Dunhill Ye Olde Signe Dethroned Royal Yacht

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perdurabo

Lifer
Jun 3, 2015
3,305
1,575
With Dunhill in danger of extinction, I felt it time to visit this reissue. Shrug it off as no big loss or worth a trunk of gold.
My first impression of Ye Olde Signe was initially a cross between Royal Yacht and Elizabethan Mixture, some what like a stronger version of C&D Briar Fox. Elizabethan Mixture was a horrible let down. I couldn't stand the topping and the perique was....well, where the hell was it. The Virginia content in Elizabethan is similiar to Ye Olde Signe but more in the class of Royal yacht. The topping on the Old Signe is more like the plum flavor of Royal Yacht but I detect a little more of a liquor element. It's not overwhelming at all and allows the virginias to meld into a unified flavor. Royal Yacht seems to have predominantly darker virginias, the Olde Signe has some lighter leaf. I agree with Jim's review, that the Virginia base used in Olde Signe may be the same as Royal Yacht. (I believe he wrote that) I would have to admit that the Royal Yacht has been knocked out of the number one spot its held with me, and Olde Signe has taken its place. Hands down. It's a cool smoke and the flavors right at the end of the bowl are some of the best Virginia flavors I've tasted. Very Malty. It lags from time to time though. The flavor has a vanishing effect, where there is little flavor, but then opens up when you least expect it to. It has a wonderful false light aroma, and leaves a delicious delicate room note. There are tea notes from time to time and that's what makes this blend really special. It's that toasted Malty Tea note that grows intense at the last embers that keep me coming back. The Nicotine is about the same as Royal Yacht. Decent in a Meerschaum, but stellar in a Briar. It also holds up in a cob. It burns fast, so it needs to be smoked slow, as if any Virginia smoker needs to be told to smoke slow. I'm defiantly not shrugging this one off, but it's still not worth a trunk of gold. Smoking a whole bowl to chase those last embers is gratifying, but not worth the fortune to take it off the market in the name of hoarding. Ye Olde Signe will find enough room in the cellar before it goes the way of the dinosaur, no doubt. Perhaps C&D will buy the rights to the Dunhill brand, but I'm probably falling victim to my own fantasies.

 
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hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I've got a friend that just loves the stuff but he bakes his in the oven for 5 hours at 190º farhenheit. May be worth trying...
I myself hardly remember it but I've got one more tin in the cellar and I'm saving it for a rainy day, it's been a long time since I smoked and wasn't really "wowed" by it. I remember thinking it was pretty similar to Tilbury in a strange way, I could totally be off though. Some of the best blends are the ones that take awhile to reveal themselves. Most of my current favorite blends failed to "wow" me on the first smoke. In this game, patience is truly rewarded.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Is the tin sealed or open when he does this?

The tin should be sealed. I have not done this with YoS but I often do it with Erinmore and it works great every time! The high temperatures will likely cause the seal to break and when it cools down you can sometimes unscrew the lid with your hands but I've never had a problem with the tobacco drying out, it's always just as moist as a fresh tin. I have a lot of fun doing this with certain blends and you will notice how much darker the leaf is after baking it.

 

josephcross

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 30, 2015
963
93
Hawky do you bake the flake version or mixture? Or do you think it would work for either.

 

3rdguy

Lifer
Aug 29, 2017
3,472
7,293
Iowa
Elizabethan has a cigarette taste to me at times. Don't get me wrong...I am still collecting it for trade bait.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
So far i'm feeling good enough about other brands and various matches that I am not moved to hoard Dunhill blends, enjoy them though I do -- Royal Yacht, Nightcap, London Mixture and others. I may live to regret it. Nostalgia for what you can't get is a strong and impelling emotion. Right now, though well stocked for my moderate and gradual habit, I am more drawn to other blends mentioned on Forums and on various sites and in catalogs, none of them Dunhill. I still have a quirky intuition that Dunhill will cave and pass along the blends, for a hefty price, to another company; but I'd agree the odds are long.

 
I'm always surprised when pipe people say that they don't like the flavor of cigarette tobacco. I mean, I hate cigarettes, but the flavor of tobacco was what got me into pipes.
It's basically Virginias. If you hate cigarette flavors, just avoid Virginias and VaPers.
Wait, what were we talking about?

 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
Interesting review. It's funny, I despise Royal Yacht, but YOS is one of my favorite blends! I don't see, or taste, any similarities between the two! My palate must be really screwed up! Ha ha!

 

pipestud

Lifer
Dec 6, 2012
2,010
1,749
Robinson, TX.
I have not tried the new Ye Olde Signe, but the original Dunhill, England made Ye Olde Signe was one of the best tobaccos that I ever smoked as per my year 2006 review on TRC. No added casing of any kind in that one. I cut/pasted my thoughts below -
I popped the tin to discover the leaf was as shag cut as any I've ever seen. Is there such a thing as Angel Hair cut? Well, that's the way I'll describe this leaf because it is truly "heavenly!"
The tin bouquet was almost identical to taking a whiff of a Lipton's tea bag. The dark and finely shredded leaf does not pack easily as the strands are long. I could have chopped it up in my one speed food processor which I use to make long cut blends managable, but didn't want to chance this stuff burning too fast since it was quite dry out of the tin.

Once lit, my palate received wave after wave of good, stout, straight Virginia flavor. I also got plastered by the Nicotine level. There is no real sweetness in Ye Olde Signe, just a goode olde fashionede smoke.
 

perdurabo

Lifer
Jun 3, 2015
3,305
1,575
I should say the topping is mild, not like Royal Yacht, although it's similar. Enough to ask: is this RY's little brother? Hell it may not have a casing or topping. That's why I didn't put this in the Pipe tobacco review section. Get some great conversations going about this and other similar blends.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Do you think something like Dunhill Flake or Golden Sliced would benefit from this?

I surely think it would be worth a try, if you like that dark stoved VA taste. It caramelizes the sugars so to speak.

 
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