Rattray Brown Clunee

Brown Clunee, Old Gowrie and Hal O’ The Wynd are three very similar blends, with the same characteristics. Not so for Marlin Flake that is completely another mixture. Here I want to speak about the differences among these three excellent blends, from the point of view of Brown Clunee. First of all, they all have the same ingredients (Virginia, Kentucky, Perique) without any casing. But there are also a lot of differences:

HOTW is the strongest of the three, less delicate than the others. OG is the sweetest, it is almost a straight Virginia or at least it has the same characteristics. Brown Clunee is the most spicy, the most peppery. HOTW has more Kentucky and less Virginia compared to OG. BC is really similar to HOTW, but it has less Kentucky and more Perique. Perique is really leading. On the contrary, in OG Virginia and also Kentucky are leading, but Perique is really a “bit player”. To sum up on the basis of the amount of the different tobaccos, we can follow this order: Virginia content: OG – BC – HOTW. Kentucky content: HOTW – OG – BC. Perique content: BC – HOTW – OG.

Finally, OG is a Virginia based mixture. Similarly HOTW is a Virginia based mixture but it could also be considered a Perique mixture and also a Virginia/Kentucky mixture (it is the most balanced). BC is certainly and without any doubt a Perique mixture, a Va/Per with just a touch of Kentucky. Three excellent blends, but in this case my favorite (the kind of the three I prefer) is Brown Clunee. For all these reasons, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 10 and four complete stars.

The plum, raisins and pepper from the earthy, woody perique is lightly noted as is the nutty, slightly floral, earthy, woody Kentucky. The Virginia dominates the flavor; hay-like, grassy, with a mild tart and tangy citrus and a small amount of tangy dark fruit, some wood and earth. The strength is is the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a step past that mark. The nic-hit is a couple of rungs past the mild threshold. It burns slightly fast, and may nip at your tongue, and possibly get harsh if you are a fast puffer. Has a mildly inconsistent flavor as the perique waxes and wanes at times. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. An all day smoke with a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note.

-JimInks

Virginia and Kentucky with a smidgen of Perique - man, is this stuff ever good!

Upon opening the tin, I got the definite impression that I was in a barn filled with fresh hay. The taste is also somewhat grassy and sweet - but in a rather pleasant way.

I love this one!

This has been a very pleasant smoke, but not especially remarkable. The Kentucky makes itself known with some earthiness early. I got a little plum perique in the last half of the bowl. Mostly this is a good mildly sweet stoved Virginia with some condimental tobacco to keep it from being too boring. The taste is more on the dark, heavy end of the Virginia spectrum. As an odd observation, I noted just a whiff of soap on first light, and it disappeared.

It was an easy smoke and was a cool burning blend for me. I doubt many people whould think of this as a contender for an "all-day" blend, but I could see it working in that mode.

This is a solid 3 stars and if this was all I had I would smoke a lot of it and not feel sorry for myself. Given the price, I am unlikely to buy more.

Brown Clunee was the first straight virginia I ever smoked - waaaay back around 1984 or so. It was good enough then that I began smoking straight virginias almost exclusively, and it has a special place in my heart as a result.

After years of smoking other, more developed virginias and Vapers, this one is best reminisced about rather than smoked. I found its sweet/sour taste offputting and bland in comparison to its stablemates Hal O' The Wynd, Marlin Flake and Old Gowrie, as well as other blends from different blending houses. Aging does not seem to serve this blend well, either, as a 14 year old version added a bit of of a soapy taste - kind of like sucking on a dryer sheet. I am mixing this with straight perique to see if I can spice it up a bit and tame that sourness.

Not recommended for my own smoking but somewhat recommended for those who like a very mild smoke and one that has no pretensions of depth or complexity. Good for those starting out on virginias as a teaser to show them what lies ahead.

If you like Old Gowrie, Hal o' the Wynd or Marlin Flake (notwithstanding the cavendish tobacco therewith), you will probably like Brown Clunee as well. I'd say there is more Perique here than in the others, and this gives the whole mixture a tangy or zesty note to it. The subdued sweetness seems to come from the Virginia tobacco whereas the Kentucky leaf has a somewhat roasted (nuts) flavour that rounds the whole thing up. As for the presentation, it is just this broken flake you are so used to if you are familiar with this particular range. Also, it will improve if you let it sit in a jar for a couple of weeks. There is nothing special about the room or tin note for that particular matter, but I find it quite pleasing to retro inhale the smoke or pass it through my nose. In true honesty, I don't like it as much as the aforementioned, but to deny it a four solid stars would be falling far from the truth.

Rattray - Brown Clunee.

A medium brown, not too moist, ribbon. The aroma's mainly Virginia but there's a vinegary touch of Perique, too.

It lights easily and gives a stable burn and a fairly cool smoke. The flavour's leading character's the Virginia, with the Kentucky and Perique offering a definite seasoning. The Kentucky gives nuts without taking over with a fire-cured flavour. If I force it too much I get a bit of a bite, so I tend to sip at it.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Four stars.

This is one of the most anonymous blends i've ever tried. Upon opening the tin i smelled fresh hay, and cigarette tobacco. It packs easily and burns fast. For me, it is almost impossible not to puff away like a panicked WW2 soldier with a filterless Player cigarette in his mouth. Where's the beef i say? Not in this blend.

Too light, too fast, too little of everything. However, the quality of the leaf is, as always with Rattray's, outstanding.

So if you prefer a light, bright, pure virginia-blend similar to Blackjack and Capstan Mild, give this one a go.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

Truly a companion to Old Gowrie. Clunee is the "sweet brother" of Gowrie that is less spicy.

The tin aroma is great, somewhat fruity-sweet, little spicy and fermented. Dark, broken flakes are waiting in the 100g tin to be admired and stuffed - but in forehand they need some drying time, just as Gowrie does!

Having Brown Clunee in the pipe is wonderful! A cotton-candy like sweetness is always present, though never too much. A gentle fruitiness is giving this bled a foundation for the sweetness to shine and only mild spice is giving this blend its backbone. Whilst Gowrie has some nice, zesty spice to it, Gowrie is rather sweetish with little spice. The Kentucky sports some minor boldness as well as some tart nutty tones that harmonize excellently with the fruity-sweetness.

Just as Gowrie and Hal o the wynd, this has around 6mg of added flavouring on 1000mg of tobacco, as the additive list reveals. Just some minor addition, but all of them have around 40-50mg of sugar added to enhance the sweetness.

What can I say more? I love it! Gowrie and Clunee are one of my Go-To Va/Per/Ky blends, whilst Gowrie is more Perique-forward and Clunee rather Vrginia-forward with more Ketucky to it. Also Clunee shares a few similarites with the famous Motzek Stang, which is plus for me too! 3,5-stars, as I find Old Gowrie to be a bit ahead of this blend!

Another simple, subtle RATTRAY virginia. This is a degree less stoved than OLD GOWRIE, and perhaps for that very reason some may find it even more kaleidoscopic. An indispensable classic from old Perth.