Rattray Black Mallory

Delicious accompaniment to the Red Raparee. Fuller, darker tobaccos overall with a generous dose of Latakia. The tin aroma is not dominated by Latakia, but is decidedly smokier than the RR. Lots of earthy, fermented smells from the orientals too.

It lights with ease, and burns just as well, evenly and fairly slow, right to the bottom. The flavour is full, spicy, with a pleasant smokiness well backed up by the orientals. The flavour gets richer toward the bottom of the bowl, and the smell is wonderful, especiallly when smoking out of doors in the crisp winter air.

Where RR is a smoke for the autumn, this is a tobacco well suited to winter, the cold air brings out the best flavor and aroma. I can't think of many things more pleasurable than smoking this while walking home from the pub through the snow covered Hertfordshire countryside. Strongly recommended to lovers of Latakia.

*****Update 2023*****

A little update to this review I wrote many years ago. I still love this stuff, although it\'s second in my affections to it\'s spicier brother the Red Raparee. What I appreciate now is that this blend is really carried by the black Cavendish: plush, soft and creamy. With the Latakia, the effect is something like a well toasted marshmallow done over a campfire.

The first word that comes to mind when I smoke this is "luxurious". I can picture the royalty in Scotland smoking this stuff, before breakfast and after, as they lounge in their smoking rooms.

Dark black with streaks of chocolate brown, this is the heavier companion to Red Rapparee in the sense that the tobaccos are the same. However, the quantities of each are different, and the result is a heavier, richer smoke with fewer subtleties than RR. It smokes cool and sweet and has a hearty flavor that goes well after dinner... or after a big lunch. This is one tobacco that demands a relaxed state in order to appreciate its robustness. No limp wrists in this blend. Since Dunhill 965 has made itself scarce in the U.S, this will take its place in my rotation, next to Red Rap. Very sensuous tobacco with great rich flavor.

If you like full flavor and depth, this is one you can't afford to miss. The K&K version may be different than the older one, but it stands on its own.

Oooooooooh yes, this is good.

Deep, dark, murky and rich, with glorious depth of flavour and complexity. The initial plume that came out of the bowl reminded me of the Samovar which I am a huge fan of, and the tinge of sweet from the Black Cavendish made this seem slightly decadent.

The bowl got warmer and some of the Orientals mixed with the VA's, and the Latakia took a bit of a back seat, and the VA is high quality and offers a nice accompaniment to the Black Cavendish.

The smoke billowed, it took almost no work, and I sat and enjoyed for almost an hour.

Sublime, a true gent of a smoke, high recommended.

I really like this blend. It's got a little something special to it that makes it stand out for me. The Latakia and the fine Orientals lead the way in nice balance. Next is the Black Cav followed by the mildly sweet Virginias. It's the way the Black Cav fits in that makes this special for me. It's interaction with the Latakia creates a wonderful flavor. I just love it. It's really weird that this same Black Cav is the reason I didn't care for Marlin Flake. I guess it just fits better here. Medium bodied with medium to full flavors. 4 stars.

Black Mallory presents as a wide range of nearly black through lighter brown ribbons in the traditional 100 gram, cylindrical Rattray's tin. The nose is of delicious, smokey Latakia aromas framed in sweet Cavendish with just a hint of Virginia tang.

This blend arrives at an optimal moisture level and is smokable right out of the tin. The charring light brings a puff of Cavendish sweetness balanced by some drier, Oriental flavors. It should be noted that the Cavendish on display here is nothing like that commonly used in damp, messy American aromatics. Rather, this is traditionally, naturally sweet black Cavendish that pulls together the more robust tobaccos into a smooth, seamless package. 

That said, this is a subtly sweet, smoky, woody blend that I would enthusiastically recommend as an introduction to English blends. Black Mallory is softly sweet without ever being cloying, the Virginias are smooth and biteless, the Orientals provide a nutty, woody background, and the Latakia is deep and rich and yet buffered nicely by the unflavored Cavendish. There are deep bass notes here nicely tempered by the Cavendish, making Black Mallory one of the more accessible Latakia blends. A smooth and dry smoking medium English that I find to be an excellent blend that manages to provide dark, smokey Latakia notes perfectly balanced between the Cavendish and Virginias. The mouthfeel is deep, rich and creamy.

Dedicated English smokers and Latakiaphiles may be disappointed. But for an accessible medium English that provides plenty of body, or an introduction to the genre, Mallory is a sweetheart. 

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.

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.