Tobaccos Dan Tobacco - The Mellow Mallard

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2015-10-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

EDIT: They have taken off the "Mellow" and left "Meh". The latest version of this is much rougher, less sweet, pretty mediocre. Don't go out of your way for this duck. ----------------------------------------------------

Ridiculously under-rated sleeper virginia.

This tobacco has "aromatic" written on the tin. It's not. It's virginia, period. And a top-notch offering in the category.

When Hamborger-Veermaster is MIA, you can rely on the Mallard to stand in.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: unaged

Similar Blends: any straight virginia - FVF, Cut Virginia Plug, etc..

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	russ (27)	2013-07-07		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

First I must preface my comments by stating that I have had the opportunity to go through a bit of this tobacco. The tins description says its an aromatic-well to me its not. What I find in this is a straight forward rich and delicious Virginia Tobacco. Upon opening the tin a nice waft of pure Virginias enters the nose. I detected no casings in that smell. At a glance its a ready rubbed tobacco-nice goldens and dark flue cured ribbons and broken cake. I crimped some together to note the moisture content in this recent tin is spot on. So I placed some on a paper towel to dry briefly until it did not clump when pinched. Loaded the pipe and the charring light was grand as the first thing I got was a nice sweet mellow yet natural flavor of the tobacco. As I relit and continued the tobacco behaved nicely and slow easy puffs yielded a nice sweet tone right down to the bottom. At times there were subtle notes of sweetness that reminded me of a birthdaycake or cookie. It is noted that this is subtle and most likely the natural aged tobacco sweetness. All along while this is going on the lemon, grassy hay tones also are coming through--not too strong and not too weak for this Virginia tobacco lover. It is important to note that for those who do not like Virginias in general or find them bland--well you want to move on to another tobacco. That will leave plenty of this great stuff for me--ha-ha. Anyhow the room note also exhibits the sweetness of the tobacco and as I finished the pipe and dumped the pipe I had a nice gray-white to darker ash. I will also state that for those who fear the Virginia burn from pushing these types of tobaccos by puffing a little hard--well first off--don't do that it will destroy the natural flavors going on and will result in that dreaded burn. Over all--I usually keep this in my rotation as I love just straight ol' Virginia tobaccos and this is a great one offered up from Dan Tobacco.

22 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2017-02-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The various Virginias offer a lot of very tart and tangy citrus, plenty of vegetative grass, straw and hay, a little floralness and acidity, a hint of dark fruit, a bit of tart lemon and wood, a small amount of sour tea and earth, and a pinch of spice. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the center of mild. The taste is a slot past that, just falling short of the medium mark. Won’t bite, but can burn a little warm, and does have a couple rough edges that may lead to a harsh note or two for the fast puffer. Here and there, you will find a dull note or two as well as some dry sourness. Not as complex a blend as it seems, but it burns clean and fairly cool at a reasonable pace with a mostly consistent sweet and mildly sour flavor from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a few relights. Has a short lived, lightly sour acidic, sweet after taste. Can be an all day, kind of monochromatic smoke. It does have a little richness, but lacks enough depth to give it three stars. Two and a half stars. Age will improve and uhhhh... mellow this mallard out.

-JimInks

19 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-12-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Dan Tobacco - The Mellow Mallard.

Because of the funky name and word Aromatic printed on the tin I'd wrongly assumed this was to be a heavily cased, overly false, smoke, with very little, if any, natural nuances. Wrong. I'd also expected a presentation synonymous of every other sweet aromatic: black, sticky, wet, ribbons. Also wrong.

It's a coarse broken flake, which is a fairly dark brown in colour, the moisture's good, and the aroma's a naturally sweet Virginia one.

The smoke. It's rich, fairly sweet, tangy, Virginia. There's just enough citrus sharpness to keep things fresh, but in no way does this flavour lead. Similarly, there's a vegetative note, but it doesn't give overly sharp, monopolizing, zealous, grassiness, instead a milder hay note emanates. After half a bowl a doughiness becomes more of a certain flavour, and confirms this as a four star blend. On the whole I find the flavour not as sharp as many Virginias, not as heavy as some are, but a dead-on middle weight. I get no problem with the heat or speed of the burn, and it doesn't bite me.

