Tobaccos Peterson - The Royal Yacht

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2007-06-18		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

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 9/24/03) I most certainly am enjoying all of the recent reviews of Royal Yacht (Nectar of the Gods!) I smoke about four 50g tins of this tobacco a month. Although I was always flunking math in high school and college, I do believe that adds up to about 48 tins per year. And it is delicious with just about any drink (save milk, perhaps). The more recent production tins do, unfortunately, contain more water content than the older tins. So, let it dry out a bit before loading and smoking. But, not too much -- you don't want any of that wonderful and unique flavoring to evaporate! :)

=====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. Best, Pipestud

145 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3023)	2013-11-18		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The topping is a little citrusy with a few raisin, fig, and very obvious plum notes, which leads me to suspect that the manufacturer wanted a mildly sweet perique taste without spending the money to actually use it in this blend. The mildly floral Virginias offer some tart citrus and grass, fairly tangy dark fruit, earth and wood, and though they are sublimated by the toppings, they have their say. I suspect a pinch or two of dark fired is present due to the light smoke and wood generally associated with that process, but I only get a hint of spice. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the medium mark. The taste is a hair more potent. Won't bite, but has a few minor rough edges. The very consistent flavor never weakens, and has no dull or harsh spots as it burns cool and clean at a moderate pace. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The after taste and room notes linger a little. Requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it can be repeatable for a veteran piper.

-JimInks

92 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	panduji68 (28)	2013-06-26		Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I actually purchased a tin of Royal Yacht as more of an evening/after dinner smoke. When my tin arrived in the mail, I of course opened it, and took a whiff. It has an outstanding tin note, slightly sweet, but with hints of raisin and fall leaves. Just a very very nice tobacco aroma. It also seemed to have just the right moisture content with no apparent drying necessary.

My mail arrives earlier in the day, and after opening the tin, smelling and feeling the tobacco, I of course was not going to wait until after dinner to try it... Into the pipe it went! It packed quite easily and took light after an initial charring with minimal expansion of the tobacco. It burned quite well and very cool to the bottom of the bowl with only two relights necessary. The flavors were of hay (not in a bad way, I really enjoyed it), slightly sweet raisin and a little leather. The taste seemed fairly consistent on through the bowl, with no tongue bite and thick smoke even with small short puffs.

I did notice the nicotine level seemed to get stronger at the bottom of the bowl. Due to my eagerness to try it prior to eating, I felt a substantial nicotine hit that nearly buckled my knees and put me right back into my chair. This was fine with me as I was able to finish the pipe whilst sitting down in comfort. Great smoke, and highly recommended!!!

Update: After a few weeks in the tin, this tobacco has dried out substantially, where it's almost crispy. I was contemplating rehydrating it a bit, then figured I would just pack it as is and give it a go. Although drier than a popcorn fart, it smoked magnificently, and I almost prefer this particular tobacco this way... The nicotine buckled my knees again, and planted me firmly back into my leather recliner after a hard days work. Apparently, this tobacco prefers my sitting down whilst smoking it. I did not argue... I enjoyed.

Update #2: My original review was posted on 2013-06-26... I have since smoked through about 8 tins of the Royal Yacht and have just received 15 more tins, 5 of which are going to cellar. This has become my "If I had but one tobacco left in the world to smoke" smoke. Grand, glorious, and always on hand... This is my smoke of all smokes. The Royal Yacht sets sail every evening in my home, faithfully taking me on the most pleasant of voyages without fail.

Pipe Used: Peterson Killarney

78 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mo (81)	2013-10-15		Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

It is not everyday that one smokes a blend for the fisrt time and have an instant love for it.

That was the case with Royal Yacht, without a doubt, the most anticipated tobacco i have ever smoked.I was gifted this tin by my fried Jason and i will be forever grateful to him.

This blend really is luxurious. If it was coffee it would be an Espresso, if it was a car it would be a black S Class Mercedes, if it was a building it would be a 6 star Hotel.

When i smoke it, i am amazed at the amount of smoke it produces with the smallest sip, the taste is almost impossible to describe. It is definately Virginia, but there is a topping that creates a unique but yet familiar taste profile. I do detect some Burley towards the bottom of the bowl.

There was another reviewer who compared RY to Petersons Irish Oak. I can see how they remind one of the other in that they are both extremely reliable standbys, they both deliver Nicotine in a civilised, yet satisfying way and that the cut allows one to pack your pipe easily, they do not taste similar though. No matter which pipe i have smoked RY in, it always delivered the same spectacular result. A perfect, satisfying smoke.

The strange thing about RY is that even after finishing a bowl, i always crave the taste. I smoke between 1 and 3 bowls a day but if i could, i would proabably have a pipe with this hanging from my mouth all day long.

I did the best i could to describe Royal Yacht but after reading the above, i have failed.

You just got to smoke it.

Mo, South Africa

48 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2013-03-13		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An excellent Virginia blend. Review is based on a roughly three year old tin.

The tin note is extremely sweet for an non-aromatic: sweet, fresh breads, raw sugar, maybe hot crossed buns. Among my favorite tin notes out there.

Takes a match well and requires little to no drying time. Burns well, few if any relights required.

Extremely smooth Virginia. A blend that tastes very similarly to its tin aroma. Lots of subtle Virginia flavors here - smoked slowly and savored, one will pick out the sweet bread-like and mild hay notes. Reminds me of fresh baked, home made white bread loaves. Served with a good English tea with milk and sugar.

Very consistent throughout the bowl with little variance between first, middle, and final thirds. If anything, gains a bit of sweetness as the smoke progresses.

I can see how some would call this "flat" or one-dimensional. But as a dedicated Virginia and VaPer smoker, I've been very impressed with this blend. A delicate, sweet Virginia. Zero bite, even if smoked hot. Easy to smoke with no prep work required. Highly recommended.

An excellent introduction to Virginias. Also a great blend for aromatic smokers looking for something more. This is what aromatics should taste like: naturally sweet Virginias with a touch of sugar. Outstanding.

33 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kraft1994 (54)	2014-01-27		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

An excellent example of what virginias can do. Royal Yacht is an elegant blend of sweet virgina leaves blended with a dark, full bodied, smoky virginia. The result if a full bodied, full flavor, wonderfully sweet blend that just down right tastes of elegance and class. Then again it is a Dunhill so no surprises there. I enjoyed a pipe full of this blend the other weekend while on my way to my parents house for a visit. Walked in the front door and my mother was amazed by how much I smelt like my Grandfather did. No one in my family seems to recall what my Grandad smoked but if it turns out it was Royal Yacht then thats just icing on the cake for this classic Dunhill blend. Truly everything a straight virginia blend aspires to be. This blend is quality tobacco in one of its best forms.

-UPDATE-

With some age on the tin now my opinion of Royal Yacht has changed..... Its now without a doubt, absolute heaven on earth. With age the blend mellows and sweetens into the best straight virginia blend out there. Sweet, mellow, sugary, and wonderfully smoky. Bravo Dunhill. WIth some age I have to change my strength rating to Medium, my taste rating to Medium, and my Room Note rating to tolerable. Overall, Royal Yacht mellows into a mellower, sweeter blend. For some reason the room note also picked up a musky scent which I really enjoy but, not for everyone. So go buy two tins of Royal Yacht, smoke one and stash the other in a mason jar for a few month. You'll get two beautiful tins. An instant favorite.

Pipe Used: Rossi Pot

Purchased From: Johnathan Robet Feilding & Co. - Shoreview, MN 651-489-7584

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2013-10-14		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

When I want Virginias this is what I reach for 90% of the time. Zero bite. Sweet and delicious. Top quality tobaccos.

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-02-06		Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Many years ago, when discussing a topic other than pipes and tobacco, a friend of mine started the description of "fabulously OK". I never really understood what that meant until now.

This tobacco is interesting in that it's a virginia based blend that seems to be trying to be something else - but what, I am not sure. It has a very noticeable casing of some sort but it's not an aromatic. It's not a pure straight virginia and it's not exactly an English. Someone described it as a "Ship's" tobacco, as in the old days of rum and molasses cavendish, and that's probably the best descriptor I've heard so far.

In the bowl, this tobacco wants very much to burn hot, and it will do so if you're not very careful. The flavor is a mish-mash of so many different tastes, it seems they don't all go together - imagine eating a huge bowl of peanut butter, bologna and ice cream together. Each ingredient is good on its own but the resultant melange is a bit disconcerting, as each taste fights with each other for the forefront. Now top that mess off with some field hay.

This is not a bad tobacco by any means. It's an intriguing smoke, doesn't really change as it goes down the bowl and it's very different from anything I've ever smoked. I'm not sure what Dunhill was trying to accomplish with this blend, so I'm not sure if they were successful or not. "Fabulously OK" sums up Royal Yacht for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-04-09		Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

I opened a tin of this after not having smoked the blend for at least ten years. It was a very pleasant, full smoke that left me very satisfied after each puff. Plenty of nicotine, and a great burner. This is like smoking a Marlboro Red; it's just plain good, strong smoke. I could swear I tasted a bit of Perique in there. Anyway, this is hte kind of smoke that satiates every craving I have for a smoke. Flavor, strength, and well behaved in the pipe.

20 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2005-04-22		Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Note: I recently revisited this old timer out of curiosity, and found that my ideas about it had changed. This trip was much more pleasant than the last journey, and I have returned it to my regular rotation.

Appearance: Mostly dark brown with some ligher flashes, quite fine cut. Could be called a shag, although not a fine as Black Shag.

Aroma: Very rich sweet Va aroma, almost winey.

Packing: Packs easily into any size pipe I own.

Lighting: One match light is ofen possible.

Initial flavor: Very full bodied, typical of highly fermented Va tobaccos. There is some similarity to St. Bruno, but much more subtle. There are some nuances, but they are very subtle.

Mid-bowl: Cooler than expected if you?re careful, but can bite if you get careless. Excellent flavor and good compexity as you progress through the bowl. Must be enjoyed in a relaxed mood, not while driving, or involved in tasks.

Finish: Gets a bit stronger tasting at the end. If you smoke it hot, It will leave some wet dottle in the bowl. Smoked slow and cool, it finishes clean and dry.

Summary: I don't understand the bad rap others are giving it, btu then tasting is highly personal and subjective. I think this is probably the most polarizing blend ever.

19 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeDawg (82)	2014-04-30		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Strong

Took The Royal Yacht out a few times around Nicotine Bay and the result so far has been the same. I'm always torpedoed by the USS Better Virginia from the USA. This is no doubt a quality, rich, luxurious high quality smoke from Dunhill. It smells divine and is loaded with rich tobacco. It no doubt has the goods to satisfy the smoker who craves the drug and will slap silly those who aren't use to this style of bacca. With all the hype and almost threatening manner with it's nicotine content I find the nicotine in Peterson's Irish flake would kick this blend back to the other side of the British Isles. That doesn't mean Royal Yacht is weak… by no means.

I'm a lover of VA based tobacco and particular fond of Cornell and Diehls and McClelland's treatment of this great leaf. So I purchased Royal Yacht looking for another Va based tobacco. If you've never tried it, here's my honest opinion and experience of what you will find behind this classic tin of bright screaming primary colors.

It's a heavy natural style tobacco blend, med to darker brown in color. The smell of Plum in the tin is good and not overbearing and to me barley transferred to the bowl. Theres not a lot of movement of flavor change and I could barley get any sweetness from the Va's. Its a heavy tobacco taste blend and almost one dimensional with a nice nicotine bite with dense smoke. It has a heavy to harsh room note. You can smoke it anytime but would pair great with an afternoon meal or morning coffee. This style of tobacco in itself is a classic and will please you if you craving this style of smoke. If the above sounds what you are looking for you will love it.

On the other hand if your desire is warm, tasty or sweet Red, Golden or Bright Va's with or without a nic punch I recommend looking in other brands that tend to be more favorable in the Virginia department. Some of our brands from the U.S. do a great job.

This is nice quality blend and I recommend it, depends what the piper is looking for. Happy sailing pipers!

Pipe Used: Bertram pot.

Purchased From: JR Cigars.

18 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2014-05-13		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Dunhill - Royal Yacht.

From the fresh tin it's a little moist but not majorly so. The blend's presented as a medium brown, mid-size, ribbon.

The smoke has an easy-going nature to it. Quality Virginia with a mildly applied plum flavour. Adding to the smooth character is the lack of tongue bite, and cool temperature smoke. The burn's steady, consistent, and reliable.

Nicotine: medium to strong. Room-note: pleasant.

Four stars for Royal Yacht:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Mr Brog

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tommyboy1749 (27)	2015-09-21		Very Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill's Royal Yacht has been under sail since 1912, although over the years it has undergone changes. In 1917, it was described as "particularly recommended in cases of delicate throat." While Royal Yacht isn't particularly heavy in terms of body, the present incarnation is hardly "delicate."

I first smoked Royal Yacht in the mid 1980s, and I remember the tobacco being darker and the added flavoring more pronounced. Today, the tobacco is more of a light- to medium-brown color, and while the flavoring is present, it is applied with a restrained hand. The cut is also finer, which in my opinion is an improvement, insofar as it helps to maintain a ready, even burn.

But beyond these factors, the bend remains a nuanced, slightly sweet, somewhat dry, Virginia blend. The flavoring is plum-like with an alcohol edge and adds to, rather than detracts from, the native qualities of the Virginia leaf. Royal Yacht's nicotine content is also stout. At first, it won't seem like it's that pronounced, but it creeps up on you puff by puff. It has kept me awake at night, so I reserve this for afternoon smoking--especially as a pick-me-up.

While it may not be what it once was, the present incarnation of Royal Yacht is close enough to its original conception to be a perennial classic. Royal Yacht is in a class by itself and is like no other blend. Besides, the tin sports an Art Deco label that is the definition of "retro-cool."

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DeathMetal.org (231)	2015-12-03		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Summary: strong dark Virginias with a fruity topping, this tobacco is the perfect all-day smoke.

"Royal Yacht" gets a bad rap because of its semi-aromatic fruity topping, rumored to be a mixture of Tawny Port, rum, and possibly honey. Like the one in "University Flake" or even "Erinmore Flake," this top flavoring fades quickly to the background. The main show is the strong Virginia with less sweetness than one might expect, but instead a rich grain taste like the best oatmeal Grandma ever made. It delivers a consistent flavor and strength which makes "Royal Yacht" an excellent tobacco for hard work or even sailing while wearing an ascot. This blend belongs to legend and a very present enjoyment. One of the best.

Update: Peterson has taken over the blend, and the new version features a different topping. Less of the fruity flavor, and more of something like rum with vanilla, and perhaps less of the topping in general. As usual, tobacco manufacturers want to turn everything into something closer to "1-Q," and in this case, it is a loss but not a significant one. The leaf is slightly darker and the strength slightly less, so maybe people will finally get their "all-day smoke" out of this one.

On the Murray's version: This version leans more toward a traditional UK approach, more like Gawith Hoggarth. While the basic leaf mix remains the same, that classic UK mixture of dark fired and bright Virginia, heat-pressed and rubbed out, this version of "Royal Yacht" tends more toward the browner and redder side of Virginia, and has a slight bit more of the dark fired leaf. In addition, the topping instead of being that pleasing mixture of honey and port wine that blesses the STG version of Royal Yacht, contains more of the geranium and rosewater Lakeland-ish flavoring that we see in a lot of the old UK blends.

Thanks to former Pipes Magazine forum member "misterlowercase" for this GENEROUS sample.

Similar Blends: Peterson - Irish Oak, Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Kendal No.7 Unscented (Unscented).

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2018-03-20		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I never wanted to buy this... not that much of a straight Virginia lover, nor do I like top-flavors too much. But since I knew Royal Yacht is said to be a "burly Virginia" (yes, burly, not BURLEY!), I said 'Yes' when a pipe-friend offered me this for trade. What's the worst that could happen?!

First off: The 'Oh so secret sauce' of Royal Yacht isn't a secret at all, nor is it sauced per se! "Flavoring below 0,1%" (so virtually nonexistent).. and ETHYLACETATE are the only flavoring-agents used here. You can look up the additives over here: https://service.bmel.de/tabakerzeugnisse/index2.php?detail_id=100571&site_key=153&stichw_suche=royal+yacht&zeilenzahl_zaehler=1 ('Aromastoff' = 'Flavoring-Agent'; the rest are humectants; all proportions relative to 1000mg of tobacco)

Now let's sail away on this royal yacht! Because this blend surprised me like no other in the last while. It's bold, it's flavorful, it's so mildly aromatized and the flavoring fades halfway through the bowl.... it's delicious! It makes me dream of 'the good 'ol days' when the old stagers used to clench their pipes.

It starts with the pleasing tin-note of citrus, fruits and spice, over the Dunhill-typical perfect ribbon-cut, and ends in a feast of flavor in your pipe. It's far from being an "airy Virginia blend".. much more going on here. I don't know how come, but these Virginias have some delicate boldness to them. From the first puffs you get a mouthfilling, full-bodied smoke, that'll wake you up in the morning. The Virginias are bready and oat-y, very earthy and its decent notes of its signature "citrus and grass" are there as well. Topped by a very mild flavoring, that's flattering the Virginias excellently with its citrusy and lemony, slightly sour notes.

With Dunhill leaving the market I always hope a blend of them won't appeal to me, when I try it... I'm busy stocking up Nightcap after all... but damn... this baby's got soul! I could see this becoming my 'Morning Smoke'. It's bold enough to please me, but not too complex to overburden and swamp my palate in the morning. Royal Yacht is so damn refreshing, like good glass of good 'ol Orange Juice, some toasted bread and "Müsli" (oat flakes/porridge) for breakfast. LOVE IT!

Cripes... where can I trade my kidney for those fricking Dunhil blends?! ;-) They know how to make some good tobacco and I like their approach of not using sauces to flavor their blends and keeping the blends on the natural side. I have no choice but to give 4 stars and favorite this snobby bad boy..

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cat Jockey (21)	2017-01-07		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is a 2-2.5 star tobacco that only gets 1 star from me. For why I consider it a 2-2.5 star tobacco, plenty of others have spoke to those merits. So, why 1 star? It is a Faux-VaPer. It is a Va based blend flavored to taste a little bit like there is actual Perique in it, IMO, of course. It has its merits, but there are far too many tobaccos out there to mess around with aros trying to be VaPers, IMO. I like Dunhill blends and consider DNR to be superior to Escudo, so nothing against the brand.

Good? Sure. Been around for a long time? Sure. Worth buying and smoking? Maybe not, if you have limited bowls a day to smoke, limited number of tins per week you can buy, and a lot of tobaccos you want to try. You won't miss out on anything too special or unique if you skip this one, as well as being able to find MORE of just about everything it has to offer in other readily available blends.

Pipe Used: Nuttin' but Cobs for me

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (202)	2014-11-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I am smoking this mixture now as we speak to write this review. This is not the tobacco I remember from years ago, but it is still good enough to have a good time with it. It burns quite evenly but I am missing the dark ribbons and dry cardboard like appearance that used to define this blend. It all looks to me more like a half and half mixture of dark and gold leaf. Also, the orange like flavouring is missing as well. I am somewhat disappointed as I was expecting to meet up again with an old friend, but the new blend is still worth it anyway. Every now and again I am getting a hint of the old mixture, but I think this is a new blend on its own right. This tobacco can be smoked all day long and it won't bite your tongue, but I am not sure I'd have it as one of my staples. This tobacco is somewhat aromatic, but don't quite see it that way. Needless to say I am quite pleased with this mixture, but I have mixed feelings about it. However, I shall get back to this text as my tin starts emptying: I am only giving you my first impression here. At this point in time I'd say the blend is very fulfilling, but I guess I shall need to have a few more pipes to be more accurate with my description. I'd give this tobacco a 9 out of ten because of this.

Post edit1: I had a second fill in one of my favourite briars and I can only feel sorry this is coming to and end now. I fell as though this blend would certainly require a bigger bowl to fully appreciate the awesomeness and depth of this high quality smoke. My initial disappointment is already dissipating for not being able to meet this very old friend of mine once more. I cannot be objective with the room note as I fully appreciate the overwhelming presence of it all over my house. My cat does not mind it either, or so it seems. I don't think that, at this stage of my amusement, I shall go back to my day-to-day blend until this tin is all empty for good. I have been working in one of my translation until late with my last fill, and I feel somewhat sorry it is time to go to bed, though I am nor sure I am all that ready for my sleep yet. A true companion this tobacco is, and a good friend at that. I shall keep you up updated folks.

Post edit2: the orange flavouring is definitely still there (not plum, but orange). I am still somewhat disappointed by this tobacco's new appearance, and yet I can recognize most of its old features in it. Just like the former blend, this is a sweet and flavoursome smoke with a high nicotine content. Be warned: this tobacco might upset your tummy if you smoke it on an empty stomach, so I would recommend it as a late afternoon or after dinner blend. Its fruity hints will develop quite nicely as you consume it in your pipe, but it might turn sour after you smoke past 3/4 of it. Also, this tobacco will condensate in your pipe, so you are probably better off with a condensation chamber pipe such as that of Peterson's (or any pipe that will take a filter in) if you are not an experienced smoker.

Post edit 3: This is one of my staples now. This tobacco is one of the best things I've ever packed my bowl with so far. I am really impressed by the depth, quality and balance of this everyday's mixture. How could anyone possibly be disappointed with it? In one word: impressive.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Probably 1

Purchased From: John Howlingsworth

Similar Blends: This mixture would be so much in line with many tobaccos of the Dunhill's range.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wibblefishofdoom (139)	2012-04-26		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another of a load of samples I have bought recently, I approached this with some trepidation, as recent forays with Dunhill haven't really lived up to expectations. Nevertheless, I've paid for it and I'm darn well going to do my best to smoke and review it.

I couldn't quite place the tin aroma initially, after a few more smells though, it gives off hints nuts and chocolate. Packing and lighting are very easy. The taste is quite an unusual mixture, took me a while to pick up the raisin and chocolate that everyone else seems to pick up on but it arrived eventually. What impressed me was a good nutty flavour, almost coming across as a nicer St Bruno Flake, throughout most of the smoke. The roomnote is nothing special but doesn't offend. It does have a little tonguebite and has a tendency to hit the back of the throat, but neither are anywhere near bad enough to render the tobacco unsmokeable.

On the whole then, a rather good smoke, and I have every intention of acquiring a full tin. Admittedly, it doesn't quite rock my socks off to give it four stars, but certainly worth a very worthy three and a half.

Update: 14/10/2013

I have finally got round to getting a full tin and am impressed enough to up my review from 3 to 4 stars. This actually reminds me a lot of a GH floral in terms of the quality and type of the tobacco itself. I could also pick up plum in both the tin aroma and the smoke. It was a little wet to begin with, I did get a little gurgling towards the end of the smoke but this disappeared about half way down the tin. Also the tonguebite and roughness at the back of the throat have disappeared. The only complaint I had is that it smokes too quickly, I got about half an hour out of a good pipeful compared to close to an hour with a GH floral, no doubt the cut has something to do with it. I did, as a result, find myself loading up another bowl soon after - no real problem for such a nice tobacco apart from the fact that I got through the tin so much quicker. I have to say that I was so tempted to dash out and buy another tin of this as I came close to finishing this one, only a lack of funds has prevented me from doing so. I struggle to think of another tobacco, save perhaps for GL Pease's Sextant, that this temptation has even occurred to me.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eulenburg (193)	2002-06-15		Mild to Medium	Strong	Medium	Strong

The economics of pipe tobacco production being what they are, I suppose that Dunhill feel they must cover all kinds and conditions, and so produce unspeakably awful crap like Royal Yacht. It goes perfectly with lava lamps, velvet paintings of bosomy mammas, and Mantovani/1001 Strings vinyl LPs.

Traditional British blenders are just not attuned to the world of aromatics (any more that their compatriots understand Haute Cuisine), and should leave such things to the sensible Dutch and Danes, who have been doing it right for ever.

This baby has all the flavourful charm and sweet redolence of slightly gangrenous horse meat.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Chris66 (11)	2014-05-13		Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm hooked ! Lovely strong tobacco. Smell reminds me of one of those old woodwork teachers pipes, with prunes added. Very smooth & tasty, my Mrs loves the smell. It might be just me but I've found that a mug of coffee neutralizes the taste ! Can really feel the nicotine, although I did smoke a bowl of Squadron Leader first. If you don't like this stuff, then you are a bit of a wimp !

UPDATE : 21-05-14...This really is strange stuff, lovely, but strange !

I find that when I fancy another tobacco, as I pick up my 965 or Artisan's Blend, this stuff keeps saying " Oi You, what do ya think you're doing ! Put that down, NOW ! " Royal Yacht seems to demand to be smoked.

Yes R.Yacht I do love the nice plum, tin aroma, I love how you smoke great straight from the tin, how you are easy to light & keep lit, the lack of tongue bite, and the lovely strong taste which seems best sipped from a small clay pipe. BUT I still like other tobaccos and I sometimes fancy a change, STOP bullying me. The other tobaccos are feeling neglected & jealous ! !

Pipe Used: Clay & Sav freehand

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin

Purchased From: smokeKing.com

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-08-17		Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A few years ago when I started reading information on the internet about pipes and pipe tobacco I quickly realized that Royal Yacht was one of thos "love it or hate it" tobacco blends. Whenever I read comments about Royal Yacht there didn't appear to be any "middle of the road" reviews or comments. When I went to purchase Royal Yacht I bought one tin and took it home. I immediately opened it, packed a bowl, and lit up to see what all the commotion was about with this tobacco. It was actually the first pipe tobacco that I had smoked that I could tell had an actual nicotene content. I smoked more over the next several days and concluded that I really like this blend. I then went to the tobacco and pipe shop and stocked up with Royal Yacht. Now, I always have tins of this on hand.

Royal Yacht is a strong Virginia and has a slight topping. I don't know what it is, but I like the topping flavor. I agree with other reviewers' thoughts that this should probably not be tried by a new pipe smoker or on an emty stomach. The tin aroma is nice and the room note when smoked is fine with me, but my family members don't care for it much. If you haven't tried Royal Yacht, it would be an interesting blend to try and find out if you fall in the "love it" or "hate it" category. I like Royal Yacht a lot and give it four stars.

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2011-05-05		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I have smoked more than 80 tobaccos at this point, and I can't remember one that took me so long to get a handle on. This review is based on the Orlik blend. I had my first encounter with RB by smoking about one third of a tin a couple of years ago. I flat out didn't like it. I revisited the tin several months later and found the tobacco to still be boring. Having such a strong following I recently gave it one more shot. That was three fast tins ago! I seem to have found out what many lovers of this blend already know, it just a good solid tobacco. It offers a tin scent of a good vaper (although there is no perique in the blend), the usual raisins, figs etc. I don't get plum in the flavor but more of a carmel taste in the background of pure tobacco. I would disagree with those that rate the topping on this above mild. The tobacco flavor dominates for me. Royal Yacht seems to be in its own unique category taste wise and its on the strong side and slightly sweet. RY packs well, only needs a few minutes of dry time and leaves a white ash. This is one I'm glad I stuck with. Recommended.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-01-20		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Well everything i love about a blend was inside that tin!high quality tobacco,nice cut,at the right moisture,easy to pack and light.burns perfect leaving this white ash as all dunhill blends!virginias taste perfect with a light plum topping!an all day blend to me,definitelly a must try!!

Age When Smoked: When opened!

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2013-12-31		Strong	Medium	Full	Strong

This is a review of the old Murray's version, so I don't know how it compares to the newer European incarnations.

The comparison to 1792 may be valid: strong Virginias with a tonka bean casing. But it is a lighter casing, and there are other flavors as well, perhaps honey. 1792, however, is overwhelmed by its heavy dousing in tonka. With Royal Yacht, the tonka becomes more evident only as one gets deeper into the bowl. Want to know what tonka tastes like? Then try 1792. With Royal Yacht, you get more tobacco flavor, and it is a little less sweet. 1792 knocks you off your feet with nicotine from the first light. Murray's Royal Yacht is strong, but takes longer for the nicotine to hit.

Burns hot, so avoid nosewarmers. A longer stem gives the smoke more time to cool.

My wife gives it a thumbs down for room note.

Overall, I don't recommend the older version, simply because it's not worth the premium price to buy vintage tins.

