Edward's Scottish Moor

I have been smoking Edwards blends for over thirty (30) years. This was not the first one I tried, as this was pretty rich to me then. I have graduated to other matured virginias in recent years, but I thought that some smokers would benefit with a bit of history and opinion on these blends.

This is one of Edwards greatest tobaccos, if not one of the greatest American tobaccos of all time. Not everyone will agree with the last statement, as opinions differ and few will invest the time to smoke at least a couple of ounces of this devine tobacco in a good pipe to realize its richness and superb quality.

The difference between most Edwards blends and other American blends is Edwards' essence technique. They did not spray their mainstay blends back then, but rather exposed some quality burleys to fragrances or scents. They then blended the essence tobacco with other tobaccos and usually allowed them some time to meld (but months were not necessary). The resulting flavors were dry and on the light side.

This blend has burley, virginia, some toasted cavendish, and their essence tobacco VAB (some type of vanilla essence but much different than a syrup-like vanilla aromatic for sure). What else is in it I don't know; I do not have their recipe. It is a pretty medium-rich flavor on the full side. It has an tasty essence to it but is not sweet per se.

If you smoke only a few bowls of this, you won't get it. If you're sensitive to burleys, even good quality burley, it may be too stong (e.g., make you a little drunk). I'm not saying everyone will love it, but if you give it time, the richness of the burley, the coolness and dryness of the blend as a whole, and the uniquely rich essence(s) are truely satisfying.

The flavor is akin to a full red virginia I think, and I think Edward Rowley (the original tobacco guy of Edwards but now deceased) was trying to capture the essence of matured virginia for an American audience some 40 years ago with this. Yes, it's burley and uniquely aromatic in a dry soft type of way, but to me it's close in essence, but not composition, to some matured virginias today (e.g., Butera's Blended Flake). It's flavor is as thick as the fog on a walk through the moors.

Many have fallen for Scottish Moor over the years. The present owner of Edwards refused to sell the formula to another "big" tobacco company in recent years, to preserve the integrity and quality of the blend itself (they would have sprayed it). I have a handful of Wiley pipes I smoke this in still. To me, it has more flavor in a small to medium size pipe. And as Professor Cook recommends, don't try this in a pipe already devoted to aromatics. It smokes better in a cleaner pipe devoted to naturals and virginias I think. I close with respect to Scottish Moor, and hope that a few more devotees to it may appear on the scene in this golden age of pipe tobacco.

This review is to second Stan's review from 2002, and the seeming hyperbole of his view that ESM is "one of the greatest American tobaccos of all time." This really is not a farfetched claim based on my experience with this gem of a tobacco. I've tried various Edward's tobaccos with mixed feelings, but Scottish Moor was a delight on first and subsequent smokes. Since it is on the mild-side, I find it tastes better in a non-filtered than filtered pipe. There's a lot going on in this tobacco for being of the mild sort ... some vanilla but not the tacky kind that draws unwanted attention, great mouth feel, brilliant balance of the tobaccos (mostly Virginias some burley, wee Cavendish). Love to blow ESM through my nostrils, it smells sweet even though technically sweet is a taste not a scent. No regrets (as in irritations in the mouth or stomach), just feel healthier and happy to be alive after smoking ESM. I purchased this and smoked it on the spot at Edward's in Atlanta in early 2015. The proprietor Creig Kelly grabbed me a fresh batch from the storeroom instead of taking from the bins up front, so the tobacco came back moist and fresh. Now a month later what remains is still fresh moist and disappearing too quickly. I don't live anywhere near an Edward's so next time I'm in Atlanta I have some procurement to attend to. If you're especially a fan of, or even just tolerant of American tobaccos, ESM deserves a smoke. This was a happy discovery for me and may be for you too.

I bought a small 2 oz bag. It was ok, a decent quality smoke, nothing horrible, but at the same time nothing that really made me want to finish it.

The taste and aroma was sort of earthy with just a hint of sweetness. I couldn't really tell what was in it, nothing dominating. I am sure it has a lot of burley like most other Edward's blends.

I think I would recommend MacBaren Symphony or Modern Mixture (Scottish Blend) as a better choice. This tobacco reminds me of those.

