Tobaccos Rattray - Hal O' the Wynd (British Collection)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2014-03-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Virginias offer a very mild tart and tangy citrusy, moderate tangy ripe and dried dark fruit with a hint of grass, and a little earth and wood. It has an extremely mild fermented sweetness as well. They are the lead components. The Kentucky adds a touch of strength and a very mild nutty, earthy woodiness, though it mostly lurks in the background. The perique is also a minor player, but it has a little pepper, raisin, dates, plums and fig flavor that adds a nice dimension to the blend, and does just a little more for it than the Kentucky does. The strength and taste barely reach the medium level. The nicotine hit is a couple of steps past the mild mark. It won't bite even when pushed. Has no dull or harsh spots, but does have a few very light rough edges. Mildly complex and lightly moist out of the tin, it burns at a reasonable rate, cool and clean with a very consistent tangy, fruity, lightly spicy flavor from start to finish. Burns to ash with no trouble, and leaves very little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and room note. Can be an all day smoke for the experienced piper, and repeatable for the novice.

-JimInks

89 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-09-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I finally gave this highly acclaimed Rattray's tobacco a try recently. I had a tin of it in my tobacco "cellar" (hall closet - top shelf) for about three years. So, it was nicely aged.

Folks, the tin says Hal O' The Wynd has a most unusual share of strength. Well, it was smooth as silk from top to bottom and as refined as any straight Virginia I've ever smoked. It was cool, and it wouldn't nip even when the puffing cadence was stepped up a notch or two. And, it didn't seem to have a particularly strong nicotine content either. The taste leans toward a subtle sweetness, and I often loaded back-to-back bowls of this delightful weed.

It did take some work for me to get the leaf into what is my favorite style - totally rubbed out and zapped in my blender. It is loaded with broken chunks in the tin, which will allow outdoor smokers to lock and load quickly.

The only unusual thing about this tobacco is that while it produced a lot of moisture in the stem and shank, the tobacco itself burned to a mostly dry ash. While some other reviewers hinted that Hal gets stronger as you work you way down the bowl, I didn't get that impression at all. In fact, it is a fairly monochromatic smoke to me.

All in all, old Hal was an absolute pleasure to puff on and you can bet that I will be purchasing more of this delightful tobacco for my hall closet, uh, I mean my tobacco cellar.

42 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Shane Ireland (8)	2014-09-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have had a long love-affair with the Rattray's Virginias; moving back and fourth between this, Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake, Brown Clunee, and finally back to this. In my opinion these blends (with the possible exception of Marlin) are so similar in profile, that it really comes down to how strong you prefer your blends to be, and how much Perique/KY influence you are looking for. Really, that is part of what makes the lineup brilliant; there is something for everyone. Hal O' the Wynd is the one for me. It not only packs the best punch, but it has the most Perique and by extension, the most interesting flavor to my tastes. I like many blends and reserve some for special occasions/aging potential, and while I do have some Hal in the cellar, I mostly smoke it fresh. There is always a 500g jar on my desk and I smoke this when nothing else sounds good, or when I want to break-in a pipe, or when I need something familiar, satisfying and easy to enjoy. The backbone of my rotation.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

32 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2008-12-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not much to add to the other reviews except a note on aging. I recently got back into pipe smoking (quit while raising my kids) and once back, I dug out my one tin on hand of this that I'd kept in storage since 1994. It was even better than I remembered. I've since ordered a new tin and a bulk pound and neither taste like the aged tin. The 1994 tin was even more complex and sweet and tasty.

This isn't much help to most of us since we aren't going to wait 14 years to smoke! But I've just purchased 3 pounds for cellaring and am going to crack one every 3 years or so, meanwhile replenishing stock. This is one tobacco that fares really well in the cellar.

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mo (81)	2008-04-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

This would be the forth time I am writing a review on this blend and the last.

This blend is perfect, another reviewer noted very accurately that if you do not wish to waste money trying out all different Virginias, start here and forget the others as there is no better Virginia IMHO.

I am sorry to say this, but after smoking many of the other brands like McClellands, McCranies, Samuel Gawith etc, I doubt that any of them can make a blend that can match this masterpiece.

Ok, to put it another way, I would smoke this if it cost me $100 a tin.

Mo, South Africa

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-12-24		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perhaps my favourite Virginia is McClelland's 5100 - "Red Cake", even though I find that I lose most of the flavour when smoking it in anything other than corncobs and small briars and meerschaums. In my quest for something in a similar vein, albeit stronger and more complex, I come now to Rattray's "Hal O' The Wynd".

First of all, this tobacco has none of that ketchup/vinegar smell so often associated with McClelland. Secondly, the tobacco lights very easily and burns evenly, leaving a fine white/grey ash in the pipe. The flavour and aroma are similar to those of 5100, although the taste, in particular, is quite a bit stronger and multi-layered than that of McClelland.

Despite my impressions of "HOTW", I am STILL primarily a 5100 fan. Rattray has a reputation of fine products, but they do tend to be a bit merciless on the wallet. Also, there are times when I still prefer the more monochromatic sweetness of the 5100.

Even though the Ambassador is fine for daily driving, it's nice to know that the Javelin sits in the garage, all gassed up and ready to go. I don't see why a fan of red virginias can't have both.

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TW (38)	2012-08-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Having smoked my way through several 100gm tins of this now I've a few thoughts about it I feel might be worth adding to the many reviews already here.

Tastewise, I find it pretty flavourful for a blend that stresses the Virginia/Kentucky (I don't mean to insult VA blends, merely that a Latikia-heavy blend will always have a more pronounced flavour than a blend such as HOTW). The Perique adds a depth I find straight VAs lack.

What seems to make a big difference to the flavour is the pipe itself and how it is packed. I smoke clays, which means the bowls are generally not huge, and narrow and deep in proportions. Packed loosley, HOTW is a good, medium flavoured VA/Per type blend, with little variation as the bowl burns down. Rubbed out and packed quite tightly then smoked slowly it gradually develops a very marked and remarkable sweetness that starts around the half way point the nbuilds and builds which compliments the initial spiciness very well.

It's a very deceptive blend. I first found it very basic, montone and simple, but began to appreciate it more as I got the taste for it and experimented with how I pack the pipe. It's a bit like those wines or good-quality beers,ciders and coffees that you don't think are anything particularly outstanding at first but grow on you over time.

If puffed at frantically it can (and will) bite like a starving piranha, but with a little care it's possible to get it to produce large quantities of smoke without biting at all. What you can't do is smoke it absent-mindedly. Not unless you're fond of hot tongue syndrome, anyway.

Overall, as I got the "feel" for HTOW it's raised itself from "OK but nothing that remarkable" to a through the day regular. I prefer Old Gowrie as the "breakfast" pipe with coffee, but then tend to find HOTW suits more later on.

As far as nicotine goes, I'd call it a medium, with Nightcap/Artisan's Blend counting as "High" and the Captain Black aromatics counting as "low". Slightly stronger than Erinmore Balkan Mix or Dunhill Early Morning, perhaps and certainly strong for a blend of this type.

Overall I'd recommend giving it a try, it's an excellent example of its type of blend. Just treat it with a little caution at first unless you're used to VA/Per blends already and be prepared to put in a little patience.

PS.. It will build cake at high speed if you're looking to break in a new briar and, unlike English or aromatics blends is unlikely to cause too much ghosting.

20 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2002-01-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Appearance: A mostly dark brown and red broken flake, almost fully rubbed out. There is a considerable moisture content, typical of Rattray blends both new and historical. Speaking of hisorical, my recollection of this tobacco is that it was ready rubbed.

Aroma: Oh, boy. The first impression is dark chocolate with raisins and figs (not too dry). I haven?t smelled anything like it since Sobranie Flake went off the market. It smelled so good, I had to chew a bit to see if there were any additives. This is unusual, as I am not a tobacco chewer.

Packing: Since it?s almost rubbed out, it can be packed right from the can into medium and large bowls. Smaller bowls might need a bit more rubbing out.

Lighting: Best left to dry a bit before smoking, or lighting may be difficult. Once it?s aired out, it lights and burns well.

Initial flavor: Just a rich, sweet, full Va. Flavor with many nuances. The smoke is dense, and there is a decided strength of flavor to it, although I don?t feel a high nicotine content.

Mid-bowl: There is a good range of medium and low notes to the blend, very little in the way of higher range. The blend continues to delight the palate, and remains cool to the tongue. Even a few strong puffs occasionally doesn?t result in any bite. One of the best tasting Virginias I?ve tried in years, very similar to Marlin Flake.

Finish: Smokes dry, cool and gentle right to the end. If I remember to rub out the first pinch a bit, it will burn down to clean ash.

Summary: Maybe too strong for a first experience with Va, especially for a new pipe smoker. Having made that disclaimer, I will recommend to any smoker who loves Virginias, particularly the darker matured varieties

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	xhi_flyer (2)	2009-06-15		Medium	Mild	Full	Tolerable

I've been an on and off pipe smoker for some years. I've tried many of highly rated English blends including Dunhill 965 and Rattrays thinking that a "real" pipe smoker has to enjoy Latakia. My mouth discomfort and foul taste made it clear that Latakia was not something I enjoyed. I came to believe that pipe smoking was not for me and I was going to give up completely until I came across Hal O' the Wynd. It was a smoking revelation! It's an extremely flavorful and satisfying smoke experience. I buy two 100 gm tins at a time, one to enjoy and the other to age. It burns very well and I smoke it slowly with light draws and allow myself the luxury of a completely satisfying smoking experience. Highly recommended.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2014-04-21		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

EDIT 4-19-2016

I just finished a second tin of this since my original review and have nothing to change on this one. Just a great blend. I did have a chance to try some of this from the 1990's at last year's Chicago Show and it was out of this world. I still highly recommend this one and have several tins aging in the cellar.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 4-21-2014

This is easily my favorite of the famous Rattray Trio. It is a VaBurPer, that packs a pretty good punch without overwhelming the smoker with the Perique or Kentucky.

The burley, which is of the Dark Fired variety does not overwhelm as it can easily do with many blends. I find the perique to be moderate in its presence as the spiciness attributed to this leaf is pretty mild. But the star of this blend is no doubt the Virginia, just as it is with the other two in the trio. (Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake).

There is an earthy sweetness that makes smoking this blend a real pleasure. This differentiates it from Old Gowrie which I feel leans heavier to the bright Va side with abundant Hay and citrus notes. I find the Virginia mix in HOTW to be similar to that used in Marlin Flake, but HOTW has substantially more backbone than Marlin Flake; most likely due to the difference of DFK and Cavendish used in the respective blends. All three of these blends are awesome and similar, but different enough that you will want all three in the cellar; and that is why as a grouping I feel they all deserve four stars. YMMV

Pipe Used: Savinelli Dry Oscar 412 primarily

Age When Smoked: new tin

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2016-01-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: A balanced Virginia blend that tempers the sweet and acidic tendencies of the leaf and complements it with condimental Perique and Kentucky.

There are at least two types of Virginia blend smokers. Like beer drinkers, where one heads to the Budweiser and the other contemplates Grolsch, they are divided by their attitude toward sweetness. Most want a golden bright Virginia that is unfailingly sweet and light in flavor, while others want more of a pressed or stoved style medium taste. "Hal O' the Wynd" provides a gentle but strong Virginia balanced by small amounts of Kentucky and Perique, giving it a campfire-cooked and wine-like flavor. The Virginias join in with an intense sweetness in the background but the hay, grass and grain notes up front for the signature of the blend. This is good enough to smoke only on special occasions, but $8/50g can be smoked daily without ever becoming mundane.

Similar Blends: Peterson - Irish Oak, Dunhill - Royal Yacht.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2016-01-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like the Virginia blends that Kohlhase and Kopp produce quite a bit. Solani Silver Flake, Virginia Flake 633, & Reiner Long Golden are all favorites of mine. And while I don’t feel as strongly about Hal O' The Wynd as the aforementioned blends, this is no doubt a fine tobacco, and it's definitely a stand out amongst the current Rattray label Virginia blends.

If I could pick one unique attribute of Hal O’ the Wynd, it’s that each time I smoke this, the first portion of the bowl is mysteriously mild. It’s so mild that it seems as though all the flavors that are actually there, are just cancelling each other out. However, the flavor strength does arrive in short time, mostly in the form of a tanginess that's balanced by a subtle sweet finish. If the pungent tin note isn't enough to convince someone that there's more than a dash of perique in this, the sharp sting of retro-haling the smoke surely will.

The Virginia's are more citrus and raisin-like than they are grassy. There’s a good amount of Virginia flavor but it’s quite a bit lighter than I expected. The Kentucky adds depth and body, but it also gives the blend a bit of a murky taste. The perique is quite peppery and adds a slight plum flavor to the finish. The role of the perique is a bit more than condimental, so rather than amplifying the sweetness of the Virginia’s, it has a tendency to somewhat overpower them. The overall result is one that’s more complex. Instead of tasting sweet and spicy, the flavor is a combination of sweet Virginia tobacco with rich earthy overtones and a somewhat dry piquant/tart finish.

Hal O' the Wynd isn't what I would categorize as a full or heavy smoke but I still find that it makes a better cooler weather tobacco, as the flavor is very much on the darker side of the spectrum. The overall strength, both tobacco flavor and nicotine are a firm medium.

I often wonder if this was Greg Pease's inspiration for Cumberland. Comparing the two, I'd say Hal O' the Wynd is sweeter and not as robust, but they are quite similar.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2013-11-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really love all three of Rattray's Virginia blends, Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake and Hal O' the Wind. But if pushed into a corner I would have to say HOTW is my current favorite. While not overly wet, HOTW does need a bit of time to dry out. The Kentucky adds the extra body that I like, yet it doesn't dominate the blend. It does offer a bit more punch. I usually rub out my flakes and broken flakes, but with HOTW I smoke it as is with just a little rubbed out at the top of the bowl to get things going and kick back for a long smoke. If I had to point out any negative with HOTW it is that it doesn't really become more complex as the bowl progresses. But with this particular blend, it's a very minor issue for me. When it comes to VaPer or VaPer style blends, I tend to judge them by how well they age and HOTW keeps that punch I like while still becoming wonderfully sweet with age. K&K has done a nice job with all three blends and they all have a place in the cellar but there is a little extra space for HOTW. Great stuff!

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phil Theharp (16)	2018-05-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Right off of the bat this is a splendid Vaper. On a rare trip to Nottingham I called in to Gauntleys, which was always a haven for the pipe smoker. I was a touch disappointed, therefore, when the assistant couldn't describe the blend to me, save to say he didn't think it was a mixture. Indeed. Help, in the shape of Google, was at hand and I made my purchase. In the tin 'Hal' presents as a nice, evenly rubbed out flake with an almost perfect moisture content. The nose is all Xmas pudding and orange rind, autumnal and rich. Lighting may take two or three matches. The taste is full without being heavy, the sweetness of the red virginias tempered by the peaty pepperiness of the perique and all balanced in a woody embrace. This is an expensive treat, worth the money.

Pipe Used: Peterson Rosslare

Age When Smoked: From tin

Purchased From: Gauntleys of Nottingham

Similar Blends: Dunhill Navy Rolls (taste, not appearance)..

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2017-11-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

If you are looking for a blend that bursts with flavors and knocks your socks off, you probably won't think much of this. However, this is a really solid mixture. I can mostly agree with JimInks' views, although I find it a bit more on the earthy side than he does. I think pipers looking for a solid, mildly complex, middle-of-the-road blend should give this a try. I wish I had years ago. 3 1/2 stars.

Pipe Used: briars, cobs, and meers

Age When Smoked: 1 month after purchase

Purchased From: Mars

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-08-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Another decent stuff from Rattray.

Not that much strong as tin says, not that much bland for an every hour smoke either. It needs to be dried before smoking for a satisfying flavor. Tends to moist a bit but you can adjust this with your puffing skills. With a careful smoking I am sure you can taste the real tobacco taste with a subtle sweetness.

Leaving a dry and clean ash, demonstrating the presence of high quality leaves.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dbl-bbl (45)	2017-12-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Rattray's Hal 'O the Wynd ... opening the sealed canister I'm greeted with a very appealing & zesty fragrance that is much like Old Gowrie on a low dose of steroids .... reminiscent of dried hay, plums, & raisin bread. This tobac is a VaPerBur that's not to heavy on the Perique (which I prefer). I like smoking this blend for the clean natural tobacco flavor it imparts upon my palate. It delivers an earthy flavor (like Old Gowrie) as well as a baked raisin bread taste & aroma (unlike Old Gowrie) that I truly enjoy ... in summary, HOTW has more of the flavor that I prefer. This is an excellent smoke and as such it is part of my regular rotation. At times this blend can be a little difficult to find in stock, so if you try it and like it be sure to pick up some extra for cellaring. Given some "jar time" this blend becomes even more mellow & tasty. 4 stars!!!!

Pipe Used: Briars & Meerschaums

Age When Smoked: Fresh & Aged Several Months

Purchased From: 4noggins.com, SmokingPipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-05-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Tin discription:for gentlemen only!Hal O' the Wynd, handmade!this tobacco is really special!when you crack the tin you get a sweet citrusy smell combined with spices and some sourness!this is a broken flake with a bit moisture..might need some rubbing and drying time.for me only rubbing because after drying i noticed some of the flavours where not so strong.needs a bit effort with the lighting and some relights are needed.while burning you definitelly feel something unique is there!citruses,grass notes,earth are combined with spices,figs and sour notes!all these in a sweet creamy flavour!burns slow and cool with medium temperature to total ash.no tongue bite for me.the nicotine level is medium.in the discription is says it is a strong blend.i found it medium and very pleasing.the room note is tolerable.i detected some similarities with 3 nuns.definitelly a must try blend that can make your whole day very special!

Age When Smoked: Straight from the tin andrubbed out

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2009-10-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is my second-favorite after Escudo. Not as strong a nicotine hit as many reviewers claim. Great with the morning coffee on a cold winter day. It is a bit wet coming straight out of the can. Needs some drying prior to smoking. Rub it out, or not, it will smoke down to a fine, white ash and leave you happy.

Don't know what is was like back in the day when it was made in the UK, but the Kohlhase & Kopp reproduction is great.

I've tried it "fresh" and after a couple of years in the cellar, and I can't tell any difference. It has a strong scent of dried figs in the tin, and this may be the K & K house topping, which I suspect has some honey in it, but the very light casing does not detract from the flavor of the weed.

My wife (a very attractive and intelligent woman) keeps telling me how much she likes the smell of this smoke. She has asked me to make it my usual or regular tobacco. So I will be smoking more of this in the future.

Update, 4 May 2013: I'm downgrading this from my original 4 star rating. Hal was one of the first blends I ever loved, but the old passion is gone. Not just HOTW, but all Kohlhase & Kopp blends seem bland to me now, sort of one-step-up from cigarette tobacco. There is just not enough flavor. I've found better Virginia blends. And Hal is still only a medium in the nicotine department.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-07-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Rattray - Hal O' the Wynd (British Collection).

One of the early reviews I did, where due to my head injury I was struggling to articulate myself. So, I ordered a fresh tin to re-post. Hopefully I can ameliorate on my previous review of it!

The unlit blend's rubbed to the perfect consistency to fill straight away. It's a little damp, but not too problematic in that area. Generically speaking the colour of it's medium brown, with very close inspection being a requisite to identify the few different shades.

The smoke: LOVE IT! The Kentucky's the lesser of the three, just adding a very subtle character. The prominent taste is one of Virginia/Perique. The quantity of Perique is PERFECT; giving gentle spices, and dark fruit. The stronger of the bunch is the Virginia, being sweet, ripe, with a little sharpness. Hal O' gives an impeccable burn, and a cool smoke.

Nicotine: above medium. Room-note: a little strong.

Adore it. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King U.K.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kribbage (32)	2017-02-08		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Yes, YES....... OH, MAN....... YES! Very enjoyable and flavorful smoke. What a complex array of favors come through in this tobacco! The Perique has a stewed, fermented raisin taste that is simply captivating. I am not usually one for Virginia/Perique mixtures, but on a friend's suggestion, I tried this concoction, and was extremely surprised at what I received. Burns well, tastes terrific, and I will come to this tobacco again.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NobbyR (79)	2015-04-09		Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is strong stuff! I wouldn't smoke it on an empty stomach or from a big pipe.

The reddish brown, fully rubbed out, broken flake has a mild and pleasant tin note with sweetish hints of brown bread, grass and dried figs. In a new tin the tobacco appears to be somewhat on the moist side, but doesn't really require drying.

To fill my pipe I make little balls of tobacco that I gently stuff into the bowl. Getting it burning evenly can take a little patience: after a thorough charring light and leveling out the ashes, I apply an equally thorough true light. Especially during the first third of the bowl regular tamping is advisable.