Nicotine: quite mild. Room-note: pleasant.

The Mellow Mallard gets an easy four star rating from me:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Vauen

Age When Smoked: Three months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2017-07-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

When a sample of the Mellow Mallard arrived along with my (nearly) monthly DTM order I was quite surprised when I sticked my nose into the sample-baggie. I was awaiting a citrusy-sweet, grassy scent, like most straight Virginia blends have. But contrary to my expectations I perceived a rich spice that also has some peppery quality to it. Not much of sweetness, little hay-ish scent. A whiff of full-rye and black bread is also there to me.

Mallards ready rubbed cut is easy to handle and I rubbed it out a tad more. Condition from the sample for perfect for instant smoking and as my tin of Cabbies needs some serious drying time, I loaded up a clay pipe full of the Mallard first.

In the first few puffs I got a pretty bready aroma, of full-rye and black bread. A slightly sweet, a bit more citrusy dimension quickly joined the flavour-profile. The spiciness from the odor test is also the be found, but a tad more subtle. It has some pepperiness to it, as well as other spices I can't really name individually. Tangy, tart and surprinsingly rich in spice for an straight Virginia blend. Progressing through the bowl I also perceive a earthy, almost woody quality that's in the back and harmonizes well with the spiciness. Little hay-ish aroma too, if I'm looking for it. Very little sweetness.

If I wouldn't have known, I would've never guessed it's a straight Virginia! I don't know how they managed to create such a full-bodied, and spicy blend out of the Virginias used, but it's either real spices added to it, or they used some really nice Virginia leafs, which I would love to know what they are.

A lot of people consider this "THE blend for breaking in a new pipe" and I can see why. I can't imagine that this blend will ghost a pipe, as it tastes natural tobacco-ey. This will form a solid coating in a pipes bowl, without affecting the flavour too much.

I find it to be medium in strenght in flavour, more mild to medium nicotine-wise. Easily suitable for any kind of pipe smoker, who wants a "tobacco-ey tobacco", as a change of pace for English or Kentucky lovers, and also Virginia lovers will find pleasure in this I guess.

3/4 stars - this Mallard iis not overly complex, but solid with a pleasant taste and is well worth trying if you think this might be up your alley! Won't make it into my personal rotation tho.

Pipe Used: Clay Pipe

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-03-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

If you can smoke this slow enough it has some nice flavors. Sweet hay with some depth to it and some citrus notes. A little bready note. Smoking slowly though yields only wispy smoke. Increasing the pace gives more smoke, but the flavor gets real grassy and a bit harsh. Also makes it burn hot. Recommended only for slow smokers that don't mind a wispy smoke.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in taste. No flavoring detected. Seems to not want to burn readily even when bone dry.

Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2018-07-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Mellow Mallard consists of ready-rubbed broken Virginia flakes of mostly darkish brown color. Tin note is subtle and natural – no added flavors detected. The aromas are on the bready/yeasty side of the Virginia spectrum. There are some fruity notes as well like orange rind coming from the tobacco only. Moisture is a little above medium, you can smoke it as it is, but I prefer to dry for a few minutes. I also rub out a little more the portion I am about to smoke.

The tobacco lights easily and behaves well without producing any particular tongue bite and no harshness. Strength and nicotine are just around medium and mouthfeel rather smooth for a Virginia. The flavor is bready as expected and completely natural. It is quite sweet in a honeyed way but not overtly so. There are some bitter and yeasty elements (not in a bad way) that balance the sweetness. Does not produce a cornucopia of flavors but that is something to be expected from a straight Virginia. It does not have a wow factor as some Virginias do (FVF, or 5100 both of them more obviously cased though) but it is a solid good quite rich and full bodied natural Virginia.

It is quite good on its own but for me it really sings when I add a little Oriental leaf for condiment. So it’s good on its own but can also serve as a basis for blending. No other Virginia comes to my mind as similar – maybe Gawith’s Best Brown Flake – so I fully recommend Mellow Mallard as a unique variation on the Virginia theme. Room note is quite tolerable, not cigaretty at all.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cumarinophil (108)	2015-03-23		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Virginia lovers and beginners should consider Mellow Mallard. It is everything but a lame duck.

