No problems with packing and lighting, pretty low maintenance.

First puffs release a burst of warm hay and grass aromas, settling into fruitcake-like sweetness, and then into a pleasant muted complexity. I detected butter cookies, pancake batter, the ocean, horse feed (oats), vegetal leafy notes, fresh notes like cucumber or melon, lemon custard, very slight Cavendish sweetness. The Latakia is nowhere to be found.

Quite pleasant, the only real problem here is a lack of strength. Nice flavors but ultimately too light. But if you want a cool, tasty Virginia-heavy blend that’s extremely light and smooth - you could do a lot worse than Highland Targe.

I'm a fan of Rattray's Scottish blends - Jocks, Black Mallory, 7 Reserve, Accountants - but I found this one to be a wee bit harsh for my palate. And while I can appreciate the harshness that comes with, say, Red Rapparee, I just didn't enjoy this one that much. After breezing through tins of 3 Noggins and Jocks, especially, I've found that I have to gear up to tackle this one. And that's not exactly what I prefer in a pipe tobacco.

Others love it, apparently. So I'm not saying it's a bad blend. It's just not quite suited to my tastes.

But it still remains on the light side for an English mixture.

The Orientals are very sweet and nutty. This compensates for the lack of Latakia at first.

But for an old salty dog as myself, well geared up with rich English mixture, this is a bit bland.

This would be perfect for someone seeking a start for an English mixture.

The cavendish is inoffensive and neither helps nor hinders what is ultimately a rather unimpressive collection of stuff.

The tin aroma is nice -- a little smoky and oriental.

We all have our unexplained favorites. A blend that really isn't that great, but for some reason we just love it. I'm sure that Highland Targe could be that for someone, but if it's on your short list, I'd maybe knock it down a few rungs. Really, old dublin succeeds where the targe breaks, leaving a bloody, kilted Scotsman.

This is a nice ribbon cut of darker tan tobaccos. The tin nose is decidedly oriental with some latakia in the background. Quite honestly, I think this tobacco has one of the best tin aromas anywhere. Made my mouth water. Upon lightup, I tasted a very subtle marriage of the various leaves. None of them asserted themselves until about midway through the bowl and then they all seemed to want to take center stage at different times. The virginias peaked, and dissipated when the cavendish and orientals reared their heads and the latakia was always there, sometimes in the forefront and sometimes to the rear. This smokes like a lighter-bodied version of Jocks, and after consulting my tasting notes on it, I can recall why both of these were in my steady rotation 3 decades ago. This is a milder version for the morning or when I wanted something complex (and this is one complex blend!) but lighter on taste. I did find myself wishing for more "oomph" but there are other blends to take care of that. In the tinned version, I did not notice any of the humectants that an earlier reviewwer mentioned. This dried out rather quickly but was at its best at tin moisture.

If you're looking for a light latakia blend that is harmonious and fulfilling, and you aren't a fast puffer, this is a good one to try. Just sit back, relax, and let the flavors come to you rather than searching for them. They'll come when they're ready.

Now, it's time for some caveats. There are some people that are hoping for a latakia heavy blend and they aren't going to get that in this blend. It's also a blend you can smoke all day if you like. If you want a heavy late evening smoke then you will find this disappointing. If you want a change of pace "Scottish" smoke that still has fullness and flavor then you'll enjoy this. If you approach it from that angle it's a good blend.

Fruity-spicy, sweet and cool. Altough I am not a big fan, but just a lover of latakia blends, I expected it to be richer in latakia. It left a nice taste after each bowl, which invited for further bowls.

Not a 4 star for me but worths keeping a tin on the shelf.

UPDATE Jan 08. I don't know if it is just this batch (from Germany) or what but the last tin has been a bitter (pun intended) disappointment. The orientals (?) are so overpowering my mouth lit up immediately as if blow-torched. This iniitial stinging heat was so intense the subtler flavours failed to materialise at all. I'll stay with it, as I say it may just be a bad batch.

The German version of Rattray's blends are really quite good and I don't compare them much to the UK produced blends that I smoked 20 years ago. We are fortunate that someone is still producing these blends, and I enjoy them.

This most recent seemed far different than the last one I purchased. The tin aroma is indeed intoxicating and declicious smelling. Apparent was that fermented smell that virginia/latakia blends have when the tin is first opened.

I dried this for about an hour and tobacco was still springy when I loaded the pipe.

Sweet virginia, oriental and a noticeable amount of latakia. It reminded me slightly of Dunhill London Mixture but with a different, sweeter virginia base. The Rattray virginias are unique indeed.

It can bite a little, so slow puffing is recommended. I rarely smoke the last 1/4 of a pipe but did so with this and it retained much of it's Scottish blend character, although I did notice the slight sourness that was mentioned in the other reviews.

I will stock up on this blend.

Call me a heretic...but I must say, that if it weren't for the small amount of unflavored black cavendish in this...I'd pretty much call this a medium Balkan. Highland Targe wonderfully balances several flavor components that I love in a good Balkan: a slight sharpness with some sourness (as found in Balkan Sasieni and Smokers Haven - Our Best Blend) all melded with a sensible and moderate amount of smokey, top-grade Latakia.

The Oriental and Virginia elements in Highland Targe are superb and there's just enough Latakia in the background to keep these fascinating flavors swirling throughout the smoke. I try to smoke this blend as slowly as possible to maximize the pleasure - just beyond a smolder seems perfect to extract all the flavor sensations. (The slight sweetness of the cavendish is just that - pretty slight and subtle so it's a very small piece of the Highland Targe puzzel.)

To me, Highland Targe is in the same league as Exotique and Caravan, and at it's price, it's the clear winner on the value side of things.

Highland Targe is a top quality blend and genuine pipe smoking classic that can hold its own against the best out there because, well, it IS one of the best.

To my palate, Highland Targe is a Scottish Blend wihtout any topping. The Orientals are very subtle and there seems to be a mild blending of some Red VA and Bright VA. In addition to what I taste and smell as Syrian Latakia in condimental proportions, there appears and tastes to be some unflavored Black Cav.

The tin aroma is intoxicating and a very sweet tea aroma not dominated by any single component. Likewise, the cut is a fine short ribbon that packs easily, and as another reviewer pointed out, tends to knit the ash in such a way that it doesn't easily sputter about, particular when one tends to park the pipe in the corner of one's mouth. (I often do, and have had to involuntarilly attend the lecture series on my dangerous habit and its effects on my wardrobe)

While the overall strength of the blend is reserved, the flavor is right there in the middle of the taste scale. There is a subtle VA sweetness that is accompanied by a piquant presence of the Orientals. I am again amazed at the harmony of components created with such mildness. If I were to compare this to another Rattray's Blend I would suggest that this has more in common with Jocks, with the distinct difference being that this is centered around the orientals, while Jocks is centered around the VA Cavendish, however they are of similar range of strength and intensity of flavor; yet they exhibit a very nice room note. For this reason, Highland Targe is a smoke for earlier in the day and doesn't require a meal to precede it. Additionally I submit that this blend is somewhat like McClelland Bombay Court, although the components of HT seem to be of a higher quality and more maturity.

Cheers, VC