From the look of the blend, its tin note and even its taste you wouldn't expect the strength of Hal O' The Wynd. As far as nicotine content is concerned, I'd compare it to Dunhill's Nightcap. The mild and mellow natural tobacco flavor is dominated by the tangy, hay-like sweetness of the Virginias, which mixes perfectly with the spicy, but also slightly fruity, earthy acidity of the Perique and creamy hints of dark chocolate, and gets a little bolder during the second half of the bowl, always being kind to your tongue. It's a well balanced, safisfying, complex smoke, which can offer loads of subtle aromas, when enjoyed coolly and with care, and will leave you with some dry, light grey ash. Because of its smoothness and good-natured burning characteristics it can be a perfect all day tobacco, that can even be recommended to newbies, as long as you take the necessary precautions.

The room note is lead by sweetish tobacco smoke scents and therefore tolerable.

Pipe Used: Vauen Oxford

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2008-10-13		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to filling a bowl with this brawny old Virginia, but I'm glad I finally did. The problem is that with all of the glowing reviews surrounding this blend, it's hard to find your way to the tobacco. It's hard to smoke and look directly into the sun at the same time.

It's not, sadly, my life changing tobacco. I won't remember it as well as I remember my first...um...time.

But it is absolutely a very fine Virginia. It arrives partially rubbed out and with that natural honeyed raisin tin aroma characteristic of pure, mature Virginias. It packs well, smokes well, and produces generous quantities of honeyed smoke. I think it smells like a bumble-bee fart. And that's a good thing.

I do, however, find it a little coarse on the palate and so it works best for me in the longest stem I can find.

As much as I like this, I have to admit that I started my Virginia tour in the Wessex camp and nothing about 'Hal' makes me want to leave.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2019-03-28		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin note is amazing, tangy and yeasty tobacco scent with ripe citrus overtones. The flakes are broken so they can be loaded straight away with ease without further rubbing, yet a few minutes of drying time will make the smoking experience better.

This is a juicy, almost natural tobacco where all the components are in harmony. I cannot sense the Perique or the Dark Fired Kentucky but within the overall smoke. It is not overtly complex but it’s very flavorful with dark fruity Virginia notes and maybe a trace of cocoa. It is quite sweet on the palate with a nice counterbalancing bitter finish presumably from the Kentucky. It is round with no roughness and strength is only medium, I do not find Hal to be a particularly strong tobacco. Nevertheless, it is a very satisfying in the nicotine department. Smokes slow to ash and needs only a few relights. An excellent all-day tobacco.

Similar Blends: HU Tobacco - Nashville County.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gladi8tor96 (143)	2016-01-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I think I found one of my absolute favorite tobaccos of all time!!!

Beautiful smoke! Mellow and creamy flavorful smoke with absolutely no bite or harshness whatsoever. Gorgeous broken flake of medium brown and red virginias with a few light specs here and there. Its a bit wet right from the tin, but still ready to go. Lighting takes a bit to get it rolling, but behaves wonderfully after that. Flavors of sweet red virginia take full and center stage. Not overly complex flavors and doesn't take a lot of contemplation. Flavors of bread, sweet but subdued fruit, dark and rich sweetness but not cloying, along with slight hints of hay and tangy tartness come through. Not much if any spice at all with a few citrus notes. No bite even with the occasional hard and fast puffing. The flavor remains extremely consistent throughout the bowl and just the right amount of N. I can't emphasize enough how mellow (not in flavor) this tobacco is. There is zero harshness even on the retrohale.

This will be one of my all day, everyday, smokes....absolutely a delight!! Heaven! This is my 'desert island' blend (as some other reviewers have put it).

Pipe Used: Cob & Billard

Age When Smoked: 6 months aged

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Nording - Beagle (Hunter Blend), McClelland - No. 2015 Virginia Perique Flake, McClelland - No. 5100 Red Cake, Rattray - Old Gowrie.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (203)	2015-05-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Very nice tobacco, but it mostly displays virginia properties. Not that I cannot detect any of the floral qualities of the burley leaf, but you really have to look for it. As for the perique, it will only give you hints every now and then if ever so slightly. That is to say you might miss some of the undertones and nuances present in this tobacco if you don't pay any attention. This mixture is very demanding in that it does require your full attention. The tin note is not overtly impressive, it just smells like tobacco, but it has a vinegary tone to it. Also, it evolves quite nicely through all the stages of your bowl. I particularly like the fact I haven't been able to detect any toppings or flavourings, whether they are in there or not. I can see how some people would complain about this tobacco being somewhat bland or tasteless, namely as you light up, but nothing could be further from the truth. Hasty readers will miss out the most important facts of a novel when they demand it unfolds within its first 10 pages. And if you are so demanding, this tobacco will probably put you off, so I'd not call it an easy read. And there is no bitter end to this novel. You will be able to smoke this tobacco to a white ash without compromising it. Not recommended for newbies as this is a mixture for the more experienced smokers.

Edit 20/05/17 I don't know why I gave this tobacco a 3 star rating, but I am upgrading now to 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Parker

Age When Smoked: ?

Purchased From: A tobacconist in Spain

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2014-06-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Okay this is a great blend. ROTT it was a little green and so I waited 6 months. 6-24 months it was great still a little bite but not bad. Perique lead the way for me with pepper and plum with the VA's right behind sharp and toasty, a little tangy and sweet. The KY added depth to the smoke but remained in the background. However, I have just finished a jar that is 3yrs and 4 months old. The profile has changed and quite a lot for such a short time. It could be that my taste has changed and/or developed. In any case the KY's spice seems at the front now. The VA's have softened and sweetened a little. The perique which was out front is still present but comes in and out and stays more in the background now. I like this blend at the 6-24 month mark. I take aging into consideration as it is important to me. Would love for others to update as it ages too.

Age When Smoked: 3 yrs 4 months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-07-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a nicely packaged/presented 100g tin, cool artwork as well. I liked this blend a good deal. Needed some drying time for the broken flakes and then I was off. Smoked clean and had a simple yet compelling woodsy, peppery flavor, just the right amount of sweetness. VAs are not my usual fare, but as far as this one goes, its a winner.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2013-01-25		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

A strong, stout Va/Per. Virginia forward. Perique is muted. Beware: Sip this one or suffer the consequences. Very rewarding for the experienced VA/Per or VA smoker, but not the best choice as an introduction to the genre. A niche blend. Good nicotine content - recovering cigarette smokers will like this one.

Update 11/2013: I find that I enjoy this blend much more in a large-bowled cob. The unique flavors from the cob just seem to do this blend justice and mellow it out a touch.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Susanna Hoffs (74)	2010-03-16		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

HOTW is another nice addition to my favoured VA tastes. That said, I do prefer it's stablemate OG. I'll also smoke FVF for when I want a richer and fuller experience, but that's not to take anything away from HOTW.

I find HOTW is less sweet tasting than the other two mentioned, and has a very slight peppery feel to it. Albiet a very mild one..

All in all a quality tobacco that comes in a lovely tin!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2002-10-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

For no particular reason I can think of, I had not tried this Rattray before. However, after smoking only 2 Ozs. it has instantly become a favourite. If, as some reviewers put it, GL Pease is the most consistent blender out there, whoever blends Rattray?s tobaccos is close behind. I ordered Hal O? the Wynd in bulk, and emptied the 4 Oz. pouch contents into a tight sealed glass jar. Opening it after a couple weeks I was greeted by a wonderful Va. aroma. Dark, musk, nutty and slightly toasted, it immediately established its strong and austere yet gentle character. I don?t recall experiencing such a provocative and arousing scent in a straight Virginia before.

Broad cut, almost broken flake, and slightly moist, I had no trouble packing it in a bent Dunhill briar root, medium sized. Lighting HOTW took some time, but once it got going it was heaven! What a wonderful, savoury and exciting tobacco! Thick volumes of smoke physically expressed the elegant richness of this honeydew Va.

No feebleness, no pretentiousness: just good, straightforward tobacco, with that subdued refinement characteristic of high quality blends. Slow burning (a delight when reading a good novel), the flavour remains consistent throughout the bowl, issuing notes redolent of roasted chestnuts, raisins and wheat, without being as sweet as, say, DLF or McClelland?s 5100, nor as harsh or bitter as Full Virginia Flake.

IMO, HOTW admirably synthesises the best qualities of at least three of Rattray?s finest Virginias: it has the natural smoothness and soothing effects of Old Gowrie, the rich creamy tastiness of Brown Clunee, and the body and strength of Marlin Flake. A wonderful, top quality smoke (nay, companion), full and precise in its structure, composition and denouement. This one is a must for all Va?s lovers.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cm1648 (108)	2020-12-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Prepping- One of the wetter Va/Per blends I have opened I broke it up even further. Let it sit for about 10min.

The tangy, fruitiness from the darker red virginas and Perique run the show. The DFK is always evident with its earthy, slight barbeque character, nutty, adding strength. Nic Strength: Halfway between med-strong for me. However, I am a lightweight with the Vit-N so for you it may feel lower. It isn’t an all day smoke for me but it may be for you

This is the stronger brother of Old Gowrie imo. A grand blend that lives up to its reputation but for those of us with low nicotine toleration, it might be best to look to OG. 7/10

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2017-11-14		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smell out of the tin: Opening this tin you get a really nice ripe figgy raisiny smell. Anything I get reminds me of a mix of berries and all types of fruits that have rather tangy sweetness to them. Nothing sugary here, if you think of fruits this rather is a blackberry than a melon. Strength: I consider this a pretty strong blend, it won't knock you off your socks, but it will wake you up for sure. No headache or nic hit though, it's not that far on the strong side. Taste: Full it is. The kentucky works wonders with the virginias inside, the perique is not too much, maybe it could even use a bit more, but the blend it's great as it is. The taste is consistent for me throughout the bowl. Room note: I would think it can be hard on non smokers, not much of a room note that could be compared to a pleasent smell for them.

I highly recommend this to all puffers, it's really easy to work with, doesn't require much of drying time or preparation.

If you are interested in this review in a video form, I did a review of it on YouTube as well:

Pipe Used: Peterson 303 Standard System

Age When Smoked: 0.5 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2008-07-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I did not find HOW to be either sharp in taste or strong in nicotine. It is a very pleasant Virginia which I can smoke all day with pleasure, but given the options of Old Gowrie or Marlin Flake, either of those would win hands down for taste and Full Virginia Flake for nicotine content. I am partial to Rattray blends and would recommend this unreservedly as a smooth mid-strength product, good, even very good, but not quite great.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2020-11-22		Strong	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

I've smoked most of the Rattray pipe blends over the years, but, this one escaped me. My favorite, up to now, was Marlin Flake. When I lit the first bowl of Hal O' the Wynd, everything changed and Hal moved comfortably into the top position. By the middle of the top third, I already knew we were never going below three stars. By the middle of the bowl, I knew we were, almost certainly, in four star territory. I like VaPerBurs and this one was in a special category to my tastes. I'm not going to wax further in my praise and state that I agree with everything every reviewer said about this blend that was positive. I am a little skeptical about some of the comparisons to other blends, but, it illustrates the reach that other reviewers had to go to to categorize their feelings about a blend they obviously liked a lot. I used old Hal in micro blending and it was, thoroughly, a fine experience. I found the addition of a black Cavendish/dark Virginia in a half and half mixture with Hal to be as four star as Hal O' the Wynd itself.

Pipe Used: Charatan half-bent apple billiard Free Hand Relief

Age When Smoked: unknown, but at least two years old

Purchased From: an Ebay seller

Similar Blends: Reviewers have compared this blend to a wide variety of other well-known blends; most of which I have smoked. Some comparisons puzzle me; others are closer. I don't believe I've ever smoked another blend quite as good as this in the VaPerBur category..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wild Man (3)	2020-05-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

Just reaching the end of a 100g tin, so though it a good time make some notes.

Delightful tobacco. Virginia forward with notes of Red and Bright. Perique noticeable as stewed fruit taste and peppery retrohale, but less present than in Brown Clunee. Can’t say I notice the Kentucky, but the smoke has a good satisfying body and nicotine content.

It’s deceptively wet and can bite. Needs attention to get the best out of it. But I can forgive it that and intend to make this a regular tobacco for me.

Won’t compare to Brown Clunee and Old Gowrie. They each have their quirks which one must experience for oneself and all three are four star blends for me.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Aurorasofautumn (38)	2020-04-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I will begin with a short summary of my other reviews of the Rattray Holy Trinity because I saved this one for last. Marlin Flake I never warmed up to too much and despite the fact that I like its full flavor, its the overall taste I just don't like. As to Old Gowrie, it is one of my regulars and I like the hazelnut nuances of it quite a bit but ultimately it does not offer the complexity I seek in a 4 star tobacco.

And that's exactly where Hal O' the Wynd comes in. Its taste is just more nuanced and multilayered. There's a little bit of earth, there is wood and whereas Old Gowrie for me had nuances of hazelnut, this one has a delicious nuance of caramel. This is a very smooth baccy that does not bite under any circumstances. The taste I consider to be medium to full. What makes HOTW stand out in my humble opinion though is that it has the kind of sweetness that I usually associate with a mild Oriental mixture rather than the sweetness of a straight VA. That's the feature that makes it unique in my book and I will continue to buy this as long as it is produced.

4 out of 4 stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drewsmokes (4)	2019-10-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smell out of the tin: Opening this tin you get a really nice ripe figgy raisiny smell. Anything I get reminds me of a mix of berries and all types of fruits that have rather tangy sweetness to them. Nothing sugary here, if you think of fruits this rather is a blackberry than a melon. Strength: I consider this a pretty strong blend, it won't knock you off your socks, but it will wake you up for sure. No headache or nic hit though, it's not that far on the strong side. Taste: Full it is. The kentucky works wonders with the virginias inside, the perique is not too much, maybe it could even use a bit more, but the blend it's great as it is. The taste is consistent for me throughout the bowl. Room note: I would think it can be hard on non smokers, not much of a room note that could be compared to a pleasent smell for them.

I highly recommend this to all puffers, it's really easy to work with, doesn't require much of drying time or preparation.

If you are interested in this review in a video form, I did a review of it on YouTube as well:

Pipe Used: Peterson 303 Standard System

Age When Smoked: 0.5 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	2piper (14)	2019-05-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Ole Hal O' The Wynd tends to grow on you. Upon first blush, I found this to be somewhat of a mild, flavorless concoction. Certainly nothing that would inspire a letter home to the family. Nor an entry in your daily journal extolling the virtues of tobacco bliss for future generations to discover.

With the progression of time, however, Hal reveals more and more of his complex personality. A citrusy, tangy sense of humor melded with a sweet, creamy, sensitive side that sets hearts aflutter amongst our lady friends. All the while, a simmering pepperiness just below the surface that gives life to the party.

This is a fine, complex, yet subtle mixture. Suitable for moments of tranquility which allow you to study the various flavors presenting themselves.

Perfect when relaxing after a New York strip sirloin at your favorite, mahogany paneled steakhouse. Or, perhaps, while lounging on the beach in your favorite Adirondack chair. Toes in the sand. Basking in the warm glow of the bonfire after the annual clam bake.

Highly recommended.

Age When Smoked: 3 months

Purchased From: B&M

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BatmanPipes (10)	2018-01-07		Overwhelming	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Horrid experience both in price and cut. Rattrays have turned a Virginia into a bad tasting burley that has problematic wetness. Pay attention to the negative reviews. The only way you might get a good smoke from this is if you are into Burley that is strong but want a change from Burley. This Virginia offers that angle and only seasoned Burley enjoyers might get it. Virginia users will be hard-pressed to find the Virginia or the Perique. Kentucky is supposed to be there. Looking at the long ribbons you get that this is not tobacco worthy of small premium quality tins. It is not a good selection. It is like the quality you are presented within one of these big value bags that has been processed into something just untasteable hitting you with strong steaming smoke. Then you get a spice taste that hits sour. I tried several bowls over the course of a month. My tin is more than halfway down and now it is at the back of the pile. I am not sure I would give this away in case someone felt I was trying to joke them. This is definitely for a very particular pipe smoker of a very strange taste. It is far too wet. A day of drying can't help it. Same with over a month. Don't purchase it unless you know it. Worst spice hit I have ever had. Maybe if you want a non-flake non-Burley to knock you for reasons better or worse, this is it. Otherwise just get better Burley flake tobacco that will do the same and taste better.

Pipe Used: Peterson Dracula 68

Similar Blends: Your dad's socks..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kunsan (76)	2016-09-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Bought a tin of this based on all the good reviews. Disappointed. The tobacco has a sticky feel, as though it's been coated with preservative (a common thing with tobaccos made by K&K). However long I left the tin the tobacco wouldn't dry out. I don't like tobaccos that have been coated with preservatives.

This tobacco recently changed manufacturers and is now being made by K&K of Germany. I didn't find this smoking experience particularly special, the tobacco didn't really produce handsome clouds of smoke. I smoked the tin but won't buy it again.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokeybear86 (14)	2014-08-31		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

Just to let you know I tried to smoke this blend with only 30min dry time and it wasn't good as in it smoked really wet so i stopped and left some baccy out over night approx. 10hrs to dry and then it was a little too crisp but i did the review based on the crisp tobacco.

Tin Note: The Sample bag smelt like a dark chocolate mixed with, well, Tobacco. It actually smelt like cigarette tobacco in some way.

Initial Light: Took 2 charring lights to get this pipe lit it was burning really well.It started with a very mild flavor that leaned towards the spicy side more then sweet.

Mid-Smoke: The mid bowl was an okay smoke it wasn't bad just very 1 dimensional and rarely any change in the smokes flavor, however it was nice thick smokes from light sips. If it maintained this consistency then it would make for a decent smoke for when you just want to mindlessly puff away at a pipe.

Bottom of the Bowl: Pipe began to smoke really hot again and the consistency disappeared into a harsher smoke but the spice was still there. about mid way through the bottom it began dripping out juice from the stem and became rather difficult to continue smoking.

Room Note: It was a tolerable room not.

Dottle: Left behind a clumpy ash with lots of moister accumulated near the draft hole.

Smoking Duration: 45min

Overall: As for Va/pers go, this blend started off good with a nice mild spiciness but as you progressed it was taken over by heat and moister and it seemed the smoke worked against you rather then along side you. The Kentucky and perique are the most noticeable while the Virginia is undetectable. I will not be cellering this blend simply because there are way more enjoyable choices out there for a good va/per's.

Recommendations:

1) Min 5hrs dry time. 2) Smoke slow with this one as it heats up quickly. 3) Pack lightly 3 step method is good.

Pipe Used: Amphora Dublin

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Nate (17)	2014-08-28		Strong	None Detected	Medium	Strong

Update April 2016: After two years of aging and a little bit of experience I unabashedly remove my foot from my mouth and admit, this is good tobacco. It starts out rather mild and then gains a little spice from the perique and kentucky. I would say the first 1/3 of the bowl continues this way right before you're halfway through the pipe then the sharpness comes through producing a nice tart flavor while still interchanging with the earthy Kentucky and spice that was already established. This has turned into a very nice smoke for me; something I like to savor in the morning when I have a fresh palate and have time to reflect on the day, the pipe, the tobacco and the beauty of all that I've been blessed with. Burns to a fine gray/white ash and flavor holds throughout.

March 2014: Eh, meh, Bleh... Briar, cob, Gandalf's pipe, it doesn't matter, this stuff is ho hum. This tobacco was a major disappointment but I'm laboring through it. I wanted to like it, I really did! I wanted to love it, actually, but the flavor is more akin to a bland cigar... I'm not a believer that Virginia's taste like cigarettes and if you are in that boat it may be because you're wasting your time with blends like this one, however, I'll most likely jar the rest of what I got and come back to it several years from now and see what it will become.

The tin aroma of Hal is to die for, which heightened my expectation even more. It is a rather full smoke with some slight spice but nothing too overwhelming. I notice a subtle change from smoke to smoke and I believe I prefer Hal in a cob, if preferred at all. Throughout each bowl there is no discernable sweetness, no zesty tang and not enough spicy perique playing on my tongue to entice me back. I think of this blend as Marlin Flake's older brother that wasnt talented enough to make it to the big show.

Again, disappointed and wanting more, so much more... Bottom line, there are good vapers out there, this Rattrays falls short.

Pipe Used: briar, cob

Age When Smoked: fresh and aged

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Escudo with a Kentucky kick.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldorder (22)	2014-06-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Hal O' the Wynd, enjoyed 100 gr. tin. But I find I love the smoother Old Gowrie so much more. HOL is not harsh, and the strength is much the same, yet Old Gowrie just comes across smoother and tastier to me. They are so similar yet noticeably two different smokes.

Pipe Used: various briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: two months

Purchased From: pipes and cigars

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nick Waude (2)	2014-04-22		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not going to waffle on and wax lyrical about this superlative blend. If your a lover of a full flavoured,good quality Virginia this one's for you.

Pipe Used: Peterson,Stanwell,Dr Plumb,Duncan,Falcon.

Age When Smoked: n/a

Purchased From: n/a

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2012-09-06		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Aaahhh.... Hal O The Wynd!

Some of Kohlhase's attemtps on Rattray's are bland and boring, and I guess alot of reviewers think the same. But others are on the other hand powerful, delightful and rather sophisticated. This one is truly one of the latter.

