Robert McConnell Old London Pebble Cut

Don't know the significance of the name of this one since it is a slightly broken but nicely prepared flake. From the opening of the tin and the vinegary aroma to the last puff, this is typical McClelland work. Please see my comments on their 2015. I didn't sense the added influence of the orientals in the Ashton blend. Although an enjoyable smoke that receives my top rating, unless you collect tins, save your $$ and buy McClelland in bulk.

Credo che il Perique di questo tabacco sia davvero eccelso. Ma andiamo con calma. La latta, a dire il vero, appare quasi anonima, ma aprendola si manifestano le sorprese. SI è avvolti da un profilo zuccherato come di aceto, cui fa da contraltare un fruttato molto particolare, di frutta fermentata; estraendo il contenuto abbiamo lunghi nastri dal colore scuro, variegati da mogano e giallo. Il tabacco è modicamente umido e può essere fumato da subito, però più si asciuga e meglio sarà la resa nella fumata.

Sfilacciamo il tabacco e facciamo vari rotoli per caricare il fornello. Le migliori pipe saranno quelle dal fornello ampio, medio-ampio; nelle piccole si prede totalmente.

L’accensione qui deve essere da rito, fatta con accuratezza affinché tutto il braciere sia formato, dopo andrà avanti da solo, praticamente senza pigino.

I primi puff sono il benvenuto. Il Perique ti saluta con la sua morbida piccantezza, si fa sentire subito essere il padrone di casa, poi a mano a mano ti presenterà gli altri componenti della famiglia; il Virginia fruttato e un po’ terroso, l’Orientale che si affaccia col sui aspro e secco tono ed infine il Cavedish col sui dolce secco, amalgama la miscela.

Se il Perique è il padrone di casa, gli Orientali sono comprimari seri, appaiono molto spesso e donano virilità alla miscela togliendo l’eccesso di zuccherino dal tutto. Poi il Virginia davvero superiore, un Virginia selvatico che punisce il fumatore inesperto. Un Virgina dalla bella carica nicotina che ti seduce coi suoi toni fruttati, ma colpisce l’incauto navigante che ascolta e si fa trascinare dalla sua dolce melodia.

Questo è un tabacco che, finita la prima carica, ti chiede la seconda per ore di fumate appaganti, sensuali; come quella donna che dopo la prima vuole la seconda e tu la concedi conoscendo come saprà appagarti, solo se però ci sai fare, sei gentile e esperto. Se non lo sei la nicotina ti stenderà al tappeto.

Quando fumarlo, quando si hanno ore di meditazione, una lettura o una buona musica; il meglio poi lo darà con un tea dal gusto deciso.

Questa miscela è davvero un magico connubio di stili e aromi, tutti in un solo prodotto.

Sicuramente, secondo i vari gusti, potranno esserci migliori miscele, ma in assoluto questa sa conquistare il palato, ma sopratutto il cuore.

E’ sconsigliata al neofita.

Voto 4,9/5

Perchè non 5? in quanto non è un tuttogiorno, né un tabacco disimpegnato, ma un tabacco da dover saper fumare.

I love va/per.specially combination of virginia-perique & cavendish. And this old london by kohlhase is so yummy to me. When i opened the tin, smelled alchoholic smoky fruitty note, what i respect by reading reviews. I tried old recipe and absolutly i love this one by kohlhase for replacing oriental by cavendish. So, if you wanna try marlin flake by more cavendish and good burninig since 1st flame & tamp to end of bowl, recommanded badly to try it.

A good friend of mine shared some of this with me, and since it was from 1996, I was kind of excited. The sugars - especially on the darker leaf - were visible in regular light, and under brighter lights, just shined out at us...a harbinger of great things to come. And, it was wonderful. A delightful tin aroma led to a really nice room aroma when lit. This is a medium VaPer with some good Orientals to round out the blend. It began at medium strength, and kept that balance all the way through. If you can find some of this with age on it, by all means buy it. You won't be disappointed...at least until the tin's empty.

This is an enjoyable, though odd tobacco. It strikes me that it highlights the taste of the Virginias and Orientals equally, whereby you cannot give a definite answer as to what the dominant note is. All that said, Virginias and Orientals are my two very favorite types of tobacco, and I am always intrigued by the Virginia/Oriental flake type tobaccos (i.e. this, McClelland?s VA No. 24). They are vastly different in character, but each occupies that realm which many call exotic. The taste is something odd, giving a very heavy rich almost bullion like impression.