This ready rubbed straight mix of Virginias has no added flavors according to Dan Tobacco, thus matured in a way to give the impression or feel to be an aromatic or at least close. This is executed extremely well here. I was surprised not to find Black Cavendish in there when I first smoked it.

It is smooth and mild to your tongue, without the slight tickle/piquant edge most Virginias have. The taste remains full and pleasantly fragrant, naturally sweet with some spicy and subtle earthy tones. In the last quarter of the bowl I also get some impressions of grass and hey, very soothing. Could also be called “easy peasy lemon squeezy (mellow bright VA in the press)”.

I always keep a tin at hand for it is perfect to reset my taste buds or even clean out pipes form crossovers. IMO this is best smoked rather fresh, aging (2 yrs) didn’t do anything to it that I was able to perceive.

Pipe Used: Various with and without filter

Age When Smoked: fresh to 2 yrs

Similar Blends: SG Best Brown Flake rubbed out, MB Virginia No. 1.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ticktocker (9)	2020-10-10		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is tobacco. Not tobacco with other flavors added. It has that wonderful natural taste that makes smoking a pipe the pleasure that it is. I am usually a Virginia smoker with an occasional Latakia blend here and there. The Mellow Mallard is a literally a mellow tobacco that is easy to smoke with no bite. It stays lit and burns well without even having to think about it. Smoking slowly brings out the best flavor and the most mellow part of the smoke. It is possible to smoke it faster and get a more profound and spicy flavor but there are many other tobaccos that can do that without having to smoke hard. I did not notice a difference between char, mid bowl and bottom of the bowl. It stayed mellow and relatively light throughout the smoke. Definitely something I could smoke all day. Highly recommended for those that love natural, on the light side tobacco with a real tobacco taste.

Pipe Used: Ser Jacopo Hawkbill Maxima and Ben Wade

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the tin

Purchased From: 4Noggins.com

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith Golden Glow.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Esox lucius (4)	2020-08-05		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am NOT a Virginia smoker, I smoke English and Balkan blends. However, I smoke Virginia tobacco when I'm breaking in a new pipe or when I have non-smoking company. Opening the tin is always a highlight; the glorious scent of raisins always makes me smile. Just like all Virginia tobaccos also require this one time and patience; impatience and absence of mind are punished immediately. Otherwise MM is a smooth, tasty, mild tobacco that tastes good; sweet and fruity (I personally feel mostly dry fruits) with a little spice. A little hay / grass and acidity is noticeable as in all V-tobaccos. My wife can stand this blend without any comments or remarks. I always have Mellow Mallard at home and always will have.

Pipe Used: Missouri meerschaum, Szabó, diverse bruyere pipes

Purchased From: Gotterfermaten (SW), Estervals (D)

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2018-03-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Aged virginias blends are tempting for virginia lovers as they offer the other side of taste and pleasure.once the tin breaks an aroma consisted of citruses,grass,dark fruits and sour notes comes out.the bright and brown broken flakes need no further rubbing and the moisture is perfect to light at once with several relights needed afterwards.while burning you instantly realize the complexity of this blend.citruses,dark fruits,grasses lots of sweet earthy notes and some tea notes.the flavours combine well each other though some harsh and very sour spots are detected with no tongue bite.burns slow and hot to total ash with sour aftertaste.the room note is bareable and the nicotine level medium.creates a worthy amount of moisture at the end of the bowl and the filter.not an all day smoke.generally this is a worthy blend with some weak spots.

Age When Smoked: When opened

Similar Blends: Hamburger Veermaster-Dan tobacco.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth 69 (117)	2015-04-26		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A darker brown virginia ready-rubbed flake much cooler on the palate than a typical virginia. Somewhat similar to the Hamboger Veermaster with a common underlying sweet flavor possibly tonka/coumarin but less so. The tin aroma is reminiscent of oolong tea, figs, brown sugar, malt, oxidized bruised apple and honey. Along with the milder dark sweet flavors a bit of toast can present itself. All in all, just fantastic stuff of the highest recommendation; An all time favorite.

