Robert McConnell Latakia Flake

The name of the blend is misleading. I’ve been warned by pipe friends that this has very little latakia and has some casing/topping, but then I’ve read some of the reviews here, where people used to say it’s a latakia forward blend. In my case at least, this is not the case, not in my tin. Maybe it depends on the origin, if it’s a US tin or a EU tin.

I’ll start with the tin note and say that... well, it doesn’t smell like tobacco at all, it has like a soapy, gum-like smell. Notes are sweet with fruit/dried fruit, dried plum.

The tobacco is black (obviously) and quite moist, will take a while to dry.

Taste? The cavendish and the kentucky are the stars, the latakia is only a bit in the background and you can detect it only if you light up the pipe, get some smoke out of it and then leave it for about an hour or two with the tobacco in the bowl. So the order of the tobaccos would be (from my experience) black cavendish, kentucky, latakia, and then there’s a bit of a casing/topping, but still tastes like tobacco.

Sweet and sugary from the black cavendish, peppery and nutty from the kentucky, and only a bit smoky, the latakia being the least felt in this blend. Has a little flavoring of dried plums, but it does taste like tobacco, like I said above.

You can really detect the kentucky in this baby. I’m a smoker of Turner Dark rolling tobacco, which has dark fired kentucky and I can tell from a mile that this tin contains a good amount of kentucky.

Delivers a thick smoke, burns very good, evenly, leaving a white ash with no dottle. Even if it doesn’t deliver hot smoke, it does tend to get the pipe hot so smoke at a slow pace. Bit high on nicotine.

Pleasant room note, sweet mostly

This was pretty good stuff. With most of a tin under my belt, here goes:

Tin note smells like clove cigarettes. I believe this flake has been flavored with wine.

The flakes are not dried out, but more crumbly than pliable. Fold and stuff did not work out.

Alight, I find the taste intriguing: it's definitely latakia, but not a "dry" latakia (a la Captain Earle's Ten Russians) or an overwhelming latakia (a la C&D's Billy Budd). Some may describe this as "wine-like", but to me the flavoring presents itself as "smoky cheddar wheel". And the nicotine is there: by mid-bowl, you may set this one down for a moment.

Overall, probably not quite four stars, but a very solid three-plus.

Very nice blend for tasting the Syrian Latakia. It is not very easy to smoke all day and it is a bit uni dimensional, but for a first and second bowl it provides a very pleasant smoking experience. With it I've tried my first custom blend, mixing 1:1 with No.2 Virginia Mixture from Astley's, a VA/Per. The result was awesome and this was the beginning for me to blending my own mixtures, now I play with blending tobaccos and I smoke mainly my owns

Very nice Virginia/Latakia, well balanced, with Latakia in the lead role and sweet Virginias to complement. Similar to SG Commonwealth, they both share a lack of depth compared to traditional English mixtures, but they deliver for the Latakia craving smokers and those not too fond on Orientals.

A very hearty blend, rich in nicotine, that should be smoked slowly, patiently and, above all, with respect or one is forced to lay down both pipe and body until the vertigo passes. Latakia Flake's strength is not apparent until one has smoked about a third of the bowl. After that, when the strength of this tobacco reaches its apex, it might make one think of Penzance wearing brass knuckles. I would recommend a small to medium size bowl (or a nice, long churchwarden) to "safely" enjoy this tobacco and dodge those upper cuts to the chin. Don't misunderstand me: this is a fine blend, and I am quite surprised that it seems to have escaped notice amongst pipe smokers.

I completely agree with Virginia Lover’s review. This is not a Latakia bomb. It is present but this flake feels unrefined.

This blend is dominated by the Kentucky. I get very little spice — if you are a Balkan fan there is no joy here and not that much clearly defined Latakia. It is a pleasant ‘pure tobacco’ smoke but not amazing.

A refined Latakia Smoking experience. I thought this was similar to Heinrich’s Latakia Flake but it is not. The Latakia is different, the Kentucky is more vivid and the Cavendish more supportive. If you enjoy a full Latakia experience, I highly recommend this flake after dinner with a nice Longrow Peated whisky, the 18 yo if you can find it otherwise the NAS is also perfect. The whisky offers smoked pancetta, the tobacco: smoked almonds, the whisky: floral citrus notes, the tobacco perfumed rose water, the whisky with one or two drops of water offers fresh grilled sourdough bread, the tobacco: slightly burnt pecan pie, the best whisky- pipe tobacco pairing in a while. Delicious and sophisticated. The tobacco packs, lights and burns well.

This became a new favorite of mine. Kentucky, Lat and Black Cav? An absolute YES! The tin note is far from, what I expected. Not just the usual smokiness or Kentucky nuttiness, but there is a very pleasant floral aroma. The flakes are dark and perfect in moisture. They brake apart easily, so filling your pipe is quite simple. Now, the smoke: I never felt such a strong teamplay between two tobaccos. Its like Jules and Vincent, or Devin Townsend and van Giersbergen of smoking. Smoky, nutty, floral and sweet. I could smoke this the whole day! Highly recommend