowl of tobacco once the fire goes out.

A very nice Turkish blend that will most likely replace S. Gwaith Turkish Blend, since it will be discontinued. I quite enjoy smoking straight Turkish and have so for more than 40 years.

Because it can burn hot, I keep the moisture level a little higher and that seems to make this tobacco "rounder' and more flavorful.

Aroma is pleasant with a fairly natural tobacco taste and while not a complex blend...there are a variety of "nuances", I experience.

Smoked in a group 4 or larger pipe and a worthy tobacco for those who enjoy a straight Oriental.

...a pipe is to be savored...

I recently invested in 2 oz each of the three Ramback blends. And a couple oz of Picayune, too. All four of the blends need the same preface: This is a Pipe Smoker's cigarette tobacco. A cigarette tobacco worthy of the sophisticated, nuanced, and demanding palate of a Pipe Smoker. I used to smoke Camel straights, then switched to a pipe. After sampling all four blends in a pipe, I followed my curiosity and picked up some papers. Wow. They really came alive for me. These tobaccos almost need two reviews, as the difference in experience between pipe and rolled can be that significant.

Preface said, to sum the experience up in two words - sour flower. In one word - delicious. The sourness and floral qualities of the Izmir, along with a touch of spice and earth, are what instantly hit my palate, in full, delicious force. There are the elements of a bit of wood, along with a touch of buttery sweetness to be found on the bottom end, but they play second fiddle to the floral, sour, and spicey/incensey earth aspects. As far as the moisture content, well, I care as little that this is relatively dry as I care that the Black XX Twist (And SG in general) on my shelf is relatively wet. It is how it works best and didn't bother me as much as some others.

If you enjoy this in a pipe, you might even enjoy it more rolled into a cigarette, as did I. With the money you save on the tobacco (I got 2 oz for $4.16), you can pick up a cheap Zig Zag cigarette hand roller and some papers to have on hand for the occasions that you feel like doing something different or you only have 10 minutes for a smoke. There is no need to inhale, just smoke it like a pipe or a mini-cigar. Smoking it rolled in paper mimics the differences one can detect between smoking a tall, smaller diameter bowl and a short, larger diameter bowl. It is a different experience rolled than in a pipe. A very enjoyable one, in which some of the flavors really intensify.

This truly is a dual purpose tobacco (Pipe and RYO), and performs very well in both arenas. I'm not into blending, but if you are, I agree with others concerning this tobacco being a great addition to your shelf to liven up something else, as it brings a very consistent, full Oriental flavor. Turkish at its best.

This is a 100% oriental blend. It can burn hot, so watch out.

The cut borders on shag. It burns exceedingly well with no dottle. "Ramback" is so named because it can ram you back, and the nicotine content is noticeable so plan ahead.

I smoked about 2/3rds of a tin and decided that it was just too much. Orientals make super condiments, and I just love Balkan blends. My favorite is Russ Ouelette's Mount Marcy. But this may be too much of a good thing. So I'm going to use the balance as blending tobacco.

Yes, I plan to buy another couple tins, and probably will smoke it from time to time - especially if I have to work late. But I plan generally to add it to weaker blends to add sparkle and zip.

My thoughts on Ramback Regular are almost identical to JimInks. The moisture content is pipe ready. Due to the cut, it should be packed smoked with care. It has a woody flavor and was a bit sweeter than I had expected. There are no harsh spots and it’s monochromatic. It could easily be a “set it and forget it” type of all-day smoke for some although I would likely opt to use this as an additive to other blends. As a similar blend, I do prefer Stokkebye’s Turkish Export to this blend. Ramback isn’t quite a three star blend for me, especially in the later stages of the bowl, but it closer to three than two so three it is.

D & R Tobacco - Ramback Regular (Ramback).

Before I even got to smoke a bowl I met an obstacle, the damn ring-pull broke off the tin when trying to open it; kitchen utensils to the recue! After that problem's been overcome another rears its head: it's too dry.

The smoke has a few of the subtle Latakia traits, the woody/earthy ones. And although it's not a dazzling smoke, it's quite good. The only negative with the way Ramback smokes is due to the hydration: it burns fast. Other than that it's a nice tasting smoke: there's a slight buttery quality to it. Tongue bite eludes me throughout the whole pipe, whether sucked or sipped.

The nicotine's perfectly medium, and the room-note's quite pleasant.

For flavour alone this scores well, but on the whole I can't give it a full result. Even though it has a good taste the negative points are too bad, and as few as they are, reduce it to two stars; they just spoil it.

Somewhat recommended.

If you're into Turkish baccy's you owe yourself this one. It came a bit dry, and burned somewhat quickly, but never mind, fire up another bowl. My Ramback came in bulk form, a tin, I assume, would be less dry. This smoke is perfect for me, low on nic, mild, yet very tasty and exquisitely toasty (if this is a RYO I've no problem with that—other than burning faster than I'm used to, this blend, for me at least, worked very well in my pipe). Simply excellent!

The cut is a chopped slightly irregular narrow ribbon. It arrives dry, and given experience with other D&R smokes I have been smoking it packed a little firmly in various pots. I have not hydrated it any and doubt I will try that. It is a good smoke as delivered.

There is a subtle spicy thing going on in the taste. It has a sour edge when puffed and presents as a slightly fuller "earthy" when sipped. In general, this is a good Oriental and a pleasant smoke. It is not what I would call hearty, and the flavor is not especially complex. It burned a little quickly and was not a challenge to keep lit or smoke to the bottom of the bowl. I found the strength to be mild->med.

This is a pleasant smoke, and I find it easy to repeat. It is something you should try if you like Orientals.