Rattray Professional Mixture

Rattray - Professional Mixture.

Coarse ribbons, mostly medium and light brown. A few specks of black, but that's about it. The moisture level is great, so on with the smoke:

Easy to light, then leading is a tangy, smoky flavour. It's mostly sour Orientals, with the smoky/woody Lat' being a secondary player. The Va gives a buoyancy; a delicate sweetness, but isn't headstrong. I get very little from the Cavendish, maybe some smoothness but not much more. A bowl burns very well, giving no tongue-bite.

Professional? A good smoke. Three stars:

Recommended.

I put off opening this tin for some time. I have wanted to put down as many reviews here as possible, and as a result ended up with too many open tins. Last weekend, I bought 24 jelly size Mason jars and "cellared" all of the tobaccos I hadn't finished. They make quite a decorative collection on the table, I can tell you. After this undertaking, I felt better about opening a new tin, and made sure to smoke three bowls before reviewing. I wanted to get my first impressions down, but will consider this review a work in progress, since I really need some time to get used to this tobacco.

First of all, I can see how anyone who bought this thinking it was going to be an English or even a light English blend might be disappointed. It is predominantly a Virginia, with Oriental, and a mere touch of Latakia. One must concentrate on the Latakia to even know it is there. I must say that after three bowls I can't see myself putting it in the category of my favorite Virginias, but it has a "certain...special...something" which makes me want to learn to appreciate it more.

I loved the smell in the tin; it has that plum and raisin Virginia sweetness, but it is definitely not an aged or stoved product. The first bowl gave me a MacBarenesque tongue bite on the first few puffs, even though I was only sipping. This went away, however, as I progressed. What developed was a pleasant though not at all complex smoke in which the undertones were much more important than the overtones, if you know what I mean.

For my second bowl, I used a smaller bowled pipe than that I had used for the first. I also added just a pinch of blending perique to try to control the bite. As before, I got bit on the first few puffs, but this completely disappeared soon after. Now, this is the kind of tongue bite I can handle! This second bowl, nevertheless, seemed to smoke too hot and was cashed in only twenty minutes. At the end of the bowl, there was some bitterness perhaps from the Oriental which took away from the customary end-of-the-smoke Virginia sweetness.

Not to be discouraged, I loaded up an even smaller bowled pipe, but one which I know to be long-smoking, with a tightly packed wad, this time not spiked with perique. I am starting to get the hang of this tobacco-it likes to be packed tightly, or at least that is my first impression. I got more depth of flavor this time, but still no real depth, only an enigmatic something which I have seldom tasted in my pipe smoking career, which I would like to further explore.

No rich overlappings of flavor here, nothing beyond the subtle dried-fruity notes of any quality Virginia. But smoked at a medium cadence, with care not to let the tobacco burn too fast (it has that tendency), it was very pleasant. I am not usually a nose-smoke-blower, but this blend seems to be good for that exercise. I will use this blend as my main tobacco for the week and record any additional revelations that occur to me. Then I will probably leave the tin alone for a couple months or more to see how it ages opened. I do not see myself giving it four stars unless it improves dramatically, but there is something in the taste and overall ambience of this blend that may develop for me over time.

1-11-10 A few days opened have already tamed the bite I was getting on the first few puffs. Really a nice mild Virginia. Figgy and sweet! The dark specks in the tin cannot all be Latakia; in fact I am wondering if there is more than 1-2% in here at this point! Maybe it's a darker Virginia. Doesn't bother me-this style of Virginia pleases me more without Latakia. I will update again when the opened tin has aged some more.

4-27-10 Three more months in the jar has really mellowed the blend. Had a big bowl this morning in a Marxman Jumbo. Only a few bowls left, and I have really enjoyed this tobacco.

6-7-10 Yes, I have enjoyed it, and am now finishing the tin. It will keep its three stars, but is not the sort of blend I would buy again unless I were to get a deal on it. Too finicky. (maybe it's just me!)

Very well balanced mixture. Not strong but tasty. Latakia is barely present so it adds a bit o Spice but It doesn't hurt. Very natural too. No added flavoring. All the day mixture

This has been a constant companion for me through the years; my "go to" pipeweed when nothing else sounds good.

As others have stated, it's a perfect ribbon cut, packs well, burns clean and dry with a nice grey ash (and some darker bits which I assume are some of the orientals). It has a nice gentle note of sweet, spice and a hint of licorice on the palate. Toward the end of the bowl the flavors seem to stay fairly constant, with little bite. I am a rather fast puffer, but this blend stays cool to the end for me, leaving only a few unburnt shreds at the bottom. (I tend to not be a dottle-smoker).

I am smoking this particular bowlful in a Family era Sasieni Four-dot "Ruff-Root" King Size (apple shape), likely to be post-WW II.

I purchased this tin several years ago, opened it and smoked about two bowlfuls, then put the tin in a storage bin when I went into one of my non-smoking dormant periods. It was left to dry out in the tin with the lid on it and languish for about 3 years. I was recently bit by the pipe bug again, and pulled this tin along with several others out of the storage bin and gingerly spread the dry ribbons on a sheet of waxed paper, misted it with distilled water and sealed it in an air-tight container. The result is the resurrection of an old friend.

Exploring Rattrays extensive selection of mixtures, I came across this. Not the most well known blend, but very pleasant if a mild, fruity mixture is what you're after.

The tin aroma is sweet and fruity. I have to add, not in the sense that it's cased with flavourings but a natural fruitiness which presumably comes from the Virginia and Cavendish. I'm getting unsulphured dried apricots, yeast, bread, a little sweet spice and the barest hint of Latakia smoke, only if I look for it. The leaf is largely ribbon, with a little pressed and rubbed, mostly tan and brown and a smattering of black leaf.

It lights with ease, burns dry and evenly without bother or gurgling and doesn't leave much dottle. The flavour is gentle, fruity, sweet and has a touch more Latakia taste than is given away by the tin aroma - still quite subtle though. There's some yeasty fresh bread flavour and a charcoal hint from the Latakia, there must be the barest pinch of Orientals here, but perhaps contributing a hint of sour astringency as we get through the bowl. This isn't strong in flavour or nicotine, but smoked gently the flavour is quite pleasant.

Charles Rattray certainly did develop a wide selection of these "Scottish" mixtures, all with Cavendish, but the range of flavours is impressive. I do now enjoy milder mixtures, and among these, few have such a fruity character as Professional Mixture. Well worth a try for the fans of mild, natural mixtures.

This one is alright but there is too much Black CA and not enough Latakia. It is very close to Accountant's...

"When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Professional."

A mild Virginia ribbon lightly seasoned with Orientals...a suggestion of Eastern tobaccos...to paraphrase old man Rattray in his booklet. The delivery is spot on to his description, in my humble opinion. Dry it out, clean pipe, don't over load and sip slowly. Mild Virginias (also IMHO) tend to be brighter than deeper, sweeter types in the red range. They also get along with Orientals' dry toasty character. This is the pipe equivalent of High Dry Toast nasal snuff. Therefore a slower cadence in puffing will deliver maximum enjoyment with minimal oral pyrotechnics.

Cheers, ya'll.