Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia

This is a decent smoke. Nothing real special, but has some nice flavors. The Virginias and Orientals combine to create a tasty darkish fruit flavor that has some depth and appeal. There is a touch of spice and a mild sweetness. The topping is very mild and, to me, taste of berries. It can and will burn hot and harsh if you aren't careful with your cadence. I'd give it two and a half stars if I could. I'm feeling generous so I'll give it three.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burns very well.

Calling this an aromatic is rather pretentious in my opinion. Yes, there may me an ever so slight "fruit" topping on this Virginia blend. But I've had a tin sitting around that I opened a couple years ago. The tin note is nothing but pure tobacco. Stop calling tobaccos like this an aromatic! Yes, we're all very impressed that your palette is so in tune that you would call a traditional cased Virginia an aromatic. But that word doesn't mean what you think it means. Aromatic means that when you smell the room note, you smell whatever the flavor is, be that cherry, vanilla, or whatever. There is not the slightest hint of flavoring in the room note. Therefore, it doesn't translate in the smoke. This is nothing but pure tobacco at some of its finest.

Rich and bready, with a medium note. Darker than, say, Dunhill Flake or Orlik. There is no bright citrus note. Instead, the red Virginias in this blend lend a richer stewed fruit quality. The tin topping is only there to make you salivate upon sticking your nose inside.

Rant over. And no matter anyway, as this one, like all the rest of the famous Dunhill blends, are going extinct. Grab some while you can.

Dunhill - Three Year Matured Virginia.

I'm smoking a bowl of this as I write this review; I haven't been able to pipe much this last week due to being on holiday so my enjoyment of this may be partly reflective of the fact I've been 'pipe starved' lately!

I think Gentleman Zombie's first line summarizes this blend well: it isn't anything particularly special, but it's still quite nice.

I don't find the topping to be too noticeable, there's a mild fruitiness but nothing heavy or overpowering; it's not like a massive agglomeration of fruit and citrus. The same can be said for the tobacco flavours: they both amalgamate together very nicely, creating a mild taste with an 'age created' sweetness, but there's no sharpness or harshness to the smoke. Personally, I find the nicotine mild from Matured Virginia, very mild to be precise.

This is an enjoyable blend, but as I said: I've been a touch pipe starved this week so I best not let that make me bias with the result! I think three stars is perfectly fair.

Recommended.

Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia is a tobacco with a coterie of devotees and somewhat of a puzzlement to many others. It dates back to 1923, but was discontinued before production switched to Murray and Sons in Northern Ireland. They revived it, but it was discontinued before their hiatus for Dunhill. Later the Dunhill offerings were taken over by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. But STG did not reintroduce Three Year Matured until this past year. The fact that TYM keeps reappearing is a testament to that core of fervent fans.

Open a tin and you discover a ribbon cut of varied browns: light, medium, dark. The sniff reveals a typical Virginia smell with a faint overlay of aromatic. There is a smidgen of oriental in there, although I do not detect it in the tin odor. The moisture level is OK, although I find virtually all tinned blends better with a bit of drying initially.

TYM lights without difficulty, and burns steadily without need for relights unless puffed exceedingly slow. It burns cool when smoked with the relaxed puff rate proper for Virginias. The room note is pleasant, Virginia plus just a hint of the aromatic element. The nicotine level is slightly higher than expected from a Virginia dominant blend. Tongue bite threat is low for a Virginia based mixture. It burns dry and leaves a white ash.

What sets TYM aside is the flavoring, which I deem to be top noting rather than casing. The Tobacco Reviews description at the time I write this review states that it is "flavored with mixed fruit essence." I find it to be more a a berry essence, black currant and/or raspberry. There is just a whisper of fruit, possibly apricot or citrus. The flavoring is restrained and it does not mask the Virginia.

For me the flavoring, light though it is, seems dissonant to the tobacco itself. Some flavor agents such as honey. molasses, and maple sugar merge nicely with Virginia tobaccos. The Berry/fruit of this blend does not work for me. (I do not detect the oriental in smoking, although I am sure it does influence the mixture.) The underlying Virginia is excellent. Whether three year matured or not (I presume that it is), the Virginia is good stuff.

The repeated resurrections of Three Year Matured signal that for some smokers the symbiosis of flavoring and Virginia tobacco tickles their fancy. So I do suggest pipe smokers who often try Virginias sample this. Others who often smoke Virginias may well mirror my own lack of appreciation . However, even though the flavoring is subdued, I suspect that some aromatic fans will deem this a very interesting change of pace. I am less convinced that those who favor latakia or burley based blends will discover TYM an interesting diversion.

I smoke TYM in my aromatic dedicated pipes, although I do not think an occasional load of it will create a noticeable ghosting effect in pipes normally used for non aromatics.

This is a very polite tobacco. The tin note is very pleasant, what you would expect with some mature Virginias, dominated by dark dried fruits, figs, prunes, dates. Disappointingly, this does not carry over to the smoke, which is really quite bland and uninteresting. Marginal sweetness, no hay, no tartness, no fruitiness, just a vague Virginia style flavour with a strong licorice component (the sweetener?). Orientals? I didn't notice any. The room note is decidedly cigarette-like but at least not very strong. The tobacco is undoubtedly very high quality though, packs, lights and smokes like a charm, consistent from light to heel. Relatively high on nicotine. All in all I found it quite disappointing, there are much more interesting Virginias out there. Personally I prefer more distinct blends like Royal Yacht, Capstan Blue, Dunhill Flake.

I’ll start by saying I am not an aromatic smoker and I don’t consider this an aromatic at all. Does it have a noticeable topping? Yes. A very slight essence is a perfect description in my opinion. Tin note for me is sweet Virginia, earthy, deep and that slight unidentifiable(to me) fruitiness. Condition was beautiful when opened, dark with a moisture level near perfection. Packs nicely with just a few relights. And the flavor, wow. Mellow but not weak, creamy mouth feel and no bite even if smoked a little vigorously. Nic hit is slightly above medium for me. A wonderful relaxing smoke if there ever was one. I have cellared some tins and look forward to many more special occasion smokes of this great tobacco!

Nice tobacco. Fruit essense is noticeable and gives some sweetness to this blend but virginias are definitely in the front page. Orientals gives little spicynes which makes this blend more complex. Good blend which I might buy again.

Good tin note, fine ribbon cut with light, medium and dark tobaccos. Packs and lights easily, as do all the dunhills. While there may be some oriental there it is not real noticeable nor is the topping as described. Good burn white ash little if any dottle. Good consistent smoke from start to finish. Good, relaxing smoke with a creamy semi sweet flavor. Room note is all Virginia and that is a plus in my book. One smoking note-- don't hammer this one to hard it can be a tounge torcher if you do. Like most Virginas slow and steady is your best bet. I believe this one will become a regular in the dix creek line up!

This was an interestingly stronger VA than I expected. Fruity, sweet, dark in character. For some reason though I simply did not care for the flavor profile as it was presented. Otherwise it loaded easily, smoked clean and cool and had a moderate smoke volume when dried a little.

Smoke in peace, brothers and sisters of the leaf.