Rattray Winter Edition 2014

I popped this one when a hole opened up in my rotation for an aromatic shortly before Thanksgiving. I figured this was intended to be enjoyed during the holidays as the festive tin would naturally lead one to conclude, so the timing seemed appropriate.

The tin was far from airtight as it was one of those large accordion hinged tins similar to the Peterson Limited Edition aromatics or Solani Silver Flake. A wise man would have probably jarred this upon receipt, but I did not. As far as I can tell the tobacco suffered none as the topping was still pungent and the leaf was at about the perfect moisture content.

In addition to the aroma and the feel, this also performed perfectly. It easily took a light and stayed a lit with very little effort. I smoked most bowls through a meerschaum as this is certainly a heavily topped blend capable of ghosting. The topping, IMO, overwhelmed the underlying tobacco. It is rife with traditional holiday aromas of rum and cranberry. I also pick up some orange flavor.

I was not that crazy about this topping and wished that it allowed more of the Burley and Virginia to shine from beneath. The Virginia, to me, was more apparent. The Burley was hard to detect.

I look at blends like these as more of a novelty than an "always have on hand" type of blend and I am judging it as such. To me this does not merit recommendation as Peterson's Annual Holiday offerings are much finer than this. Now, I don't know in these turbulent times whether Peterson is even making an annual Christmas blend any longer. I certainly know that McClelland's two annual Christmas blends are no longer being made. TBH, I don't even know if Rattray's makes an annual Christmas (winter) blend anymore.

Ultimately, I would rate this at 2 stars assuming all of the above were still under present manufacture, but if there really isn't any true representation of the holidays in aromatic form being produced any longer, than this would gain value IMO and would probably bump up to 3 stars.