At one time, if I remember correctly, I could be wrong, but the
BAT ingredient list
listed
Plum juice/concentrate as an ingredient, but now only says
Flavouring, so it's no help.
I've heard some say
black currant, but a majority says
tonquin bean, however, RY connoisseur extraordinaire Pipestud disputes that and I'd tend to agree with him because he's so intimately familar with it,
quote:
Don't know about the Orlik topping, which has morphed about three times since they took over the blending (and the cut of the leaf has gone through several phases as well). Dunhill always kept their RY casing a secret as did the subsequent Murray's blenders. On a whim, back when I was ordering the hand blended version of Royal Yacht directly from the Dunhill London Store, I ordered a batch of Elizabethan Mixture without the Perique with the Royal Yacht secret casing from Marc Burrows (the Dunhill London Store Master Blender until he retired in 2005), and it was delicious. It was My Own Blend #1010 (I told him 10 was my favorite number). I ordered it 10 tins at a time several times over the years and wish I had not smoked it all up. Oh well...
Pipestud
I've only smoked the newer Made in Denmark stuff and I get more of a cocoa flavor than anything else.
I think it's pretty much a straight Va, but there may be trace amounts of condimental leaf?
If you haven't read all the many reviews, you'll get an idea there on the broad range of interpretations:
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/461/dunhill-royal-yacht
If the topping actually is tonquin related, it would more than likely be a proprietary synthetic composition because there was a big coumarin scare and most of the big UK tobacco houses removed tonka related ingredients and replaced them with synthetics.
If perchance you may be interested to run a test, tonquin beans are easily available,
http://www.steenbergs.co.uk/product/950/tonka-beans
back in ye olde times it was common for the snufftaker to place a tonka bean in the snuffbox to add a bit of flavor, I think if you got a neutral straight Va and put it in a jar with a few tonka beans, the flavor may transfer?
I don't really know.
So,
the answer is nobody really knows except those who are currently blending it, such things are always very well guarded secrets.
Offtrack,
I fell in love with St. Bruno but couldn't exactly place the complex flavor - I actually found and decoded all the relevant info (a big list) and even though I know most of the constituent ingredients, I'm still bewildered as to why it tastes like it does!
The processing of the leaf itself also plays a big role.
Hope this helps.
