I'm a big fan. It's a classic. The few tins I have left need a few more years in the cellar.
Who Else Loves Old Gowrie?
- Thread starter Jaylotw
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There’s not a Rattray tobacco that isn’t on my LOVE list. I even love their aromatics.
One of my long-time favorites. I started smoking it in college when a prof shared some with me as I couldn't afford it myself. Smoked it with Black Mallory and Red Rapparire. I don't think I could handle the Latakia today on those two.
I also love Old Gowrie. That and Marlin Flake are my favorite Rattray's, but they are all tasty, high quality blends.
Can't wait to get some soon.
Can't wait to get some soon.
OG is in the top five in my rotation. A very well behaved tobacco. Easy to fold, rub out, or pack the way you like. Smokes to a fine ash with very few relights, and the taste is consistent beginning to end. Shame its so hard to find.
Hey the keweenaw is one of my favorite places on Earth. Smoked some Old Gowrie on a lonely Superior beach, last Halloween...
I had my first bowl of OG tonight after reading this thread. Boy am I glad I did. What a splendid smoke. Tasty from start to finish, easy to keep lit, no hint of bite (even for a semi-puffer like myself. ?)
I just popped a seven year old tin of its big brother. Ha ha!
Count me in. HoTW and OG are top of the Rattray's lineup to me, with OG getting the edge. Barely.
For me MF is is in the like not love category. Often referred to as OG's big brother, I've found it to be the lesser brother. More muted. Good but not great. The tin note is spectacular; just wish it translated into the taste. Mixing with some 5100 helps liven it up quite a bit. YMMV.
For me MF is is in the like not love category. Often referred to as OG's big brother, I've found it to be the lesser brother. More muted. Good but not great. The tin note is spectacular; just wish it translated into the taste. Mixing with some 5100 helps liven it up quite a bit. YMMV.
I received and opened my first ever tin (the 100g) of Old Gowrie a couple of weeks ago and have had precisely one smoke from it.
To my virgin sensibilities, it does indeed seem like an excellent blend. One of the outstanding features is the quality of the tobacco: although I can identify familiar flavors in the ingredients, they taste more clear and more vegetal, similar to the experience of eating fresh organic food as compared to factory-farmed. I don't know if it's accurate, but I like to believe that I'm tasting more of what the tobacco is meant to taste like.
I do enjoy the recipe very much, especially the juxtaposition of sharp Dark Fired backed by the spectrum of Virginias. It hearkens to one of my favorites, C&D Sansepolcro: though the flavor profile differs, it has that Dark Fired sharpness (but more edge) on a sweet-and-round bed of Virginias.
The other most noticeable feature of Old Gowrie during my first and only sampling is its easy and clean burning. The ash was very fine, didn't interfere with the ember, and didn't leave an ashy taste. The bowlful required only a single relight while I enjoyed the smoke for nearly 90 minutes. Remarkable!
Old Gowrie was a bit reserved for my tastes. Elegant, refined, complex enough to be interesting, but not spectacularly flavorful. Based on an unreasonably small sample set, I give it a tentative and wholly subjective rating of four out of five.
To my virgin sensibilities, it does indeed seem like an excellent blend. One of the outstanding features is the quality of the tobacco: although I can identify familiar flavors in the ingredients, they taste more clear and more vegetal, similar to the experience of eating fresh organic food as compared to factory-farmed. I don't know if it's accurate, but I like to believe that I'm tasting more of what the tobacco is meant to taste like.
I do enjoy the recipe very much, especially the juxtaposition of sharp Dark Fired backed by the spectrum of Virginias. It hearkens to one of my favorites, C&D Sansepolcro: though the flavor profile differs, it has that Dark Fired sharpness (but more edge) on a sweet-and-round bed of Virginias.
The other most noticeable feature of Old Gowrie during my first and only sampling is its easy and clean burning. The ash was very fine, didn't interfere with the ember, and didn't leave an ashy taste. The bowlful required only a single relight while I enjoyed the smoke for nearly 90 minutes. Remarkable!
Old Gowrie was a bit reserved for my tastes. Elegant, refined, complex enough to be interesting, but not spectacularly flavorful. Based on an unreasonably small sample set, I give it a tentative and wholly subjective rating of four out of five.
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Since McLelland is defunct and most of us don't have the 5100 to mix, do you have alternate recommendations, e.g., Watch City Simple Red, Sutliff Red Virginia Crumble Kake, McConnell Red Virginia, or some other blending tobacco?
Lots of folks find MF perfect as is, so by all means, approach it that way first. If, however you find yourself where I do with regards to this blend, mixing about 3:1 with a red virginia with some tang to it really helps it open up. I haven't tried using Simply Red but that would be an excellent place to start. Simply Red can be a little tricky to get a hold of if you don't have any since it sells out so fast. I can't speak to the others ones you mention, as I've been letting my tins of them sit and wait their turn...
Hello,
I'd like to try some does anyone know whether it can be bought in small amounts somewhere in bulk?
I'd like to try some does anyone know whether it can be bought in small amounts somewhere in bulk?
Not that I know of. 100 gram tins are a relatively small amount.
Smoking a bowl of 11 year old OG and saw this thread pop up. This stuff is marvelous.
Earlier I smoked a bowl of OG on the way to work. Im not sure if its how the stars were aligned or whether it was the perfect pipe for that tobacco but I swear it was the best bowl of anything Ive ever smoked. It was the 2nd or 3rd time I smoked OG, I like more and more each time I smoke it.
It’s because it’s a perfect blend! So many of my nirvana smokes have been with OG.
Very good stuff. Just finished a pipeful and going for a second.
