Robert McConnell Oriental Square

A nice mild-medium body balkan type blend . A Dunhill like ribbon cut . Reminds me of John Cottons Smyrna with less spice and a little more sweetness. My tin is about 3 yrs old though . Good sweet and sour creamy ,buttery and smokey smoothness. The Orientals lead here . The Latakia percentage is perfect for my taste on light to medium scale . The Virginias add a little fruit and grass and hay . A fine blend and enjoyed greatly!

Now it calls Orient Square. An open tin's aroma is dressed leather, bog oak and a little bit of musk and good hay. The feeling is as if you entered the saddle room in the stable and breathed in the smell of saddles and harness. It is smoked very well and lightly, but the tobacco itself was a little dry, I suppose. A little sourness, a little hot pepper at the first couple of puffs. Latakia does not rush on you, but carefully adds tar to this bouquet, completing the association with a stable. The taste is quite balanced, dense, although not too strong. I'm not sure if you can call it a "Balkan mixture", for the "Balkans" there is clearly less latakia than usual. Plus, it's a little bit sweet, and the sweetness intensifies towards the end as you get the taste. So, it's closer to 'oriental' rather than 'balkan'. The strength is average, in my opinion - but, with rare exceptions, I do not take tobacco stronger than four of five. My pipe smoked slowly, burns very evenly, no need to light up. In Peterson shape 69, half a pipe was smoked for about half an hour. The ash is minimal and the pipe was dry after smoking. Can was packed in 2019. I took 5 cans for the first time, just by guess - and it was right choice. I will take more.