Rattray Dark Fragrant

I really like this blend. It is a bit carmally like a toasted nut with a nice tang. That tang from the Virginia's starts right away and keeps on going till slightly past the half-way point, then the flavor rounds out a bit as the perique settles and the tobacco takes on a less piquant flavor. Like any Virginia, this tobacco should be smoked slowly and you may want to keep in mind it is rather mild, giving way to overzealous puffing which dark fragrant will then bite. But with moderate attention this can and will be avoided. The Virginia tang tends to dissipate when you're on the last third of the bowl and unfortunately the tobacco flavor goes with it.

Despite its mild strength and light body dark fragrant has a slight pungent room note which is a bit organic in a straight raisin way. The tin note also reminds me of sharp raisins and a fruity edge that is very inviting. I just wish more happened during the smoke and a fuller bodied smoke would develop. Overall, a nice blend and worth trying. 2.5 stars from me, but I'll round up and give it a solid 3 stars.

Rattray's Dark Fragrant is a very pleasant tobacco for those who enjoy blackened, cavendish treated Virginias. The downside of Dark Fragrant is that it lacks complexity and becomes a bit boring in the course of smoking a full pipe.

This tobacco is slightly sweetened in addition to the Virginia sweetness. The room note is a very pleasant natural tobacco smell that will offend only the most demanding non smokers.

The perique note is subdued, although there is enough there to rule out smoking by the perique haters. Based on an earlier top description which mentioned orientals, the previous reviews include many objections to listing this as a component. These reviewers were correct. This is a darkened Virginia with just a tab of perique, no oriental included.

The ribbon cut is fine with me. I do prefer to dry this out a bit by opening the can about three days before I start smoking it.

I have given Dark Fragrant only two stars. Actually I could go with three stars in terms of the way that I smoke it--only a half pipe full at a time. That way I don't tire of its simplicity.

I normally don't enjoy Cavendish in any form, but my husband had a 100g tin that was several years old that he recommended I try. At first light, I found Dark Fragrant's flavor to be very unpleasant. To my taste it was almost soapy, but not in a Lakeland way. I managed to continue on and the flavor settled down a little bit for the better. DK became more pleasant deeper into the bowl and It doesn't bite and it is somewhat mild. But in the end, even as the flavor improves, the aftertaste that it leaves in my mouth is almost metallic and for that reason it isn't a blend I will be revisiting any time soon.

This blend was a very pleasant surprise for me. I actually purchased it by mistake, confusing it with Sweet Fragrant. When I opened the tin, I was disappointed by the aroma, which I can only describe as sour molasses (I can understand why a prior reviewer described the tin aroma as "sloes jam and vinegar"). The appearance is nothing special, being an almost uniform dark brown. On the plus side (for me), the tobacco is moist. The tobacco feels slightly, but not unpleasantly, tacky. I didn't dry it before lighting it. It took a bit longer to get a good charring light, but it stayed lit thereafter, with judicious tamping.

The surprise came when I took my first puff. This is an exceptionally smooth (no bite) and mild (no detectable nicotine for me) blend. It has a mild toasty sweet flavor which lasts from beginning to end. The sweetness is probably due (at least in part) to some form of sugar casing, but I can detect no flavored topping. Like another reviewer, I don't understand why this is called "Fragrant", which would seem to suggest an aromatic. Nonetheless, this is a top notch tobacco, which has a permanent place in my rotation. Highly recommended!

Sorry to burst some bubbles but, THERE IS NO ORIENTAL LEAF IN THIS TOBACCO! AND, it sure as heck isn't shag cut like someone mentioned. Who ever wrote the description needs more research on this blend. Did anyone actually taste any oriental leaf? Of course you didn't,cause there is none.

This tobacco is stoved Virginia, sweetened a tiny bit, and perique added.There is even a small description on the bottom of the tin that will tell you this. The taste is pure mellow Virginia. It has hardly any bite, as the harsh bite that Virginia posseses has been baked out. For optimum enjoyment let the tin dry out,just not all the way. DF is just right,and I'll probaly buy more of this tobacco on down the road.

Rattrays Dark Fragrant - I have never been a fan of black cavendish or the brown cavendish in Dunhill 965 . I do sometimes enjoy stoved Virginias in some blends though . Anyway I wanted to sample a couple of these types of black Virginias . This Dark Fragrant is not bad . No bite and burns well with not many relights . It is fruity and sweet and fairly smooth . The flavor is ok and worth trying . Not much nicotine at all . I may use it as a blender down the road . Better than expected but I wouldn’t buy it again . 2 1/2

This is a blend that i would recommend to someone for his first experience with pipe smoking. An experienced smoker can find this blend very light or even boring. In my orders there is always a tin of DF. Usually I am smoking it when I want something light. Though at the end of each bowl, I always think "boh, finished already, I can have another one!!!" Meaning, although it is mild, it is very tasteful. Since I have not come across many blends for which I can say so, I think that this is a unique characteristic of Dark Fragrant. Higly recommended (unless you are pipe smoker for 50 years and a bit snob)

The overall taste is dark prune, colored by something almost zesty, like lemon grass. Prune, prune, and more prune -- all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The gentle but unmistakeable sweetness, somewhere in the brown sugar/molasses family, is nicely balanced by the shadowy lemon taste; but the dark prune taste is, well, somewhat fatiguing. For me, a small bowl now and then is quite sufficient. I give it 2 stars because it's not for everybody -- but it's not a bad blend.

If I had my say about the "blend type", I would create a new category: Stoved Virginia. It's sufficiently unlike other types of Virginia used as the foundation in pipe blends.

Excellent original smoking mixture: Black Cavendish and Perique. This is a natural aromatic blend. No flavoring at all. Black Cavendish is pretty natural, toasted, unflavored. Only sugar is added with probably a very light casing. All in all it can be considered a natural unflavored Black Cavendish, tipically Scottish. Perique is strongly present and not only a pinch. There is a lot of Perique in the blend and you can taste it from the beginning to the end. Properly this mixture could also be considered a Perique mixture. Original idea, original taste, original mixture. Just right. I would say almost perfect (maybe adding a touch of Virginia?). Finally, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 9 and three and a half stars .