Rattray Black Virginia

I know this isn't supposed to have any added flavors but, for me, it tastes and smokes like a mild aromatic. Maybe that's just the mysterious Cavendish process. It has a perfumed quality that's almost like a lighter version of a Lakeland tobacco. Also, like most aromatics, it heats up unless I'm more careful than usual. I like a bowl of this every now and again for a change but, even if I were looking for an all day smoke, this wouldn't be it. I will say, the second half of the bowl has less of the flavour I dislike and a more natural Va taste but I don't know anyone wha'd smoke half a bowl then hand it over. :::joke::: Take this review with a pinch of salt. This is a well-loved blend. Just not by me.

Short black ribbons with a vague prune aroma, once lit BV is lightweight in nicotine and mildly sweet with a faint fruity note without any variation of flavors. Not bad but boring after a while and, despite the blandness, room note is quite stale and a bit tarry. Fresh from the can it is too moist but when dried it burns effortless without bites, indeed it is useful on blending (e.g. to tame too strongly flavoured and/or biting aromatics) but good things end there. I ain’t gonna buy it again.

Another very good product from Rattray. Some might find this one a bit boring with no real fireworks being preformed on your taste buds. A very good blend for what it is. It lights very easily and stays lit easily as well. This burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. The moisture level upon popping the tin is just right for me, YMMV. All in all, a recommended blend.

Rattray's BV is a very special tobacco which needs a lot of attention when smoking. Filling the pipe is easy, when it is not to new in the tin, you can stick it heavy in the pipe. You need this to get it lit for longer than 3 minutes. It burns cool but to heavy sucking on your bit will end in a good tongue bite. My experience is that it burn totally into light grey ashes. So it's very helpfull to smoke in a new pipe. There are no or little problems with moisture in the stem. When you like a very light sweet tobacco taste, it's a fantastic tobacco when smoked wright.

Despite its extremely dark colour there is no roughness but a pleasant tang - just the thing for an early morning smoke with a cup of coffee.

It does need a little more attention to keep it going, and the rewards are not really worth the effort. Although certainly entirely uncased, there is a natural liquorice- like flavour to Black Virginia, but other than that, it's a bit tedious. I find it draining on both the palate and general constitution. Next morning, my mouth felt very ‘ashy', so the smoke on this must be very heavy. Besides the widely noted extra effort in keeping it alight, the actual smoking is not unpleasant (for one bowlful when otherwise feeling fit and up for anything), but it's not very inspiring either.

The only way I would ever smoke this again is mixed with something else. I'm trying a blend of 5 parts Samuel Gawith's ‘Golden Glow' (aka Medium Virginia Flake) to 2 parts Black Virginia (by weight). The hay/grassy light quality of the GG is not on the face of it an obvious match for the liquorice of the BV, but it works quite nicely. I like the ‘Black & Gold' concept that comes with this blending, and the light and dark flavours makes for a smoke of greater dimensions than offered by either tobacco unmixed. This is my first go at blending, and I wonder whether a dash of perique might make it something more heroic. I'd be interested to hear of other blends by other smokers here using Black Virginia.

On its own, this is a two star tobacco - in my GG blend, it's an interesting three star (my blend is, of course, four star).

As Black Mallory, I've tried this one only in bulk.

I'm sure it's a nice tobacco, the only disadvantage is that it took way too long to smoke a pipeful, and a small one, that is.

Smoked unmixed, this bakkie requires a lot of attention to remain lit and smoked way too slow for my own preferences. But the taste was very pleasant, full and just a bit sweet.

Smoked mixed with something else, it doesn't really stick out but rather stays in the background.

Too bad, the tin aroma was nice, a bit of dried figs and semi bitter chocalate, with the aroma of pure aged VA.

If you like to spend hors smoking a pipeful, and solely pay attention to your pipeful, this bakkie is for you.

A shame, and a pity. I will try it with a different mixture and review again.

This one is good, but the taste is somewhat ethereal. Through the wisps of smoke, an occasional tangy sweetness dances at the edge of the palate. Never as much as I want, but always enough to keep me coming back for another try. My tin dried out fairly quickly.

This is difficult for me to smoke. The stoving leaves an oily residue that stains the fingers and presents problems with trying to keep it lit while not getting tongue bite that Virginia leaf is notorious for. It mixes favorably with Hal 'O the Wynd without excessive taste clashing. The only way I can appreciate smoking it is to let it dry for a couple of days outside the can. I guess I've learned that I'm not a zealot for stoved tobacco.

Meerschaum Man Smoking an old noname Meer