Rattray 3 Noggins

I really wanted to like this, and not just for the money a 100g tin costed me. Or that beatutiful, old school packaging. I stumbled upon this while on a quest for the perfect EM, and I'm afraid this is not going to stay with me. It's flat, anonymous, with a huge olfactive hole where the "body" should be. The tin aroma is promising, with a queer hint of fermented raisins, but ultimately it adds up to nothing. I kept coming back to 3 Noggins on different pipes and in different contexts, but the results were not encouraging: it doesn't seem to work for me. It's not that I detected flaws, foul smells or cheap tricks, the material is clearly top notch, but the smoke it delivers is feeble, weak and, well, "empty". I'm not implying that it's bad tobacco, chances are it will work for some, but don't see myself buying more of this anytime soon.

Well, another Rattray's tobacco bites the dust. Don't know what those folks in Germany are doing with the great Rattray's blends, but to me they are no longer smokeable, and the competition simply outclasses them these days, in all their offerings. Opened two aged 100 gram tins, and mostly found this stuff tasteless, with too much nicotine for a tobacco with little else in the way of redeeming qualities. Some funny chocolate flavor keeps wafting through, but not much else. Can't pick out the virginias, or much else for that matter. And it leaves an awful taste on the palate, and it ain't the pipe. I am officially done with Rattray's blends now. Tired of paying the big bucks simply to toss it in the garbage when it proves unlikeable. What was once a great house is simply an anemic shadow of its former self. Adios and good riddance. The great American houses have become the new standard bearers in the world of smoking tobacco, although Samuel Gawith is still making an impeccable product. There, my two cents worth, or one star's worth, or something. Night'all

The first mistake I made with this blend was to attempt to smoke it right after opening the tin. After about twenty relights and my tongue ready to fall out I gave up. A few months later I found the tin in one of my drawers with a bunch of other forgotten tobaccos. Much drier now I filled up and gave it another try. 3 noggins is a well balanced blend with good strength. If you push it to the hot side put down the pipe and let it cool. Someone mentioned Latakia but all I see and taste is Black Cavendish,Oriental and Virginia. I would recommend this to any VA smoker looking for something with more kick. I like the nicotine punch this has also.

I love 3 Noggins. I am not a big fan of latakia mixtures when the latakia overwhelms everything else in a blend. This mixture smokes as smooth as a latakia mixture I have ever tried. It burns dry and leaves the walls of the bowl clean. There is little or no dottle left behind.

I tried this because I was not happy with the way Red Rapparree is currently being blended - looking for something not as stringent on the palate and 3 Noggins fills the bill nicely for me. Smooth and almost creamy on the palate.

Jay

This is an interesting tobacco to say the least. When I first tried 3 Noggins I wasn?t very impressed. I was paying my father a visit and he kept raving about it so I tried a bowl. Well it wasn?t love at first puff. Back then (some three years ago) I was smoking mainly latakia laden blends, so it tasted somewhat flat to me. A little over a year ago I grabed a tin out of my fathers stash. Once home I placed it in the back of my humidor and promptly forgot about it. Over the last two years I have been a VA smoker so my taste in tobacco has shifted considerably, which brings me to my new impression of 3 Noggins. The other night I was looking for a change of pace smoke when I ran across my tin, now over a year old. Well I have to admit I smoked three bowls that night!

In my opinion this is a medium-full blend with VA?s, Orientals and black unsweetened Cavendish, I agree with Jakob that there is little to no latakia present (probably none). When smoked slowly this is a very nice tobacco with a very addictive malt/beer flavor and when I say beer I don't mean Budweiser, I mean real beer like an oatmeal stout. The orientals make themselves known periodically throughout the smoke but the VA?s and Cavendish dominate. I recommend smoking indoors in a large bowled pipe and if you over-puff, the smoke will become harsh and the flavor will go flat. I think this is a good spring/summer blend and could even be an all day smoke as I have done so on occasion.

I often pair tobacco?s smoking two pipes side by side. This blend does well with straight VA?s or VA/Per?s but doesn?t do well with latakia blends. So if you?re an adamant latakia smoker I don?t recommend this particular blend, but for you VA lovers or even an aromatic smoker looking to try an English/Scottish blend this is worth your time and money.

It should be noted that this was a K&K tin aged one year.

I have only tried the K&K version, and I suspect that their version is FAR from the original.

There is only a smidgen of Latakia in this mixture, if any at all. The black specks are probably unsweetened Cavendish. My first impression was that this is an unusually bland mixture, but smoked with care, as evere Rattrays' should be smoked, this bright VA blend might make a good morning smoke for some.

It is very light, fragile and not spicy at all. This is IMHO exactly how a bright VA should be like. The Latakia and the (almost non-present) amount of orientals make 3 Noggins a little more interesting than many pure bright VA's in the same category.

Smoked in the evening, it is just plain boring...

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

New review: 8 April, 2021 I tried this one because it said it was developed for a smoker who wanted something similar to 7 reserve but with a little more of punch. I more or less like 7 Reserve, but it tends to be too astringent on the palate, so I decided to have a go at this one. In a way one would think this is a tobacco in between the flavoursome apotheosis of Red Raparee and the more mundane and humble 7 Reserve. I don't think so. I believe 3 Noggins does stand on its own. It has a very peculiar taste: some what fruity, funky, but very nice. In a way it reminds me of Peterson's Perfect Plug, but with added element of the Orientals and, minutely, Latakia. It comprises a considerable amount of Latakia), some Orientals and Virginias, plus an unsweetened Black Cavendish. The Virginias used in this blend are a far cry from the varieties used in Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake or Hal O' the Wynd. Nontehless a very nice and solid smoke.

Declared as "full" on the tin, this EM certainly has a "thick" presence on the palate, but the taste is VERY far from fulll... Sure, in Rattray's lineup there are several blander/milder mixtures (with less orientals and latakia), but this brand has a weird policy: its products are on average more "all-day" oriented than stouter blends from brands like GLPease and Dunhill. 3 Noggins is similar to Red Rapparee but lighter and less tasty: latakia is not abundant, as the dominant smell in the tin is rather from the orientals and from the sweet virginias. In spite of the relatively high moisture, it burns decently and bites your tongue only if you rush it in a vain search for more flavor. The taste is delicate, nutty and slightly spicy. Too bad that it gets tiresome very soon: get Red Rapparee instead.

3 Noggins is a fuller bodied version of 7 Reserve, which is a light version of Red Rapparee. Whew! What it boils down to is this: This is the middle one.

As with 7 Reserve, 3 Noggins is comprised of good quality leaf. I smoked it very well dried, and experienced no tongue bite at all.

Initially, the Oriental is out front with its spicy flavor. By mid bowl, it has settled in to a fuller more well-rounded flavor with Oriental leading the way, with ample support from the sweetness Virginia and the smokiness of the Latakia. This balance stays with you to the end without any real change. The finish is subtle.

While I like this one better for its fullness, I like the more prominent Virginia flavor in 7 Reserve. I guess there?s just no pleasing some people!