Craven Ready Rubbed (UK OTC)

[molach95]

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if people here had any thoughts on Craven Ready Rubbed. It's a UK OTC tobacco, available in a 25g pouch as well as a 50g and seems to have been around a long time. I'm smoking a bowl of it just now in my falcon and I like it thus far, but I'm not sure what it is yet. It seems to be a very light, Virginia forward English blend according to some sites. When I smell it in the pouch, I get a lot of dried fruit/biscuits/Virginia notes, but when smoking it there's a light floral thing going on in the retrohale. I am fairly certain I'm getting Latakia somewhere, especially in the aftertaste. One site actually said it's a Lakeland-style blend like Condor, which makes sense because I think it was formerly made by the same company in Belfast, but is that true? Is that floral taste the Lakeland essence of floral extracts or is it just the way the Virginias and Orientals/Latakia are interacting?

 

[molach95]

Sorry for the double post but I can't edit anymore. I just wanted to add that as I smoked down the bowl or smoked quicker the Latakia started to come out and the room note smells as you'd expect from a light English.

 

[cortezattic]

I haven't smoked this, but the TobaccoReviews.com responses are pretty deprecating -- and none mentioned Lakeland style scenting. Some combinations of Oriental and Latakia are said to produce an incense-like aroma, but I've never heard of the combination producing anything floral.

 

[molach95]

I did read some of those reviews but I decided a while ago to make my own mind up about the blends I like. I don't know if it's body chemistry or something but I sometimes have totally different experiences with tobacco compared to what I've read. I'd say CRR is fine, it's nothing special but for a light English blend you won't find many OTCs like it. It also comes in a 25g pouch for about 6 pound which is nice.
I was thinking that the floral (or whatever it is) taste I sometimes get with it comes from an odd casing or topping on the tobacco, a bit like the one they put on Mellow Virginia. Not strong enough to make it an aromatic but enough that there's something interesting going on in addition to the basic tobaccos.

 

[lestrout]

Yo mo
Do you have a pic of the current packaging? I have an old specimen from Pipestud and wasn't aware this particular Craven was still around.
hp

les

 

[molach95]

Les, I found a photo online. My pack looks exactly like this, sorry about the warning lable:

I think you can still get Craven Aromatic as well but the name changed to Craven Original.

 

[deathmetal]

The Lakeland Essence is a virus that spreads from one tobacco blender to another. It then infects the taboo and produces its flowering spore dispersal, which smells like embalmed old ladies washed in rose-geranium soap and AIDS.

 

[molach95]

That's actually quite true about the essence Deathmetal, I heard the problem with the Gawith blenders is that the residue carries over onto their machinery and equipment. I must admit though I actually really like Lakeland blends. I have a falcon pipe bowl dedicated to them.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

a Faint floral scent seems to be a trademark of English OTC tobaccos.

 

[owen]

Almost all the loose tobacco I buy has a faint whiff of it. It's the smell of the tobacconists for me.