Rattray Black Mallory

Vary nice tobacco. I enjoy every time I smoke this. not so hot, not so cold, easy to light up and well maintained during the smoke.

I bought this tobacco to try and to build up a library, as it were, of tastes and experiences. Why this tobacco in particular? Because it's English, of original recipe (and therefore free of additives) and because tobacco reviews has lots of good things to say about it.

The presentation is good although I've got some reservations about the tin - a cardboard cup with a plastic lid. It doesn't seem to be air tight as the tobacco dries out rather quickly.

I'm able to distinguish three layers or sensations of taste. First, there is a body, the omnipresent bit, that is smooth and bland. I presume that this is what Cavendish tastes like if it doesn't have any casing. Second, there's a strong earthy taste that gives a short lived aftertaste of burned peat. Third, there's some sweetness that at the same time slightly peppers the tongue (the Virginia I suppose).

There's not much more to it. It's fairly consistent throughout the bowl.

l find it hard to keep it lit, slightly annoying, no matter what pipe I use. It seems to work best in a Rhodesian.

A black label with what seems to be an American Native and a Jar of tobacco, under what it seems to be a palm tree, indeed an image evocating sunny lands, hides a smoky and elegant Scottish mixture. I wanted to give this tobacco a try since a long long time, me being a "as long as Samuel gawiths are available bla bla bla" so one day, lacking of the 2 more euros needed for an SG I opted for a tin of Black Mallory. As I said, the tin note is earthy, spicy, smokey though fruity. Nuts, figs, hay and red fruits seems to be buried under peat: a very attractive note! Medium moisture. Smoking Black Mallory is a must for a piper. The smoke is creamy, satisfactory and really tasty. All the tin notes are mantained plus a bit of Vitamin E. First class virginias can be detected in a whirlwinds of aromas, as well as the black cavendish and of course, latakia. In my opinion, there must be some burley too. In the end of the bowl, some spiciness comes forward as if some perique was added.. Great tobacco! Great taste with medium strenght

Seems to me very similar to Dunhill Nightcap. A latakia-heavy English mixture. Neither sweet, nor sour, nor incense-like, which means it is not an English I will buy again.

Essentially dunhill 965 with black cavendish in place of the brown. Where 965 was tinged with cavendish, black mallory is sauced with it. Easily in the top 5 best full english blends in my book, this is a smoke every english lover must have. The room note is surprisngly stronger than it is in 965, saltier, tarry, and thick. While this might not bother the smoker, it can offend others. This is muted considerably as the blend ages, as well as any sharpness from the cavendish. Now that dunhill 965 is gone, aside from its availability under the name "old dublin" from peterson, this is an easy blend to recommend if you can't fins old dublin.

However black mallory is in a class of its own, and you may prefer it over 965 if you like black vs brown cavendish. The old rattray made black mallory was not quite as good as it is today in my humble opinion. Easily 4 stars.

Classical English Mixture with Black Cavendish. Good but not excellent. The Black Cavendish is natural, only sugar added. Overall the blend is mild in strength with a full latakia taste. The elements (tobaccos) are the same of Red Rapparee (Virginia, Latakia, Oriental, Black Cavendish) and the taste is quite similar. But it is different. If we want to compare the two from the side of the taste, we can say that Red Rapparee is more delicate, gentle, while Black Mallory is more “masculine”, unrefined. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars.

great balanced English blend...very tasty...rattray does a good job with there blends...i have over 100 different blends in my collection as i smoke a different blend ever day and i would say this one of mt nicest

Having just sampled Margate recently, I find it difficult not to compare the two. The Latakia in BM is more in the background. It's not as smooth as Margate, the sharpness of the Virginia's sneak through more in BM. BM's a good English blend and should satisfy those, like me, who are into such blends. A solid 3 stars for me.

Keep on Piping!

This is a 25+ years old 100 GRAM tin blended by Robert McConnell. A dark colored mixture with a powerful fermented and musty smell. Even through the moisture level was good, I put it in a jar and also used the paper towel method to bring out the best in this long gone original blend.

The fermented red Virginia is present with the brioche-like flavor, there is a good amount of sourness from the Orientals and the Latakia is woody and smoky tempering the other two tobaccos. The ingredient tobaccos are very well blended and time has not been bad to them. A mellow and creamy smoke that is tangy and with a wine barrel like aroma.

Virginia lover