Robert McConnell Scottish Flake

This is a strange combination of tobaccos that somehow works. I am no blender and would not even try my hand at it. So, kudos to whoever mixed the first batch of this stuff. It is one of the best tobaccos I've ever had the pleasure of loading a pipe with! I knew I'd like the stuff the moment I popped the tin and saw the oily residue all over the wax paper overwrap and smelled the fermented bouquet of soured figs.

It is unique in that while being a pressed Virginia flake, it is actually much more than that. The addition of oriental leaf kept this soft and smooth. And, thanks to the Burley and quality Virginias it was cool and packed just enough nicotine punch to keep me happy. It rubbed out easily but the moisture content meant a half hour in the open air before being able to load up.

I really cannot think of anything to compare this to. You will be able to taste all of the elements, for sure. Upon finishing my first bowlful, my tongue curled up into a question mark. Not sure what I just had, but it was delicious. If this was thrust upon me as the only tobacco I'd be allowed to smoke for the rest of my life, I'd grin and bear it with pleasure!

The base of the blend is the earthy, tartly dark fruity, woody, bready, floral, sugary, lightly tart and tangy citrusy dark red Virginias. They also sport a touch of vinegar and spice. The mildly spicy, woody, floral, herbal, lightly molasses, nutty sweet and sour dark fired Kentucky is a secondary player. The peppery, plumy, earthy, woody, figgy, raisiny, prune-isn perique is mostly in the background, only occasionally rising to a condimental level. There are a few light small streaks of Carolina that provide a touch of tart citrus and grass. The rum topping is very light and adds a little smoothing sweetness. The manufacturer claims no Turkish is currently present, but I still get a very small sense of it, so I will claim a pinch or two is in the mix regardless of what they state. The strength is medium, while the taste rises a step above that mark. The nic-hit is a shade closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite or get harsh, but has a few small rough edges. Burns cool, clean and a little slow as flakes will, though they easily break apart. The tart and tangy sweet and lightly savory flavor is mostly consistent all the way to the finish, and translates to the lightly lingering after taste, and room note. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires some relights. Not quite an all day smoke, though a veteran smoker may consider it to be one.

-JimInks

It's unusual to come across a blend of this many tobaccos with this kind of flavor clarity. And I agree that Scottish Flake is a peculiar combination of leaf. Like most Virginia dominant flakes, this McConnell offering is best smoked at a slow sip and with a clean palate. The flakes are delicately pressed and the thin cut makes for an excellent fold and stuff tobacco. It performs wonderfully, it’s simple to prepare and takes to flame with ease. It smokes relatively cool, is fairly forgiving and does not bitter when puffed at a faster pace.

Scottish Flake has a sweet tone and delivers a light honey note and substantial flavor depth. The majority of the sweetness is provided by the red Virginia and Turkish. The other components add body without overtly influencing the overall flavor. The mouth-feel is on the lighter side but there is a definite texture to the smoke as well as a pleasing spiciness. By mid bowl, flavors broaden and ultimately Scottish Flake settles into a gratifying smoke that’s medium in body, superbly balanced and consistently sweet from beginning to end.

Scottish Flake is not incredibly complex but there are some interesting subtleties created by the compounding of flavors that make this tobacco stand out as something entirely unique and worth pursuing. Good stuff, and it ages superbly.

Surely any who have tried either the original McConnell Scottish Flake, or the first iteration blended in Germany, would rate it near the top of their list of all-time favorites. K&K have changed the blend (my guess would be due to availability of some original components) but they have done so expertly and with my supply of old Scottish Flake dwindling, it just so happens that the current version IS the closest substitute (which is not always the case). I have plenty in the cellar and while it satisfies directly off the shelf, even a few years will do wonders for this blend. Older recipe or current, this is still my all-time favorite tobacco.

There is nothing quite like rubbing out a K&K flake. The flakes are beautifully and evenly cut and inevitably expand to a surprising quantity of springy and easily workable ribbon. The moisture is such that one can smoke it as it comes, although it does profit from a small amount of drying. There are no humectants here so that if you're looking to smoke it occasionally you might want to put it in a container to keep it if from drying out.

The German tin says Red Virginia, Carolina, Kentucky and a pinch of Turkish, cold pressed for several weeks, and includes the description 'robust and full-flavored (or spicy),' which hits the mark exactly. At the moment the K&K website says dark Virginias, Kentucky and a pinch of Perique, lightly flavored with rum. Have they changed the blend?

There is something about this straight forward, no-nonsense flake that is 'old- timey' to me. Whatever that means...

Nothing else to add to the excellent reviews below, except to reiterate: A good blend with a friendly nudge of nicotine, SF is rich, full-bodied, bold tasting (as DK says) yet mild and cool; a pleasure, and as interesting as you want it to be. And, as mentioned often below, it definitely profits from time in the tin! Don't know what makes this Scottish, but this gets my vote. Three stars from a fresh tin, four when aged. Give this one a whirl!

Very pleasant thinly sliced brown flake, sweet tasting and rich but mild. I always love when a tobacco smokes mild and cool but has a nice bold flavor. This one accomplishes that.

