Dunhill Royal Yacht - Have I got a bad tin?

[puffinbilly]

Hi Gents,
Are there any Dunhill Royal Yacht smokers out there? I do generally appreciate Dunhill's quality tobaccos; one of my regular smokes is London Mixture I also occasionally enjoy Dunhill Flake and recently have become a fan of Navy Rolls.
Royal Yacht was recommended to me so I bought myself a tin. There is no particular tin note and for a pure Virginia the colour is rather dark. After three bowls I am considering giving up and passing it on to the chap who recommended it to me. The peppery taste is overwhelming; it’s like smoking crushed peppercorns. Initially I thought that I was smoking too fast but even taking it gently there was nil Virginia taste. Also after a pause or a re-light the only flavour I got was that of peppery ashes.
Perhaps it is an acquired taste but I’m not sure I want to stick at it to find out.
Bill

 

[wnghanglow]

I found that the more I dry this blend the less it bites. I never really got the hang of this blend though and after a 50 gram tin I gave up and didn't order more.

 

[mso489]

I'm aging a tin, and haven't tried it yet, but people certainly react to it, some well, some not. Someone said

it smelled like prunes. Now the pepper taste. I'll keep in mind the suggestion on blending it with Va or

Burley as a fall-back strategy if it doesn't agree with me. Or I may like it just the way it is. I might.

 

[salewis]

I understand your comments about Royal Yacht. I smoke mostly Virginia and can not take Royal Yacht due its unique strong taste. I much prefer Dunhill Virginia Flake and when I want a oriental forward blend I always turn to Dunhills London Mixture or Gawith's Squadron Leader.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I opened a tin recently. At first I wasn't a fan. This was due to some really sweet topping that I detected. That said, I left the tin for a couple of weeks, and then tried it, and I quite liked it and finished the tin pretty quickly. At no time did I detect any pepper taste - quite the opposite in fact (sweetness to the nth degree). The blend for me was not tobacco nirvana, but I actually grew to like it (or at least respect it). To me it was a pretty easy smoke that never bit. I think the time after opening the tin was key - I suspect much of the topping dissipated and the tobacco became more tolerable for my palate.

 

[puffinbilly]

Thanks for the advice Gents.
I shall put it on the back burner for a while and see if it mellows. There don't seem to be any fans of the blend out there. It always seems a bit strange when one has to age, dry, mix, spritz or otherwise play about with a product to make it palatable. I wonder what the magic ingredient is? Dunhill say pure Virginia plus “A unique flavour is added to the final blend to enhance the subtle and piquant aroma”
Bill

 

[Perique]

Big fan of Royal Yacht here. I'm surprised your tin was dark, as this blend runs rather light. How old is the tin?

 

[taerin]

Everyone has their own moisture and taste preference puffinbilly. No manufacturer can possibly get it right for everyone, so playing around with the product is pretty much required in order to get the smoking experience that best suits you, however I ma very surprised that some companies like SG and Esoterica make their tobaccos super wet, I fail to see anyone smoking them directly out of the tin.

 

[pipestud]

Howdy Bill,
I am a big Royal Yacht fan but only of the original Dunhill and Murray's renditions. I've tried the Orlik Royal Yacht and it is a totally different blend now and has a topping that tastes a bit like carmel to me. While different, all three versions had strength (in the nicotine department), but, while having smoked hundreds of tins over the years I've never detected a peppery taste of any kind.
Pipestud

 

[rcstan]

I do not detect any pepper-ness in mine. The baccy is generally dark brown and has a raisin and figs aroma in the tin. But it does benefit from some drying time as it tends to bite....

I've also learned it favors slightly conical bowls ...

 

[drcarlo]

I started liking it after half a tin. Finish the tin before final judgement.

Nice, strong tobacco, but not a va for me. I stick to god old yellow Capstan and vapers.
Navy Roll is nice. And one cannot compare the two.... I will have Navy Rolls around.

 

[puffinbilly]

Evening Gents,
Thanks again for the comments. We are holding our summer BBQ at the Gardeners’ Club next weekend and I shall no doubt bump into Thorsten, the chap who recommended Royal Yacht to me, we can swap tins and see what he thinks.
Though new to the forum I have been smoking a pipe off and on for a fair few years. This forum has really opened my eyes to the variety of tobaccos, variations of tastes, philosophies and methodologies there are out there. I didn’t ever consider experimenting before and I must say that for the first five or six years after starting to smoke a pipe I only smoked St Bruno. My tastes have changed somewhat over the years but I have, until now stuck to what I know to be a good smoke, as Eric pointed out, straight from the tin.
Bill

 

[cigrmaster]

billy, there is a reason this blend is nicknamed Royal Yuck.
Only a guy like Pipestud with the taste buds of a billy goat would smoke hundreds of tins of it and stock another 400 plus. :nana:

 

[allan]

Harris
Man, it's a good thing we all love you...(at least most of us)

 

[olewaylon]

I didnt much care for the first bowl I smoked but came back to it after a few weeks. The blend really grew on me after that. I have really started to enjoy it. I'm not sure ive ever experienced the peppery taste you speak of.