Rattray Brown Clunee

Love the smell of this from the tin ! Brown Clunee is more of Virginia forward blend . Lightly sweet and bready . Fruity and tangy ,hay and grass . The perique -Virginia meld gives some plum notes . Kentucky adding some nut and toast and spice . This is truly an all day smoke to me . Full flavored but not strong tasting ,very smooth almost buttery . Where Old Gowrie has brighter Virginias, Brown Clunee has brown Virginias. . I like this better than OG as it is less grassy . No bite whatsoever. 4 stars

My tin -- from 2003 -- had six years of age on it when I tried it. (I'm just delinquent in writing it up here.)

For me, this was a fine soft Virginia, with distinctive lemony/citrus undertones. It seems to be weighted strength-wise (i.e., nicotine-wise) between Old Gowrie and Hal o' the Wynd (to keep things in the Rattray family). Hal o' the Wynd has a distinctive sweetness and a just-as-much-as-I-want nicotine level, but could I distinguish Brown Clunee from Old Gowrie in a blind tasting? I don't know. Brown Clunee might be softer, rounder, smoother; it might be more nuanced. (I know how vague all of this sounds.)

What I do know for sure, though, is that it's a highly enjoyable smoking experience.

NOTE: I'm *extremely* sensitive to perique (in a bad way). If there is perique in this blend -- and I'm not sure there is -- it is present in near-microscopic quantities.

On Sunday I fretted over what I may smoke for my morning hike. See, on Saturday I smoked, all day, Brown Clunee in a Vollmer & Nilsson Apple with delight. When the BC is dry to my liking in this light-weight, open-draw pipe I enjoyed what is nothing less than pure tobacco pleasure. I know that Sunday is a day of rest but not for the BC and V&N. I again hit a cadence, a rhythm, with this tobacco and pipe much like yesterday. The afternoon brought a round golf with more BC in the V&N. The evening included a lecture and more of the same tobacco pleasure. Brown Clunee is a fine blend that I can smoke all day. A blend of Virginian, Perique and Burly (Ky) in varying degrees. The flavor strengthens throughout the bowl and never fatigues my palate. The side stream and room note have a sweet spicy note that pleases me. And it has enough nicotine to satisfy. I certainly enjoy the other Rattray Virginians; Brown Clunee just works best for and with me- day in and day out.

Quality Virginia, I tend to smoke this before lunch. Sometimes I smoke it FOR lunch. To me this Rattray isn't as complex as others and could be described accurately as monodimensional. I find it builds a bit more nicotine towards the end of the smoke than Old Gowrie.

Do Clunees come in other colors than Brown? What the hell is a Clunee? For that matter, what the hell is a "Gowrie"? Let's all lobby Rattray for some nice young Gowrie.

This review is a work in progress. I acquired several Rattray’s blends in late March 2021, and I decided Brown Clunee would be the first I sampled, because several reviewers I trust mentioned that this blend is the lighter of the ones I have.

It only made sense to begin with the lighter one. I should probably add, before going any further, that this is to be my first ever encounter with Rattray’s blends.

Initial impressions were that this is a fairly non-descript blend. Some blends wow you from the get-go. Some of those fade down the stretch, while others continue to be a strong, positive experience every time.

Brown Clunee is none of those. The first bowl seemed fairly pedestrian. Each successive bowl gave me a little more insight into what I’m dealing with.

And what I’m dealing with here is a pleasant, nuanced blend. I think the reason it didn’t wow me initially is because it’s so well-blended, and because it really does develop over the course of the bowl. The bowl I finish is definitely different from the one I started. And, I admit, I haven’t really messed with a lot of nuance and complexity thus far as a pipe smoker.

What I end up with is a deep, rich, stewed fruit melange. There’s a little spice in there still.

The Virginia definitely holds everything together splendidly as the bowl evolves from the initial earthiness into the rich spectrum of flavors. As the sugars of the Virginia caramelize somewhere around the midway point, that’s also where the perique steps up a bit.

I really look forward to comparing this solid offering with Hal and Gowrie. They’re the two Rattray’s blends that, along with Marlin Flake, get all the glory. But all three have the same components.

It’s going to be interesting to see how I feel about them. Because, with maybe half a tin to go, Brown Clunee is proving to be a tough act to follow.

Work in progress... to be continued. Apologies to those who’ve stumbled on this work in progress. I’m mildly feverish, dealing with the after effects of my second Pfizer Covid vaccine. I promise to clean this review up once I’m back to 100%

One of the more memorable blends, brown clunee is one of the few perique blends that doesn't taste like dirt to me. Has a very noxious room note, which drives people away in droves. So, smoke it outside only. The room note however does not detract from the taste, which is very pleasant. This has all the aromas and flavors of autumn, burning leaves, crisp smoke etc. Not quite a virginia taste, this is very earthy like a burley, but is neither bitter nor strong. This blend is phenominal in a cob.

Appearance is a medium brown broken flake. Tin smells akin to a quality fruited cake with slight grassy notes. Tastes lightly sweet with light bakery notes.

Brown Clunee is the all-day Hal O' the Wynd. Old Gowrie lacks the grassy and bakery flavours of HOTW, but Brown Clunee has them, albeit much more lightly. Very nice, and a favourite when I want something milder. Brown Clunee does not bite. I much prefer this to Old Gowrie. All Rattray's, like fine wine, benefit from some airing.

Rattray's Brown Clunee is a sweet and mild Virginia presented in a broken flake. If you are looking for a big nicotine hit, such as delivered by its stronger brother Hal O' The Wynd, look elsewhere. This may have some honey added but I wouldn't swear to it. I can't really taste anything artificial so it doesn't really matter.

Now manufactured in Germany, I find this little changed from when Rattray actually manufactured this in the late sixties. Some have remarked that this may be a "starter" Virginia and that may be true; but I have stayed with it all these years. If you have the luxury of an well aged tin of this flavorful treat then you will have truly found your reward. This is in my Golden Circle and remains a delight.

I think the Rattray family of blends are among the best on the market today because they are largely subtle and require some technical expertise on the smoker's part to extract their greatness. It's fun and fairly easy to find the sweet spot of each Rattray blend and as a group, they all burn remarkably well - they definitely burn better than most of the popular boutique blends that are often reviewed on this site and that's an important attribute to consider if you are a beginning pipe smoker.

Brown Clunee is a mild, ready rubbed VA flake that's easy on the tongue and perfect for anyone seeking a mild, easy burning, all natural VA blend.

I let it dry out before I smoke it - I take a large clump out of the tin and spread it out to dry for at least a day - after that, it's perfect. You can either rub it out further or just load the thick strands right in your pipe - either way works great.

BC has superb burning qualities (after the dry out period) so be careful to puff slowly, although personally, it's never bit me even after some moderately agressive puffing.

This is not a complex blend, but it is a great blend - perfect for the warmer summer months. Within the genre of mild VA blends, Brown Clunee easily earns Four stars.