Pipe Used: Best in a larger bowl, longer stem.

Age When Smoked: 9+ years

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - 1792 Flake?.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2014-09-04		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

After reading about this venerable blend, I had to get me a tin and see if the hype was for real or not. This will not disappoint in any way. Upon opening the tin, the moisture level is about perfect. Some will need to dry it for a while, but it won't need too much, YMMV. The nicotine level does grow as you smoke down the pipe, so be warned if you are sensitive to Vitamin N to be on a full stomach before filling up your pipe with this one. The tobacco used in this blend is first rate and it shows. The tin note and room note are of plums, or maybe raisins even comes through for you. Definitely recommended when you can get your hands on some.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	vespa (18)	2014-04-03		Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant

I've been smoking alot of Va's lately and RY has been hitting the mark for me. Sweet, Spicy and on the spot. If there is a topping it's very mild and doesn't detract from the Awesome Va taste, this is a must have for the Va lovers out there and will stay in my rotation for sometime to come. If you have a love for Va's with little to muddle up your smoke this is a must have. WIN WIN alround!!!!

Pipe Used: Hilson Vintage

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Emerson's Virginia Beach, Va.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FireintheBriar (9)	2014-02-02		Strong	None Detected	Very Full	Unnoticeable

The fabulous thing about smoking a pipe is the myriad of tobacco that is available. I look forward to trying new blends; it is like hunting a new patch of woods or like fishing a new stream. What lies inside of that tin is ready for you to experience; sometimes grand and sometimes it leaves a bad taste in your mouth! Royal Yacht (RY) is one of the blue ribbons of pipe smoking as the Ausable River is a blue ribbon to fly-fishing. I have kept both at arms length due to the stories of their strength. The Ausable can be difficult to wade in some areas, but has pocket water that yields big rewards for those who will walk on greasy bowling balls to get there; RY also yields many rewards. The tin aroma is nothing short of delicious, how could something so strong smell so sweet? RY packs wonderfully and burns willingly, so much so that I was cowering in anticipation of a nicotine wallop. The taste is bold and identifiably stronger than most of the English blends that I flirt with, but to my surprise and relief the wallop of nicotine never reared its foot to kick me. I can report no tongue bite, nor can I say anything negative. RY does build a head of steam as it goes, and about midway through the bowl I could tell it was getting a bit heartier. The smoke was richer and the taste was thicker, but still no negative effects to report. Again I have dodged this blend and stuck to my English Blends so I could save myself excessive nicotine exposure. Perhaps there is more nic in my usual suspects than I thought. Anyway RY is a deep and rich experience you should try, and if your wife asks why you are wearing a life jacket while smoking your pipe, just tell her "Safety First dear Safety First"!

A morning update: I drink a quad shot of espresso with a splash of half N half in the morning. This morning I took a pipe of RY with it; the RY masked all the strong flavors of the espresso except the chocolaty note of the bean. That certainly testifies to the powerful flavor in RY when it is able to nearly hide a quad shot of espresso, no easy task as these beans are fresh roasted daily. Finally a tobacco that goes well with and can stand up to a solid coffee!

Pipe Used: Stanwell, Pellini, Custombuilt

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2009-05-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Another one of the great ones from England that one cannot buy in the States. I swear, if I lived in England I could be very happy with their tobaccos. I found a tin of this one in Burmuda while cruising. I had never tried it before so only bought one can. I deeply regret this, it only cost me $4.70 for the tin and they had plenty of it. This and these English Blends are turning me into a VA lover. This one is mostly a VA with a little fruity flavoring that smells sweet in the tin and upon lighting up, smell rich and fragrant in the room. It packed easily as it's a riff cut medium brown tobacco and it lit on first light and stayed lit all the way down. It was very gentle on the tongue even when I smoked it kind of fast. It smoked down to a dark grey ash dottle with no gurgling or goopiness in my pipe. It smokes wonderful in a Peterson System pipe and I enjoyed it very much. Oh why did I not buy more?

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Norfolk Pipe (2)	2020-07-05		Medium to Strong	Medium	Overwhelming	Pleasant

Ah me - well, the world is heading up that well known creek without a paddle and to top it all off I've just had an argument with the missus. What better time to jot down a few thoughts on Royal Yacht, a tin of which I recently procured in Great Yarmouth along with some Dunhill/Peterson Dark Flake? (No, I can't yet quite bring myself not to write 'Dunhill'.) I much, much prefer the Dark Flake. But more on that another time perhaps.

Royal Yacht : it is a legendary, well-loved blend. That much is certain.

Equally certain : I dislike it. I tried a tin of the Dunhill about six years ago and wasn't keen. For some reason, the other day I sadly decided to give it another punt. I've had a few bowls now and can report that the ambivalence I felt before has developed into something akin to loathing. Strolling along in a pine forest by the sea the other day with friends; a perfect opportunity for a pipe you'd have thought? I pulled out the 707 and packed it nicely. But all I got from this vituperative blend (i.e. it abused my mouth) was grief.

Why anyone would pollute their palate with this concoction beats me.

Yes, it smells good in the tin and has a decent room note, but for Pete's sake - there are so many beautiful blends out there that are a pleasure to smoke.

Unless you are one of those unfortunates whose tongues have turned into an unfeeling stub of charcoal from excessive smoking and you would therefore be unable to perceive the foulness of this rot, I advise you to steer well clear.

I've no doubt that in decades past it was better. Like so much else in this ever further desecrated world of ours.

In sum, a bitter and biting bowl of ghastliness. NOT GOOD.

If J.S. Bach had filled his pipe with this stuff I fear we would have had to endure three centuries of Schoenbergian dissonance by now.

Greetings and salutations to all. God keep you in these dark times.

The Norfolk Pipe

Pipe Used: Savinelli 707 KS

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ynrozturk (62)	2018-01-05		Strong	None Detected	Full	Strong

While browsing my local tobacconist here, I found two tins of Royal Yacht hiding in a dark corner. This is not the Orlik blend, but the Murray blend. Seems that they were hiding there for quite a while. And having never tried this blend before, I picked up both tins without hesitation.

And as soon as I got home, I immediately put away a tin in storage, and opened the other. I wanted to dive right into this, as its reputation precedes itself.

The tin note is absolutely lovely. I get a lot of raisins and just good, honest, old fashioned tobacco, with that excellent Dunhill ribbon cut I love so much. It smells full, earthy and strong. And all of these flavors I would soon discover, translate into the actual smoke.

Packs very easily, and burns easily as well. Does not bite. Does not burn hot. But that's the thing - if you smoke this too fast, the nicotine will put you on your ass, and I'm not joking. This is meant to be smoked slow, and if you treat it with respect, it will give you a great smoke.

Because of the nicotine content, I smoke this in a small bowl. No way I'd put this into a big Nording because I simply couldn't handle the nicotine for an hour and a half. But for a nice half hour smoke, it does the job great.

The flavor on the other hand, is what I'm not too keen on. While it doesn't taste bad, it's just too one dimensional and tastes too much like strong cigarettes, and it has that room note as well. This is a no holds barred, serious pipe tobacco which packs a strong punch. This is not advised for the beginner. I'm sure even some seasoned smokers could have problems with the nicotine content here. This is a Virginia blend but it's dark and rich Virginia - no wheat, grass or lime notes here.

All that said, it is not a bad smoke by any means, just not for me personally, especially flavor wise. The nicotine is also far above my threshold, so I couldn't smoke it all day even if I wanted to. But nevertheless, it's an excellent tobacco. I can really see why people love this. It's strong, it's deep, it's honest, and it's very high quality.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Old

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Falliver (42)	2019-09-16		Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin aroma is pleasant of incense and tea, and a slight fruity tinge of lavashak. The tobacco in my tin, contrary to other reviewers’, was on the dry side with a barely noticeable casing of sorts. This, however, I fail to recognise upon smoking.

It lights and stays lit easily, and delivers a cool and full bodied smoke, with enough of vitamin N, I daresay, to satisfy most. Less fruity on the tongue, tea and incense is preserved from the aroma to the flavours in the smoke. It’s gentle to the tongue and throat, but is deserving of a slow smoke nonetheless, delivering thick smoke in even the smallest puffs. Truly and outstanding tobacco, leaving in my case a white and dry ash in the bowl.

I will recommend smoking it in a small-stemmed pipe also, being rather ashy in flavour in the churchwarden. Despite this, I haven’t had many tobaccos with this tea and incense smell and taste, which I find highly intriguing and mellow. If not to familiar with vitamin N, it will probably have you seated while smoking though.

Pipe Used: My Lillehammer pipes, and Jarl Churchwarden

Age When Smoked: From the tin

Purchased From: Augustine Cigar Oslo

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2018-05-10		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Comes in ribbons, the usual Dunhill cut. Three shades of brown in almost equal parts. Tin note, while not very intense, has a faint ‘plumy’ note on a background of yeasty tobacco aroma. The freshly opened tin had optimal moisture to smoke so I jarred it straight away.

Royal Yacht is indeed a strong and full bodied smoke. Not unpleasantly so - at least for me. While smoking my first bowl I started to hiccup but it did not happen again. Tastewise, although tasty it’s not loaded with flavor. And despite the fact that it nominally has a plum flavouring, the dominant flavor is that of tobacco. It is quite dry and although a straight Virginia it does have some complexity. Actually the flavor, nutty, reminded me a little of Semois which is a Burley grown in Belgium. Royal Yacht is smoother though. When sipped I got some sweet notes as well. I can also imagine raisins and wood and some smoky dark fired notes and present are some yeasty and spicy notes as well. I’d classify Royal Yacht to the ‘cigarette-like’ tobaccos which means that it is very tobaccoey –despite the plum flavoring- and as such and because of its strength I’d recommend it to seasoned smokers. Room note is quite bold and it leaves an intense, mildly bitter, aftertaste on the mouth.

Do not get fooled by the flavouring, this is a true tobacco smoke. Not a typical Virginia, as I said I do get some Burley-like notes, but Royal Yacht is an outstanding tobacco but not exactly made for repeated use during the day.

Similar Blends: Similar top note to University Flake but otherwise these tobaccos produce quite different smoking experiences..

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kamerling (28)	2016-09-05		Medium	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable to Strong

Royal Yacht is not royal at all! Actually, it's not even a yacht. It's a casual fishboat... with a hole in the deck. I cannot understand those delighted reviews - a dry nicotine-bomb, Virginia without any surprise. Maybe good as a background for your own home-made mixtures, but not for that price. Royal Yacht is a typical overrated pipe tobacco. There was a Monty Python's sketch desribing this quite good.

Interviewer (Michael Palin): Good evening. I have with me in the studio tonight one of the country's leading skin specialists - Raymond Luxury Yacht.

Raymond (Graham Chapman): That's not my name!

Interviewer: I'm sorry - Raymond Luxury Yach-t.

Raymond: No, no, no - it's spelt Raymond Luxury Yach-t, but it's pronounced "Throatwobbler Mangrove".

... the same problem is with Dunhill Royal Yacht.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CoolPilot (69)	2014-03-29		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Strong virginia, rich in taste and strength, ready to be smoked. I found this blend a little bit too dry, but exceptionally good. The Dunhill Nightcap does for EM what the Royal Yacht does for virginia. If you are searching for tasty and strong blend virtginia based, with nothing else, this is it. I think it is a must-try for people that use to smoke FVF, for example, because this virginia is imho much better.

Pipe Used: lubinsky

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hamzah (2)	2014-02-01		Strong	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

The name is identical to the taste. Such a strange statement to start with though this is true. When I smoke this Virginia tobacco it makes me feel I am in a luxurious world far from everyone, very relaxed accompanied by a very distinguished viginia taste but still different taste of virginia. It burns quickly with high nicotine and that is why I smoke it slowly in a small pipe so that I will not feel very dizzy. Some of the readers may be amazed to know that I like also to smoke it in the morning but for a short period of time to enjoy its distinguished mild taste. Also, I smoke it for a long time before I go to bed. During the night and because of the nicotine in my body I have different dreams and I write what I dream of in my journal and create ideas for some of my short stories. I do not recommend pressing the tobacco because this will affect the taste. Great for smoking while watching movies but not while reading. From my point of view this is a great tobacco and its worth smoking on regular bases though as I have said it burns quickly. Great taste that can not be described in words. If you love to imagine and feel unique, it is time to sail in the Royal Yacht.

Pipe Used: Savenilli Peterson

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hottgunn (19)	2013-11-03		Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is my first try at RY. I usually smoke Dunhill's LM or MM 965 and many of the Pease tobaccos. Tin note is medium with the scent of hay and newly mowed grass and rather sweet. Moisture seems about right and it packs easily. The smoke gets richer as the bowl progresses and tastes a great deal like the tin aroma. No tongue bite but I did smoke it in one of Petersons with a P-lip mouthpiece. Not an over powering flavor like Latakia tobaccos but an extremely rich and satisfying smoke than develops over time. Clean after taste. I can't recall any tobacco that tastes anything like RY. A VERY big nicotine hit - the most of any of my tried tobaccos even more than Dunhill's Night Cap. As with all Virginia tobaccos I smoke, it seems to smoke best in my Peterson pipes for whatever reason. A wonderful and very satisfying tobacco. I like it more each time I smoke it. Most highly recommended.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blackhorse (96)	2011-04-09		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail here, that's been done by plenty of others. This seems to be an interesting side step for Dunhill, at least for me. Prior to trying this one most of my experience with Dunhill had been their English and flake items. Although I love the flake, I'm tired of English blends and more into blends that are devoid of Latakia and it's cousins. So Royal Yacht really hit the bullseye. I love Burley and VA/Burley blends and things with that Brit 'treacle' hint (the molasses/raisin thing) if done well. And this one I think uses that kind of casing/topping of wherever in the process it's applied. Doesn't matter. It's good in th pouch, handles well and easily, is quite tractable in the bowl and produces the magic trio (for me): a) it's easy to pack and light, b) it smokes with a wonderful flavor that is primarily a rich tobacco flavor that is enhanced with the added flavoring, and c) it behaves well with no bite, moderate Vit N hit and burns cleanly. That might be more than three. doesn't really matter. This is world class and a classic. (six stars)

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2005-09-28		Strong	Medium	Very Full	Strong

Royal Yacht is very much like 1792. They are both high quality, very strong tobaccos with very distinct toppings. The cut here isn't a slightly rubbed out flake like 1792--it's more fine, and fully rubbed out, somewhat dissimilar to a ribbon cut. Whetever you call it, the cut lends particularly well to packing and burning. Lighting is no problem.

The tin that I have is an Orlik version--and though some have commented on its weaker nature--I fail to see how this thing could be any stronger. In my estimate, this KOs 1792 in the strength department, though the match is hard fought.

If you're looking for a description of the topping, I'm at a loss. It's there, it's different, and it's noticeable..in short, it's one of those love/hate type things like Blue Note--without the monstrous bite.

Royal Yacht clearly isn't for everyone, but it's nice when you want to get knocked on the floor. For those that are big fans of 1792, I'm sure you won't have a problem here. Whatever your gig, Royal Yacht will likely spark one's voice of opinion.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nkulk8r (90)	2020-01-04		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

"Now I will have to settle for Royal Yacht like that asshole Stalin"!

("It's okay -- some aromatics are actually pretty good") . . .

---------------------------------------------------------

It's 2020 -- Royal Yacht has been around since before WWI began -- and I'm just now getting around to the latest iteration of this legendary blend for the very first time (more than a century after WWI ended).

Where to begin?

1) By reading all of the 1-star reviews 2) By reading all of the 2-star reviews 3) By reading all of the 3-star reviews 4) By reading all of the 4-star reviews, and finally, 5) By smoking a bowl of Royal Yacht.

Royal Yacht: An aromatic that I actually smoked all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

I typically do not purchase 3-star tobaccos, nor do I generally smoke them. For me, Royal Yacht would be a 4-star recommend, except for the following: 1) I would prefer actual Perique in my bowl as opposed to some artificial chemical perfume, and, 2) I woke this morning with a an aftertaste in my mouth which felt as though I had been kicked in the mouth by a bad cigar the night before (hence the 3-star recommend).

As a rule, I generally eschew aromatics (even though I started out with them). When I want to smoke tobacco, I want to smoke tobacco, and nothing else. But alas, there is no tobacco that has not been adulterated in one way or another with some form of additive, casing, topping, so, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone in search of aromatics that are actually smokeable. Royal Yacht is one of these.

So now I finally have three aromatics in my rotation (the other two being Frog Morton's Cellar and Watch City Deluxe Crumb Cut -- the latter two being 4-star blends for me).

This is an authentically old-school codger blend. If the only pipe tobacco I had access to was Royal Yacht, I suppose I would only smoke Royal Yacht (though I would pick up the pipe much less frequently than I currently do).

In summation, Royal Yacht is, in fact, a unique smoking blend -- a quintessentially classic mixture more than a century old -- and should be sampled by any piper who considers themself a piper.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steerpike (150)	2019-08-10		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A nice Virginia ribbon cut tobacco with a very subtle fruity topping. I remember smoking this many years ago when it was made by Murrays, and thinking it was Dunhills effort to make a posh rival to Erinmore: the topping seemed similar albeit sparingly applied, and the Virginia base was strong. Perhaps the similar colour scheme of the tin encouraged that idea for me, and I was probably wrong since Royal Yacht was introduced in 1912, while Erinmore appeared in the 1920s. I'm now smoking a tin of the last production from Europe, and the topping is barely detectable.

In the tin we have some mid brown leaf in the usual Dunhill ribbon cut. It's on the dry side, ideal for smoking, and the aroma in the tin is mild: sultanas and fruitcake. Very pleasant. It lights easily and requires few relights even in a new pipe with minimal cake. It does burn faster than the Virginia flakes I usually enjoy, but provides an adequate dose of vitamin N. As such it can be handy for a quicker smoke (all rather relative of course, and the pipe is fundamentally not adapted to the convenient rapid consumption of tobacco: in my view a good thing).

The flavour is mild, very sweet and pleasant. It is quite zesty in the beginning, with some citrus and new mown hay. As it progresses bready, creamy flavours like buttered tea cake appear. Towards the end of the bowl I do notice a slight harshness, perhaps its a nicotine tingle, but it can seem a tad harsh at the back of my throat. I don't remember this with the Murrays production, and it's interesting that the old Dunhill blurb recommended it for cases of "delicate throat". In any case this is strong Virginia tobacco and as such it isn't likely to cause tongue bite unless severely provoked. Smoke it gently to enjoy the flavours.

It's nice on a hot day, or a an early morning smoke to wake up the taste buds. If you are sensitive to nicotine have a hearty breakfast first.

This isn't a tobacco that I was particularly drawn to in the past, but it's pretty good and in the interests of research I'll probably try the Charatan replacement "Royal Escape", and report back.

------------------update-------------

I've found that the harshness I sometimes experienced at the end of the bowl doesn't occur in a pipe that's well broken in with good cake. Also, I'm finding this baccy quite delicious, in fact I think it's the best ribbon cut straight Virginia I've tried. As such I'm upgrading it to four stars.

Pipe Used: Northern Briars premier Liverpool

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Turmeus, Liverpool

Similar Blends: Erinmore (less so with the more recent production, and much more subtly topped).

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nathaniel (35)	2018-03-08		Strong	Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I’d never had any particular interest in trying this blend. It was on my list, but nowhere near top priority. Virginia-based blends are not usually my first choice, and when I do smoke them, I prefer a much subtler topping than Royal Yacht’s was purported to be. I like the flavor of Virginia as it is; in fact, “straight Virginia” is probably my favorite genre of pipe tobacco. But Royal Yacht’s reputation preceded it. I’d read many of these reviews, and they skewed positive. So, finding myself in a tobacconist I’d never visited before, I picked up a tin. This particular place has a far better selection than my usual, more conveniently located option. Light on the aromatics and the house blends and a decent, if not world-class, array of tins. They didn’t have a straight Virginia, which was my first choice, so I settled for something “Virginia based”.

My first smoke of the Royal Yacht was right there on the shop’s tiny balcony. The shop is a cramped though inviting little space wedged above a hookah lounge and awkwardly off-adjacent to a tattoo parlor. The balcony seats exactly two. I made myself at home and cracked my tin. Smell out of the tin was sweet and metallic: fruit (I remembered the comparisons to Juicy Fruit gum and found them apt) layered over the sweet smell of dry grass, with some notes of dry autumn leaves. Old pennies, and far in the background is the faintest suggestion of spice, like curry powder. About medium in intensity; it doesn’t reek from the tin like Nightcap. It’s an odd smell, not offensive or off-putting, but unlike anything you are likely to encounter outside of the pipe-smoking hobby. My tin was a little wet, but not objectionably so. I probably could have loaded up and smoked as is, but I wasn’t in any kind of hurry, so I scooped out a bowl’s worth (kudos to Dunhill for packing their tins generously; McClelland, take note) and let it sit on the tin lid to dry for a minute.

Packing is simple, even though Royal Yacht is a little clumpier than I expect from Dunhill’s usual standards. I think of this as halfway between a ribbon cut and a ready-rubbed. Being so, it rubs out pretty much effortlessly. I found a medium pack to smoke a little hot, so I’m going to say pack this one a little firmer and sip slowly.

There’s a rough edge to this smoke, one that doesn’t smooth out as you smoke through the bowl. The metallic scent I pick up in the tin note translates to a weird coppery taste, like sucking on an old penny. It has an echo of the sourness of plums, but the sweetness is a function of the Virginias, not the topping, which I enjoy and prefer.

Honestly, this began as a bit of an enigma to me (with all my biases and predilections as a pipe smoker). Why the topping? Why would you take quality Virginias and squirt plum flavoring on them? Why plum? I’ve had some stoved dark straight Virginia that tasted of plum, of dark fruit, and I thoroughly enjoyed it (I’m thinking of Blackwoods Flake, which is my favorite blend). But to take a Virginia with one flavor and top it with a flavor that can be naturally found in other Virginias seems odd to me. I would love to try a version of this that replaces the flavoring with a naturally fruity stoved Virginia. I’m not averse to topped or cased tobaccos across the board, even aromatics: I smoked a big bowl of 1-Q this morning and have been smoking Carter Hall as my base tobacco as of late. It’s just that Royal Yacht is neither here nor there, neither one or the other. The tobaccos aren’t distinguished enough to make a first-class Virginia blend, and the topping isn’t tasty enough to make a quality aromatic.

However, subsequent smokes reveal a few pleasant surprises. The topping fades a little, moving from Juicy Fruit to a subtle, mild apricot that melds beautifully with the natural Virginia sweetness. There’s a little aromatic woodsiness — sandalwood? that puts me in mind of a fruit pit: that bitterness you get from biting into an apple seed or an unripe almond. It’s become a really vegetal smoke: fruity sweetness, clean woodiness, moldering brown leaves, a slight green bitterness. And it’s almost enough to redeem this tobacco for me. It’s a blend that will teach you to sip. Both the nicotine content and the harsh flavor that emerges at anything more than a controlled, almost somnolent cadence demand a measured pace. But the rewards of taking your time are quite pleasant indeed.

Royal Yacht is virtually tasteless in a meerschaum. When I cracked the tin, the topping made me worry about ghosting my briars, but I think that was unfounded, especially once the leaf has dried out and the the topping fades a little. I won’t be smoking this in anything but a briar pipe again.

The thing I really appreciate about Royal Yacht is its uniqueness. It is unapologetically, brashly itself. The bold flavor and the generous dose of nicotine combine to make a tobacco with a energetic and uninhibited personality. It’s pros are also it’s cons: it can be fussy, rough, and it is a slight enigma, which means smoking it is never a completely comfortable experience. It is an experience, though, and every pipe smoker ought to try it at least once.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BatmanPipes (10)	2017-12-31		Mild to Medium	Very Strong	Extra Full	Very Strong

Why: You have heard about it but are afraid to do it because you know it will automatically replace several other brands you have with many tins of this instead. It wins both as a top Virginia and a pipe tobacco. It scores tops on nearly every feature. You haven’t experienced a Virginia like it before.

Looks: The tin is unmissable. Yellow background with red foreground and fancy font. The tobacco is dark for a Virginia almost like a Cavendish or burley, but the texture is much lighter. There is a faint purple shine to it all. Smells deep spicey. All of this is because of the plum flavouring treatment.

Using?: If you have never seen a full pipe bowl top turn into a perfect coin shape of ash that just slides off, then Royal Yacht is the way. It burns perfectly. It goes straight into smolder. It never flames up. It never goes out very quickly. If it vanishes too fast, it’s for obvious reasons. You’re enjoying it. Quite smokey. Musty spicey plum taste and room note. The burn is unique. A small hot central heat that effortlessly smolders all the tobacco in concentric rings around it. Looks like a hot car lighter dimming out!

Result: You can learn a lot from this tobacco namely because it sets a benchmark. Other mixes may do better than it in some areas but usually not in the others like the Royal Yaught way. Also realizing it’s only a Virginia with some flavouring treatment doing all this is astonishing. It tastes spicey all the way through.

Conclusion: Dunhill has a tobacco that undermines all its other brands. I can easily see people dispense with Early Morning Pipe and Night Cap and use this instead and maybe even for the whole day as some believers have turned to it. The only reason I will still use Early Morning and Night Cap is because Royal Yacht can be a little heavier for some people. I can safely say that Royal Yacht has easily become a bulk order to replace several other well known brands in my collection. That’s how good it really is.

Pipe Used: Peterson Dracula 68

Similar Blends: Dunhill Early Morning and Night Cap..

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Koimann (2)	2014-09-27		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Very Pleasant

simply a superb tobacco blend ! very satisfying and a beautifully nuanced smoking experience; strong in taste and nicotine. To date, it's the only blend that gives me that "not wanting more feeling" As a heavy "roll up" smoker I think I have found a more refined smoking replacement - Royal Yacht = instant smoking satisfaction. A proper baccy for serious smokers, try it you won't be disappointed.

Pipe Used: Dunhill

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Lewis Darby - Cardiff

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2014-05-17		Strong	None Detected	Full	Strong

I just had a few bowls of the "new" The Royal Yacht Mixture by Dunhill, which is now produced by Kohlhase and Kopp in Germany.

The 50g tin cost me 12,25 EUR (April 2014 in Germany). It is one of the more high priced tobaccos.

Opening the thin, I expected a fruity aroma. But I only smelled strong tobacco, almost like opening a carton of cigars -- nothing more, nothing less.

It is a standard mixture. Loading the pipe, one match, maybe two, and you're good to go. No problems there. If you puff slowly, you always get a cool smoke throughout the whole bowl.

The tase is, at least in my opinion, very very similar to the J. F. Germain & Son Brown Flake pipe tobacco. There is only a very, amost undetectable sweetness in the background. It is much more earthy, tart, dry almost bitter, even smoked with discipline very cool (just to keep it glowing). Personally, I miss depth, and of course a bit more of sweetness and also the considered fruity aroma (btw I dindn't expect an aromatic here!).

The roomnote is strong and considered by non-smokers as "Oh no, you smoke this one only outside!!!".

It is a good quality tobacco. I guess if you like e.g. Germain's Brown Flake or maybe Peterson's Irish Flake, you definitely should try this one. If you're more a friend of matured sweet virginias with a slight aroma of apricots, plums or raisins, this tobacco is maybe not the right one for you.

Pipe Used: different unfiltered pipes

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (231)	2014-04-24		Very Strong	Strong	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

First of all we have to distinguish between natural aromatic tobaccos (only tobacco) and tobaccos with flavoring (tobacco + flavors). In the same way we have to distinguish between tobaccos with natural flavoring (natural flavors) and tobaccos with artificial flavoring (artificial and chemical flavors). Sadly, Dunhill Royal Yacht belong to the last type. It is straight Virginia of course, but there is a lot of casing and it is not a pure tobacco. Moreover it is not only natural flavoring, but also artificial flavoring. Openin the tin the scent is wonderful, the tobacco is nutty, with a white chocolate smell. However this Virginia is very very strong and the real taste is not of pure Virginia. Chemical additives are add, put on top. If you like pure tobacco, this is not for you. I regret, for me is only a star: my mark is 5-.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	oldcodger (74)	2014-04-26		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Dunhill Royal Yacht is a pipe tobacco unlike any other. Composed of Virginia, the cut is a small ribbon, almost shag, and the color dark.

