Dunhill "Royal Yacht"

[morton]

While I've tried and like most of the Dunhill line, EMP and Elizabethan Mix are my favorites. Royal Yacht is a hit or miss with me. I've got some three year old stuff that sometimes hits the spot and sometimes makes me wonder why I have it. Kind of weird because its the only Dunhill tobacco that does that to me. On the, Not Today, RY days I know within the first quarter bowl and dump it. Not really any rhyme or reason either; different times, different pipes, different drinks have sometimes worked, sometimes not. Royal Yacht is one of the very few tobaccos of any blender that works that way for me. Anyone else have that experience?

 

[shutterbugg]

I started out disliking RY, found it tasted like strong cigarettes. And the taste varies a lot from pipe to pipe. Sometimes--rarely--it tastes sweet. Mostly it's bland, but strong in the nic department. Lately I've taken to adding 2 rounded tablespoonfulls of black cavendish to a full tin of RY, mix it up in a ziplock, then jar it for a week. The result is a great improvement on both the taste and room note, and it takes the harshness off the nic without seriously reducing it.

 

[latbomber]

I find RY to be like smoking thick marshmallows with wisps of VA thrown in but with zero tongue bite. Very enjoyable. The other day I tried mixing a pinch of pirate kake in and it was delicious!

 

[jthall]

I love this stuff, I go to it several times a week. It's sweet and strong, and doesn't bite, it makes a nice smoke in a small pipe when time is short.

 

[andrew]

So I tried a tin of this based largely on the Stalin connection

+1 Comrade.

 

[derfargin]

I picked up a tin of Royal Yacht a week ago, and have smoked a bowl of it most every night since. I've also placed an order for another 10 tins to cellar. I can't get enough of this stuff. Is it really considered an aromatic? It does have a great room note while smoked, but the tin note is not as "heavy" as most aro's I've had in the past. It's very subtle in in comparison to say...Lane 1Q. The nicotine is there for sure, but luckily I don't find it as bothersome as others have.
I haven't had the 5 Brothers blend, but it being burley, is it more of a homeblenders ingredient to kick up milder blends? Or does it warrant itself on it's own? Seems more like a novelty smoke on it's own.

 

[shutterbugg]

RY is cased, but I haven't seen anyone pinpoint the flavoring agent, so I can't call it a true aromatic. To me it's pretty close to a straight tobacco taste and smell. Even a little cigarettish unless you take care to sip it slowly. My experience with RY was I really liked it for a while and then it started to bore me. So I began mixing in some black cavendish I had lying around. First try was 2 tablespoonfuls in a full tin of RY. Next try I'm going to halve that, as the cav pretty much took over. Eventually I may wean back off the cav entirely and enjoy smoking it straight again. LOL I've got 10 tins to go through so there's time to experiment.

 

[unholy1]

I am a noob, just picked up the pipe a couple of years back, so take it for what it's worth. I love RY. A lot. Having been a cigar connoisseur for quite a while, the nic hit wasn't as pronounced as I thought it would be. It's certainly not stronger than a stogie with a high ligero content, but the tin note is AMAZING and it tastes even better!!!

 

[fearsclave]

Having now tried Capstan, I think that Tolkein had slightly better taste in pipe tobacco than Stalin did. However, I note no new desires on my part to write epic fantasy trilogies or become a ruthless mass murdering Communist dictator. I think my plan to understand the mysteries of the universe through smoking C&D Epiphany may be doomed.

 

[condorlover1]

Stalin never cleaned his pipes out and hence people remarked how foul they smelt. In reality he chain smoked cigarettes and in common with Harold Wilson the pipe was more of a prop. Stalin was a particularly nasty bit of kit in conjuction with one or two other creatures from the 1930s. I remember seeing some National Front guys in the 1980s selling their rag with the headline which said something like 'You Don't Want To Be a Dolphin' in effort to appeal to the green community. If you just glanced at it you would think the headline said 'You Don't Want To Be Adolph' which made me laugh.

 

[condorlover1]

I rather liked Royal Yacht but it seemed a little peppery to me!

 

[metarzan]

@condorlover1

I rather liked Royal Yacht but it seemed a little peppery to me!

Glad to hear that! Tacked on a tin to current order and TOO peppery is always a good sign to me.

 

[Strike Anywhere]

If most pipe tobaccos are like wine, RY is like a distilled spirit. Smoke it in a small bowl and you'll be fine. Just think what would happen if you filled up your wine glass with 18yo Scotch...

 

[metarzan]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[transmutated]

I have smoked a lot of Royal Yacht in the 4 months I have been smoking a pipe (amongst other things...but I have mostly smoked RY).
One day 2 weeks ago...I didn't like it any more. Very strange. I am now relying on Peterson's Irish Flake and Dunhill Nightcap for my nicotine fix.
I have read lots of people saying it tastes too much like cigarettes which I never understood until now, but yeah, it just seems like Marlboro Reds; horrible.

I'll try it again in a few weeks and see whether my palate has settled...cos I have smoked a damn lot of it.

Even if I never go back it'll always hold a special place in my heart having got me off cigarettes. Well done Royal Yacht.
The comment on page 1 of this thread, about it being the last smell smelt by people Stalin poisoned, is an interesting thought.

 

[derfargin]

I've recently experienced the same kind of thing the RY. I haven't smoked a lot of it, probably about 2 1/2 tins, over the last month and a half, but for some odd reason this week I found the last bowl I had very underwhelming.
I never found flavor I had in the past, and I found it very unfortunate. I can only try taking a break from it for a month or two, to see if things reemerge.
Apparently the flavor disembarked without me.