Rattray Red Lion

Red Lion, one of Rattray’s newer offerings in the US, (I believe it has been available in the EU for a while longer) is another lighter English fare like Accountants, Professional and 3 Noggins. However, the flavor profile isn’t similar to those blends. My tightly packed tin presented surprisingly little in the way of a tin note. I think many will find the moisture content pipe ready right from the tin. I dried my bowls a few short minutes. I would put RL fairly low on the Latakia scale with Black Cavendish making up some of the dark ribbons. Rattray claims that there is no flavoring applied to Red Lion, but it seems to me to have a small amount of topping that I cannot attribute to the Basma. But I admit that that’s open to debate. The flavor is medium and I find that it burns hot if pushed. I am a fan of Black Mallory and Red Rapparee but only enjoy 3 Noggins and Professional after they have been aged. For me, age may be the only option with Red Lion as fresh from the tin, for me, it’s less than interesting and the fact that it can burn warm make it one for the cellar to retry in a few years.