Royal Yacht has a distinct flavoring added. I am not sure just what goes in it, but I would suggest that plum, chocolate, and tonquin are all present. Is this a semi-aromatic or a light aromatic? I rate it a light aromatic, although the flavoring does not obscure the tobacco taste by any means.

The room note is OK, and more that of a Virginia rather than an aromatic.

Royal Yacht is almost legendary for its nicotine kick, and some warn that it should not be smoked on an empty stomach. Personally, I am not overly sensitive to nicotine, and I can smoke it on an empty stomach. But those who do not tolerate high nicotine levels should be wary of this tobacco.

This is a somewhat pricey pipe tobacco. somewhat more expensive than most other Dunhills. I enjoy smoking it, although there are a number of Virginias I like better, and almost all of them are cheaper. Nevertheless I give Royal Yacht three stars, and a recommended rating, for it is a most unusual smoke, and it is highly favored by a significant number of pipe smokers. Are you going to be one of that group? You will never know unless you try it.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mdnyc71 (22)	2013-10-30		Very Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

The casing is very light and pleasant. The cut is closer to shag than ribbon - a good thing for my pace and burn preference. This is a great smoke with a stout hit of nicotine. I get the same nicotine experience from Royal Yacht that I get from Fillmore but with more of a medium taste (I consider the taste of Fillmore to be "full").

11/07/13 - I'm changing my recommendation to 4 stars for the simple reason that I reach for this blend as often or more often than my existing favorites.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (632)	2013-02-18		Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I wasn't too crazy about the taste of this, but I wasn't repulsed by it either. My biggest gripe is the topping which is not terrible, but did not really add anything positive to the smoking experience IMO. What I did enjoy was the nicotine strength that it delivers for a blend composed of only Virginia leaf of such a light color. This is one thing I really enjoy about Dunhill tobaccos. The nic is always spot on to leave you properly sated.

This does not rise to a level of 4 stars for me, but I easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys VAs and would like one with a little more strength. The topping is not overpowering and it tends to dissipate quickly enough to let the VAs come through from beginning to end, so I would not call this a heavy aromatic; so my gripe about the topping does not keep me from enjoying this one.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-07-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I once heard that Dunhill Royal Yacht was an acquired taste.

Little did that person know that I, like Indiana Jones, am an obtainer of rare antiquities. Which Royal Yacht distinguishably is.

The tin aroma is very heavy, piquant as described, much like a box of fresh raisins.

The thin shreds of tobacco vary from dark chocolate to a creamy coffee brown.

It packs beyond effortlessly, lights itself, all you have to do is bring a flame to it and burns incredibly easy.

I think this may truly be a tobacco that every piper should try at least once.

However, I did notice that the strength was slightly lacking, the flavor was pretty bland, and that I may have used the wrong pipe. This to me, seems like something that should be enjoyed in a smaller bowl. I know a lot people favor larger bowls, but this seems like a scotch type tobacco. You won't ever drink a keg of scotch in one sitting, nor would you want to.

This is a delicate tobacco, and at the same time nothing too special. It's almost like comparing Starbucks to Folgers. Now, on that same token, I do drink Folgers every day. I don't drink Starbucks nearly as much as I would like to, but I digress.

This is a high quality tobacco with a flavor profile not all too dissimilar to that of Prince Albert or Carter Hall, just made with higher quality ingredients.

I may edit/update this review once I have tried it in a different pipe at least once more.

10/26/2012 Edit: Upgrading this to four stars. Age and refining tastes yields a great deal of pleasure with this tobacco.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-04-18		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I recently started exploring aromatics again. Qualities I look for in a good aromatic are lack of bite, pleasant topping flavor that compliments tobacco flavor, and burning quality. One thing I miss in aromatics is that satisfying tobacco punch.

Royal Yacht has all those qualities. There is no mistaking this tobacco is topped. The flavor is in the neighbor hood of stewed fruit, fruit cake, and figs. I think one of the previous reviewers compared the taste to that of the filling found in fig newtons. Close enough.

You'll get a lot more from Royal Yacht than the taste of the topping - there's full, rich taste of Virginias too. It's not easy to tell where the taste of the tobacco stops and the flavoring starts, which to me means each of the flavors compliment one another. I especially appreciate the fact I can smoke this, enjoy VA flavor, and not worry about tongue bite.

If you've heard all the hype, and wonder how good or bad it can be, I recommend buying a tin and finding out for yourself. I wouldn't hesitate to encourage anyone to give this blend a try. Three stars.

========UPDATE==========

I'm nearing the end of my tin and the exposure to air has only made this even better. The flavoring is a bit less pronounced after considerable time to breath, and the tradeoff is more of the tobacco flavor. I wouldn't necessarily recomend drying of the tobacco, but a week or two in a new container after opening the tin make a difference. In other words, its good right out of the tin, and just gets better from there. I've given my review a well deserved upgrad to four starts - highly recommended.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDave (12)	2020-07-04		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant

One of the best tobaccos there is. It’s rich in flavour and mellow in strength. It’s an everyday, all day tobacco which leaves you wanting more, but also completely satisfies your pipe and tobacco craving each bowl.

There are some strange reviews about this tobacco. It shouldn’t really be considered an aromatic. It will be enjoyed by those who like a straight Virginia with a well rounded mellow taste. Most straight virginias lack much flavour but this does have a rich smooth creamy mellow flavour, which soothes the mouth. More flavour than other Virginia blends which I’ve tried.

It’s ready to smoke straight out of the tin. I usually open the tin, put the tobacco in a jar and leave the lid off for an hour. Then close the lid. Next day I start smoking it. Having said that, the last time I had it, I opened it and smoked it right away. In fact I never jarred it, just kept it from the tin and smoked it. It’s just kind to you at all times.

It’s very tolerant of your smoking style and uncomplicated. Equally good through a churchwarden meerschaum or a petite bowl briar with short stem. It works in any pipe.

Very soothing on the mouth and tongue. This might sound strange, but if another tobacco leaves you with a dry or burnt mouth - smoke a bowl of Royal Yacht. As unbelievable as it sounds, it makes your mouth better and the tongue bite go away! Unbelievable I know, but true.

Smokes very well, burns down to nothing. It’s good in nicotine but not ridiculously strong as some people claim. It can be smoked outside in the breeze without getting too hot. It doesn’t ever burn or bite you. Not ever. Just keep lightly tamping it down as you smoke the bowl, and it takes care of you. It’s really Very good.

If you are having trouble with finding a tobacco which suits you, try this before you give up. I give it 4 stars. I understand some who give it 3 stars, Virginia lovers have different tastes. However, those who gave it 1 or 2 stars simply shouldn’t have reviewed it - perhaps they need to realise it’s because they don’t like straight virginias. They should stick to reviewing their heavily flavoured aromatics, etc.

Royal Yacht is a must for everyone to try. Especially if you are new to pipe smoking - it is just so easy you can’t go wrong with them.

The other great thing about Royal Yacht - in this era we often don’t have time to smoke for an hour. Royal Yacht you can smoke a bowl in half an hour. Yet like I say, it doesn’t burn hot. This tobacco suits the lifestyle of the modern pipe smoker - you can smoke it whilst walking to work or when outside as the breeze doesn’t turn it into a hot mouth burner.

Equally good in a tiny bowl pipe or a large bowl pipe, it just works without any fuss.

4 stars for sure.

I have now smoked almost all of the Dunhill tobaccos. Plus a huge number of other Peterson and other brands of aromatics. Royal Yacht keeps pulling me back. Favourite Dunhills, eg Standard Mixture, MM965 and Nightcap are best after a months or two in a jar.

Royal Yacht is perfect straight out of the tin or after three months jarred.

Flavouring added - 1/4 Barely noticeable

Cut - ribbon, perfect ‘one match light’

Strength - 3/4

Creaminess and smoke density - 4/4

Taste - 4/4

Nicotine - 3/4

Mouth burn/ tongue bite - 0/4 none at all!

Recommend trying - 4/4

Overall experience - 4/4

Weeks to jar before smoking - 0/4 perfect straight out of the tin

Pipe Used: Peterson 999 Kildare, Savinelli 626 Tortuga

Age When Smoked: Straight out of the tin. Jar

Similar Blends: In a league of its own..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	John_B (33)	2020-02-06		Very Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

Not a full on review, but my take on this powerhouse blend. It is erring on the side of sheer overkill. It smells great in the tin. First light is ok with the usual Virginia notes and the plum topping evident. As you progress further it becomes obvious that this tobacco is like the call of the Siren, gently luring those in its thrall to certain doom. It has an unusual ammount of nicotine for a straight Virginia and it creeps up on you, whilst you blissfully enjoy the flavour. I am not a nicotine lightweight, yet I feel that smoking it with a gentle cadence is all that is keeping me clear of the heebie jeebies by a mere knife edge. It is most definitely not an all day smoke, unless you are a very hardened nic space cadet. I would think twice about buying this blend again on the grounds that it doesn't fit my normal flavour profile, and I am more into the concept of the all day smoke. Curiosity satisfied, I move on, and will use this tin for occasional "night cap" smokes.

Update:-

I wanted a quick smoke and hadn't the time to rub out and air some flake, and the tin was sat there daring me to give it a go. Upshot of this is that I did indeed give it a go in a small bowl on an empty stomach ! I did not turn green or suffer undue nicotine side effects and it was actually a pleasant short smoke. It seems that this is its role as a "quick smoke" and I can see it being useful in that respect. Thusly I have awarded it an extra star and would perhaps buy more to fulfil that purpose. I have flakes for the long contemplative smoke, but sometimes instant gratification is the order of the day.

Pipe Used: Falcon and Jambo reject Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: My Smoking Shop

Similar Blends: Petersons Perfect Plug.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Workman (3)	2019-12-28		Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Dunhill Royal Yacht, a brief review. To clear any misunderstandings, this blend is now being sold as Peterson Royal Yacht. As far as I know, the blend is the same, only the brand name has changed. This is a blend of empire virginias, topped with a plum essence. The cut is a ready rub, somewhat uneven, but very easy to pack and get going. When I pop a tin of RY, I'll smoke the first bowls rather moist. In this state, the topping is obvious and the tobacco itself seems rather muted. The topping is pleasant, lightly applied and fades during the smoke until almost gone by the end of the smoke. Smoking moist tobacco requires more relight and can cause tongue burn. As the contents of the tin dry out, the tobacco burns better, the topping steps back and the tobaccos take the lead. This is a strong blend. Maybe the strongest I have tried. I have not tried the ropes, but compared to 1792 Flake, Irish Flake, ODF and such, this leads the field. It might be because the cut makes it burn a little faster. Empire virginias are stronger and less sweet than the virginias found in, say, Capstan or Full Virginia Flake. The flavors are bready, a little tangy, notes of camphor or something like that arise from the sheer strength of the smoke, especially on the retrohale. There are some prominent flowery notes as well, and I suspect they are the reason some reviewers claim to taste lakeland essences, of which there are none. This blend is way to strong for me to smoke while driving or working, but goes well with an alcoholic beverage, as alcohol and nicotine seem to mellow each other out. I smoke Royal Yacht when I can sit down with a drink on the weekend or when out on the town. I always have some on hand and I give it a full rating. It's perfect for its use.

Pipe Used: Peterson 999 Roundstone & others

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (212)	2019-12-08		Medium to Strong	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This review is for the Peterson RY . I read it is the same recipe , made in the same factory with the same tin art . Opening the tin the smell is Virginia and a fruity topping . The cut is like a fully rubbed out flake . It’s not fluffy like most other dunhill ribbon cuts . This is strong tobacco , i would say past the medium mark ! It lights and burns great right out of the tin . High quality tobacco . The plum taste for the topping is more than mild IMO . It overpowers the tobacco Sometimes . If you love the taste it is probably 3-4 stars . I don’t really love it , but it is okay . Won’t buy it again . 2 1/2 stars for me . Too many great Virginias out there .

Similar Blends: Dunhill 3 yr aged Virginia with a different topping taste . Ry is much stronger.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RedGopnik (16)	2019-12-07		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

One of the few Virginia's that I enjoy and would repurchase. Good flavor and good smoke. Would reccomend for an english smoker looking for a little variety

Taste: strong virginia flavor. I get the top not early bowl but disappears as it goes down. Rushed, it gives off a pleasant bbq taste, kinda like a latakia ghost (smoked only in pipes that have not touched latakia). The vitamin n is strong in this one but not too much. If you are a cigarette smoker, this will give you about 3 cigarettes or more of nicotine content. Smoke it slow and enjoy

Pipe Used: Country gentleman

Age When Smoked: Fresh to 2 weeks

Purchased From: Online

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mawnan Smiff (28)	2016-07-31		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

On a recent trip to my nearest B+M shop (Harvey's of Redruth) I picked up my usual and two new to me blends, one of which was Dunhill's Royal Yacht. As always I couldn't wait to get home and try out my new acquisitions. With a cup of Typhoo I settled down and dug out my McQuade bent bulldog, my preferred pipe for testing purposes.

Upon opening the round 50g tin & peeling back the paper I spied a pleasant mix of mid to dark brown shreds that had an amazing aroma (don't they all?), sweet freshly mown hay came to mind along with a hint of figs or dates. As I always do I tipped the contents onto a copper tray to get some air to it but to be honest this blend didn't appear to be overly moist like so many are.

Filling the bowl was a doddle due to the ribbon cut of the tobacco. Char light and tamp then light proper and we were away. Huge clouds of smoke was the first thing that struck me but it did settle down. Once going proper I could taste the figs/dates in the sweetness of the smoke along with perhaps caramel. I remember thinking 'if this is straight Virginia tobacco then I like straight Virginia tobacco'.

Mid bowl I detected a slightly spicey/peppery hint that surprisingly went well with the dried fruit flavours. No relights were required but if things started to slow down a couple of tugs brought things back again along with more clouds of white smoke. The nicotine content was reasonable without knocking me sideways but I should imagine it would if smoked hard. No tongue bite and zero moisture left in the bowl so no complaints there.

I found this to be almost midway twixt medium & strong, and was reminded of Mellow Virginia though I find MV to be that much more fruity throughout.

Will I be buying this again? I most certainly will though I do baulk at paying an extra £1 per tin simply because it is labelled 'Dunhill'. I have read that the current version is not as good as the Murray produced version so can only wonder at how much more I would have liked it back then.

Sitting here as I am on a lazy Sunday afternoon sipping RY from a bucket bowled Bari egg shaped Oom Paul, listening to the birds twittering and matey across the road mowing his lawn (again) as the sun streams in through my window I feel all is well in the world.

A definite 5 star blend to this relative newcomer (10 months) to pipesmoking.

Pipe Used: McQuade bulldog & Bari Squash.

Age When Smoked: Fresh.

Purchased From: Harvey's of Redruth, Cornwall.

Similar Blends: Mellow Virginia (Benson & Hedges) and not a million miles from Erinmore Flake..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FiremanMick (12)	2015-06-15		Strong	Mild	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Excellent quality leaf.Moisture just right from tin.Very easy light.Billows of smoke.Very full taste - sweet too.Gets more heft by last third of bowl. I can attest to another reviewers post re the slight cigarettish quality. Strong smoke akin to smoking 5 Marlboro Reds rolled Gatling gun style.

I am quite susceptible to the addictive properties of nic and smoked a full tin in 4 days.....very moreish .Due to this I shall steer clear of this blend for a while!! Superb smoke for the more macho amongst us :-)

Pipe Used: Peterson 307s and Deluxe.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: My smoking shop

Similar Blends: Dunhill Navy Rolls..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (217)	2015-05-22		Strong	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin of Royal Yacht that I smoked for this review was my first sample of the RY from STG, and my only disappointment was that I’d put off trying it for so long. I do detect some differences from the various Murrays, but IMO the latest Royal Yacht honors the marque and retains “Classic” status.

Popping the tin, all is pretty much as ever, except the tin note is perhaps more melded now, with the prominent plum topping jumping right out ahead of the full-yet-mellow, aged and partly ferment VAs, along with figs, cocoa, and forest floor. I think that part of the figgy smell (and part of the musty smell) could be Perique, and I’ll get to that, anon. Short ribbons range from a smattering of gold to myriad browns, to almost black, reflecting both leaf selection and the range of treatments the various VAs have been subjected to, from flue to air cured, to stoved and fire cured. Moisture is just a little much initially, but once the tin has been opened it doesn’t take long for RY to become a stuff-and-smoke delight. One char, then you’re off, and it burns down fast with minimal attention. Because it burns so well, one need not pull hard to keep it going, and I recommend a light pack and an easy draw, at least at first. It starts out mellow, and the topping does just what you’d want it to do, along with sweet and savory, grassy, lighter VAs. By ¼ it’s getting spicy, and the richer red VAs kick in, building the body of the smoke. By mid bowl, the earthy stoved and fired VAs are well up, and the spices are rather more than I’d expect from VAs alone, and there is musty/sour along with the sweet, and I keep thinking, Perique, and/or maybe Izmir. By now the celebrated strength of RY is apparent, and you’re smoking a serious, full, tobacco-rich blend that mellows somewhat as it deepens, to the end. The smoke itself is thick and creamy, fragrant and also spicy, in accord with the tastes, and I get Perique here, too, lots of real tobacco tastes and aromas. Strength is strong. Tastes are full. Room note is pleasant, particularly so if considering Perique. Aftertaste is aftermath/best of the smoke, and I find the whole experience very tasty, relaxing, and quite satisfying.

Fruity topping notwithstanding, Dunhill’s Royal Yacht is not aimed at beginners, and straight VA smokers may get slammed by it’s potency. This said, I highly recommend Royal Yacht to experienced VA/Per and KY lovers. YMMV, but IMO, this version is best fairly soon after it's opened, as it tends to flatten a little if it's left in a jar for long.

Pipe Used: various briars

Age When Smoked: STG, fresh to 1 year

Purchased From: Liberty Tobacco

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old6String (27)	2014-10-31		Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Nothing more to add than has already been expounded on. I simply am in love with RY. I remember though as a young pipe smoker trying to push this blend hard on an empty stomach; bad move. It smoked me the first time instead of me smoking it. I was sick boy let me tell you. Grew up alot since then and learned to respect this old timer; been good pals ever since!

Pipe Used: Peterson Killarney

Age When Smoked: Always a fresh tin

Purchased From: JR Cigar, Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Nothing compares in my honest opinion..

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmileyOrb (17)	2014-03-23		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I hadn't realised it's been over 3 years ago since my last review..How time flies!

I purchased a fresh tin today from JJ Fox London, and bagged one of their own house pipes too (straight billiard).

This is a lovely rich full tobacco, and my my my, Nicotine delight too! My palate has matured and this is a easy smoke. But, take it long and gentle...If you puff like a chimney it will whip you. Take it easy, muse on its varied taste between straight VA and a deeper coffee taste...It's a full tobacco and suggest, like many other users have, to compliment it with an after dinner meal. It's a great evening smoke. I like to smoke slowly and it's the best way with this. You need time, chill and make sure your sitting down! It's a luxurious smoke, and great for relaxing and contemplating. I would not smoke this through the day though. I see it as a dessert, or more like a tobacco equivalent of a full pudding! I recommend this to folk who want something rich, luxurious and...full on. The reviews are splendid here so recommend a good browse. Best stored in a sealed jar to keep it fresh. Room note seems accepted from non-smokers, but good for on the porch watching the world go by. Lovely!

Original review 2014-03-23

Like many reviewers have said, this is a fine tobacco. I would advise it's for the evening with a Cognac. The tobacco hit is very strong for me. But the flavour is wonderful. Very enjoyable from a great name. I have this when I need a relaxing lift and is a stand by for when I'm in the right kind of mood.

Please forgive me when I say this is for the experienced pipe smoker. So take it easy!

Pipe Used: Dr Plumb

Age When Smoked: 45

Purchased From: Canterbury tobacconist.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dishman420 (1)	2014-03-21		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Let me be formal and introduce myself my name is Zach, a greenhorn to the world of pipe tobacco. If it weren't for the wonderfully well written reviews here I'd never of started so thanks but enough of that and more of

This Royal Yacht lives up to it's title it features a bold flavor casing of plum that I could taste throughout very pleasant but while I was smoking I'd get a nice earthy dirt like taste with a sweet coffee taste that all went together very well with my lemonade iced tea the icing on the cake for me was that I could still taste the tobacco in this blend and that the nicotine washed over me like a wave-soothing and smooth rich smoke that stayed alight much better than the other blends I have tried and this is fresh out of the can still somewhat moist it will be interesting to see how this tobacco matures- I only filled my pipe half full of this and was glad I did or the nicotine would of been too much for me.

This is my first time trying this (and reviewing) and I think I'll be taking a lot more voyages on the royal yacht

Pipe Used: MO Meerschaum Missouri Pride

Age When Smoked: 21

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars (2 for 1 March Dunhill Deal)

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Piepensmöker (17)	2014-02-08		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Tolerable

An old, yet great mixture. I only sampled the Orlik version and it is a perfect bed time smoke. Strong in nicotine and less sweet, but full of flavor and produces thick pillows of smoke. Airing out is a must, but then it satisfies to great extent. Can bite, but is generally well behaved. Smoke it in a Dunhill to get the full Dunhill experience.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-08-04		Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Royal Yacht was on my daily smokes in the late 90s and early 00s. My preferences are now inclined to milder blends. However I am still consuming this fine classic occasionaly.

There is a difference between the old Murray's and the new EU version. The older tins, if I am remembering well, were a bit stronger. Anyway, this is a top choice classic, and must have.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2006-03-30		Very Strong	Medium	Very Full	Tolerable

UPDATE 3-30-06: I decided to open a tin of the newer version just to find out if it has changed. It has. The appearance of the tobacco is very similar to the Murray version, but the new manufacturer has not gone to the trouble of duplicating the unique top dressing of the original. The mouth feel of the smoke is similar, and I think it has similar strength compared to the old RY. The tin aroma has been replaced with the German chocolate essence found in many K&K blends. The taste of the smoke is not bad; it is just not Royal Yacht. And the smoking experience is very, very close. I will probably start smoking this newer version of RY in my regular rotation and save my stash of the older version for annual trips down memory lane. Paddy _________________________________________________________________I imagine that once upon a time, a group of executives sat around a polished table in the Dunhill Board Room and decided to go after the English dark twist, rope, flake and plug market, so enjoyed by the British working class. The blend would necessarily be something with a powerful nicotine content and a strong, tobacco essence similar to, say, SG Brown Rope, a blend that would appeal to those who liked a tobacco that could be either chewed or smoked. However, it would have to be uniquely Dunhill, and therefore, much more elegant. It was decided to combine a bitterly strong tobacco, already sliced and diced, with a soupcon of a milder brown and top it off with a mysterious sweetener. And so Royal Yacht was created. About the only thing wrong in the creative process was the marketing department's choice of a name. I cannot imagine this tobacco appealing to the swells aboard Her or His Majesty's pleasure craft, but then the Royals have been known to engage in other, more peculiar pleasures. It would probably have been more accurate to call this tobacco Peon's Pleasure, Miner's Delight or Old Tar's Treat. In any case, they did a fine job. Smoked fresh, it is quite sweet with the darker flavors and strength skillfully submerged, a Sunday goody for the black plug smoker. Left to age and dry, it reveals all its power and strong tobacco flavor, quite similar to G&H Dark Flake, but yet quintessentially Dunhill. Either way a truly satisfying smoke. This has been an old favorite of mine for a good many years, not to be smoked every day. And it will bring your EKG reading up to slightly above where it belongs. Highly recommended to those who enjoy lightly sweetened, strong English tobacco. Paddy.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fazby (66)	2003-07-30		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The first tin, I enjoyed. I bought another and it was too much.

The flavor is enjoyable, but one can get tired of it. The strength can surprise you if you puff too hard.

This seems to be loved or hated - I've felt both ways. So, perhaps one should try it to see...

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir John Moore (27)	2022-06-24		Strong	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant

An excellent blend which really displays the power of Virginia blends with the addition of a light yet significant topping. A rich dark fruit aroma underpinned by the scent of quality tobacco out of the tin which packs perfectly with little prep other than maybe rubbing out a few strands.

The dark fruit flavour plays a background role as the woody Virginias take the lead with all the complexity you would expect while sipping. Consistent throughout the smoke and with no tongue bite this is a great all day blend as long as you don't enjoy on an empty stomach as there is a pretty strong vit N hit noticeable from the charring light which as an ex cigarette smoker hits the spot in a way few other blends do. Perfect with a coffee in the morning or after a good meal this is a must have to those venturing into Virginia blends or those who already enjoy them.

Pipe Used: Peterson 306, Corncob, Falcon

Age When Smoked: New and Jarred for months

Purchased From: GQ Tobaccos

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	M. Commini (2)	2020-12-18		Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Dunhill is the brand that made me a confirmed pipe smoker. My dad was mainly an aromatic smoker, only smoking occasionally. I had loved the smell growing up and was determined to be a pipe smoker when I was old enough. Shock and horror- dad's preferred blends were horrible. The local b&m selections were all aromatics and nothing grabbed me. Then one day I decided to spring on a tin of Nightcap (back in the days when $5 for an ounce and a half was an expenditure).

That was it. I was hooked. Nightcap, Early Morning, 965, etc- I smoked several bowls a day, switching up between tins. Royal Yacht was the only Dunhill brand that didn't catch my attention.

After a while I became a cigarette smoker. Long story short: minimum wage jobs, 5 minute breaks, not enough time to enjoy a pipe, your friends smoke cigs, you grab a cig, nicotine addiction becomes the main draw. Still loved pipe smoking though. Every time I would break free from the convenience of cigarettes and relax with a pipe, the Dunhill brands were my go to. When Dunhill was unavailable in the late 2000's I even took to blending my own, always trying to recapture that Nightcap or 965 flavor. But the drought only lasted a few years and soon those staples returned.

Royal Yacht was always something I would pick up every now and then, but always failed to wow me.

When I recently quit cigs and switched back, I had a few tins of 965 and Nightcap sitting around. Dunhill was once again out of circulation, but Peterson was in line. But- apparently these days people object to the lingering smell of Latakia scented tobacco and my boss asked me to find tobacco that had a weaker room note. Forced to adapt, I found other tobaccos- more Virginia oriented than Latakia.

This journey led me to VA/Pers and even blends that had the burley I once associated with bad aromatic blends. My taste buds have adapted.

And this week, for the first time since Dunhill became Peterson, my local b&m had a tin of Royal Yacht. "Now that I've been cured of my 20 year Latakia snobbery," I thought to myself, "is this blend any good?" I purchased it and have now had a few bowls.

The verdict: it is an altogether pleasant blend. Not high praise, but I enjoy it much more now than I have in the past. I still hate aromatics, but the casing on this is so light as to not be noticeable- there's a stronger flavor from 965's Cavendish than the plum flavoring added to this. The taste of the Virginia is clear- grassy notes fade to a more citrus flavor as bowl progresses and the tobacco selected is top notch. As for strength- it doesn't taste strong like a Lat bomb and if you're a former cigarette smoker like me the nicotine level is nothing, but if you have only smoked pipes and/ or cigars you might want to have a seat while enjoying a bowl of this.

This is a decent smoke. If you have a good nicotine tolerance, this would be an all day smoke if tin tobaccos fit your all day smoke budget. It doesn't replace Three Friars as my current pouch tobacco, but it has definitely gone from a once in a few years "I can't remember if I like this" smoke to a regular "get this when I run out" smoke.

Pipe Used: Peterson LE '98, Peterson Ebony Billiard

Purchased From: Stag Tobacco

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DakotaHale43 (47)	2020-07-31		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Wow, this is good. At first I thought this had perique in it due to the "raisiny" tin note, but upon further analysis that appears to simply be the plum flavoring. As a fan of virginias and aromatics, this hits the sweet spot, and it hits it hard, not to mention the little nic-hit it gives you starting a third of a bowl through. Hits the nail on the head right between 3 and 4 stars.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MangoLegs (72)	2020-02-25		Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

As an English smoker, the novelty initially sparked enthusiasm. I enjoyed the smell and taste for about two bowls. I quickly lost interest however, and it actually gave me heartburn everytime I smoked it.

