A question for the experts regarding Dunhill Royal Yacht

bpftc · Jan 21, 2016

This is my first post to the forum although I have enjoyed reading it for years.
I am wondering if someone can shed some light on a question I have about RY. I know that RY is cased and I also know it is one of Dunhill's oldest blends. My question is this: How was RY mixed back when the purity laws were in effect? I am assuming it could not have casing back then? If anyone has an answer or idea I would love to hear it. Thank you.

cosmicfolklore · Jan 21, 2016

Yes, the purity laws did not say that things could not be cased or topped, but that if it was, they had to use food grade. I could be slightly off my mark, but it something along those lines, because lakelands are all products of purity laws, and that stuff is so heavily topped, that it will ghost whole houses with its taint.

pitchfork · Jan 21, 2016

You could flavor tobaccos with just about anything (as in fact they did), but apparently there were limits on how much could be used (by volume or weight) and thus really potent flavorings like musk and rose were put to use. To answer the question, it doesn't seem that there was anything prohibiting Dunhill from using whatever flavoring is used on Royal Yacht.
G.L. Pease:

The old English purity laws forbade blenders from using artificial flavorings and adulterants in tobaccos in large measure. There was a list of approved additives, which had to be dissolved in alcohol or water, and could only be applied at small percentages. This left the blenders, who relied primarily on Virginia-type tobaccos, Orientals and condiment leaf, like Latakia and Perique, with the exciting task of using the tobaccos themselves, along with different processing techniques, such as stoving, toasting, panning, steaming, pressing and so on, to create mixtures that would stand out from their peers. Some of what we now characterize as the classic "English flavorings" that derive from flower essences, in fact, likely came about because very tiny amounts of these highly perfumed extracts could be used to good effect in creating unique scents in the final product. These essences are still in use by the few remaining traditional blending houses in the UK.

cosmicfolklore · Jan 21, 2016

Beside licorice and maybe apricots (or a fruit similar) used on a strong dark African Virginia, what do you think is in Royal Yacht? I think that it is the underlying tobacco flavor that really confuses people about this one. The Virginia is very robust, acrid and takes some getting used to, and people confuse that flavor with the topping. Maybe
Man, I wish I could find a list Woodsroads sent to me with all of the English companies and list of all casings and topping used. I can't remember exactly what was in it, but I was surprised that the topping for RY wasn't as weird as I would have thought.

andrew · Jan 21, 2016

Beside licorice and maybe apricots (or a fruit similar) used on a strong dark African Virginia, what do you think is in Royal Yacht?

Apparently it's plum or plum is one of the major flavorings used. Also chocolate perhaps.

cosmicfolklore · Jan 21, 2016

Plum! Yep, that's it. Thanks.

easterntraveler · Jan 21, 2016

Best tobacco I have ever smoked. At this point I don't care what is in it.

bpftc · Jan 21, 2016

I agree. It is one of my favorites. Thanks for the clarifications about the purity laws. I thought I had read somewhere that nothing could be added but I was wrong.

pitchfork · Jan 21, 2016

I love Royal Yacht as well. Sweet, mild flavored and a little grassy. For a ribbon cut, it's plenty strong, which I also like.

davidintexas · Jan 22, 2016

Had RY for the first time a week ago. I really wanted this to be an aha! blend for me but it wasn't. I didn't hate it, and I didn't especially care for it. Middle of the road. But, I will keep tasting it to see if my palate comes to really like it. Meanwhile, I did enjoy the curly strang that I had before the RY

mso489 · Jan 22, 2016

david', haven't popped my tin of RY yet, but I suspect that having opened a tin, you may find it improves with a little time, like most flavored tobacco, also with a bit of drying. I'd sure give it several more tries. Despite the fact (?) that this was Stalin's favorite blend, or one of them, I think this is a favorite at least occasional blend with many pipers. One day, I'll find out. But I suppose it will be an acquired taste and not love at first puff.

cosmicfolklore · Jan 22, 2016

Some things in life aren't about whether it suits your taste, but making your taste suit it. Royal Yacht is worth your love. But, are you worthy of it?

peteguy · Jan 22, 2016

Dogturd in a tin. I cant stand RY. I dunno what it is, I have tried a few times to smoke it. It makes me want to go out back with my dog and eat grass blades and then puke them back up in a yellow foamy discharge.
To the original poster - I dunno what they did before with RY but whatever they do now isn't working for me.

