Rattray Old Gowrie

Prepping- About perfect. Can be packed as is or slightly broken up further The Virginas seem to be brighter, with more hay notes, than Hal O The Wynd but the dark fruity notes are evident as well. The earthieness and spiciness from the DFK is always evident, like in HOW, but definitely toned down. The Perique is in the back seat but does accentuate the fruitiness like salt does the flavor of a meat. Wonderful blend. For someone who is sensitive to nicotine, HOW was a bit too strong for a routine smoke. Old Gowrie however is at a perfect level of strength; not too high but still evident. It indeed lives up to its reputation. 8.8/10

I find it interesting to read the numerous reviews of this tobacco. When the first reviews were done, nobody had any idea that this blend contained anything other than Virginia, and it was reviewed as such. Since the Perique and Kentucky components became known, it seems everyone can taste them! Whatever. I can taste Perique in this when I smoke it in my "Perique pipes", which are saturated with the Louisiana condiment... But it's very nice in my Virginia pipes and if I hadn't been told otherwise, I would have taken it for a straight Virginia - and a very nice one too!

The tin aroma is very nice: fresh hay, dried apricots, a medley of delicious aromas which I associate with Virginia tobaccos. The baccy arrives as a moderately well rubbed flake, and I haven't found any need to tamper with it, but smoke it as it comes. It's easy to pack, don't cram it in too tight. It takes the flame with ease, and the enjoyment begins.

The flavour is in the granary bread, fresh hay end of the Virginia spectrum, naturally sweet and quite mild. Like all Virginias, it responds well to slow, gentle smoking, and can bite if provoked. I've not experienced much progression of flavour with this tobacco, it gets into its stride and stays there till the end. There is minimal dry dottle at the end and little need for relight.

Old Gowrie is not dissimilar to Dunhill Light Flake, Orlik Golden Sliced and Holger Danske Royal Navy Flake. Compared with Marlin Flake, which is a dark, fruity, malty smoke, Old Gowrie is lighter and more in the bready light Virginia flake camp, has better combustion properties and generates less moisture. I enjoy both very much, and Old Gowrie is one that for me suits warm weather and sunny days.

My suggestion is to ignore the ingredients list and consider this a Virginia. If you come looking for a Perique hit you may be disappointed, but it's a cracking smoke if you let go of preconceptions.

Imagine you have a friend, someone that you have known for some time. But perhaps he lives at some distance, and everyday life is busy so you don’t get a chance to see each other as often. But once you meet you are reminded why you enjoy his company so much. This guy has a strong personality, and wonderful in that way. There is a sense of unfailing sincerity and depth, and you know that you can always have stimulating conversations. But company is best spent if you have time to sit down because you can really chat away about everything. And the more time you spend the more you are also reminded that, underneath this firm an reliable character, there is a really sweet and generous nature. And that is why you enjoy his company, because there is this feeling of reliable quality that seems rooted. This is Old Gowrie for me. A robust tobacco, with sweet notes; a staunch friend that you can depend on over time. On an everyday basis you might need some variation, but everytime you seek up the company of Old Gowrie you are reminded why you like to keep this tobacco in your rotation. No time to stress, nothing to proove, this is just a reliable friendship whose company you enjoy. And if you had more quality time over, you would surely like to go visit Old Gowrie more often.

Taste: kentucky provides a stout body, and burleys give a very smooth profile and this quality improves with age, the perique provides some spice on the tounge but not too sharp, it has some floral top notes too, I can actually detect tonquin (or very similar), but a bit subdued.

It's a broken Flake and I smoke it un rubbed out. Tin note was of pure tobacco. I did not detect any other scent. I found this somewhat one dimensional. A sort of bread / wheat flavour. It was OK pleasant even but a bit boring. It might be good, even excellent, for an all day smoker.

I've since smoked this a lot. It's strangely more ish . I feel I can taste more nuances of flavour. I have revised my score to excellent.

Rattray's Old Gowrie ... opening the sealed canister I'm greeted with an appealing zesty fragrance thats very much like Hal of the Wynd & Marlin Flake .... reminiscent of dried hay, plums & raisins. This tobac is a VaPer that's not heavy on the Perique (which I prefer). I like smoking this blend for the clean natural tobacco flavor it imparts upon my palate. It's more earthy yet lighter on the baked bread aroma as delivered from HOWT & MF (that I thoroughly enjoy & prefer). All said, it's a good smoke but I prefer HOWT and MF to OG. This review is based upon a fresh-from-the-tin smoking experience. I'll give this some "jar time" and see if this changes my experience down the road.

