Robert McConnell Old London Pebble Cut

This tobacco presents a broken flake type of cut, mostly red and black in appearance, my tin if 2003, the scent coming out of the tin is of slight smell of fish food. The virginias and the orientals are the most noticeable ingredients I noticed the 6 bowls I have smoked so far which gives you a sort of sweet and sour taste during the whole smoke is a very monochromatic blend, the taste you get in the beginning is the same taste you get at the end, is easy to light, it's impossible to get this blend to bite, and the nicotine is about average, overall is great for the virginia smoker who wants a change of pace from smoking virginias all day, the biggest knockdown from me is that there's nothing here that challenges your palate, is this was bulk blend I would gave it 3 stars but being that is not it gets 2. Would i buy it again no, Ashton does not distribute it anymore, I have 2 tins from the McClellan re-issues that I'll be exploring in about 2 years; but for now this edition Pebblecut is just a bored.

Exquisite dark VA blend that ticks all the right boxes. Needs some good drying. I don't know how good the old recipe was, but if it was better than this, it must be the stuff of legends.

Ok, to make it short: this is a bit of a mockery by Kohlhse and Kopp. I am pretty sure, that after they changed the recipe they just put the Marlin Flake in the tin and sell it at a higher price. Get the Marlin flake and be done with it. The Old London Pebble Cut is no more. RIP.

This is a very nice and easy VaPer. Wouldn't say if the easiness of this tobacco is mostly due to the elegant fraggy pebble-cut, or maybe to the number of elements in the plate (I usually don't go into anything that blends more than 2-3 different qualities, there are more in here...).

Anyway it's an easy all-day VaPer, burns well, not super-cool but very round and mellow. I bought it when my man was lacking Old Gowrie, and I must admint that it really took the stand, even if you will not find here much of the spice and complexity of OG. Also, many may prefer this to OG for not that much of sweetness here, and surely less Nicotine.

Unfortunately I can't compare the McConnell version of this tobacco with the older Ashton version. What I can say is that it was true love from the very first hit. This tobacco is fantastic and one of my top favorites. Highly recommended 4 stars!!

Looking at the description of this tobacco in the review below, I must conclude that the European version of this blend is much different! My tin is from 2003, has the typical McClelland blend/batch/year code on the bottom, and contains typical McClelland broken flake. Smelled like McClelland, but not as vinegary as some. Flake mottled and attractive, a fact I noticed even more as I broke up my first bowl. I smoked the first couple bowls in a small-bowled Savinelli Capri. The impression I got was one of purity, an impression I last got with a McClelland when I smoked 2002 Christmas Cheer. This mystified me somewhat, because while the Christmas Cheers are usually single-crop or at least a single type of Virginia from the same general area, Pebblecut has Macedonian, Carolina, Virginia, and I think a bit of Perique. Next, I tried it in a larger-bowled pipe, and noticed more contrast, but still the balance is so good that I still get that sense of purity. I like purity in a McClelland. This McClelland, I must say, is just about the best balanced and pure one I have smoked yet. There are no great contrasts or layers of taste, except for the spiciness of the Oriental and Perique that comes through from time to time. Mainly, there is just this perfect Virginia sweetness, best taken in in small sips, that I don't want to change too much, or ever end! This tobacco is a perfect burner. If I puff continuously, the pipe doesn't even begin to get hot. Let up for a while, the tobacco stays lit. Burns to ash and a few strands of black dottle. There are no off-tastes and no harshness. It's not mild, but pretty much stays in the middle all the way through the bowl. I'll try this in more pipes and try to find more to add, since I am reviewing after only three bowls. I do this sometimes; when I find one that is a real winner with me, I really want to get my initial thoughts down. I will elaborate if I discover any new revelations as I finish the tin. Thing is, I may never find another tin of this!

Opening the tin I found what is described on previous reviews as the old presentation, at least in the EU version, a singular long strip of marvellously oily tobacco rolled on a spiral similar to an hay bale! But the real surprise was the heady scent emanating that induced my nose to overstay on sniffing: fragrant fruity notes of wine must, dried figs, sloes, linalool. Once lit OLP shows a workmanlike blend with complex but harmonious accords: fruity-sourness, nuttiness, spiciness, a captivating grassiness, redolent of crispy citrus and astringent sage, in the middle a peppery zing remind the presence of Perique. Classy tobacco which smokes smooth and cool, gentle yet masculine. Exquisite

UPDATE FEB13/2009:

At the beginning of the current week I have put approx. 50grms of "strips" into my leather pouch, and intensively smoked this as "working-day" tobacco, and have to say that it's been a very nice and satifactory experience. I have never found myself bored, having 3/4 bowls per day of this (diversions have been allowed just in the evenings). I basically re-confirm my previous review, while amending the strength to "medium". I have enjoyed very much the statements of the Perique here and there.

ORIGINAL REVIEW JAN14/2009:

This review is based on the 100grms tin of the european version, which I guess belongs to the K&K family.

The tin is not vacuum sealed, nevertheless the moisture was just perfect and is still the same after several weeks. The tobacco is presented in uncommonly long flakes (two or three times long than a standard flake, but I remember in the past it was one single "belt" rolled on its own inside the 100grms tin). The smell is sweet, grassy an dried-fruity. This is pure Virginia with just hints of Orientals and Perique.

Smoked in a medium-bowled Savinelli Professor straight, Liverpool shape, filtered with 6mm balsawood, which I have dedicated to Virginias. It's the most friendly pipe I have experienced for this kind of products.

I have never thought in terms of the "desert island tobacco", but this may be the one of my choice. The smoke is delicate, smooth and creamy; never sharp or sour, and very steady all the pipeful. Faintly sweet, with hints of spices and dried fruits. Pleasant to the tongue and the nose. Leaves the mouth completely clean.

I do agree it may be considered a variation to Marlin Flake, but I find this much more satisfying, having all the subtleties I'm looking in an all-day tobacco which should never be overpowering.

Four stars

I should start by saying that I have tried both, the McClelland version and one blended in Europe (it did not specify in which country it was blended in, but the parchment like label, very much like the ones in Rattray?s tins, said it to be blended by William Taylor). They are completely different. Whilst the McClelland rendering has virtually no distinctive trait other than that BBQ-Vinegar casing that, IMO, ruins the delicate diversity of tobacco flavours, the EU one is a subtle mixture of aromas and flavours producing a very singular smoke. I cannot say I completely enjoyed it. Perhaps the absence of Latakias made it different to what my palate was seeking, but it did have a very different taste from any other tobacco I have tried. Woodsy, slightly bitter and piquant, Old London Pebble Cut seems like a crossover blend: not entirely a Virginian, not entirely an Oriental tobacco. The tobacco presentation in the European version is very similar to that of Marlin flake: a long single flake-like strand of dark and mid brown tobacco coiled inside the tin. Breaking it up and filling it into the bowl were not a problem. Lighting was also easy (something which did not happen with the McClelland version, albeit it comes in a broken flake form). The initial flavour was that of Virginia and Perique, the latter being perhaps a little overwhelming. By mid bowl both predominant flavours had subsided, and a strange, slightly sweet and salty savour emerged, but it never really made a stand. I then sensed a mixture of indeterminate under tastes, dark and mushy, as if the whole thing had tangled up. By the end of the bowl the blend had shunned the best of both taste spheres, leaving a rather dry aftertaste, as if one had chewed on a piece of tree bark, and it was burning a little hot. The room aroma was quite strong and indefinable. I think it is a good tobacco, medium to strong, and would recommend it to any one who would like to try a strange, and slightly strong, variety of Virginia Perique.