East India Trading Co. Royal Challenge
(2.64)
Royal Challenge is a blend of red and golden Virginias with smooth black cavendish with a delightful rum flavor that's enhanced by sweet spices. An all day type of mixture. Royal Challenge is an especially good partner with an early morning cup of coffee.
Notes: Introduced by K. Hansotia & Co. (which makes Gurkha cigars) in 2015.
Details
Brand | East India Trading Co. |
Blended By | Russ Ouellette |
Manufactured By | K. Hansotia & Co. |
Blend Type | Aromatic |
Contents | Black Cavendish, Virginia |
Flavoring | Rum, Spices |
Cut | Ribbon |
Packaging | 50 grams tin |
Country | United States |
Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Medium
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Very Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
2.64 / 4
|
Reviews
Please login to post a review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 Reviews
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 14, 2017 | Mild | Medium | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
An attempt at a more premium rum flavored tobacco but, as anybody who has tried to flavor tobacco with rum or any other liquor knows, it doesn't really work. Just adding rum to tobacco doesn't give it a wonderful sweet character. If anything, it's very subtle and usually dulls the tobacco. The base tobacco does have a somewhat muted, light sweet character as if it is cased with rum with no alcohol notes but this blend gets that extra dimension from added dark-fired vanilla black cavendish that is akin to what would be found in typical moist aromatic cavendish from companies like Sutliff. Despite the description and the so called prestigious and historical name of East India Trading Company, this is just not something natural and/or authentic. It's a very modern blend with modern manufactured aromatic qualities albeit less intense. Aside from all this critique, it's a good rum aromatic with more body, flavor, less top flavor(aroma casing) and less moisture than it's cheeper cousins. The added spices in the description gives it an almost coconut note which is among the qualities I didn't care for. I think it would be better if a more natural tasting virginia based black cavendish was used instead. Some may really like this as a large step beyond the super moist humectant laden tobacco that still possesses very attractive aromatic qualities. The crowd will like this one.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2019 | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild | Pleasant |
Remembered this blend being more enjoyable when it was fresh. Does not age very well. I let a small sample sit for about a year. The flavor became more earthy and lost most of it’s sweetness, which certainly has its appeal. The rum note was still present but not so enjoyable. Still burned rather hot as to be expected from a rum soaked cavendish. Still possessed a dusty cellar / nutmeg flavor that I found rather unique and interesting. Maybe not a “must try” but definitely interesting enough to give a slight recommendation to the curious. If you like rum cav, you’ll most likely enjoy this. Not really my cup of tea, though I can understand the appeal. I just wish it were easier to get them to smoke cooler.
Pipe Used:
Cobs
PurchasedFrom:
P&C
Age When Smoked:
1 year
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 28, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Medium to Strong | Medium | Very Pleasant |
[edit: The second tin was also wet from topping making it a pain to smoke, and the flavor wasn't as exciting as before - demoting a star.]
I had my first taste of Royal Challenge after a night of drinking Dark Rum and Coke, and truth be told, it was a smooth transition with almost identical flavor points. The tin is filled with wet spongy ribbons dripping with topping. In fact the whole paper insert was stained through. That topping however, is spot on spiced rum.
This stuff packs light and must be made of a highly flammable casing, since you hit the bottom in record time. There is an artificial feel to the taste that reminded me of several chocolate aromatics (like Lane's BCA), though of course the chocolate has been replaced with a different dark sugar rum sweetness. The nicotine is quite light and you could smoke it all day, but like too much candy it will get sickening after several bowls.
While I can't help but wonder how many carcinogens went into flavoring this aromatic, it sure is a tasty treat. In fact it smelled so nice, the lady of the house smelled it down the block from our house!
I had my first taste of Royal Challenge after a night of drinking Dark Rum and Coke, and truth be told, it was a smooth transition with almost identical flavor points. The tin is filled with wet spongy ribbons dripping with topping. In fact the whole paper insert was stained through. That topping however, is spot on spiced rum.
This stuff packs light and must be made of a highly flammable casing, since you hit the bottom in record time. There is an artificial feel to the taste that reminded me of several chocolate aromatics (like Lane's BCA), though of course the chocolate has been replaced with a different dark sugar rum sweetness. The nicotine is quite light and you could smoke it all day, but like too much candy it will get sickening after several bowls.
While I can't help but wonder how many carcinogens went into flavoring this aromatic, it sure is a tasty treat. In fact it smelled so nice, the lady of the house smelled it down the block from our house!
PurchasedFrom:
pipesandcigars.com
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 09, 2020 | Mild | Very Mild | Mild | Pleasant |
I didn't care much for this when I first received it, so I put it on a shelf for a year. I just picked it up again. It burns consistently with few relites. But when I measure it with other rum blends it just doesn't measure up. The casing is uninspired and it starts to get bitter in the last 1/3 of the smoke.
Pipe Used:
Grawbow rRiyal Duke
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked:
1 year