Rattray Marlin Flake

I just tried Old Gowrie next to Marlin Flake and I like MF better. MF is what I would call a true VaPer , very much in the style of McC's "St James Woods". It has that little spice. MF can be a little bitey if it is not dried and sipped. MF has more flavor and strength than Old Gowrie which I find the Perique component is almost none existent. In addition, I find MF more complex and develops a greater flavor & is creamy as you smoke it. Old Gowrie is closer to a Straight Virginia in the Danish style. I think if I had my choice I would smoke St James Woods over MF as I think it is smoother, but both are very good tobaccos.

Updated 10/8/11 I've found that drying has really made this a real nice tobacco. Burns well, taste develops thur the whole bowl and it just has that spice tingle that makes it interesting. I've smoked two bowls doing mindless yard work and the tobacco has been perfect, no bite stays lit and has great flavor. Light in "N" and smokes great from a cob. 3 1/2 stars

The Virginia is sweet and strong when you pop the top. Bran muffins, prunes, fruitcake, cured hay, oatmeal, molasses, a background note of tart, freshly cut rye. I've tried but can't smell anything but perfectly blended, pressed and aged Virginia. There may be some difference between the tin photo and description at the top of these pages and what is being sold now. The tin I have says it‘s “Made in Germany“. Not Denmark as the description here says. Also my tin doesn‘t mention Perique or Cavendish, the description simply says, “Full Dark Virginia Flake“. If these other tobaccos are in there, then the blenders have wisely kept the ratio way down. The German version smells delicious, even caught whiffs of chocolate. I love aged Virginia, and Rattray hasn't disappointed me yet.

I like the long flakes, just reach in and pinch off perfect pack-able pieces, I don't need to pull out a whole flake - stop playing with it and shove it in.

Lighting up brings warm cookies, pancakes, sweet grains, delicious chewy Virginia. Like Hal O' The Wynd this one is complex, but the flavors are more married, quieter, more subtle. The tobacco blend is older here and the Virginia is oilier and juicier. More nicotine, a little more tartness, cool comparatively - but it will still bite if hurried.

This is a good stout VA tobacco. I've only had a few samples here and there so my thoughts and impressions may be limited on this one. I do know that I've enjoyed it every time. A good sipping blend will for sure bite if you aren't watching your smoking pace. I really like this one, it reminds me of some of the G&H VA blends, dunno if it's topped or not, but a very decent VA smoke. I really want to compare it to Hal O' The Wynd with a decent amount of both at some point. Hope to have a bit more to say about this one when I get around to trying it again, but even without that, I would still recommend it as a great blend, it's also a favorite of a good friend of mine, so we have his word to go on as well and not just mine!

Gorgeous....absolutely gorgeous!

Tin aroma reminds me of a dark rich Christmas pudding with a very faint hint of liquorice. Some of this translates into the smoke as well. Lovely crumbly dark brown leathery flakes ooze quality.

Smokes very well, though needs drying time as it's quite moist from the tin. Very flavourful blend that is now possibly vying for most favourite VA of mine alongside FVF..

Only HOTW has disappointed me out of the 'Cream Tin Three' (HOTW,OG,MF)..

That said I do like HOTW, just not as much as MF and OG..

Wonderful stuff...

I have decided to re-write my reviews.

Marlin Flake is underrated and its a shame. I do not know why because like Old Gowrie and my beloved HOTW this is right up there and i ALWAYS have a tin open.

Like all Rattray blends, this comes with lots of moisture in the tin. It needs to be aired out to get the best of this delicious blend. Drying it out will also eliminate the tongue bite.

A few months ago, i ordered around half a kilo of bulk HOTW and they sent me the wrong blend. Instead i got that amount of Marlin Flake, i did not complain because this stuff is just as good.

This has a particular musty taste that HOTW and Old Gowire does not and that sets it apart from the other two. Some reviewers compare it to Sweet Potatoe Pie and i can see what they mean. What ever it is, this blend is delicious and it has the same VitN content as HOTW does.