tinsel · Jan 22, 2016

It's amazing how different pipe smokers get such a different experience out of the same blend.
Personally I'm in the "love it" column when it comes to royal yacht.
I'm also in agreement with previous posts suggesting a plum or plum-like flavoring. Very tasty, very strong, VERY enjoyable.

misterlowercase · Jan 22, 2016

At one time, if I remember correctly, I could be wrong, but the

BAT ingredient list

listed Plum juice concentrate as an ingredient, but now only says Flavouring, so it's not much help...
http://www.bat-ingredients.com/servlet/PageMerge?i_CLASS=&TMP=2&i_show=Y&i_btn3=%3E%3E&alturl=%2Fgroupms%2Fsites%2FBAT_6X3ENK.nsf%2FvwPagesWebLive%2FD23047A62F4081DB8025725E0067DFAF%3Fopendocument&i_CTRY=UK%2BTravel&mainurl=%2Fgroupms%2Fsites%2FBAT_6X3ENK.nsf%2FvwPagesWebLive%2FEEB7C53A3AC263148025728B005D9C0D%3Fopendocument&i_INGURL=/groupms/gbl_ing_v3.nsf/vwMarketDetailsProductsTrans/LIVEPIPEUK+Travel2014ENGLISH/$file/FLAVALL.html?openelement&usealt=i_btn4%2Ci_show&i_BRAND=
I've heard some say black currant, but a majority says tonquin bean, however, RY connoisseur extraordinaire Pipestud disputes that and I'd tend to agree with him because he's so intimately familar with it,

quote:

Don't know about the Orlik topping, which has morphed about three times since they took over the blending (and the cut of the leaf has gone through several phases as well). Dunhill always kept their RY casing a secret as did the subsequent Murray's blenders. On a whim, back when I was ordering the hand blended version of Royal Yacht directly from the Dunhill London Store, I ordered a batch of Elizabethan Mixture without the Perique with the Royal Yacht secret casing from Marc Burrows (the Dunhill London Store Master Blender until he retired in 2005), and it was delicious. It was My Own Blend #1010 (I told him 10 was my favorite number). I ordered it 10 tins at a time several times over the years and wish I had not smoked it all up. Oh well...
Pipestud

http://www.bat-ingredients.com/servlet/PageMerge?alturl=%2Fgroupms%2Fsites%2FBAT_6X3ENK.nsf%2FvwPagesWebLive%2FD23047A62F4081DB8025725E0067DFAF%3Fopendocument&mainurl=%2Fgroupms%2Fsites%2FBAT_6X3ENK.nsf%2FvwPagesWebLive%2FEEB7C53A3AC263148025728B005D9C0D%3Fopendocument&usealt=i_btn4%2Ci_show&i_CTRY=UK%2BTravel&i_CLASS=PIPE&i_BRAND=DUNHILL&i_btn4=%3E%3E&i_INGURL=%2Fgroupms%2Fgbl_ing_v3.nsf%2FvwMarketDetailsProductsTrans%2FLIVEPIPEUK+Travel2011ENGLISH%2F%24file%2FBS5610.html%3Fopenelement

condorlover1 · Jan 23, 2016

Royal Yuck! I would rather have my ball sack stapled to the floor whilst being buggered by a gnome on crystal meth wearing a barbed wire condom. Terrible, evil stuff, the spawn of the devils own butt crack fluff! :rofl:

badger · Jan 23, 2016

Royal Yuck! I would rather have my ball sack stapled to the floor whilst being buggered by a gnome on crystal meth wearing a barbed wire condom.

Me too. But afterward I'd light up a bowl of RY.

skraps · Jan 23, 2016

I'm in the love it camp. Didn't think I would be, since it's a VA. I have said it before though, it's a VA that smokes like a Burley. Right up my alley.

shutterbugg · Jan 23, 2016

RY is pretty much a one-note tobacco, which means I bore of the taste quickly and have to leave it for a few months. Fortunately whatever it's cased with seems to dissipate with age, which is an improvement.
I can say for certain there can't be any licorice/anise flavor in RY, because if there was I would puke at the first puff. And I mean sudden, reflexive projectile vomiting. Think Linda Blair in The Exorcist.

davidintexas · Jan 23, 2016

Well, I'm not giving up on it, and hopefully it won't give up on me. I'll probably give it a taste about every month or so to see if the dissipation of the topping makes it more agreeable to me. I don't have any preformed judgement about it. I had no idea what to expect taste-wise but was hoping it would be love at first taste. And it may eventually be just my thing, just not right now.

A question for the experts regarding Dunhill Royal Yacht

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