Marlin Flake...
- Thread starter krizzose
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It's ok, but nowhere near as good as Hal o the Wynd and Old Gowrie.
QED
QED
I think I like Old Gowrie a titty bit better.
Now that I consider your proposition, changing your mind may lead you towards OG and HotW, so maybe I need to keep you on the Marlin Flake. Yes, you are right. Marlin Flake is better than stinky old other Rattray's blends.
Why? It's a truly excellent blend. Age it a few years and it's the bomb.
Kinda hard to argue with that
Smoking it right now…not gonna change your mind! And sable is right, with some age it’s even better!
Only challenge is making sure it’s dry enough to stay lit with minimal relights.
I like it better than OG - prefer the stewed figs over the dark fired Kentucky for me.
Only challenge is making sure it’s dry enough to stay lit with minimal relights.
I like it better than OG - prefer the stewed figs over the dark fired Kentucky for me.
For the record I’m some smoking some well dried 2016 Marlin Flake. And it’s delicious
If we changed your mind it would mark the first mind we have changed.
Marlin is lovely. Mild, flavorful, easy going. Hal is a little ugly, I like it a lot too. But my true love in the Rattray series is dumb boring old Brown Clunee. I have no idea why.
In 2004 Marlin Flake was my introduction to Rattray blends. I'm still enjoying tins of Marlin Flake I cellared shortly afterward.
My enjoyment of that fabulous blend spurred my trying the rest of the quartet of Rattray's non-Latakia Virginia blends - Old Gowrie, Hal O' The Wynd, & Brown Clunee. Anyone who enjoys fine Virginia blends owes it to themselves to try all four.
The only way I would try to change your mind is to have you change "... is really good" to "... is really great"!
H&H AJ's Vaper (had a bowl last night) is in a similar styling, might be worth a sample if you're so inclined to experiment.
The black cavendish in it gives it a sort of hollow sweetness that I found quite boring compared to HoTW and Old Gowrie that are regular flavor bombs in comparison.
Marlin Flake is a very nice VA. I grew tired of the cavendish as well. Mostly smoked HOTW. My observation is that HOTW carries the same flavors as MF, but they are much less pronounced.
A couple of weeks ago, I opened a tin of MF from 2005. It was a beautiful smoke and the cavendish had mellowed into the background.
A couple of weeks ago, I opened a tin of MF from 2005. It was a beautiful smoke and the cavendish had mellowed into the background.
Smoking through a tin of 2007 Marlin Flake and it is spectacular. I find it sugary sweet.
You know Marlin Flake can be infuriating. If you don’t dry it to the perfect level, keeping it lit is impossible. At least for me in the humid Florida weather. Most of the time I get spectacular smokes, but if I rush drying it, it smokes wet, hot and I get mild tongue bite. How do you all prepare MF? I fully rub it out and dry it way more than anything else I smoke.
I would need a blowtorch to light the MF I have if I would only dry it for 10 minutes. The batch I have is pretty wet and like you state, flake chunks are almost fire resistant. I rub it out to a fine consistency and dry it like 2 hours at least. I have the same issue with St James Plug. PITA to prepare but fantastic smokes.
I love Marlin Flake. I love all three of Rattrays Big Three Va blends, and I’m never unhappy with OG or HOTW in my pipe, but Marlin Flake is my favorite and the one I’ve chosen to cellar.
I fully rub it out, and I give it a light dry time. Definitely more than 5 min but it doesn’t need nearly as much as SJF, in my experience.
I fully rub it out, and I give it a light dry time. Definitely more than 5 min but it doesn’t need nearly as much as SJF, in my experience.
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