Rattray Black Mallory

Perhaps I am more used to the Dunhill/ Sobranie/Sullivan Powell type of English mixtures, but I find it very difficult to rate and appreciate the Rattrays´ varieties. Although they seem to use top grade leafs Rattrays? Oriental/Latakia mixtures tend to be on the dry, harsh side, and oddly spicy to my taste (quite the contrary to their Virginias, which I find not only exceedingly palatable, but smooth and very well tempered). Now, of the Rattray?s Oriental family, Black Mallory and Highland Targe seem to me an exception.

Mineral and strong I can only think of Black Mallory as an upgraded, rounder version of the old Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture. BM is less ?aromatic?, but strangely enough deeper in flavour, and much more defined in the Latakia-Oriental spectrum. The Virginias here are virtually non existent, or in any case they are of such variety that they merely add a whisper to the final flavour, leaving the centre stage to the stronger Orientals.

I agree with Pipestud in that this is a more refined tobacco than Red Raparee. Indeed it its stronger, but I find it is less pungent and astringent. There is a certain ?nature? quality---a zest almost grassy, earthy and humid (maybe the steam sensation referred to by tillmanj?)--- that sets it apart from most English blends.

Full but not exactly heavy, it burns very nicely and has a long lasting, bitter-sweet and smokey flavour, that invites you to meditate or to contemplate things with a certain aloofness. The only other tobacco that slightly reminds me of RBM is Dunhill?s London Mixture, albeit the latter in a much more milder and restrained fashion. If Black Mallory has a drawback is its jealousness: once you smoke a couple of bowls, it will be some days before other tobaccos taste like something. An excellent choice for the full bodied Latakia smoker.

This is a fine Scottish blend, a term, that is about as problematic as the term English blend. In my mind it is standard Latakia blend that also incorporates some Black Cavendish or burley. I am not sure and I really don't think there is a hard and fast rule, but I do know that Rattray makes a lot of them. I have only tried this one and Jock's Mixture. I liked Jock's Mixture better than this one, but that is not to say that this one is a bad blend by any means.

I really did enjoy this one as well. This blend has the smokiness you would want from the latakia content, that I would peg at about a medium, and the sweet nuttiness from the Cavendish and perhaps the orientals. It does not offer much in a nicotine kick, but that is pretty normal for a lat blend, in general.

It is tasty and worthwhile, particularly if you like your lats a little sweet (less sour or campfire like) or are into the American English blends (also problematic term, but in my mind these are more burley than black Cavendish) made by Cornell & Diehl.

So I will leave this one at three stars as it does fall below Jock's to me, but too good to be at a two star.

This is yet another fine offering from Rattray. The blend is expertly mixed with fine ingredients that ends as a great mixture worthy of the pipe smoking gods. The moisture level is just perfect upon opening. The tin note and room note are just wonderful. This blend lights and stays lit with little effort. The nicotine level is on the lower end of the spectrum, so it should not be too harsh for anyone. It burns down to a fine ash at the bottom of the pipe. Highly recommended.

One of my all time favorites english mixtures. Nice orientals backing up a generous portion of latakia and hints of dried figs on the cavendish. It gains strength on the middle of the bowl and left only grey ashes.

Black Mallory offers Latakia in nice proportion to the other components. The cool smoky flavor of the Latakia combines well with the sweet tang of the Va. This blend is not overpowering in any way. Black Mallory would be a good choice for the Va smoker looking to venture into the world of Latakia.

Though a light English, the good earthy flavor and subtle interplay of flavors are enough to keep the dedicated English smoker happy. Similar, in a way to ?Accountants?.

I found that sweet drinks such as iced tea enhance the flavor of Black Mallory. Because it is fairly light, I can see this as a summertime ?on the porch with a pitcher of tea? blend.

I don?t give away 4-star ratings very easily ? Black Mallory is worthy.

Rattray - Black Mallory (British Collection).

