Rattray Marlin Flake

A dark brown tobacco with prominent golden flecks. Very long flakes rolled and stuffed into the tin. Ideal for cutting just the right amount for a particular pipe. The flakes themselves are loose and stringy and quite dry. Ideal moisture level imo.

The tin note is of dried fruits and chocolate and brown sugar.

This tobacco burns a treat from the first light right down to fine white ash. Lasts an age in the bowl. It has a straight tobacco flavour and is of a neutral Virginia character. I can't pick the Perique, if it is there at all. Old fashioned no nonsense tobacco. An all day, every day smoke for me.

Rattray - Marlin Flake.

Note: I first smoked this years ago, reviewed it, and decided to re-write it as I didn't think much to the review.

A tin contains neat looking, wide, quite dark, nicely hydrated flakes. The aroma from the unlit blend is slightly sharp, and a little musty. I never had to dry this blend any to smoke it.

Lighting Marlin is as easy a task as I'd want, and it gives a medium temperature smoke. The flavour's a game of two halves: on one side you have the Virginia/Perique. These two work well together: grassy, and very fruity. And then we have the black Cavendish: this smooth's the smoke and stops any sharpness from becoming too much. I get a splendid burn, and no tongue bite.

The room-note's pleasant, and the nicotine's medium.

A good smoke.

Highly recommended.

It's been said all before by more knowledgeable people than me. So I'll just add this...if you like a full on tobacco experience then get some of this stuff.

You won't regret it....it's excellent!!

I usually wait to reach half of the tin or so before expressing any judgement on a tobacco, but in this case I will make an exception. I just bought a tin of this blend and I think it's quite close to perfection. Upon opening the tin, the smell is quite grassy and close to figs, like many virginias, with a vinegary tinge to it. The taste is that of a straight virginia, quite close to Hal O' the Wynd but not so edgy and less vinegary, made more gentle by the detectable aroma of Cavendish. At half of the bowl the sweetness of the VA plus the sweetness of the CA becomes stronger, and the result is that of a wonderfully rounded and pleasant virginia. It resembles a little the Black Parrot, which I love, but less nutty and less rich in depth. I think that the Black Parrott is one of the best Vas I ever smoked, but it is more "meditative" and I enjoy its taste at full only by puffing really slow and indoor, while the Marlin Flake can be enjoyed also outdoor, having a fuller body. No tongue bite at all, it smokes dry and leaves a clean palate. I must confess that I liked this bowl so much that at a certain point I was puffing too fast, but even at that point the taste was only a little bit spoiled. It is not, as I once read, one of those tobaccos that will change your view of life. It is an honest straight Virginia, still a gentle one. Very enjoyable, not so complex but not even boring, at all, and it's an all-day smoke.

For me, this blend was love at first smoke. From presentation to tin note to flavor to room note, this is a fantastic tobacco.

Presentation is one, long, loosely pressed flake rolled up in the classic Rattray cylindrical tin. Tin notes of stewed fruit, raw sugar, fresh-baled green hay. A good 45-60 minute dry time serves this blend well, after which it takes a light and burns clean and dry.

That stewed fruit, deep, rich sweetness translates directly through to the flavor. Don't let black Cavendish in the description scare you away: The interplay of the constituent tobaccos here is superb. This flake smokes sweet without ever being cloying, with a delicious harmony of subtle sugar and deeper stewed-fruity, plummy, peppery, Perique goodness. And the Virginias here are superb.

An extraordinary blend. Highly recommended.

A wonderful flake which I find very close in taste and quality to Dunhill?s Light Flake. Spicy and tangy, it allows for a long lasting, medium strength and rich smoke. Presentation in the 100 g. tin is very peculiar: beautiful hues of reddish and dark brown tobacco, coiled inside in long strands. The aroma is fresh and zesty, perhaps not as unambiguous as Dunhill?s LF, but quite along those lines.

When packed, after careful rubbing out, one has to be wary of not clogging the bowl. If done properly, it is easy to light. Upon lightening, the naturally sweet scent of Virginia tobacco engulfs not only the palate, but the senses as a whole. A delicate spicy interplay ensues, creating a number of layers in which the basic Virginia flavour spreads out in different phases. It is not a cool burning tobacco, and if carried away by the desirer to quickly explore its different notes, tongue bite will happen next. If smoked slowly, it is absolute pleasure.

Sit down, relax, and open Dickens? Pickwick Papers.

This is the flake that got me hooked on flakes. Smooth, strong, just the right amount of sweetness. VA flavor is dominant, smoothed out by the Cavendish, and the Perique adds a pleasant little kick in the drawers.

This is an extaordinary virginia flake by Rattray, and probably the best of its batch. Considering several wonderful blends, this is quiet a compliment.

The tin offers a full and complex aroma. The tingy smell is quite strong, and almost rancid for the first seconds. After some air gets in the tin the stinkinness is gone. It is very close to the Erinmore Flake, but with more hard leathery notes.

This blend is called "ready rubbed" but is more a broken flake, as very bid fragments of flakes are presented. One must make a good effor to separate all the tobbaco. Of course this pieces can be fitted on the bowl in a more compact way, if one is to smoke on a windy afternoon or so.

The taste of the virginia es powerfl in this blend. It is absolutely delicious. Perique is not mentioned but might have a subtle hint. You can perceive the taste of pure tobacco with great notes of wood and a citric finish. The smoke evolves as tobacco is consumed, in a very positive way. The acid notes are replaced with more sweety and oily flavor.

This is a great blend. I´ve tried several Rattays before but even as many are very good (Accountant´s, 7 reserve, Hal O´the wynd), this is the best.

I've been holding off on buying a Rattray blend, hoping that JR's would get a couple of the more popular incarnations within a reasonable timeframe. Good luck!

So I broke down and bought Marlin Flake at the local B&M, with the understanding that it would be of "darker" and "greater strength" than the typical Virginia. Yes, I know that is supposed to represent a comparison to Old Gowrie..well, now I do.

Opening this thing out of the tin affords a wonderful aroma, with a single dark reddish flake, beautifully folded into one gorgeous block. Not since Escudo's have I experienced a more attractive presentation just out of the tin.

Like many have stated, this is a moderate strength blend, with a sugary taste. The ripened flavor comes without throwing blatant signs regarding the addition of an articial sweetening agent. Some have suggested such, and I will gladly state my ignorance on the matter. However Rattray's manages to create Marlin Flake, it works exceptionally well--with an almost molasses undertone.

Upon smoking, I barely rubbed out the flake, with a medium-level packing. This thing smoked straight to the bottom without even the need for a single tampering, an incidence that I rarely come across. Because of the high degree of sugar, I'd suggest a more prudent means of puffing. If you get anxious on this smoke, you'll probably burn a tongue in short time. I didn't get that, however, and I do tend to run though a bowl much faster than others.

In my opinion, this Virginia offering comes second only to McClelland's 2010, which I find slightly less sweet, with a modestly greater jump in nicotine..and a more economical pricetag.