Robert McConnell Piccadilly Circus

(3.33)
Medium-cut matured Virginia, latakia and Oriental tobacco.
Notes: Dunhill London Mixture clone, and was originally called City of London.

Details

Brand Robert McConnell
Series Heritage
Blended By  
Manufactured By Kohlhase & Kopp
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 50 grams tin
Country Germany
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.33 / 4
3

2

1

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 19, 2020 Medium None Detected Full Tolerable to Strong
While not exactly a perfect replica of the old London Mixture (and I am speaking of the OLD one, not the dirty tasting Murray version of the early '00s or the anemic and cardboardy STG/Orlik version), this is a great blend. Fuller than the original London Mixture, definitely more intense in taste and boldness, and less an "all-day" mixture, yes. I would say that GLPease Westminster is more balanced, more complex and overall a better recreation.

That said... to find such a great EM on the European market today (where we cannot easily get GLPease...) is nothing short of a miracle. Juicy Latakia, soft Virginias, a good dose of Oriental fragrance. And the cut is quite Dunhill-ish. It may not be a perfect blend, but for me it's one of the top 3 Latakia-heavy blends that you can buy in Europe today.
11 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 26, 2019 Medium None Detected Full Tolerable
I'm trying to not compare the Piccadilly Circus to its prototype but review it as a standalone tobacco. Cold smell is amazingly spicy Latakia-a-like with typical English depth. The nice cut ribbons of VA,L,O looked a bit too moist but I didn't dry it. Packs great and burns wonderful cold and doesn't need much care to unravel a lot of creamy smoke. The first third of the bowl is pure Latakia of fine quality with nice roasting flavors asides a spicy body taste. As the smoke continues there's a diversity of sweet Virginia and orient flavors beautifully supporting the harsh smoky Latakia (still less harsh than Syrian Lata and not too strong in taste at all). None of the tastes get lost on the way so one can still taste all the components within the last tokes I'd consider this one a classical English Mixture of very good quality with a pretty high amount of Cyprian Latakia (over 30% I guess) no added aromas but very nice tobacco flavors. Closes the gap between sweet and spicy in a natural way. Clear recommendation for fans of English blends and Latakia.

Edit 7/18/2019: After having several tins of this I must add that it unfolds more aromas when dried out for 3-4h. I also took a closer look at the tobacco leafs and there's shares of pressed Latakia and Orients.
Pipe Used: Various briars
PurchasedFrom: Local dealer
Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 09, 2020 Medium Mild Medium to Full Tolerable
I bought this to evaluate as a possible replacement to the discontinued Dunhill London Mixture (before it was announced that Peterson would continue with the original Dunhill recipe). They are similar in many regards, the differences being primarily the subtle variation in the casing solution used. With the McConnell one can tell immediately in the tin note that an addition of coriander and anisette has been used (one of the most popular formulas for processing Virginias) while the Dunhill is obviously sweeter in smell and probably uses some brown sugar in the solution.

I conducted a direct A-B comparison between the two, though, as always, one has to consider differences in aging. My Dunhill had four years of age before I cracked the tin plus another year in a mason jar, while the McConnell is a recent production taken fresh from the tin over the course of a couple weeks of comparison. I found in the McConnell a lack of sweetness and creaminess on the palate which made for a slightly austere presentation, while the Dunhill was smoother and more harmonious.

In terms of flavors, they differ because of the (apparently) different casing: with the McConnell in a meer I consistently taste toasted rye bread and dehydrated celery flakes, with a peppery coriander spice that comes to dominate toward the end of the bowl. In a briar I again get rye but now occasional hits of Cameroun cigar wrap and a quite tannic finish that reminds me of over-steeped Earl grey tea. In either case, not entirely positive tastes for me. The Dunhill has no negative tastes (even when it was fresh), with flavors of toasted pine nuts, pan-scorched salted butter, and - near the threshold of perception - some caramelized brown sugar. The Dunhill also has some of that elusive original 1970's Balkan Sobranie aroma and taste while the McConnell does not.

Verdict: I prefer the Dunhill, not just for the extra smoothness from aging, but also for the innate differences in flavors from the casing.
Pipe Used: medium bowl meerschaum, small and large briars
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 13, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable to Strong
Just wow. What a tremendous, traditional true English medium blend! Many thanks to member Beer for his excellent review of this blend - it motivated me to initially purchase this and it quickly became a favorite of mine after smoking it regularly for the past 6 months or so.

The beautiful thin ribbon ("Dunhill ") cut packs and lights with ease. However, it may require some brief drying out of the tin.

Definitely a Latakia-forward blend but with some sweetness from the Virginias. Excellent, savory Orientals. Very nice Latakia aftertaste. This is a fine, fairly complex blend that provides more than a hint of the old school English blends.

This is such a great after dinner smoke. I immediately ordered 4 more tins after I had smoked a few bowls.

Picadilly Circuis remains my favorite English blend (at the moment!).
Age When Smoked: Fresh to 8 Months
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 28, 2021 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant
This tobacco is quite different from the last London mixture by dunhill. It is less oriental forwarded and certainly less spicy. It a good quality tobacco maybe it’s too young because at 2/3 of the smoke it goes flat. I’ve tried it in differente briars and the best result was with a Parker from ‘80.
Pipe Used: Parker
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 30, 2022 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
An English mix, which is a success. I don't feel it so similar to Dunhill's London Mixture, but it is a very nice and balanced tobacco. It is an option to have as daily tobacco
Pipe Used: Dunhill Castello
0 people found this review helpful.
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