McConnell's Scottish Blend

[coalsmoke]

I'm spending some time trying out some other English types and wanted to give this one a smoke test. Of course it's not a traditional English so to speak having a bit of Perique mixed in. Maybe that's why it's called 'Scottish Blend'! I usually associate English blends with a heartier flavor and, although the tin description mentions that it is 'robust', I found it to be a mellow smoke. It's made by the German blending house of Kohlhase, Kopp & Co. and comes in a 50g tin. The tobacco was a bit dry upon opening, but really just not as moist as FMOTT or 7 Seas Royal. The tin note is deep and subtle with an earthy and slightly chocolate aroma. It's ribbon cut, packs easily in the pipe, and lights without a problem. As I slowly smoked it, the flavor of the ingredients tasted familiar, but without a hard edge. The Perique adds a distictive spice that added interest but with no single component fighting for attention. It's a blend that I look forward to smoking again and again, but is it an 'instead of' blend? An 'in addition to' blend? The quest continues. irate:

 

[williamcharles]

A blend that uses cavendish, latakia and virginia is usually what denotes a Scottish blend.

 

[coalsmoke]

A blend that uses cavendish, latakia and virginia is usually what denotes a Scottish blend.

There seems to be an ongoing debate concerning just what is meant by a 'Scottish' blend. In an article from Pipes magazine online, Greg Pease provides his take on the subject:

The Scottish term has always been something of a mystery, at least to me. Most seem to apply it to a predominately virginia blend with some latakia and orientals to fill it out, but others might think of straight matured virginias. The most famous Scottish blending house was arguably Charles Rattray’s, and we could perhaps turn our attention there for more understanding, but not even that helps. His product range presented some signature characteristics by virtue of his special treatment of the virginias he used, but some of his most famous products were mixtures comprising Latakia and oriental tobaccos as well. What pops into my head when I hear the term Scottish mixture is one that is dominated by matured virginias, with or without some oriental component used sparingly as spice to the mix, but it’s hard to say if there’s really a difference between that and what some would term a "light English."

 

[williamcharles]

I've read that. Isn't there an ongoing debate with just about everything involving pipes and/or tobacco?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

We all look to Greg Pease to be the final word on those debates. :lol:

Well, not as an end-all, but expert and well-worded opinion helps the rest of us decide where to take a stand.

The only reason why I'd care is organizational via my extensive notes I'm taking on tobacco right now--where do I classify what and why? :shock: :lol:

 

[coalsmoke]

In the case of the old Robert McConnell's blends, they were MADE by a Scottish company, but are now made by the German blender Kohlhase, Kopp & Co. Is it now a German tobacco? I think the 'Scottish' or 'English' are relative, something along the lines of food categories like 'Cajun' or 'Italian'. 8)