Rattray Dark Fragrant

The comparisons to McClellands Dark Star are abundant but, I think, invalid. To my taste, Rattray's Black Virginia is closer to Dark Star. This one has the addition of... something... perhaps orientals? The description says so, and there is something there that is not present in Dark Star but I can't make it out. A light dash of perique? If so, it's a VERY light condiment. The virginia tanginess is by far the dominant taste.

This one dries out and holds a light better than either Black Virginia or Dark Star, neither of which I could smoke easily. Consequently, I prefer this one. It's a mellow smoke with not a lot of mystery to it. The virginias develop slightly as the bowl progresses. I'm not one to assign fruit or wood flavors to tobacco as a rule but I'll be danged if this one doesn't remind me of the scent of freshly brewed coffee... er... the *taste* of this reminds me of the scent of coffee. Weird, ok, but that's the experience I had! I don't drink coffee but I love its aroma, and I suppose aromas create a bit of a taste.

If stoved VA is your thing, this is a must try. I typically only smoke stoved in a blend and this one is stoved in its basic presentation so I find it a bit mild to smoke all the time but it's a good tasting tobacco that performs as it was intended.

Presentation is a rubbed out flake of dark brown, with a scattering of medium brown tobacco. Tin note is darkly fruity, plums and other stewed fruit, dried cherries and figs. Delicious. Moisture content is just right and Dark Fragrant takes a match well.

It must be stressed that the black Cavendish in this blend is nothing like what many have come to expect from goopy American aromatics. The Cavendish processed Virginia in this blend are sublime: darkly fruity, deep, very smooth, slightly tangy, with only very subtle background hints of Virginia's grassy and citrusy side. The Perique accentuates the stewed fruit and adds only the slightest hint of pepper. The tang becomes more assertive by mid-bowl, with some deliciously sour notes.

This is a fantastic and interesting blend: a Perique blend for those who don't like VaPers, an old school aromatic for those who don't like aromatics, a black Cavendish blend for those who loathe what is currently marketed as "black Cavendish". Absolutely no bite. Mild but packed with flavor. Very smooth smoking, cool-burning, fruity and rich. Burns cool enough to be an all-day smoke. An excellent crossover blend for aromatic smokers looking to explore further. Dark Fragrant has a lot going for it, but doesn't have quite the complexity level to grab that forth star.

The Rattray’s line of non-aromatic tobacco for me has been terrific at both ends of the spectrum, but with a big hole in the middle. On one end I like Black Mallory and really like Red Rapparee. On the other end, I am a big fan of HOTW, Marlin Flake and Old Gowrie. But 3 Noggins, Brown Clunee, Accounts etc. have all left me wanting. But what I have discovered is that those blends in the “middle” age very well and that seems to be the difference maker. So I started with Dark Fragrant by purchasing a seven year old tin. The age seems to have made the difference as I get a different tin note than those have described with a new tin. The aged blend gives up the typical scent of a well-aged VaPer. I would find myself in the “No Orientals” camp too. (But I did notice that the description on Smoking Pipes website claims Orientals in the blend) I just get a Virginia Cavendish with a smattering of Perique in the flavor department. I find DF sweet, and very mild. I would not compare the Cavendish here to that found in a typical American style aromatic. There is not a lot of complexity to be found either. That’s not a bad thing, but worth pointing out. Generally I smoke about 85 to 90% of the tobacco in my bowl, but with DF I didn’t like the flavor at the end of the bowl. I have to admit based on some of the reviews that I went into this blend being not very optimistic. My results could be positive due to the age of the tin, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The uncommon combination of this blend triggered me to purchase a tin.once the tin pops up a sweet plumy and figs aroma comes out.the blend is as dark as it can be with some moisture.i noticed that drying is tonning down the flavours.packing and lighting is easy with some relights needed through the process.while smoking the flavours are simple and natural.the cavendish style virginias are in the foreground being sweet,grassy,with dark fruits and and some sour notes.the perique adds some wonderfull notes in the backround offering some plum and fig notes.rarelly some spices and sour notes are also detected.generally the combination is nice simple and natural though not something unique.burns medium speed and medium hot not to perfect ash with some moisture being created at the end of the bowl.no chance of tongue bite.the room note is pleasant and the nicotine level low.it can be an all day smoke.i would not name it as a light aromatic.genarally this is a simple and decent blend.

This mild blend is best smoked after opening and drying a bit. The flavor develops as it oxidizes. The flavor, while not strong, is pleasant. I wouldn't say it is full bodied by any means. If one is tired of the American cavendish sweetness, this is a nice change. While I tend towards a fuller aged Virginia, I found this an interesting change. I agree with an earlier post, it does leave a 'smog'.

I really enjoyed the sample of this that I tried. There are many comparisons to Dark Star in the reviews and I think it an apt comparison as both are stoved black blends that seemingly feature the Virginia leaf. I am assuming the Cavendish used is of Virginia.

I love Dark Star, but one thing about it is that it is extremely monotone. Which is fine if you like the tone, which I do. It is a very, naturally, sweet tasting tobacco. DS also is sweet, but to my tastes, offers a little more complexity and makes it a more interesting smoke. Perhaps it is just the pinch of perique adding a bit of spice. There also seems to be something else that I thought was Turkish/oriental. I don't see it listed in the contents above, but in any case, there is a welcome touch of sour that compliments the sweetness.

As to performance, it performs well, particularly for a stoved blend. Sometimes these types of blends are real buggers to light and maintain combustion. I had no problems smoking this down to ash from the initial light. This one will not bite at all; another benefit of this type of tobacco processing.

It is very good and probably deserves four stars, but I will leave it at three for now until I am able to smoke a larger quantity of the blend. I have a tin of this in the cellar gaining age as I type.

Another old favorite, brought back to life by K&C. It's uniformly dark, smells almost like raisins or undried figs, and a bit too moist for me as-is. A bit of airing out, a bit of rubbing (I think it is matured in cakes, then rubbed out), and it lighs well. It burns cool and reasonably dry, but does need more than the occasional relight. The flavor is similar ro he aroma, sweet and full bodied, but fairly simple. It was nearly a twin of McConnells Maduro, as I recall, and I smoked them interchangeably. I got a few complaints at work, but much less than my Latakia blends.

I really enjoy Dark Fragrant. No, it’s not a 1=1 match for Dark Star, nor should it be promoted as one. But it is a good, darkly stoved Virginia with a whisper of Perique that stands on its own. After a couple charring lights, it fires up and gives the pleasure of raisins, dried figs, and a hint of dried tart cherries. It has a good tang to begin with that develops into a spicy, dark fruit rich sweetness by midpoint. It’s not overly complex, but it is delicious, easy to pack and smoke, completely free of bite, even when pushed, and burns down completely with little moisture. This isn’t a multi-faceted, complex smoke that changes with each puff, but rather a satisfying, easy to smoke blend that hits the right notes for a low effort smoke. 3.5 solid stars.

An old fashioned blend. There was once a number of smokes one could find in this category. Now this may be the only one. Its mostly a dark almost black Cavendish virginia, with a small pinch of Perique. There is a very very mild sweet add to it, but its hard to know quite what it is. But it IS VERY mild indeed. Its a very seductive smoke and it takes a few bowls to start to really appreciate just how good this blend is. It is mild in the nic dept, but it does have some. Enough to keep you interested. A fine unusual all day smoke. Im a big fan of it. 3 and a half stars.