Update: Despite being described as no added flavor, I have come to find out it is cased among other things with fig. It seems obvious in retrospect. Not so natural but who cares. Many if not most European matured virginia blends are cased/flavored that I have come across. The older thicker tin version was superior but the current normal size 50 gram tin is still a really good tobacco.

Similar Blends: DTM's Hamborger Veermaster.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2011-03-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Let's set the record straight. This is a mix of Virginias without toppings and casings. It possesses a natural sweetness which interplays with some tanginess during the smoke. It will make the pipe hotter if one puffs too aggressively and I imagine it could bite one's tongue if smoked in a steamer's pace. That said, it is a great VA that can be smoked all day long without much attention and give VA lovers a lot of pleasure. It is complex in a subtle way, you see the complexity when you pay attention. Not a big nicotine hit, but this is not the purpose of smoking this. The room note is on the positive side for non smokers. Reminds me a lot of Larsen's Old Belt and I have smoked quite some of both. Needs a little drying out of the box and DGTs very well. Dr. Heiko Behrens of Dan Tobacco once told me that if you buy the 250g pack you shouldn't let it age too much because it has a tendency to make quite some "dust". For the right profile of pipe smoker this is a tremendous choice.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steden (100)	2009-11-09		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

UPDATE 02/08/2010: Coincidence! I just read the review by Taki and today I just opened my second tin always purchased at the same tobacconist who confirmed that my first tin was a remnant of an order in April 2008. This fresh tobacco is similar to the first, just a little wet and just a little less smooth and flavorful. I confirm that a few months of seasoning enhances all its qualities, not at all a bad thing! TMM is growing on me, I up rate it to 4 stars.

UPDATE 11/30/2009: I found this additional informations on the web site of a retailer: "... Ready rubbed flake composed of bright and brown Virginias from Zambia. Natural aromatic without flavoring"

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I bought this tobacco by chance: I came from a tobacco store to look for other tobacco products that were not available at this dealer, so looking at the various tobacco exposed in one corner of the shelf I noticed a single tin of this blend. Instinctively, I thought it was a remaining balance and I remember reading a good review here I bought The Mellow Mallard. At home, my intuition has proved well founded: opening the tin the tobacco was almost dry (IMHO I think that this tin is more than two years old ...) with a very soft and gentle aroma of figs, and hay, no doubt: classic Virginia absolutely natural. The cut is a thin ready rubbed probably made from a soft pressed cake, at the touch has an elasticity slightly woody almost looks like a Cavendish but this is due to dryness, luckily the scent and color tell another story: anything chocolate / hazel nor faded-washed color, only pure and REAL tobacco. TMM promises little but keeps everything: easy and stable ignition, strength mild, no gurgle, no bite to the tongue, no surprises about taste only good Virginia and nothing else completely unflavored and one-dimensional with the classic tanginess and a bit sharpy,sweet but not too sweet, it can somewhat remember Rattray's Brown Clunee but much more mature, refined and sincere, never sour nor bitter. Personally I could give four stars to this product but this affects my personal taste, objectively not a masterpiece but an enjoyable all-day, very solid three stars. My congratulations and my thanks to Gunnar for his review without which I would have lost this tobacco that I think (IMHO) is really underestimated, what a pity! ..... I went with TMM with a glass of sumptuous Sciacchetrà Cinqueterre, nothing less for give a little justice to this tobacco.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RK_Oz (15)	2022-03-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Age at smoking: one month to seven months.

In Ropp Etudiant:

First 10 mins:Citrusy - lemon and cream as you would get from having a mild lemon tart, grassy, mildly sweet

Retrohale: Zesty and very mildly tangy but very smooth.