Not too bad. I got out the nearly two year old dregs of this bag which I keep in a box with other remnants of tobacco samples I never finished so that I could review it and smoked a bowlful. The "essence" seems to be vanilla to me, somewhat fruity, though I can't taste the apples. I seem to remember it being better fresh, as this left a harsh taste in the back of my throat. Still, the flavor is intriguing and not at all cloying. Too burley for me. Man, I can still smell that "essence" on my hands! Still, it doesn't seem to be an overwhelming flavor when you smoke it.

*******Update**** Though I downgraded my rating after a while to two stars, I'm upgrading it again, this time settling on three stars. This is a good burley smoke with better than average kick and interesting but subtle aromas of pineapple and apple. Cool and rich. It can be bitter but not overly so. An American classic, this will be my third summer smoking it (among other things). I think of it as a premium, more aromatic Prince Albert.***



I can't believe I've never heard of Edwards tobacs until just a few weeks ago. Shows I don't get around much.

I really like this rich, traditional bulk aromatic.

It takes me back to my beginning days smoking some goopy Vanilla blend, but this is much more robust and with superior burning properties. If this came in a quaint, reissued tin and had been off the market for a few decades, it would be heralded as a classic.

My first reaction was similar to lustra's but I retrieved the 1.75 ounce bag after reading some of the further reviews and decided to try again. Now in a few short days my sample bag is half empty.

This is not a weak smoke, but it took 5-6 bowls for me to appreciate its underlying strength and become used to the unique flavoring, which is subtle and like apples or pineapple and it comes and goes throughout the smoke. Thus this is best in a dedicated pipe

When I do smoke aromatics I prefer the lighter variety. Scottish Moor was at the other end of the spectrum and its taste overpowered me. It has the muted taste of vanilla as well as something else more pronounced I can?t pinpoint. The essence? Perhaps a bit of hootch of some kind. This is another of those tobaccos I tried several months ago and recently tried again. My opinion of it was not favorable then nor was it favorable on my second go around. I cannot liken it exactly to any other aromatic blend I have tried but I would place this tobacco in the same aromatic genre as Hines T426, both of which are too heavy on the "juice" for me. If you are strictly an aromatic smoker, you very well might like Scottish Moor but no ?Moor? for me, thank you.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 5.0 out of 10

This is the tobacco I took from my Dad's tobacco jar in the mid 70's (when he wasn't looking). This was, and still can be, one of the most wonderful tobaccos to smoke if you like aromatics. Like many Edward's blends, it is burley based. There is a sweet, almost apple like taste followed by the nutty flavor of burley and a hint of perique. I found it to be a harsh smoke on occasion - possible due to my lack of knowledge on packing and smoking a pipe in those days. I no longer smoke it because I no longer like aromatic tobacco. Anyone nearby will love you for smoking this one. Try it in a corncob first because the flavor will stay in your briar.

I am updating my review of Scottish Moor. Initially, it was a love/hate relationship. On the one hand, it can be full, satisfying and ever so slightly aromatic in a natural sort of way (you know . . . toasted Burley, some VAs, and a light "essence" that makes it a bit aromatic). On the other hand, it can seem bitter and flat.

Then I tried Edward's Scottish-Bucc, which is a blend of Scottish Moor and their Buccaneer tobacco. Edward's Buccaneer is a black cavendish, but a very unique one. Purple/black and fairly dry, it is not goopy at all, nor is it very vanilla flavored. When added to Scottish Moor, it makes it far better. Smoothes out the flat spots and adds a bit of sweetness to counter balance the aged Burleys.

A fair amount of nicotine, as with most of the Edwards blends that I have tried.

Good stuff.

What IS that essence that seems to permeate every Edward's blend? So far, every Edward's blend I have tried tasted like Dolphin, to one degree or another. Same here.

That topping, or essence, or whatever, isn't strong here, but when something is that nasty, it doesn't need to be strong to ruin the smoke.

See my review on Dolphin or the one on Woodsman. Scottish Moor is just another typical Edward's blend. They all taste like the same thing, with subtle changes.

Yuck.

I'm a new pipe smoker, but I'm not new to tobacco or to taste-testing or gourmet flavor reviewing, so read as you see fit. I smoke Edward's Scottish Moor as one of my favorite "plain" tobaccos.

