Robert McConnell Old London Pebble Cut

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.

After a period of smoking familiar blends i decided to open a new blend to me and the choise was obvious.A Va/per should be tried and this blend seemed promosing.the tin appearance is nice and classic.once the can opens a sour,sweet and cocoa smell comes out.the semirubbed dark and brown flakes are moist and after some further rubbing drying time is required.packing and lighting are easy after that.while smoking you instantly realize that perique is the main player.lots of sour notes,plums and figs in generous amounts lead the way.virginias are sweet and citrucy with some earthy notes.last of all the black cavendish are sweet with some cocoa and nut notes that complete the natural taste of the blend.generally i found the taste balanced ,full and very natural.burns almost fast and medium hot to almost perfect ash with a lot moisture left at the filter.room note is bareable and the aftertaste is sweet/sour with no chance of tongue bite.an all day smoke.generally i found this blend satisfying,easy going and a bit heavier in perique content than most Va/pers.recommended.

First I would like to state that I smoked the K&K manufactured version which states on the bottom of the tin (in German) Dark Virginias, Black Cavendish, Orientals and Perique. So according to the description it seems to contain both Orientals and Black Cavendish. The presentation is impressive as it comes rolled in a long 36 cm flake.

The tin note is intense and complex. Reminds me of another tobacco but I cannot put my finger on which. It smells of leather, yeast, stewed fruit like figs and plum and I almost also get a whiff of milk chocolate and some toasted notes. There must be quite a lot of Black Cavendish in it. Smells very juicy and it is also moist and needs a few minutes of drying time. Actually, more than a few minutes as the flake is very moist. And I found that it smokes best when the ribbon is almost crisp. Easy to rub out.

Once dried it needs maybe just one match to light. It produces a very juicy and smooth smoke with full body but only medium strength. In the beginning I get a dark dried fruit character which is quite sweet accompanied by notes of hazelnut and milk chocolate – but nothing tasting artificial here. Still I believe there is some flavoring added and some sugar as well. Could it be molasses? Or even a bit of licorice? Or just the effect of Black Cavendish?

As the bowl progresses it becomes more peppery, black pepper – the influence of Perique it must be. As for Orientals I am not sure I sense them, yet there might be some in it.

As other reviewers have mentioned Old London is a mellow, round and very easy to smoke tobacco. It’s very good and even when it gets spicy at the end it is still soft. Still, I find it not as complex as the tin note first suggested to me. I feel the added flavoring overwhelms the natural tobacco taste making a bit monotonous and I feel I will get a little bored. Yet if you like Va/Pers you should try Old London Pebble Cut and see for yourself, it sure is worth a try.

It gives me the uncanny feeling that I’ve tasted it before, which I haven’t. The best I could describe it is like being a cross between Capstan (probably the flavoring of) and St. James’ Flake.

I smoked a couple of 100 gr tins of EU version of this blend, blended by William Taylor. It is an elegant and nutty smoke with a nice balance of the orientals.

I could rate it 4 stars but it is a bit sour for my taste which tends to get me bored easily. This doesn't mean that I will never smoke it again. Surely I wil have some tins in my cellar for future.

I don't know why this is listed as "Old London Pebblecut." The picture above and the tin in front of me are both clearly marked "Pebblecut."

The aroma on opening the tin does not smell as vinegary as the Black Parrot. The Macedonian and Red Carolina tobaccos combined with the Virginia are modestly flavored by Perique to create a very nice broken flake. This is pretty good stuff. It smokes cool and clean, and has a nice rich taste.

This would go well with a Glenmorangie Portwood Finish. But then, what wouldn't?

To date, eighteen of the twenty reviews are about evenly split. Eight give Pebblecut 4- stars, and ten give it 3-stars. Only two reviewers give it 2-stars, and no one has rated it a 1-star.

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.

Even more so than some McClelland blends I've tried, Ashton's Pebblecut really smells of fermenting ketchup and wine vinegar. And it really put me off trying this blend. The flakes even have ketchupy orange-tinted streaks throughout.

However, when smoked, the taste is something completely different---more smooth, and the winey scent becomes sweeter and more rounded. Without patient puffing, though, this can get a little hot and aggressive.

Still one of the better Ashton blends I've tried.

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.