Rattray Black Virginia

I am mad at Black Virginia. I have attempted to smoke this blend several times over the course of many years, all from the same tin. Each time I found it very hard to light, unwilling to accept a char, difficult to keep burning without excessive puffing which heats things up to an intolerable degree, and lacking in any enjoyable flavor. When I sit down at the end of the day to enjoy the one or two bowls life, and my wife, allot me, I do not want to have to do battle with the blend. Black Virginia, damn you to hell!

To tone the hyperbole down just a bit, Black Virginia is black in the tin, as described. It appears to be covered with something, but what I do not know. It smells tangy, like most virginias, plus something else which defies description, at least for me.

It packs ok, due to its very odd cut. It is cut into large chunky flat squares. The only thing that I have seen similar is cavendish existing as a constituent part of a va or english blend. Cavendish, however, will burn, and this, at least for me, will not. Even after drying, it is wholly resistant to the flame. When I finally get it going, it flames out quickly, and burns hot. The flavor is a great let down from the strong tin presence.

Overall, this tobacco had bad mojo, and I have thrown the rest of mine out. Things have been right with the world ever since.

If I could by this tobacco by the pipefull, I'd buy about one a year. A tasty tobacco that just does not come up to the standards of other stoved tobaccos such as Dark Star, McClelland's 2035 and my all time favorite: Stonehaven.

All of Rattray's non stoved Virginia tobaccos are excellent. I suggest they leave the stoving to others.

This blend smelled weak in the tin so I was hoping it might knock me over with some great depth of flavor. Well that didn't happen. This lit well and smoked fine, but where is the flavor? It wasn't just weak it wasn't present at all. What a disappointment.

Smoke in Peace.

This blend smelled great in the 100 gram tin and seemed very promising. I'm not going to tell you how much I paid for this, too embarassed. Well what this smelled like in the tin (dried prunes, sweet, hay-like) did not really translate to anything with any depth or even pleasantness in its monogustation and olfaction. Too mild for me, not satisfying at all and no nicotine thrill whatsoever. This was bland, boring and I was surprised Rattray would put this out. I see by the other reviews that this is not well liked...I wish I would have looked here before trying this I could have saved $@*%$ 🙂 Sorry not telling, but I really made a bad call on this one...hell you gotta try new stuff anyway and not just rely on reviews..but man...what a waste.

10/07/2005 As a major consumer of Rattray's fine pipe tobaccos, I was let down by this one. First I must say I have not been a lover of Stoved Virginias. They may be too subtle for my less-experienced palate. I will follow the advice of some of the other esteemed reviewers and dry the heck out of this tobacco. Otherwise it may take me a number of years to work my way through the 100 gram tin. Will update after the drying-testing process is completed. 02/08/2006: I have smoked eight of the eighteen blends listed in this section and this is the only disappointment of the lot.

This stuff bites my tongue regardless of the moisture level in the tobacco. The taste is flat, somewhat spicy for such a one dimensional virginia (is there some flavoring added?)and I can't get past the bitiness...

With all the good va's on the market (stoved or not) I sure can't recommend this one.

A surprisingly mild dark Virginia. Not a very sweet Va, it never exhibited the ?grassy sweet? taste that some Va?s do. BV burns evenly and dry. A very mild flavor.

I personally like the grassy sweet taste in my Va smokes. This one left me wanting.

Upon opening this tobacco i found very little aroma at all, and the tobacco was jet black mostly, with a little brown here and there. The tobacco was definately dry for rattrays.

THe tobacco packed and lit easily, and produced a nice grey ash. the initial flavors were the musty sweet flavor of virginias, wit a little sweetness too boot, bu they quicky faded and it became a hot and boring smoke. No matter how slow i puffed or if i put it down and relighted it just attacked my tounge like an agitated viper. IF you try this one, try a coencob or a clay pipe to keep it cool.

This is the first tobacco i tried that i really did not like at all, oh well there are alot of other fish in the sea.