10-20 mins: slightly spicy, citrusy, slight combination of hay, wood & earth. A slight after-taste of cigarette on the palate but not obstrusive. Retrohale: slightly more spicy with citrus notes

20+ mins: cirtusy, sweet, woody, creamy

Retrohale: zesty and peperry Left little moisture and small dottle

In MM Rob Roy:

First 10 mins: Citrusy- orange rind, some hay Retrohale: Zesty with some spicyness

10-20 mins: citrusy, zesty and tangy, subtle hay notes, mild sweetness Retrohale: spicy and peperry with some citrusy notes

20+ mins: same as 10-20 mins

Retrohale: packs a fair bit of pepper with citrusy notes

This baccy did not bite or had any harshness. I enjoyed this blend more in the cob than the briar. I believe this blend will only get better with age. Overall 3.5/4

Pipe Used: Ropp Etudiant, MM Rob Roy

Age When Smoked: 3-6 months

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nikos Maistros (9)	2020-11-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I think life is small to smoke dull tobaccos. To be honest, it seems like a quality tobacco, but there are so many straight virginia blends that offer a lot more. Maybe if it is aged, it will turn into an interesting smoke? Surely. It seems to me, this is a tobacco used by blenders in order to make good quality mixtures. And this is why I always buy mellow mallard. Very rarely I smoke it by itself. I find it is useful as a nice ingredient to a quality home blend, or to add it to a very strong blend, or with a blend I don't like to smooth it out. Bottom line, I find it boring by itself. This is not bad tobacco though, but I can't imagine that someone would refer to it as his/her favourite tobacco.

And as always coming from the cigar world, I would compare this tobacco to the cheap Dominican cigars. They are good, but you expect nothing fancy or spectacular and you smoke them when you there is nothing better around. but they have their place in the tobacco world, as Mellow Mallard has in the pipe world.

Pipe Used: various group 3 briar pipes

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin and 250gr. bag

Purchased From: hacico, germany

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Farney The Piper (2)	2019-08-29		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Wonderful cool and dry Virginia. The taste is wondrous and the bite is inexistent. I taste citrus notes and some sweetness. There's bread notes and, halfway through the bowl, it becomes very creamy.. like silk in the tongue.

Ages very well. Room note is a light tobacco smell, almost cigaretty..

Pipe Used: Peterson 314; Dunhill

Age When Smoked: Fresh and 1 Year Aged

Purchased From: Estervals Pipe House Online Store (GER)

Similar Blends: Pretty much a lot of the pure virginia blends out there. I recall Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake, because it really reminds me of this Mallard one..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Doudeijns (19)	2019-01-10		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

For me the best moment to smoke this tobacco is late at night, when even the parrot has gone to sleep. It's too bland for mornings.

I can't smoke it when I'm distracted for two reasons. Because the Mallard is so mellow I need to concentrate on it otherwise I'll puff away and it'll bite my tongue horrifically. The other reason is that it burns all by itself and will burn down to fine grey ash - what with the last bit being rather harsh the experience will spoil.

That being said, it's a fine tobacco, never dull, not aromatic in the sense of fruits or vanilla but with deep, dark and natural notes. It's taste then reminds of dark chocolate, then of the smell of tropical hardwood, sometimes even of sweet liquorice. Again, it'll only develop when smoked calmly, with attention.

I think it's a wonderful smoke, one I usually look forward to. I keep a stock and never want to run out of this

Pipe Used: Pot and wide, shallow flake pipes

Age When Smoked: 2 years plus

Purchased From: DTM, Hamburg, Germany, "DanPipe"

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Supertramp737 (1)	2018-03-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The Mellow Mallard - 100g tin

Quality Straight Virginia, not an aromatic. Dried plum and raisin tin note. Moisture is a tad wet, but still good to smoke out of the tin. Coarse broken flake with great appearance.

Smoke is very smooth, as described above. Dances between a slightly sweet and a savoury/bready mouthfeel. Very balanced flavours. No bite. Great everyday smoke, for me at least.

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2021-06-14		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I just finished up my first tin of this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is definitely a top tier Virginia blend. It touches all the flavors you would expect from a Virginia except maybe the heavy earthy tones. This blend is abundant with citrus, hay and sugar.

It benefitted from some dry time, but also smoked fine fresh out of the tin. It was easy to pack and smoke. I really have nothing bad to say about this. Four stars all the way.

