Rattray Marlin Flake

Wow, good stuff. As soon as I opened the tin I got this stewed fruit, cane syrup, apricot with touch of chocolate aroma that really knocked me out. I was in such a rush to try that I didn't let it dry enough and blundered my first bowl. Patience, I tell myself, this flake isn't going anywhere. Did I mention how cool the flakes come? Two long strips roll together. Presentation is a big part of my smoking hobby and I love the way this blend is offered to us. The only other blend I've tried that reminds me of Marlin Flake is Mac Barens HH Matured Virginia. Although I really seem to like younger, brighter virginias(a la' Mac Barens Virginia no. 1, Golden Slice, Luxury Navy Flake) Marlin Flake is a very good smoke that I would recommend to anyone.

Marlin Flake. The raw note is chocolate, maple, raisin and even Honduras mahogany. (I used to work in a wood-shop, gents). Such good sweet tobacco. What a revelation. Upon opening the can, I get big Virgina, and a lot of the same raw note of Perique as in Escudo. Second light was even similar to Escudo. It has a fairly quick drying time: about 20 mins. It stuffs well; burns slowly and evenly, and the palate and nose are Virgina and the Perique is nice and light without being over done. It seems just right. The strength is nice with a fare nic kick, but not overly strong. I didn't pick up the black cav., and I used to be a big smoker of Dunhill's B C. This would no doubt be great with your morning coffee. I tend to smoke more toward the evening, but good tobacco also goes well with good ICED coffee, too.

I like it, so far. However, some blends take me awhile to become accustomed to. One author said that Dunhill Royal Yacht can be an acquired taste. This may be the case, here.

Update: The more I smoke this, the more I am beginning to understand it. That probably sounds like I'm trying too hard. But, if I didn't think it was worth it, I would not bother. It is enticing, somehow. It keeps me coming back. This an allusive lady beckoning exploration.

Well, it's been a week short of a year now. I cellared a big tin of it and am smoking a bowl. My opinion hasn't changed. A little aging helped bring out some sweetness. So, I'd recommend this good old style: especially if you're a fan of say, Escudo, or Perique.

Lastly, I also blended in 1/3 of Lane 1Q. After cellaring for half a year, I opened it and rubber them out together, then cellared for another half year, which turned out wonderfully so I'll do it again, but cellar it much longer.

When I first tried Marlin Flake, I was a little disappointed. I had bought it, on a whim, mainly because I thought that the tin presentation was so cool. At that time, I had been smoking a lot of Dunhill Standard Mixture, Presbyterian Mixture, and Balkan Sasieni; Light, Medium, and full Englishes. After I had tried MF a few times, I put it up and finished the aforementioned tins of tobacco. After those were finished, I went back to the MF and was determined to finish the MF tin before opening another. That's been one of my problems. I always open more tins than I should at one time. Maybe I like variety. Maybe I'm impatient. Most likely, it's the latter. Anyway, I was smoking virtually nothing but MF for about three days and something happened. I started loving it! I had finally "got it," I suppose. I began noticing some of the flavors that others mentioned and I scornfully laughed at before. This stuff is great, but it takes patience and repetition. Like the first time you taste a thick, dark beer. Your first impression is that it's overly bitter. If you drink it slowly and thoughtfully, it becomes much more than that. If you love VAs or VaPers, I would be surprised if you didn't love Marlin Flake, too. Just don't smoke it immediately following strong English tobaccos and expect an epiphany.

UPDATE 5/9/2016 - I just haven't re-ordered this stuff in a while. I think that my tastes are leaning towards things that are a bit more heavy. Still a great blend, but I think that I may take it down a notch.

This is once again, a jar I have had cellared since 8/02.

This is my first blend from Rattray's. Comprised of a great mix of dark and bright leaf, it has a sweet but sour fermented aroma that I thoroughly enjoy. This packs and lights fairly well. It can bite if puffed too hard. I give this a solid 3 stars, and look forward to venturing into more Rattray's blend. Good morning smoke.

Just like Laurel flake, this also paired well with a Grand Marnier.

I got the 50g tin. The tobacco is dark and the aroma already satisfactory, with something which smells like caramel but not in the way of some aromatic tobaccos. I have smoked the Martin's flake for some years - one or two tins a year - among other flakes. This one is never disappointing, the aroma developping well during the smoke. I did not noticed the bites on the tongue mentioned in other reviews. One of the good among the very interesting Ratray line!

