I just went to TRC to cut/paste my review of the Murray's and Orlik versions of RY. Hope I don't bore all of you with the below, but I do notice I was rather long winded with my review -
In my efforts to continue fighting for truth, justice and the Royal Yacht way:
An all-time classic from one of the world's outstanding pipe and tobacco firms. It is a big seller at pipe shops around the country, and for good reason. It is outstanding. RY is my favorite blend, and the perfect way to start each day. I load up with a cup of coffee and spend the first hour of the morning in total bliss!
Royal Yacht is not for neophytes. I get tickled reading reviews of this blend from new pipe smokers. The tobacco spice upon lighting, and the powerful dose of nicotine will cross the eyes and blurr the vision of newbies!
If you enjoy true tobacco taste (the virginia base is excellent) then you will enjoy this powerful blend. It can be smoked all day with no fatigue or tongue bite. The delicate flavoring only adds to the enjoyment.
=====UPDATE 9/05========
With Orlik having taken over the blending from Murray's of Dunhill tobaccos, I have been asked by many friends who know of my love for Royal Yacht whether I have sampled the "new ROYAL YACHT." Yes I have and below is my review of it:
I recently received an order of 5-tins of Royal Yacht from JR Cigar. I had heard that JR was selling the new EU made Dunhill tobaccos and I wanted to compare some of them to the Murray's version that I have become so accustomed to. Naturally, Royal Yacht was my first foray into the world of Orlik produced Dunnie weed. No question, there are some differences. First of all, the five pack game in a cardboard bottom cover wrapped in plastic. While the new blender is still using the old tins, they are putting a heavy label on the bottom of the tin that does say Made in The EU. The way I know the old tins are still being used is because the top label still says "Made in the U.K. in association with Dunhill Tobacco of London." Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a very broken flake rather than ribbon cut leaf. The leaf is darker in appearance than the Murray's version and appeared well aged. The smell in the tin is A LOT DIFFERENT, not nearly as deep and rich and actually "smelled cased" if that makes sense. Frankly, the smell set of some alarms. I was pleased to see that the new blender is not soaking Royal Yacht in water as Murray's had over the last few years. The leaf was still too moist for my personal preference, but will probably be at the perfect moisture content in a few days. I took a handful of the leaf and fully rubbed it out, then whacked it up in my one speed food processor for a bit (as I did with the Murray's version.) I loaded up and lit up. The taste and nicotine content is unquestionably lighter. Not a ton lighter, but certainly noticed. The added flavoring (thank goodness) tasted the same although not as strong as the Murray's. The leaf could use a bit more aging as it tasted a bit "fresh" to me. I believe (and hope) it will age just as well as the Murray's version which I think aged as well as any Virginia tobacco I've ever smoked. Once properly aged, I think I may actually appreciate this morfed Royal Yacht more than the Murray's version because the taste is not quite as heavy and the casing has been applied a bit more delicately. I hope the above review wasn't too boring. And I will be interested to hear from those of you who regularly enjoy other Dunhill offerings to get your impressions of the taste change (if any) you have discovered.
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