Age When Smoked: 4 yrs 3 mths

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Reagold (29)	2021-01-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

For me, it's a broken flake, not ribbon. And a beautiful broken flake!

Also, not an "aromatic" in the sense of having artificial flavors added, but in being a tobacco full of delicious, natural aromas.

Is a very good virginia, that burns perfectly and had a great taste, and delicious after taste. And as a gift a very nice tin art, how can someone not like that sympathetic mallard?

Still, although everything is nice, there's nothing outstanding, so "recommended" fits the bill. Try it if you can, but if you can't, there's others so good like this out there.

Similar Blends: Mac Baren - Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 .

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2020-01-22		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As a Burleyphile, I'm never too quick to purchase a straight Virginia. That being said, I've always been intrigued by the name of this tobacco and its tin art so I decided to try it. There was no aromatic labeling on my tin as seen in the photo. Upon opening the tin, a nice mix of medium brown broken flakes, reminiscent of Mac Baren's Virginia no 1, greeted me. The tin note has the faint smell of tobacco, subtle in its sweetness, and nothing more. Not too moist and I loaded straight from a fresh tin. Lighting and keeping lit was quite easy. The overall smoking experience was a good one. There were no hay-like qualites to speak of with this, nor was there any detectable flavoring. The smoking experience was one of a mildly sweet tasting Virginia with a sweet and pleasant room - no cigarette notes to my nose. A fair dose of nicotine does creep up on you by mid bowl. Overall I would compare this to Mac's Virginia no 1 but without the tongue bite. This can be smoked more vigorously than Mac's no 1, but while doing so I experienced a slight (emphasis on slight) soft palate irritation. A nice, pleasant smoke and a good starter for those venturing into Virginias. For what it set out to be...a solid 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Stanwell featherweight Dublin

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Mac Barens Virginia no 1.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2018-07-28		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Citrusy, lightly tangy and more grassy than hay, the licorice casing/topping comes and goes during the smoke. Well behaved, dependable for a mild to medium Virginia, I regret the addition of licorice for an otherwise good tobacco. It reminds me of Astley's No.109 Medium Flake somehow with the same casing/topping shortcoming but with a citrus/grass flavor profile instead of the honey sweet/raisin one.

Virginia lover

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2017-03-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Preamble: coming again on Sasquatch’s comment on the term “aromatic” … oh yes, my friend ! This tobacco is actually aromatic ! It’s not “flavoured”, instead.

The Mellow Mallard was shortly imported in Italy, some years ago. I grabbed five tins and smoked over the years. This is the third of five, seasoned approximately five years. Time has made good to this blend of Virginias.

As other reviewers have accurately pointed, this is not sweet, or better it’s faintly sweet. It has nevertheless very good qualities: doesn’t burn hot, doesn’t bite, has a appropriate dose of Vitamin N, it’s very clean and dry. The flavour is “vegetal” with lemony, bready and woody notes.

The closest comparison I find to be with SG’s Golden Glow, but this is more mature. I like it, not to the extent of four stars. I don’t think the years to come will improve that much, but I will let the last couple sleeping.

Pipe Used: Castello and Radice

Age When Smoked: 5yrs

Similar Blends: SG's Golden Glow.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2016-07-07		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

One of the real under the radar gems in the pipe tobacco world. Im not always a fan of Dan Tobacco (i think the aromatics are over the top sweet) but the non aromatics are always of high quality. This one is special though. If you love virginia then go out and get a tin of this. Its maybe the most interesting non flake Virginia on the market. Full bodied taste and no bite, if smoked slow anyway. Smokes easy and the composition of Virginias is rather unique. Reminds me a bit of Rattrays Black Virginia (which is full of cavendish) but this has more punch. Some McClellands resemble this a bit I suppose and Butera's matured ribbon. Good nic hit, too. The taste isn't really sweet, but more savory and even a tad smokey. But it is straight virginia. No casing I can taste....depsite the weird label calling it aromatic.

