Peterson The Royal Yacht

Took The Royal Yacht out a few times around Nicotine Bay and the result so far has been the same. I'm always torpedoed by the USS Better Virginia from the USA. This is no doubt a quality, rich, luxurious high quality smoke from Dunhill. It smells divine and is loaded with rich tobacco. It no doubt has the goods to satisfy the smoker who craves the drug and will slap silly those who aren't use to this style of bacca. With all the hype and almost threatening manner with it's nicotine content I find the nicotine in Peterson's Irish flake would kick this blend back to the other side of the British Isles. That doesn't mean Royal Yacht is weak… by no means.

I'm a lover of VA based tobacco and particular fond of Cornell and Diehls and McClelland's treatment of this great leaf. So I purchased Royal Yacht looking for another Va based tobacco. If you've never tried it, here's my honest opinion and experience of what you will find behind this classic tin of bright screaming primary colors.

It's a heavy natural style tobacco blend, med to darker brown in color. The smell of Plum in the tin is good and not overbearing and to me barley transferred to the bowl. Theres not a lot of movement of flavor change and I could barley get any sweetness from the Va's. Its a heavy tobacco taste blend and almost one dimensional with a nice nicotine bite with dense smoke. It has a heavy to harsh room note. You can smoke it anytime but would pair great with an afternoon meal or morning coffee. This style of tobacco in itself is a classic and will please you if you craving this style of smoke. If the above sounds what you are looking for you will love it.

On the other hand if your desire is warm, tasty or sweet Red, Golden or Bright Va's with or without a nic punch I recommend looking in other brands that tend to be more favorable in the Virginia department. Some of our brands from the U.S. do a great job.

This is nice quality blend and I recommend it, depends what the piper is looking for. Happy sailing pipers!

Dunhill's Royal Yacht has been under sail since 1912, although over the years it has undergone changes. In 1917, it was described as "particularly recommended in cases of delicate throat." While Royal Yacht isn't particularly heavy in terms of body, the present incarnation is hardly "delicate."

I first smoked Royal Yacht in the mid 1980s, and I remember the tobacco being darker and the added flavoring more pronounced. Today, the tobacco is more of a light- to medium-brown color, and while the flavoring is present, it is applied with a restrained hand. The cut is also finer, which in my opinion is an improvement, insofar as it helps to maintain a ready, even burn.

But beyond these factors, the bend remains a nuanced, slightly sweet, somewhat dry, Virginia blend. The flavoring is plum-like with an alcohol edge and adds to, rather than detracts from, the native qualities of the Virginia leaf. Royal Yacht's nicotine content is also stout. At first, it won't seem like it's that pronounced, but it creeps up on you puff by puff. It has kept me awake at night, so I reserve this for afternoon smoking--especially as a pick-me-up.

While it may not be what it once was, the present incarnation of Royal Yacht is close enough to its original conception to be a perennial classic. Royal Yacht is in a class by itself and is like no other blend. Besides, the tin sports an Art Deco label that is the definition of "retro-cool."

I never wanted to buy this... not that much of a straight Virginia lover, nor do I like top-flavors too much. But since I knew Royal Yacht is said to be a "burly Virginia" (yes, burly, not BURLEY!), I said 'Yes' when a pipe-friend offered me this for trade. What's the worst that could happen?!

First off: The **'Oh so secret sauce' of Royal Yacht isn't a secret at all**, nor is it sauced per se! *"Flavoring below 0,1%"* (so virtually nonexistent).. and **ETHYLACETATE** are the only flavoring-agents used here. You can look up the additives over here: ** https://service.bmel.de/tabakerzeugnisse/index2.php?detail_id=100571&site_key=153&stichw_suche=royal+yacht&zeilenzahl_zaehler=1 ** ('Aromastoff' = 'Flavoring-Agent'; the rest are humectants; all proportions relative to 1000mg of tobacco)

Now let's sail away on this royal yacht! Because this blend surprised me like no other in the last while. It's bold, it's flavorful, it's so mildly aromatized and the flavoring fades halfway through the bowl.... it's delicious! It makes me dream of 'the good 'ol days' when the old stagers used to clench their pipes.

It starts with the pleasing tin-note of citrus, fruits and spice, over the Dunhill-typical perfect ribbon-cut, and ends in a feast of flavor in your pipe. It's far from being an "airy Virginia blend".. much more going on here. I don't know how come, but these Virginias have some delicate boldness to them. From the first puffs you get a mouthfilling, full-bodied smoke, that'll wake you up in the morning. The Virginias are bready and oat-y, very earthy and its decent notes of its signature "citrus and grass" are there as well. Topped by a very mild flavoring, that's flattering the Virginias excellently with its citrusy and lemony, slightly sour notes.

