I recently had the opportunity to compare two tins of Bombay Court, one fresh and one from 1999.
I'll forego the appearance of the tobacco in the tin; to me, I can't think of anything less helpful than a blend's appearance. Here's McClelland's tin description: "An exotic Oriental mixture spiced with Turkish Tobaccos, cut wide and enhanced by the natural aromatic, cool character of just enough smoky Latakia. Matured Virginias fine-cut from aged cakes add their naturally sweet, full flavor."
Fresh (2013): For me, this was a real winner: A solid, Turkish-forward English enlivened by McClelland's extraordinarily deep Virginias and just the right amount of latakia. While some might assume this has Balkan characteristics, it's really nothing like a Balkan; there isn't enough latakia for that, and the Virginias are a bit too prominent. But this was a really tasty, Turkish-forward smoke that remained fairly consistent from top to bottom.
Aged (1999): After 14 years in the tin, this tobacco has changed. (Whether that's for the better or not will be up to each smoker.) As could be expected, the latakia has mellowed, moving much more into the background. At first light, it's the orientals that dominate. They are spicy, peppery, tangy. (No specific leaf is mentioned, but it feels like a good portion of Drama is present.) They remain in the foreground until mid-bowl, when the Virginias begin to make themselves known. They are not in any way "sweet" on the tongue, but they develop a roundness that gives the blend a bit more balance than it has when first lit. By the last third of the bowl, the latakia begins to come through, joining the Virginias and shifting the orientals a bit more into the background. At this point, there's a richness similar to a middle-weight English; it's near the bottom of the bowl that all of the leaf seems to come together and be more unified.
To me, time in the cellar has added a complexity to this blend that isn't there when it's fresh. It's now a multi-layered smoke. That may be off-putting to some -- especially since the Turkish is so dominant in the early going. If you don't enjoy that spicy tang, you might not be willing to wait for the rest of the flavors to show themselves. But if you're patient, I think this is just as enjoyable as a fresh tin. It's just different.
This burns very easily, fairly quickly (even in a Group 5 bowl, it's hard to get more than 30-35 minutes from a smoke), and burns down to a mottled gray/black ash.
Bob
I'll forego the appearance of the tobacco in the tin; to me, I can't think of anything less helpful than a blend's appearance. Here's McClelland's tin description: "An exotic Oriental mixture spiced with Turkish Tobaccos, cut wide and enhanced by the natural aromatic, cool character of just enough smoky Latakia. Matured Virginias fine-cut from aged cakes add their naturally sweet, full flavor."
Fresh (2013): For me, this was a real winner: A solid, Turkish-forward English enlivened by McClelland's extraordinarily deep Virginias and just the right amount of latakia. While some might assume this has Balkan characteristics, it's really nothing like a Balkan; there isn't enough latakia for that, and the Virginias are a bit too prominent. But this was a really tasty, Turkish-forward smoke that remained fairly consistent from top to bottom.
Aged (1999): After 14 years in the tin, this tobacco has changed. (Whether that's for the better or not will be up to each smoker.) As could be expected, the latakia has mellowed, moving much more into the background. At first light, it's the orientals that dominate. They are spicy, peppery, tangy. (No specific leaf is mentioned, but it feels like a good portion of Drama is present.) They remain in the foreground until mid-bowl, when the Virginias begin to make themselves known. They are not in any way "sweet" on the tongue, but they develop a roundness that gives the blend a bit more balance than it has when first lit. By the last third of the bowl, the latakia begins to come through, joining the Virginias and shifting the orientals a bit more into the background. At this point, there's a richness similar to a middle-weight English; it's near the bottom of the bowl that all of the leaf seems to come together and be more unified.
To me, time in the cellar has added a complexity to this blend that isn't there when it's fresh. It's now a multi-layered smoke. That may be off-putting to some -- especially since the Turkish is so dominant in the early going. If you don't enjoy that spicy tang, you might not be willing to wait for the rest of the flavors to show themselves. But if you're patient, I think this is just as enjoyable as a fresh tin. It's just different.
This burns very easily, fairly quickly (even in a Group 5 bowl, it's hard to get more than 30-35 minutes from a smoke), and burns down to a mottled gray/black ash.
Bob