Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia

Now here is a unique blend. It is flavored in the English manner (unobtrusive), and somehow remains cool. The virginia base screams quality, and it is a smooth smoke. It is also very much an aromatic and that is why I think it can help us.

You see, there are many aromatic smokers who do not know any better than to puff away on Borkum and the Captain. Give them a tin of this stuff and they will be confirmed members of the brotherhood. 3 Year Matured is a fun change of pace for me. When I opened the tin, I didn't know whether to reach for a spoon or pipe, but am glad I chose a pipe to load it in. Yummy!

The latest incarnation of Three Year Matured Virginia (first introduced in 1923) is another successful reintroduction of one of Dunhill's classic blends. The blend was discontinued after the 1970s, and reappeared late in the Murray's production run, only to disappear again in 2007. But once again, Three Year Matured is back.

The earliest description I could find reads, "A fine old Virginia tobacco, matured for three years, mild and mellow though rich in flavour, the ideal of the true pipe smoker" (1925). The new description reads, "A medium blend consisting of red (and other) Virginias, a pinch of Oriental leaf, and a very, very subtle fruit essence, leaving the flavors of the tobaccos themselves clear and intact. A classic now returned after a long absence."

The latest version approximates the original version, with a couple of minor changes--but the essence of the blend still centers on the matured Virginias. If you're worried about the addition of a "fruit essence," don't be. It is truly as "subtle" as promised. I only noted its presence occasionally in the side-stream aroma and find it enhances rather than detracts from the overall impression. Three Year Matured is not on the sweet VA side but has a matured dryness like a good Chianti or single malt scotch. There's the taste of dark, heavy bread and oats, along with an herbal spiciness, which I suspect is due to the presence of a "pinch of oriental leaf."

Three Year Matured burns cool even in my most finicky pipes and is gentle on the tongue. I sometimes smoke a little too voraciously, and Three Year Matured has never bitten me. Having only had a chance to sample a fresh tin, I look forward to trying this after it has been aged a bit.

The first part of this review is for the old, discontinued version. I detected more topping than expected, and though that didn't put me off, I didn't buy it to get a less natural Virginia. I thought it burned a little hot, though not to the point where it bit much, unless I forgot and puffed fast. Burned a little fast, so it needed a slow puffing cadence. It was very sweet (apricot, lemon, and perhaps orange) and not unpleasant, but if the grassy, citrusy, lightly earthy and woody Virginias really were aged three years, I sure couldn't tell it. The dry, sour, woody, earthy, herbal, lightly floral Orientals were in the background. The toppings sublimated them to a mild extent.

As for the relaunch, there are a few differences. It burns slightly less warmer, slower, and smoother with a shade fewer grass and earth notes. The topping seems slightly more "Royal Yacht" like, though less intense, a little less aromatic, and more of an apricot flavor. I think the lemon and orange(?) is the same. The amount and effect of the woody, dry, lightly floral, herbal, earthy Orientals seem to be the same. I still can't tell that the Virginias were really aged for three years. They remind me of the ones used in London Mixture, except they are sweeter. Then again, they are much sublimated by the topping. The strength and taste levels are mild. Has a light nic-hit. Won't bite. Needs to be puffed at a moderate rate and no more as it burns a little fast. The flavor is very consistent from top to bottom. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires few relights. Two stars for the original, two and half for the new version.

-JimInks

The essence of fruit!

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English aromatics are like English cuisine: something to be made fun of, without actually committing the mistake of trying it out. But every-so-often a family member who ought to know better passes the Dunhill store in Park Ave, and buys My Highness a tin of something?after all, don't I smoke a pipe?

Model family love, my selfless sense of duty to TobaccoReviews, perhaps a lingering tendency or penchant for masochism, prompted me to try this Three-Year object. It is not bad...it is just so weird. Trevert was utterly correct in associating it with unknown galaxies.

Undoubtedly matured in a secure, undisclosed location, sort of like our vice-presidents, THREE YEAR adds to the etiolated douceur of cavendished Virginia, à l' Anglaise, a trowelled topping that makes ERINMORE taste like ERINLESS. Think blancmange dolled out with fermented elderberries...

The result is neither cheap nor, God knows, humdrum: I would call it, well, hallucinatory.

When Wagner's Siegfried, who has never seen a woman before, finally meets one, he cleverly cries out, rather enthusiastically, "This is not a man!" Likewise, if I were an alien from Planet Mongo and had never experienced FLAVOUR before, I would know I had experienced flavour after smoking this! Not tobacco flavour, no, but...weeeee...it is, like, psychedelic, yeah.

How could one resist it, my fellow boomers?

PS./ Smoking this whilst strumming a guitar strikes me as exquisitely apt.

I am a lover of Dunhill blends and this is one that I had been putting off because of some of the poor reviews. When I opened the tin, my first thought was that the bad reviews were most likely right as the tin had a very strong berry scent. However, upon smoking this blend, the Virginia's came to the front leaving a nice mild berry flavor in the background. Like so many of the Murray's Dunhill offerings, the tobacco quality was high, it had a good kick of Lady N and it smoked cleanly to a nice ash. I was lucky enough to score a few of these old tins and while they won't be part of any rotation, Three Year Matured is a nice change of pace, especially in a cob. Recommended.

