Rattray's Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake, and Hal O' the Wind

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escioe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 31, 2013
702
4
Continuing my exploration of Virginias . . .
Can someone with experience with all three of these talk about them a bit? I've got that Marlin Flake tends toward the plummy side of perique blends, that Hal is strong and maybe deep, and that's about it.
If you had to choose one, which would it be, and why?

 

lestrout

Lifer
Jan 28, 2010
1,758
283
Chester County, PA
yo escio - OG is a ribbon, and lighter than HOTW in the Per department. I most like MF, because I do like to fuss with flakes, and once lit, flakes give me a richer, fuller smoke. It strikes me as ageing better than the other 2. If you like OG, you might also want to try Brown Clunee.
hp

les

 

sallow

Lifer
Jun 30, 2013
1,531
3,771
I like and smoke all three and find that each has it's merits. I find Old gowrie to be the straightest va of the three and more brownish. Hal is more reddish and sharper. Marlin flake is a beautiful smoke, all plum and a bit unsweetened cavendish. if I had to pick it would be marlin.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
OG is a ready rubbed flake that packs quite a nicotine punch. I find it to be a very reliable smoke

 

nachman

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 27, 2013
228
3
They call these three blends the Holy Trinity. The are all based on naturally sweet Virginias and all have some Perique. Old Gowrie is the sweetest, Marlin Flake has the most Perique and Hal O The Wynd is the strongest. I smoke all three, but if I had to choose only one it would be Hal O The Wynd because it has a little more umph.

 

Perique

Lifer
Sep 20, 2011
4,098
3,884
www.tobaccoreviews.com
I find Old gowrie to be the straightest va of the three and more brownish. Hal is more reddish and sharper. Marlin flake is a beautiful smoke, all plum and a bit unsweetened cavendish. if I had to pick it would be marlin.
This sums up my thoughts exactly.

 

fishingandpipes

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2013
654
48
les nailed it.
I've been meaning to pick up new tins of Hal and Gowrie to compare to my now-dwindling older stash of both, but I can say that Marlin is the one that seems to have aged well vs. the other two.

 

clickklick

Lifer
May 5, 2014
1,700
212
Marlinis my first choice. They are all good but marlin is more complex in flavor. The sweetness of hal o the. Wynd puts it in a close second.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,626
44,846
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I haven't yet tried Marlin flakes. Old Growie tastes like old lawn clippings to me and while I've grown to appreciate the "grassy" flavor I haven't warmed to OG. HOTW was the blend that first made me appreciate Virginias. When I first tried it I didn't like it one bit. Then I found the opened can about a year later, and it was still moist and I figured "what the hell" and smoked it. What a difference a year makes! I wiped out that can and have bought a few more to sit for awhile. HOTW does have that tendency to get hot unless smoked very slowly and lightly, but the learning process opened up the possibilities of Virginia for me and now that is the preponderance of what I smoke.

 

lochinvar

Lifer
Oct 22, 2013
1,687
1,632
Old Gowrie is one of my favorites, very nice grassy notes with a background that is nutty and dark. It is somewhat cranky and rustic compared to Marlin Flake, which while still somewhat grassy tends more to the sweet, and figgy and very smooth. Hal o th' Wynd is, to me, the sharpest, tangiest of the three, and needs more care when smoked as its easy to puff it into the inferno region. In truth, I rarely smoke HOTW anymore, it nips me too much, but OG and Marlin are often on the menu.

 

andystewart

Lifer
Jan 21, 2014
3,973
3
+1 sallow and Perique - Marlin Flake is (to my mind) the best of the 3. In fact, I'm not sure why it isn't my all day smoke. It's certainly one of the few blends that could turn me that way rather than smoking 4 different blends in a day. Tins of MF go VERY quickly around me. Good luck on your investigation - I'm sure you'll enjoy all 3.
Andy

 

escioe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 31, 2013
702
4
I'm thinking I'll order 100g tins of Marlin Flake and Hal O' the Wynd on my next order. If I like one of them, the 500g bulk prices are pretty solid. I'm hoping I like one of them enough to add it to my staple Virginias.

 
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