With Dunhill leaving the market I always hope a blend of them won't appeal to me, when I try it... I'm busy stocking up Nightcap after all... but damn... this baby's got soul! I could see this becoming my 'Morning Smoke'. It's bold enough to please me, but not too complex to overburden and swamp my palate in the morning. Royal Yacht is so damn refreshing, like good glass of good 'ol Orange Juice, some toasted bread and "Müsli" (oat flakes/porridge) for breakfast. LOVE IT!

Cripes... where can I trade my kidney for those fricking Dunhil blends?! 😉 They know how to make some good tobacco and I like their approach of not using sauces to flavor their blends and keeping the blends on the natural side. I have no choice but to give 4 stars and favorite this snobby bad boy..

Summary: strong dark Virginias with a fruity topping, this tobacco is the perfect all-day smoke.

"Royal Yacht" gets a bad rap because of its semi-aromatic fruity topping, rumored to be a mixture of Tawny Port, rum, and possibly honey. Like the one in "University Flake" or even "Erinmore Flake," this top flavoring fades quickly to the background. The main show is the strong Virginia with less sweetness than one might expect, but instead a rich grain taste like the best oatmeal Grandma ever made. It delivers a consistent flavor and strength which makes "Royal Yacht" an excellent tobacco for hard work or even sailing while wearing an ascot. This blend belongs to legend and a very present enjoyment. One of the best.

Update: Peterson has taken over the blend, and the new version features a different topping. Less of the fruity flavor, and more of something like rum with vanilla, and perhaps less of the topping in general. As usual, tobacco manufacturers want to turn everything into something closer to "1-Q," and in this case, it is a loss but not a significant one. The leaf is slightly darker and the strength slightly less, so maybe people will finally get their "all-day smoke" out of this one.

On the Murray's version: This version leans more toward a traditional UK approach, more like Gawith Hoggarth. While the basic leaf mix remains the same, that classic UK mixture of dark fired and bright Virginia, heat-pressed and rubbed out, this version of "Royal Yacht" tends more toward the browner and redder side of Virginia, and has a slight bit more of the dark fired leaf. In addition, the topping instead of being that pleasing mixture of honey and port wine that blesses the STG version of *Royal Yacht*, contains more of the geranium and rosewater Lakeland-ish flavoring that we see in a lot of the old UK blends.

Thanks to former Pipes Magazine forum member "misterlowercase" for this GENEROUS sample.

I am smoking this mixture now as we speak to write this review. This is not the tobacco I remember from years ago, but it is still good enough to have a good time with it. It burns quite evenly but I am missing the dark ribbons and dry cardboard like appearance that used to define this blend. It all looks to me more like a half and half mixture of dark and gold leaf. Also, the orange like flavouring is missing as well. I am somewhat disappointed as I was expecting to meet up again with an old friend, but the new blend is still worth it anyway. Every now and again I am getting a hint of the old mixture, but I think this is a new blend on its own right. This tobacco can be smoked all day long and it won't bite your tongue, but I am not sure I'd have it as one of my staples. This tobacco is somewhat aromatic, but don't quite see it that way. Needless to say I am quite pleased with this mixture, but I have mixed feelings about it. However, I shall get back to this text as my tin starts emptying: I am only giving you my first impression here. At this point in time I'd say the blend is very fulfilling, but I guess I shall need to have a few more pipes to be more accurate with my description. I'd give this tobacco a 9 out of ten because of this.

Post edit1: I had a second fill in one of my favourite briars and I can only feel sorry this is coming to and end now. I fell as though this blend would certainly require a bigger bowl to fully appreciate the awesomeness and depth of this high quality smoke. My initial disappointment is already dissipating for not being able to meet this very old friend of mine once more. I cannot be objective with the room note as I fully appreciate the overwhelming presence of it all over my house. My cat does not mind it either, or so it seems. I don't think that, at this stage of my amusement, I shall go back to my day-to-day blend until this tin is all empty for good. I have been working in one of my translation until late with my last fill, and I feel somewhat sorry it is time to go to bed, though I am nor sure I am all that ready for my sleep yet. A true companion this tobacco is, and a good friend at that. I shall keep you up updated folks.

Post edit2: the orange flavouring is definitely still there (not plum, but orange). I am still somewhat disappointed by this tobacco's new appearance, and yet I can recognize most of its old features in it. Just like the former blend, this is a sweet and flavoursome smoke with a high nicotine content. Be warned: this tobacco might upset your tummy if you smoke it on an empty stomach, so I would recommend it as a late afternoon or after dinner blend. Its fruity hints will develop quite nicely as you consume it in your pipe, but it might turn sour after you smoke past 3/4 of it. Also, this tobacco will condensate in your pipe, so you are probably better off with a condensation chamber pipe such as that of Peterson's (or any pipe that will take a filter in) if you are not an experienced smoker.