Like HOTW and Old Gowrie, once dried out, you get that mouth filling Virginia sweetness and great aftertaste that is just plain fantastic.

Mo, South Africa

I had high hopes of this. I have smoked Old Gowrie and enjoyed it, if finding it a little too mild for me. I was disappointed, to say the least.

The tin presentation is very promising. Lovely rough flakes with that earthy hay/grass/peat note that Rattray's are so good at. A bit too moist, but a rough rub produces a good pack. Lighting was a little tricky but it burns well once it's going.

But the smoking experience for me was completely lacking. Hot and sharp, no discernible flavour - certainly none of that mature Virginia I was expecting. Also low nicotine, though I understand this is supposed to be a bit stronger than OG. Not horrible, but lacking, bland and tasteless. The absence of taste, body and strength also had me tugging at it to get something out of it, leading to too much heat and bite.

Not one I shall be buying again. One star.

Rattray has never let me down, at least not their original offerings. Just as Black Mallory is the pinnacle of their English/Scottish line, Marlin flake is the Everest of their Virginia line. I opened and finished my first tin of this last weekend on a trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and wished I had brought more by the end of the trip. It is a full, rich, and grand tobacco. The flavor is wonderfull and unique to Rattray. McClelland (though I love them) taste like a Heinz product, and those insipid Gawith offerings taste like watery floral soaps. These are fresh, vibrant flavors. Fresh hay, honeysuckle, chestnut and toffee come through on my palate. It is a full tobacco as Virginias go, but not so full you couldnt enjoy a couple of bowls in a row. To me the flavor and style of the Rattray Virginia line has a cranky Victorian elegance to it, and is not found in other save maybe in Astley's or Fribourg & Treyer. Huzzah!

Sight: The typical Rattray round tin reveals dark, rich tobacco. Great aroma from the tin.

Touch: Still a little moist for direct smoking. This tobacco is best when thoroughly rubbed out.

Taste: Yet another great VA from Rattray. How it attains such a sweetness without compromising/interfering with its natural origins is unknown to me. Personally, this tobacco might easily be a tad "too sweet" for my every day smoke. I think that this tobacco could provide the allure to VAs for individuals who like flavored tobacco. But, as with other VAs, this should be initially approached somewhat delicately.

Smell: The wife didn't actually give me a review of this tobacco. I find it comparable to other Rattray VAs, but perhaps slightly more pungent.

Conclusions: MF is a great tobacco blend. It only fails to be "one of my favorites" simply because I find it falling in between two of my definitive favorites from Rattray (OG and HTW). My olfactory ruminations usually lead me towards one of my two "poles" (not the right word, but I think readers understand) in the VAs from Rattray, rather than selecting the one that is more centered.

Rattray's series of VA flakes (broken or whole) all strike me as variations on a theme, from Old Gowrie at the mild end of the spectrum to Hal O' the Wynd at the strong end. I find Old Gowrie and Brown Clunee pleasant, but so mild as to be unsatisfying, while Hal O' the Wynd is undeniably robust, but so strong it actually stings my mouth. Marlin combines the best qualities of all these smokes and exceeds them all -- it has OG's smoothness, BC's warmth, and Hal's rich flavor. Like the Momma Bear's porridge, it's just right.

Marlin Flake has an almost legendary reputation among pipesters, and it's easy to see why. Robust yet refined, loaded with flavor yet never overwhelming, this is simply one of the great Virginia Flakes, a classic that can hold its own (and in the opinion of many, surpass) such standard-bearers as McClelland Blackwoods, Gawith Full Virginia, and Dunhill Light VA.

Marlin in bulk has a somewhat different form than the canned variety. In the can Marlin is composed of longish 6-inch flakes, but the bulk bags contain folded-over stacked flakes measuring over 20 (!) inches, requiring some serious chopping, unless you like rubbed-out ribbons nearly two feet long! Tastes the same as the canned stuff, though.