On an objective note, it seems like a well balanced aromatic Virginia with plum notes. I find it packs a strong nic hit.

Age When Smoked: Fresh from a new tin

Purchased From: SmokingPipes

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.sadik (120)	2019-10-31		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is a stand out virginia, very similar to ye old sign but darker in color and stronger in nicotine. The last version topping/casing was much more pronounced which complemented the blend significantly. On this one i can barely detect any topping, it still have strength but not irish flake strength. If you appreciate dark virginias like dark bird eye sans the added flavoring then this might be right up your ally. Knocked one star for the price, i believe its over priced, but then again royal yacht was always over priced i assume its the virginia used/process. Best regards Al janabi

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gahdzila (61)	2017-03-20		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfect moisture level right out of the tin. I've smoked it in cobs, clays and briars. It's great in a cob....better in a briar, but it really shines in a dedicated briar. Yes, I like Royal Yacht enough that I have a pipe dedicated to it. The tobacco flavor is rich and full. The aromatic flavors I get are raisins, figs, and dates. The topping is easy to pick up, but not overpowering or cloying at all. Just the right amount. Subtle sweetness, but I wouldn't call it a sweet blend. Great body, mouthfeel and smoke volume, and burns great for me.

Pipe Used: Sasieni 4 dot

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ahmad Othman (51)	2016-08-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

If there is ever an apocalyptic event and I need to stash on one or two tobacco blends.. I'd go like crazy for Royal Yacht..It is grand in every aspect.. from the very welcoming tin aroma.. to the lighting flavour and the after taste.. slow burning a... nd mellow with a rich aroma and flavour.. Decent nicotine content. Overall an excellent experience.

Pipe Used: Peterson System Ebony XL315, Peterson Dracula 999

Age When Smoked: 2 years old

Purchased From: Local B&M

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incendio (45)	2016-06-08		Very Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

(Note, this is the "new" 2016 version. I've not sampled earlier offerings.) Being somewhat impulsive lately, I bought this blend thinking that an aromatic Dunhill offering would be interesting. Coming back to read the reviews more carefully, I realize that this blend isn't exactly what I'd imagined.

On first opening the tin, the tin aroma is bizarre. I couldn't begin to describe what it smelled like. It didn't smell "like" anything I could describe, nor was I sure if I liked or disliked it. A complete mystery to me. After breathing for a day, however, the tin aroma seems to have settled into something faintly resembling malt whiskey and light chocolate, or something in between. However, this aroma is very ghostly, only very faintly survives burning, and is only very faintly detectable in the room note.

The predominant note of this tobacco is just that - tobacco. I wouldn't say this is quite a matured virginia, since it is quite on the "green" side. In fact, I would venture to say that it's for this reason that so many people report unfavorable opinions of the room note from bystanders. If you don't like pure, unflavored, green tobacco, you won't like this room note. I wouldn't describe this blend as sweet by any means. It leaves the mouth quite dry, and leaves the scent of cigarette/rolling tobacco on the fingers (it's good - I keep smelling my fingers). The moisture was perfect on opening the tin, the blend lit perfectly and stayed lit well.

Since I hadn't read the review, I didn't realize how strong this blend is in terms of nicotine content. I promptly loaded a size 4 billiard and was taken aback. In my opinion this blend is best in slightly smaller, chimney billiards like those I use for my favorite virginias. Larger, wider bowls just burn too hotly, don't concentrate the flavors enough, and make the nicotine overwhelming. I think this might be why some reviewers find the blend rather dimensionless, but I believe the shape of the pipe ought to be adjusted to the blend accordingly.

I believe I've figured this blend out. This stuff is remarkably similar to Captain Earle's virginia component. Very strong and grassy. Reminded me of Honor Blend without the condimental tobaccos. I like Captain Earle's, so I am slowly warming up to Royal Yacht, but it isn't something I would smoke regularly. Only while sitting, puffing very slowly, and preferentially indoors where the subtleties of the blend are best appreciated without being carried off by the wind.

Pipe Used: billiards size 4 and below

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: Captain Earle's Honor Blend, without the condimentals (just strong, grassy Virginias).

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Don Jefe (7)	2014-01-16		Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

This is a strong, full blend (at least for me).

The aroma in the tin is sweet and reminds me of well fermented long cut chewing tobacco with a hint of raisin.

The room note was tolerable (but not preferred) by bystanders. I find the taste to be mostly a sweet, strong tobacco flavor. This is not a bad thing, as long as you are looking for this.

This tobacco burns very well and creates mountains of dense smoke, even smoked slowly, which I like.

A decent blend, but not recommended for beginners or those who, say, could not take down a medium/full power cigar.

Edit: After aging a month, I tried this again to see if it was any better. It was not. If fact, I noticed how really one dimensional it is. This could be a good tobacco to blend with some other tobacco to add a little more body, but life is too short to smoke this by itself.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gent

Age When Smoked: new, 1 month

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2013-08-15		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant

This is a strongish Virginia blend with a rich and full-bodied flavour that in my experience lasts all the way down the bowl. There is a casing, but I've no idea what it is. The domestic critics don't mind the room-note, though, which is a definite point in its favour. The ribbon-cut is easy to pack, but I find that it does need quite a few relights if you smoke it straight out of the tin. A little drying, though not too much, is a good idea. Pure quality, as you would expect of a Dunhill blend; and I don't notice that it has changed much in its several incarnations. I do find, though, that a bowl of it doesn't last as long as I would like. It has to be said also that it gets very hot rather easily: this is a tobacco that needs to be taken slowly (and not allowed to get too dry). Not an all day, every day smoke then, but one to be savoured of an evening in a comfortable chair. Not quite four stars in my opinion, but an easy three.

Royal Yacht was apparently one of Georges Simenon's favourites, and he was a REAL pipe smoker!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-08-15		Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is my first review, so i thought it fitting to begin with my absolute favorite blend. i am a huge fan of dunhill on the whole, but this blend takes my love of latakia and makes it a distant memory. the second i wake up i look forward to the moment i light my first pipe, which almost always is filled to the brim with royal yacht. i skipped pipes for years and stuck with cigars because i did not know there were pipe blends with significant body. Royal Yacht fits the bill of significant body, and has great flavor. i have never gotten tongue bite and it stays at the perfect moisture from the first bowl to the last shreds in the tin. i will admit i go through a tin quite fast, so that opinion may not have been tested. i have several peterson systems that i reserve for those blends that tend to give me a bit of bite. although my systems are some of my most coveted pipes, i have yet to dedicate one to my favorite blend. i don't always have time to smoke an entire pipe in the morning and on those occasions i usually use a less expensive pipe so i can take it on the go with little worry. i have smoked royal yacht out of deep skinny bowls and short wide bowls, bent and straight, short and long, etc. Even with all the variety of brand and style and quality of pipes i have tried, the result has always been the exact same smoke. it has a unique, consistant flavor that is half what you would expect out of a virginia and half what you would not expect at all. its slightly sweet with still plenty of natural tobacco flavor and of course the strength i need. someday i will acquire my first dunhill pipe and use this to break it in no matter what plans i have for this pipe of my dreams. this blend is a great way to build up a cake IMO. it has yet to taint whatever i want to dedicate my pipe to and it builds a nice even cake quickly. if there is a downside and i do mean IF....... my wife is not a fan of the smell............

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kashmir (21)	2011-05-31		Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable

Dunhill's Royal Yacht (new Orlik version) is a very smooth smoking VA/PER, without the Perique! It comes as aged, apparently pressed, fermented slightly, then ribboned tobacco.

Upon popping the lid on the 50g tin, I get nasal quaffs reminiscent of dried figs and raisins, with a sweet spiciness. The color is an even, uniform dark brown (not black), with very little if any hint of lighter ribbons, as might be detected in other VA/PER blends. Upon charing a strong sweet taste develops, and at mid-bowl, one has comfortaby settled in for a sweet Virginia smoke. No Latakia here.

Although reviewers mention some sort of casing, I detected none, and instead was reminded on simple, pure un-adultered Virginia tobaccos. The Burley is also detectable, brining a "brightness" to the deep sweetness of the Virginias. I do think some fermentation went into this, and although it states flavoring as "Coffee, Brandy and Plum", my take on this is that these are volatiles that are developed during the short fermentation.

In many respects, this tobacco reminds me of Escudo, put out by Peter Stokkebye, although that comes in coin form, and involves Perique as a condiment. The smoke is on the high side regarding nicotine, and as such was a bit much for me. Not that I am a wimp in these matters, but I think its a bit on the edge.

I would rate this 2 out of 4 stars, reserving 3 for Escudo, and 4 for my best English and Balkan blends. I used to love VA/PERs but over the years have started to prefer the inherent complexities of Latakia, that I miss when smoking VA/PERs.

Also, the high N content for me brought it down for me. Nightcap also has a high N content, but Royal Yacht has for me about twice the content. And after a bowl, I am seeing stars!

Lastly, as is the case with so many of these latest Dunhill reincarnations by Orlick, there is a chemical taste that I can't quite place, but it seems to be present in a great many of the Orlick re-issues of Dunhill (only it Early Morning Pipe and London Mixture it seems to be absent). Perhaps its a Burley additive to generate bulk in the blends, or its some sort of anti-fungal or preservative of some sort, but whatever it is, for my palate it is really discernible.

What with all the fine blends available from GL Pease, Russ Ouellette of Hearth & Home, not to mention Cornell & Diehl,Gawith Hoggarth & Co., Esoterica, McClelland etc. I simply can not bring myself to allocate 4 stars for these Orlick DK re-issues of the once famed Dunhill brand. Sorry, but that's my two cents. See my review on Dunhill MM 965 for more along these lines.

Anyhoo, happy smoking to one and all.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-06		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

RY is not what I expected from reading many of the reviews. I was expecting something more "floral" or cased. Instead what I got is a very nice burning VA with just the subtlest of added aroma blended in the with sweet smell of the tobacco. I do not find this to be an incredibly strong tobacco - less nicotine than, say, G&H Dark Flake - more like Kendal Kentucky in strength - less strong that Peterson University Strength (in terms of nicotine). I dry mine about 1/2 hour before smoking and it smokes clean to the bottom of the bowl with none of that wet, goopy dottle sometimes associated with a (slightly) aromatic tobacco. This really is a treasure. Whether a Murray or an Orlick era tin if you like straight VA with a light casing then give this one a try. Simply delightful, and, like a previous reviewer noted, a wonderful outdoor tobacco.

Smoked in a medium sized Peterson 150 Harp.

Enjoy.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-08-25		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

UPDATE AUGUST 2006.

What in the bloody hell has happened to Dunhill-Royal Yacht??? The superb taste and the great quality has "TOTALLY DISAPPEARED"

Murrays produced "PERFECTION" with this blend for Dunhill.

Orlik "HAS TOTALLY KILLED OFF ALL THE QUALITY AND TASTE"!!! MURRAYS VERSION FOR DUNHILL "WAS WELL WORTH 10 STARS"

ORLIKS VERSION "NOW GETS MINUS 10 STARS FROM ME" (It's not only bloody dreadful,but it's now pitiful) Infact,I'm angry :-(

Royal Yaht. June 2004.

First of all,many thank's to Captain Dan,for posting a tin of R/Y to Australia for me. I love and enjoy good quality virginia's without casing's. Royal Yacht contain's splendid virginias's. The flavour which is added is thoroughly delicious,and of very high quality. I believe,aged tins would only enhance and improve this blend. I opened my fresh tin and fluffed the tobacco up and let it air for 12 hour's. R/Y is easy to light and if smoked slowly,all the flavour's come to the fore. Highly enjoyable,and easily smoked,to the bottom of the bowl.Leaving a nice clean grey-white ash,without goop. I have no complaint's what so-ever with my fresh tin. I'm definitely ordering more tin's immediately,to age and smoke.

I'm a lady pipe smoker,and I certainly did not find this to strong,for me.

Pipestud,thankyou,for telling me about (The Nectar of the God's) Highly recommened. 10 out of 10.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-01-29		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Update 1-29-06

I just tried the new Orlick version of this once noble blend. The rich full Va flavor is no more. I found the quality of the leaf to be second-rate, at best. The topping is different too.

As many have noted, this blend has gotten a lot of press on the various message groups. Well, I believe the new blenders have found a way to put a stop to that. There's not much to talk about any more. As much as they have altered the blend, they shouldn't be allowed to put it in the familiar red and yellow tin.

My recommendation has been changed accordingly.

Sadly, Orlick has scuttled the Yacht.

=========================================================

I bought a tin of Royal Yacht on a whim. I had to see what all the fuss was about. While this blend has its proponents, it also has its share of detractors. At least in the message board circles in which I travel, both sides are quite vocal, and ?adamant? is an understatement.

When I first opened the tin, I was greeted with a sweet, almost fruity aroma. I found it quite pleasant. The moisture content seemed a bit high, so I let it air out for a while, as I had been advised to do. Later, there was a sweet, natural scent not unlike a freshly mown field.

For the first outing, I only loaded up a half a bowl. To be honest, I expected it to be horrible. To my delight and surprise, this was far from true. I grabbed another pipe, one with a nice big bowl, and loaded it up.

Royal Yacht, is a Virginia blend with a very pleasant casing. The rich Virginias don?t hide behind this ?secret? topping at all. The two complement each other in a very satisfying way. The flavor is much more than I could have hoped for. The casing/tobacco blend is present throughout most of the smoke, but in a way that isn?t at all cloying. Toward the bottom of the bowl the casing has run its course, and the Virginia leaf takes you to the end.

A very cool smoke. This was another happy discovery. The Yacht never tried to bite at all. Being all Virginia AND with a casing, I expected to need a fire extinguisher for my tongue. But this is by far the smoothest all-Virginia tobacco I have ever smoked.

Those who are prone to getting clobbered by nicotine should proceed with extreme caution. I have smoked a few ?heavy hitters? and I have never felt the slightest bit of nicotine. Royal Yacht is the first one that got my attention. It packs a punch. For those without a high tolerance for nicotine, it could well be a knockout punch. Try it in a small bowl first if you think this could be a problem for you.

Wherever you decide to go on the Yacht, you can be assured of smooth sailing.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2003-01-18		Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

I first tried this blend somewhere in the late Eighties. I must say I did not understand it. This was as close to a straight Virginia as I had ever come, and found the experience daunting (Dunhill's own Light Flake would entirely change this perception more or less at the same time). I did not mind the taste or aroma of RY as such, but the structure of the blend was just too enervating. Not even my first encounter with My Mixture 965 produced such giddiness!. As it happens, time and experience modify our perspective on a given tobacco. I smoked it again many years later and found it intriguing and interesting, but not to the extent of making it a regular smoke.

This Virginia is dense and strong. I believe the intention of the added aroma is to lessen the effects of the rather potent leaf if left in its natural state. The smoke is a cool one and the cut is probably intended for outdoor use. IMO there are many other Virginias out there, some of them as strong as RY but less pungent, that are more amiable and palatable than this Dunhill. Then again it must have something, for I know a number of pipe smokers who thoroughly enjoy Royal Yacht . A strong Virginia with a sweetened twist?. For the brave of heart!

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-09-08		Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Full	Pleasant

OK, I'll tell you right up front that the tin I'm smoking from is around thirty years old. I've tried the newer version and I agree that the topping they use is a bit offensive and when combined with the strength of the tobaccos it can be very overwhelming unless you smoke VERY slowly. However. . .

This tin smells of figs and raisins and the other warm, rich things you expect of a well-aged, matured Virginia tobacco. The flavor is deep and rich, like a Christmas dessert, and has subtle hints of hazelnuts and chocolate along with some spicy elements. It's sweet but in a low-end sort of way, not lemony and bright. The nicotine strength is there in spades, but when smoked slowly it provides a wonderful cornucopia of flavors that makes me wonder why the heck they decided to case the new version so heavily.

Wonderful stuff, and I may even cry a little once this tin is gone ;)

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-03-11		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The bad press this blend has received prodded me to try a tin; why would so many tobacconists still carry it if it were really that bad?

Upon opening the tin, the charnel house stench I expected simply wasn't there, nor did I have flashbacks of my tour of a chemical wastewater treatment plant. Sticking my nose closer to the tin, I smelled rich, well cured, and perhaps slightly cased tobaccos.

It easily generates a rich thick smoke, with a noticeable nicotine content and a full round flavor; it stays lit with little conscious effort, and burns to a medium-grey ash except for a tiny bit of dry charred tobacco at the very bottom. There's something not quite purely tobacco in the taste that I haven't identified yet; I've grown to believe that the taste is an type tobacco not familiar to me and not a casing at all. I did get an unexpected taste of perique (?) at the bottom of the bowl, but it's possible that there was some of it from a previous smoke still lingering in the pipe, or maybe it's that "other" tobacco. I enjoyed the whole bowl, once letting it go out while I took out the trash; relighting returned me to my bookmark in the bowl with no change in flavor or additional harshness. I'm an enthusiastic (grin) smoker, but it did not bite, and in fact burned cooler than I expected from such a rich tobacco. In spite of the fact that my wife prefers the room note of aromatics, she said this smelled "nice".

I plan to keep at least a tin or two of it around.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Michael Jan (3)	2022-11-08		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

My go-to pub tobacco ... I always smoke it sitting in the beer garden as the note is pleasant to all around. As an ex-cigarette smoker, I don't really feel the nic hit everyone is highlighting, but the taste is medium for me, with a lot of sweetness and stone fruit, especially stewed mirabelle plums. I was suspecting a casing or pinch of perique, but having spoken to the guys in the Danish Pipe Shop they were steadfast in saying that no flavoring is added. I still think there's something there... I would like to say that it's an all-day smoke, but unfortunately for me, it isn't. You cannot rush it ... take your time, have a pint, and a good conversation. I love it. It's tobacco with a purpose. It makes us slow down and enjoy the moment with company or by ourselves.

Pipe Used: Peterson 107

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Danish Pipe Shop

Similar Blends: Capstan Blue.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wally Frank Collector (46)	2022-09-24		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have heard so much about this I decided to try it. Being a huge English, Lat Bomb smoker I had found some nice Virginias that I liked but looking for a stronger version.

Upon opening this Tin I found it perfect for smoking, no drying time needed. The tin note was of rich tobacco, with a soft light rum with a touch of Vanilla, some plum, a light grass and freshly baked bread. The aromas did not crowd out the rich tobacco however. I recognized this for I have a estate White Briar Kaywoodie Bulldog that has this note in it’s bowl. That is what I decided to smoke RY in.

A nice long ribbon cut, it packed nicely and lit easily. Had to relight a couple of times to finish up, but that is normal for me. The tobacco seems to burn steadily into a white as. No moisture. My wife loved the aroma. This throws a thick, rich, creamy smoke even at a slow pace. The nic hit was medium.

Upon lighting I tasted a rich tobacco flavor that stayed steadily in front but had a brief appearance of very light rum with a touch of vanilla. This was followed by plum. Not a plum like flavor, but a true plum flavor that stayed there and was joined by a pleasant fresh baked bread flavor that briefly gave way to a sweet grassy flavor followed by a delightful honey flavor. All through the bowl the flavors stayed consistent. Very delightful, very pleasing and when done I felt very satisfied and for a lack of a better word full. This is smooth, rich, creamy and strong, but not overpowering.

I tried pushing it in a couple of bowls and it never bit, but I found it is not a Tobacco to be rushed. I got a harsh note out of it that was bitter while pushing it. I have found through the years each Tobacco has its own pace that it gives its best flavor at. This is meant for a slow smoke, a nice relaxed pace with no hurrying. I’ve seen the reviews talking about how harsh it is, calling it Royal yuck. Well, slow down, take your time, quit puffing like a locomotive. Once I quit pushing it RY went back to the consistent burn and flavor. Take it slow. Try the breath method taught by muttonchop piper for it really helps in keeping the smoke slow and takes care of a lot of tongue burn for others.

This is one of the finer quality tobaccos I have found. Instead of burying the tobacco flavor behind the various flavors, the tobacco is up front and center. The various flavors enhance but do not take central stage from the rich tobacco flavor.

This is now in my main rotation with Nightcap, Quiet Nights, Star of the East, Campfire, Pirate Kake, D&R Acadian Bright Virginia and SWR.

The only drawback I found to this tobacco is it probably not an all day tobacco for once smoked I feel very content and don’t need another bowl. This gets a 5 star rating out of a possible 4 stars. A great tobacco that has been on the market for over a hundred years and with good reason. Just don’t rush it and you will enjoy it.

Pipe Used: Kaywoodie White Briar Bulldog

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: WV Tobacco

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmileyOrb17 (6)	2022-08-18		Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable

What a full on flavour gorgeous smoke this is! A firm favourite in my rotation (and by the looks of all the other reviewers this is quite popular!). I used to smoke under the "Dunhill" label, but thank goodness Peterson's have retained the original blend of this tobacco. Everyone goes on and on about the high nicotine content, some of it quite suprising in the effects which I think people enjoy waxing lyrical about! However, personally pipe smoking is all about savouring the taste and aroma first for me. Smoking this is a fine time with creamy orange taste sweetened by the virginian leaf. The taste is deep, full and nicely strong. Great for an evening with a coffee or a cognac to hand on the porch. You do sail away with this, so the Royal Yacht label is apt. Later in the smoke a slight tongue tingle like a pepper takes place, and it is not tongue burn but the tobacco giving me that nice orange zeal. Some say this is an all day smoke. IMHO I think it is more of an evening smoke, sitting down and watching the world go by type, so I wouldn't class this as an all day turn for me. The nicotine is strong. I would say if you're an experienced pipe smoker it's totally fine; probably not one for a newbie pipe smoker. The tobacco is crumbly flake and fine for packing your pipe to the rafters! This is for me a grand smoke indeed. Only towards the end do you notice the delights of the slight nicotine impact. Oh, I think I fill my pipe again here! Highly recommended my friends.

Pipe Used: Peterson's 999 Army.

Age When Smoked: Our of tin

Purchased From: Canterbury, Kent tobacconist

Similar Blends: Quite unique I think, finer tasting virginian leaf, slightly sweeter for it too, with a slight fruity zeal but not forward..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nick Prof. (27)	2022-07-16		Very Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

This is serious stuff man! This is very unique great tobacco … (just first bowl, so I may come back with any update or revision). Smoked in a very small bowl of a tiny non-filter taiwan origin pipe (one of my favorites, with good cake developed inside). In opening the tin, it did give me the impression of a similar type (within the same broader group in terms of texture, flavor, moist etc) as Davidoff royalty, mix.965, early morning pipe, I say this is on the non-aromatic good quality tobaccos. When starting the bowl, I realise this might be the strongest one i have smoked (which is also good news), but it does give something light tasty experience, so that i could finally put this tobacco between the group of Davidoff royalty, early morning pipe (etc) and that of more sweet tobaccos such as amphora black cavendish, amphora original, captain black gold (etc). The smoke was of around a quarter, but again the bowl size was small, thus i anticipate it smokes smoothly (not too fast, but in a similar manner as early morning pipe to give the perspective). During the very first puffs, it did tend to give a very gentle-light tongue bite (that left good experience by the way) but very soon such a thing disappeared and was smoked in this sense very similar to early morning pipe. Little more spicy than early morning pipe, but a few grades less spicy compared with mix.965. Excitement? Absolutely. The very first thing i have in mind after finishing the bowl, is to go as soon as possible and get 2-3 tins to keep them for the cellar and absolutely this first tin is gonna finish soon i anticipate. Extra comment: if you were before in the bad habit of cigarette and you are a full pipe smoker, this tobacco is probable to be on your top 2-3 tobaccos. If you are new pipe smoker and have nothing to do with cigarette smoke before, I don’t think this could be the very best choice (i.e., a Davidoff royalty is better option in this case, or early morning pipe as these are less strong tobaccos). Huge experience this first bowl with the royal yacht - satisfaction from 1-10 (10 the best): i could give 11. The tin was bought 2 weeks back - i speculate this tobacco tin might be quite old, i.e., a decent number of years old (based on the shop i got it and some other information I have …)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (395)	2022-07-06		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Last Saturday, I met with a few friends of mine, yes hard to believe I have a few and the VP brought in Royal Yacht as I have never tried it but heard about it over the years. It seems to be a love it or hate it blend. This tin was under the Dunhill label and he bought it March of 2018. I have always been amazed at how tight the ribbons of tobacco are in a Dunhill tin. It makes you feel like you are getting your money’s worth. This has a pleasant sweet tin note of what they say is a plum topping. I had probably about 4-5 bowls of this over the past few days and it is a good aromatic. Sort of reminds me of Peterson’s University Flake with the plum topping. Apparently from some reviews this is said to have a nicotine punch but I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. With 417 reviews this is definitely a classic. Good but not one I would stock up on at this time. It was nice to try this and I appreciate him opening up a 4-year-old tin of this for me.

Similar Blends: Peterson University Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Carolus (24)	2022-05-29		Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

While this tobacco is probably to the liking of those who enjoy nicotine, it is not for me. The combination of nicotine and plum (which in itself I like, but somehow not in the body) dominates the sweetness and softness of the virginias. I can see how other would like it, but unfortunately it is not my taste.

Note: this concerns the Royal Yacht tobacco as produced by Dunhill, aged for a couple years in a jar.

Age When Smoked: A couple of years

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Deckard Cain (37)	2022-05-25		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

There are definite similarities between this and Hadues delight by G L Pease. But this one wins. I smoked quite a bit of this stuff and I've noticed it to be very consistent. It has an interesting fruity tin note. Other than that it is just wonderful dunhill Virginia. It is sweet and rich. It makes nice smoke. And is mostly agreeable to others in the room. I once smoke this while I was on a haunted hayride (it's something they do here in Pennsylvania around Halloween). I was sitting with my kids in the corner of a hay wagon with about 20 other people all sitting on hay bales. Then a lady started complaining about my pipe even though we were outdoors. She pulled the normal bogus allergy routine that we have all witnessed at one time or another. I was shocked because I felt that Royal yacht had a rather agreeable smell. I extinguished my bowl and put my pipe away. I think it's important to do this, because pipe smokers should be known as polite people. But in truth, I should have grabbed her by the jacket and thrown her right off the wagon. But I digress.

I've read other reviews where smokers thought this blend had a lot of nicotine. I noticed only a small amount. Regardless, this blend is addicting. It's very easy to find yourself craving it after you've polished off your first tin. I tend to smoke this stuff in spells that only end when I've run out. Yeah its pretty good. This is one tobacco that definitely breaks away from the stuffy old man image of pipe smokers. This tobacco was made for guys that own yachts, and red sports cars, and expensive shotguns.

Pipe Used: Cobs

Age When Smoked: 1

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

Similar Blends: Hadues Delight.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Exiled Michigander (26)	2022-01-21		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The aftertaste of Royal Yacht is exquisite. I find myself wanting to smoke it simply for the couple hours of enjoyment AFTER smoking.

Tin note is a pleasant plummy/pruney/raisiny fragrance.

However, the smoking itself is good, not great. Flavor is okay, but I'm not blown away by it. Interestingly, I did get a touch of Lakeland essence now and again, but only rarely and subtly. It largely tastes like a solid Virginia with a fair infusion of the tin note plum flavor. Most disappointing for me, within the first couple of puffs I felt an irritation at the back of my throat that I normally only get when smoking inferior aromatics, and this continued throughout the smoke. If this were a cheap OTC tobacco, this might not bother me as much. But for a tin I had to pay nearly $30 for once including taxes in Utah, I felt a bit cheated.

Edit (January 7, 2023): Having returned to The Royal Yacht multiple times over the last year, I continue to get the harshness on the back of my throat and nostrils. Resultingly, I'm dropping my rating down to 2 stars. I don't see myself purchasing another tin.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc pipes (107)	2021-11-19		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I am reviewing a 1 year old Peterson branded tin, but contrasting this to what I remember of Orlik made Dunhill branded tobacco. First and foremost, Peterson seems to have a slightly lighter hand with regards to the toppings.

Unrelated- I could have swore that circa 2010 or so, tobaccoreviews had the toppings listed as coffee, brandy, and plum. I would certainly believe it with the dunhill production. This newer issue smells lightly sweet, almost fruity in the tin. After allowing the tin to breathe a bit, a spiced cherry aroma emerged. This was not at all what I remembered, and I was bit worried.

