Rattray Accountant's Mixture

Unlike Professional which I sampled in the old days and found unmemorable, this is one I smoked more than a little of back then. Either it has suffered over the years or my tastes have changed. It's probably both.

This is now a fairly mild tobacco when it used to be rich. As I recall, it was closer to Black Mallory but sweeter and less spicy. I would not call this a "Full" mixture any longer. As with Professional, I just don't see where it fits into the Rattray line any longer. At any rate, this is still a slightly sweet blend with a bit more latakia than Prof, but it still suffers from an identity crisis. This was smoked on occasion over a 6 month period and I kept waiting for more "action" from it, as it used to provide. Now it just seems tired and confused. Again, this is one that could satisfy an all-day smokers need to puff, but little else. If you want to get a taste of how Rattrays used to be, avoid this one and go with Red Rapparee, Black Mallory, Jocks or Highland Targe.

This was recommended to me while I was out of town and without my stash of favorites. I had packed them in a bag and forgotten them...such is life. Anyway, the tobacconist that I found in a smallish midwestern town did not keep a large inventory and I was unfamiliar with alot of his stock. The stuff I did recognize was not to my taste. After asking for something full and english, he pointed Accountants out to me. I have been a fan of several Rattrays blends for years and thought 'what the hell'.

I could not have been more disappointed. This was not full and certainly not english. I failed to taste latakia at all. This was a blend of light to medium bodied virginias. I believe that there is latakia in here, just not enough to taste. The entire experience was one of monochromatic dullness. I now know why this would be of interest to accountants! After much effort at trying to coax some subtle play of flavors out of this blend, I gave up and packed away the balance to take back to my cellar. I ended up borrowing some tobacco from a kind gentleman that I met at the hotel bar. Don't know what it was, but it fit the bill nicely. I owe that man more than the couple of drinks that I ended up buying him.

Bottomline: Low nicotine, low flavor, low interest. Meh! I will find someone to give the balance of the tin to. It shouldn't be hard as there are alot of mild blend smokers out there. Cheers!

I could imagine that the Accountant's Mixture might be irritating to a majority of smokers, given that one is not presented at all what is expected, considering the way this tobacco is usually described. We are told on the tin that it is a full tobacco and other sources mention that it contains Latakia as well as a goodly portion of black cavendish and Orientals. It sounds like a heady, brooding blend, perhaps with a little cavendish thrown in to keep the furies at bay, the sort of thing one would expect from a company that had its start as one of Scotland's primary tobacco blenders.

This is not the case, not even a little bit. Accountant's Mixture is an interesting foray into the black cavendish aromatic, but with a distinctly English feel. The base is of some good, sweet Virginias, seemingly red and stoved. The next greatest component is the black cavendish. These two pretty much comprise what the blend will taste like. Whatever Latakia or Orientals there may be, why would I have been lied to all of these years, after all, don't seem to do much but make the flavour come through a bit grassy at times. The tobacco is indeed a full one, but it is fundamentally a sweet fullness, not the English or Balkan understanding of the term that proliferates nowadays. Very much like port, in fact and with burnt caramel hints on occasion as well.

The flavour combination of Virginias and black cavendish is an enjoyable one, to my mind, and not often encountered. I imagine that Accountant's was just as much a novelty when it was firs blended in those halcyon days of yesteryear as it is today, but I can still concede that there are a great many smokers that will have no patience for the effect.

Regards, A. Morley Jaques

I really have nothing negative to say about this blend.

I love the default moisture level and the ribbon-cut. I find it to pack well.

Often (in the mornings) I'm usually either in the mood for a straight virginia, burley or a lighter English. I progress towards Balkan blends at night.

This tobacco perfectly fits my mid-morning bowl; 2nd cup of coffee and AM.

Good, steady taste.

While smoking I am reminded of an undead skeleton in rusted armor. Unable to move yet content to be in full, proper regalia.

When buying a tobacco called Accountants Mixture, one probably should not expect something complex or challenging, but rather a steady plodding smoke that delivers the goods without distraction or fanfare. Accordingly, this blend of Virginia, Cavendish and Latakia will provide a reliable but not distracting companion while undertaking any "brown envelope" tasks at home.

In the tin we have a striking appearance: mostly pitch black leaf, with some bright golden ribbons and rubbed flashes scattered throughout. This is as exciting as it gets. The aroma is mild, smokey Latakia with a little sweetness. It lights with ease, and delivers a mellow, slightly astringent flavour with enough charcoal smoke to make clear that it contains Latakia. It is akin to a cup of Lapsang Souchong taken black with a spoonful of sugar. There is very little flavour development, no complexity, and no bite.

Personally, I prefer some orientals in my mixtures, and of course we most of us rate the richest most complex blends the highest. This is bread and butter for the all day mixture smoker.

A friend of mine who is an accountant bought a tin of this mixture, primarily for the name, and gave me a generous sample of it. When you first open the tin, you?ll think you?re in for a real treat. It has a wonderful, all-natural aroma with a slight sweetness and perhaps the scent of raisins. It is lovely in appearance, with beautiful Virginias in the blend, some of which almost appear to be rubbed out flake. The moisture level is good, though care should be taken when packing, as I found it easy to pack this too tightly.

Once under fire, however, this blend doesn?t live up to the expectations created by its tin presence. It is a pleasant though, in the end, unremarkable smoke. For me this rather bland mix falls into the ?decent smoke? category; nothing unpleasant about the smoking experience, but nothing particularly memorable about it either.

It is aptly named. Not because accountants are bland and boring, but because it?s a good mix to smoke when you?re toiling away crunching numbers or some other such task that takes your attention away from the flavor and nuances of the tobacco you are smoking. The blend for a late-night, contemplative smoke this is not.

Some reviewers described this tobacco - as the name suggests - as being not exciting, mild or even a bland and boring mixture. After smoking it for nearly a month, I´d say: I wish it was. It might be a great mixture, but I always feel a spicy or acrid taste on my tongue which I don´t like at all. It´s not a tongue bite as such, as experienced with most flavoured "tobaccos" but it´s a peppery taste, which I just didn´t expect and didn´t want. Without this spiciness and a bit more of the leathery smokiness and richness of a Black Mallory or Red Rapparee, this would certainly be a tobacco to honor its name.

It's hard to believe that the same company that makes such high quality blends like Red Rapparee, Marlin Flake and Old Gowrie produces such bland, boring blends like Accountants, Professional and 7 Reserve. Is this a bad tobacco? No, it looks good, packs well and behaves in the pipe. Accountants suffers from the same issues as the others mentioned above. There are some subtle tastes to be found if smoked slowly, but for me not memorable enough to buy more.

This contains ore unsweetened black CA than Latakia. It is not a full mixture.

It needs to age a bit because it can bite despite being a dark mixture.

I was a bit disappointed.