Over the past six months, or so, if a tobacco's reviewed and I see an older review of the blend by me that I think reads ineptly, I've been enjoying re-reviewing the blend in question. I thought this could do with re-posting, so here we go again!

The moisture can vary from tin to tin, but over the years the worst I recollect is a 'bit damp', not soaked. It's quite an equal split of brown and black, mid-size, ribbons.

The smoke: ignites easily, and requires very few re-lights. The Latakia is running the show, having a strong woodiness to it, with the Orientals taking second place. The black Cavendish lends a softness, taking the edge of any causticity from the Latakia. Virginia? I get VERY little Virginia. It burns fairly cool, without bite, but has a tendency to be a touch quick if puffed to fast.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: full.

Black Mallory? A decent blend that three stars suits well:

Recommended.

I used to smoke Black Mallory often and for whatever reason stopped about three years ago. I came across some from 2010 and after a couple of pipes I remembered why. BM is a good quality medium English blend that in some ways reminds me (distantly) of some of the Dunhill blends. It has richness to it, maybe from the addition of the Cavendish, but I'm not sure. It packs with ease, smokes cleanly and offers a solid English taste that any English lover would enjoy. BM is a little lower on the “N” scale than the Dunhill blends. It has a little complexity, but in the current world filled with more English blends than ever, it doesn't stand out for me. Will I buy more? Yes. Is it worth my daily rotation? No. Give it a try; it's worth a tin, especially with the reduced quality 965 that is now on the market. Recommended.

UPDATE: I was lucky enough to get my hands on a tin of the original BM from the late 60's/early 70's and it was just EXCELLECT! Although the flavor has changed with time, it offered a chance to get an idea of what the original blender intended. If the rare tin comes your way, GRAB IT!!!

After all the build up I had heard about this blend, when I actually got my hands on a tin I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. This is not to say that it's not a good blend as it most certainly is, but in the end Black Mallory just didn't quite do it for me in the manner in which I was hoping.

The cut is a perfect ribbon. There might be a couple of larger bits throughout a tin, but this is minimal. The coloration is a mixture of lighter, medium, and darker browns. And when opening the tin, I get a deep, almost woodsy smell that is lightly sweet. Packing and lighting also come quite easily and without effort.

Once lit, I find myself swimming in a smoke of intricate subtleties. The latakia is present, of course, and is flavorful. It does, however, seem to lack the punch that many other English blends that I enjoy have. Perhaps this is because of the Orientals, which are equally as present as the latakia, if not a little bit more so. The Virginias are also present, coming through sweet and mild. It is on the lighter side of "full English mixtures," but is still a great smoke nonetheless.

I think the reason this one fell slightly flat for me was (1) the build up to trying it and (2) the lack of age. The build up before I bought a tin was incredible; I had people who have tastes quite agreeable to mine tell me how much they love this blend. Also I opened my tin less than two weeks after purchasing it, meaning it had no time to age. And honestly, I think this is a blend best left untouched for a while so that it may age. If I had let my tin sit for a year, I may have been saying this was a favorite blend of mine. As it is I find it to be great - but not quite the best - and worth purchasing again with intentions of cellaring.

The tin art has changed on this one, it has a yellow half egg design with what I can only describe as multiple black Muslim steeples if one were to view it as a Rorschach test. The tin note has a really rich dark, earthy, slightly spicy and sweet smell. To me has more of an Oriental/Turkish smell. This smokes smooth, mild, with a little sweetness upon lighting up and produces a lot of smoke, one reviewer even compared it to steam but I would not go that far. This is a medium full Scottish Blend which I have read means an English Blend with Cavendish so I will take their word for it. This has a background flavor that reminded me of another blend and upon reading a few other reviews I have to agree that this reminds me of Dunhill 965 and or Nightcap. This is a great blend for me in the late afternoon and evening. I am glad that I got to try this popular blend finally and will smoke some more in the coming days. To me this tastes a little more Oriental with the Lat coming in second and probably the Cav coming in third but is really blended well.