The lemon yellow, bronze, and dark Virginias have the classic dunhill medium ribbon cut. There is a nice sweet tang early on in the smoke. This is followed by rich tobacco flavor that is elevated into something truly special by the condimental topping(s). There is no bite whatsoever. With regards to N, this is not as strong as I remember. I would rate this between medium and strong, though edging towards medium. This blend went beautifully with jasmine green tea.

Positives: More natural tasting that previous iterations. Pleasant sidestream. Smooth smoke with the occasional sour tang on the sides and midline of the tongue. Delicious.

Negatives: Stemmy

Pipe Used: Numerous briars

Age When Smoked: 10/4/2020

Purchased From: P&C

Similar Blends: None other. A singular and classic blend.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	O. D. Jones (25)	2021-06-03		Extremely Strong	Medium to Strong	Extra Full	Tolerable

Is this the most divisive tobacco out there? Royal Yack, Royal Yuck... it's always funny to come across references on forums and websites to Dunhill and now Peterson Royal Yacht!

Definitely a potent tobacco all around; flavor, aroma, and nicotine... I keep a tin around all the time, and now I've gone through a few cans of the newer Peterson versions. Peterson seems to use a lighter hand with the plum or prune top note, but it still remains a stout tobacco. I don't find the top note lasts very long throughout the pipe. Did I already use "potent" and "stout" in this review? Definitely fits the description. I always think it's worth a try, you will love it or you will hate it, I don't think there's much middle ground here. Sometimes I top off an aromatic parfait with a plug of this, a nice jolt of nicotine and strong tobacco flavor until it settles down to the mild Cavendish... there isn't really another tobacco out there quite like this.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Roma Lucite 315

Age When Smoked: freshly opened tin

Similar Blends: nothing I can think of it's pretty much on its own!.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lager (53)	2020-12-11		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Tolerable

I remember smoking this in the 90's and thinking who in the hell could smoke this? It was, and still is a pretty stout and strong blend. I remember there being more of a topping on the older version and the leaf seemed darker. But as my wife says I'm a prickly old coot so I digress. The smoke itself is pretty one dimensional and strictly Virginia. Push this and it will kick your ass with nicotine. Sip it and the flavor is there. I'm just about done with the tin and probably won't buy again as it's too one dimensional.

Lager

Pipe Used: Savs, Petersons

Age When Smoked: new to 2 months

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Keith in NB Canada (4)	2019-11-26		Extremely Strong	Mild	Full	Unnoticeable

Got this with some other Peterson Dunhills. The prospect of a mildly flavored aromatic was enticing but this blend is aweful. Tin note is pleasant but the taste is not for me. You don't really get any fruit in the mouth, just extremely strong tobacco. Maybe that's the part that I really don't like. I prefer English blends and don't mind heavy nic hits or strong flavors. This just doenst do it for me. Id rather just smoke Elizabethan or Nightcap. I wont be getting Royal Yacht again.

Pipe Used: Brigham

Age When Smoked: New or less than a year old.

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MAddMAnn (17)	2019-11-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

At first I thought wow this is a very easy smoke. That remained true until the nicotine snuck up on me and bonked me on the head. Not the most interesting flavor but pretty good. Can definitely detect the plummy flavor but not at all an aeromatic.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FilipPruncu (85)	2019-08-01		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

The cut looks more like a mixture between ribbon and rubbed flake, because it’s not as fine as a ribbon, it’s a bit thicker and some parts are similar to rubbed flake. The tobacco is mostly dark because of dark virginias, so the color ranges from brown to dark brown. It’s not very wet, but this could also be because it’s not a fresh tin (it’s 2 years old), but I guess that’s not much of a difference since it was sealed. So, not too wet, you can leave it for 5-10 minutes to dry and then pack up your pipe (5-10 minutes of the tobacco out of the tin, not with the tin open.. i never leave the tin open to dry the tobacco, I only pick the tobacco I need and leave it to dry so it dries faster like this and the rest of the tobacco in the tin stays at the normal state).

The tin note is absolutely amazing! Smells like a real virginia with fruity notes aaand.. yes, plum. Someone here compared it to University Flake from Peterson, so just out of curiosity I took both tobaccos to smell. Indeed, they smell similar, only that University Flake has a stronger smell, while the Royal Yacht is more natural. Also, the taste differs a lot, of course.

Now to the serious part!

Super easy to light it up, I usually need only one match. You can feel the great taste after the first smokes. It doesn’t burn too hot, neither the pipe nor the smoke. It doesn’t bite. It’s a good cool smoke.

The taste is indeed amazing. I’d say it’s a medium to full taste. It tastes like real tobacco, with a slight plum casing in the background. It is a combination of natural virginia sweetness with some fruity notes and a taste of plum. Yes, unlike other tobaccos who want to give the plum taste but don’t, this one actually does deliver a plum taste. The smell reminds me of Peterson University Flake but the taste is more like Stanwell Classic, only that this would be the straight virginia version of Stanwell Classic (a very underrated tobacco, btw). It somehow has a spicy aroma, you’d swear it has a little perique in there, even if it doesn’t (unlike Orlik Golden Sliced who says it has perique but you can’t detect it at all). But this is very subtle, the sweetness is more pronounced. However, the different virginias are really good in this blend, they complete each other and they are of really good quality leaf. They have the normal hay taste, the normal sweetness, you also some a little earthy taste I guess from the darker virginias, and then the casing makes it just perfect. Especially because, well, I’m not an aromatic fan but I love the taste of plum in tobacco, it’s one of the very few flavorings that I like in a tobacco, so I find this one to be really delicious!

Right now, as I’m writing the review and smoking this wonderful tobacco I’m drinking coffee. Yes, it goes great with coffee, it goes great with beer, it goes great with cocktails like Amaretto Sour, but I didn’t like how it goes with frappe, whisky or wine (University Flake goes great with wine).

I don’t know what else to say. Some say it’s strong in vitamin N. It’s hard for me to tell, because I’m a heavy cigarette smoker and the nicotine rarely hits me in pipe tobacco, but... BUT... yes, I can feel the nicotine, especially today, this morning, because right now I’m just drinking coffee and I didn’t eat so I feel the nicotine well (which doesn’t usually happen to me) in the back on my throat. University Flake is also strong in nicotine and I’d say that it’s even stronger than this one, but again, it depends on who is smoking it.

Ah, forgot to mention! The room note: Amazing!

Pipe Used: Savinelli Porto Cervo 628

Age When Smoked: 2 years

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Briar Piper (89)	2018-12-01		Strong	Medium to Strong	Overwhelming	Extra Strong

The only thing going for this blend in my opinion, is the strong nicotine. I smoke a lot of stronger blends like lakeland flakes, with the world's strongest pipe tobacco. Gawith & Hoggarth dark flake, being the most prominent.

Royal Yacht is just bitter. The fruity top note, I believe plum (it tastes like sloe plums) only worsens the experience. Dark virginas are not my thing unless there is an additive to smoothen them out, such as clove oil or licorice. Adding bitter plums to an already bitter tobacco makes it taste bad.

Dunhill makes some of the finest pipe tobacco money can buy, and over two thirds of my tobacco stash are dunhill products. But the two tins of Royal Yacht will not be missed when they are gone, and I do not plan to smoke them, but give them to my neighbor who enjoys bitter tobacco.

Pipe Used: cobs

Similar Blends: Dark fired flakes.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2017-12-16		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Royal Yacht is a delicious Virginia tobacco. Instead of being more of a Shag Cut like the majority of Dunhill offerings, it consists mostly of Loose Cut mixed with some Broken Flakes. The tin aroma is superb and I enjoy it every time I smoke it. The plum topping remains subtle during the smoking but it is detectable and enhances the tobacco taste. The nicotine content is perfect. From memory, I believe Orlik has done a better job with RY than Murray's ever did. Therefore, it has become a regular tobacco in my rotation.

Similar Blends: The plum topping as well as the nicotine content are akin to Peterson's University Flake. However, as where UF contains a good portion of Burleys, RY consists of Virginias..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Napping Puppy (25)	2017-05-28		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This tobacco is very delicious in the morning, especially after having a loaded breakfast e.g. eggs and sausages and fruits. But easy on the fruits, because Royal Yacht implies enough fruity sweet treasures. This is not an aromatic tobacco whatsoever, and if some insist on calling it aromatic, then be my guest and send me all of your tins. The Virginia leaves used in this remarkable blend are outstanding. The more you store it and age it, the better it would taste. An excellent way to start your day.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Haddock (6)	2017-05-10		Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant

Want Virginias?? Want sweet delicious tobacco? Want zero bite and high quality tobaccos?

Then buy Dunhill RY, the smoke is cool and thick. I love the plum/fig taste there is, its not very much but just so you can taste it.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: New from tin.

Purchased From: Danish pipe shop.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Doctor Grabow (6)	2017-03-23		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The virginia's are medium dark tasting. The topping seems very close to Perique. It even gives that spicey feeling in the nose like Perique; very good! The tobacco seems to have a bit of a rough edge that I think comes from the addition of the casing which can be tamed with slow puffing. The nicotine is high, but I don't consider it stronger than Peterson's Irish Flake or Samuel Gawith's 1792 Flake. The easy to smoke ribbon cut does make this blend quick to deliver its potency.

Pipe Used: Doctor Grabow Grand Duke

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: 4noggins

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BriarWoody (33)	2017-02-25		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable

It cracks me up when I read threads online from smokers looking for a strong aromatic and posters mention Royal Yacht. This isn't even close to an aromatic. It's more like a stout VAPer. I swear there's Perique or at least dark fired KY in this. The casing is typical Dunhill and I taste it in all their blends.

As a strong, English style Virginia, RY excels and delivers a nice, rich flavor and nic hit. It's not as ponderous as the G&H blends, but up there in nicotine content. The tin reads "exceedingly mellow," which is also hilarious. This is a powerhouse blend. Not recommended for beginners unless they are cigar smokers.

Pipe Used: Dunhill Group 3s.

Age When Smoked: New and aged tins

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noctivagant (11)	2017-02-24		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

First of all, I'm in agreement with JimInks here, that this blend was intended to taste as though it contained perique without actually spending the money on perique. It does taste similar to a VaPer in some ways, especially the retrohale.

Above all, this is a really fine tobacco. I regretfully am too young to have tried original Dunhill or later Murray's versions, as they sound as though they were really superior tobaccos. This tobacco seems to inspire real allegiance or hatred in excess of any other tobacco I know of, Pipestud, for one is enamored with it. But you need only look at Eulenburg's review to see that its existence really vexes some. I'd say I'm in the mostly-enamored camp, though I think smoking this with some age on it will firmly put me fully in their ranks.

Royal Yacht is comprised of fine Virginias, there are nice flavors of grass and hay, along with some citrus and bolder stewed fruits. The topping is placed with a steady hand and is maybe slightly more or less than I would prefer. That is an unclear statement, but it skirts a line where it's not really obvious what's going on with this tobacco. Suffice to say, it's a simple tasting flavor that works incredibly well with the Virginias and adds some pepper to the retrohale. To me, it smokes similar to a bowl of fresh from the tin, undried (read: too wet for most) Samuel Gawith Cabbie's Mixture.

Royal Yacht is touted for its nic hit among many. I have to say, I'm somewhat disappointed in this department. I'm a former and still occasional cigarette smoker, and smoking a pipe with the Englishes I generally enjoy just does not scratch that nic itch completely and keep me from a cigarette later. Royal Yacht was supposed to knock me over with nicotine. It doesn't. I can feel that it's strong, just not cigarette strong. Now, if you smoke this in a large pipe or aren't used to strong cigarette nicotine, it very well may knock you on your ass, but hasn't done so to me yet.

One thing I should note, this tobacco, unlike many Virginias, really sours and grows harsh on a relight some of the time. It's probably a factor of the lack of proper drying and the topping in tandem. The room note is nice to tolerable, with a slight cigarette odor like a lot of Virginias. It smokes pretty cool, and even with my over eager puffing from time to time, hasn't bit me yet. This really is a tobacco everyone should try as it divides opinions so thoroughly. Nice for a change of pace for anyone who enjoys Virginia tobaccos, it really is unique. Also good for cravers of an easy smoking nicotine heavyweight (maybe a light-heavyweight). It's not something I smoke every day, but most days I get a bowl or two in when Latakia isn't calling me.

Highly recommended. This is to me a 3.5 star tobacco rounded up to 4.

Pipe Used: Comoy's prince, Nording apple, cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sybariten (61)	2017-01-03		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Edit: I am doing something that I rarely ever do - I am bumping this up to four stars. It has grown on me to the point where I can not find anything wrong with it, this is a perfect blend!

Original review I tend to favour bolder virginias, and as such this one hits the spot. The topping is light and even giving the smoker something similar to a VaPer without any added perique. Rich, strong and beautiful, what's not to like?

Taste: A deep taste of raisins and damp forest (dirt and moss) combined with spice is what I first discover. About a third through the bowl a bread and leather nuance starts making its presence known. I find myself thinking that I am smoking a really good VaPer, but where is that plum topping? Then I realize that there is no perique in this blend, those hints of raisins and dried fruit are all due to the topping, and it works reall well! The fact that it is due to the topping means that it is evenly spread through the bowl, minimizing the interplay between flavours and somewhat making the blend less complex, it makes for one even experience. And it is all good.

Mechanics: Ribbon cut, ready to smoke out of the tin, easy to pack. No bite, medium to strong nicotine.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blocka33 (6)	2016-11-14		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Hello sailor

Welcome aboard.

I recently acquired a few tins as I had been wanting to try this mercurial blend for a while.

On opening the tin I was greeted with a wonderful bouquet of fruitcake/Christmas pudding.......plumes raisins port cognac and caramel.

It burns true and produces a generous portion of smoke. It is easy to pack and easy to smoke.

It is an honest smoke that delivers a constant flavour through out the bowl.

Virginias on the darker side keep the citrus away but the flavour remains bright.

I am a VA / VAPER smoker by and large and appreciate the subtleties this has to offer without getting overly complex.

A generous portion of nicotine awaits you without being over the top

Enjoyed it immensely

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Racine and Laramies San Diego

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Uncle Al (17)	2016-10-12		Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Royal Yacht is a delicate, no tongue bite, narrow but nuanced flavour range Virginia. The plum topping almost isn’t there. One of the great tobaccos, what I love about Royal Yacht is the way it sneaks up and delivers an unexpected hit. Excellent tobacco which deserves to be savoured slowly, because it offers two different experiences if smoked moist or dry. Wonderful!

Moist, straight from the tin and separate the tobacco in a mixing bowl. Don’t rub it out, just separate. Gravity fill and gently press. Perhaps a few pieces cut real small and sprinkled on top to better insure and even light. As the tobacco is moist you’ll need the space that loose packing provides. Then sit back, light up, tamp down, relight and experience how this beautifully seductive mixture just delicately and elegantly satisfies. And the slower and more gently you take it, the bigger the exemplary hit! Each excellent bowl of this refined and quality Virginia is precious and deserves to be savoured. I know I do. You should too.

Recently tried the Peterson version of Royal Yacht and it's nothing like the Dunhill version. The Scandinavian Tobacco Group have produced a less strong yet harsh blend with no plum flavouring at all. Two stars for the Peterson version.

Pipe Used: Various

Purchased From: 4Noggins

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jvnshr (23)	2016-07-27		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smoking Dunhill Royal Yacht is like smoking fine ribbon cuts of gold that have been grated from a gold bar which has been manufactured by mother nature. Highly Recommended to Virginia lovers.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Alfonso (3)	2016-04-01		Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

Awesome and robust VAs, subtle plum topping, good nic-hit, perfect moisture and burning qualities... An extremely good smoke. One of my favourite Dunhills.

Excellent fresh from the tin, but it ages well too.

Pipe Used: Briars, Cobs, Meerschaum

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Chimney1966 (5)	2016-02-25		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

For most Dunhill Royal Yacht seems to be something you either like ..or not... At least Josif Stalin liked it as his favourite pipe-weed. 'Uncle Joe' was also well known about his 'neglected' pipes (regarding maintaining/cleaning those pipes) after smoking his favourite Dunhill Royal Yacht pipe tobacco.

No wonder Stalin neglected cleaning process of his pipes.., ..based to what I found regarding Royal Yacht's nasty tendencies (but about that later in this review)

Tin aroma was typical for high quality Virginia blend, typical sweet hay-like with hint of lemon. I did not detect topping at this point at all... Moisture level was about perfect.

It packs easy, but has to be bit cautious not to pack it too tight.

Lights up easy (just like most Dunhill blends 'ready to smoke fresh from tin' ) with one flame.

Burning properties of Royal Yacht are excellent. First time I had quick 20 minutes smoke (with full bowl of RY in Peterson 303 system pipe) ..and I was bit surprised how quickly I had smoked it... And with one flame! I did not need to relight after tampering, it just kept going. As typical for most Virginia blends, tends to expand in bowl after first flame and needs tampering time to time while progress... But still, first bowl of Royal Yacht was a quick smoke, much quicker than my usual 40-50 minutes smokes... (so, ideal for those who want a quick smoke with proper hit of nicotine during lunchtime middle of the work day)

Only indication that I had smoked it bit too fast was the soapy taste for about 7 seconds during middle of the bowl. So, in total experience was strongly on positive side regarding burning.

Second time I loaded my Dunhill 554 F/T Group 3 Round Rhodesian full with Royal Yacht, and again, a pleasant smoke but I was able to make it to last 40 minutes (same size bowl as in Peterson 303 System pipe) by buffing really slow...

So, Royal Yacht tends to be bit quick burning was my observation... It is a pleasant smoke, does not bite and does not taste strong and still nicotine kick is proper. (acts bit more like an energy drink, not 'intoxicating' as some might assume) It could even be a morning smoke (as I had it) but I would avoid this in evening (as I would not feel sleepy after smoking this stuff...)

So, regarding smoking Royal Yacht.., it is 4/4 stars BUT...

Yes, now comes 'the notorious' BUT...

Rest of the tin... I smoked while using Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe... (what a perfect combination, Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe with 6mm Savinelli balsa filter, and Dunhill Royal Yacht Virginia blend) Why in earth I ended up to that combination..?

Because after experiences about cleaning carefully my Peterson 303 system pipe and about cleaning carefully my Dunhill 554 F/T I understood why Stalin neglected cleaning process...

Dunhill Royal Yacht (unlike other Dunhill blends) is really as bad as all worst aromatic drugstore tobaccos in tarnishing the pipe (with oily substance which even greased my stainless steel tamper in way I had to wash it with alcohol...) Oily goopy residual substance really tarnishes about everything it gets into contact with...

And to make it worse, that oily residue stinks like an old ashtray. (if it would smell like thick old Scandinavian Pine tar it would be OK, but stink like an old ashtray is bit too much... ) Regarding that residue.., Royal Yacht acts like true aromatic, only suitable for corn cob pipe...

Because what Royal Yacht does to pipes: 2/4 stars That was 'the anti-thesis' of this review...

Conclusion: Dunhill Royal Yacht is liked and disliked, but it is worth of try I sincerely do recommend everyone try this blend.., BUT don't use a pipe which will be difficult to clean of that nasty residue this blend will create... Corn cob pipe is 'an ideal choice of tool' to explore this tobacco. (if corn cob pipe becames too much like Stalin's pipes, just get rid of it ..and buy a new one... )

Now has to remember.., my experience regarding Dunhill Royal Yacht was based to 'fresh from tin' loads...

If let the tin load of Royal Yacht dry completely and then smoke it slowly, it might cause less of that awful oily residue.

And as all Dunhill blends age well, perhaps Royal Yacht stored 3 or 5 or even 7 years might bring entirely different end result... I did store another tin of Royal Yacht for several years keep, and I will update results 'in distant future' what happened with that tin...

Till then.., in my scale, with good's and bad's, Dunhill Royal Yacht is 3 out of 4 stars blend...

Pipe Used: Peterson 303, Dunhill 554 F/T, MM corn cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipeologist (27)	2016-01-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

I keep thinking that I have found the best tobacco money can buy.I have tried many and am now smoking my first tin of Royal Yacht.Put a match to the first bowl and wow,as you yanks say ,this is something else.So easy to pack,so easy to light,so delicious to smoke.Virginia,no doubt, but a very high quality Virginia..not so easy to come by.I just love it.Shame that I only have one tin,but will be getting more when I get back to London,albeit at a high price.If you like a really luxurious Virginia,then this is for you ,I promise.Buy this and enjoy......1 week later....ok.everyone is looking for their perfect pipe smoke....no such thing exists.I am sitting here in India with a bowl of Royal Yacht and having smoked scores of different tobaccos,some good,some awful,as is the case with most consumables,I cannot think,for the life of me any other tobacco ,other than Penzance,which is now only a memory,anything better and more satisfying than this blend.So,why do I keep searching for something that can give any more pleasure than this .I am totally baffled,but being the perfectionist seeker,I will not give up .p.s.Its only a good smoke...get real!

Pipe Used: Dunhill,of course

Age When Smoked: 1 month

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GabrielCRT (115)	2016-01-07		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Royal Yacht is a favorite of mine. It's not an everyday smoke but when I'm in the mood for a full strength Virginia blend this always hits the spot. I have considered that there may be some Perique in here, even though it's not listed, which would help account for the strength as well as some of the natural plum flavor. The topping is conservatively applied and adds a wonderful fruit/plum flavor. The Virginias are also subtly sweet and grassy on their own. The room note can be a little sharp or even cigarette-like but the topping helps push it to tolerable. I prefer to smoke it in a small bowl to manage the strength.

Pipe Used: Briars, Corn cobs, Meerschaums

Age When Smoked: Fresh to a few months

Similar Blends: Sort of similar to University Flake's topping.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2015-07-02		Very Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Back in my pipe smoking heyday, in the eighties, there were many fellow pipe smokers around who were outright advocates of this blend. I never tried Royal Yacht back in the day, but now, at long last, I can say I've tried it.

I can see what everyone was clamoring about then, this is truly a unique blend; an old school tobacco of great refinement, full of flavor, and, unfortunately, like just about all the other Dunhill blends I've tried over the years, very full and strong (my head was swimming with nicotine). I absolutely loved the snork on this one, very flavorful; a 4 star snorker, to be sure, but, I didn't particularly enjoy the rank taste that developed in my mouth—for me, this blend smoked very wet and the awful tasting backwash somewhat ruined the overall experience.

Today, I seek blends that are less heady. Royal Yacht, as unique as it is, doesn't fulfill this bill. I like to be comfortable when I smoke, and, as much as I like the snork, this blend is way to strong for me. If only I could figure a way to reduce the nicotine level, I'd give Royal Yacht the highest of marks.

Dunhill blends are always skilfully blended, but, I think the pipe smoking world is beginning to pass them by. If you like a FULL blend, packed with nicotine, don't pass on this one. Everyone should try this smoke at least once; I'm glad I did. I'll give it a strong two stars (no pun intended).

Keep on Piping!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeyM (11)	2015-05-12		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

There. Now you've done it. Tobaccoreviews.com and you guys reviewers...

Reading about it, I just had to try it. Bought it, sniffed it, smoked the first bowl. And then the next. I don't buy the "if there could only be one tobacco then...", because how could you make do with just one. However having said that...

This is a very very great tobacco from the first bowl. It smells great, smokes light and fresh but ever so satisfying. I think a lot has been written about this better than I could do, but I do want to state my initial findings: this is one of the best tobaccos I smoked! I can't do the cellaring (love to smoke them too much) but I do want to have some spare of this weed...

Thanks a lot for getting me hooked on a great tobacco, let's keep it lit!

>>Update: This tobacco keeps coming back in my rotation. Fermented well, smoking great, even in rotation with dunhill latakia blends tasteful enough. Very well rounded, a product of highly skilled blenders.

Pipe Used: Genod, Chacom Match, Peterson

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Local tobacconist

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fred T (67)	2015-01-01		Very Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love everything Dunhill. Some of my favorite pipes are made by Dunhill. 965 is one of my favorite tobaccos. So, I was eager to try Royal Yacht again after many years. After a half a pipe my socks were knocked off by it's strength. Sorry, this one is too strong for me.

Pipe Used: Dunhill shell Zulu

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mangelli (1)	2014-11-30		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Dunhill makes excellent tobaccos. The Royal Yacht is the crown jewel of Dunhill in my opinion. The overall experience of this tobacco is rich and elegant. This was one of the first tobacco's I ever smoked and now as an experienced smoker, I still find myself reaching for it. Enjoy!

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lingo (39)	2014-08-05		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

As a VaPer smoker, I keep on searching for the perfect Aro for my rotation.

First bowl was disappointing: I find that there is - also here! - that liiiiiiiiittle too much casing (with too much of that artificial ...something... )

Going on through the tin, more subtleties come in, and I found myself sipping very slowly a well burning tobacco which, after the first essences are gone, leaves me perfectly satisfied with a nice virginia taste.

Only serious drawback: I can't stand the last part of the bowl, where Mr N waits for me to knock me out.

Anyway, it's in my rotation now, kicking my previous aro choice (Dan's Vanilla Honeydew) very far in the queue...

UPDATE: 3 yrs passed, tastes change... I feel too much chemistry in this mixture, the perique just doesnt feel "real"... plus, the market gives so much more than these "new" dunhills... sorry bro, must get you down to two... :(

Pipe Used: Ser Jacopo Delecta, Peterson

Age When Smoked: new

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2014-07-17		Very Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

On first opening this baccy gave me a blast of sour milk, which diminished considerably on repeat openings. I assume this was the product of some significant fermentation tho my tin is only 3 years old. Perhaps this is part of the 'careful conditioning' the Virginias undertake prior to blending. Subsequently the tin note settled down to a vaguely vanilla aroma (tonquin?) and something cassis, blackberry or plum.

The baccy itself is a short cut ribbon of mostly mid browns. There is no light leaf. My tin had a fair amount of twiggy material. It is easy to pack and light.

For the first part of the bowl this is one of the smoothest tobaccos I have ever put in a pipe. Smooth as silk, gently sweet, cool burning and no bite whatever. There is an interesting pepper on the nose and the sourness is almost under the radar. If perique is not part of the mix here then someone has done a VERY good job of fermenting Virginias to mimic it.

The transition of the tobacco as one goes down the bowl is amazing. It builds in strength and spiciness until at the end it is a true nicotine warhorse. It also produces huge plumes of smoke. The last third is full of plums, stewed prunes and pepper.

This is a quality aromatic with a punch.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Joeray (61)	2014-06-18		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Had not good impression when i smoke this stuff except have a good tin aroma. The cut is good and with nice moisture level, easy to pack and not hard to light. The problem for me is this stuff not fit as early smoke, sometimes when i woke up i ju=directly washing my face and my mouth, make a coffee and then smoking a pipe without breakfast and this stuff is not fit for that habbit, little bit too strong. But for the pleasure that had given by this stuff, i put a high rating on it. The plum flavor is so nice to smell and the sweetness is just right portion for me, not ovewhalming. The smoke is quite great at my Stanwell 11 Black Diamond, and not get trouble when i puff it.

Pipe Used: Stanwell 11 Black Diamond

Age When Smoked: 1 year

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lonesomepiper (3)	2014-06-02		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Very sweet and tasty. I keep smoking it a bit and putting the pipe aside so that I can think about the sweetness of this tobacco. While puffing I can also taste a special spicy taste. It's very pleasing. I bought an old two tin set of the "tobacco collection" box offered by Dunhill around approx. 1979-1980. I'm very glad I did it. The tin aroma when I opened this old tobacco was so incredibly fruity and good that I couldn't put it down for about a minute. I kept coming back to open it and smell it again. It was a very good experience. This is my first time with an aged tobacco. I wish I had bought the other 2 tins they had available. But when I called the B&M to do it they told me it was all gone.

Pipe Used: Neerup Classic Sandblast

Age When Smoked: 30+ years

Purchased From: Tabacaria Nacional

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe Newb (49)	2014-04-23		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Tin note is heavy on tart sour apple, reminding me of the Apple Plug my dad chewed out in the field, that I was dumb enough as a kid to take a bite of thinking it was a candy bar(!). Caramel is also present, among the apple and cured tobacco leaf smells out of the freshly opened tins.

