Remember: check the mix and remove all branches. A pity that SG doesn't care. Still: full score!

The cut is nice and rough with different sizes (some quite large) which gives it a good handmade 'rustic' appearance.

When it comes to the flavour, clearly anyone who doesn't like latakia should avoid this one, but for those of us who do it gives a lovely sweet and spicey smoke, with the cavendish giving it a smooth creamy finish. Not unlike a good quality scotch smokey malt whisky in fact, and a glass of scotch would be a good partner to this blend, ideally on a cold winters evening next to a warm fire! The casing flavour is, like most english/scottish blends minimal and the tobaccos in the blend shine through as a result. Recommended!

As someone else said, the smell from this one when burning is weird: as soon as the light touched the tobacco, a nasty smell like of electrical fire struck me. After a while it actually smells better, but surely the unusual combination of Burley and Latakia causes this weird aroma.

Sorry, I am not a big fan of this combination (only some Cornell & Diehl blends do it in a pleasant way), and also the taste has something weird and "dirty". Mind you, it's not a bad tobacco at all: actually it's quite pleasant, though unspectacular and lacking both fullness and finesse/flavour development.

I sorely miss the lack of orientals, and I am also sure that the black cavendish always does more damage than good things.

At times I get glimpses of interesting stuff happening here: a nice creamy Virginia, a touch of nice Latakia smokiness. But other times, it gets a bit cardboardy and flat.

The good moments would make it a worthwhile blend enough, that's for sure, but it suffers in comparison to Skiff Mixture: in Skiff there are the same qualities of Scotch Cut (logically, being from the same blender and having some identical ingredients), but Skiff is immensely better, more complex, rich, rewarding and without the faults of Scotch Cut (which, again, are IMHO due to the intrusion of Burley and the cavendish).

Not bad at all, and I'll gladly smoke the whole tin. But I think that SG makes much better blends. And yet... at times, like tonight in a large Larry Roush "belge", this blend really shines and I would be tempted to give it a "Recommended" rating. Go figure... So get a tin and judge for yourself: please let it dry a bit, as it gets better with less moisture than it has from a fresh tin.

A curious blend of bright Virginia & Burley, expertly seasoned with unflavoured Black Cavendish and small Latakia. The Burley just rounds off the sharp edges of the bright weed, without adding any earthy tone, the smoke resulting buttery, slightly citrusy & smoky.

The strength is perfectly medium and so the body. Burns absolutely cool and dry till the bottom. Again I see the highest quality Samuel makes use.

The best of this blend comes now that the wetness is almost gone. That strange “grilled steak” room aroma (SWMBO’s words!) is also almost gone, nor she laments the Latakia typical discomfort…

In my experience, SCM is fancy enough to make things interesting for a daily use. I cannot avoid thinking to a somewhat lighter 965 of old.

Nice blend, four stars.

Although the tobacco is in a bag rather then vacuumed, it was very moist. Even after drying out for an hour, it was still a wet smoke after the first third of the pipe.

As for the taste. I am big lover of latakia and can appriciate a good black cavendish mixture, but although this should all be in here, in my opinion, this the taste went more to a very good virginia with a hint of Black Cavendish and the latakia??? I think it was left behind in Chicago.

But all things set aside, a good virginia and I will happily smoke this tin down to the bottom (maybe adding a hint more BC and latakia in the process, just to see what happens).

Tin: Comes redundantly wrapped in a large, crinkly golden bag stuffed in a large can. Mixture of medium browns with a fair percentage of black, medium ribbon cut, not sticky but the tobacco can be compressed into a ball, the ribbon quickly coming back apart. Fairly moist feel to it. Compared to old Dunhill tins I have, SC is not very smoky latakia. Perhaps it is the cavendish that has quite a musty smell.

Packing & Burning: Packs readily enough, lights with one or two matches.

Taste & Aroma: Initially buttery, the cavendish seeming to dominate the blend as it does in the tin aroma. Mr. Oblong described it as herbal or meadowy, the flue cured providing a background. The latakia is undetectable.

Nicotine: Strong and lingering

Overall: Not any of the Kendal scent. GH's Scottish Mixture and No. 5 Mixture, and SG's Best Brown, are all likewise stated by the blenders as having no added flavor. 3.7 stars.

Update:

Taste & Aroma: I too sense something like licorice.

Room Note: It does have something akin to an electrical fire. Definitely something to be enjoyed outdoors.

Overall: For the above two reasons, 2.9 stars.

Now I draw upon these two comparables for the following reasons, first the initial taste reminds me of Old Dublin, second, I've tried Murray's version of 965 and found it a little flat in comparison to Orlik's 965 (which I prefer, Philistine or not).

I could smoke this early in the morning, during a very hot day for a change of pace or late in the evening after too much "sensory overload" Sadly, when these two tins go, there shall be no more.

Govern Yourself Accordingly.

As far as a room note this blend smells like an electrical fire. The aroma was so pronounced that I went into the kitchen to see what was burning after about an eogth of a bowl. This was one of the few tobaccos I've ever had to dump before finishing.

If you're looking for something to get that annoying mother-in-law to move out this one might just be for you. But be warned, your wife very likely will leave with her.