Rattray Old Gowrie

Appearance: The 50-gram tin, and I can claim, although it did not have a production date on it, that it was packaged in 2022. The manufacturer claims the cut of this tobacco as "broken flake," and looking at it, I'm ashamed of the Cornell & Diehl blends, which are exactly as characterized by barely fluffed flake. Here, on the other hand, the tobacco is completely rubbed and further mixed, looking like almost homogeneous blend that differs from the vape only in the thickness of the cut. The moisture content of the mixture is perfect, there was not much propylene glycol in my tin either. The mixture dries quite well and quickly in the open air.

Flavour: based on hay, wheat, figs. Secondary players are the aroma of overripe plums, a bit of brine, a bit of cinnamon. Slightly unexpected here, a heavy but faint note of dry sherry, and barely noticeable notes of walnut, cocoa, which I could only smell after a couple of minutes in the air. I'm not sure if it contains light Virginia, as I was not able to catch the familiar citrus notes at all. It's also difficult for me to state whether or not there is any topping or flavoring in this tobacco. According to the manufacturer's description, none, but according to the documentation on the website of the German Ministry of Agriculture, the flavoring is still present, but in the same amount as in Hal O' The Wynd (which I did not detect it) and four times less than in Marlin Flake (which I was able to sense). Taking it, I'd rather assume it's not there.

Taste: A soft ensemble of almost inseparable slightly astringent grassy and woody notes, light sweetish taste of raisins and dried fruits, slight spice, a little of nut and cocoa. The spice of the perique is present, but only cautiously reminds you of itself in the background, and quickly disappears from the ensemble by the middle of the pipe, when the tobacco undergoes an interesting metamorphosis. The Kentucky nuttiness and cacao almost completely disappear from the bouquet, and the blend becomes a good representative of the Virginia-Perique family, with a clear predominance of Virginia on the palate. The woody and herbal notes fade, becoming almost of the same strength as the fruit bouquet and intertwined with it as a whole. In bents, however, the woody component and Kentucky notes last a bit longer than in straight pipes. You’d better have in mind that the blend easily gains temperature, especially in the beginning. A novice pipe smoker has to be careful when smoking it. However, he would easily feel the overheating - the sweet notes disappear from the tobacco immediately. But if you smoke it slowly, the blend burns out evenly into a gray dusty ash almost completely and almost does not leave any moisture in the pipe. The strength of the blend is somewhat below average, I did not feel any effects after a very large pipe. The aftertaste is woody, a little bit bitter, but the quality of smoking because of the overall sweetness, this point does not affect the smoking.

The smoke is sweet and woody, light, but fairly persistent in the room.

Bottom line: a great everyday Virginia blend with a bit of perique and Kentucky. I must say that of all the "Big Trinity", I liked Old Gowrie the best. Overall, now I understand fans of the "Big Trinity" Rattray much better – high quality leaf, excellent processing, predictable and consistent flavor and aroma. What more could one want?

I smoked this dried out some and fresh from the tin .It has more flavor without the dry time for me with no bite at all . Fruity bready and oatmeal from the Virginias. Quite a bit of grass and hay .The Kentucky and Perique are there for sure adding some backbone with some nuttiness and a little spice . My second blend from Rattrays and very impressed . I stocked up and will be trying many more soon . Old Gowrie tastes similar to Scottish Flake by McConnell made by the same blender without the rum topping. Never would have thought Kentucky and Perique go so well together. I think this should age well . Highly recommend this blend . Any Virginia lover should try this as it is delicious. If you like Scottish flake you will like this as well . I like the nic buzz as well with no ill effects . Edit : Going back to some of my reviews and after smoking this again I still like it but it is quite grassy which I liked A lot but now find a little much 3

First things first - Old Gowrie for me is clearly a 3.5 out of 4 stars tobacco. At the same time, I reach for this tobacco more often than for some other products I have rated higher.