The Wynd might just be one of the best red/brown VAs I've ever had - german made, mind you.

The leaf is of superior quality, but does not reveal much upon opening the tin. As always, Rattray's blends seem rather bland at first sniff in the tin, but upon lighting loads of thick sweet creamy and musty smoke will caress your olfactory system and tickle your taste buds.

The Wynd packs quite a wallop in the nicotine department, and that is something i do enjoy quite alot. Combined with the velvet-like soft- and sweetness, It's the perfect all-day smoke for me. It's worth every cent even though it is way overpriced compared to other good leaf.

- Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark -

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2008-07-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Although this sounds like something you blame on the dog while in polite company, this is actually one tasty Virginia.

Overall a perfect delivery of rich flavors accented with sharps and flats...all in perfect harmony, although the sharp notes can be interpreted as bitey I find their brightness to be their virtue.

Excellent.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-03-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

03/03/2004 I have been moving into some of the heavy hitters in the nicotine rating. That includes Hal O' The Wind and Royal Yacht, quite different tobaccos, aside from nicotine content.

There must be some residual effect from my pack a day Malboro habit back in my 20s (now 30 years ago). But aside from an occasional tight little lump behind and below my sternum, neither of the above two blends has really whalloped me.

I like Hal; I respect Hal, but I don't love Hal. It is a top quality tobacco in every respect. It does all the things that a premium pipe tobacco is supposed to do. It excels.

It is a better quality tobacco than McClelland 2015, which remains my favorite. It just hasn't captivate me. (I am sounding like a woman about to break up with a lover!)

I've been trying Hal and Royal Yacht for about two months now. I enjoy them both. I also have learned the importance of a good nose when enjoying tobacco. When I first tried these tobaccos I had a miserable head cold. No tobacco tasted good. I might has well have been smoking cardboard.

I do enjoy the taste and scent of Hal O' the Wind. It is easy on the tongue and relatively easy on the wallet for a premium tin. It is well worth the investment. I would encourage anyone who likes quality Virginia to try it. It will return the investment with consistent smokig pleasure

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2003-10-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The tin description is, for once, quite accurate, although I do not find the flavour of this classic blend either typical of the usual Rattray virginia flake OR particularly strong, either.

I agree that it could be an "all-day" choice for someone not prone to tongue bite.

The "broken flake" contents in the tin were quite moist upon opening, and the first bowlful seemed bitter?the wrong kind of bitter?in a large bent Peterson ["calabash-shaped"]. After some airing out, and in a small, Vijja dublin, the "red" flavour came through more purely. OK. If you want something like MARLIN FLAKE, only more, this is not it.

Once I got the flavour of my favourite Rattray virginias out of my mind, though, this became pleasant, though not distinctive enough for me to go back to it very often.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2003-05-27		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Another winner from Rattray's and the most enjoyable red VA flake that I've smoked. The dark, rubbed out flakes are intermixed with much smaller amounts of golden tobacco. Packing and lighting are easy and the overall burning qualities are excellent resulting in a cool, effortless smoke. I don't judge it as "with a most unusual share of strength" as advertised on the tin and find it perfect as even an all day choice. The natural sweetness that this blender develops just from high quality VA tobaccos puts many other cased, sweet tobaccos that are out there to shame. A rich, clean, smooth smoke without a hint of bite that is recommended to all VA lovers.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Albion1956 (42)	2001-07-25		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I am on my summer, experiment with Va's thing. This tobacco is in the form of broken flakes, and mostly dark in color, with a few light strands. The tim aroma is that of straight Va's, with perhaps a slight topnote, it is slightly moist, like most Rattrays, so exposure to the air does help. Packs easy in the bowl, and light's with one match, the tobacco has a nice clean taste, and burns relatively white, with some grey overtones. The tobacco increases it's strenght as the bowl progresses down, however, the flavor remains constant. This tobacco calls for alot of strenght, hence the name, but it is very tame to those familar with Va's. Stronger than Old Gowrie, and not cased like some other Va's I've tried.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2001-03-12		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is one of the nicest Virginia flakes I've ever tasted! It's rich with the flavor of matured tobacco, has a piquant sweetness and an underlying strength that is /very/ satisfying. It burns down with a beautiful fluffy white ash that leaves the bowl walls clean and leaves my pipe fresh tasting.

It does get rather heavy as the bowl burns down, but the flavor stays fresh and pleasant and it responds really well to the DGT. If you like Virginia flakes, you owe it to yourself to try this one.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (197)	2023-01-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Tin note is a sharp tangy fruit, tart, citrus, hay, vaper. I don’t detect any Kentucky in the aroma. Slightly moist but smokes just fine. Great aroma.

The taste at first is pretty spicy perique with some tart citrus hay honey Virginia. The pepper notes are prominent but so are the fruit notes to a lesser extant. Not nearly as tart or citrus tangy as Marlin Flake. The more the bowl smoked the more woody, nutty, and smokey Kentucky came through. It was a nice change as the bowl progressed. The retrohale was wonderful, tart hay, wood. Smoked as find as any vaperky could. The nic hit was past medium to. The Kentucky definitely added some body to it. An enjoyable. Smoked to ash. No bite or harshness.

Age When Smoked: One year.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2020-09-07		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This review is current. The ancient text was as follows:

"I expected something else. I have not found the "unusual share of strength" that the package talks about. It is a tobacco that behaves well in the pipe and in the mouth, but its excessive mildness makes me somewhat monotonous. I smoke it when I'm not going to pay much attention to the pipe. It preserves the humidity in its container very well. I am sorry I cannot say anything more, to add that I am surprised by its popularity, which in my opinion is excessive. Maybe the tin I bought was too recent. Unfortunately I cannot see the date. Perhaps aging it improves and it is that great tobacco that connoisseurs say. Or maybe I have not been able to appreciate it in its worth ..."

12/23/2020: For reasons of consistency and because I have this page as my personal Tobaccos diary, I do not like to erase the revisions that I have made even if I consider them to be wrong, but I prefer to make an addition as I am doing now. The reason for this addition is to say that I have continued to smoke this tobacco daily and with pleasure, enjoying its nuances a little more, and although I will keep the three stars that I gave HOTW at the beginning, I can come close to understanding why many people like it so much. I do not rule out trying it again.

13/15/2021: And here I am, a year later, raising a star to this tobacco (in its aged version) after having smoked a 16-year-old can. It really is nothing like the memory I had from the last time I smoked it. I don't know if this is because this is an aged tin or because my palate has changed (probably both). This time it reminded me a bit of Solani's Silver Flake, a tobacco that I love, but in the case of HOTW with the delicious addition of perique. So three stars when young, four when old. Of course, I have gotten several more tins for my cellar, and I have even seriously considered whether I should include it among my favorites.

Think it can be useful for new pipe smokers to observe what can happen when we smoke a tobacco in the beginning, without having enough experience to smoke slowly and not lose the flavors, nor knowledge of many other tobaccos to be able to compare.

Age When Smoked: Young and 16 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Viscfab (36)	2020-08-19		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a version o Elizabethan Mixture on steroids. Everything you find on EM you will find on this blend with a depth of its own. Broken flakes, bread and citrus are all present in a much more forward way. Burns well, gorgeous smoke, no bite. Burns to fine white ash. For VA lovers like me it is a blend to keep.

Pipe Used: Several 9mm

Age When Smoked: 1-2 years

Purchased From: Local tobacconist - importer

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ironrose (1)	2020-05-07		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I don't get the hype about this blend. Taste like an old ashtray. Acrid, no finesse. No difference between smoking it new out of the tin or aged 2 years.

Age When Smoked: new and 2 years old

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Madox07 (43)	2019-08-30		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one has an interesting name to it ... I am wondering how they came up with it. I am sure that a native english speaker can bring further light to this. Any road, quite an appreciated blend it seems, and while it is unlikely that I am going to make a dent in the public opinion I am still offering my two pennies, in hope that I can share with the site enthusiasts of what otherwise is quite and excellent blend.

Now I don't know what's up with tobaccoreviews.com as of late, as some blends that were listed as being a certain type have been changed recently over and over - the present blend being the case, Irish Oak being another example that readily comes to mind. Non the less, to me this is more of a Va Per than Virginia based, as the perique is present and persistent through out the smoke, even if it doesn't confer the pregnant peppery taste that a VaPer lover may expect from a blend. The perique, in my opinion, is the discrete ingredient that makes this blend what it is. The nose of the blend is earthy and offers a hint of dry fruit, that is very welcoming. Once lit, the forefront seems citrussy and slightly reminds one of bergamot - but not as much as an Earl Gray tea, since as soon as you puff the taste is suited by a sweetness, associated with the dry fruit - raisin mostly, and a hint of honey. The perique is a key element, adding just a hint of spiciness - pepperyness, while the Kentucky brings robustness in the equation. Overall it is an above medium nicotine content blend, that discourages back to back bowls, but may be a day to day blend should the mood presents itself. I have added another couple of tins to the cellar, just to have in handy.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2018-11-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very nice VA blend with a whisper of dark fired Kentucky and Perique. The tin note is crisp and inviting, a signature VA tin note: sweet grass and hay with some dark fruit notes perhaps from the perique.

I will say straight away that the perique and dark fired are minor contributors to this blend. The Perique is almost not detectable to my palate and I don't even get the nasal tingle on the retrohale (well I do occasionally but not consistently). The Virginia's are sweet and bready with some grassy and lemony notes. The DFK contributes some woody and nutty flavors and even some earthiness to the blend. From the mid point of the bowl on a toasty quality appears that I really like. I detect some kind of top note, but I am not sure what it is (honey? molasses?) but it is very light and enhances the tobacco flavors. Great VA blend although I do not know why the market it as "strong" I dont' get much of a nicotine hit (thank God) and it is a medium flavored blend with some complexity. Good stuff.

Pipe Used: Briar's, meerschaum and cobs

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2017-10-07		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Hal o’ the Wynd is an accomplished VA/Per with just enough of the right KY added to make it all the more interesting. In the tin, short-ish, rough ribbons range from red-brown to medium and dark browns. Initial tin note is dark, sweet prune/plum with molasses and brown sugar in the background, over wheat. Moisture is OK right from the tin. It lights with patience then burns down well enough when puffed at optimal cadence, meaning slowly. Drying it some makes it easier to smoke, with no taste penalty. Lit, tastes and scents are soft, mellow, slightly woody, and very aromatic at first, then they sharpen as it’s smoked down. If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the zesty red VAs used in original Red Rapparee, here they are, in the lead along with sweet, substantial and earthy air-cured browns. They are not really sharp, neither are they mellow for the whole bowl, but they are piquant enough at any point to counter balance the plummy Perique, which also features Middle Eastern spices that provide more and more sparkle, and it sours off as HOTW is smoked down. The KY is rich, slightly smoky, earthy, resinous, and piquant, and it’s tannic enough that it might take over, except there isn’t enough KY in the blend for this to happen. As it is, I appreciate both the “butter” and the piquancy, and the way it underlines both the VAs and the Perique, accenting them and tying them together, as it were. I love the bracing, astringent quality that for me is one of the highlights of HOTW, smoking it, as I do, in a group 6 pipe. Strength is medium. Tastes are just over medium. Room note is not bad, also not quite pleasant. Aftertaste is a lingering best of the smoke.

Of the 3 blends Rattray’s offers in this “series”, (HOTW, Old Gowrie, and Marlin Flake), HOTW is the VA/Per, and it’s a good one, along the lines of GLP’s Triple Play, though not so strong. Of the 3 siblings, OG has less piquant VAs, more KY, and less Perique. MF is darker, fruitier and sweeter, with generally darker VAs, plumier Perique, and dark Cavendish in lieu of KY. IMO, you can’t go wrong with any of these blends. Four Stars.

Pipe Used: various briars; #6 preferred

Age When Smoked: fresh to aged in jars

Purchased From: 4noggins

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2017-08-23		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Old Gowrie and Hal O’ The Wynd are two 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 between these two blends, from the point of view of Hal O’ The Wynd compared to Old Gowrie. First of all they have the same ingredients (Virginia, Kentucky, Perique) without any casing. But there are three essential differences: 1) HOTW is stronger than OG. It is a more robust smoke. 2) HOTW has more Kentucky and less Virginia compared to OG. Kentucky is really leading. 3) HOTW has more Perique than OG. Both are Virginia based mixtures, but HOTW could also be considered a Perique mixture (not so OG where above all Virginia but also Kentucky are leading and Perique is really a “bit player”). Personally I prefer HOTW but it’s just a matter of taste. Finally, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 9 and three and a half stars.

Similar Blends: Old Gowrie.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sybariten (61)	2017-04-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Conclusion: This is good! Complex and easy going at the same time, I whole heartedly recommend this.

Taste: A sugary sweetness fills my mouth with hints of raisins, honey and dried apricot. The sweetness lingers on the finish for a long time. There is a touch of wheat, freshly baked bread. Now and then I pick up a taste of almonds, marzipan. Further in, a discrete note of leather and cedar tree enters the mix and mingles with the rest as the sweetness recedes slightly, also notes of pepper appear in the nose. The sensation of this blend is so full and round that it almost makes me want to chew the smoke! There is no bitterness here, no harshness, just a silky smooth smoke. Last third of the bowl offers up some increased pepper heat and an absolutely magnificent pinch of salt, wich blends naturally like flakes of sea salt on a chocolate creme brulee. This is a slow smoke, and even though the the first pipe I had was one with a medium sized bowl the transitions were many and very pronounced. Accessible is a suitable term for this blend. It is very rewarding without being challenging.

Mechanics: A ready rubbed flake that comes pretty wet out of the tin. Takes to the flame easily and stays lit, burning at a slow pace. Never tried to bite me. Medium to strong nicotine content.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2016-07-25		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

This is my go to tobacco. Suitable as an all day smoke but in no way is it boring or bland. The nic hit is a touch over medium in fact. There may be no better tasting virginias than you find in K&K blends (Reiners golden flake comes to mind). And this blend is perfect with the addition of just the right amount of Perique. Modest burley effect. Smokes cool start to finish. Just first rate stuff.

Similar Blends: Reiner's Golden Flake and My Own blend #111 (paul Olson)..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sirchud68 (60)	2015-05-18		Medium	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Having just come off an Old Gowrie bender, I've given HOTW much more of my attention. I can see why this blend is one of the "Holy Trinity". Full of citrusy Virginia goodness, there is a much deeper, rich quality to this smoke that I'm assuming comes from the Kentucky. Very good without being overpowering as some blends with Kentucky can be. A must try for Rattray's lovers.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Winchester38 (11)	2015-01-03		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

To my relatively inexperienced nose, the tin note seems to be mostly Virginia, with a faint sweet (figs? honey?) scent, and a slightly spicy tang to it.

It seemed slightly moist out of the tin, so I let a small amount air dry for a few minutes before packing a bowl. Packed a full bowl in my Savinelli 310.

Lighting was a bit difficult, and required some extra puffing, along with a few char/tamp/relights. Once it got going, I needed to relight twice before reaching the bottom of the bowl. Next time, I'll let this dry for a little bit longer before smoking.

Taste wise, I found the Virginias to be driving this one, with a light hint of spiciness through the whole bowl. The spice seemed more noticeable in the first half of the bowl, with the second half becoming a notably stronger smoke, which slightly masked these nuances.

I'd say the smoke was somewhere in the medium range. Not too strong, not too light. Just about where I'd like it to be.

Overall, I liked this stuff, but don't think it was really able to show it's truest colors due to the moisture. I look forward to revisiting this one, and to trying to get it just right. Taste was good, just my excecution was lacking I think.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Trevi 310

Age When Smoked: New

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-01-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Delicious. Smooth. Buttery. Silky. Consistent. Tasty. Quality. And, not necessarily in that order, to me describes Hal O' the Wynd. I'm impressed with HOTW and I recommend this blend for those who love the taste of the natural tobacco and want a high quality blend. IMHO Smoothest Va-perique out there.

This blends requires air drying time of about 15-30 minutes to reach it's intended flavor purpose.

Purchased From: JR Cigars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2013-10-18		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I'd give this blend 4 stars if not for the casing. Slightly puts me off. Fortunately it fades about a third of the way through the bowl. The rest of the bowl is very nice. I use it as a change of pace blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir Walter Smiley (24)	2013-05-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I didn't know this had perique from smoking it, yet there it is in the description. The Kentucky leaf adds strength in nicotine, but the taste is just virginia. A damn good virginia. This now is my favorite virginia blend, just in front of McClelland's Blackwoods Flake. My top vaper is still Blakeney's Best Bayou Slices(also McClelland). I have always loved the flavor of virginia leaf, yet virginia lacks a heavy mouth feel(like a full bodied cigar) and strength. This delivers those two things. It will burn hot, so smoke slow.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ThePuffingLibrarian (5)	2012-12-01		Strong	Very Mild	Overwhelming	Strong

One of the reasons I switched from cigarettes to pipe smoking is because I was tired of the inherent acridity in cigarette tobacco and I wanted to experience the other tastes present in tobacco. Well, this blend is like licking the bottom of an ashtray. Acrid all the way. However, it is constant and it will burn nicely from bowl to bowl. You will get use to the taste in the end but don't look for too much subtlety in this one.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	donmartinthree (22)	2012-09-14		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

the tin aroma is very vinegar-like; very sour with a slight sweetness to it. it might sound disgusting but I love it. you can definitely smell that this contains perique. I'm wondering, however, if my tin might not have some age on it. I haven't read any other review stating a metallic or vinegar-like sourness in the aroma AND there's sugar crystals all over the flake chunks. who knows...

taste is amazing. great sweetness, some spiciness in the background and a slight (very pleasant!) bitterness. a bitterness that isn't harsh but good-tasting. this blend is delicious and CREAMY. perfect moisture out of the tin (at least for me, but I prefer my tobacco to be a little on the moist side... it's not dripping wet or anything. maybe sort of like a plug when freshly cut.) slow burning and cool to my palate... this tastes so good I wish I could eat it at times.

love it! recommended!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2012-07-04		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Much lauded and hard to get blend in the UK.

I'll have to admit to having only a 5g sample, but even so there was little here to inspire a massive purchase of 100g which is - apart from samples - the only size available here.

Oh sure, it's a pleasant enough smoke.

If you like your tobacco tasteless and lacking in any character whatsoever, that is.

Disappointing.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	scottyspipesebay (25)	2012-06-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Hal O the Wind: Crack O the can is exquisite. Room note is nice, providing you allow a flow through. 1st light is wonderful. 2nd light is pure soft sweet VA. Flavor is overall good VA. This is a first for me to crack a can; love what I smell; light it up and have the flavor nearly the same as the first impression I get from the fresh, raw, unsmoked note. This is a good morning smoke, with black coffee. I like it best with good strong black iced coffee in the summertime.

The flavor is at first, nutty wood; flowery with the scent of apricot and fresh cut Honduran mahogany. I used to mill wood, so you must allow me olfactory license.

It is easily prepared with very little drying time. It breaks up and stuffs evenly. Lights quickly; stays lite, but burns warm. The flavor stops 2/3 down and leaves a tary dottle, but few blends are perfect.

This is by no means a favorite, but it is very good straight forward red Va with a hint of Parique in the back and has a fair nic kick, that's never overpowering. Give it a shot. It's nice for the price as either a stand alone, or as a MEDIUM blending base to add fullness and mild sweetness.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-04-24		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This tobacco promotes itself through its strength. I suppose the strength refers to the nicotine not the volume of flavour.

This isn't to say that HotW is bland. This tobacco has a gorgeous acid tartness that develops as you progress down the bowl, but it doesn't smack you in the mouth with flavour (in the way that 1792 does).

The nicotine stands out in this one. Nicotine is a chemical and it shouldn't come in different varieties, but this does seem to be a perky nicotine. Go figure.

The broken flakes are prepared just right, so you don't need to rub anything out for an instant yet slow burning smoke.