A note about the cut of this tobacco... one of the prettiest ribbon cuts I've ever seen, to rival halfzwhare shag rolling tobacco, very uniform and fine.

Char and initial draw is very cigar like in the room note and flavor. Incredibly rich, without any stunning complexity, I'm picking up leather and hazelnut, as I would with a cuban or honduran cigar leaf tobacco. I find it odd that I tasted a hint of a topping in Early Morning Pipe (which apparently doesn't have a topping) but didn't taste one here, which according to reviews does actually have a topping. I'm getting the richest, slightly sweet, slightly sour apple smoke I've ever had, but no real "topped" flavor. That smoke though... such magnificent clouds of billowing blue smoke with zero bite or bitterness, just really true Virginia flavor that reminded me more than once of a very good cigar.

Organic heavy whipping cream has no complexity, no subtle nuances, it's simply rich, silky, smooth. Royal Yacht, much in the same way, does not present any sort of subtlety or complexity. It's just rich, silky, and smooth. If anything could be considered subtle, it's the so-called "plum" topping which really just contributes and never stands out (even enough to identify). This is a fantastic benchmark for any blend that's going for smooth, and pure smoking pleasure.

Pipe Used: londonaire bent billiard

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2014-04-15		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant

Buttery smooth sweet Virginia. Burns clean and smooth on one light. Black pepper notes on the retrohale. No complaints. Full smoke, full flavor. Absolutely delicious when sipped. 4+*.

Pipe Used: Big Ben Cambridge, Peterson XL 315

Age When Smoked: Undated tin; bought 1 month ago

Purchased From: CI

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dokuhebi (4)	2013-11-16		Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Other reviews have already mentioned the high nicotine content of the Royal Yacht, and I would agree that if you haven't yet built up a tolerance, the nicotine buzz can be overwhelming, to the point where it can make novices ill. However, for an experience smoker who is looking for a good strong smoke on a winter evening, this is a good one.

PAIRING: For my personal pairing preferences, I would choose a sweet cognac or bourbon. There's little to no actual flavor in the tobacco, so it's partner would need to be relied on to provide it, but the tobacco has a body to it that would overwhelmed by anything less.

ROOM NOTE: My wife says it reminds her of incense in an Orthodox church service. "A spicy wood smell. Not fruity at all."

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	baccythrasher (3)	2013-09-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Nice, dry smoke hits the nose like a good cigar. Burns evenly but hot. The cut is great for packing and has a perfect moisture level. A good smoke when your working on a project or wandering around. Not so complex that it demands your attention, not so strong that you feel you need a break from it. Just a good smoke to pass time.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Duke (41)	2013-06-06		Strong	Medium	Full	Very Pleasant

Royal Yacht has become my constant tobacco for a good while. I've always smoked it over years, but not as consistently as today. I've always smoked Dunhill tobaccos due to several points: quality, availability and strength. In winter I'll smoke Night Cap, but for the rest of the seasons Royal Yacht. Unlike some pigtails or Irish Flake, Royal Yacht, with its abundant topping(IMHO), doesn't clobber me every smoke. I feel I'm more in control of the nicotine throttle with RY. Is it the same as Murray's? Not so much. I remember the Murray being a much finer cut and more heavily topped. As for the topping, I could care less what's in the formula, because that full tobacco flavor still comes through and doesn't appear to ghost a pipe. This is no pansy tobacco and thank God it doesn't smell of vinegar.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	who broke my clay pipe? (70)	2012-05-30		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

50g Tin £11.75 bought over the counter at a highstreet newsagent/decent tobacconist.

Appearance: 1.5mm-2mm ribbon cut ,mottled golden/mid brown tan and darker leaf.

Tin aroma; plummy winey , very mild chocolate (or Nestle Caramac bar), sour summer fruits , fruit salad , slight vanilla , light roasted instant coffee and apple juice.

Light up: Using matches it lights easy. First impressions are light to medium range tastes,obviously dominant Virginia forward mix of the citrusy light/mid Virginia .

Getting into it; the taste: taste builds up along with strength and i can detect the nicotine - its not an instant punch but an appearing creeper, and i can feel it up my nose like carbonated fizz bubbles which is making me feel alert and perked up.

Development : It develops a very mild earthy cigar hint beneath the mature virginia surface and a very light "mellow birds" coffee nuance. Like a very light white coffee made with whitener rather than milk . But for the main; I am getting a nice rich golden/bronze smooth rich virginia base taste.

Simultaneously, and more dominant aromatic wise, obove that coffee undertone, is a sour/citrus fruit factor akin to grapefruit with a lesser degree of pinapple or apple.

RY is a slightly hot burner and produces wet .

Opinion : I will come strait out with it because it has been on my mind the whole while i have been smoking this: "Dunhill Royal Yacht" tastes like a virtual mirror of "Ogdens Gold Block". Like Gold Block, only slighty darker and more mature maybe, but it tastes like Gold Block smoked on a different day.:-

You know how certain tobacco tastes can drift into the zone of and start resembling by accident of atmospherics other known similar constituted tobacco brands sometimes.. Well this tastes near enough like a well behaved bowl of Gold Block.

If anybody has smoked Gold Block who wanted to like it, i can suggest Dunhill Royal Yacht as a more forgiving substitute because it is less pipe sensitive and will taste how Gold Block does more or less when at its best.

I got a good taste all the way down the bowl and i get a slight winey finish in my mouth which is OK.

It burns quite quick and slightly hottish perhaps - perhaps cooler than Gold Block but very simular properties , and right down to a fluffy white ash.

At this stage i think i have to say that i slightly prefer Gold Block myself: Some of that is to do with price and the fact that i can get Gold Block anywhere. Its a very close contest. Also the milder nicotine Gold Block is more proportional to its easy going taste which makes it a more suitable candidate as an all dayer because the nicotine is paced out.

Royal Yacht though has a slightly stronger recipe and if i fancy the same taste with a stronger nicotine hit which doesn't leave me wanting more for a while then Royal Yacht definately has its place, and is already in my categorised mind as a "Gold Block Extra" :- it has a bit more.

I was initially disapointed that Royal Yacht didn't taste a bit different (i had in my mind a different expectation) but I am glad i tried it anyway because i can accept it as a stronger Gold Block substitute.

For those that care ;there was no soap or bite! I would have no problem keeping this in my rotation and would definately buy again ,but i recon i will consumme more Gold Block in the long run.

Worth 3 stars*

Pipe Used: Falcon Pipe meerschaum bowl.

Age When Smoked: New and 6 months

Similar Blends: Ogden's Gold Block.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	henwrench (16)	2011-09-05		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Smoking this has changed everything. I mean it. Wonderfully complex, as you work your way down the bowl wave after wave of flavour bursts through without affecting your palette. Half an hour after smoking the flavours just keep on coming. Demands to be respected, slow right down and sip away. Has instantly become my smoke of choice.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Upon opening, the eyes are teased with a relatively monochrome presentation of Virginia leaf. Sadly, the eyes can't behold the presentation for long; the "aroma" coming from the tin sets them quickly to watering. Or perhaps it is the sight of the maggots dancing among the leaves....

To me, the tobacco is a bit too moist upon opening. This is a tobacco that needs open time to breathe and air. I suggest doing this in a remote area. When I tried to air my tin inside the house my wife complained that the stench filling the house was far, far worse that a dozen cat litter boxes. I didn't take my gas mask off long enough to verify her statement, but my dogs running from the room gave indication. Once dried to a more appropriate level, I resealed the tin for a bit.

And then came the loading. The ready-rubbed leaf begins to show a bit of coloration, with some lighter and some darker golds and browns. (Here, I should throw in the warning that it is best to handle Royal Yacht while wearing gloves, kind of like when handling Habernero peppers, though the damage done to bare fingers by Haberneros is nothing as painful as from RY!!!) Thus, gloves protecting my hands I carefully stuffed the tobacco into a favorite Dunhill bulldog (which, as it happens, is the only bulldog to ever bite my hand for loading it!).

With the false light came some pretty amazing flavor! I was immediately drawn back into a deep, long-forgotten memory of my childhood. As a boy, I spent summers in Northeast Iowa on my cousins' farm. They raised cows, hogs, sheep and chicken, and the amazing draw of flavors of pigsty and sheep intestine rolled through my pipe and took me back to those now lost days. I could almost see my "Uncle" (really a cousin, but the age of my mother so I called him "Uncle") sitting on that old Ford tractor, the wheels dripping with pig shit, staring down at me as I hauled a bucket of slop to feed the sows, and remember how he used to laugh and say, "So, how's the feedin' comin', City Boy?"

But this is not a tobacco to just sip, as I do with most Virginias. Rather, to appreciate the full experience of Royal Yacht it is necessary to inhale. I mean take draws like you did on that bong 30 years ago in college kind of inhale. Draw the smoke into your lungs like an almost drowned man finally getting his first gasp of fresh air after crawling out of a sinking submarine whose hull ruptured 300 feet below the surface! And then, after exhaling, it happens:

My first vision was of Satan. He was sitting in a bright red seat of flames, somehow now where, moments before, had been the television, laughing his low, gutteral laugh, and telling me that my soul was now his. "NO!", I screamed, as I drew in another puff of this notorious weed. He smiled, and almost immediately was replaced in my vision by 70 dancing, naked virgins. Yet the flesh was not for me - these hags were 80 year-old virgins, having attained their chaste status through years of overeating, not washing, farting, and being just plain hiddeous! I set the pipe aside, walked to the living room, and poured a double shot of bourbon in hopes of driving the witches away.

Oh, those bitches left all right. And this, sadly, encouraged me to again lift and light the pipe. Once more, the relatively cool stream of smoke drew through the airway and invaded my mouth. Though not hot or acidic, the smoke still somehow burned away about 2 layers of tissue on my tongue. I would liken the experience to drinking a freshly opened bottle of lye, though at least the lye has an acceptable flavor. And with this draw the witches were replaced by diahrettic flying gorillas circling my head, propelled in their flight by the jet propulsion caused by their condition. I watched them circle over me, faster and faster, until they suddenly began hitting me in the head. Their fists were hard as rocks. My head shook. My neck flopped like a broken rubberband. Finally, I was overcome with pain and fear and passed out.

When I awakened, the tobacco, my pipe, and the table on which I had set the pipe, had all burned to a fine, gray ash. I found no dottle at all, though I was a bit troubled by having to clean up the charred hag and gorilla bones.

Highly recommended for Haggis fans, Masochists, and Pipestud.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mister Moo (12)	2009-12-25		Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Full	Tolerable

Someone below called Royal Yacht an "acquired taste" which sounds right to me. This is not a pipe for rookies.

The fill is easy, the texture is perfect for gentle tamps and rich smoke and the flavor is strong, round, rich and deep. There is a casing that is not describable which will color the smoke and stick to your ribs. I'd say you'll love it or hate it.

If you love light, faint and fragrant green tea then this is not for you. If you love a rich, thick boeuf bourguignon gone a bit overboard with too much brandy and red burgundy poured in then this may be the ticket.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-10		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

After smoking this one, I definitely understand what people were talking about when they said it was nicotine laden. But it didn't start to really affect me until the very end, so no issues there.

The flavor was incredible. It was oddly sweet. I would say it tasted almost like cocoa, or something like that. I can understand why some people might not like something this sweet, but for me, it was what I have been searching for. I need to try finding more of this stuff now.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-02-20		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The pipe smoking community seems to be divided in opinion, concerning Royal Yacht. I probably would have never tried this blend if it wasn't for the strong opinions toward the nature of this tobacco. It seems you like it or you hate it. I for one think that it is a truely different blend. The essence in the tin is remindes me of a VERY toned down version of Three Years Matured, with less "berry" and more "nut." The ribbon like cut packs easily, yet is a bit stubborn to keep lit. I've smoked this blend in a variety of bowls ranging from 3103 dunhills to a massive Ardor Urano billard. After doing so, I prefer this blend in the smaller range of pipes. I liken Royal Yacht's essence to that of a sweet, oaky, tawny port. Like port, it is best sipped in small quantities. It seems like the after dinner cordial of the tobacco world.

Appearance: Medium brown ribbon, slight "pg" moistness. Some of the leaf had a crystalized appearance, sort of like mold. I noticed that Three Years Matured had this same trait. Probably symptomatic of the processing involved.

Tin Aroma: Like I mentioned before, R.Y. has a similar essence to T.Y.M. Yet not as sickening as the forementioned. Much like psycadedlic raisens and hazel nut. The VA aroma is still not completely overun by the aromatic treatment.

Packing: Easy, yet very moist. A little drying time makes firing a bit easier.

Lighting: Your gonna need a few matches for this one. A good initial charing, and tamp keeps it going strong though

Smoke: I found that R.Y. builds as the bowl pregresses. The flavor is slightly artificial, yet the natural leaf is still present in the smoke. No bite to speak of, when smoked at a moderate pace. Best when sipped.

Overall: I think that R.Y. is a solid smoke. I could see myself smoking one tin a year, inorder to get a change of pace in my normal smoking line up. As far as rating this one against other solid VA's, it just dosen't add up to the likes of those from McClelland or Gawith and Hoggarth. This smoke is strange in its own respect, yet it oozes the quality typical of Dunhill. I would say, at least try the stuff. You'll find it to be completely different from the norm.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-02-23		Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I definitely didn't feel I was "getting it" when I first tried this tobacco, but I am glad I didn't give up. The heady tin aroma and strong tobacco taste were enough to keep me trying it. Like CJ I too found this weed a bit difficult out of the tin , mostly due to its moisture level (I found it hard to keep lit). Now I whap it in a big glass jar for a spell and it's a regular in my rotation. Let's face it: this is one of the strongest tobaccos you can put in your pipe, which is something I look forward to each day, but which cannot be recommended to smokers who don't enjoy a major nicotine whalloping. This tobacco doesn't jump right out at you upon lighting, but as you work through the first third of the bowl, heads up! You're in for a very intense smoking experience! The spice is deep (not hot-pepper-perique but cinnamon-clove-ginger mode) and the smoke rich and fluffy w/o being heavy on the palate. I'll smoke this mid-day before turning to English style blends for the evening/night.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-01-13		Very Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Full	Pleasant

I purchased a tin of this to see what all the fuss was about. On opening the tin, I was greeted with a putrid smell of rotten fruit that had me concerned. The smoke was worse. It just tasted terrible to me, and I could not finish the bowl. I took the advice of a fellow ASP member, Paul Zolig. He advised me to put the lid back on and put it away for a couple of months. I followed that advice. On revisiting the tin, that smell was gone. The terrible taste in the smoke went away. The tin aroma is now more of a matured Virginia. It is composed of mainly dark, short cut ribbons. It is easy to pack and easy to light. It is a full, deep, rich, powerful tobacco tasty smoke. I find that I puff this pretty hard, yet there is no bite. It has a pleasurable taste and aroma when exhaled through the nose. The room aroma is very pleasant. It is nicotine heavy, and it should be avoided by those that have room spinning experiences. There is a lesson to be learned from this. Many blends need some extra preparation from the tin to the smoke. All this one needed was to break the vacuum seal, and let it sit for a few months. The blend has dried a bit from the initial opening of the tin. It burns dry and clean and finishes with a medium gray ash. Highly enjoyable. Another nicotine, tasty, power bar.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Scottmi (5)	2022-11-22		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A reliable, enjoyable, smoke. It is on my shortlist of tobaccos to use for a 'first bowl' in a new (or new to me) pipe. Why this one? Beside the fact I like it, to my taste, it is a mellow, well-rounded blend without distinct strong flavors or 'spice.' Perfect for experiencing a new pipe... I have tins aging and will continue to store two more away every time I finish one. Re my 'taste,' I am pretty broad-based, loving smooth Scottish blends, strong and spicy English, and Balkan Lat-bombs (oh yeah!). And, yes even some burleys and Burley/Virginia blends... They all have their time and place.

Age When Smoked: open tin, current Peterson label production

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pip'n'Piper (50)	2022-07-11		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is a difficult one to place in terms of flavour. It is bready, toast-like, but a bit nutty and woody. I notice the plum topping easily. More than anything, it tastes like tobacco. Not like cigarettes or cigars though, it's how I imagined pipe tobacco would taste as a kid. It screams "old-school" toby. Nice cut. Perfect moisture. Consistent burn. Fair amount of nicotine. No bite. Not much harshness. Enjoyable and tastes great. My first bowl was on a beautiful summer day off work. There was a cool breeze and the leaves were flirting shadows across the yard as the trees swayed. I was listening to Reflections in D, watching one of our cats snoozing in the grass, predernaturally turning an ear anytime a squirrel came near. Royal Yacht was the cherry on top of a beautiful moment in life. Cherish these days people, and enjoy a pipe with them. Since the first bowl, this stuff has grown on me with every succeeding puff. I've killed a tin in record time and more is on the way. It didn't blow my socks off right away, but it is a rock solid smoke and has seemingly endless nuance. Enough depth to satiate James Cameron. Royal Yacht has caught me in its talons and I've been reduced to a bland milky paste to satiate the tobacco Goslings. 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Cobs & Stanwells

Age When Smoked: Fresh

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GeoffS (26)	2022-06-17		Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Is there a more polarizing blend than Royal Yacht? I'm a sucker for the retro tin styling so I decide to give it a shot. Immediately I get chocolate-covered raisins and rum. Tangy sweetness, with mustiness in the background. As the bowl is smoked down the mustiness takes center stage and the sweetness fades into the background. Not sure I've smoked another tobacco that changes character so obviously throughout the smoke. The nicotine is noticeable but not overwhelming. The whole experience goes great with a cup of black coffee.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipefitter (51)	2022-06-06		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A cool smoking Virginia with a rich , but mild plum flavor with a respectable nic-hit. Never bites and no rough spots. Like Jimlnks, I would have guessed some Perique in this blend, but apparently the alchemist at STG have figured out how to blend straight Virginia with so much complexity that there’s no need for it. I also appreciate the fact that the plum flavoring is not apparent because for me when toppings are forward they tend to get either cloying or give me immediate palate fatigue. This one gets a 3.5 from me , but I’ll round it up to a 4 ‘cause it’s a classic, no nonsense pipe tobacco. I could smoke this all day and the aftertaste sticks around just long enough to remind ya of how good a smoke it is.

Pipe Used: Cobb

Age When Smoked: No produce date, smoked 6-6-22

Purchased From: City Tobacco in New London Ct.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lord Guyrox (24)	2021-12-18		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

For the Virginias lovers that enjoy a good dose of nicotine, The Royal Yacht is for you. This mixture offers darker Virginias and the tin note is of well aged leaf with a little something in the background that never interferes with the tobacco flavor. The tin I opened was 4 YO and, as the previous tins, the result was very satisfactory. It just requires a bit of further rubbing out to be to my liking for smoking. STG has, to its merit, the competency of offering very consistent products which was not the case with Murray & Sons. I never knew what I would get when I purchased their version of TRY and had given up on it after 3 or 4 tins. They especially tended to always over do it with the casings. The STG version uses high quality tobacco, applies the plum casing in a conservative fashion and this provides a pleasant smoke that never bites and becomes tastier as I work my way down the bowl. This is dark Virginias territory throughout and I love it. I would recommend waiting at least 2 years before working your way through the tin. This is a solid, comforting and satisfying Virginia blend. Recommended!

Pipe Used: Various Dunhills.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JJ Sir Emmitt (40)	2021-08-01		Very Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Strong

I have been sitting on a Dunhill branded tin since 2016. I finally decided to crack it open and give it a try. As a lover of strong tobacco I was very much looking forward to this blend.

It has a very typically Virginia smell from the tin. After smoking a few bowls of this I must say. I don't get it at first but I have come to really admire it. This blend definitely fits into that Virginia flavor profile, but I do agree with the package claim of being unique. There is something that sets it apart from a run of the mill Virginia. I get a sharp bitter orange zest and red pepper flakes flavor up front which is really nice. Followed by notes of bread, cinnamon, leather, earth, and stone fruits. What's unique with this is there is almost a fatty component to the smoke. By that I mean almost a substantial slick mouth feel similar to the fats from eating raw nuts, very unique. There is also a underlying sugar sweetness that is constant. Toward the last half of the bowl a interesting musty earthiness comes in accompanied with a warming nicotine kick.

This is a big complex blend with some nicotine power. It definitely like to unapologetically throw it's weight around. This is not for a light weight. To me this blend burns hot, I have found churchwardens to be a perfect pipe for this one. This is one of my favorite straight Virginia blends a tobacco blend catagory I tend to be critical of.

Pipe Used: Cobbits

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BrokenRecord (124)	2021-06-27		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

One of the better Virginia blends on the market. I appreciate the balance between the smooth smoking sweet Virginia varietals and the lighter leaf that adds some bright crisp notes to the smoke. Royal Yacht has enough variation in the subtle flavors from the Va varietals to keep my attention and distinguish it from other Va blends. The barely there plum casing enhances the sweetness and slight earthiness of the tobacco, just as with DLNR.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Marcus (1)	2021-04-30		Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am a new pipe smoker and never smoked before. I started with captain black original and dark. I really like the taste of Royal Yacht, although I can't describe the nuances as well as the other reviewers. I'm on my first bowl, and will definitely need a nap. Fresh out of the tin, it stays lit with only 1 relight so far. As a newbie, I think I will stick to milder blends, but pull this out occasionally.

Pipe Used: Rossi briar

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	boluotou (6)	2021-03-29		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Great love! When the ignition is on, you can feel the obvious sweet taste of honey. The main flavor line of the front end is honey, citrus and dried fruit mixed with light aroma of toast. The smoke is very full and rich. In the middle, the toasted flavor becomes the main aroma, supplemented by sweet citrus flavor. This feeling continues to the end. The remaining sweet taste in the mouth is obvious. This is a V grass with great strength. Compared with the original dunhill, the strength is weakened, but it is still good. The overall suction quality is very good, the flue gas bucket temperature is very low, and the combustion is very smooth. Smoking this grass must control the frequency of suction and do a good job in room ventilation, otherwise the sweet smoke will give you a gentle knife. 大爱！点火时候就感受到了很明显的蜜糖甜味，前端的味道主线是蜜糖柑橘果干混合淡淡的烤面包香气，烟气非常饱满浓郁。中段开始烤面包味成为了主要的香气，辅以甜甜的柑橘味。这样的感受一直持续到尾段。口中余留的香甜味明显。这是一款劲道不低的V草，和原版登喜路相比，劲道有所减弱，但是任然不俗。整体的抽吸品质非常好，烟气斗温都很低，燃烧也很平顺。抽这款草一定要控制好抽吸频率以及做好房间通风，不然这烟气的香甜会给你温柔的一刀。V草爱好者我强烈推荐！ B站完整测评链接：https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV13V411e7pn/

Pipe Used: Peter Klein

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Hun (38)	2020-12-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

I guess it's over.

A few years back I ordered a tin of Royal Yacht based on the substantially positive reviews. I expected a relatively high nicotine content with a background hint of plum or fig, maybe from perique, maybe not.

According to my notes I got nothing--a flavorless smoke without even a hint of nicotine. I shrugged, struggled to finish the tin and noted that I should try another tin later on the off chance I had gotten a bum one.

The relabeling of Royal Yacht to Peterson from Dunhill succeeded in tempting me into another purchase. I have now concluded that I did, in fact, NOT get a bum tin before. The results have been the same--no taste, no nicotine.

Although I have no notes to back it up, I believe I got more pleasure out of rabbit tobacco and corn silk (very long ago) than I have from Royal Yacht. Now I have to, somehow, endure the completion of this tin.

Never again.

Not recommended.

Pipe Used: various briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: fresh tin(s)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rafe Hyatt (5)	2020-01-25		Strong	Strong	Full	Tolerable

NOTE: This is my 2005 review of the Murray's version of Dunhill Royal Yacht.

TUN-tun.....

TUN-tun.....

TUN-tun-TUN-tun-TUN-tun-TUN-TUN-TUN-TUN!!!!

The theme from "Jaws" played in my head as I opened my first tin of this notorious Dunhill offering. As long I have been smoking pipes, this blend and the people who smoke it have been scorned, ridiculed, roasted, lauded, lionized, praised, argued and joked about more than all other pipe and tobacco related topics combined. "Cased with aardvark intestine." "Takes a man." "Nectar of the gods." "It'll put hair on your toenails." What on earth could possibly be the big deal? And it also didn't escape me that RY was introduced in 1912, the same year the world endured a certain nautical disaster in no small part due to British hubris.

For all the fanfare, seriously, Royal Yacht really didn't rock my boat too drastically one way or the other. I warily loaded it into a small bowled Peterson 303 (my preferred VA pipe) and enjoyed a very pleasant smoke. I found the blend to be a nice, reasonable, dark VA with taste and presence. The flavoring and the nicotine, while definitely "there" were not overpowering, and RY's flavor is unique --- doesn't remind me of anything else. Until just this very week, it was my favorite tinned VA (since relegated to second place by Dunhill's Three Year Matured VA). I ordered a dozen tins in the wake of the "new blender" news and as far as I can tell, all my tins are the Murray's version. It will be interesting for me to see the breaking news as the Orlik/Dunhill tins work their way into shops and stashes.

Simply put, I like the stuff and will keep it on hand. The only drawback for Royal Yacht is that Mrs. Rafe does not appreciate the room note --- says it smells like cigarettes to her. So, once or twice a week when I fire up a bowl of RY, I'll do it sans the company of my better looking half. Step up and try it, you might be surprised!

Pipe Used: Peterson 303

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DavyCrockettwashere (33)	2019-11-25		Extremely Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

This blend is not not for the beginning pipe smoker. This is strong nicotine, in your face, make you shake nicotine. If you have been a meth head or cocaine addict and are trying to cut back, here’s your blend. This blend with a cup of coffee will set you right. I try this blend every so often as I have some stored in a mason jar from 2002. Every time I try it I remember why I don’t reach for it as often as my other tobaccos. To those who enjoy Royal Yacht, I salute you, but I’d rather smoke a tobacco that is more enjoyable.

Pipe Used: Ashton billiard.

Age When Smoked: 2002

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kingdom Danimalia (13)	2019-06-16		Medium to Strong	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I bought a tin at a local B&M, and wasn't really sure what to expect. This seems to be a polarizing tobacco, where in addition to its ardent admirers, it also has some loud detractors. With that background, I expected to have a strong reaction to it, one way or another.

The tin note is wonderful. Grassy, with a pungent dried fruit aroma. Great Dunhill ribbon cut. Very easy to pack, light and smoke. My initial thought upon tasting: "Is that it? What's so polarizing about that?!" Maybe I expected the flavor profile to be obnoxious, good or bad? It tastes like a solid VaPer to me. One where the perique contributes dark, dried fruit notes. As there's no perique in this blend, I assume that is from the plum flavoring. It's artfully applied. It adds to the mix, but isn't overbearing.

As I work my way down the bowl, I feel that familiar catch in the back of my throat. Yes, there's some nicotine here. Not as much as the Gawith & Hogarth flakes and ropes, but plenty enough to be a good breakfast smoke for a nicotine addict (hand raised), or as a great after-meal smoke. Where I find the smoke quite mild, taste-wise, in the initial phases, the piquancy begins to pick up towards the middle of the bowl. A pleasant, spicy tingling on the lips and mouth. Further down, the sweetness fades, and the flavor becomes a bit more savory. I do find the flavor to get a bit ashy towards the bottom of the bowl, though that may be a technique issue on my part, as I am still a relatively new smoker.

Overall, I find this to be good, but unspectacular smoke. I do enjoy the extra nicotine in this, but flavor-wise, but when I want this kind of a smoke, I'll usually reach for a number of VA/VaPer blends first. 3 Stars. Definitely glad I got a chance to try it, and I'm bummed for its fans that it appears to be discontinued.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Billiard

Age When Smoked: ~2 years

Purchased From: Local B&M

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drbarryk (5)	2019-06-11		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant

Amen to Calamiti's benediction. A little of the glories in pipe smoking die with the last wisps of Royal Yacht's magical smoke....... thankfully, the hold still harbors several tins.....

Similar Blends: Nothing in this world.......

