Rattray Black Mallory

This tobacco is very similar to Red Rapparee, but it it has more cavendish in it. I thought this would translate into more sweetness, but it hasn't. The Latakia tobacco is quite apparent in this blend, but I think it is more dominated by the Orientals. The strength is rather medium and it does not seem to bite. I like the RR more, but this is a good smoke too, so I am going to recommend it.

Everyone says great things of this blend: after enjoying Red Rapparee, the idea of a darker and fuller variation on it was very intriguing. What I found is a competent, tasty and well-behaved english mxture! I really can't find particular faults to list about it: it packs well, burns well, and gives a satisfactory smoke deep in woodsy notes. As such, it fully deserves a high rating! Anyway, I won't buy it again. Why? Simply put, it offers nothing that I can't find in other blends: maybe I have been spoiled by Greg Pease and by Dunhill's London Mixture, but I find that Black Mallory lacks that extra touch that makes a good tobacco great. If you want a traditional full english mixture, though, you can't go wrong with this offering by Rattray.

I would recommend BM if you are looking for a full english blend that is easy to smoke and not too strong. This blend is rich in flavour. The nicotine is not very strong, you can easily smoke more than one bowl if you feel like it (unlike for example London Mixture). The tobacco is not slow burning, it is not a meditative kind of tobacco. I would say that it is stimulating but not too complex, it does not demand your full attention, and you can easily smoke away while focusing on other things.

On the negative side, the last part of the bowl tends to get moist and a bit foul, so in order not to finish the bowl on a bad note I tend to toss it away. And I recommend not to keep the tobacco in an opened tin for too long before storing it in an airtight jar, otherwise the tobacco will soon start to deteriorate and loose its flavour.

In short, this is not a overly complex tobacco, but it is rich in flavour, easy to smoke, and it does not burn super slow. These simple qualities actually makes it one of my favorite tobaccos, because most often this is precisely what you want in your pipe: a tobacco that is stimulating but not too strong, that allows you to focus on other things and that does not take forever to finish. Not a four star rate, because of the negative aspects, but, nevertheless, I highly recommended BM as an all day english blend!

Visually it is quite similar to Red Rapparee’s mixed cut of mostly black and red ribbons with a few brighter ribbons but with the darker leafs more predominant. Tin aroma is not what one would expect from a Latakia dominant blend, instead it has a fruity crispiness which comes from the tobaccos with no topping or casing. As smoking revealed this is not a Latakia dominant blend – ‘black’ could refer to either Latakia or Cavendish and I believe in this case it is Cavendish the referent…

The tobacco is slightly moist, could use a little drying, but generally it’s ok. It lights easily and stays lit and burns to the end.

It produces voluminous smoke which at first deceived me into thinking that it is a full bodied tobacco but it’s not. Actually I think it lacks some backbone - maybe a little more Virginia would have amended this. Black Mallory is definitely mellower than Red Rapparee with smoother mouthfeel despite its foreboding ‘blackness’. It lacks the sharpness/tang from the Turkish which characterize Red Rapparee, but I do not sense more Latakia here. I believe it’s the (unsweetened) Black Cavendish which dominates. This is backed by a little Latakia smokiness and the Turkish tobaccos add some spice but are surely on the background. Black Mallory is easier to smoke than Red Rapparee, at least to those not accustomed to the Turkish taste, but yet I find it less complex and less tasty than its sibling.

Room note is not very offensive, it has that burnt brown cake smokiness. So while Red Rapparre showcases the Turkish tobaccos, Black Mallory does the same for the Black Cavendish. To be honest I do not find many similarities between the two blends apart from tin art and tobacco presentation…

A pretty dicent english mixture.when you open it latakia comes out in a dominant way.packs easy might need a few relights..burns cool without much moist.if you go slow the latakia are not very prewent,you get more spicyness and a sweet base.offers though the woodyness taste in a balanced way .a pretty dicent blend with a mid nic level not to start your day.

On finishing the second tin of Black Mallory (how this name sounds like a lady; a lady that may give you trouble, but you keep coming back to), it is finally time to give it the review it deserves.

Upon opening the tin, a wonderful scent develops that ripens with time. Nothing spells Orient more vividly to me personally.

Packing and lighting were no trouble. Black Mallory was one of my first tobaccos I've smoked, and, being the heftily puffing beginner I was, there must be truth to it.

Now to the best part. Some reviewers use the term "soapy", often in ways I cannot agree to. Some may disagree, but here is the best soapiness to encounter. Soothed by the Black Cavendish, the alkaline and sour-creamy Orientals and Latakia play a tune to which listening transports one into a tent rich of incense, finest delicacies and belly dancers. But my description fails to mention that the spectrum of this tobacco varies like the colours of - here we are again! - soap bubbles. By smoking Black Mallory, you enter an opium den in its finest romantic appearance, minus all the hassle the opium smoker gets himself into. Black Mallory was a world for me to explore as beginning pipe smoker, and it keeps on presenting itself to me like it did a year ago.

Puffing too hard will give you tongue bite, but it generally is a very pleasing tobacco. The aftertaste is spicy and slightly soapy.

Black Mallory does its best to give you a pleasant room note; for our modern world where the smell of tobacco is shunned like the devil's sulphur and pitch aura, this is an achievement for a non-aromatic. Still, a star just has been deducted.

I am a bit biased towards Rattray's for gems such as Hal O'The Wynd, Old Gowrie, 7 Reserve and Marlin Flake.

Black Mallory is a classic example of a Scottish style blend with its mild Cavendish. A medium strength blend in the same clan as Old Dublin.RBM being more moist than POD with a thicker and rougher cut of leaf. RBM also does not carry through with as much flavor in the spice department as POD. Still a well put together blend and a must try for those that prefer their tobacco on the mild side. Cheers

Compare to the Rattray's 3 famous exquisite Vaper/burs, their English blends seem to be caught up by plenty of new comers in the territory. Black Mallory is a decent English blend with smoky, full flavors, but falls short of complex and some depth. A bit stronger and fuller than Red Red Raparee.

I can echo BriarBurner's sentiments here. Black Mallory is my go-to summertime English blend. It's got my favorite combination of tobaccos: VA, Lat, and Oriental, just like my all-time favorite blend, C&D's Good Morning.

Black Mallory is rich, mellow, well-balanced, and works well in every pipe I've smoked it in. Mild for an English, with low Nick strength. Perfect entry-level English, easy to enjoy when a heavy English blend is just TOO heavy. Recommended.