Not just Highly Recommended, this is the dog's.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth Vader (110)	2012-04-10		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Very good stuff that burns slowly. In the same league as Full Virginia Flake and Union Square. Superb value for money and easier to get than FVF. Others have said the rest. An all time great.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cgar (37)	2012-02-07		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

HOTW has a beautiful balance and presentation in its 100g tin. It's a subtle slow smoke that commands respect with its vitamin N, but has the perfect balance in flavor and burn quality. I couldn't be more surprised how well this leaf smokes and how well its flavor from the Virginia's and perique come together to provide one of the finest Vaper smokes I have experienced. It's not too sweet or too spicy but a fine common middle to some of the other Vapers on the market. A highly recommend and a deserving lifetime rotation for me.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fireball (36)	2011-07-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Lacks the usual tangy edge of other Vas, it has a rounded almost malted caramel like overtone but with absolutely no sweetness that I can sense. Quite strong, I like the fine shag cut and it is not fussy what pipe it wants to be smoked in. Overall, a good Virginia, but I guess I miss the slight sweet edge too much for a four star rating.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2011-04-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I didn't expect this one to dissapoint and it sure hasn't.. Hal o the wynd lives up to its reputation. It is similar to old gowrie, as people say, but it does have a touch of spice to it and quite a bit more nicotine.. sweet, bready, grassy, maybe a touch of perique.. I will buy more to age.. i tried to age this one but the curiosity was killing me.. next up marlin flake.. I hope to find another great virginia in that flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-10-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I really like Virginia's, but this is a disappointment. Kind of flat, two dimensional. Lacks that sweet and herbal character that I like in VA's, It's quite peppery though. Not really strong, if you compare it with a strong tobacco it's a medium. A bit to twiggy. Burns slow and cool. I've tried about 6 pure va's so far, this one is the most boring. Works god if you don't have any other VA at hand.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-08-24		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Excellent tobacco, one of the best virginia blends on the market. Smells great, tastes delicious, provides full and dry smoke. Variety of different mild tones could be found in the taste. Highly recommended to those looking for real quality and complex taste.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-08-14		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

HOTW is a wonderful offering from Rattray. Well worth it. this will be iin my perminate rotation

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-03-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I don't find this overly strong or overwhelming. But it is highly flavorful and a delight when you have the time and inclination to relax, set a spell and savor a truly good Virginia. Not tolerant of being rushed, HotW is natural tobacco with nature's sweetness there for the enjoyment. Treat yourself sometime, you know you deserve it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-12-21		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of the world's most premium Virginia Tobaccos. If I were to rate this with Marlin Flake,I would be in a jam, for these both are No1. pipe tobaccos. Hal O' The Wind,is as mysterious as it's creepy name. But I like that about it. This is pure enjoyment in tasty spicey leaf,that smells as good in the tin as it does when smoked.

update;

This is just what the description says it is,dark sharp red

virginia that is potent. Open a tin then age the tobacco,it

does nothing to age a tobacco that is vaccum sealed,think about

it,it's like an MRE,or C-ration if always vaccum sealed.Do you

think an MRE vaccum sealed will be better in a year? That's

funny! What I mean is open the tin,and then close the plastic

lid again.Let the tobacco have some oxygen. Then age it. Aged

Hal o the Wind has a tin aroma of Earl Grey tea,but still has a

wonderful taste,it mellows,and is more fragrant.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2002-10-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Hal O' the Wynd is the Red Virginia that started me down the road in my love for Virginias. This particular VA has changed a tad since being taken over by C & K but not in a negative way. Sure, it appears that there are some humectants now present, but does this detract form the enjoyability of a bowl of HOTW? I think not.

HOTW starts off with a little tanginess on the palate, but quickly settles down to a mellow and (from what SWMBO says) and "nice smelling" smoke. My wife says the aroma is slightly akin to that of a chianti. I generally have to use a couple of pipe cleaners during a bowl as the broken flake is so rich in sugars. HOTW smokes very cleanly and stays sweet from top to bottom.

Take a little care, though, because if you get too aggressive when smoking this stuff it can nip your tongue a little.

This is an staple of mine and I can only give it highest marks. 5 x 5 on this even now.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2002-08-05		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco is almost uniformly light brown, with the occasional lighter or darker shade, the aroma is typical of flaked virginia tobaccos, rich and sweet, and slightly spicy. I rubbed it out to a nice fluff and it was perfect to go right into the pipe

I packed it into my clay tavern pipe as the description on the side of th box said for the finest Virginia weed, and i thought to have it. It packs nicely and lit quickly only having to relight twice. This pipe is about 15 inches long so it is quite different from other pipes, i seemed to have to give it a few draws to get a mouthfull of smoke.

The flavor was rich and slighly sweet reminiciant of almost rum cake of some sort, a bit light in the beginning, but about halfway through it intensified a bit, a very cool smoking blend, which may have been due to the pipe as well. My wife found the smoke to be pleasent, i guess passable would have been a good way to describe it for her.

Overall i really enjoyed this tobacco, it smoked cool with no tongue bit whatsoever, and is a nice relaxing smoke to read a nice book to. I would have to give it a 4.25 out of 5 Excellent smoke.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2001-04-03		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Hal O' The Wynd is another great virginia tobaco from Rattray's. It comes in a dark brown rubbed out flake form and has excellent burning qualities (though I usually let the tobacco air out a bit as it is a bit moist). It's got a rich, dark tin aroma yet there is a sweetness to it which is rather enticing. The smoke itself is wonderful, sweet with almost a hint of fruitiness at times. This is not as delicate as most virginias, it's got some backbone to it. It's a strong tobacco, stronger than most virginias. It's fairly cool smoking and tends to burn slowly to a very attractive ash. I recommend slow puffing both to avoid being overwhelmed with it's strength and because it brings out more flavor, and there is plenty of flavor to be had. I won't say that this tobacco is one dimensional, as it really isn't, but it is fairly consistent as it's smoked. If you like a robust virginia, do yourself a favor and get some.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (152)	2022-10-17		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Appearance: The 50-gram tin that came to my review had no production date, but I'm pretty sure it was released in 2022. The tobacco is an almost one-colour medium brown blend of fine ribbons made by breaking up a very fine flake. Complete absence of dust. The tobacco itslef is of excellent quality. The tobacco was, however, somewhat moist, I had to air dry it for about half an hour.

Flavour: unintense, smooth. Non-fermented dough, overripe but not rotten, small dark plum, walnut partition, a slight hint of cocoa, a little bit of stale hay, literally a crumb of ginger. There is no sense of bright Virginia flavour, and the citrus note is so imperceptible that it is almost has been eclipsed between the woody and plum tones.

Taste: To accept as true the claim that this blend has a bright taste is to deny your familiarity with Gregory Pease's products. Compared to Pease’s blends, Rattray is like cool jazz versus rock concert. For this reason, I describe the flavor as "harmonious, but somewhat muted." A dense woody tone with a smoky note present, earthiness and faintly sweet, slightly astringent plum come together in a bouquet that is quite difficult to separate, with light touches of walnut and allspice (however, the perique quickly loses its spiciness) added to it. As you smoke, the flavor of the tobacco shifts slightly toward the fruity notes, but it never really becomes sweet. Slightly harsh in the beginning, the blend becomes significantly softer towards the middle. The blend is quite demanding on the temp of smoking, and while not trying to bite your tongue, it dramatically loses the rest of the sweetness in the flavor when overheated. The strength of the tobacco is close to average, in very large pipes a slight nicotine hit is possible. Despite this strength, the blend is great at providing nicotine. It burns into a dark gray ash almost completely, leaving some moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is astringent, woody, and lingering.

The smoke from the tobacco is not thick, but fairly persistent, has a woody smell with the lightest hint of burnt vinyl.

Bottom line: A very high quality blend, the merits of which are density and excellent nicotine provision, despite the moderate strength. On the downside, it was treated with a fair amount of propylene glycol, which literally suffocated all the flavor and taste notes. On the other hand, I would have liked this tobacco much less in full flavor due to the stronger Kentucky. And in its current form... Among my pipes I've found one in which the Kentucky flavor is virtually nonexistent, and I'll be able to enjoy Hal O' The Wynd in the spring when I start smoking Virginia perique blends regularly again. It's certainly hard to classify this blend as one of my favorites, but it's very high quality and doesn't need maturing, unlike the vast majority of American blends. Although, perhaps as it ages it will get the sweetness I need. Who knows?

Pipe Used: Peterson 69, 106, 999, B46

Age When Smoked: Fresh, 2022

Purchased From: Smuggled from Europe

Similar Blends: Wessex - Sovereign Curly Cut (Brigade).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Henry Davis (5)	2022-10-14		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Somewhat like C&D Small Batch Carolina Red Flake, but smoother! Nice smoke! A pleasant surprise! Somewhat like C&D Small Batch Carolina Red Flake, but smoother! Nice smoke! A pleasant surprise! Somewhat like C&D Small Batch Carolina Red Flake, but smoother! Nice smoke! A pleasant surprise!

Pipe Used: Falcon Coolway

Age When Smoked: 72 (last birthday)

Purchased From: Twins (Londonderry)

Similar Blends: Somewhat like C&D Small Batch Carolina Red Flake, but smoother! Nice smoke! A pleasant surprise!.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	getyur@sstomars (26)	2021-09-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Be fore I start I'd like to say I'm smoking a fresh tin. Also I never had the previous blend,just the koalhaus and klopp version.

Tin note is very nice. Strong smell of nice a nice sweet, and hay like VA. A very subtle and full note of the Kentucky followed by the dark fruit smell of perique. Nothing out of the ordinary but none the less promising. You can tell there is quality tobacco used here.

Moisture content is conducive to smoking out of the tin, but I have chosen to dry it for 10 mins.

The mostly broken flake load nicely, and burns just as well.

Flavor wise I feel was a bit of a let down, but still enjoyable. I get nice sweet, dry hay notes, followed by a quasi earthy note from the KY, with a quails breath of perique's fermented (in a good way) flavor bringing up the rear.

This is a tobacco that isn't overy complex or nuanced which I really appreciate, and its very well behaved w no chance of bit. But it needs a slow puffing cadence or will taste ashy. Unfortunately it's not a bell ringer. Both in flavor or vitamin N.

I'm going to amend this review in a few weeks for 2 reasons. First I've only just popped the top. To my pallet a tobaccos flavor really opens up after it gets a chance to breath. Much like a bottle of wine, decanting changes the flavor profile quite a bit ( in this case being moved to a mason jar for a few weeks to a few months.)

Second, I've only tried it in 2 pipes so far, and we all know how much a pipe impacts a tobaccos flavor (that's one thing that I really like,and find amazing about pipes and tobacco). So take this review w a grain of salt, and I'll revisit it and have a review by end of Oct.

Edit: 20 days later and 2 oz in I find the tin note shows mostly earthy Kentucky notes with a whiff of VA sweet graham under tones. I personally don't rally pick up perique on the tin note.

Flavor wise it is a touch more rounded, still has a few rough spots but the earthy KY flavor hihas developed nicely, and the ever so familiar hay like sweetness associated w VA has settled into a nice mild back up role.

I like mine in morning, taste is nice, uncomplicated, clean, and not too much of a nice hit but enough for me to be satisfied. If say 2.5 stars. I like having it around but won't have to ALWAYS have an open tin.

UPDATE. 5/11/2022

so

So imma up it too 2.9 stars

Pipe Used: Webber poker, vauen billiard nose warmer

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Brick and morter

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimPM (155)	2021-08-17		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

Although it seems like eons ago, back when I first indulged in the pleasures of piping, like most newcomers I managed to sprout my smoking legs on the usual aromatic mixtures of the day. Ah yes, the memorable delight of the old Middleton Cherry and Apple based mixtures, your assortment of Smoker’s Pride flavored Cavendish, and some select house blends crafted by my local brick and mortar. These sweet and airy episodes of smoking ecstasy blessed me with a leathery tongue, having been pickled by languishing bouts of bite, and an engineered mastery on the proper excavation of residual gobs of dottle. Yet despite the grandeur of these merry concoctions, which pleased me for the longest time, with advancing taste callings, scarred palate, and crippled fingers, I began to yearn for something totally different; imagine that.

Being a previous cigarette smoker with minimal collective knowledge of tobaccos in general back then, my naiveness led to the recognition that “real” tobaccos were made from the Virginia leaf. Combining that notion with the romantic image I held regarding the illustrious history of tobacco growing within the great state of Virginia, I re-chartered my piping diversions by sticking my big toe into that water. Little did I suspect a hopeless love affair was about to entrap me, even to present day.

As luck would have it, I happened to be flipping through the original PipesandCigars printed mailer one day when I came across a presentation on some blends of tobacco offered by Charles Rattray of Perth, Scotland. I vaguely remember looking at a modest photo of three or four unfamiliar yellow tinned products of what has been labeled as their British Collection. Seeing that several were Virginia-based mixtures the listing immediately gathered with my attention.

Maybe it was the heartfelt mystique of my Scottish ancestry, the charm of the classic old English script artwork, the label proclamation of unusually strong Virginia flavor, or perhaps the ominous name Hal O The Wynd that caught my fancy, who’s to say? So, on an emotional gamble I proceeded to purchase it. Unbeknownst to me, the seed that would flourish my enduring devotion to this singular blend fell quietly at my feet upon that very day, taking resolved root.

Hal O The Wynd (HOTW) is appropriately named after the legendary Henry Wynd (aka Gow Chrom) whose remarkable strength prove to be a decisive factor during the infamous Scottish Battle of the North Inch in 1396. This mixture embodies the essence of Charles Rattray’s assertion that the expertise of a cunning hand and intuitive senses must be properly applied for the optimum production of truly regal tobaccos. Rattray’s standard process relied on the precise application of heat by panning and pressure that acted to unite the oils of the constituent varietals imparting a rich and charming fusion.

Marketed as a ready-rubbed product, this popular blend has been manufactured by German-based Kohlhase Kopp & Co. since the late 1970’s per the original century old recipe. Extensively pressed, cut, and hand rubbed as an integral facet of Rattray’s classic production methodology, HOTW is a full-flavored, strong mix of select Red Virginia, bawdy Kentucky, and a dash of Louisiana Perique.

In keeping with the virile and dauntless image of the renowned Scottish fighter of its namesake, Rattray’s amalgam shows the smoker a hardy and dense mass of rich tobacco. Noble clusters of long swarthy strips of finely pressed, brown-variegated morsels are interspersed with a rollicking helping of wooly, coarse, shag-like ruffling that weave its sensational tartan. Dark and manly of face, Hal O The Wynd projects unreserved images of the coming eminent smoking experience.

Having one remarkably charismatic tin note, first encounter with Hal O The Wynd meets with a vibrant waft of spiced earthiness sweetly wrapped in bold citrusy tang. The Virginia dominants the base impression with its temperament of stewed raisin-weathered hay. Peppery prune notes springing from the Perique and deep woodiness earmarking the presence of dark Kentucky circulate a supporting ambience. The blend has such a plentiful beguiling aroma I find it frankly mesmeric to the senses.

For myself, packing the pipe involves pinching a healthy sized pillow of tobacco and rolling it into a nicely formed ball. I finish the preparation by filling the top of the bowl with loosely placed strands. Using this method, I have found that the tobacco ignites easily and provides for an even continuous burn for the entire smoking session, leaving a lovely white speckled ash. Virginias can be challenging to smoke at times, Hal O The Wynd, however, burns cool and dry without any grievous burden on the tongue. As such, one can drawl quite heartedly but the blend is best experienced with a slow measured cadence.

As a ready rub, the tobacco is primed for immediate smoking. However, heeding to the wisdom of Rattray, I do allow a little set-up time as moisture “denudes the delicacy” of the flavor. At first light the deep woody earthy Red Virginia richly fills the bottom registration supported by prominent spicy grassiness; of vivid and commanding aptitude. With each draw the smoky influence from the Kentucky exquisitely intertwines with just the slight peppery but mostly dark fruitiness of the Perique. The full and robust fused taste profile is distinctly toasty, citrussy, and buttery, folded within a mellow tang. Willowy accents of caramelized sugar/honey notes, musty figs, and sweet creamy nuttiness flow generously, leaving a heavenly aftertaste of note.

The ratio of Perique and fire-cured Kentucky in this medium-full bodied blend is perfect in my opinion. As a pinnacle Virginia-based recipe, there are ample enough compliments to make Hal O The Wynd a memorable aptly balanced mixture. One gets the best of a choice Virginian strain with the splendor of colorful and complex offsetting nuance. Furthermore, with this blend one will find about halfway down the bowl all the noted flavor descriptors tend to get deeper and get darker, holding a consistent elegant flavor to the very end. Mild on nicotine, Rattray’s mixture makes for an affable day-long excursion. With the burn, the tobacco produces a handsome cloud of luscious full smoke. The onsetting room note provides the immediacy of lovely honey sweet, crisp grassy character of standard Virginia that is congenial and comforting. Personally, it is one of the best aromas that I have yet to encounter in all the different blends that I have experienced.

As humans we seek out that which is pleasing. With great devotion and seriousness of passion we gravitate toward these ends whether that be a person, a place or thing, in this case a tobacco. The best love affairs are those which have no ending after all. My best hope is that this old friend will be ever present until my pipe smoking days come to a parting close. Hal O The Wynd was my gamble of chance. A chance that yielded much more than I had ever hoped for when I ventured forth into the genre of Virginia.

FINAL NOTE: I recommend reading Charles Rattray’s original “A Disquisition for the Connoisseur”, an interesting study covering this pioneer’s thoughts on blending tobacco.

Pipe Used: Peterson Dracula

Age When Smoked: 5 months

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CB (5)	2021-07-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin scent is mild with a touch of spice.

First few draws indicate an uncomplicated blend, it doesn’t try hard at all. As the smoke progresses though the first half of the bowl it develops subtleties and comes in layers. At times it reminds me of cigar. At other times of the proverbial gramps pipe tobacco. Occasionally of a mild cigarette. A touch of fermentation and occasional tart notes. I get a little bit of nut, slightly bristly in the nose throughout smoke. In second half of bowl I get dried vines, nondescript vegetal, desert grasses, dried gords, slight brown sugar and a touch of vanilla.

Nic-hit builds noticeably but gently from mild to moderate, which to be more relaxing than most. Room scent was quite strong and almost overwhelming on first smoke but seemed to greatly diminish after opening the tin a few times.

Almost perfect moisture content. It’s very sensitive to a flame - kiss with the flame to avoid sour. Easy to keep lit and I experienced no bite even on repeated heavy draws. Once going, it stays perfectly lit. Satisfying billows of smoke in the first half of the bowl.

I will be using this tobacco to break in new pipes.

Age when smoked: un-aged tin, smoked from freshly opened to five weeks

Beard: Almost no beard cling

Pipes, in order of favorite for this tobacco: Old Dominion “Williamsburg” Clay pipe (one smoke) Spitfire by Lorenzo Titano - Oom Paul (six smokes) Bings favorite, no filter (one smoke)

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Rich’s, Portland, OR

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (80)	2021-06-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Unnoticeable

Fresh tobacco smells like...well, like tobacco - full body, earthy, fruity, sugary. Sample was accurate moist, easy to pack, easy to light, burns well without lot of relights. Taste is sweet, earthy, spicy and tangy. In general very complex with rounded body. Does not leave any moisture.

I was expecting flat average tobacco which can be recommended as a product with good quality without any particular specification. (as usual rattray again). But I was very surprised. Need to try Old Gowrie again after years and compare again.

Pipe Used: BPK, Stanislaw, Jirsa, MM cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (223)	2020-10-26		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

K&k sure does make some fine blends .Hal O’ The wynd is certainly no exception . I am a big fan of Brown Clunee and Old Gowrie ( but lately seems quite grassier Virginias) .Hal O’ the wynd is different . Deep fruity sweet RED Virginias drive this blend . Bready and tangy . The Perique adds to the fruitiness with raisons and plum . The Kentucky is less obvious but it gives it some body and strenth . This blend is more fruity than spicy . I get a faint whiff of chocolate throughout the bowl . If you like Red Virginias, I dont see how one could not enjoy this blend . A winner in my cellar from now on ! 4 stars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steerpike (156)	2020-05-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another nice tobacco from Rattrays which was generally thought to be a pure Virginia until a few years ago, whereupon everyone seems to be able to taste the Kentucky and Perique! For me, Hal O The Wynd and Old Gowrie both go in my Virginia pipes, and I don't notice the Perique unless smoked in my Perique pipes which are saturated with the stuff - I think the Perique and Kentucky are added below the level of condiments here, just to tweak the overall effect. It's also worth noting that an old Rattrays blend book stated that this contained nothing but Virginia!

So, what do we have? In the tin we have very well rubbed out, fairly bright Virginia tobacco. The aroma in the tin is "delicate", it doesn't jump out and assail my nostrils. Smells like fairly fresh hay. The tobacco is at a perfect moisture content and packs very easily. Lighting is a breeze with one match, and you're away.

The flavour is initially very mild, the grassy, hay like effect of bright Virginias, with a hint of toasted rice. Its not very sweet, although perhaps the sweetness is suppressed by a slightly astringent effect, like darjeeling tea taken without milk. Later in the bowl a slight citrus sharpness emerges which is quite nice, and some sweetness appears. This tobacco should be smoked very slowly to appreciate it fully, although I must say I've not found it prone to tongue bite.

The strength is good, not formidable but you know its there. It burns to a little dottle, and pipe cleaners come out surprisingly tarry!

Overall, very nice stuff. I'd say these three tobaccos from Rattrays can be put in order from Marlin Flake (very fruity, juicy, dark flake with a hint of Perique) through Old Gowrie (dark, fruity, bready Virginia) to Hal O The Wynd (bright, hay like, unstoved Virginia). I find them all very pleasant, but Marlin Flake is probably my favourite of the lot.