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	brunoo (3)	2019-02-16		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

If it were a wine it would be a hearty, mature Malbec or Amarone. I get mostly dark fruit and the typical sweetness that one associates with it. Though I wouldn't exactly classify it as sweet. There's some piquant as well, similar to what you get from Perique, but in my opinion milder. Was expecting the N vitamin to knock me out unconscious, but didn't find it overwhelming at all, as some reviews suggest. Perhaps the last 3rd of the bowl is a bit more pungent.

My one recommendation is: take it slow. The change in flavor is drastic and the nicotine delivery much friendlier.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Baron Robie (3)	2018-07-14		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

How delighted I am by this smoke. As of today this may be my desert island blend.

The tin artwork is great, as all Dunhill tins are. The nose is fresh, deep. That is proper Virginia - with some light notes of plum?

The smoke was so true, so mild, so balanced. I love the aroma. I don't know how to describe it, other than to say it is what I envisioned pipe tobacco aroma to be when I started in 2005.

Not only is the smoke easy to maintain, and a delight, but the aftertaste on my palette is so delicate, so perfect, and so truly TOBACCO.

My only issue with it is the bite.

I'm willing to put this down to my being away from the pipe and forgetting how to pack and smoke. I'll give this a few more bowls. But for now, this blend is perfect but for the bite. I will edit this if the bite dissipates in time.

(I might add, I've had not issues with the nicotine content as many have warned; indeed, I didn't notice it at all, and I'm not a regular smoker.)

Pipe Used: Vollmer & Nilsson

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Thomas Hinds of Toronto

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2018-07-12		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I'm sure this review will get lost in the pile but I want to post on this anyway, because this tobacco elicits such strong feelings in so many people, and I feel the same way. When I first smoked it, I found it pretty near intolerable, bitey, cigarette-like, and uncongenial to say the least. I figured I was missing something, and I was fairly much a newbie pipe smoker at the time. I decided to jar it and leave it for a few years at least, because I had no desire to revisit it.

This year, I heard Dunhill is planning to stop producing pipe tobacco, so in the interest of revisiting those blends with which I was familiar, and maybe stocking up a little before the demise, I decided to give Royal Yacht another try and see if my opinion of it hadn't changed in the interim.

After about 6 months in a jar, this tobacco is much more affable. I did ultimately buy a few more tins of it. The thing about it is, there's nothing else like it. So have I heard from other pipers who have tried just about everything. The plum topping really is enticing and compliments the natural earthy Virginia tobacco in a subtle way. The topping comes through in the smoke and the flavour is unchanging down the bowl. I still find this a little bit nippy on the tongue, even when dried out a bit. I guess that's the high nicotine content. It's not overwhelming, but it definitely scratches an itch when you want a strong, fairly natural tasting Virginia. Now I find myself craving this stuff on a semi-regular basis, the way I sometimes crave a very strong, very stinky blue cheese. It's a little bit gross, but oh so good.

Pipe Used: best in a billiard IMHO

Age When Smoked: 6 months+

Similar Blends: Nothing like it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2018-07-02		Very Strong	Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Once upon a time, and many years ago I actually worked with the real Royal Yacht and crew on a special operations gig. That was in the years before I took up the pipe.

A Mahogany, bronze and black colored tobacco blend of unusual strength. Maybe this blend was supposed to be used in conjunction with the balls to four coffee on the mess deck, because it’s got a nicotine kick. The aromatics are not sticky sweet at all but rather nice. This is a bold blend and will perk ya right up. I found it a little too harsh and bold for my likings.

Pipe Used: Ashton pebble

Age When Smoked: Week old.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fdcl50 (9)	2018-06-09		Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

High quality Virginia tobacco in a user friendly short ribbon cut. Moisture level spot on from the tin. Packs well and burns beautifully to the bottom of the bowl. Should be smoked slowly to enjoy the strong flavors. I did not notice the flavoring many have noted but what I taste seemed to me to be the natural flavors of the various Virginia leaf which constitute this blend. The nicotine level is high and if you are not a fan of the slight “buzz” it imparts you should stay away from the royal yacht. If you want to sit down and enjoy a slow leisurely smoke with a satisfying tobacco then I would highly recommend the royal yacht.

Pipe Used: Castello bent billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Cigars international

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pip (80)	2018-05-09		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

After reading all the wonderful reviews about Royal Yacht I finally decided to break open my 9-year-old tin and see what all the hype is about. To me the tin note is very VaPer like. I smell sweet Virginians with plummy/figgy notes along with a piquant fermentation like alcoholic scent. Perhaps plum brandy is the topping.

The moisture was perfect and it took to the flame straight away. No hint of bite at all.

I can usually tell by the first bowl if I like a tobacco or not. I’m on my 3rd bowl of Royal Yacht and I still don’t know what to make of it. It has a mellow sweetness of grains, oatmeal, hay and grass but, lacks the tangy traditional Virginian zest. It is a very soft sweetness and has an ever so light plummy finish. I really need to take my time with RY to appreciate it fully. At least an hour. It’s a leisurely smoke for sure and not very complex

As for the nicotine blast I’ve been reading about…maybe nicotine just doesn’t effect me the way it does others. The only time I really feel nicotine is when I’m chomping on a cigar with an empty stomach so for me it’s a non-issue.

The tobaccos are of a very good quality as expected. The smoke is smooth and the flavors are consistent from top to bottom. Is this a blend that I crave? Certainly not. Do I like it…It’s OK. I’ll finish the tin for sure and I have another aging but, I’m in no hurry to open that one as I have so many other I want to try first.

REVISED: Feb 2019

It took a while...but I final "get" what the Royal Yacht fans have been raving about. It's awesome. It really grows on you. I'm glad I have one tin cellaring!!

Pipe Used: Peterson 69

Age When Smoked: 9 yrs

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	michaelc (40)	2018-04-24		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Very good Virginia blend. Sweet sugar taste that you would want from a true blend of Virginia tobaccos. Nice fine ribbon cut leaf with a scent of grassy hay in my baggy. This was gifted to me by a pipe smoker I met while playing "Words with Friends." He sent me a box with three pounds of various tobacco blends. I will be enjoying more of these and giving my opinion of their merits. I will put this down on my list for future purchases.

Pipe Used: Road Town bent billiard

Age When Smoked: 8 years, a gift from a friend

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	adam543 (8)	2017-11-04		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Lets start by saying that this tobacco comes on dry side in ribbon form. Because of that I pack it not too tight and smoke slowly to fully enjoy it. The flavors are not very intense and it can be advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it. Somehow you feel that it is a serious stuff, maybe the nicotine helps?

Virginias are not too sweet, they are rather earthy and bready and there is a little bit of plum flavor. For some reason I also get cigar notes. Even with the small sip you get a nice volume of smoke. It needs care and attention, it is not a tobacco for mindless puffing in my opinion. Without filter it can be slightly bitter from time to time. With a filter it becomes amazingly smooth. Conclusion? It is a very nice stuff, with strength, body and true pleasure of smoking a tobacco. Certainly it is not for everyone but which tobacco is?

Age When Smoked: 4 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Danno44 (8)	2017-09-07		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I've been sitting on a few tins and decided after 1 year of age to finally try it. Especially, with at the time of this review, that the Dunhill blends are going away...again. If this does occur and if it turned out I loved the blend I would still have time to cellar some. The cut is the typical Dunhill, a nice ribbon, very easy to pack and moisture content right out of tin was perfect. The tin note reminded me of a cross of Elizabethan Mixture and Early Morning Pipe with a little more fruit like raisin aroma. A little citrusy/grassy and a little spice also is there. Lights very easy. The smoke is medium all around for me, flavor, taste and nicotine. However, the nic hit can a little more than medium, especially on empty stomach, but not unpleasant. The Virginia's come through nicely with a light grassy taste I get more of a raisin and spice flavor in the smoke. It tastes close to how it smells in the tin to me. It is a nice richer type of smoke, but nothing that knocked my socks off frankly. It's good and understand the following. I have 3 tins cellared and will likely not add to it. It certainly is nothing like I have tried so far, so not currently aware of a true match at this time. So if you try it and like you should stock up "just in case". For me it is a good smoke, but at this time I am in the "smoke what I have and not cellar" camp.

Pipe Used: Briar,MM Cob,Baki Author Meer

Age When Smoked: 1 year

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TW (38)	2017-07-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Royal Yacht, a name intended to conjure up their Royal Highnesses touring the world aboard a substantial luxury steamship in the company of impeccably uniformed genteel and cultured Naval officers and disciplined, respectful seamen in the 1900s.

Well, what it actually is is a brown/red Virginia blend with a hint of plum and maybe tonquin. It's not a bad blend at all, and easily smokeable all day. I don't understand why it has a reputation as strong in nictoine of flavour because compared to most twists and many flakes or even ribbon cuts and shags it simply isn't.

A pleasant, very polite, milder and more genteel version of Gawith and Hogarth's Dark Birdseye shag really.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	toddsmith7378 (41)	2017-07-21		Very Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant

I taste bright spicy Virginia at a really high quality level of tobacco. I typically like to savor my pipe tobacco's flavor. My choice type of smoke is Frog Morton Across the Pond with the subdued mellower Syrian Latakia, so I'm used to just savoring flavor. Can't say I was used to being slapped upside the noggin with Nicotene when I boarded the Yacht. Gotta be careful taking that savoring approach on this ship. My first bowls got me a bit light headed. Had to head back to shore due to sea sickness. That being said, I was just caught off guard with this type of smoke.

On about the 4th day and 5th bowl or so, I learned what to expect on this cruise. I keep a smaller bowl and don't pound down puffs for just taste. Yes, it tastes good, but I really have to slow down my cadence It's ok to stretch the bowl out a bit more. A little goes a long way with this baccy. A measured approach is slowing down and not hitting so much or smoking so fast that the Nicotene overwhelms. Once I got a gauge on dialing in my puff patterns to fit this tobacco, it became a smooth and pleasurable ride.

I'd recommend this smoke to some, but I'm not sure everyone would call this a superstar. 3 stars.

Pipe Used: Peterson, Kaywoodie

Age When Smoked: 2017

Purchased From: Tobacco Store

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lazarus77 (91)	2017-07-10		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Unique tobacco. Its not the best and will not be my favorite, but unique. I cant remember something similar to it. Medium in strength, with a bit plum flavoring and almost full in taste. Cool, dry smoke, no chance of tongue bite. Not an all day smoke for sure, but repeatable during the week or month. I bought 5 tins for my cellar incase if Dunhill tobacco will disappear. 4 big stars

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: pfeifendepot.de

Similar Blends: No similar tobacco for this....

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhantomWolf (41)	2017-05-30		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

The nicotine is strong with this one. Good luck finding a review stating otherwise. If you are new to smoking, you may find yourself dizzy after a bowl. I recently gave up cigarettes after 15-20 years of smoking, so the nicotine is not a big deal for me. I will add that I'm puffing this blend heavily, as I wanted to really get the flavours down for the review- In doing so, I have admittedly gotten a little light headed myself. haha

Sweet and grassy Virginia with a unique topping. The tin note actually smells like under-ripe tomatoes to me. Supposedly the topping is plum, but I do not quite get that. I get raisin and a kind of dark fruit with a kind of sweet sun-dried tomato taste always in the forefront.

I would recommend this blend to seasoned smokers, lovers or VA-Aromatics, and those who are simply bored or curious. It isn't to my specific palate, but it is definite quality tobacco and a unique experience.

Pipe Used: Bjarne Viking Skagen, Virgin

Age When Smoked: Fresh, air-dried prior to packing.

Purchased From: PipesAndCigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phil Theharp (16)	2016-11-07		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Sweet. The note from the tin is plummy like a bit of Xmas is packed in there. The tobacco burns evenly but beware burning ash billowing from your pipe and burning holes in blankets and stuff. Got myself in trouble there and this is the only tobacco in my current rotation that does that. The room note has not excited comment either for or against and I guess it is anonymous. The taste is just sweet. Not in a cloying, syrupy way but just consistently. I can easily understand those who proclaim this a good all day smoke. RY is not demanding and will not surprise you with some intriguing new flavour coming out of left-field. A quality tobacco that would not dent my top 5 but I would be happy to have around when I want a fail-safe.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: From the tin

Purchased From: Smokers Market, Derby

Similar Blends: Unique.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cynicomen (5)	2016-10-06		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin: Some grassy and hay notes from the Virginias. The plum topping isn't tart, but dark and mellow like dried fruit. It also has a slight alcohol or liqueur scent to it. There are also some sweet and biscuit notes. One of my favourite tin notes.

Packing/lighting: No drying time is needed, and packs perfectly into the pipe. There are also some bigger, harder pieces of leaf similar to broken flake.

Strength: This blend is well known for its strength. As soon as you take a flame to it, you can feel the heaviness of the smoke. Like most strong blends, it hits the back of the throat and burns on the retrohale. This is definitely not an all day smoke. It's definitely a "sitting down" blend, and is great to kick back and relax in a churchwarden or your favourite pipe. The nicotine is very high and even experienced pipers will feel it. I've smoked 1792 many times without any issues and for some reason this hits me harder.

Taste/Room note: A straightforward Virginia taste, but richer and darker, with some earthy and leather notes. The topping gives it a mild fruitiness, and makes the room note more aromatic. The biscuit note from the tin also comes through slightly. The fruitiness of this blend will go perfectly with a sweet dessert wine like port or sherry.

Final thoughts: Truly a classic pipe tobacco which is loved and hated by many. As for me, I love it, and it is one of my favourite blends. It's powerful, and great for a relaxing after dinner or before bed smoke. Make sure you have a full stomach before setting sail on the yacht.

Like: Amazing Virginia blend. It can be summed up in two words. Powerful and aromatic.

Dislike: The heaviness of the smoke can sometimes be harsh, and it leaves the mouth dry.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: mysmokingshop.co.uk

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-09-26		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

RY is as delicious as strong Virginia mixtures get (IMHO). It's an autopilot set and forget blend that doesn't bite, will satisfy everyone in the nicotine dept. and for me never gets too hot bc there is no need to puff the pipe to death to get flavor. I now use it as a substitute for 5 Bros. to perk up weak and mild blends since this Virginia is as close to simple Virginia as i have found. THIS is the beginners tobacco i do believe now, smells good like Cocoa (although absolutely not an aromatic blend), easy to pack with its thin ribbons and is as easy to smoke as any blend i have tried. Sure it will kick them in the face with nicotine but like a kid on his 21st B-day night, one needs a shot of moonshine to compare all other shots to. Somehow i never reviewed this blend even though its been a favorite for years?

As an aside some of my favorite smokes have been Missouri Meerschaum Hardwood pipes, i have all 3 shapes. Their $9.99 anywhere and made of Hardwood Maple but covered in Shellac which holds in heat and doesn't allow the wood to breathe. 6 months ago i sanded the Shellac off and just used nose oil to color it with a fine patina (like an Unfinished Savinelli) and my Country Gentleman version loves Royal Yacht, what a pair! Try the pipe trick!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gresh (9)	2016-05-19		Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love this stuff. Perfect ammt of moisture right out of the can. Tin note smells of raisins. The high nicotine content is great for those like myself who want to cut (way) back on cigarettes

Pipe Used: MM Corncob

Age When Smoked: tinned 1 year ago

Purchased From: Smoker Friendly. Wilkins Twp, PA

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Corey Mac (9)	2016-02-15		Strong	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I remember when I used to smoke this in college. I remember the plum topping being much more pronounced with more of a wine like character to the tin smell. I remember thinking I hadn't smelled anything like it before. When I would smoke this, I remember no other tobacco had ever bitten me as hard as this did either. Every puff was like broken glass in my mouth. The nicotine was so strong, I wasn't able to stand while smoking this. This would make me really nauseous! The flavor though was excellent and I would put up with the agony of smoking this because the flavor and quality was really, really awesome!

Since Dunhill pipe tobaccos became extinct for a while, until they were resurrected by Orlik, a lot has changed. I don't remember the Orlik version being much the same as the Murray and Sons version. I still like this though.

The tin smell of the Orlik version doesn't have many of the same wine characteristics as this did when it was made by Murray and Sons. Now it smells like Play-Doh. I like the smell of Play-Doh, so I like the smell of this. It's kinda nostalgic to me!

The Orlik version doesn't bite as hard as the Murray and Sons version. It doesn't taste as good either. It's not bad, but it's not like it was... Lighting up, there are flavors reminiscent of petroleum based stuff. This has a little gasoline and mechanics shop in it, with some asphalt and tar. I know it sounds weird, but I like that! I get some of that with Orlik Golden Sliced, though in that, it's much more of a top note, with more of a gasoline petrol flavor and less tar and asphalt. The petrol comes out for me when the brighter Virginias are present. With the Royal Yacht, once you're down to the middle of the bowl, the petrol and tar flavors move to the background and the Virginias become more sugary. The further down you go, the more rich the flavor becomes. It makes sense because the bottom tobacco acts as a filter for the rest of the bowl. Some baked goods come out too and strangely, the aftertaste reminds me of my grandparents house. Ha!

The Orlik version doesn't have as big of a nic kick as the old Murray and Sons version, but it'll still pack a punch.

All in all, this pales in comparison to the old Murray and Sons version. If you read about Dunhill's pipe tobaccos today, this is the case with most of the old blends across the board! It's too bad really, but that's the way things go. THEY DON'T MAKE EM LIKE THEY USED TO! Ha!! This is still a good tobacco though and I find myself craving it often and even though I have a lot of tobaccos I like better than this, this just satisfies. I guess that makes this a favorite of mine. WEIRD...

I'm dockin' one star off though, in memory of Murray and Sons...

Pipe Used: Peterson Killarney

Age When Smoked: Fresh as a spring rain

Purchased From: Smokingpipes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gonzok (3)	2016-02-13		Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

At first, I wasn't too impressed with this tobacco. I found it a bit bland and monotonous. The only thing it had going for it was that it satisfied the nic- cravings, but as I had started smoking cigarettes again, even that seamed to be a very mild satisfaction. Anyway, I poured the contents of the tin in a jar and left it there, only having a smoke occasionally, maybe one bowl every two weeks, and continued smoking my other blends (Nightcap, Elizabethan Mixture and 965). After the tobacco had sat in the jar for a good few months, I suddenly discovered whilst smoking a bowl that this tobacco had matured and become something very interesting. Royal Yacht suddenly became my go to blend and now is sorely missed whilst I wait for the tins which I have just bought to mature in the jars for a couple of months before I can enjoy that fantastic tobacco again.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CharatansMake (18)	2016-02-09		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This one was and still is a mystery for me...

At first this tobacco was good stuff but nothing special. It provides a well balanced but unexcited natural taste with hints of dry fruit/citrus/piquancy, combined with its solid strength a nice dosis of nicotine and perfect conditioning/charateristics. Well, I did not have a wow effect and I was quite sure that it would take a additional role in my rotation. But somehow I found myself smoking it again and again and I noticed that it has something very satisfying. I think this tobacco is one of these strange examples of unexcited averageness (in the best sense) that at first do not stick out but can give you so much more satisfaction than many 'first glance stars'...which reminds me a bit of experience and wisdom in contrast to juvenile enthusiasm.

3-4 stars!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Earl Grey (34)	2016-01-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

I enjoy Royal Yacht. It's got a nice clean Virginia flavor. Not too sweet and not lacking in the vitamin N department. I couldn't taste any of the plum it's supposedly flavored with. Just a nice, no-nonsense Virginia smoke to me. Perfect moisture level, only one relight after char. Burned to a fine white ash.

Pipe Used: Danish Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of tin.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	r (34)	2015-11-06		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The tin welcomes you with an aroma reminiscent of freshly baked Irish soda bread (with raisins). A beautifully cut tobacco, it packs easy and burns steadily, leaving a very fine white ash. The smoke production is generous and constant. The flavor is sweeter than the tin aroma suggests - the baking soda and raisin quickly evolve into a plum, cognac-like suggestion on top of sweet Virginia - quite pleasant. Enough nicotine to make it a night smoke. It leaves a very pleasant aftertaste as well.

Similar Blends: Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Escudo Navy De Luxe.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2015-09-17		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a good blend I am learning to appreciate more and more. Nice, on the darker side virginias combined with a nice tin aroma that does not translate much into the smoke. I can't really say if it's plum or something else; but I can say it's a nice tin aroma. RY smokes a bit on the sweet side, but in a pleasant way, while still retaining the hay like taste of lighter coloured virginias and also giving some earthy flavours that fits in extremely well with the rest. The taste remains consistently of that nice tin aroma throughout the smoke. It lights and burns very well and the Vitamin N is excellent for my liking. RY could become an ideal all-day smoke for me.

Pipe Used: Stanwell: Ashton PG; Luciano; Rattray's Army

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ian K (30)	2015-09-07		Very Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

I bought a 5g sampler of this and glad I didn't invest in a whole tin...As it says in the previous review not one for a novice like me. A very strong and distinct flavour with a high hit straight from the off.

Think I'll leave it a couple of years before trying again and just stick to early morning pipe

Update. A couple of weeks later went back to this one, smoked it slower and managed to get a bit more "introduced"...back to backed it with some Dunhill nightcap which in my opinion I found less harsh! The yatch I found was Still giving some bite to my mouth though.

Pipe Used: Petersons half bent 316

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Mysmokingshop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	point9 (114)	2015-06-11		Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I have never had older versions of Royal Yacht. The taste is full and sweet with the special additive flavor. However this is too strong for me, and the unique topping is not to my liking. update:2016-3-20 I must say this has grown on, or the level of my nicotine demand has increased? I will upgrade it to 3 stars. The added flavor is mild, as it did not ghost my pipes.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Toasterbottom (13)	2015-02-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is another tobacco I want to like but feel kind of indifferent about. After all, it sports the almost aristocratic Dunhill marque, it has really lovely 1930s or 40s fonts and graphics on the tin; and it obviously uses quality Virginia tobacco. But try as I might, I find I just don't care that much about it. On the upside, it smells nice in the tin, it packs easily and burns well, and it produces a rich creamy smoke suitable for blowing smoke rings. But the taste ... well, the taste in my view is just a bit boring. More than a bit, actually. It's completely one dimensional. Maybe I'm missing something here ... but I'd rather smoke Dunhill Flake any day of the week. I bought two tins, though, so perhaps if I cellar the second tin for a few years and then come back to it....

Pipe Used: a variety of straight billiards

Age When Smoked: fresh tin

Purchased From: 4noggins.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhillyB (70)	2014-09-07		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is amongst the lighter Dunhill blends. The smell from the sample I got is of mild and sweet Virginia with a little cereal grain. The plum is not very strong in the smell but I can detect just a little bit. The taste is very similar to Orlik Golden Sliced but much more mild, and the startlingly accurate plum seems to be at equal with the tobacco. It burns a little fast but I had no problems with bite or overheating. Doesn't make me jump with joy but is definitely a very enjoyable smoke.

Pipe Used: AND Meerschaum Billiard

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kentishman (7)	2014-08-09		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Smoked my first bowl of this just after play resumed after tea at Old Trafford against India. Was hopeful I'd come back after a stint in the garden with a wicket down but found India all at sixes and sevens and had lost 4 wickets. Must be my go to smoke during the Ashes....... Yes but I digress. As a newcomer to pipe smoking I had dedicated myself previously to English blends. Wish I had not. Tin upon opening was currants and sultanas. Upon smoking a very strong, enjoyable Virginia. Not even sure if the cricket score is right with that much vitamin n! Wonderful smoke, full of Xmas pud and relaxation. Casing is there but still a lot of tobacco. Thoroughly recommended and another bowl in order now. Maybe 4 more Indian wickets as well?

Age When Smoked: New tin

Purchased From: Canterbury tobacconist

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	codyp (65)	2014-01-22		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another great from Dunhill. One of the tins I always have around.

The strength is gonna be your average Dunhill ribbon cut. It's stronger then your average Virginia blend, and I like it very much. To me, I don't really sense any artificial flavoring. It's just a strong Virginia, the tin is right on, in the sense that it is a mellow blend. That would be how I describe it.

The wife note isn't quite as good as your average aromatic, however it is definitely not unpleasant. It's pretty much how you would expect a pipe to smell.

There is absolutely no bite, and it's full flavored throughout. Another recommend from Dunhill.

Pipe Used: Peterson System

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-07-20		Overwhelming	Strong	Extra Full	Tolerable

This blend just happened to make me feel nauseated. Could not put my finger on the flavor component, other than to say it was dark and sweetish in a cloying way. Had to pull over and dump the bowl and toss the tin.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peter Piper (41)	2013-06-12		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A lovely blend, this. Virginia to the fore with quite a pokey nic hit to it, which can take you a bit by surprise as, despite the relatively full flavour, this still contrives to be a light smoke in the sense that it imparts no harshness, or bite whatsoever. Very pleasant, very relaxing, great to unwind with at the end of a working day.

Highly recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kingjj (10)	2013-06-05		Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

For taste and strength, it's hard to fine fault in Royal Yacht. A potent and rich Virgina blend with hints of currents and raisins. But with that said, it's also a high maintenance blend. I can't seem to get through a bowl with less than six re-lights, even while puffing like a madman. Not to mention, the blend isn't exactly friendly to madman puffing, as too hard of a draw will scorch your tongue.

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to lower it's maintenance. Smoked moist or dry, packed tight or loose, it simply refuses to stay lit. It splits me in the middle because as stated, it's flavor, strength, and aroma are top notch. But seeing that I do most of my pipe smoking on the road, I find myself leaving the Royal Yacht at home. When I'm on the road, it behooves me to keep my eyes right there (distracted driving is far worse for your health than smoking), not looking down for my eighth stir and re-light.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir Walter Smiley (24)	2013-04-12		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just smoked the Orlik version for the first time and it has been a few years since I smoked the Murrey blend. It seems I remember the Murrey blend being stronger in flavoring and nicotine, but tastes change and our memories are never as good as we would like to think. I also have been smoking much more full bodied cigars since the Murrey days. What I know for sure is the old version made me a little ill, like Peterson's Irish Flake, from the nicotine. This one does not. Anyway.......Royal Yacht is a great smoke. Tin moisture, upon opening, is perfect for immediate packing. The cut makes for easy loading. It does not bite my tongue if I puff too hard. The flavoring added enhances the tobaccos, not hides them. The smoke has a full body feel, more like burleys than Virginias. This tobak reminds me of Cornell & Diehl's Exhausted Rooster. It even has some pepperiness at times, as if it had perique. In Dunhill's description of this blend they mention " rich, heavier and cooler Virginias". That sounds like burley to me. Nice "prune turnovers" tasting tobacco. A good pairing for this is Wild Turkey Honey on the rocks. Hell, that bourbon blend goes with any tobacco except nonsweet latakia blends...and maybe those as well. I need this in bulk.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-03-29		Strong	Medium	Full	Pleasant

edit 05/11/2013- I like this blend more now that the tin has been basically sitting and drying out in my desk for about 6 months. I would dip into it now and then but hardly made a dent in it. Another winner from Dunhill. I very much agree with Perique's comments about the burning qualities and the smoke tasting very much like the tin note but have to disagree about this being only a mild to medium strength smoke. It's a fairly strong baccy and good for relaxation on a sunny afternoon. Heard recently that this was Joseph Stalin's favourite tobacco. Well i can't say i think very highly of what the man did but at least he had good taste in baccy i guess.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-02-18		Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant

Upon opening the tin, the smell of the VA tobaccos is very pleasant. It is mixed with a buttery/vanilla smell I thought.

It reminded me just so very slightly of the Davidoff Royalty tobacco smell.

The smoke however is fast, hot (without the vile tongue bite) and not so nice to be honest. There is a pleasant (Virginias blend) and an unpleasant flat "hayish" taste to it. Tastes like a cheap rip off of the Davidoff Royalty tobacco. Mid bowl, the taste gets better, just so very slightly.

Nicotine hit is excellent however.

Room note is quite pleasant I thought. I wish the taste and the smoke were as pleasant.

I will not be being this again. Not a one star tobacco because nothing I have tasted so far is as vile as the Borkum Riff tobaccos I have tried.

Too bad, as it is my first Dunhill tobacco review, and I was looking forward to reviewing it.

A friend pipe smoker advice: For a marvellous straight VA tobacco, go for SG Full Vriginia Flake.

Cheers!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-08-17		Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This has been reviewed extensively... just my 2 cents.

