Dunhill (or Peterson) Royal Yacht, A Brief Review

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workman

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
2,793
4,219
The Faroe Islands
To clear any misunderstandings, this blend is now being sold as Peterson Royal Yacht. As far as I know, the blend is the same, only the brand name has changed.
This is a blend of empire virginias, topped with a plum essence. The cut is a ready rub, somewhat uneven, but very easy to pack and get going.
When I pop a tin of RY, I'll smoke the first bowls rather moist. In this state, the topping is obvious and the tobacco itself seems rather muted. The topping is pleasant, lightly applied and fades during the smoke until almost gone by the end of the smoke. Smoking moist tobacco requires more relights and can cause tongue burn.
As the contents of the tin dry out, the tobacco burns better, the topping steps back and the tobaccos take the lead.
This is a strong blend. Maybe the strongest I have tried. I have not tried the ropes, but compared to 1792 Flake, Irish Flake, ODF and such, this leads the field. It might be because the cut makes it burn a little faster.
Empire virginias are stronger and less sweet than the virginias found in, say, Capstan or Full Virginia Flake. The flavors are bready, a little tangy, notes of camphor or something like that arise from the sheer strength of the smoke, especially on the retrohale. There are some prominent flowery notes as well, and I suspect they are the reason some reviewers claim to taste lakeland essences, of which there are none.
This blend is way to strong for me to smoke while driving or working, but goes well with an alcoholic beverage, as alcohol and nicotine seem to mellow each other out.
I smoke Royal Yacht when I can sit down with a drink on the weekend or when out on the town. I always have some on hand and I give it a full rating. It's perfect for its use.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Royal Yacht was sort of a jokey blend on Forums, or discussed that way, a few years ago. Royal Yuck, etc. Others approved and strongly defended it. I let a tin age for several years, and mentioned that on Forums, and a member encouraged me to try it, maybe with some levity. My experience of it was different than I expected. In context, I had been adventuring with some of the stronger blends, black rope, Indonesian Tambolaka, and one or two others. So Royal Yacht struck me as full-bodied but not extra strong, and aromatic in a good way by being tobacco forward. I finished off the tin quickly, for me, and found it consistent and pleasing. But at that time, it was not a challenge at all, and fell in step with my rotation, including milder tobaccos, with no problem. I have another tin waiting in the wings, Dunhill brand, and hope I will enjoy it a second time. workman, thank you for more detail on the tobacco and topping, which is more nuanced that what I had at the time.
 

burleyboy

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 30, 2019
862
4,473
Europe
Thanks for your impressions on that blend. It does't make the waiting for it to be rereleased here in Germany a lot easier.

But may I ask, what are Empire Virginias?
 
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seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,958
10,405
Canada
I tried royal yacht a few years ago and I think I found it too strong. It is one I plan to try again. Thanks for the review Workman
 
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gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,078
6,973
39
Ontario
Nice review. Strong blends kinda scare me at this point in my piping journey. Someday I will be brave and buy a tin :ROFLMAO:
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I wouldn't prompt anyone to go for full strength tobacco per se, but if you are trying a blend you believe to be stronger than your usual smoke, just follow the usual guides. Try it on a full stomach, and when you have had plenty of liquid to drink, i.e. you're hydrated. Some people want to dive right in, but you can begin with a small chamber pipe or a third of a bowl, to get the measure of the beast, before you proceed. If it is not enjoyable, you can use a dusting of the strong tobacco to pick up blends that may be too mild, too bland. I guess everyone wants to test their metal now and then, but with pipe smoking, I do go for pleasure first. Sampling strong leaf in the evening allows you to go to bed if you get too much nicotine, which may be why they call the blend Nightcap.
 

workman

Lifer
Jan 5, 2018
2,793
4,219
The Faroe Islands
Royal Yacht was sort of a jokey blend on Forums, or discussed that way, a few years ago. Royal Yuck, etc. Others approved and strongly defended it. I let a tin age for several years, and mentioned that on Forums, and a member encouraged me to try it, maybe with some levity. My experience of it was different than I expected. In context, I had been adventuring with some of the stronger blends, black rope, Indonesian Tambolaka, and one or two others. So Royal Yacht struck me as full-bodied but not extra strong, and aromatic in a good way by being tobacco forward. I finished off the tin quickly, for me, and found it consistent and pleasing. But at that time, it was not a challenge at all, and fell in step with my rotation, including milder tobaccos, with no problem. I have another tin waiting in the wings, Dunhill brand, and hope I will enjoy it a second time. workman, thank you for more detail on the tobacco and topping, which is more nuanced that what I had at the time.
I remember that. I got in before they unpersoned Deathmetal. Luckily Cosmic is still around to tell everyone what a nasty blend it is.
 
I have a very old Tin of Royal Yacht. Every time I smoked it before yesterday, it wreaked havoc with my body chemistry. So much so, I stopped smoking it on its own, and used it to mix with Black XX Twist to improve the burn qualities of Black XX.

This week, I am revisiting all the tobaccos which are in my cellar, but did not like it for whatever reason. Yesterday it was the turn for Royal Yacht.

Since this tin was cracked in 2017 and has been opened many times, as I only used a pinch to add to Black XX, the tobacco is now bone dry. The topping has mostly faded but you can still smell it. I loaded it in a Squat Bulldog and smoked it for an hour. I generally have a slow cadence, but I smoked it even slower.
The result was - I finally had a good / successful smoke of Royal Yacht.

Now that I know, I can smoke it, I will finish this tin. I will still be very reluctant to buy it again.
 

lightmybriar

Lifer
Mar 11, 2014
1,315
1,838
I love the stuff and it has never hit me with nicotine, which is strange because I’m usually sensitive to nicotine. I think it’s definitely unique among all of its fellow Virginia blends. Nice review!
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Nice job with the review. This blend is a perfect example of how tastes are different. A lot of people really dislike the topping and it drowns out the tobaccos for them. I thought the topping was fairly mild, and the overall effect similar to a VaPer.

That said, this blend was just kind of "meh" for me. Pleasant enough but not something I'm likely to buy again.
 
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