Pipe Used: Chacom Lazur Canadian, Lorenzo Lumberman

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Mysmokingshop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CountryPiper (19)	2019-10-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Probably my favorite of the Rattrays blends, this could be an all day smoke for me, at the very least once a day. The burn rate is medium with no bite. Notes of dark fruit/raisins and some grass with just enough sweet and minimal spice. Burns to a nice white ash with very little moisture left in the bowl. Nice slow draws bring out the best in this. Definitely responds well to age, just a great smoke and should be a staple for any serious piper!

Pipe Used: Dunhill Brandy

Age When Smoked: 13 Years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Shaun_Pearson (21)	2019-10-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very good blend. Very grassy and yeasty. The aroma is pleasant. This has a little bit of strength, so I would smoke after a light meal. Overall this is a good evening smoke.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Twin’s Smoke Shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2019-04-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I smoked a five year old tin of Hal back in 2010... sampling it around the same time I tried a six year old tin of Marlin Flake. Back in those days, one might get lucky enough to get a fairly aged tin straight from the online dealer. Back then, both of these blends were excellent examples of their genre. Today, fifteen years later, I think the quality has diminished somewhat. You might get my thoughts by reading my review on Marlin Flake. I felt the tobaccos were similar in taste & strength but preferred Hal over MF & OG didn't quite satisfy in the Vitamin N department. Hal, like MF requires some serious drying... almost to a crispy state to smoke properly & smokes great after a couple of relights... settles down into a mild, tasty smoke with plenty of the flavor you've come to know from these types of blends that provides a good nicotine boost.

The slight fruity flavoring from the Perique enhances the tobacco flavor & the aroma was not overwhelming as it seems today & didn't seem as harsh. I think the Acadian Perique sweetens the mix & portions of the flakes are very dark. This stuff didn't bite and the initial harshness quickly faded. I found this to be a quality blend that compliments the briar. Very flavorful to me and didn't finish harshly. It's similar to Marlin Flake with a slightly different flavor from the Burley infusion & both are good blends worth trying but cousin Marlin tends to bite these days. Hal is much smoother & more comfortable on the palate.

FWIW... a quick lesson in Perique tobacco... it has a Chameleon affect in tobacco blends depending on how & what it's mixed with & how much is used. It is a Burley tobacco & straight St. James Perique nearly went out of business around forty years ago & mostly what has been used in pipe tobacco blends ever since is Acadian Perique which is basically the same thing but produced by several different suppliers to supplement &/or replace the demand of St. James Perique & also there are occasional crop failures & the farms are small but are now beginning to grow larger. The St. James supply usually is sold to the cigarette markets & commands a premium due to limited availability & length of the time consuming process of production. You can Google this up to obtain detailed info on the Pipedia website. Just thought some of you might be interested as I've read reviews about pipers referring to "faux" Perique.

From the info I obtained, there's no such thing as faux Perique... it's processed the same way but maybe grown in other regions with similar soil qualities of the Mississippi Delta region where St. James Perique is harvested... still on relatively small tobacco farms. Also, let's bear in mind that St. James Burley is processed and fermented under pressure in used Bourbon casks & the fermentation process itself provides that peppery & or raisin/fig-like flavoring, depending on the quantity, that many have written about. Hence, the reason I opted to select extremely mild flavoring from the choices provided. I've also read that experiments are underway to make Perique even better... like one example is fermenting Virginia using the same process but requires more attention.

What about C & D's Mississippi Mud, a Perique blend that I thought was stronger & satisfied me as well as many other outdated, outrageously high dollar Balkans & English blends & only cost one saw-buck. There are also many other Balkans containing Perique & pipers who've smoked for fifty years have asserted these blends to be the finest they've ever smoked. The future looks bright ahead. I think I've blathered on enough to wear out my welcome... so, let's have a good smoke, coffee black, no cigarette, start this day like all the rest & contemplate on the importance of being earnest & wise while rocking back on the celestial plains of life.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 11S, 9S

Age When Smoked: 5 year old tin 10 years ago

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: Other Va/Bur/Pers & my all time favorite of this genre... Doblone d'Oro, the best of the best...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDragon (44)	2019-03-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tobacco presents itself in pleasing shades of brown in the tin and, upon smelling it, I sense the sweet, grassy, almost honey-like smell of Virginia, with a slight tint of smokiness from the Kentucky, but it's mostly the Virginia.

If I'm to describe the smoking experience of this one in one word, that would be "balanced". The component tobaccos blend together in the right proportions and the taste remains pretty even throughout the bowl. All the well-known flavors are there: the sweet, grassy, hay-like, fruity, citrusy taste of the Virginia, the smoky, earthy, slightly sour taste of the Kentucky and peppery, spicy taste of the Perique, but the Virginia is the main player. It is sweet through roughly the first third of the bowl, with a very fresh fruit, citrus taste. Once the Kentucky starts to come forward, the taste becomes a bit more sour and that fruity note moves towards the dried fruit flavor.

The strength is medium to strong, but more leaning towards strong, especially once you're halfway through the bowl. Tends to heat the pipe a bit, which is pretty much to be expected from a Virginia blend but, if you find the right cadence, you should be fine.

This can be a good initiation into the world of Virginia based blends. If you're curious to sample a high quality VA and are not afraid of bit of nicotine hit, then this can be a very pleasant experience. For me, it was a delightful smoke and I will most definitely buy more tins of this classic.

Pipe Used: Half-bent Savinelli Capitol

Age When Smoked: Few days

Purchased From: Tobacco store

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gahdzila (61)	2017-03-20		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Medium brown ribbony broken flake. The smell I get in the tin is a thick syrupy sweet aroma. Others describe fruit notes, but I dont get any. It's a hint on the moist side. It's fairly well behaved right out of the tin, but it does benefit from a little drying time.

I've read other guys' reviews, but I don't see anyone describing the dominant flavor I'm getting. I do taste the malty-yeasty flavor others describe, but it's subtle. Stronger than that is some sort of herb or root or something that I can't quite put a finger on. The closest thing I can think of is root beer. There! I said it. HOTW tastes like root beer to me. No vanilla and no pepper like some root beers....but whatever essence there is that makes root beer distinctly taste like root beer is what I'm tasting. It's not at all strong or overpowering (and not even quite the dominant flavor) but it's quite distinct and once I noticed it, I taste it with every puff. On top, the biggest most up front flavor to me is a very distinct syrupiness (is that even a word? LOL). When I was a child, I remember my grandmother making homemade biscuits for breakfast when I stayed over with her. She always served them with some kind of syrup that came in a big brassy metal can with a pry off lid that looked like a can of paint. It was thicker than most breakfast maple syrups are today, and it tasted different....I dont know what exactly it was, to be honest. But it was sweet, had an interesting "other" flavor to it, and I loved it. I probably haven't had anything like it in 35 years. But that old timey country syrup in the big brassy can - that's the dominant flavor of HOTW.

Good stuff, recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ash K (12)	2016-10-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Am currently smoking a bowl while writing this. Its a shame that its hard to get in my part of the world, I've already gone through 2 cans of it and still can't get enough of it.

Opening the can/tin you are greeted with a sweet raisin smell. Some say fig, but since I hardly eat the fruit its hard for me to say.

The hand broken flakes are a joy, it saves time prepping for it. The sizes of the broken flakes are just right, and moisture content are almost always perfect.

It burns easily, and once you get the amber going, you don't need to relight. Tamping every once in a while is of course required, but not as often than most. Burns into a fine white ash.

The rich, sweet and full taste of the Virginia stays throught the bowl, the Perique adding complexity and depth to the flavour.

I always try to stock up on these, but sadly I consume more than I can save.

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: 1 years old in a jar

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bifkinator (10)	2016-09-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

With fall finally here this was the one non aromatic tobacco I wanted to smoke. With a name like Hal O' the Wynd it just sounds like the perfect tobacco for this time of year. I had to pick up a tin along with some maple flavored tobaccos I've been wanting because this is a tobacco I've been wanting to try for some time now. Since its the first day of fall its time to pack a bowl with this stuff.

First off, this is tobacco unlike anything I've smelled in the tin. As a Virginia and Perique blend I was expecting it to be a little on the light side and it is but its also extremely interesting to my nose! Right off the bat I get tomato hard but it starts to open a bit the more you smell it. I also got hay, a slight vinegar smell, oats, strawberry, an almost fish oil smell in a very delightful way, some subtle fig, and subtle citrus. So I smell a lot of different things and I love it!

The cut is kind of a rubbed flake but really nice and the look of this tobacco is beautiful. A super balanced blend and feels fantastic! Its more on the moist side which I like a lot. When I pack it its super springy and compresses really nicely making it great for packing! Being a rubbed flake it does kind of clump up when I try to fit it into the bowl so you may need to pull it apart a bit. It took a little bit longer than usual to get it lit for me so I recommend giving it a little char before lighting all the way. Once its lit though it matures fast and has absolutely no bite! Like, none. Its awesome!

It produces a pretty good amount of smoke and man is it tasty. Its actually has a pretty simple flavor and I like it a lot. Up front I get hay, some of the tomato comes through, a little bit of oat, that fish oil smell translates into an olive oil taste, and a little bit of fig. Pretty simple and very similar to the smell. Its pretty light and I want to smoke this stuff throughout the day! You'll never hear me say that either.

Man, Im digging this tobacco a lot! Its so light and a very relaxing smoke. Its nice on the palate with a not so complex combination of notes and I can honestly say this is one of the only tobaccos I would want to smoke all day long, even in the morning and I NEVER smoke in the morning. I love this stuff already and have a feeling its going to become a favorite of mine. I know that Rattray's has some other similar blends to this one and I want to give them a try but so far this one is taking the cake for me! Trying Rattray's non aromatics is really impressing me! I highly recommend to all smokers, even new ones because this stuff is so dang smooth!

Pipe Used: Gepetto Straight Rusticated Pot

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2016-05-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

My God this is excellent tobacco. I'm slow about getting my reviews written, partly out of laziness (translated-lost in tobacco ecstasy) but also because I like to give each blend a fair chance before the gavel falls. I smoked this stuff straight out of the tin at first, and it didn't do a whole lot for me. Thankfully I waited to review, because after aging for just over 6 months in jars, this is easily the most profound VaPer I've had the pleasure to smoke(with the exception of McClelland St.James Woods, of course). It's become a top 5 for me, and quite potentially a top 3.

I honestly had no idea there was Kentucky in the blend. Blown away as I was at the transformation in flavor with time, and the easily discernible depth of the Virginia and perique, I knew there was something else there lending a little extra spice that set it apart from all my other VaPers. But I just couldn't put my finger on it with certainty. Lo and behold, this page reveals a Kentucky component. And given my penchant for burley and dark-fireds, it's no wonder I love this like I do.

The blend is incredibly balanced. The Virginias are sweet and mellow, the perique is equally sweet and a tad pungent with some sour notes. Cut is a rough shag with pieces of thin broken flake. The burn is perfect, given a little dry time. It's one smooth, medium-full powered bite-free smoking pleasure. Can't say enough good things about it. Try it out...if you find it lackluster out of the tin, give it 6 months to a year rest and experience the transformation. If you still aren't impressed, I'll handle the disposal for you.

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: St. James Woods.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2016-04-21		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A broken flake, mostly mid browns with occasional bright leaf. There is no black leaf to indicate the presence of Perique, nor can I smell or taste it in this K&K blend.

On the nose I mostly get bread and molasses aromas with some chocolate and spice notes.

Packs and burns well. This is a fairly sweet and spicy Red Va forward VaBur that has been touched up I believe with a smidgeon of fire cured leaf and a touch of sweet casing. The net result is not a lot different to a plethora of tobaccos made by MacBaren imo. My tin of tobacco produced some ammonia notes when burning and the comparison to cigarettes made by some reviewers seems understandable to me.

Not a bell ringer for me, tho it is interesting enough that I can see why this is a popular tobacco.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sanel418 (3)	2016-02-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was my first Va/Pe blend and my first love. I like it a lot. For me it’s superb blend, with great full taste. For details I don’t know what to say after all good comments in review below. When you finish the bowl, you want more of it. You can have it for all day smoking. Great job Rattray.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	guitar2mw (92)	2015-09-26		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a great blend! I am actually having a second bowl right now. The more I smoke it, the more I like it. It has a pretty monochromatic tin note that most VaPers have (grass/hay). It is a rubbed flake, but I found that rubbing it out even more helps with the packing and makes it smoke a bit cooler. It takes and holds a light well after a good false light.

This is more robust than other Rattray blends I've tried so far. It's sweet, but to me I get more of the sweetness on the back of my tongue. It's citrusy and fragrant, but not annoying. The Perique is definitely there, and the Kentucky teams up with it to add the signature "robustness" this blend offers up. I can see this becoming a good cold-weather tobacco, as it warms me up whenever I smoke it. The only thing that bothers me about this blend: the nicotine is weaker than I anticipated. I was really hoping for a kick in the teeth, but it's definitely not a deal breaker.

Pipe Used: Meers, Various briars

Age When Smoked: 6+ months

Purchased From: JR Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old German puffer (106)	2015-09-18		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

For whatever reason this tobacco calls me in the fall. It tastes strong and makes a good long smoke. Packing the pipe is stright forward as is first light. So when the temp falls down to the 60's this will shine. Good hour smoke with no relight and a flavor that you will not forget. Low Nicotine and little Perique just a lot of sweet Virginia and Kentucky.

Pipe Used: Dunhill, Peterson, Savinelli, Comoy

Age When Smoked: Tub over 2 years

Purchased From: Westlake Village CA

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Planet Scott (66)	2015-08-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a very nice blend. It is on the rich side, which I like. Medium to full flavor with the nice crisp spiciness of the Perique to remind you how well it blends with a Virginia and Kentucky. Not as spicy as a Escudo or St James flake.

It does have the slight ketchup aroma, but I never detect it once I smoke it. I consider the balance towards the rich Virginias and Kentucky, while fuller than the other Virginia blends. A great smoke when you want a Virginia/Kentucky with a nice touch of Perique.

Purchased From: P & C

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	point9 (114)	2015-06-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

All three famous Rattray's vaper I like Hal O' The Wynd the most because of it's depth and full flavor. It is rather strong and tangy, fruity but not over sweet. In the category of Kentucky Vaper, I find HOTW to be the top 1 choice.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bluesmoke (75)	2014-11-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

HOTW is a sharp VA, to my senses anyway. This is not a bad thing, there are some dark flavors here as well (burnt caramel, roasted nuts). This is a stout blend for a VAPER, but not the strongest I've had mind you. This blend really shined after leaving the contents exposed to air for about 8 hours; after this it really took off. I broke it up a little more than it already was and it filled the pipe well, accepted flame, and made some nice clouds of smoke in no time! Very fresh aroma and taste, this would be sublime after some aging, I'm wagering. Very nice tobacco. LETJC

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	natibo (169)	2014-11-14		Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

At first the tin smell put me off a little. I thought this must be another pure Virginia with a little preique and no character. Well, I was wring. It's one of those tobaccos that gets better and better as the bowl goes on. Stick with it if you don't like it at first. It quickly grows on you. Not as strong as the label would suggest.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fredkao (11)	2014-05-10		Medium	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

Not so strong, a medium blend. I'd really wenjoyed my first VA Bayou Morning so I was expectating a good smoke with HOTW. It isn't. It's flat, very flat. The moisture is to much as other said. It have the perique taste but not so much. I can't recommend it as I didn't find anything enjoyable.

Pipe Used: many different

Age When Smoked: new in bulk

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	USVI sailor (16)	2014-01-28		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Rattray's tobacco blends used to be one of my favorites back in my college days - in particular Black Mallory and Accountant's Mixture. Last year I purchased a can of Hal O' the Wynd to try - well I opened it a few weeks ago after having been on a steady diet of Escudo (I love that stuff). It looked and smelled great, but way to wet smoke. Set some aside for a few days to dry and decided to try it in one of my Ben Wade pipes from the very early '70's - narrow deep bowled with thick walls and a quarter bend- perfect for Va / Perique blends.

So this review follows after about 10 bowls in the old Ben Wade;

It packed OK after rolling it out a little with my fingers. The Perique is very very subtle - so subtle that if I hadn't read somewhere that it contained Perique I probably would have missed it. The majority of the taste and aroma comes from the matured Virginias. Outside in open air it does have that grassy taste and smell, so I usually smoke it indoors. The nicotene content seems to be quite a bit higher than Escudo or Bayou Morning and I have difficulty smoking it to the bottom of the bowl without one or two, maybe 3 on a good night, of Obans to cleanse away the nicotene. Overall, I'm not impressed especially when one considers the high price of Rattray's blends. I'll finish the tin and then go back to Escudo or Frog Morton On The Bayou or Bayou Morning Flake.

Pipe Used: Ben Wade Freehand - early1970's

Age When Smoked: 14 mos

Purchased From: local pipe / tobacco shop

Similar Blends: no similar blends come to mind.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2013-12-13		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I finally took the plunge and decided to give this blend a go. Am I very glad I did. The different weeds come together to form an excellent blend. The Vitamin N level isn't as lethal as advertised on the tin. It is a strong blend, but shouldn't knock your socks off despite your shoes. Highly Recommended.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	William H. Hardy (95)	2013-03-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is some good stuff. I lean towards Virginias and VA/Pers and this may be one of the best, in my opinion. I had tried Marlin Flake in the past and I'm not sure which I like more.

The tobacco in Hal is a nice blend of mostly red Virginias, a little burley, and a bit of perique. The flavor is a mainly tobacco that's a bit on the sweet side with a little perique wang to it. Thant being said, it's not for everyone (like all tobacco). It's not going to knock your socks off or change your perception on the universe. As a matter of fact, the tobaccos that have had that "knocked my socks off" the first time I smoked them usually end up being one that I don't reorder.

This is a contemplative tobacco that, many times, becomes a "nivana" smoke for me. Very few Full English or Oriental blends do that for me. Of course, this is just my opinion... I could be wrong. :-)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	o3Ho3 (28)	2013-03-18		Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm rarely against any kind of tobacco... (not true). This one is, for me, one of the most flat, disgraceful and useless tobacco I ever tasted. I tried with a full tin (100gr) and give my all tolerance... but... Sorry guys, whatever I tried and even mixture with whatever I have (and I have) is incredible bad. Sry again. I really tried....

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-12-22		Very Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried Hal O' the Wynd many years ago but didn't use up the tin and threw it away. I didn't remember why I didn't like it so I decided to try it again, since I have come to love Virginias. I don't like Kentucky and found it overpowering the Virginias in Three Nuns, so I felt sceptical about HOTW.

This time around:

First bowl made me disappointed. The tobacco was very moist and had difficulty staying lit. The taste: HANGOVER! It reminded me of the taste in my mouth the day after drinking too many beers and smoking cigarettes. Stale dark beer, cigarette ashes and bile.

Second, third and fourth bowl, I let the tobacco dry on a piece of paper for 15 minutes and rubbed it out some more. I finally find the taste of Virginia behind the "hated" Kentucky. Some Virginia sweetness start to take the place in front of the acrid cigarette ash and bile taste from the Kentucky. The nicotine content is higher than in my staple tobacco, Blue Capstan.

HOTW is the only tobacco I have to smoke during the Holidays, and I'll have to live with it. It's not a tobacco I will buy again, but I give it two stars anyway. If you like dark beers and whisky you might like HOTW. It's a high quality tobacco, but it just doesn't get along with my tastebuds.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-12-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is a nice VaPer but not one on the top of my list. The cut is fairly fine and tends to burn a little fast and hot. My style of being a faster Vaper puffer doesn't help. I also find this on the milder side and one dimensional. If I had a choice, I think Marlin Flake has more interest and Old Gowrie is smoother. Most would consider this a solid 3 star blend, but under MY rating system, it only gets a 2. I won't buy again, not because it is bad , but only because I like other VaPers better.

I think that reviewer, "TW 08/01/2012 " , might be correct in that experimenting with the pipe and packing could greatly improve this blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2012-12-08		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Kohlhase & Kopp has nailed it with this one. The three tobaccos have a good thing going on, the Kentucky is nicely complemented by the Perique and the Virginia. Nice dry fig smell off the tin, burns well with plenty of smoke. A dry, cold smoke with woodsy and spicy tones better enjoyed in the evening or at any time in winter.

Virginia lover

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-06-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Tastes very malty. Pure unadulterated tobacco, reminds me of old england. It's like old gowrie's older cousin, similar but distinctly heavier with a fuller taste. It was a good smoke, but after 100g of this, I've given it a good run and it just didn't grab me. I won't buy more, I'll get Old Gowrie instead.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2012-06-28		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I'm not sure which I enjoy more, this or Old Gowrie. Sweet fragrant bready/yeast notes that excel if dried for a bit. I rubbed mine out a bit more that packaged, and it burned like a dream. As others have said, easier to obtain than FVF and just as good (if not better).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	p4p4 (59)	2012-06-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Probably the best straight virginia in the world. The taste is full, and the flavour gets better as the smoke progresses. Aroma: yeast, bread, pure virginia. For virginia lovers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	salopst (15)	2012-05-08		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I bought 100g of this after hearing someone not exactly extolling this blend's virtues, but talking of it as a very good example of an excellent VA/perique. He was not wrong.