Royal Yacht doesn't do any one thing spectacularly. It's not the best smelling nor is it the greatest tasting, it doesn't have the highest nic content and some will think the cut makes it burn too fast. But what it does do is balance all those things well which makes it an all around great smoke.

Being an ex cigarette smoker nicotine has always been a consideration in my choices and trying to find that balance of taste and stimulation has been like walking a narrow line. The Peterson and Gawith flakes are strong which obviously precludes me to enjoy the hell out of them and even some of the ropes but in the moments that there isn't time to be chopping and preparing tobacco to properly load your pipe and you just need a smoke, Royal Yacht fits the bill.

It has the typical Dunhill fine ribbon cut which makes it easy to load, easy to light and depending on your experience, smoke too fast. If you're not use to it the nic hit will sit you down in short order; room spinning, excessive drooling and possibly a cold sweat. Experienced smokers will probably enjoy the twirl it provides without the preparation but beware of the niccups towards the end of the bowl, which by the way, is usually dry and dusty. It's like an old timers blend in a fashion just for the fact that it's more utilitarian and not really fancy... if that makes any sense at all.

This one was in my rotation long before the demise of Murray but I've been out long enough that I can't make a fair comparison to the newer Orlick tins. It's as close to the original as I can remember which is rather ambiguous I know, but hey, I'm smoking it.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a spectacular aroma and taste profile you'll probably not enjoy this one. If you are ok with reasonable taste and aroma that provides a decent amount of stimulation that's still mild enough on the mouth and throat to smoke all day, I can highly recommend this one.

Four stars... not necessarily because it's what we think a great tobacco is today but because it does what I need it to do.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2012-02-01		Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love Royal yacht. This tobacco seems to be a real love it or leave it blend among pipe smokers. I think it is amazing, other established and experienced pipe smokers consider it appalling. All I know is that I get this blend, and I am sure glad I do.

First a caveat. this tobacco has been known by some to to give you a swift nicotine kick right in the Jackson. Some people believe the name very fitting because their stomach rolls like they have been on a yacht in rough waters. If you are a little sensitive in the nicotine department, have high blood pressure, or are pregnant, do not go on this ride.

The flavors are really nice. A great plum type of full taste. This blend really benefits from time, both in the pipe and in the cellar. If you rush this blend it will taste like a cheap cigarette, but loved and nurtured and it really shines. The Virginia tastes are very round and lovely. I like it. This one also ages beautifully. What was good when I bought it has become utopic with age. really nice.

Give it a shot, you might like it, you might hate it. If you like it smoke away. If you hate it send the rest to me and I will properly dispose of it for you. Highly recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fireball (36)	2011-02-20		Very Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Full update here after perservering with a couple more tins. Warning, this sweet, dark fine shag will blow your socks off with its Vitamin N hit. I consider myself of pretty strong constitution but even I have to watch when I smoke just half a Group 1 bowl of RY. If you can stomach it, it hits very high peaks, rich, sweet, full bodied, it has a great roomnote and as long as you don't rush it, smokes cleanly and smoothly in any pipe. Not for the faint hearted, but Va lovers who have eaten and are sitting down could well love it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (161)	2010-12-30		Very Strong	Mild	Mild to Medium	Strong

What quality tobacco! If you want something mellow and yet strong this fits the bill perfectly.. I find it even stronger than irish flake maybe a little less strong than 1792.. It has a unique flavor that is hard to describe. Some casing is clearly used but it is blended in such a way where it tastes like a natural tobacco. Not for everyone due to the nicotine content but the flavor is mellow enough to be a good introduction to stronger tobaccos.. Handles beautifully - stays lit doesn't bite much.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-09-11		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Just reviewed My Mixture 965 bought today and It was good to see Dunhill back on the shelf here in London. Again, Orlik has done a wonderful blend substitute here from Murray's. From opening the tin the aroma instantly reminded me of the original. The Murray cut was more in the form of a well broken flake and this is now a finer cut, but visually, the colour in the tin is virtually the same. More to the point the flavour is almost a perfect replica of the original. In fact, I find this new OrliK cut smokes better than the original and as for flavour, I cannot detect any decernable difference - If anything, an altogether better smoke than the original - well done Orlik!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-08-20		Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

My favorite pipe tobacco thus far. Love the mild flavoring & backbone. I have sampled 40 year old tins to 5 yr. old Orlik stuff. The 40 yr. old tin displayed dark, oily looking strands with a somewhat diminished, musty aroma & was milder & sweeter as compared to Murray's but lacked the flavor I was hoping for...may have gone a little flat.

I like the Murray's version the best. The Orlik version doesn't appeal to me that much, just average stuff, IMO...not enough of the Murray's blend flavor. The flavor improves even more after the first third of the bowl & I believe there may be some Green River Burley that provides that figgy, Perique effect in this blend along with a dark chocolate & black currant flavoring.

This is a near biteless tobacco & I concur with some other reviewers that this blend is somewhat terperamental depending on the quality of the briar. One of the best, uniquely flavored pipe tobaccos ever, IMHO, of course! Smoked in a Peterson DeLuxe, 9S Model.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Planet Scott (66)	2010-06-09		Very Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Update:

I found 2 tins of this blend my father had stashed away that has to be at least 10 years old. He died in 2007 and was no longer a regular pipe smoker for several years prior to his death. That being said, I opened a tin and really love the smooth, cool burning characteristics. The tin aroma is dark raisin and prunes. It has a nice toasty bready and molasses room note. It still is a very strong nicotine smoke. I use my smallest pipe and stretch it out over a full evening to not over dose on it. Still, such a luxurious and rich pleasing smoke. It is very moist ribbon cut, but dries quickly, packs and burns well.

I don't recommend this to new smokers, however, if you go at it slowly, it is a damn nice blend.

--------------------------------------------------------------

My father loved this blend. He gave me a tin as a gift. Sadly, it was not to my liking. It was not bad, just too strong for me. I tried several time to like this, but I could never finish a bowl. If you dislike strong blends, this one is not for you.

Age When Smoked: 10+ years

Similar Blends: Pease Sixpence, just a lot stronger..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-11		Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This wonderfull tobacco has been in existence since 1912, but because of the extremely mixed reviews on this forum, it took me some time to buy it and even then I waited 3 months before finally opening the tin.

Autumn leaves, left in the gutter too long after heavy rainfall, stared me in the face. The tinnote wafting out however, was unique, luxurious, sublime, divine, and outstanding as Pipe4ever rightly described it. Royal Yacht is a very strong tobacco and I tried in smaller and smaller bowls untill I found the perfect match in a tiny Astley Rusticated Lady/Sporting briar. Now it is one of my favourite tobaccos. An afterthought; I did not find asbestos after relighting but I do think that it is better to smoke this tobacco in one go.

Update: In a 4 sized James Upshall Dublin it also shines! Update: considering Royal Yachts uniqueness and venerable age on the market I think everyone should at least try one tin in his life.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	odinbaal (6)	2008-08-21		Very Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Update: A surprising Discovery

Filled a pipe this afternoon and readied myself for a strong punch; as it started to gently rain, I went out on the balcony to check the weather, pipe in mouth.

What a surprise! The aroma immediately changed and, coupled with the clean, cool air, Royal Yacht was suddenly transformed into a very enjoyable, very "perfumed" smoke (meaning its nuances became more noticeable), and even lost some of its notorious all-nicotine strength.

It seems that, as the name implies, this tobacco is meant to be smoked outside!

----------------

I've read the reviews and found it amazing how much divergence there is when it comes to evaluating this tobacco.

Luckily, I live in a place where Royal Yacht is extremely cheap, $3 a tin of the old version; so I bought myself a few dozen tins to try this elusive aromatic by Dunhill.

Strange? Indeed. I will call RY a "secret" or "dark" tobacco, because, in my opinion, it needs a little coaxing to reveal its real nature.

First, I don't think Dunhill can produce a "disgusting" tobacco and have it on the market for an extended period of time; second, British aromatics, by law, contain "less aromatics" than, say, Dutch or American counterparts. Dunhill is more famous for its English blends, and an aromatic coming from them is seen, by some, as somehow of an oddity. One has to bear in mind that this is the "Dunhill" version of an aromatic, and not your normal type. Third, I think that each tobacco, like each pipe, needs to "broken in" in order to give full satisfaction. RY is one of those tobaccos which need more than the usual care.

After going through some tins, here are my smoking recommendations:

1. If possible, use a new pipe dedicated to RY. If not, use a pipe which has been used with a mild aromatic;

2. Choose a pipe with a bowl which is neither too small nor too big. Too small and you will get a burnt flavour/taste/smell; too big and you will get a headache/sore throat; this tobacco is strong on nicotine, as all reviewers have noticed!

3. Smoke VERY SLOWLY in order to get the full effect of RY;

4. Try to smoke the bowl in one sitting, as it tends to deteriorate if left half-smoked.

Quite a lot of precautions, true, but I think they're worth the try!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2006-11-09		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Tolerable

I have never delberately bought a tin of Royal Yacht: all the tins I have smoked of this mixture have come out of the five-pack samplers of Dunhill tobaccos that used to be sold in airport duty-free shops around the world. And, I have never been able to finish a tin.

It is strong, ranking with the likes of St Bruno and 1792 in nicotine content. The flavouring is odd - not so much savoury as briny. (I have smoked it on a two-hundred tonner on a week long voyage near the equator.) It does improve with drying and breathing. While the flavour is not as bad as some of the harsher critics would have, its oddity combined with the strength of the tobacco makes it a mixture that takes no prisoners. I am smoking the last of my tins of RY and do not think that I will acquire another.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-12-31		Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco gets a lot of press on this site and others, good and bad. It seems to be a "love it or hate it" smoke, and I really don't understand why. Royal Yacht is a good smoke...if one is looking for strength of nicotine, good taste, and richness, attributes most smokers like myself are looking for when holding a pipe.

The thing about RY that isn't covered in the many reviews here, at least not consistently, is its remarkable affinity for mixing well with other tobaccos. Okay, it's too strong for you. Don't throw it out or deride its many blessings. Mix it with some good burley. I prefer a 50/50 mix with pipesandcigars Old Companion and a good "tossing" in a converted coffee-grinder. To paraphase Winston Churchill: A woman is a woman, but Royal Yacht/Old Companion mix is A SMOKE.

So I wouldn't be without having this wonderful tobacco on hand. It's good straight up, mixed with other quality tobaccos, or even as a topper to a parfait packed pipe. When I just need a good smoke, a quieting of an unruly mind, I reach for this good friend and sail away.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-07-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I just picked up a tin of this from the B&M tobacco shop and it was a sound pick. I don't think this will become one of my mainstays in the near future but I wouldn't pass it by either.

Mine seemed at about the correct moisture level upon opening the tin, so I just packed some up and smoked it. It seemed pretty good so I decided I'd better smoke another bowl afterwards to make sure. After that I was pretty convinced that its pretty good, so I smoked another bowl. You get the idea.

The flavor to me reminds me more of like a black espresso coffee than tobacco. It has a lot of flavor, but it seems more like a neutral roasty flavor to me than anything else. The can claims its a unique smoking mixture, and I concur because I've honestly never smoked any other tobacco that tastes like this. Its good, just kind of different.

I agree that this would compliment some coffee nicely adding some extra roasty flavor into the mix without being overly harsh on your tongue. In that regards, if you get tongue-bite from this tobacco then you are obviously doing something very wrong. This has got to be one of the least bitey tobaccos that I have ever smoked. I was puffing away contentedly without the slightest irritation on my tongue.

Per the earlier reviewer's suggestion, I'll let the tin rest a couple weeks now that I've cracked it and try it then. Depending on my experiences I may upgrade it to four stars but for now I'll leave it at three: a high quality blend well worth a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-01-21		Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant

Legendary stuff! I've tried Royal Yacht on several occasions over the years, never going so far as to buy it but choosing it when given the option. I have to smile I hear someone reviling this blend while smoking a bowl of GH RB Plug or Ennerdale Flake. They are of the same type, i.e. a British version of a heavily-flavored aromatic tobacco. The differences are that the British use hefty tobacs instead of tasteless burleys, and that the British flavorings are "natural". That said, I don't think I could ever put the components of this scent together from nature.

This is satisfying due to the strength and full flavor, and the casings are interesting for a while, but begin to wear thin after about 15 minutes. I don't find it to be terrible, just not terribly interesting. Dark Bird's Eye has more to offer if one is looking for strong and stinky.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SopwithCamel (255)	2004-12-29		Very Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

The first time I tried this was back in 1989. I hadn't been smoking long at all and had sampled pretty much all of the OTC blends that had interested me. I found an actual tobacconist near where I lived and discovered the world of tinned tobacco.

I thought the name was interesting and I loved the 1920s style logo on the tin. Naturally this was Murray and Son's version of this old blend.

It smelled delicious, like stewed fruit and brandy. I loaded up my trusty Kaywoodie bulldog and fired it up...excellent taste, quite smooth, delightful...and then I was queasy.

Oh yes. A hallmark of all of the Dunhill blends back then is that they were made with rather potent and well aged tobacco.

It was a long time before I signed on to sail on the Yacht again! That tin lasted a long time...

What's interesting is that I smoked a tin of Nightcap not too long afterwards. I enjoyed that quite a bit, but while strong in flavor, it was considerably milder in strength.

In short Royal Yacht is a classic flavored Virginia. It is for the experienced smoker, and is certainly worth sampling.

Since I can enjoy things like Peterson's Irish Flake these days, I will probably give this old timer another try to see how much I like it now. Tastes do change...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jakob Kiilerich (120)	2004-06-09		Strong	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant

Royal Yacht, the nicotine bomb from heaven, what sweet music you make..

I was urged to try this blend by Pipestud, and i bought a well-aged tin on Ebay. Upon opening the tin, I saw small crystals on the leaf; perhaps sugar or maybe even nicotine?!?

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a lovely scent of dried figs and dates. The cut reminds me of 965 but it is much more dry than the former.

Packing and lighting was no problem at all, and the first 1/3 of the bowl gave away that peculiar topping which I haven't tried before now, which I have a hard time describing but which I really like alot.

It not that strong guys, come on ;-) Yes there's alot of nicotine in it, but not more than in St. Bruno and other similar blends.

It's the coolest pure VA smoke i've ever tried, you could use RY instead of talcum on a baby's bottom i reckon.

I will definitely stash more of this fantastic tobacco, Thumbs up for Dunhill, the epitome of quality!

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-01-29		Very Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Love it or hate it you just can't ignore it...Well, you can, but at your peril. I usually stick almost exclusively to english mixtures - more specifically medium / strong Dunhill english mixtures - but I do occasionally feel the need for a change and the "mixed" reviews that this tobacco elicited stimulated my curiosity.

On opening the tin I was expecting a foetid stench to assail my nostrils but nothing of the kind; the aroma to me was remeniscent of a particularly appetising plum pudding enriched with fine liquor and spices of the orient. The appearance of the tobacco had the typical Dunhill air of quality about it and the colour - an almost uniform deep, rich brown - held the promise of a rewarding (and strong) smoking experience. I was not to be disappointed.

For my trial tasting I chose a recently acquired Big Ben filter pipe: If the blend lived up to anything like its reputation, I guessed the filter might be advisable.

On lighting up, my first impression was of a subtle,soft, almost gentle flavour - a kind of St. Bruno / Rich Dark Maduro (if that's still available) hybrid; okay, it was clear that there was plenty of nicotine strength lurking in the background but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a few moments later that my filter gurgled and sputtered to a halt; a dead thing. Having no spare about my person I decided to do some loin-girding and try it with no safety net. The effect was stunning - a mouth filling, brain numbing, jaw dropping surge of that total tobacco experience. Time and space lost any real sense of meaning and I sat transfixed and oblivious as the lives of my loved ones went on around me.

I've never really appreciated all the fuss about straight(ish) Va's but this, for me, is the real deal and I find myself with a daily craving for a change from my normal Balkan provender. The flavour is hard to pin down and adequately describe, especially for the Va novice, so I won't even try. Suffice it to say that if you have any taste at all for matured, robust, quality tobacco with more kick than Roberto Carlos, give it a go.

p.s. I might suggest not smoking this immediately before bedtime: I tried it last night and regretted it.

p.p.s Dear Mr. Dunhill - I should never have doubted you.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-01-29		Medium to Strong	Very Strong	Medium to Full	Very Strong

Got his tobacco this morning along with many others. I am off work for four days and plan on trying some new tobacco over this period.

The tobacco was presented in a rather blindingly gaudy tin which promised glad tidings within (what a disappointment), so far so good.

On opening the tin I was greeted by an aroma somewhere between rotten figs and gangrenous flesh. The tobacco looked like poor quality tea, and definately not what I expected from a Dunhill blend. (I worship Dunhill Navy Rolls)

I rumaged for my test pipe, ie one that I could burn should this foul weed invade it to the core (which it did)

The tobacco lit easily, but giving a damp musty taste, giving the aroma of rotten meat and figs with an even greater intensity. I continued through the urge to vomit violently.

Could only get half through the bowl before having to reach for the antiemetic medicine.

Sorry this tobacco is in a league of it's own, it redefines the meaning of vileness, it is foul, foul weed indeed. I cannot comprehend getting any satisfaction from this ship in the future.

As I have heard the Royal Yacht Britannia in the UK has been abandoned, can I suggest that lovers of good tobacco abondon this one.

Good enough for the American market I suppose.

Yes I did burn the test pipe. Yuch!

If you smoke this tobacco all I can say is.....I pity you LOSERS!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Danno (106)	2003-11-22		Very Strong	Medium	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

Zounds! I have smoked rope with less snap than this. Perhaps it is the eery fruit "additive" that causes my head to throb and heart to palpitate. This particular blend was recommended to me by a(drum roll pls)piper who used to smoke 3 packs of camels/day. It is likely one of the only tobaccos he would still be physically capable of tasting...inital flavor has that special Dunhill mix of sickly rich and wreaths of smoke. About 20 minutes in, RY will slap you in the head and run a marathon across your lips and tongue. I haven't ruled out trying this again, most likely simply out of respect for its sheer muscularity, but cannot say i would smoke a tin of this in a few days... NB-Pipestud rates this as his favorite strong blend, which is not surprising, based on his reviews. I believe he could smoke straight sour mash and not find it overly powerfull:)... Nov21/03 After a few more tins, RY and I are in solid. I have dedicated a pipe to this unusual and rather tasty blend. The flavor is indescribable, and my palate can handle multiple bowls. Good Stuff!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-07-26		Overwhelming	None Detected	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

On the tin of Royal Yach it says, "A Unique Smoking Mixture." I agree wholeheartedly. What other mixture makes you want to chew off your own arm for ever reaching for the tin?

The line "exceedingly mild" is clearly someone at Dunhill's idea of a sick joke. "No that's not Wasabi,(chortle) it's avacado. Take a big bite now!" The nicotine in this mix would make Peter O Toole swoon.

Pros: If I wanted to smoke myself to a slow painful death I'd use this mix.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mephisto (32)	2003-07-13		Extremely Strong	Very Mild	Very Full	Tolerable

I personaly like it but admit it is not for all. Strong but smooth and certainly unique in taste. If you get the chance give it a try it might grow on you. As a note this is one of the most well behaved blendd I have tried it lights very quickly stays lit till the end and produces a fluffy greay specled ash pluss lasts and lasts. Also be warned that one bowl is usualy good more can be a problem unless you are prepared for the anvil to the head the will certainly follow.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-04-22		Extremely Strong	Medium to Strong	Very Full	Strong

I am not a sheep. I do not follow the crowd. Never have, never will. I like to make up my own mind. So when I heard about this blend and the extreme positions that were held about it, I knew that I had to try it.

And I did try it. I really did. I tried it fresh out of the tin. I tried it a week later and I tried it several months later. I tried it in little bowls and larger bowls. I tried it in a box and with a fox and...I will not smoke this here or there I will not smoke it anywhere. I do not like this Royal Yacht, I will not smoke this, I will not.

This is the one tobacco that I have tried that made me physically ill. Not because of the nicotine strength, which I found very enjoyable, but because it was actually nauseating. My stomach did flips and gurgled and I felt like I had indigestion. Several times after smoking this I had to take an ant-acid.

Really there is only one other thing I can compare this to. When I was living in Micronesia I was in a situation in which I was more or less forced into eating a fruit bat. It was boiled in coconut milk and served with the little leathery wing hanging out of the bowl. To eat any of the meat you had to gnaw around the shoulder bone and since they didn't remove any of the fur, the grease painted your upper lip and the aroma was simply overwhelming; a cross between hot fat, coconut candy and a rat.

Smoking Royal Yacht is a similar experience.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2003-04-09		Extremely Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Whoa Nelly!!!! This stuff is the real deal! I had to try some of this stuff after all that I had heard about it. I couldn't seem to tell what the big deal was about it at first. It has a nice shag cut and packed easily. I put it in a new corn cob in case it would prove unbearable as others seemed to think. The first few bowls seemd to go just fine. A nice virginia base with a slight casing that I couldn't quite get a handle on. Although a unique stewed fruit taste was evident- I didn't seem to understand why there were such strong reactions to the stuff. Sure it's strong but what's the big deal? Then I noticed that the corn cob I was smoking it in had a filter. Since I don't usually use them (in fact I never used to think they made any difference anyway except to catch a lot of moisture) I just removed it and loaded another bowl without one. Then I got in my truck to drive home! Let me tell you- about half way home I thought I got hit by a mack truck! This stuff is strong! (This also laid to rest my curiosity as to whether filters made any difference.) I barely made it through half a bowl. I still really like this blend- I just have to really watch my smoking technique unless I have a filter in the pipe. I will keep a few cans on hand even though I usually only smoke one bowl of it in the morning to get me going. I find the flavoring is very refreshing after I've been smoking balkan blends. So if you are in the mood for something different and strong- or just wan't to experience roll your own cigarettes pipe style give it a whirl- just watch out for the nicotine rush!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-06-27		Extremely Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am on a mission to rehabilitate this tobacco's reputation on ASP and elsewhere. For some time I have read reviews of RY describing it as "Royal Yak" and denigrating it in the most unqualified terms. In fact, the terms were so unqualified that I began to suspect the judgments expressed by the reviewers and decided to try it for myself. I'm glad I did! Royal Yacht is a unique blend which simply has to be tried to be understood. I've had about ten bowls of RY now and I find it difficult to accurately describe the aroma other than to say it's unusual and has quite a tendency to grow on you. The tobacco itself is composed of dark virginias which burn slowly and cooly, with little or no tongue bite. The flavoring is not overwhelming, but lingers throughout the bowl, always pleasantly in the background. Perhaps the best thing about R.Y. IMHO is its nicotine strength. This is a powerful blend which is definitely not for the novice!

This blend is certainly not for everybody, but neither is it one that everyone should avoid. Try it for yourself and be prepared for an experience! For another unbiased (but better written) review, see: http://www.priss.org/pipes/dunhill.shtml#royal

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-05-19		Overwhelming	Extra Strong	Overwhelming	Strong

Dear manufacturers of Dunhill:

Please keep your drain cleaner in the cupboard under the sink, and don't use it to cure tobacco. Sodium hydroxide is very dangerous and does not taste good when used to cure chopped up rubberbands and the end product of porcine peristalsis.

Thank you,

A 360 kilo cat who is no fan of Royal Yacht

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-03-02		Very Strong	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

This is one of the very worst tobaccos I've ever had the misfortune of filling a pipe with. It's got quite a bit of nicotine, or perhaps it was only the mix itself that was making me sick...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2001-02-25		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Royal Yack, like Erinmore, occupies a unique and legendary place in pipesmoking mythology. To pipesmokers, these are the Jersey Devils - strange, mysterious, and rightfully feared. The Jersey Devil is a variant of the Bigfoot critter, and one of the few that has ever had a history of aggressive violence towards humans. They don't just stroll past your shaking and upside down camera; they run out and pounce on you and jump around on your head. Much like this tobacco. It was one of the few I've ever smoked which actually made me physically nauseated. It's fun to recommend to new smokers, though, like trekking into the woods and convincing your drunken buddy to go tickle the grizzly cubs...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CKC (12)	2023-03-19		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A favorite for sure. While I switch some blend choices up seasonally I’ll smoke RY all year long. A favorite morning smoke because I love the plum flavor and sweet Virginia. No better ride to work with a coffee smoke IMO

Pipe Used: Any and all

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: SP

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brunello (140)	2023-03-13		Very Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

When I first started pipe smoking in 1979 the first tins I ever bought were part of a Dunhill sampler gift set of four small 50 gram tins. Of these, Royal Yacht was my favorite, and I continued to smoke it over the next couple decades until one by one all the local tobacconist disappeared. I didn’t discover online order until 2015, and when I did Royal Yacht was one of the first things I ordered. Unfortunately it was now being made by a different producer and just didn’t taste at all like I remembered it. I think the Dunhill version used more golden Virginia, this version more dark Virginia, and this has different and much less flavoring. I don’t get the same creamy amaretto and fresh-baked bread taste of the Dunhill version, or the Tonka note of the Murray version. As for the plum, it is very slight, and more Lamoon plum than Damson or Santa Rosa plum. Despite my disappointment which puts this at two stars, I’m judging it on its own merits and giving it three stars.

Tin note is rather understated which seems to indicate minimal flavoring (dried hay, faint whiff of dried flowers). Flavorwise I get a pretty basic toasty oatbread Virginia profile with a very faint suggestion of honey sweetener. I don’t get any tart or grassy tastes and it burns cool and steady. There are other lightly-cased/topped Virginias I like better (Ashton Gold, for example), but I have one more tin of this I’m going to pop when it turns ten, so we’ll see what aging does for it.

Having smoked a pipe since 1979 I was surprised that I had my first ever encounter with nicotine sickness. But I did something stupid: I had a bowl of this while having a nature hike on a summer day of 86 degrees. Probably a combination of nicotine and heat stress. Okay, I learned my lesson on that one! Approached in cooler weather, on a full stomach, and keeping hydrated, I’ve had no issues with subsequent bowls!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokily Dokily (13)	2023-01-27		Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Tolerable

I'd been looking forward to trying the classics for some time. I sought to move away from my regular regimen of sweet aromatics and Burley-based blends and finally begin my journey into the more traditional, oldschool world of English and Balkan mixtures when I took a hiatus from smoking for various reasons. Upon taking up pipin' again, I was anxious to try the legendary Dunhill blends that were suddenly available in my neck of the woods again thanks to Peterson and STG. However, I was initially wary of this particular one because I had been cautioned of its hefty nicotine content-My experiences with Peterson's Irish Flake scared me enough that for a long time I stuck to very mild (tasty though) aromatics with minimal added casings, so as to avoid tongue bite. I'm also not exactly the biggest Latakia fan. I do think that it has its place though, and it remains one of my favorite flavors in many blends in my rotation, but it does have a tendancy to overshadow other flavor components if it's not applied sparingly, or properly highlighted in blends that showcase it properly.

This led me to various virginia mixes that were still mostly supplemented with Burley to smooth them over and mellow out the vitamin N. Tamed, but not be left totally devoid of character. It proved to be an educational, albeit somewhat monochromatic adventure, insomuch that I learned that when you filter out the Cavendish, Burleys, and casings, you're not left with much variety. However, this got me on the right track to dial in exactly what I liked about virginias-their natural fruitiness and sweetness-which Royal Yacht has in abundance. Its flavor is rich and full, consistent through the bowl. Fruity, a touch grassy, leathery, with the smallest hint of dark chocolate. Not chocolatey in the sense of chocolate's dark and roasty boldness, rather, a bit tangy and bright, like a rich, red wine. This tastes like good tobacco, and its flavors are forward and prominent. The initial light has some sweetness, and there is just a hint of some mysterious casing that really brings it all together quite harmoniously. The sweetness fades a bit to give way toa nice cigar-like flavor, and the casing stays consistent without ever being overpowering. As for the nicotine, i have yet to catch a bad case of the whirlies, but I still wouldn't recommend smoking this in a large bowl unless you're of a heartier disposition. I wouldn't smoke this with my morning coffee, but I can definitely see myself tucking into this after a stressful day after donning in my slippers and settling down to a nice, quiet night in with the wife.

Pipe Used: Various Briar

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Jon's Pipe Shop (Champaign, IL)

Similar Blends: University Flake, Former's Private Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.