Dunhill Ready Rubbed (re-release)

I actually think Orlik did a better job with RR's re-release than the Murray's version. With the Murrays, I could detect very little casing and a mostly "tobacco" taste, which I appreciated. The blend smoked very cool, and I detected what I sure thought to be the taste of cigar leaf mixed in there with the Virginians and whatever else Dunhill tossed in. The Orlik version has a more Virginia flavor at the forefront and the misted topping was done with great discretion. The Murray's era topping was almost like a background of honey and almonds while the re-release has no added flavoring that I could detect. A good smoke!

Tonight at pipe club they had the new re-release of Dunhill Ready rub in the tin. It was the early pre-release. It is in a round tin. I chuckled as I was expecting the square tin. It is a very light Virgina blend. Very much like I remember. Sweet smell on opening. Packed very easy. Fast char. Relight and smoked in 1 hour 20 minutes. Drank a Dr. Pepper. Very light taste here.

I must mention that I am having a great time running through as many Dunhill blends as I can get my hands on. While visiting my tobacco dealer (this stuff isn't legal in Istanbul, it's smuggled in) I found a few tins of this, and to be honest I had never even heard of this Dunhill blend before. The tin also has no description, so I had no idea what this blend contained. And not wanting to risk a dreadful aromatic or something of the sort, a quick check on this website revealed that it was a Virginia/Oriental blend, and that was all the information I needed.

I was eager to dive into this, as I love Virginia based blends. And after opening the tin, I was not let down by the smells I was getting - bread, some grass, and some mild ketchup as well. The cut is that legendary Dunhill ribbon cut which will always be my favorite because it's so easy to work with. And the moisture, as usual with Dunhill, was absolutely perfect. The tobacco itself has nice shades of gold and red - a very handsome tobacco I must say, and one of the best tin notes I think I've ever had.

Sadly, it doesn't translate into the smoke exactly, but it is pretty darn good, if not great. While smoking I couldn't shake off the feeling that the Virginia in this blend is VERY similar to that inside Davidoff's Flake Medallions - one of my favorite tobaccos. And having smoked several, several tins of that, I think I am not mistaken in saying that they are practically brothers, if not cousins. Very similar profiles with the Virginia's going on in this blend.

The Orientals are there and they poke through from time to time, but for the most part, they are very much in the background. I would say that there's only about 5% Orientals in this blend, so nothing crazy.

The funny thing is though, while being primarily just a straight Virginia at this point, it doesn't get dull as say, Capstan. To me, that was just way too one dimensional, and it got boring fast. The Dunhill is far more interesting, and far more flavorful. It's easy to pack, light and maintain, and it doesn't have a lot of nicotine either, so it's an ideal full day smoke.

While I have had better Virginia blends, this one is also top notch. I would absolutely prefer Elizabethan Mixture to this, but that's just because I'm a sucker for a good VaPer. But for what it is, it's a great smoke. Full of flavor, easy to maintain (just don't sip too hard or too fast), and sincere. It also reminds me of Old Gowrie for some reason, but Old Gowrie is definitely more complex and flavorful. But for what it is, this is an excellent smoke. Something you don't have to worry about and just tastes of good old Virginia tobacco.

I hesitated on whether to review this at this time and decided I would, simply for posterity's sake since I have a couple tins of this in the cellar that I will surely be returning to update this later.

The reason for the hesitation is that I was gifted this in a bunch of samples a friend surprised me with. This sample was about 4 bowls worth of tobacco. My rotation at this time was very light on Va so it was a welcome diversion as it smoked like a Virginia blend with a touch of sour from the orientals. It was quite good. Now for the dilemma.

I knew this was an aromatic, but the topping to my tastes was very light and nearly indistinguishable from the natural fruitiness of the Virginia. This is always the problem with samples and why I wish more reviewers were forthright when their reviews are solely based on the same. The main problem, aside from the fact that there is usually not enough to give a thorough review, is that you really don't know anything about the care and storage that the tobacco underwent prior to making its way to you.