It is quite sweet, I find, but in a natural uncloying way (the VA) and tangy/sour (the perique), and the combination is quite heavenly. Perhaps it is the old Barling straight billiard I am smoking it in, perhaps it is the way I pack pre-rubbed flakes-- I don't know-- but I cannot get this to burn evenly. Not that that concerns me as the flavors and balance I find quite, quite lovely.

A lot of reviewers find the nicotine level to be high; I cannot quite find that, and think about right for me.

There is zero burn from the Virginia leaf in this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	elelion (25)	2011-12-12		Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A softer version of Ashton Black Parrot. Softer in every aspect: softer broken flake, softer in taste, and softer in flavor, too.

Maybe I am not judging fairly between the two blends: ABP aged 1 year versus HOTW newly ordered. I believe HOTW will perform much better given some time. With ABP no longer available, HOTW will serve as perfect replacement.

---Updated on 25th Dec. 2011---

HOTW performs even better if you let it dry a little bit (an hour probably) after a pipeful packing. There is more sweetness throughout the entire bowl from bigging to end, and this characteristic overperforms ABP.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tee-dub (48)	2011-08-31		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Top-notch stuff.

I'm a relative novice at Virginias and Va/Pers, but I find this tobacco very satisfying.

Other reviewers are spot-on in their tasting notes. I taste a sort of malty, bready Virginia that is slightly sweet, with a richer, heavier texture than expected.

My frame of reference is small, but this has a similar flavor profile to Escudo. Compared to Escudo, this is stronger, richer, and tastes better.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mesh (51)	2011-08-21		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

An excellent tobacco. Rich VA flavour in abundance.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ap (57)	2011-07-08		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

A sweet, full bodied straight Virginia smoke. No more need to be said, go get some :)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2011-06-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A top class tobacco, as you would expect from Rattray. There's a very satisfying, unusually full Virginia flavour, and the tobacco behaves itself well from first light to last puff. It's a very consistent, reliable smoke, and stronger than you might expect an unadulterated VA to be. I like to take it slowly in a big bowl with a strong black coffee. It needs to be enjoyed at leisure, with “breath smoking,” otherwise you miss the nuances. Also, it gets hot if you rush it; but what doesn't? Perhaps a little strong for the beginner, but a great choice for the experienced VA lover. It'll age well, I think.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyMcPiperson (119)	2011-01-28		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is what I think of as a quintessential VA blend. I think that if there is something that Rattray really does well it is VA. Hal O' The Wynd will not disappoint the discerning smoker, with a nice perky, bitey flavor, it's like aged cheddar. The flavor reminds me of dry hay in a barn if you've ever jumped into a pile of it, kind of scratchy, but fun none the less. This is not my favorite smoke, but it sure places itself as a classic in it's genre for me. The room note is not to be sought after, but it's a good blend, I can't comment on the tin note as I've only ever had baggies of it. I think it would be worth an experiment to smoke this in tandem with GLP Union Square just for an interesting compare and contrast, two different VA's might be good partners in a VA lover's rotation. I found I really like this blend in fresh new pipes, meerschaums and narrow small cobs like the MM Pony Express. Give it a shot, it's curiously strong, kinda like Altoids...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I was reluctant to try this tobacco. The only Rattray blend I'd previously tried was Red Rapparree, a strong English blend that almost made me burn my pipes. But after hearing raves about it, I decided to give it a go and see what the fuss was all about. The tin arrived in a box with a bunch of Pease blends, innocently hiding behind styrafoam packaging. I immediately cracked it open, and was at once delighted by the tin aroma – the sweet, thick scent of a good Virginia. The tobacco was a bit moist, but a few moments of drying before loading into a bowl cured that. The leaf is a nice golden-brown, ready-rubbed.

The initial flavor was stronger than I expect from a Virginia, though in a good way. There was a real sweetness to it, and I could almost detect a hint of fruit. After a few minutes, with the bowl burning nicely, the flavor became really robust, which again is unusual for a Virginia. With strength comes flavor, though, and this tobacco has flavor. I like my coffee strong, too, after all. This strong flavor stayed, consistently, through the smoke. Though there is a development, or progression, of the strength through a bowl, it is about as consistent in flavor as a Virginia tobacco can be, start to finish. Though the first few puffs seem to be plotting a case of tongue bite, I've yet to experience a bite from this blend.

Additionally, Hal O' The Wind DGTs extremely well, which I like because I often smoke a pipe on the 20-minute drive I make to work each morning, leaving me something to look forward to on the drive home. In fact, the strength of the tobacco seems to wake me up just a bit for the afternoon drive, while keeping a smile on my face despite the traffic.

This isn't a blend for the beginning Virginia smoker. That said, it's one of the absolute finest tinned Virginias I've smoked, equaling, in my opinion, even the delights of such favorites as Red Flake. I know I'll keep this tobacco available on my shelf from now on, and will turn to it often. Hal O' The Wind is a pleasurable and enjoyable smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sweetbriar (14)	2010-12-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I like this one slightly better than Old Gowrie because it's a tad stronger. great stuff to kick off or end the day with..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2010-11-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A lot of reviews clain this one as strong. I will say it will get your attention, but it is not particularly strong in my book but full bodied yes. It is really quite tasty and it has to be paid respect too or the smoker could end up with tongue bite with this one. But having said that, if one smokes it nice and slow, they are rewarded with a very creamy, slightly nutty and spicy smoke that is great savored with a glass of red wine or a full bodied beer. The tobacco in the pouch is a pretty uniform brown in color and is a ribbon cut broken flake. It has a sweet but peaty pouch aroma and is very easy to load in the pipe. One light to start it, a tamp to the rise and then a good light and one can sit back and enjoy the smoke without constant relights. it burns nice and slow, and one can taste the sweet VA in the foreground and then whisps of the perique spice comeing and going. The kentucky just gives it body. It has a nice strong but sweet room note, won't make enemies but won't make friends either. It burns down to a medium grey, fine ash all the way to the bottom of the pipe with no dottle and no moisture. It really smokes clean. I smoke mine a little dry though so right out of the tin, it could smoke a touch wet. The taste remains consistant all the way down, it picks up a little more of the VA sweetness as it burns down and the perique notes retreat a little. All in all, this is a fine smoke and I find it quite enjoyable and therefore recommend it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-07-27		Medium	Medium	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm just about finished my first 100gram tin of this tobacco. I recieved a sample of this from a friend and after a few bowls decided that it's pretty nice stuff. It is written as having "an unusual share of strength and will quickly perk you up".

Ok, so I smoke on through and find that it is rather moist and being a VA sometimes they need to dry a bit for that VA Sweet to come through.

It did come through but still I haven't seen much strength like is written on the tin and in other reviews. Strength to me is a good nicotine hit. I didn't find it much here although there is some. For a novice piper it may be fine.

It is a nice cut but like I said before i find it better handling and smoking with some drying time, like 15-20 min under a desk lamp or just sit a pouchful out for a few good hours. Makes fo better lighting and smokeing as you won't have to relight it much. HOTW will try to bite if not careful so smoke 'er slowly. 'Breath Smoking' helps find a little sweetness in it too.

After about 3/4 of the way through the 100gm tin I started to feel like, Ah, it's really not all that, nothing to write home about. I'd suggest purchasing a 50gm tin once in a while at best. HOTW, bein's it's a stoved Red VA is in fact a little sharper that a regular bright VA. I'm not complaining just reviewing a tobacco. I do recommend it to one who smoke straight VA regularly for a pleasant change of pace just don't be looking for a much strength, its' a stoved Red VA that's all.

I'm giving it three Good stars because objectively speaking it's pretty a pretty good VA tobacco. I guess I was expecting something more like Haddo's Delight.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	meerkat (64)	2010-07-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I recently tried three of the Virginia blends (Marlin Flake, Hal O' The Wynd and Old Gowrie) from Rattray as they tend to get lumped together and I wanted to know what seperated them.

Definately the strongest of the three and (to my mind) the best.

To me this stuff smells like wet hay and malt extract in the tin and has a similar rich but subtle sweetness under the match. I could believe that it contains Kentucky leaf because of the strength and richness of the flavour, because of the slight spicy edge I could also buy that it's got some perique but the tin says not so I wont argue.

Smooth and tasty all the way down to the bottom of the bowl, gathering a little momentum towards the end. I always want to repack and relight as soon as I've finished a pipeful of Hal o' the Wynd just to make the pleasure continue but then I'm greedy, especially with really nice things!

Great tobacco. Will revisit regularly.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pseudo Nim (129)	2010-04-21		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Not a bad virginia at all, prhaps the strongest of the trio, Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake and Hal O' The Wynd bringing up the rear. My main problem with this otherwise very fine tobacco, is that I can only get it to work if I let it air for 24 hours on a sheet of newspaper, put it back in the can, then leave it for a further month.

This seems to smooth it out for me as it can be a little steamy straight from the can with a mild tendency to try to bite.

However, having prepared accordingly, a smooth and tasty evening smoke for the summertime follows.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tom Servo (58)	2010-04-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Open tin smells like warm fig cookies in an old hay loft, perfectly rubbed flake packs well and burns great. Bowl starts with dry grass notes and light VA sweetness. Develops subtle but amazing complexity - hay and old lumber, raw grains, bread dough, pancake batter, sweet malt, hot buttered Cream of Wheat - the second half of the bowl mixes in saddle-soaped leather and whispers of spanish cedar that remind me of aged Dominican cigars.

Despite the description on this site, I don't think there is any Kentucky or Perique in there. I suspect the description on the tin is correct - full Red Virginia flake. This stuff has more than a little age on it already, but I imagine more age in the tin would make this stuff incredible.

I smoked a pipe-full with my favorite single-malt scotch “Highland Park” - 12 Year Old. The malt syrup, canned fruit, leather and cigar box flavors of the whisky complemented this tobacco brilliantly.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tripjoker (65)	2009-12-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I have read reviews of this blend for some time now and have always meant to try it. The problem is that I have tried other Rattrays that I have not been all that fond of (accountants, dark fragrant, seven reserve) and really didn't want to get shaved for anoher handful of dollars to be let down again.

Well, my nature got the best of me and I plunked down another $14 to get a can of HOTW. Man, am I glad I did. This stuff is amazing! If all the Rattrays were this good, I would have tried it long before now.

A little drying time is necessary fo me, but after that it's off to the races. This is one you will get the most out of by smoking it slowly and sipping the bowl. I will not even try to describe the flavors as it is impossible. Suffice it to say that I have found what I believe to be one of the all time best va blends out there.

This gets 5 stars!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	orka (66)	2009-08-24		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

The last 4 months or so I have been breaking in a Savinelli Virginia KS using this blend, and it just keeps getting better and better (both pipe and tobacco). The VA is outstanding, sweet and cool, and the KY lends strength and spiciness to the mixture, and you end up with a full, round and sweet smoke. Can't really say I pick up on the perique, but it may very well be in there somewhere.

Fresh out of the tin it is rather moist and do benefit from some airing, most certainly there is humectant involved, but never the less, it burns quite well and doesn't cause any difficulty keeping lit. It does however improve a great deal after being opened a month or so.

All in all this is an excellent medium-strength mixture with a good nicotine hit, very satisfying, but not tiring to the palate, even after a big bowl. I can't imagine tonguebite being an issue for anyone smoking this. It's remarkably cool. A solid 3/4.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2009-07-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

HOTW is the only virginian by Rattray which I had the way to taste before the K&K era. I'm happy to say that the current K&K's is as pleasant as the older was.

The 100grms can (inner strap and plastic lid) is the packaging available in Italy.

The smell at the open tin is wonderful: fruity/sweet&sour. The cut is a medium-fine ready rubbed; unlike the EM of the same brand, which are largely wet, the tobacco was ready to smoke for the very opening. The colour of the weed is a mix of mostly medium brown with occasional lighter and darker flecks.

A old Castello Old Antiquari KKKK straight apple having a narrow chamber has been very easily filled and lighted.

HOTW smokes cool and dry, robust - I truly cannot share the opinion that it's strong or more, those reviewers should try Irish Flake instead... - and substantial; fruity and somewhat earthy sometimes; always sweet, sometime faintly sour; biscuity and peppery to the nostrils; the palate is pleasantly tickled from mid bowl.

I'm feeling a very rewarding smoke, and wondering why I have been far from HOTW so long (some five years or more from the last can). It has all the features I may ask to a Virginian.

My highest recomendation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-07-21		Extremely Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tabacco is just to strong. It leaves a accid feeling in my throad and nose. I cant immagine an enjoyable way of smoking, to not have the depicted feeling. Maybe take a puff and puff out as fast as you can. Or ruin your throad and not feel it anymore. Sorry I have contradict to the good rewies that made me buying Hal O'the whynd. I thing all of that comes from the RED FIRED Virgina, so watch out for that one. Best Regards

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	eamonclever (48)	2009-06-22		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable

This is my virginia benchmark.There is nothing more to say than 4 stars. The only thing is - take your time and don´t start pipe smoking with this fine tobacco, because it is a bit nasty as it comes out of the tin a bit wet, but it smells so good-a bowl has to be loaded once you crack the lid, i preferably load my pipes with the franks method, this is a perfet tobacco to get used to this method. I would recommend it to the experienced and the non aromatic smoker guild.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-06-22		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Upon opening the tin one encounters a wonderful bouquet of sweet and earthy aromas that range from wood, to honey, passing through raisins, dried figs and dried grass in a summerfield.

Upon ignition the bouquet becomes more smoky emitting sweet but also mildly bitter/truffle-like signs. This process increases toward the mid-end of the bowl and though doesnt overwhelm like other Virginia-Perique blends still manifests potency.

Thankfully the added tobaccos to the virginia basis (perique and/or kentucky?) do not alter the main grassy-sweet and deeply warm body of this blend but rather add a quirky bitterness that complicates this very good tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Duke (41)	2009-03-13		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

HAL O? THE WYND. Its tin aroma blossoms of fine tobaccos. Upon its ignition is a roar of pure tobacco flavors. Hal will put a crease in your pants if you don?t mind your smoking cadence. To the ancients Hal would be hoarded like salt. This is a great tobacco, and if you don?t find it satisfying, please don?t insult its blender or its fans.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2009-01-14		Medium	Medium	Very Full	Pleasant

This is the best straight, natural Virginia you can find out there.

Bright golden broken flake with an incredible natural aroma, well balanced and unique flavor and taste with many levels of complexity. This is my top favorite straight golden Virginia flakes out there, certainly not my everyday or all day smoke (like with any good wine), but I really enjoy this blend when I want to spoil myself.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Dr.sadik (120)	2009-01-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The king of the rattrays virginia offerings, bready/smooth/strong but not overwhelming. To me this is a heavier version of old gowrie. If this has more perique then it is a very smooth one as i dont get the spice usually associated with it and the kentucky is even harder to detect. With minimal drying time it smokes like a champ. May be hard to get by, but if you love virginia or vapers, its a must. Al janabi

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Tobaccopipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	catdaddy (18)	2009-01-08		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

"I simply cannot find one bad thing to say about this exceptional blend. It burns well, very smooth if puffed slowly, and has a fine taste that anyone would enjoy. There is no doubt that these are quality tobaccos and perhaps after some aging another star may well be in order. It just doesn't ring bells the way Abingdon and British Woods did with me."

note: As it turns out I woke up the next morning with a terrible sinus cold and my taste must have been screwed up because this is a 4 star blend if ever there was one. This tobacco is to be savored.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sylvian (28)	2008-08-04		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The fullest taste of the three Rattray's famous 'British Line' tobaccos (the other two being Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake).

It's got almost the same 'edible' tin aroma that Marlin Flake is famous for and which is more subdued in OG. Kentucky and Perique components are more pronounced here than in OG, hence the full and rich taste, and red ripe Virginia makes it a top-quality and delicious blend. I have a strong association with red wine regarding the three tobaccos: Old Gowrie is like a reserved dry wine, Marlin Flake a rich sweet variety, and Hal O'The Wynd an old full-taste sweet Porto.

Four stars for the high quality, but... Yes, the nice yelow tin is pricey and does not contain enough of the great stuff. Three stars all in all, glad I tried it, but I'll be sticking to other blends of similar quality and a more adequate price, such as

(here the review suddenly ends up with some illegible text and blurred images of tobacco tins presumably but not necessarily of the UK origin)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Laudante (29)	2008-07-20		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Besides the very funny joke BriarChef makes with the name of this blend, I agree with him in that this is a great tobacco.

I cannot avoid finding it very Scottish, maybe because of the natural malty and fermented taste it comes from time to time, making it close in flavor to good, pure malt, aged whiskey. (Or it might simply be because it is Scottish indeed)...

It has nice nutty and honey undertones as well, especially in the first half of the bowl. The second half, as usual, becomes stronger, but never as much as one would expect from the label. Actually, the strength is very pleasant and the nicotine is relaxing.

It burns very well until the end. I´ve smoked many tins without any single dottle or similar problem. I´ve been smoking it in very hot and humid southern weather and it works quite well.

Sweetness is perfect... neither cloying nor sour. It will be one of my regulars for a long while.

Many people compare it with Old Gowrie. I haven´t tried this one yet, but I have a two year old 100 gr. tin in my cellar (drawer) which I will open soon (the tin, not the drawer). I will be able to make a comparison then.

But today this is still, as far as I remember, the very best straight Virginia I have ever smoked.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old Puffer (42)	2008-05-28		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a real eye opener first thing in the morning and a good pick-me-up late in the afternoon. Rich tasting but not too strong and no bite. Hangs in there with you right to the end of the bowl.

Only peculiarity is in lighting and getting it settled down. Raises up like a ghost out of the grave on first and second and then third char. Has to be tamped down frequently during first third of the bowl because it keeps raising up but then settles down to a comfortable smoke.

I really like this for a rich, satisfying smoke. Wouldn't make it my all-day baccy though, the nicotine high can get pretty demanding and I don't even inhale. For this reason, I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

I put it in my top regulars and is definitely a keeper.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drdave (17)	2008-05-28		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

A great tobac. Sweet, refined, and elegant with just a touch of wildness. Like a fine young lass, dressed for a formal dance; her hair all done up, pearls round her creamy neck, standing barefoot on wind-blown mountain top.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fly ticky (26)	2008-04-25		Very Mild	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I Truely enjoyed this blend,good stuff.Just a little dry time and of ya go.I give it a seven out ten

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2008-04-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Not much to add to previous reviews: along with Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake, this could perfectly be the Holy Trinity of Virginias. Sharper than OG, but not much stronger, and a bit less tasty.

As a side note, I enjoy this blend more on meerschaum than briar.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipemanuk (76)	2008-03-06		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, this has got some good things going for it. It's easy to smoke without tongue bite; not very strong (for me at any rate) and generally a pleasant tobacco. You can tell I have reservations! I'm not swayed by this adulation, that's the trouble. It's a fair VA, not great, but fair. Mick McQuaid Plug beats it hands down. HOTW is a perfectly acceptable standard VA...it's monochromatic, it doesn't show me the subtleties that would make it a great tobacco. Some of the McClellands are far better (some are not so good though)....this is so easy to smoke and puff away at that its almost like an aromatic. There are times when that's a positive advantage...working on the PC, outdoors walking the dog, painting or reading. But to be a great tobacco it has to have depth and treasure tantalising you to find and enjoy. And HOTW doesn't.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jaybee (77)	2008-01-25		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Based on my qualifications for a great tobacco, Hal O' the Wynd meets all criteria. The cut makes it easy to load; it takes to the match easily and stays lit; it has ample flavor; and is strong enough to be satisfying. It is my default tobacco for those times when I don't need to concentrate on the smoke, but still want to be aware that I'm smoking something refined and rich. I seldom smoke more than one bowl in a row, but one bowl is enough to satisfy,,,,,,Excellent

Update: Like many of us, I am not always afforded a schedule that allows me to sit and relax while smoking. So, often as not, I am engaged in some other activity while smoking my pipe, which results in careless puffing. Although HOW is one of my favorites, it does not forgive sloppy technique. With this in mind I became curious about Pipestud's preparation of this weed, as listed in his review below. So I rubbed it out well and then zapped it in a food processor. The result was a cut slightly more coarse than ground coffee. Voila.......no more bite.....an amazing transformation. I might need to try this approach with a few other hotties.......

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RMBittner (66)	2008-01-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A moist, ready-rubbed matured Virginia that began quite sweet, mellowing out as the bowl progressed.

Rattray's Old Gowrie is my current go-to Virginia. Hal o' the Wynd is stronger and, perhaps, a bit harsh by comparison. Given its higher nicotine content as well as its near-monochromatic flavor profile, I found it to be a tad wearying as I neared the last third of the bowl. Still, it was not an unenjoyable smoke.

Between these two Rattray's blends, I personally prefer Old Gowrie, which strikes me as both mellower and richer. But the quality of both blends is excellent. If you enjoy a higher-nicotine Virginia, you certainly owe it to yourself to take the Wynd-ing road.