So why do I rate this with a 3.5 rather than a full 4 stars. The main reason is that it is, to my taste buds anyway, far less complex than comparable baccys such as Full Virginia Flake or Best Brown Flake (which I prefer to FVF). And by far less complex I mean that I get slightly bored towards the end of the bowl sometimes. Old Gowrie can't be compared to my favorite VAs McClelland Matured Virginia #22 and #24 as I consider them to have a completely different flavor profile but for consistency's sake I feel the urge to reflect the lesser qualities I detect in Old Gowrie somehow in my rating rather than just rewarding all tobaccos I enjoy with 4 stars.

A further reason for deducting half a star is the use of flavoring (as DenizBeck has already pointed out in his review): https://service.bmel.de/tabakerzeugnisse/index2.php?detail_id=104657&site_key=153&stichw_suche=Old+Gowrie&zeilenzahl_zaehler=2

With the rating out of the way - let's consider this tobacco on its own merits. When you open the tin, you are greeted by a waft of hazelnut. It's a delicious smell that is also characterized by quite a bit of sweetness. This mostly translates to the smoke as well. The tobacco is easily prepared for packing and one does not have to dry it out for ages prior to consumption. In summary, this is a very pleasing tobacco with no harsh edges I can enjoy even when I am doing other stuff, which is a good thing. Contrary to some other folks on here though I do not consider this to be the best thing since sliced bread.

3.5/4 stars

I enjoy this blend. But probably will be not included in my blend rotation. For me it is strong and even there is really only small part of periq, I like pure VA more.

However a bit milder in nicotine it would be similar to SG Scotish Autumn flake

Another nice VA blend from Rattray's. Off the bat I find this similar to Three Nuns, not the same but similar. Tin note is straight tobacco, VA tobacco. The flavor profile is very straight forward and I found it to be uniform from first light to last puff. The Virginia is slightly sweet, bready/toasty with some citrus, the DFK is the main tobacco I pick up in flavor. It is earthy, woody and nutty. I am not sure where the cocoa flavor is coming from but it is deep in the background, topping or burley...I can never tell. I cannot really detect the perique. I have often found that DFK and perique can over power each other, or maybe better said work so well together they make one flavor. The only reason I know it is in there is that I get a little tingle in my nose on the retrohale. There is a slight sour/tangy element that I attribute to the DFK. An honest, pure tobacco blend and worth being in any VA lovers rotation.

From the tin sweet, but in no way overwhelmingly so, tobacco and red berries.

Produces a medium thick smoke with good body, and the taste of red berry compote that lingers, and a room note to match.

===UPDATE===

I bought another tin with this memory in mind, hurriedly opened it up upon buying, and the immediate tin aroma was the same.

Upon arriving home and opening it for a smoke, I was left a bit disappointed. The aroma was darker and less that of fresh red fruits and berries. I packed a pipe in hope of the taste being as I remembered, but it wasn’t. Though dark and dried berries, and maybe some leather in the back, it wasn’t a bad smoke, but not the pleasurable one I remembered. Disheartened, I’m at new in search of a favourite tobacco, but am not unlikely to visit this or other Rattray blends moving forward.

Some argue that it is a straight Virginia, despite the ingredients declared by the brand itself. I notice the Perique in it, but no Kentucky. So this mixture is a VA-PE with its matured Virginias playing a great role. 3,5/5 in my personal rating system.

Rattray's Old Gowrie welcomes you with a great smell of figs and raisins upon the opening of the tin. The taste is sweet, like honey, and I agree with those who mentioned the earthy and woodsy taste: that's what it is. I think it's better to let it dry a bit before smoking and I found it could be a little bit harsh sometimes. It is certainly a tobacco of great quality that requires care when smoked. It is not my favorite, but is definitely worth trying.

Nice! This reminds me of HOTW, but with more rounded edges, a darker feeling, less sweet. This is a wonderfully balanced VA mixture. I feel each component stands well shoulder to shoulder, but also yields the stage for another when needed. Fermented grassiness/hay, some burned sugar, hint of burning pine. The smoke volume was perfect and smoke rings were aplenty :). I'm usually attracted to English/Balkans, but always on the look out for a change of pace VA, VAPER or VABUR...This is one to keep in mind for sure! TLIG