Rattray Terry Red

Because it had the Rattray's name, I expected this to be a high quality aromatic. The visuals of this blend look promising but unfortunately the casing overpowers the leaf. The flavor starts out good but as you go down the bowl, it developed a bitterness that made it hard to finish. This aromatic did not have the quality taste rattrays is known for and I would have to say that BH's "evening stroll" is still a much better aromatic hands down. So for now, look elsewhere.....

I guess I'll be the dissenting vote here. I started smoking Terry Red in an effort to find something with a top note to smoke around some uppity nonsmokers. It has since, however, found its way into my regular rotation on it s own merits. If you don't like a little "candy" once in a while, this probably isn't for you. The smoke is sweet as only good cavendish can be with billows of creamy smoke, laid down on a solid foundation of mellow Vas for a mild but tasty smoke. The rum and cherry make for a crowd-pleasing top note, but don't detract from the flavor, while the ginger adds just a touch of spiciness. It needs to be treated gently, or it burns hot, but unlike some other aromatics is not goopy, and burns dry and gunk free, although it can turn wet and sour toward the bottom if smoked too hot.

Final thoughts: A quality tobacco worthy of the Rattray name, one of the highlights of the Aromatic spectrum.

Although I nomally don't smoke aromatics, I gave this a try based on the Rattray name. I also favor flakes so this ribbon cut burned fast and hotter than I'd chose for any regular smoke. The mixture of black cavendish and VAs in this form lacked a natural tobacco flavor and the flavor from the casings that orginally attracted me to this blend either burned off or were hiding from my taste. I don't need an imported German tobacco to duplicate what I could purchase @ the local drugstore. Overall, a disappoinment.

This tobacco is, as far as I know, Rattray's first excursion into the world of heavily cased aromatics. They probably should have stayed with their strong suit, latakia blends and matured virginias. Terry Red is not a bad tobacco, it just doesn't live up to its billing as something special from a respected blender. The casings, cherry and ginger, are almost undetectable, and the shag ribbon cut burns too hot for my taste. It can be a formidable tongue biter if smoked too fast, and while my wife is unoffended by the room aroma, she prefers many other aromatics such as Blue Note over Terry Red. I bought a 100 gram tin and it is likely to take me a long time to smoke it all since everytime I'm tempted to try it again, I wind up reaching for a more pleasing aromatic. Note to Rattray: Stay with what you do best--this isn't it.

Kind of liked it at first, but now compared to some of the Dan Tobacco blends and others that I have been smoking, it is nothing special. Just an aromatic blend similar to any one of a number of German blends and with a slight unpleasantness to it as the tobacco burns down.