Robert McConnell Old London Pebble Cut

This one is the best Perique mixture I ever smoked. Really intriguing, enchanting in taste, rich in exotic flavors. Excellent Virginia, superb Perique and wonderful Oriental leaf in an extraordinary “Old London Mixture”. Great, really great, to smoke slowly in a perfect silence. A nice tobacco to find peace of mind. I think Tolkien’s pipe-weed is something to do with Latakia, but if you prefer Perique, without any doubt this is Tolkien’s pipe-weed. The finest weed in the Southfarthing. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 10 and obviously 4 stars.

Woh ! new all day Waper,,,spicy ,dark,good room notes.Great right from the thin. Burns slowly,,nice dark tobacco taste to the palate. Not so strong in nicotine either,but it,s there,so what moore can i say....it goes well with a cup of coffee...and shure its a winner for me.Recomended!

Bought as a sample from the local tobacco specialist provider, so the tin note abstains from this review per now. The tobacco, however, offers a sweet, tangy smell, as many has said before me, like sweetened vinegar.

Much of the aroma is preserved to the palate upon smoking, with the addition of some red berries and Perique-spiciness dancing in the background. The body of the smoke is no more than medium, but still delivers a really pleasant puff. Though maybe not a favourite yet, slightly more deserving than three stars, and a pleasant break from my recent heavier tobaccos and burley blends.

UPDATE

The more I smoke it, the more I like it. It’s proven to become a staple of a recurring VaPer in my rotation. (Yes, I am aware of the Black Cevandish, and might just be why it is my preferred one.) I up my recommendation to four stars.

UPDATE 3rd of September 2019

Having bought my own tin, I cannot help but mention the aroma, and flavour too, is highly like “lavashak”, and Iranian sour candy made from raw fruits and berries and water, specifically ones made of figs. Truly outstanding!

I was using this to break in my new Peterson. That pipe is now dedicated to this blend. My new Fav tobacco!

Rubbed out only. I love that job as it is cathartic and part of the pipe experience. Best gas mileage of any tobacco yet for me. 1/3 bowl for break in lasted 40 min! In a B11! SMOOTH! CREAMY! RICH! Amazing tin note, with a bit of the infamous condiment smell, but VERY light. And none when smoked.

I now understand what "soapy" means, and it is NOT a bad thing! Smoked out of a breeze and at a break-in pace, it smoked cool with zero gurgle. And that was was rubbed out only, no dry time.

Definitively changes mid bowl, but still amazing and polite. My first "stock up" tobacco.

Still no cake in my new pipe and 50 grams down. May have to break in with something else, super clean and dry burn with very little ash and zero dottle.

BUY! SMOKE! ENJOY!

Extremely pleasant tobacco, made with high quallity leaves, dexterously put together to create a mild tasting and mild strength smoke. It burns cool if conduced with ability and with the right moisture, and produce a very nice arome, that is very natural and not irritable to the nose nor to the mouth. A tobacco that, because of it's mildness, can be smoked as an all day without being annoing or overwhelming. Atention, it is defined mild, but is very flavorfull and develops incredible aromes as the bowl goes down. The presence of the orientals gives a roundness to the blend and broke the strength and harshness of the virginias, and the touch of perique gives just the right spicy taste!

I would define it as an ELEGANT blend.

A tobacco that should be proved!

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.

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