Rattray Brown Clunee

My major issue with this tobacco is that it lacks depth that I am seeking. The Kentucky doesn't add the body that I'm looking for. The quality of the tobacco is good and it ages well and there is a small amount of sweetness that I do enjoy. I just don't know if its worth the cost of cellaring tins when there are so many other brands in this niche. This blend is worth a taste if you are a fan of similar blends, but for me, I'm on to new ventures.

First half of the bowl is very earthy with a very mild sweetness and just a touch of smoke and spice. As the bowl progresses the sweetness builds to mild and a mild note of oat bread creeps in adding a little complexity. Gets a little spicier toward the end. Not a blend that I'll be seeking out, but if you love earthiness you may really like this one. It's very down to earth, so to speak.

Mild to medium in body and taste. No added flavorings detected. Burns very well.

As others have noted, quality tobacco but not as flavorful as its great aroma would suggest. Wonderful dark aromas (raisins, burnt caramel). Mostly earth tone flavors (hay, leather, peat, etc.). Not very sweet for a Virginia, but that is probably explained by the predominance of Kentucky (burley?) tobacco. Needs a bit of drying out but, once accomplished, lights easily and burns clean.

It's not a bad "Virginia" by any means, it's just that there are a lot of better ones out there for the money.

12-02-2004 Another great one from Ratray's

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Not quite as rich as Marlin Flake or Old Gowrie, mostly broken, almost fully rubbed out flake.

Packing and Lighting: Easy to pack, a little moist upon opening tin. After a couple of weeks, it dries sufficiently to loght easily.

Initial Flavor: Pure, light VA with high notes immediately the focus.

Mid-Bowl: Not much change, high flavor notes recede a little.

Bottom of Bowl: Nice, round, mellow VA flavor with the typical sweetness.

Overall: This is very good "entry level" VA blend. It is easy to puff away on without much needed focus to get flavor and keep tongue-bite away. Leaves a fine grey dusting on bowl when done. Unfortunately, I have been spoiled by Marlin Flake, so this one won't be in my rotation. I will, however highly recommend to those beginning to tread the water of VA's.

Rating: 4 out of 5 points

Not a bad red-brown Virginia in ready rubbed form, although with a very delicate taste. It does not bite, and has a nice fruity natural flavour. Smell in the tin is of pears and dried fruit, very good. The taste is similar, but in a much more subdued way. I still prefer the strength and sweetness of Hal O' The Wynd and Marlin Flake, or McClelland's equivalent products (which are a bit more sour and bitey, though). Right after opening it is a bit too moist for my taste. Not very complex or deep, but easy-smoking. A bit reminiscent in taste of (but lighter than) Full Virginia Flake by Gawith.

Perhaps the mildest of the Rattray's tobaccos I've tried to date. I'm still exploring my tin but find BC a bit too mild for my tastes. It has a wonderful tin aroma and burns well. I wish I would have discovered this blend during my first foray into Virginias. As it stands, I believe this to be a fine tobacco that I will cellar, maybe add some perique, or even some Latakia. I'm much fonder of Old Gowrie but certainly recommend this blend to anyone looking for a quality Virginia that's light enough to smoke all day. I will update as I work my way through the tins I have of Brown Clunee.

Update: I have been experimenting adding different amounts of perique to this blend and have been very satisfied with the results. Good, quality tobacco that blends well with others.

I found Brown Clunee rather bland, especially compared to the other great Virginias from Rattray's. I could agree with others that this is akin to HOTW light, it lacks the heft and complexity of HOTW as well as the nicotine hit. Not much else to say, it isn't really remarkable in any way, just a basic flat Virginia flavor.

Objective: Nicely rubbed out tobacco. Moderate moisture content. Good amount of tobacco for the price. Mild to moderate amount of smoke yielded after some drying time, not a good thing for me since I like to a good deal of smoke.

Subjective: This was a very mild tasting tobacco, almost flat. The perique was barely noticeable. The weed packed well and stayed lit with just a few relights. The aroma was that of hay and to some extent a little nutty. I prefer stronger blends, but am glad I got to try this one. HOTW would be my choice of a VaPer from this line.

I tried this tobacco after hearing a little bit about its namesake. Brown Clunee was named in 1952, after Rosemary Clooney had a torrid love affair with Sidney Poitier, resulting in a child being born that would be George Clooney's half brother in 1948. His name was Samuel L. Jackson. Charles Rattray, being Sidney Poitier's cousin, and one of the only ones privy to the truth about his and Miss Clooney's love child, jokingly called the young Samuel Jackson the only 'Brown Clooney'. This eventually led Mr. Rattray to name his tobacco after Jackson in 1952, changing the name slightly to avoid suspicion, to 'Brown Clunee'.

Unfortunately, I have to say that when Charles Rattray first blended Brown Clunee, he must not have had an inkling of a notion of what Samuel L. Jackson would be like as an adult. His hardline acting style, often associated with tough heroes or cold-hearted villans, is not found here at all. Instead, Brown Clunee is a mild tobacco that offers little taste unless coaxed along. When right out of the tin, this tobacco smokes best, with a mild golden Virginia taste that eventually evolves into a citrus taste, with a mild taste of orange peel or lemon juice slowly grazing over the tongue. When smoked slowly and deliberately, this will last the entire bowl and be very enjoyable. However, when the tobacco is dried out, it loses this interesting citrus taste and becomes a quite boring, bland tobacco. Because of its difficulty to coax flavour, this blend can only deserve 3/5 stars, or 2 stars. Needless to say, if Charles Rattray had seen into the future, he would've made 'Brown Clunee' a nicotine-heavy, dark dark virginia blend with plenty of punch as a tribute to Jackson, but alas, hindsight is always 20/20.