Post edit 3: This is one of my staples now. This tobacco is one of the best things I've ever packed my bowl with so far. I am really impressed by the depth, quality and balance of this everyday's mixture. How could anyone possibly be disappointed with it? In one word: impressive.

This is a 2-2.5 star tobacco that only gets 1 star from me. For why I consider it a 2-2.5 star tobacco, plenty of others have spoke to those merits. So, why 1 star? It is a Faux-VaPer. It is a Va based blend flavored to taste a little bit like there is actual Perique in it, IMO, of course. It has its merits, but there are far too many tobaccos out there to mess around with aros trying to be VaPers, IMO. I like Dunhill blends and consider DNR to be superior to Escudo, so nothing against the brand.

Good? Sure. Been around for a long time? Sure. Worth buying and smoking? Maybe not, if you have limited bowls a day to smoke, limited number of tins per week you can buy, and a lot of tobaccos you want to try. You won't miss out on anything too special or unique if you skip this one, as well as being able to find MORE of just about everything it has to offer in other readily available blends.

Another of a load of samples I have bought recently, I approached this with some trepidation, as recent forays with Dunhill haven't really lived up to expectations. Nevertheless, I've paid for it and I'm darn well going to do my best to smoke and review it.

I couldn't quite place the tin aroma initially, after a few more smells though, it gives off hints nuts and chocolate. Packing and lighting are very easy. The taste is quite an unusual mixture, took me a while to pick up the raisin and chocolate that everyone else seems to pick up on but it arrived eventually. What impressed me was a good nutty flavour, almost coming across as a nicer St Bruno Flake, throughout most of the smoke. The roomnote is nothing special but doesn't offend. It does have a little tonguebite and has a tendency to hit the back of the throat, but neither are anywhere near bad enough to render the tobacco unsmokeable.

On the whole then, a rather good smoke, and I have every intention of acquiring a full tin. Admittedly, it doesn't quite rock my socks off to give it four stars, but certainly worth a very worthy three and a half.

Update: 14/10/2013

I have finally got round to getting a full tin and am impressed enough to up my review from 3 to 4 stars. This actually reminds me a lot of a GH floral in terms of the quality and type of the tobacco itself. I could also pick up plum in both the tin aroma and the smoke. It was a little wet to begin with, I did get a little gurgling towards the end of the smoke but this disappeared about half way down the tin. Also the tonguebite and roughness at the back of the throat have disappeared. The only complaint I had is that it smokes too quickly, I got about half an hour out of a good pipeful compared to close to an hour with a GH floral, no doubt the cut has something to do with it. I did, as a result, find myself loading up another bowl soon after - no real problem for such a nice tobacco apart from the fact that I got through the tin so much quicker. I have to say that I was so tempted to dash out and buy another tin of this as I came close to finishing this one, only a lack of funds has prevented me from doing so. I struggle to think of another tobacco, save perhaps for GL Pease's Sextant, that this temptation has even occurred to me.

The economics of pipe tobacco production being what they are, I suppose that Dunhill feel they must cover all kinds and conditions, and so produce unspeakably awful crap like Royal Yacht. It goes perfectly with lava lamps, velvet paintings of bosomy mammas, and Mantovani/1001 Strings vinyl LPs.

Traditional British blenders are just not attuned to the world of aromatics (any more that their compatriots understand Haute Cuisine), and should leave such things to the sensible Dutch and Danes, who have been doing it right for ever.

This baby has all the flavourful charm and sweet redolence of slightly gangrenous horse meat.

I'm hooked ! Lovely strong tobacco. Smell reminds me of one of those old woodwork teachers pipes, with prunes added. Very smooth & tasty, my Mrs loves the smell. It might be just me but I've found that a mug of coffee neutralizes the taste ! Can really feel the nicotine, although I did smoke a bowl of Squadron Leader first. If you don't like this stuff, then you are a bit of a wimp !

UPDATE : 21-05-14...This really is strange stuff, lovely, but strange !

I find that when I fancy another tobacco, as I pick up my 965 or Artisan's Blend, this stuff keeps saying " Oi You, what do ya think you're doing ! Put that down, NOW ! " Royal Yacht seems to demand to be smoked.

Yes R.Yacht I do love the nice plum, tin aroma, I love how you smoke great straight from the tin, how you are easy to light & keep lit, the lack of tongue bite, and the lovely strong taste which seems best sipped from a small clay pipe. BUT I still like other tobaccos and I sometimes fancy a change, STOP bullying me. The other tobaccos are feeling neglected & jealous ! !