My tin of Old Gowrie was cellared for 15 months before I popped the top and discovered the auburn and dark brown shreds of a fairly well rubbed-out flake. It was at a perfect moisture level, and doesn't really benefit from my customary slight drying out. I didn't find the tin note to have any distinctive or enticing aroma beyond the expected (somewhat) grassy red Virginia smell. I find that it packs, lights and burns quite nicely as presented, but I prefer to rub it out thoroughly -- and it complies by falling into nice ribbons that approach that of a thick shag. Very nice to work with.

Old Gowrie delivers a nice volume of luxurious smoke with a more or less standard red Va. taste: very smooth, with a mild flavor leaning toward, but never fully committing to, the sweet side of the spectrum. I would call it a medium strong smoke with a dark nutty flavor that reminds me of toasted almonds -- perhaps from the Kentucky leaf. And if you focus on the taste(s), I think you'll get a nice hint of caraway seed flavor.

Although this blend contains Perique, and you'll probably be able to detect its dark, brut, fruity character lurking beneath the Va., it isn't prominent enough to classify Old Gowrie as a Vaper. I think it's in there merely to mitigate whatever sharpness the Va.'s may have. By mid-bowl I often find my palate chasing, but never quite capturing, a complementary bitter element -- mostly in the finish. Well, that's enough for the close dissection of flavors. The important thing to come away with from this review is that this is a dark, kind of nutty red Va. flake. Very smooth, very soothing, very true to the leaf. It delivers nice tastes, but there's nothing exotic or complex here. Give it high marks for quality, flavor, and satisfaction; and low marks for pizzazz.

My B&M has a deal where they punch a card every time you buy a tin and after ten tins you either get a free one or 50% off of a 100 gram tin so i decided to grab OG and pay the difference. I have had Marlin Flake, professional and Accountants mixtures so i knew that i really liked Rattray's Virginia's. They are really unlike any other companies just like how you can tell a McClelland Virginia just from a quick sniff of the tin. Aroma is plums! but a very natural chemical free aroma and the Perique is barely noticeable but i'm sure adds to the taste and aroma. My tin literally exploded in my car when i pulled the soda can type pull tab. i had read of this happening with some C&D and Pease blends but to me that's a great thing since it means in the last decade or so some magical and wonderful things were happening in that tin. Seriously the aroma was to die for and i was just itching to get it home and stuff a pipe. Very tasty Virginia Perique mix with some Kentucky i believe. If you have read any of my reviews you know that i like to tinker with blends, i don't blend myself from raw base tobacco's but i do mix 50/50 with my favorite Burley's. In this case i took equal parts Granger and OG to make a Half and Half like i always do with Virginia's since they balance the PH (me and straight Virginia's don't really get along too well, must be a personal chemistry thing). OG and Granger with my morning coffee was delightful but by itself this is a great Virginia Perique blend that must be tried.

Old Gowrie: They've got the balance right. Rich pepper, sweet VA's... Deeply Satisfying this one.

I'll be giving Marlin Flake and then Hal O' the Wynd a shot as I wind down my Rattray's tour.

Finally! I've been pipe smoking for 8 years now and have just cracked my first tin of Old Gowrie. The only other Rattray's tobacco I've had the pleasure to experience has been Black Mallory ( which is fantastic) and Marlin Flake. I hadn't the patience when I went through my first tin of Marlin Flake. I've learned so much since, how to enjoy good Virginia-Va/pers. Even so, I could tell straight away that Old Gowrie deserves all the high praise. A bit lighter than Marlin Flake, which I like. Other reviews have broken down how this tobacco tastes and acts, so I won't rehash. Just wanted to give this blend the 4 stars it has rightly earned. Can't wait for my Hal o' the wynd to come in to complete the Holy Trinity!

*Update- Two months into this blend and I am hooked! This stuff is so good. When I think of all day, everyday smoke, Old Gowrie is it. I'm gonna cellar as many tins as I can.