Rattray Black Mallory

This blend is tasty, mellow and balanced. I find it to be a little milder than I think some of the reviewers do. The black cavendish keeps it from being harsh, and I can pick up the smoky latakia, the sweet Virginia and the spicy orientals in about that order of dominance. It works well, although for my palate, I would like a little more body.

This one is easy to recommend if you are interested in a smooth and somewhat refined English flavor profile. I found this to be an easy smoke. It did not burn hot, and it was easy to keep lit.

Cost per ounce is somewhat high if you pay attention to these things, but it might be worth having some around.

Appearance: Mostly dark, some ribbons and some random pieces.

Aroma: Very full Latakia aroma with goodly amounts of darker Va, and black Cavendish (unsweetened). Some Turkish in the background.

Packing: Seemed to pack best in larger pipes, with a light touch needed.

Lighting: Took flame readily when not overpacked

Initial flavor: Very big, rich and mellow. The Cavendish led the parade with its smooth nutty taste, the Latakia lent it a smokiness that was just right..

Mid-bowl: No single flavor dominated the mixture, but all of them weighed in to form a nicely layered, complex, undemanding smoke. Cool at all times, can be enjoyed alone or with any beverage of your choice.

Finish: No surprises at the end, just a bit more Latakia presence.

Summary: This was one of my favorites in the pre-Danish days, I smoked it almost every evening. I?m really happy that it?s been restored so close to the original.

Nice tin note. The smokiness of the Latakia seems to be the predomininant aroma, which I absolutely love. Nice dark ribbons with the odd light ribbon strewn here and there. Moisture is perfect right out of the can. Very nice and mellow smoke with no re-light. Wonderful flavour when rolled around the mouth and slowly exhaled from the nose. You taste and smell the beauty of this blend. A nice evening smoke worth trying.

***2015-07-31 Update***

One year in a mason jar with only a few openings for a smoke found that this is one of those tobaccos that mellows and gets better with age. A wonderful smoke.

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.

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.

My go to tobacco since MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian is not available here anymore and when I feel fancy enough to buy it (it's only sold in really pricey - in comparison - 100g tins around here). I've not been able to buy Red Raparee around here but when I tried it abroad, I can now second the notion that the two go along great (Red being a hint less complex but interesting for different reasons). As for this tobacco: The Latakia is prominent but not overwhelming, the other components fit in rather nicely, it burns evenly and not too hot in the right pipe (I've found it prefers bigger bowls to really shine). The only downside is that the Cavendish is a hint too sweet for me and the Orientals are a bit less spicier than I thought them to be on my first try from what I was told on here and by acquaintances, but it doesn't really harm the experience much. What it doesn't do is give me the needed hit, I've found myself sucking on the pipe like a toddler on his bottle when I was not careful on the first dozen bowls. I have become used to that though and have made it a habit to smoke others for the N-hit and just smoke Black Mallory for the pure enjoyment, which works kinda well. All in all it's the best of its genre I have found without having to resort to order MacBaren HH VS online, which is legally questionable and a general pain in the arse in this country anyway.

Strength: Mild to Medium. The tobacco itself is silky and mellow to smoke and as someone with my tolerance you don't smoke it for the nicotine, really. Not necessarily a bad thing, just adding it for people who are used to stronger blends.

Flavoring: None detected. The Latakia and the Orientals do their thing well enough to make any kind of topping unnecessary. If there is any flavoring, I have neither noticed it nor do I care.

Taste: Full. Cavendish a hint too sweet for me, Orientals could use a bit more spiciness, but oddly specific personal preference aside, the taste is awesome still. Accompanies whatever else you do with your taste buds pretty well, and due to the silky and mellow smoke it doesn't really "alter" other tastes, just enhances or contrasts them by a neat dose of Latakia smokiness. Lovely stuff.

Room note: Tolerable to Strong. While I personally, as a card-carrying Latakia hound, would put Very Pleasant just for the heck of it, this is called the wife rating for a reason, and my SO hates the stuff (as do some friends). It doesn't stink up the place as much as others of the genre, but most certainly not for lack of trying.

Overall Rating: three stars. keep in mind that is a rather good score for me, I only 4-star tobaccos that have pleased me in every way possible, the details that made me not give 4 this time are minute to the common reader of this review and based on personal preference. Can recommend it to everybody who enjoys these kinds of blends and doesn't mind a little less strength.

EDIT: I have been asked by acquaintances (whom I told about finally reviewing this tobacco on TR.com) and I'll tell you what I told them: This review of course concerns the Kohlhase & Kopp version; I have tried the original quite a few years prior to this one (talking about decades here, Rattray's is produced in Germany for more than 20 years now iirc) and yes, it would have maybe warranted 4 stars, but as memory is a fickle thing and I can't get my hands on any vintage tin to accurately review it here and now, take that info as you wish though. Even if the latter were the case, Latakia loses much of its appeal with (that much) age so why bother in the first place. All rambling aside, K&K are doing an excellent job; don't think of this edit as a bad thing, just added it because I've been asked.