I think this tobacco might be called a "mild English" blend, except that there's the slightest Vanilla casing snuck in there under the radar. Edwards sells its pipe tobaccos rather dry relative to most tobacconists I've patronized, so sometimes I squirt a little plain water from a mister into the plastic bag that the Scottish Moor is in, and roll it around a bit after I've bought it. I like the name of it, and want to trot it out on St. Patrick's day and wear orange and announce to all and sundry that the Laird of Lindsey is distantly related to me and that I'm not Catholic and that's why I'm not wearing green. Get 'em thinking. :^)

Scottish Moor has some strings of what looks like light tan Virginia in it, but mostly this blend comes in smaller rectangles and squares of mixed tans, browns, and dark browns. Unfortunately, there are (as with all Edward's tobaccos that I've tried) a few stems and chunks of detritus mixed in throughout, some of which get in the way of packing and none which I'd really like to smoke in any larger quantities. Arabian camel hair? In the bag or the tobacco bin it smells nicely of island spices, maybe nutmeg or cinnamon.

Scottish Moor is fairly easy to pack, although there can be a bit of lumpiness to it (easily rubbed out -- and perhaps strictly due to my own intervention with the water mister). The lower portions of the pipe bowl tend to remain at the same degree of compactness that you have left them in, which is nice for us beginners who tend to over-pack the bottom of the bowl and then have to play dig-and-turn when we've smoked down that far with other tobaccos.

I find that Scottish Moor lights easily and burns to a beautiful fluffy white powder, with very little charred or unburnt parts, and because of the (aforementioned) ease of packing, I can get right through a whole bowl of it quickly and easily. If I need to impress someone with my skill I use Scottish Moor and only two matches! I prefer a straight pipe for this straight tobacco. I dunno, that's just my cute mnemonic, maybe I'm ruining the Scottish Moor or the Billiard by putting the one together with the other, but I certainly don't think so.

It does burn a bit hot -- as I said, I get through it quickly and easily -- but not to a great detriment. I hardly get any tongue-bite from it ever, especially not relative to the bubble-gum-flavored aromatics that us beginners sometimes mistakenly take up before "real" tobaccos. I can get a little nicotine high from Scottish Moor, just a slight light-headedness or a numbness in my lips and cheeks. Nothing to write home about.

The room smell is tolerable, not unpleasant, but definitely of the "someone's been smoking in here" variety. Fine for a men's club or your own living room, but maybe not ideal for a party with the politically correct types. Or people wearing green. :^)

The flavor of smoking Scottish Moor is generally spicy, of that island and baking type. There's not much to the jalapeno side of spiciness in this tobacco. There's a lovely pure tobacco over-note ("it tastes like tobacco!"), and the under-notes rotate among several kitchen spices (at least one reviewer detects some Vanilla casing) as well as oak and, maybe if you can imagine it, burnt toast. It's definitely a "homey" or "domestic" flavor. I didn't get this flavor my first few times out with this tobacco, and instead found it revulsively smoky and chemical, as though all I were puffing were carpet cleaner or plasticene shards, but I stuck with it thanks to the positive recommendations here on Tobacco Reviews and I ended up appreciating it a great deal. The smoke itself is a bit thicker than usual, very weighty.

I think Edward's lucked into a very pure smoking tobacco that can please people who don't want odd flavorings, that is nevertheless mild enough (and hot-burning enough) to sustain the interest of beginners (it's hard to get it to lose either the light or the flavor) and afficionados alike. It's like tobacco that's been flavored with something that tastes like ... good-tasting tobacco! I keep Scottish Moor on hand and smoke it regularly in rotation with things more along the Cavendish line.

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Additional notes: as my tobacco palate has matured, I have moved away from Scottish Moor. I initially was mightily impressed with the level-headed-ness of this blend, I think. But I've found Latakia and English blends that have much more character with just as much refinement, and now when I try Scottish Moor I notice nothing but the stumps and grains in the bag, the dust particles, and the odd vanilla (or is it just chemical?) odor that bespeaks a sneaky casing of some sort. I will probably give the last of my Scottish Moor away, I'm so down on it nowadays. Funny how opinions grow and change ... I've lowered my recommendation from "on occasion" to "not my cuppa tea."