Similar Blends: Butera matured Ribbon, McClelland's Dark Star, GL Pease's Montgomery (which has Burley but still is related)..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2014-01-01		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Nice tin note and ribbon cut but I don't get all the references to being an Aromatic. I mean, it's not an offensive aroma but it's not a topped flavor/aroma that I associate with an Aromatic. The flavor is hard for me to describe, as there are hints of "Chinese 5 spice" in the taste, overlaid on a sweet but "ashy" burning Virginia. This doesn't bite but it does burn hot and that slightly interferes with what I would call the smoothness.

While smoking, I find myself drifting between moments of greatness and disappointment as this blend seems to lack body. I seem to want to smoke this a little more aggressively in order to bring out more of the flavor, but I find this technique just brings more ashy notes. This might improve with some cellar time, but I'd rather keep space for other more promising blends.

Pipe Used: cob

Age When Smoked: new

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Connoisseur (47)	2012-02-25		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I have to say I agree with the descriptions of this tobacco with regards to composition and presentation - however, that is where it ends. The pleasant appearance and aroma of this rubbed out flake in the tin unfortunately did not translate into smoking pleasure. As much as I tried to enjoy this tobacco, it just didn't work for me. Although the smoke is reasonably strong (sharp), in my opinion, it simply lacks body and any form of flavor - even the natural flavor one would expect from Virginian tobaccos of this style and cut.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2010-12-16		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Cheering this blend in 2008, I found to be extraordinary, thus not sure about a couple of issues: This blend is a subtly aromatic one, flavoured with nuts, figs, something alcoholic (brandy?) and a hint of vanilla; I couldn't say it is purely natural matured only virginias, as top of the box displays. It's true that is rather a dry blend, ready to fill and light, even if freshly packed. Since then I smoked more than a dozen tins and tobacco was always without an excess of humidity --at least one doesn't have to pay for water content! I found out it's aroma becomes much better and taste more "round" if, on the opening of the tin, loose tobacco rests exposed to open air for half an hour, then put back to its original tin and waiting for a couple of days to give the first light. Burns very well till 4/5 of the bowl bottom, then some more lighting requires to burn the rest. Has no tongue bite if smoked properly, but is prone to burn out the walls of the bowl if puffing too frequently. (I was amazed to see my Dunhill Chestnut sweat on the outside of the bowl!) Anyway, has a sweet taste inviting to give an extra puff from time to time. Delicious tickle of nostrils, that tiny line of smoke escaping from bowl during smoking, gives. Good room note. I highly recommend this blend also for newbies.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	taki (12)	2010-02-08		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, in 2008 was first I gave a try to this tobacco, as I like very much the VAs. September, 25 of the same year I submitted on this board my review as a new blend, including also a photo of the tin, but --I guess-- unfortunately it has been lost...

However, I'm coming back to add a voice over the other two, hereunder, cheering this blend that I found to be extraordinary, thus not sure about a couple of issues: This blend is a subtly aromatic one, flavoured with nuts, figs, something alcoholic (brandy?) and a hint of vanilla; I couldn't say it is purely natural matured only virginias. It's true that is rather a dry blend, ready to fill and light, even if freshly packed. Since then I smoked more than a dozen tins and tobacco was always without an excess of humidity --at least one doesn't have to pay for water content! I found out it's aroma becomes much better and taste more "round" if, on the opening of the tin, loose tobacco rests exposed to open air for half an hour, then put back to its original tin and waiting for a couple of days to give the first light. Burns very well till 4/5 of the bowl bottom, then some more lighting requires to burn the rest. Has no tongue bite if smoked properly, but is prone to burn out the walls of the bowl if puffing too frequently. (I was amazed to see my Dunhill Chestnut sweat on the outside of the bowl!) Anyway, has a sweet taste inviting to give an extra puff from time to time. Delicious tickle of nostrils, that tiny line of smoke escaping from bowl during smoking, gives. I highly recommend this blend also for newbies.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2009-01-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, I was surprised not to see a single review of the Mellow Mallard, so this will be my first review.

I must say, this is not a lame duck! It is a nice and natural broken VA flake of medium strength, but it smokes very smooth and cool and, surprising for a flake of this strength, without any tongue bite.