Re-issues are never simple . The blender might have as his only example a decades old tin in which the tobacco has changed over the years . Some recent re-issues are pretty close to the mark , Dunhill Baby Bottom is a recent example . The latest re-issue of 3 year matured however , is very far off the mark . The 3 year that I smoked back in the 60's and 70's was exactly what is said it was , a well matured Virginia that presented a tangy and full Virginia taste . it was truly a great tobacco back in the day when there wasn't the variety there is today . The present re-issue is simply an over cased aromatic of the worst sort . The tin note reminds me of some sporting houses that I visited in Paris , mind you only as an observer . This tobacco can make you ill to your stomach really fast and it burns the mouth like no other . Even by aromatic standards this is a bust . I'm sorry , in a way , to give such a bad review . I'm sure blenders worked hard to make this a good smoking experience . As a consumer , however , I'm entitled to my opinion . Some people , I see , enjoy this mixture and they should keep on smoking it if they find enjoyment there . The main problem that I have with this tobacco is that it's even called 3 Year Matured . Alfred would roll over if he knew.

I don't know whether the current re-issue has changed the mix, but the tin only claims ''a blend of matured Virginia tobacco'' and that's all I can detect. None of the oriental/Turkish or fruit or whatever mentioned by others here, just straight, very evidently matured Virginia.

An exceptionally good smoke, the best VA I have ever encountered in a pipe. The flavour and aroma do bring back distant memories of State Express 666 (or was it 555?) unfiltered cigarettes, first encountered by me at a few years old in the late 1940s (parents didn't smoke but had wooden cigarette boxes with those cigs for people to help themselves at parties) and the now defunct Senior Service ciggies, also unfiltered, in the 1950s.

This baccy burns slowly and really is very pleasant indeed. It's a grown-up smoke without being harsh at all. One of the top 3 or 4 pipe tobacco mixes I have ever smoked. Thoroughly recommend it.

This blend has all the quality standards of dunhill blends.when you open it you get spicy citruses and sweet grass aromas.the moist is proper,packs ok and lights easy.burns cool to medium with right moist.the virhinia flavours are dominant and the spicyness comes in the backround with some sweetness.you get citruses,grass and dark fruits in a very balanced waywith spicy notes.the nic level is ok for an all day smoke.it's a lighter version of royal yacht.if you are a virginia lover you must try it!

Got this one to continue my Virginia exploration.

I'm a dunhill fan myself, so this may be slightly biased. I tried the Virginia heavy dunhill flake first, and while I liked it, it was really sour most of the smoke to me. Maybe my tastes have matured a bit since, but I like this one much more.

The tin note is mild and sweet, the cut is a nice ribbon that is easy to fluff out of the tin. Easy to pack and light, and it stays lit well. I get the citrus and it is a bit sour. I have to say it is tasty. The bread notes are more pronounced in this one. The orientals are not very present in this, but they balance the smoke out well. Sweetness from the topping, but it's not like a normal aromatic. It's dry, subtle and hard to place a finger on what the flavor is supposed to be. That's good for me, bc I don't normally like aros. It does have a good punch to it nicotine wise, and it picks up in flavor as you go down the bowl. Not wet at all, comes out really dry in the end.

All in all I like it. I have a new mark tinsky bulldog I broke in with this, and now this is all I smoke in it. I have bought more since I finished the tin. Smoked the whole thing in less than a week. A good one for new Virginia smokers, and would be a nice change for the more fanatical ones.

It is supposed to be a Virginia Mixture with Oriental, “lightly flavoured with a mixed fruit essence”, as the official description states. Regarding flavouring, the reviews range from 1 to 10, that is from “none detected” to “extra strong”. Nearly the same spread regarding “strength” and “taste”. This inconsistency highly irritates me.

On opening the tin I smell bread/yeast from the Red Virginia and some vinegary sourness from fermentation of the matured Virginia, that’s all, neither Orientals nor artificial flavours. Let’s see, which aromas will appear upon smoking:

Good burning conditions. There is not much taste, it’s faint. The most obvious being that of matured or stoved Virginia, a bread/yeast note that is, hiding away the hay/grass notes. The small amount of Oriental leaf is noticeable and welcome. All aromas (good and bad) are quite irregular while smoking through the bowl. Some might find this interesting. I am not able to describe and specify the added flavouring. The tragedy is, that this artificial flavouring hinders most of the natural tobacco aromas to unfold, and the subtle ones are totally suffocated. Like many other artificial flavours do, it releases bitter tastes. At the end of the bowl I don’t know what I have been smoking and I am left behind with an unpleasant, weary after-taste.

It is misleading to call this mixture TREE YEAR MATURED VIRGINIA! It does not taste like an honest Virginia Blend. It is an indefinable, obvious Aromatic. It lacks in body, depth, character and taste. A disappointment. I can’t recommend it.