As tobaccos go, the flakes of Marlin Flake are beautiful. The packing is a bit hard to handle, but once removed and you begin to rub the flakes out, you are treated to a wonderful appearance and aroma. In color, the tobacco is fairly uniform, with flecks of black and spots of gold in a predominantly golden-brown. The aroma is really Virginia, sweet with a slightly acrid undertone. Marlin Flake ships wet, though. My advice would be to dry the flake a bit before rubbing out. I allowed it to dry fairly well, yet even in my Ashton Quaint, a dry smoker, I noticed a bit of gurgle. Once rubbed out (and I like to rub my flakes pretty fine), this tobacco packs quite easily. On the charring light I knew I was in for a Virginia treat. The initial taste is mild to medium, fairly one-dimensional, and nicely sweet. Further into the bowl the tobacco develops a nice, sort of acrid undertone typical of Rattray's Virginias, and which I find to be quite pleasant. I was also quite pleased with the aroma I detected while smoking. Each time I smoked the blend, I was a bit disappointed by the very end of the bowl. Though the flavor was still there, it became a bit more acrid and slightly bitter. That said, however, the aftertaste of the blend is wonderful. Some tobaccos make me want to run to the Biotene but Marlin Flake leaves a taste in the mouth that is worth savoring for a while. I'm becoming a fan of Rattray's Virginia blends. This tobacco and Brown Clunee are two examples of why.

I haven't smoked a Rattray's blend since my experience with Rattray's Black Virginia many years ago. That one never seemed to dry out sufficiently for smoking and was quite a tasteless experience for me. Not so with Marlin Flake. My sample was from a 50gm tin. Upon opening the tin, it was packed as a folded belt of Virginia Flake tobacco. Its appearance and tin aroma was identical to Wessex Campaign Dark Flake. I detected a molasses-like presence. If it wasn't for the tin lid under each tin, I couldn't tell them apart from one another by appearance and aroma alone. Its moisture content was just right for smoking. A piece broken off and stuffed in my pipe took to the match with ease and required one re-light after the initial two. It smoked superbly - never hot, without bite and moisture. It tasted just like CDF as well with the addition of the Perique adding its distintive - yet not over the top - presence to the mix. As I found Reiner's LGF a spicier version of Orlik's Golden Slice, I find Marlin Flake a spicier version of Wessex CDF. This theme and variation adds to the variety of fine flakes that are available for smoking. Just for the record, I prefer Marlin Flake over Long Golden Flake as the Perique is not quite as forward and there is a bit more natural (not cased like Reiner's) sweetness with MF. Aging this one brings out the nice Virginia sweetness. As I am not a huge fan of Perique in most blends, with MF, it was just right for me.

Rich and medium-bodied, this is a loooong Virginia flake that is certainly worth keeping in the regular line-up. (The contents of my tin were so different from what Serad described in "Trial by Fire" that I can only guess the blend has changed dramatically in the last few years.) Although it doesn't deliver quite the same level of sweetness that Hal o' the Wynd does, it also doesn't require the measured, careful smoking that HotW does.

NOTE: If perique is actually present in this flake, it is in such microscopic amounts that it's virtually undetectable; I'm extremely sensitive to perique (and not in a good way), but I couldn't determine whether it was here or not. Also, any cavendish present in the flake was handled with a very light hand. I'm not saying that perique and cavendish aren't here; I'm just saying that they are used (if at all) in such small quantities that they manage to enrich the Virginias without ever calling attention to themselves.

This is a truly rewarding smoke.

As I am always on the look-out for good flakes, the turn eventually came to Marlin Flake. The first bowlfuls puzzled me somewhat, because I did experience the flatness other reviews mentions, so I had to experiment with different pipes in order to get a feel for it. Rattray's seem to be terribly picky with the pipe you use, how you pack it, dry it and smoke it. When conditions are met, however, this is a good and tasty tobacco. It is rich and nuanced (though not quite as satisfying as HotW) bitter-sweet and a little nutty. Red wine/port has been mentioned in describing the taste, and I suppose that's pretty accurate.

It has a decent nicotine hit, which for me makes it a good companion to the morning coffee. When smoked outdoors it seems to open up a little also, all for the better, which makes this a likely candidate for further outdoor activities.

All in all this is a nice tobacco. Good, but not outstanding.