UPDATE: 1/21/07 - I have upped my rating from Recommended to Highly Recommended on the basis of the transformation that takes place when this tobacco is smoked very slowly. "Sipped" might even be a better word here. Sipping it reveals layers of sweetness and rich creaminess -- while diminishing the harshness -- that I'd never encountered before in Hal. If this one isn't working for you, I'd recommend taking very slow, measured puffs; it can become an entirely different blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pencils (58)	2007-08-04		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable

Bought this on the overwhelming recommendations of the guys here. I'm not usually a smoker of straight Virginia pipe tobacco, but thought I would give it a go. If everyone says something is good, it must be, right? Even Cavendish lovers like me must be able to appeciate it...

Out of the tin, the smell is one of maturing fruit cake or raisins maybe. Not too strong, but noticeable. Colours are an attractive Autumnal mottling - leaves in the Fall. Easy to pack, light and maintain burning. The only relights needed are if the nicotine gets a bit much and I let it die deliberately. Even then, the relight carries no discernible yak.

As far as taste is concerned, I am still a little undecided. I think it depends on the size of the bowl I use, but it tends to hover between a cool and citrus taste (light lemons?) tending toward a fairly harsh and 'lively' smoke. 'Perky' may not be descriptive enough. I am not sure I would want to smoke this on an empty stomach - particularly when the train carrying the nicotine pulls in to the station. Hard puffing not recommended! Not a great deal of taste variation as the bowl runs out, but the increase in nicotine is fairly intense. I've never been a cigarette smoker, but my wife reckons it smells as though I am slipping a sly one if she comes in after I have had a bowl of this.

As for the residue, white ash without wetness.

Am I converted to straight VA? Not yet.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipePaladin (78)	2007-05-05		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

In my humble opinion this is the improved version of Old Gowrie. Good nicotine and VA-taste punch from this animal! Apart from Samuel Gawith FVF, this staff is 2nd to none!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SopwithCamel (255)	2007-01-03		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is another legendary Rattray blend, and with good reason: It is superb. It is also surprisingly gentle to my palette. As with other blends in this line, it will benefit from some drying.

This has plenty of the warm red Virginia taste, but it can be a bit much in a large pipe if you are nicotine sensitive. This is a very simple, straight-forward blend. If you are looking for a Virginia with many flavor nuances, this will not make you happy.

If you love red Virginias, this is sure to please.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	haredawg (47)	2006-12-29		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

Love this stuff; beautiful texture, color, presentation, smell is all wild and wooly from the tin like exotic mutant fruit raised in vinegar. From first char to last sip it stays wonderful and full flavored rainbow pure Virginian, nice nicotine hit to it too. I am an all day sucker for Virginians which is the only caveat I?d have to stating ?Go out now, no time to dress, go out this minute and pick up at least a 100g of this stuff, even if you already have some. I?m serious. Go now. I?ll wait.?

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Backwoods Piper (70)	2006-12-10		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Excellent tabac. Hal O' The Wynd is full of flavor and satisfaction. This one leaves me satisfied for hours after a bowl full. A true and honest weed that has very mild flavoring a great companion to the nutty sweet flavor of high quality VA's. Smells wonderful from the tin, a nice apricot, nutty/sweet aroma.

Like most VA's this blend lends itself to slow reflective enjoyment. Excessive and eager puffing can lead to a hot tongue. Packing this fine tobacco straight from the tin leads to a stronger fuller smoke. I like to rub this one out a bit and let it dry for a half hour or so this technique leads to a milder cooler smoke. Hal O' The Wynd smokes dry and complete with one light or two. The dottle left behind is light grey and dry.

Hal O' The Wynd is a VA smokers little bit of heaven. This will always be a part of my rotation of VA's. A true blue smoke. Four Stars!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	geocritter (21)	2006-11-07		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Hal O' The Wynd is a good blend, although I find it a little bitey until I let it set a little and dry. Flavor is very much a nice, smooth virginia, without the typical McClelland fermented smell we often characterize virginias with.

I like this one, although I don't know that I can give it 4 stars. Room note isn't all that great. Maybe a little time will change that, and I'll re-review it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jazzplayer (9)	2006-10-05		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a 4 star Virginia!! Take it nice and slow or your tongue will hate you for a while. The nicotine punch is there as well, especially at the bottom of the bowl. The aroma upon opening the tin is that of honey and apricots. Not for the beginner in my opinion. One must smoke this fine gift with a seasoned pipe to truly enjoy the vast flavors this tobacco has to offer.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cell biologist (21)	2006-08-03		Very Strong	None Detected	Very Full	Very Pleasant

I had read about the orgasmic experience of smoking Virginia but had not experienced it firsthand until trying a freshly-opened tin of Hal ?O the Wynd in my tall and narrow-bowled goose egg briar. The first part of the bowl gave hints of that tobacco smell that tickles the nose and makes you want more. It took a bit of puffing to get it to stay lit, by which procedure the smoke becomes rough until it settles down. I let it settle down with some slow puffing and occasional blowing through the pipe. Long slow draws into the mouth, while inhaling through the nose, then releasing the smoke and taking some into the nostrils is my technique for enjoying tobacco.

Malty, with a flavor reminiscent somehow all at the same time of the grain scent of a fine pilsner beer, cognac, malt whisky, chocolate, aromatic nuts, but also different from all these. The smoke is the smell of something you want to swim in, a kind of ambrosia, when you get the burn rate just right, just barely going. It goes out a few times and I occasionally scrape the ash away with a matchstick and blow it out before re-lighting. The orgasmic flavor builds to a crescendo right to the bottom of the bowl, which is the best part, even the very bottom, which is hard to light because it's almost played and a bit wet (it?s easy to get overzealous with the lighter at the expense of the tongue), but the flavor awakens olfactory neurons of gustatory pleasure heretofore unstimulated. The thing is, the pleasure is sustained, the receptors or neurons don't saturate like smells normally do, like those first few sips of coffee that are the best but then the intense flavor goes away. The first bowl of this was a remarkable experience second to none. Subsequent bowls reproduced the pleasureful flavor, but the ambrosia was harder to sustain. In some cases this clearly was my own fault because I would get too excited puff too hard, exceeding the optimal burn temperature. There may also be some dynamics upon exposure to air that change the tobacco and make it more finicky after the tin is opened. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorites, if its finicky nature is mastered there are outstanding rewards.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Satc001 (67)	2006-07-31		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is an incredible Virginia blend. Upon opening the tin you get a great aroma of dried fruits and matured tobacco. I found it packs rather easily into my pipe. Then you light up and are immediately greated with an excellent flavor. An edgy, sweet, virginia taste that definitely satisfies. Throughout the bowl, I found it slowly mellowed out and became smokier tasting, but this was no disappointment. This is one blend that I highly recommend. As far as nicotine strength, I noticed some nicotine, but not enough to make me sick. I was extremely satisfied with this tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Scottgun (11)	2006-06-23		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

How dare I give the third person in the trinity of Rattray's virginias less than four stars? This is a quality tobacco no doubt, and I went through an entire 100g tin of it, so it provided some excellent smokes. Sometimes it was harsh on the pallate, even when nice and dry. I was also fighting moisture buildup in the bottom that I have not experienced with other blends. I found that frequent run-throughs with a pipe cleaner helped this. On several occasions I was left with a sizzled tongue. While still a recommendable baccy, it's not for the beginner.

1 person found this review helpful.

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	Emeritus Account (30171)	2006-04-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I just don't like it. Marlin Flake is an order of magnitude better. In the tin, it is an ugly tangle of partially rubbed out flake.

Smokes with a certain hotness that makes it seem too peppery. If you try to really puff it, it will bite in an unbelievable way.

When I just barely puff it, it has a nice sweetness, but produces so little smoke that it is not worth it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Philo Beddoe (221)	2006-02-26		Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I tried this becuse I love Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake, and read that this was the last of the triumvirate. It tastes nothing like Marlin Flake and only vaguely similar to Old Gowrie. I liked it, but it is a distant third in this lineup to me. The Virginia flavor is much more sharp and not as bright as O.G. I will keep trying this blend every so often in hopes it will mellow or that my appreciation will grow. After about 2/3 of the bowl I felt the nicotine kick in and was surprised by the strength. The tin says it has an unusual share of strength and that is an understatement.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stan (179)	2006-02-26		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a ready rubbed, straight Scottish style virginia flake, but the flavor is up a good notch due to some special process or weed (perique?). No nonsense tabak. "Very Nice!"

It is a bit heavier than Old Gowie but not as strong as Marlin Flake can be to me (due I gather to the stoved virginia added). It is more comparable to Hamburer Veermaster flake and SG Medium Virginia Flake, but with more body. PS Navy Flake is not too different but with a nuttier virginia and more obvious perique. Dunhill's Elizabethian has close to the body but not as good a virginia accompanyment IMO. Olsen's 111 flake is stronger (with burley).

HOW has an airy, woodsy quality to the leaf (which some may call sweet but not I) and good, steady flavor. Cool, steady burning, and dry. Easy to pack and puff. Don't get carried away though.

A high quality product that has not changed as far as I can tell in the past 10 years or so. Don't know what the true original was like. Highly recommended to the straight virginia smoker who desires a somewhat fuller (but not heavy) experience at times.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-07-29		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

To be a straight Virginia, this is a full satisfying tobacco, a rather rare case for my taste. The smell upon opening the tin is wonderful, sweet and reminding of dried fruits. The rubbed flakes can be packed and smoked easily, they don't even need too much air to dry out, but I leave the tin open for some minutes the same. Smoking it is a great experience, it fullfills your senses even without the deepness of the orientals and the smokiness of latakia. Truly one of the best Virginias around.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-06-10		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This rubbed-out flake is stronger than most Virginias. It is a pleasurable smoke but too strong (for me) for an all day smoke. If strength and big flavor in a fine Virginia are what you seek give this a whirl!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2005-05-06		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

05-06-2005 Another pleasant suprise!

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Broken flake with mostly red leaf and a smattering of mohagany and golden leaf. Smells delicious! The predominant odor is of fragrant red VA leaf.

Packing and Lighting: I tried this in several pipes, but prefer group 3 sized pipes. You can further rub out, but packing the broken flakes as is, worked just fine. Moisture was perfect out of the tin. Lit after 2-3 lights to the bottom of the bowl.

Initial Flavor: Aaahh! Delicious red Va from the get go, marvellously fragrant. Reminds me of McCranie's Red ribbon.

Mid-Bowl: Delicious round full flavor. No need to puff hard to get satiated. DGT works excellently. Room note is to die for!

Bottom of Bowl: This is where beginners can get in trouble. This develops lots of strength and if you don't slow down, you will make yourself green from the nicotine quick! If you sip, you will be pleasantly satiated. I usually DGT quite a bit at this point.

Overall: I was afraid of this blend for many years, so my tins have just aged and aged. Recently, I got the courage to open a tin and I glad I did. It took me a while to finish the 100g tin due to the fact that I can only smoke a bowl of this blend once every two days because of its strength. Regardless, this is now my favorite VA from Rattray's with regard to flavor even though I still smoke more Marlin Flake by the same. The Red VA in this blend is spicy, but not as spicy as any of the McClelland, McCranie, or C&D offerrings. I find the strength a nice change due to the fact that I usually smoke Balkan or English blends. VA blends usually don't satiate my palate and I end up smoking a Balkan to end the day, but not so with this one...

Highly Recommended!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2004-08-30		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I often don't like Virginias, I prefer latakia mixtures. This said, the fact that Rattray makes Virginia blends that I enjoy is nothing short of a miracle. I don't know what particular processing this brand applies to the tobacco, but I happen to like it from the first moment to the last. As you open the tin, you are welcomed by an attractive view of reddish/dark brown broken flake, and an irresistible smell of dried fruit. Smelling the unburnt tobacco is a wonder, a delicious experience: sweet but not overly so, and wonderfully natural. The smoking experience is very similar to the one offered by Rattray's Marlin Flake (of which I suggest you read my review): the only differences are that HOTW is a bit stronger, exhibits a more subdued sweetness, and has some slightly harsher/piquant notes instead which become evident towards the end of the bowl. A top quality natural Virginia tobacco, which gets my highest recommendations: it's hard to find a blend of this kind that offers so much taste and a such intriguingly pleasant complexity. Of course it has to be smoked slowly, and I recommend some light packing of the bowl to avoid wetness (yes, it tends to produce a lot of it). I still prefer Marlin Flake for a sweeter, more rewarding smoke for the whole day (and this is the ONLY reason why I haven't given it 4 stars), but this is great stuff, too!

2022 Update: I hadn't smoked it for several years, but it seems to me that it has changed considerably, It used to be a broken flake, with quite coarse pieces, and of a reddish brown colour. Not it's much more finely rubbed out, almost like a thick ribbon, and the color is more brown/bright without the deep reddish hues it used to have. And one last complaint: it didn't use to have so much Kentucky in it (its woody and flowery presence is obvious); I'll go even further, saying that it didn't have ANY Kentucky many decades ago, as Mr Rattray stated it was a pure Virginia! Luckily it's still a good tobacco, sweet/smoky and robust, although there is less sour fruitiness than in the past. But I hate when companies change so much of the cut and composition of a blend as to make it something that is very different compared to its original incarnation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2004-08-30		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

The last stop on my trip down the Rattray Va line, and I have to say by far the cream of the crop. This tobacco is nice and strong and has the typical sharpness associated with these type of blends. It can bite if provoked, although it smokes cooler than its cousin Marlin. But what truly makes it stand out from the pack? I'm not sure that I can explain it other than this: It's just damn tasty! Its that simple: this blend just tastes great! At first char it seems to taste like a hundred other straight Va's. And then you start to notice a little something. This stuff is the shiz bang! Simply Awesome! Go out and try it, then you'll get it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-05-11		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco is a power bomb. Very tasty and bold. I enjoy it very much. The only reason that it gets an "on occasion" rating versus regularly is that, while being in my rotation on a regular basis, and always enjoyed, it can be a little overwhelming to me. That is, I notice that I am less appreciative of other blends for a few days thereafter. So, when I get the craving, I run to HTW, and relax. It is a strong, solid Va. that a new Va. smoker should be careful with, IMO.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2004-05-10		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I do not have the time to describe the attributes of this tobacco in detail as others do. However, as I do wish to contribute some feedback, I will simply rate this tobacco on a scale of 1 ?10, including tenths.

I rate this tobacco 9.9 out of 10. I am a fan of the Rattray baccys.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2004-04-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I used to say quite often that I had not had a virginia flake by any company that can hold a candle to the McClellands.

With Hal O the Wynd I have been proven wrong. This is a wonderful virginia flake with a very carefull balance of rich full taste and a slight sweet tang.

It comes rubbed out but I usually rub it just a little more. Good in any sized pipe, it will burn trouble free to the bottom with a silky cottonlike ash.

This blend made such an impression on me that after only 3 bowls I went online and purchased 4 tins of it.

Truly one of my top 10 favorites of all time.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2003-06-12		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

In the Tin: This is a rubbed out flake that has a slightly sweet slightly sour aroma as one would expect of a matured Virginia.

Packing and Lighting: I packed my Dunhill bent bulldog with the tobacco as it comes out of the can, a coarse ribbon or partially rubbed flake, depending on how you like to classify it. Took longer both for the char and the final light than average. But once lit stayed lit.

Taste: Pretty pure Virginia taste, weaker in the beginning of the bowl and more pronounced at the end. Produces wonderful billows of rich smoke. From such smoke I expected a richer flavor than I found. Perhaps this would be better if I rubbed it out more for packing.

For me this was a modest dissapointment. I found this a kind of limp Virginia. Given the great number of excellent Virginia blends out there I don't see why one would buy this in preference to one of GLPease's Virginias or even Dunhill's Royal Yacht.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2003-06-03		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco has such a classic taste it almost beggars description--it's like trying to define good vanilla ice cream...it is what it is: perfection! It's almost easier to describe it for what it is not: it's not too bitey, not too citrusy, not too spicy, not too rich, not too strong....it's just straight down the middle fastball Virginia perfection. Totally distinguished, utterly refined, no bells, whistles or gimmicks. Any quirks to it are easily remedied: too moist? Let it dry. Too chunky? Rub it out. And so on. Should be on every Va lovers top five list. Folks, there is little else to say but put this in your pipe and smoke it!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyFlake (17)	2003-05-27		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

(5/27/03) This tobacco is a course, rubbed out flake that is mostly dark brown in color. As with most Rattray Tobaccos, this blend is too moist, at least for me, to smoke without considerable drying time. The aroma is a very deep & rich and remindes me of semi-sweet bitter chocolate, with hints of figs & dates. I usually fill a pipe with this tobaccy and then let it sit for several hours before lighting up, sometimes as long as six and even eight hours. Afterwards, it lights easily, considering how course it is. The flavor profle in the first third of the bowl is very deep and earthy, pure quality tobacco with a subtle but consistant sweetness in the back ground. In the middle third the flavors stays about the same with perhaps a slight increase in sweetness. The final third is where it works best for me, where it becomes less sweet and it picks up a little bit of spice and I sense a build up in the nicotine profile. It never gets harsh and so far has never bitten me and I'm an aggressive smoker. This tobacco is full bodied and delicious but I do not believe it to be overly strong with respect to the nicotine content. If you like pure Virginias, you must try this tobaccy!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2003-02-24		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable

In the week after receiving my first 113 gram tin, 50+ were consigned to ash.

Hal may not be the 'holy grail of va's' but it's close.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2003-02-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

A classic pure Virginia. Even in its current form (being made by Kohlhase and Kopp in Germany), it still is quite remarkable. It comes in 100g tins and upon first touch, the tobacco feels almost silky. The dark sweet aroma of figs and chocolate is delicious. I would give it one week to air out a little. Better yet, open the tin, put the plastic lid back on and forget about it a couple of weeks. When lighting up, the smoker is greeted by a naturally sweet taste of high-quality Virginia. Hints of roasted nuts make their way into the sidestream smoke. The smoke has a thick and creamy texture - and it comes in two colors: Grey and blue. In the taste there is also a creamy quality, which adds to the impression of smoking a rather full-bodied tobacco. It can bite you, if you puff too fast, and I recommend giving your pipe full attention. It is of medium strength and leaves a natural pipe tobacco scent in the room, which might not be appreciated by all by-standers. I rediscovered this recently after I hadn't smoked it for some time, and I am glad it found its way back into my tobacco bar.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2002-12-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Unnoticeable

I my search for the ultimate virginia I decided to try this one. Having finished the tin I now feel qualified to say some things. This stuff is good, but I find it very easy to get tounge bite smoking it. Perhaps I'm just inexperienced.

Anyway, this stuff tastes like tobacco and has a subtle sweetness that needs careful smoking to bring out. It's not nearly as sweet or spicy as some others I've tried (such as patriot flake) but it has a very strong "tobacco" taste that is quite good.

I found this stuff a bit moist and usually I would let a little dry out on some paper before loading it into my pipe. Unless I did this I would have trouble with wet dottle that wouldn't burn.

I think I'll have to get a little better at smoking slowly before I buy more of this, but it's quite tasty once you get the hang of smoking it and I'mm sure there are more tins of this in my future.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Karel (9)	2023-03-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Tin note: sweet woody, earthy aroma with a hint of dried figs

Smokes very well out of tin, comes in proper moisture. You can taste a little bit of figs at the beginning. Sweet woody notes with a little bit of spice comes throughout the smoke. It's pretty strong in nicotine, taste is medium.

Wife tolerates this blend.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (561)	2023-02-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of plums, sugared Rasins, and fig newtons. Tobacco is brown Broken Flake with a little dark brown mixed in. Moisture content is ok, most will want to dry it a bit. Larger Broken Flake chunks may need to be rubbed out. Burns slow with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of spicy, floral, dry, very woody, musty sour fermented vegetation, sweet nuts, acidic, spiced bread, earthy, mildly savory, sweet grassy, leather, mild cocoa, lemon zest, a mild tangy citrus and plums background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Kentucky and Perique providing support. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: 2016 Northern Briars Premier Rox Cut #4 Prince

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bushido (27)	2022-11-27		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Aged a tin 2.5 years before trying. Smelled amazing in the tin - stewed fruits. But the taste, I' m not a fan. To me the combination of the quantity of Kentucky and perique make this blend a bit harsh. It did mellow a bit, but it took well into the second third of the bowl. It's certainly quality, and I'll see what happens in another year of aging, but I won't be adding more to my cellar.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tobaksrøg (53)	2022-09-03		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Very spicy VaPer, much more so than its counterpart, Old Gowrie. Maybe a bit too harsh for my taste, but I'm sure it will grow on me given patience and time.

Age When Smoked: New

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Yannick.S (2)	2022-08-09		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Great tobacco and rich in aroma. One of my favourites. Aromas of leather, hazelnut, cocoa, wood and spice. Easy to smoke and requires a little drying on opening.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320ks lime édition 3mm without filter.

