Ashton’s Gold Rush – Product Review

Although most retailers badge Ashton – Gold Rush as a ribbon cut blend it’s more of a broken flake. However, don’t expect a blend where some of it’s in need of a further rubbing, the consistency’s just right to stuff and puff right away. The aroma isn’t surprising: grassy, sweet, and citrus-like. The same can be said about the lack of surprise for the colour, it’s not a surprise that a straight Virginia’s medium and light brown! Like most blends the moistness can vary from tin to tin, but in all fairness, it rarely arrives any more than a touch ‘damp’; we’re not talking anywhere near ‘wet’.

The smoke: put basically it’s a lightly flavoured Virginia. That’s high-grade Virginia, at that. The leading addition to the flavour is of the citrus variety, zesty lemons,with a drop or two of fragrant honey taking the support role; there’s just enough honey to sweeten the flavour profile, without turning it into a sticky, tacky, aromatic. At the beginning of a bowl the tobacco flavour doesn’t seem much to shout about, it’s like your archetypal grassy Virginia. But after about a quarter bowl the tobacco develops some riper nuances; it seems to become tangier and more tart the longer it’s being smoked.The room note is your perfectly inoffensive Virginia one: it won’t win friends but nor will it deter them! Because the smoke’s a touch below medium in build it doesn’t cause the opening of a window to be imperative action. The nicotine sits at the milder side of medium, so it won’t cause your head to spin!

Because of the cool temperature it makes a nice blend to relax with, and the lack of tongue bite increases the comfort! It burns clean and crisp, down to a white ash without leaving any dottle, necessitating only a few tamps and relights; to need a relight requires it be left to sit unattended, without a puff, for a while.

Gold Rush won’t be the most intricate smoke to grace your palate, but the cool temperature, lack of bite and zesty top-note would make it a great post-barbeque smoke in the summer!

Like the sound of Gold Rush? Buy it here!