I have had samples I have reviewed as soapy simply because someone stored them in a jar with something soapy, Aromatics that tasted like cardboard, because someone never jarred the bulk contents and just picked from the bag over time. and worst of all, finding someone simply mislabeled the bag.

In the immediate case, the tin had been open for quite a long time and my benefactor told me that topping was very strong when he opened it years ago. So to me, this was an enjoyable Virginia with a light aromatic touch, but it also could be an overwhelmingly sweet aromatic if taken fresh from the tin.

I don't expect this review to be overly helpful to most, but perhaps comforting to someone who has found it too sweet, but held onto it with hopes of improvement over time. With patience you may soon enjoy this. I will leave it at three stars and will revisit when I pop one of my tins and smoke the whole tin.

This one is another of my fist blends as a rookie piper. And bought a tin DRR as part of a promo. As soon as I opened the tin I got a pleasant fruity note, I noticed I had to let it air for a while before packing my pipe. The first puffs were really tasteful and did not need too many relights. Although the taste tends to fade a bit on the second half of the bowl. I kinda started smoking this blend more often and reordered a second tin. I do enjoy this blend.

I think it's wrong to list this as an aromatic. The added fruit flavor is noticeable but tastes completely natural to me and was applied very subtly. There are plenty of "straight Virginias" on the market with more casing and toppings than this. Ready-rubbed is a tasty and easy going smoke. Citrus and bread come from the Virginias. The oriental presence is very minimal but really adds an enjoyable dimension to the blend. I could be wrong but it tastes like a pinch of Izmir to me. Musty, sour, and woody. No bite although it can smoke a bit on the hot side. There are better Virginia/Turkish blends out there especially GL Pease Embarcadero but this is one i'd like another tin of before Dunhill is gone again.

This has a perfect true Virginia aroma from the tin with a hint of richness in the background. The tobacco is cut in long, thin ribbons which I always find hard to pack and light. However, after a short struggle, keeping the pipe lit (just on the right side of out) provided a very long, slow, enjoyable smoke with only a couple of relights. It did burn hot once or twice in the larger bowl but that is probably to be expected.

The Virginias are quality; nicely sweet and fairly mild with lovely biscuity notes and a hint of grass or citrus but I can only assume it is the Orientals that make this stand out. Now I have had relatively limited experience with Orientals but I can’t imagine it is the ‘subtle flavour’ of the topping noted in the description that makes this blend distinctive. There is a lovely dry, tea-like quality to the smoke throughout and a woody smokiness to every draw, particularly noticeable on the exhale all of which I would associate with the Orientals rather than the topping. I’m beginning to suspect the topping provides the richness in the tin note rather than anything else as the subtle rich fruitiness in the smoke can probably be put down to the ‘light Cavendish process’.

After such a review it seems a little churlish to note the surprising amount of dottle and wetness remaining following the smoke, but that is what I found in both my Peterson and the slightly larger Carey (which required the use of a pipe cleaner to absorb the moisture half way through). It doesn’t particularly detract from the smoke but it does feel like a waste!

Unfortunately I only managed to acquire enough of this blend to allow for a few long smokes. I didn’t love my previous Dunhill experience "Three Year Matured Virginia" and don’t particularly want to try it again but "Ready Rubbed" is a very different story. I feel that this is a tobacco which may not give away all its secrets immediately. Like other subtle Virginias, you may have to develop an understanding of it and learn how to smoke it to fully appreciate it – so my review may be a little stingy with the stars but this is where I stand with it at the moment. If I manage to get some more I may review my review…

Ready Rubbed by Dunhill is a really nice smoke, but for reasons that I will explain shortly, it's praises are unsung. One of those reasons is a misunderstanding and I think the other is slight shortcoming...but the latter is just a matter of perspective and expectations.