Age When Smoked: 2 months

Purchased From: Tobacco shop of San Remo, Italy

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Overlook Hotel (2)	2022-06-19		Extremely Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

What can I say that hasn’t been said? The flavor is odd but compelling. It isn’t deep or rich, but the surface notes are extraordinary. It’s also lays you out if you don’t pay attention. It’s a day time get up and go.

Pipe Used: Straus Private Stock

Age When Smoked: 50+

Purchased From: My old man’s

Similar Blends: Nothing. One of a kind..

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2019-02-26		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Hal, like Marlin Flake requires some serious drying... almost to a crispy state to smoke properly & smokes great after a couple of relights... settles down into a mild, tasty smoke with plenty of the flavor you've come to know from these types of blends that provides a good nicotine boost. The slight fruity flavoring from the Perique enhances the tobacco flavor & the aroma was not overwhelming & didn't seem as harsh as cousin Marlin.

I think there is a little less Acadian Perique than in Marlin & portions of the flakes are very dark. This stuff didn't bite and the initial harshness quickly faded. I found this to be a quality blend that compliments the briar. Very flavorful to me and didn't finish harshly. It's similar to Marlin Flake with a slightly different flavor from the Burley infusion & both are good blends worth trying.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 9S & 11S

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2018-12-19		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I smoked a five year old tin of Hal back in 2010... sampling it around the same time I tried a six year old tin of Marlin Flake. Back in those days, one might get lucky enough to get a fairly aged tin straight from the online dealer. Back then, both of these blends were excellent examples of their genre. Today, fifteen years later, I think the quality has diminished somewhat. You might get my thoughts by reading my review on Marlin Flake. I felt the tobaccos were similar in taste & strength but preferred Hal over MF & OG didn't quite satisfy in the Vitamin N department. Hal, like MF requires some serious drying... almost to a crispy state to smoke properly & smokes great after a couple of relights... settles down into a mild, tasty smoke with plenty of the flavor you've come to know from these types of blends that provides a good nicotine boost.

The slight fruity flavoring from the Perique enhances the tobacco flavor & the aroma was not overwhelming as it seems today & didn't seem as harsh. I think the Acadian Perique sweetens the mix & portions of the flakes are very dark. This stuff didn't bite and the initial harshness quickly faded. I found this to be a quality blend that compliments the briar. Very flavorful to me and didn't finish harshly. It's similar to Marlin Flake with a slightly different flavor from the Burley infusion & both are good blends worth trying.

FWIW... a quick lesson in Perique tobacco... it has a Chameleon affect in tobacco blends depending on how & what it's mixed with & how much is used. It is a Burley tobacco & straight St. James Perique nearly went out of business around forty years ago & mostly what has been used in pipe tobacco blends ever since is Acadian Perique which is basically the same thing but produced by several different suppliers to supplement &/or replace the demand of St. James Perique & also there are occasional crop failures & the farms are small but are now beginning to grow larger. The St. James supply usually is sold to the cigarette markets & commands a premium due to limited availability & length of the time consuming process of production. You can Google this up to obtain detailed info on the Pipedia website. Just thought some of you might be interested as I've read reviews about pipers referring to "faux" Perique. From the info I obtained, there's no such thing as faux Perique... it's processed the same way but maybe grown in other regions with similar soil qualities of the Mississippi Delta region where St. James Perique is harvested... still on relatively small tobacco farms.

Also, let's bear in mind that St. James Burley is processed and fermented under pressure in used Bourbon casks & the fermentation process itself provides that peppery & or raisin/fig-like flavoring, depending on the quantity, that many have written about. Hence, the reason I opted to select extremely mild flavoring from the choices provided. I've also read that experiments are underway to make Perique even better... like one example is fermenting Virginia using the same process but requires more attention. What about C & D's Mississippi Mud, a Perique blend that I thought was stronger & satisfied me as well as many other outdated, outrageously high dollar Balkans & English blends & only cost one saw-buck. There are also many other Balkans containing Perique & pipers who've smoked for fifty years have asserted these blends to be the finest they've ever smoked. The future looks bright ahead. I think I've blathered on enough to wear out my welcome... so, let's have a good smoke, coffee black, no cigarette, start this day like all the rest & contemplate on the importance of being earnest & wise while rocking back on the celestial plains of life.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 11S

Age When Smoked: 5 year old tin 10 years ago

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: Other Va/Bur/Pers & my all time favorite of this genre... Doblone d'Oro, the best of the best..

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2017-07-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Extremely well balanced virginia based blend. I used to hate Kentucky but this blend is teaching me how I like my kentucky to be ... in small proportions, yet not too faint. For me the Virginia and kentucky were the main players. Is there any perique? I don't know! Faint to my taste budds anyway. Very good blend though... will buy more and recommend other beginners like myself do smoke it.

Pipe Used: Stanwell brushed bent apple, Tsuge yoroi

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-10-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Great tobacco all day smoke and I don't even like Perique

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-08-11		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really enjoy marlin flake I just could not warm up to this one good tobacco just not for me.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2013-03-31		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I really wanted to like this blend being part of Rattray's "Holy Trinity" along with Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake. Bought a 100g tin five years ago loaded up a bowl and yuck! Fast forward to present day. I dug this out of my cellar and it was still fairly moist but a little on the dry side. I rehydrated this blend for two days and got it to the right moisture level. I loaded up a bowl and found it more tolerable but not very enjoyable. I did finish the bowl out of respect to those who enjoy this legendary blend but to me it tastes like a good quality cigarette. Love the name but not the blend. If your curious about this blend, I do recomend you give it a try. Out of the three, Marlin Flake by far is my favorite.

Makin' my wife rich one bowl at a time.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-08-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was gifted a sample of this and have tried it in briar, meer, and clay, each pipe allowing for different intricacies. I wasn't bowled over by this blend but still liked it quite a bit. I found that an orange/citrus tastes would come through especially in the meer, that was to my liking. At other times more of a toast flavor would dominate. Overall a good blend. Recommended.

Soli Deo gloria!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-04-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A fantastic Va flake. It is Less sweet and dried fruit-y and more earthy and burley-like than old gowrie/marlin flake. It is also fuller bodied and higher in nicotine.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2012-03-30		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Never thought I would say it but Hal is a better tobacco than Full Virginia Flake..I know they are different, but Hal has the edge, more taste, sweeter, burns well after the second light and the flavour gets better as the smoke progresses, I just love it and the consistency is far better than my previous favourite FVF, In fact I am going to re-review FVF on this site, so Hal is a super tobacco and it is consistent tub after tub..I love it

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-10-24		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

try the first puff today,real nice fruit tin aroma and perfect cut strong srength for me,va dominate the most,great taste,3 star cause none sweet sence at all

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-09-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

I smoke a lot of this in a grp 4 sized pipe dedicated to it. It is a slow, cool burning broken flake with lots of flavor but not too much. Unlike others, I find the strength only medium (keep in mind I am a big smoker of Dark Flake so strenght might be relative). Although it is billed as a pure VA blend, I swear I taste a little burley in here somewhere. It is easy to pack - no rubbing out required - and burns well and evenly. Consistency from tin to tin is excellent. A little spicy and a little bit malty. I like a previous review that stated this blend is like the country fair... It is a fun fresh hay type Va with enough complexity not to get boring. I also like this blend for breaking in a new pipe with as it is hard to get to burn hot and builds cake quicker than some other pure Va blends I smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-08-23		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

This ain't no hay ride in the country. Hal is the equivalent of all the fun rides at the county fair.

This concoction never fails to surprise and delight me. There is a whole melange of bright citrusy flavors here with a solid nicotine hit in the punch.

Setting : Summertime sunset on the back porch with a glass of iced tea.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-07-22		Medium to Strong	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this one at the recommendation of a friend and it didn't quite live up to what I had hoped. I also got no sweetness or tartness from this blend. full body flavor though so that was a plus. it does have a decent nic hit to it so to me it's avery relaxing smoke. I also found it needed little tending to in terms of the burn. It lights up from the beginning and burns straight through. Won't be a "go to" tobacco for me but I will but I will see if my tin improves with a little age on it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-06-11		Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Appearance is a medium brown broken flake. Tin smells of hay and dried fruits, mostly fig. Tastes lightly sweet and grassy with bready notes.

Nice sweet smoke with a lovely grassy flavour, developing aromas of a bakery. When I want Virginia this is what I reach for. With all Rattray's, like a fine wine, they benefit from airing.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-02-08		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I found very little sweetness in this blend but more savory spicy flavors. Smooth and fairly satisfying, though it does burn quite hot. Deepening in flavor and strength as I smoke down the bowl with no bite. Going to buy 2 or 3 cans for aging.

====Update====

working on my 3rd bowl in a row, half way through it I can taste lots more sweet coming through in the smoke like burnt sugar, the Perique has stayed throughout but moved more to the shadows. I find it a grassy hay like finish.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-01-20		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

in the same style as old gowrie but a bit stronger. Great virginia.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-12-26		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Hal smokes great after a couple of relights. Settles down into a mild, tasty smoke with plenty of tobacco flavor that provides a good nicotine boost.. The slight flavoring enhances the tobacco flavor & aroma. I think there is only a smidgeon of Perique & portions of the flakes are very dark. This review is based on a five year old tin. This stuff didn't bite me and the initial harshness quickly faded. I found this to be a quality blend that compliments the briar. Very flavorful for me to the end and didn't finish harshly. This blend needs to be rubbed out really well and then dried a bit before stoking. It will be hard to get a good burn rate if you don't. It's similar to Marlin Flake with a slightly different flavor & both are good blends worth trying. Hal O' The Wynd merits four stars, IMHO, of course.

Age When Smoked: Five Years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-11-01		Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Tin: Sharp, funky aroma of dried fruit, wet hay, malt extract. Mostly dark red-brown hue. Mostly ribbon form with an occasional thicker chunk, all quite flexible, supple, due to ample moisture.

Packing & Burning: Due to the moderate suppleness, the tobacco will almost stay stuck together in a ball when rolled between the fingers. This tells you to be careful and not overstuff the pipe or it will not draw. Pack it firm but so that it is springy.

Taste & Aroma: HOTW is not nearly as sharp and pungent as the tin aroma. Top of bowl had a malted pancake aroma mixed with metallic wet straw taste. Towards the bottom, there was a mixture of earthy malt or old lumber aromas.

Nicotine: Definite queesiness that lingered for 3 hours

Room Note: Good bowl: combination of bread dough and hay. Bad bowl: smoky and slightly acrid

Overall: The original disagreeable taste, of the first bowl, ceased with the next few, which were like Tom Servo described. After that, it transitioned into a consistently mild charcoal burnt grass taste.

I'm sticking by my initial assessment of the first bowl, even though it may have been due to the pipes. It seems that the tobacco changes, after the tin has been unsealed for a while.

Still supple, after the tin was unsealed four weeks, speaks on the use of humectant(likewise for MF and OG), and a possible source of that initial odd taste.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-10-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Strong

Perfect moisture out of the tin, burns beautifully & has an absolutely amazing taste...at first. Eventually, by about 1/2 way through the bowl, it turned into a giant cigar/cigarette taste for me...got really strong all of a sudden. The room note is super strong & I smelled like I'd taken a trip to Hell and back when I was done. Pretty decent nic hit, too. There are days when I really want something that'll put hair on my back, and I'll keep this one around for just such an occasion.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-10-18		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Good blend but not the best (I still like Solani Virginia Flake with Perique more) even though this is the kind of tobacco that you keep in you rotation.

Update: I've smoked a 100g tin, and almost each time I've got a sore tongue, and I mean sore. I can taste although that the tobacco is of good quality, even so I assume that it will never befriend me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-07-25		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Strong

This is similar to Astley's 44 in terms of taste and tin aroma.

But Rattray's HOTW is no 44 on steroids.

This was strong, yes, but so harsh it became unpleasant. And the smoke proved harassing to my nostrils.

Maybe a bit of aging will address the problem.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-06-08		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

I love this stuff. It smells a little funkier out of the tin than most other Virginias, but it smokes so nicely. Just a little moist out of the tin, but smokes very easily, stays lit and burns to a pretty white ash. This to ME is one of the most naturally fragrant tobaccos I have smoked. It has got a very straight forward sweet taste and aroma to me. I roll my windows up in my jeep after I get out of my car from smoking this stuff so that I can smell it again later! I'm not so sure about the consistency of this blend from tin to tin though. The first tin I smoked seemed a little more heavenly than the last tin I just bought. I wished they put the canning date on the tin like McClelland does. I would also like to try an old tin of this stuff someday. I guess I will age some. I love to smoke this blend when I know I want a more sweeter smoke. It's not that sharp, but really mellow in a full-bodied way. Kind of a toasty smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-05-04		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Strong

This is the strongest VA, Kentucky and Perique mixture I had the pleasure to try. The ideal tobacco before I go out at nights.

As the nicotine content is high, be advised: this will not only perk you up....It could knock your socks off if you are not careful at first!

I believe that a 2-3 year aging would be beneficial to smooth it down because Hal O' The Wynd releases an acrid note that irritates the nostrils.

But it still is a solid smoke if you need to wake up, or get a hold of yourself.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-04-18		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Not as endearing, to me, as Rattray's Old Gowrie or Marlin Flake...and not as sweet as I would have liked. Finding that Hal O' The Wynd was slightly more sharp and bitter than I generally prefer...I committed the sacrilege of mixing in another constituent tobacco.

I employed the outer edges of MacBaren's Club Blend curlies (tossing the Cavendish cores into the trash)...enough to comprise approximately 10% of the final blend. The end result, for me, was extremely pleasant, and allowed me to enjoy both blends...otherwise, I would not find either singular blend overly satisfying.

A companion infusion: a Belgian Witbier (wheat beer with orange) like Rickard's White or Blue Moon.

UPDATE: 04/25/10 Leaving the tobacco out to dry much longer and employing "breath" smoking at a very slow cadence has brought out the sweetness and removed all instances of it being sharp and bitter.

Increasing my recommendation rating accordingly.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-22		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Good and strong by itself, if you like virginas. I smoke it once every few months by itself and chop and add it to other stuff to perk them up.

Its a virginia, smoke it slow and by the way:

Taking more of this medication than recommended may cause serious breathing problems.

Do not take alcoholic beverages while taking this medication.

May cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intensify this effect. Use care when operating a car or dangerous machinery.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-03-14		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A love it or leave it blend from Rattray's a la K&K, I fall in the "love it" category.

A friend sent me a generous sample and I dove right in, not having had any Rattray tobaccos yet.

There really isn't much tin aroma to speak of. It's pretty neutral before lighting. Smoking reveals a flavorful Va with probably a little dark fired burley, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a hint of perique as well. The red va is assertive and one needs to calibrate their cadence to make it work. Think of it as slow dancing with a beautiful woman -- whose gown is covered in razor blades. Get a little over-eager and you may regret it. The first time I smoked it, I didn't realize it had bitten until an hour or so after finishing. It hasn't bitten since then, and I'm not sure what I'm doing differently other than not over-puffing on light- up.

I love the flavor. There is an agent used, I think, to give it some additional taste. I don't know what it is and I am dreadful at making food analogies, but it absolutely works. I especially like the room note and that dense aroma that presents itself at the top of the burning bowl. The cut is a very thin, ready rubbed flake that is easy to load and burns well. I could highly recommend this blend, but can't guarantee which camp you'll fall in. Love it, or Leave it be. How well will it age? I will tell you in five years.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-01-21		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

Not a bad pure VA blend, though the description on the label can be misleading: "of a most unusual share of strength." I guess that phrase could be interpreted several ways, but I expected a stronger, fuller flavor from this blend. It is very mild in my opinion. The scent from the tin is like a bag of dried fruits; nice indeed.

Moisture content was high with my fresh 100 gram tin, so it may be best to let it dry for a bit before packing, or you may get a fair amount of moisture in your pipe or possiby need to relight. Otherwise, it smokes very well down to the bottom of the pipe.

The taste is pure, very mild VA. A mellow and relaxing tobacco, without very complex flavors. Nice amount of nicotine. A little bland for my tastes, but still recommended for when you want a more simple, pleasant smoke. Personally, I prefer Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake for a sweeter, more complex taste, But Hal O' The Wynd is nice for a quick smoke, without the need to rub out flakes.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-01-21		Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This tobacco is a master piece. The presentation is a chunky straw like ribbon cut. I will either rub the ribbons out further, or ball them up and insert, depending on the bowl shape. Drying time is needed before smoking, and the results in flavor are drastic. Deep caramel and earth. Hay dipped in honey. Pancakes with butter. Burns very well once lit. If you love virginias, this is a MUST TRY. A great tobacco for the long term cellar as well.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-01-16		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend is a full Red Virginia Flake that impressed my from the first puff, after the first few bowls I'm hooked.

Medium strength with a full taste without the bite or harsh taste of tobacco. I found it to burn slow and smooth down to the bottom of the bowl without the bowl getting hot in a Bjarne Bent Brandy.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-28		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

4 stars. This is a fantastic tobacco. I prefer OG to this but Hal is also a must for the virginia lover. It produces sweeter smoke and a definate nicotine punch compared to OG. It's smooth and balanced. It's not as pungent as a red ribbon and more refined.

The strength refers to nicotine content of which Hal has a very hight amount.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Very good stuff!

I like to smoke HOTW in the evening, enough nicotine for the end of the day. Dried out properly you get a tasteful VaPer with a special hint (Kentucky). I guess it's the Kentucky which sets HOTW apart from other VaPers. Everything is said about quality, flavor and taste of this baccy!

4 stars! Period!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am a big fan Old Gowrie...Take to old gowrie add some nicotine you ll find HOTW...

Mostly dark brown and red Va, broken flake easy to fill...

For me its need 30min to dry...Than easy to lit and smoke perfect...

Generally i use group3 bowl...Its perfect match...If you like Va and nicotine use HOTW...Another winner from Rattray's...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-11-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Hello All;

I have not been happy with most Rattray's blends, and after my recent experiences with Marlin Flake, I was ready to give up on this House of Tobacco.

After perusing the many reviews of Hal O' The Wynd, the vast majority four stars, I decided to give it a try. I purchased 2 100 gram tins, one which will age a bit, one I am smoking now.

The tobacco appeared moist fresh out of the tin, thus I allow it to dry a bit before smoking. Tobacco quality appears to be excellent, and chosen carefully.

I find this to be a nice blend, with good Virginia Tobacco sweetness through the bowl, with a hint of spice added for complexity. I do not find this to be an extraordinarily full tobacco, nor do I find it to have any more than a medium nicotine content, if that. The taste is nice gaining depth through the bowl, but not necessarily gaining complexity, and somewhat on the monotone side of flavors, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I am not crazy over this tobacco, thus I rate it a solid three stars. Don't get me wrong, this is a good tobacco, and I like it well enough, that being said: I am not certain this will make my everyday rotation yet, but it could, time will tell. Pending smoking an aged tin, this rating may move to four stars.

My current, and all-time favorite, and I would give it 5 stars if I could, is Solani Aged Burley Flake. To me, the Aged Burley Flake is what tobacco is all about.

Happy Smoking, and Happy Holidays!!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-10-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

After gaining some experience with Virginia and Virginia/Perique and/or Oriental blends, I thought I'd revisit my review of this tobacco.

This is tasty stuff and has become one of my favorite straight Virginia tobaccos. When I open a new tin of this tobacco, I'm presented with the notes of raisins and figs that I've come to expect from a good Virginia. I've gone through 4 tins of this tobacco now and they have all been a little wet for my taste. I empty the tin on a sheet of paper, spread it out and let it sit for a few hours until the moisture feels OK to me and then put it back in the tin. This takes care of getting it lit easily and the heat issues later on.

If you pack this tobacco lightly so that it has just a little spring when you press it with your finger, it lights easily. Initially there is a sweetness and unadulterated tobacco flavor and aroma that comes from an uncased, nicely cured tobacco. As the bowl progresses, I get a very nice, pungent savoriness that I usually associate with perique or oriental blends. The flavor and aroma stay that way until the end of the bowl.

If you like unadulterated Virginia tobaccos, you will like this blend. No additives to change the flavor. A pure Virginia experience.

Original Review: This is the second tobacco I smoked after coming back to my pipes. While Balkan style blends had always been my favorites, more-or-less straight Virginias had always been next on the list. Because I was essentially a new smoker again, my technique left a lot to be desired with this coarse cut tobacco. It was also quite wet out of the tin and I didn't know to let it sit for a while to dry out a little. As a result, I had a heck of a time getting it lit and keeping it lit. It smoked pretty hot for me at first. I think because I packed it too tight and puffed too hard, it also knocked me on my butt.

On the positive side, I loved the aroma and the flavor early on before things got too hot. I ended up mixing the rest of the tin with some Old English from Pipes and Pleasures. It let me smoke the rest of the HOW, but it wasn't really recognizable anymore.

Now that I have some time and experience with technique under my belt, I think I'll revisit this tobacco. The flavor and aroma at the beginning of the bowl would be worth it.

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