This one did not bite my tongue unless I puffer fairly hard. A nice slow contemplative puffer will have no problems with sting. This is mildly sweet but not overly so. This is a fully serviceable smoke, and suffers only in relation to "superstar" VA flakes like FVF. It ages well, and I honestly would give 4 stars to my 15 year old tin but just three for a tin from 2008. Aging is recommended on this one, but even from a new tin, I wouldn't kick it outta my bowl.

FIRST OFF: I contacted K&K and asked for clearification about the actual ingridients- I'll update this, as soon as I get a response!

Edit 07/2020: Still waiting on that response ;D

They must've changed the blend for sure! You can notice that somewhere around 2012/13 the reviews change here and start statin there's no Turkish in there, and the descriptions start describing a "Va/Per with Kentucky and Rum Topping" (which is also the current description on Kohlhase & Kopps website). Anyways, some Online-Shops, and some tins (primarily the rectangle ones) have different descriptions stating "Red Virginias, Carolina Leaf, Kentucky & Turkish Havana" - no Perique, no rum. Some say only "Turkish", no "Havana", so I have the guess they changed this blend several times.

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This review is about the rectangle tin, which describes: "Red Virginia, Carolina Leaf, Kentucky & Turkish" (no Havanna) on the back.

Upon opening the classy designed tin (which is exactly like Scottish CAKEs design), I got greeted by a intense (fermented) fruit note, that's accompanied by a slightly nutty undertone. Reminiscent of wine or cidre, full-bodied scent. Inside there a 2 stacks of thin sliced flakes, which look beautiful with mainly bright-brown colour and is speckled with golden-yellow and almost black stains.

The flakes break apart pretty easily and need about 30-60minutes (at least) of drying time, due to the rather high moisture level. Keep in mind this is personal preference and your preferred drying time may vary from this! Experimenting is the key for elaborating your personal preference.

Lights easy, need average relights and smokes well.

Scottish Flakes taste is very sophisticated and refined. Not comparable to Scottish CAKE at all, the Scottish FLAKE provides a intense fruity aroma at first light, which I perceive as being orangy, with plums and figs. Quickly the Turkish makes it's presence known by contributing a very herbal, dry and woodsy aroma, with a tad of sourness that's enriching the fruity component (which I guess is the Red Virginia) excellently. I also get a nuttiness that's lurking in the back, which is very pleasant and consitent throughout the smoke. The Kentucky is applied rather light handed, and contributes a decent smoky, nicely tangy spice to the blend, as well as it emphasizes the Turkish very well. A peppery spice is constantly present and gives this blend full-bodied and rich.

Lots of earthy and woodsy notesn interplay with the softly sweet, but intense fruity component of this smoke, form a melange that's bewitching and taking you to foreign lands of the Orient.

No doubt - this is a TOP-NOTCH blend, which deserves the full points of 4/4 stars!

Yet I'm exasperated, that I won't be able to enjoy this blend for much longer, as the official K&K website states (and also the countless reviews saying so) it's a "Va/Per/Ky" with Rum topping now. I'm kinda panicing and already planning to cellar the ~10 tins that my local B&M has, which are all the "Red VA, Carolina, Kentucky, Turkish (Havana)"-Mixture, before it will vanish for good. As soon as I get response from K&K (which usually takes weeks, up to months...) I'll update this and hope that I can clear things up for good! 😉

Robert McConnell Scottish Flake.

The nose from the tin is nothing extraordinary for the tobacco's used. What I do find extraordinary is how easy it is to rub the flakes: they're of a superb moistness and they're quite thin enabling them to be rubbed with the utmost ease. As it's a doddle to load the pipe, let's move on to the smoke:

Lighting Scottish Flake is, like the preparation, very simple. Then a smoke that's as nutty as it is spicy comes into play. If it's puffed too hard it can become quite warm but as it's bite free the flavour can be savoured with gentler sips; the Kentucky gives a lot more character to the flavour than the Virginia does, this gives very little to the taste in comparison.

I'd say the nicotine's just below medium unless big gulps of smoke are inhaled, and even then it's not 'strong'.

This is a great smoke: Highly recommended. That's about all that needs saying!

Four stars.

Dark Virginia spiced up with Kentucky and a sprinkle of Perique with a very mild rum flavoring. The flakes are hard to remove from the tin without breaking them. Nice smell of figs and plums.

Lighting the tobacco is easy and it burns slowly and constantly. I get a well rounded sweet, toasty and slightly spicy smoke with rum molasses in the background. It is much better than Old Gowrie in both strength and taste.

Virginia lover

This is delicious. Creamy and sweet - a lovely virginia. No tongue bite, no worries. I loaded 2 flakes into a Peterson 606, with room to spare. Smoked it for probably 2 hours, over a period of 2 days. Finally dumped the pipe and found quite a bit of tobacco at the bottom! A very slow smoking weed indeed, and friendly all the way.

It's not complicated, just tasty. I like it better than Scot Cake and will order more.