Upon opening the tin the McClelland famous vinegar smell really jumps out at you. The first few pipes of this were hard to light, hard to keep lit, and had quite a harsh bite to them. I left the lid off for a few days to let the smell and the moisture escape and now it has become a very fine smoke. Try airing it thoroughly and smoke it as the first pipe of the day. Very rewarding!

You either like the Virginia tang that this blend delivers, or you don't. I love it myself. I read one of the reviews saying that this blend is cased with vinegar. That, of course, isn't true, but there is a vinegar-like quality to the tin aroma. This is one beautiful pressed tobacco, and once you get it broken up sufficient to provide a good pack, you are in for a real taste treat.

It is McClelland's to the core. You can tell that careful blending goes into this mixture and it consistently satisfying.

I highly recommend this blend and it ages wonderfully.

Outstanding! This blend is a mainstay in my VA/Perique rotation. Such a unique yet consistent taste and burn. I love McClelland flakes, so I knew I would probably enjoy this before I even lit up. Two tins later, I was right!

Aroma: Typical McC's smell. Maybe even more pungent if you can believe it. On par with McC's VA. No. 24 or St. James Woods

Visual: Partially broken flakes consisting of reddish brown with streaks of dark gold.

Texture: I find most McClelland flakes to be just a tad moist as was the case here.

Pack/Pipe: In general, I fully rub this tobacco out. It seems to behave a little better for me than just loading it as is. I smoked this in my entire range of VA flakes pipes, but mainly in two medium Nording Freehands, Dunhill Redbark Pot, Ashton xx Pebbleshell Pot and Ashton xx Pebblegrain Apple. A light hand in packing seemed to help this burn well. More moisture = more tang.

Light/Burn: Usually took three matches to get this going. But then only one or two more to get to bottom. Usually end up with a tiny charred puck of tobacco at end. This tobacco burns slow!

1st 3rd: Immediately get a wallop of Tangy VA and a unique flavor I can't quite put my finger on. But I like it! Semi-sweet in a lemonade sort of way. Burns warm, not hot.

2nd 3rd: Still plenty of tang, however, a lesser type of sweetness and a cooler flavor now come to the front. Often needed a relight mid bowl.

Final 3rd: Tang is still there, however, it is now smoking a bit sweeter and cooler than at any other point in the bowl. One more match to finish

Notes: This tobacco is the one that got me hooked on VA/Perique flakes. nuff said!

Stogie rating of: 9 Magnifecent Montecristos

I picked up a small tin of this a few weeks ago because I thought that it might be a good tobacco to use for "breaking in" new or pipes that I have reconditioned. What I found upon opening the tin was a broken flake with a range of colors - from light tans flecks to deep mahogany stripes. The tin aroma had that sweet and acidic brown sugar and vinegar that says "blended by McClelland" all over it. That, IMHO, speaks WELL and good things of this. I chose not to rub it out much at all. I like to leave high VA content broken flake without much rubbing out as it seems to help them smoke cooler. The tobacco was not overly moist and proved easy to light with my trusty little Colibri butane lighter.

At first light, the pungent smoke filled my nostrils with that kind of sweetness that to me is similar to what you get when you bite into a ripe Jersey Tomato. Not that it tastes like tomato, it does not, it just has that same satisfying effect on your taste buds.

Pebble Cut then settles down to a nice even burn that provides a smoke that is hard to describe, it is so delicious. No harshness. Just a nice clean burning, sweet smoke that gets richer as it burns.

The perique lends a presence but does not assert itself at all but, instead, lingers in the background adding a bit of spice - just enough to keep it interesting. The orientals (READ - NO LATAKIA) enrich the aroma and seem to attenuate the sharpness that one can get with perique blends.

There is no dottle left at the end of your smoke. All that is left is a fluffy white ash and a nice spice scent left in your bowl.

The small tin I bought was dated 10/98. I quickly ran back to the store and bought two 100gr tins and noted that the dates were 1995 on both. I can hardly wait to open them but I am cellaring them for now.

I don't care what Gretchen thinks about this one. I give it 5 x 5. No reservations.