First, I'll be the first to admit that I like the tin art. It shouldn't matter, but it does and I like it. If you like the way something looks or feels, you more likely to enjoy and use it. We all have our preferences and I like it. I can see myself looking at one of these tins ten years from now and thinking, "Man, this is nice looking", reminding me of days when smoking a pipe was an art. Already, tins are changing and coming with all sorts of crazy labels with horrid warnings, etc. So, yeah, I like the tin art.

From there, cracking the tin is wonderful. The first time I opened one, I thought to myself this aroma is amazing! This is what I like from a Virginia. I must get more! And I did. It has a nice tea-like smell, but it's heightened by the sweet fruit topping. Lovely. The two smell so good together. Others have said that they could smell the Turkish from the aroma. I couldn't. I just smelled the sweet, tea Virginias and the fruit topping. Again, great.

The ribbons inside are a uniformed, light golden brown. Again, leading folks to think of this as a wonderful Virginia tobacco. When you light up the bowl, which I pack lightly, you are greeted with the sweetness of the Virginia and the topping. It's sweet, tart and tasty. Before, I said I couldn't smell the Turkish in the tin aroma, but I could definitely taste it in the smoke. First, it started off by just being able to pick it up in the scent of the smoke. Then you could definitely taste it on the palate. Tastes to me of straight Smyrna. Plays in and out nicely with the Virginias and the topping. A nice, sour element added to the sweetness.

By about half-way through the bowl, the Turkish part of the blend really starts to take over and dominate the flavor. I think this is where the misunderstanding comes in. First, from appearances and smell upon opening the tin, you'd think this was mostly all Virginia. But maybe because the topping begins to wear off or the Turkish just begins to assert itself more, the Turkish does do that. I like it. One of the reasons I wanted to buy Ready Rubbed. It promised Virginia and Turkish, both of which I like very much. So there it was.

But I think if you were expecting it to be "Virginia based" and to stay that way, it would then take you by surprise. It becomes more of a sour, musty Turkish experience. Again, something I enjoy, but most folks would want that to be a condiment and not the main star. But there it is. Then the Virginias play a supporting role and add sweetness to the sourness. This is also why I think some say it takes on a cigarette-like taste. I disagree with that and think that it's mistaken simply for the shift to the Turkish portion of the blend. Still, very nice.

My shortcoming with this blend, and for me what keeps this from being a full 4-star blend, is that it lacks a bit in the nicotine department. It's there, just very mild. That's a preference of mine. Not a preference of all and yours may vary. But I like a little bit of hit in this department. This could have been by strict design since Dunhill has quite a few heavy hitters in this department. This could have been there way of having a nice, light Virginia based blend that can be enjoyed throughout the day. That's OK, I'd just like a bit more. I like the taste of this blend very much. I like it far better than Royal Yacht. I do think, though, that it could benefit from a bit more punch. Perhaps a pinch or two of Five Brothers. I haven't tried that because I don't want to change the flavor too much, but at the same time, when I am done with the bowl, I feel like I want something else to finish it. That's the preference part.

So I think that this is a really nice blend that suffers a bit from a misunderstanding and a shortcoming. But that's just me. Others may look at it and say it's perfect as billed...and they would be right too.

Either way, I am happy to have several tins of this and I am looking forward to them aging and cracking them open years from now too. A solid three and half stars.

Enjoy!

Very nice Virginia/Burley tobacco!!

The Burley does not take a back seat to the Virginia but receives the role it deserves and enriches the sweet hay note with its nutty taste. The conditioning is perfect, a cool and clean smoke is garanteed. According to my experience this tobacco (like many others) benefits from opening the tin to let it breath some air and to keep it stored thereafter for a while. Just a few days will have a nice effect. Sure, like always with Dunhill you will have to pay the typicall +20% premium so that we have a few more lucky Porsche drivers on this planet...

...anyway, I give it 3,5 stars!

p.s.: According to the description provided by K&K (homepage) this tobacco contains Virginia and Burley. Orientals/Turkishs are not mentioned.