Rattray 7 Reserve

I stumbled upon this blend by accident. I ordered 5 tins of HOTW and somehow Rattray has managed to tin this blend with a HOTW sticker on the tin.

Smokingpipes.com stood by their customer and offered to send me my HOTW and said i could keep the tins of this stuff.

This blend is probably the perfect example of an all day smoke. Just like it said on the tin.

Unlike many other blends i have seen, it does not announce to be anything other than an all day tobacco. For that i give it full marks because it is perfect in that regard.

As a relaxing sit down in the evening smoke, this simply is too dull and boring. I taste the Virginia with the Oriental and Latakia popping in and out from time to time. It is not complex and it does not try nor pretend to be anything other than an all day tobacco and should be rated as such.

Mo, South Africa

Until about 10 years ago I exclusively smoked English Blends with good doses of Latakia; Escoterica Penzance, Margate, Pembroke, Charles Fairmorn Lancer's Slices, Squadron Leader and various GL Pease blends.

Then a light went on when I discovered Virginias, and smoked VA's only; with and w/o Burley and/or Perique; Escudo, Sam Gawith FVF, Hal o the Wind, Escoterica Stonehaven, etc.

Recently, I rekindled my interest in English blends, wanting to add more variety to the Virginias I'd been smoking. So I tried this 7 Reserve based on reviews and the blend content, hoping it would be a "lighter style" of English, w/o too much emphasis on Latakia. It hits the mark for me and these new goals. It's a very pleasant and interesting smoke, with just enough complexity to keep me entertained, w/o being overly laden with Latakia. The 7 Reserve creates nice room notes, and stays lit really well. Well worth a try for anyone looking to expand their arsenal of tobacco choices.

"Smooth milk chocolate with a little refreshing mint" would be a good analogy.

I found Red Rapparee boring. The different flavours blended together to one, too compact for my taste. Not so with 7 Reserve. I'm not much for Cavendish, but it's held back here and the Virginia and Oriental stands out more. Just enough Latakia to give this blend a refreshing coolness, without owerpowering the other tobaccos.

Very nice mild English blend that can be smoked all day. Reminded me of Rattray's Professional Blend (haven't tried Red Rapparee. Can not say what was different than Professional since it was a while back but did detect the similarity from my memory) Very moist when I opened the tin. Very nice burn with a white ash. Did not experience a tongue bit as some reviews indicate. Is a good change from a full latakia when needing a change or when one wants a bit more spice and oriental from a straight Virginian. Can qualify as a regular for me.

On my second tin now and decided to add to the review. This is always a delight to smoke. It is a tobacco that qualitifes as an all day smoke. If I had to pick one blend and brand (which I never have to do since I keep a selection for different times,,,the joys of pipe smoking...but if I had to do this and was stranded on an island, this would be the one. I never tire of the taste and nothing sticks out to make it so special...just consistant and nice!

This review should be read in conjunction with my experiences with Red Rapparee. I have taken the liberty of pasting that review with my update for better clarification

Somebody on the Red Rapparee page commented on this tobacco as being "like Presbyterian Mixture without the plum taste". They were spot on and to be congratulated, it was the plum note in PM which stopped that tobacco becoming my number one regular smoke. Red Rapparee from Rattray's is the answer to my long search. I have always liked English mixtures, Dunhill 965 was always my regular smoke, until that is, it became unavailable here in the UK. I have tried most of the other Rattray's offerings and find most of them very even tempered, nothing to write home about buy OK. RR is all together different.

This is an update- I read reviews on 7 Reserve Medium and as you will note RR has the same constituents as 7 Reserve but 7 Reserve is blended for the all day smoker. I have tried 7 Reserve in the past but although agreeable and mild mannered it lacked something- the solution- blend it 60% 7 Reserve 40% RR. Perfect an all day smoke with a little more oomph. With regard to tongue bite, yes it can bite a bit if smoked thoughtlessly but given due respect I noted no bite, also good room note and decent outdoor performance- very highly recommended

Burned-out on Latakia? Tired of not being able to taste anything after smoking Penzance or Old Ironsides? Then this may be just what you need. Very smooth and tasty with the different tobaccos passing in review. An all-day smoke for sure.

I have not smoked a Rattray mixture for years and I kept a good impression of their blends. This one is meeting my expectations: a nice English type tobacco, easy to light and easy to smoke. Nice room note and long standing smoking experience. It is labelled 'medium': some smokers may prefer a stronger blend but an easy-kind for the chain smoking guy!

Appearance is a mix of light and medium brown ribbons. Tin smells of dried fruits with a light tartness. Tastes of dates, cedar, incense.

While I can not see this as a lighter Red Raparree, it is an excellent blend on its own. Lovely light sweetness and a frankincense and myrrh note. While I would rather have RR in my pipe, 7 Reserve is very nice indeed and I recommend it.

To me this is a very good light to middle english. It is soft and round and just full of flavor. For some who are usualy into heavy english blends this may be to soft or mild. The tobacco in this blend is of very high quality and burn rate is very good. The latakia in this blend is present but not as assertive as some of the other english blends in this line. I love to smoke this when I am in the mood for a mild to medium english blend. Very good and highly recomended.