This is a good one for breaking in a new pipe. Anyway you should smoke it in a very clean pipe to be able to detect the subtle aromas.

All in all an average, good VA flake, but nothing special. If you'd like to experience natural VA taste but are afraid of tongue bite, this one might be worth a try for you.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Illegitimationstation (1)	2023-05-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco was delightful, leaning more acidic, and decidedly well blended. Boasting notes of citrus-lemon, and orange peel. Reminiscent of an almost red fruit, with somewhat floral components, possibly geranium, rose, with sweetness throughout. The back half during the smoke is a mellow sustaining virginia, with the usual hays and rhubarb-like vegetations. There is very little smokiness or astringency, while still being robust.

Pipe Used: Old no-name basket lovat

Age When Smoked: 1 month with 65% Boveda Pack

Purchased From: Local B&M

Similar Blends: SG Kendal Cream Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2022-06-02		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Mellow, yes. Easy smoking, cool and slow burning, yes. But a bit dull and light-flavored, if I may say so.

Decent Virginia, but in a sea of GREAT Virginias... I don't think I will revisit it again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2014-05-20		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Founded it by accident in a small shop out town and bought it immediatly. I was very pleased by it, is a good mixture and, even if was an old tin, the tobacco was still smokeable.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	O'Confrère (40)	2013-03-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The description on the Dan website indicates that they "have carefully fermented a quantity of unbelievably palatable and aroma-rich, sweet Virgina from Zambia by pressing until the optimal ripeness was achieved." And goes on to say, "This tobacco is good enought to get by completely without additional flavorings." Now that last statement alone is enough to make any fan of Virginias sit up and take notice, including this one. And indeed there are no top-flavorings detectable. I can't judge whether this applies to casing (or casings), but there was no indication of any that I could find. That alone really makes me want to like this one, and if it is truly uncased, this must be one of the very few out there! Virginias are tough and that is a gutsy thing for a producer to do. And if that is the case (uncased), it's well worth our attention. How else are we going to get to know about Virginias?

It has been thoroughly rubbed out, which means it is a mixture of short and broken ribbons that are surprisingly dry (good!) and tend to crumble to, well, crumbs by the end of the tin. (Buy the smaller tin!) This is all very convincing.

In the pipe it starts off very lightly, not with sweetness but with tannic tanginess. Other qualities elude this smoker for about the first third of the bowl until a sweetness begins to emerge with a bit of floral fruitiness which hits its peak at about mid-bowl. Until this occurs I always have to ask myself if this is really something I want to smoke. It is not particularly enjoyable, but then... the tannins subside as the fruity sweetness becomes more and more apparent. This sweetness thens give way to a delicious earthiness which gains in depth and strength until the end of the bowl. It is in the last third of the bowl that this tobacco shows what it can do. And, yes, there is some nicotine here, as slowly becomes apparent.

Kudos to DTM for this one! Will I smoke this often? No, but I am very grateful to the manufacturers for this lesson in Virginas. This is one instructive smoke, and it burns very well without producing much moisture, leaving the mouth feeling dry and clean with a slightly herbal earthiness lingering on. What started off as a light, tannic, nondescript smoke, becomes substantial and robust; an honest, no- nonsense smoke, that is all about the development in the pipe.

Summary: Has lots of wonderful qualities, but is too much trouble for what it gives back.

If you want to learn about Virginias, this is a must! If not, better steer clear. Two stars, since it really is not for everyone. Four stars for anyone looking to learn more about Virginias. I wish there were more tobaccoes out there without, or with this few, additional flavorings. Recommended.

Pipe Used: Several. All reserved for Virginias w/out topping.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Train (118)	2018-12-30		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I was searching for available virginia flakes and came across this one . Being a Dan tobacco I expected something strong but this one was a little over the hill . Although the can says " aromatic" I could not detect any aromatic agent in it . The flake is dark and a little thick and there is no tin note that I recognize as virginia . As far as I can see , the smoke simply had no virginia taste , just strong tobacco with no clear direction .; After a few bowls I gave up trying to find some grace in it . This one is a dead duck .

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