Robert McConnell Original Oriental

Robert McConnell - Original Oriental.

Medium size ribbons, a healthy selection of colours, and nicely hydrated.

The smoke: without a doubt, the Orientals lead. They're sour, piquant, zesty, and lovely! There's enough Latakia to give weight to the smoke, but it's nowhere near being a ''bomb''. The Perique gives a splash of spices, but the Virginia and Cavendish are way down in pecking order! The burn couldn't be better, generating a smoke which only bites when pushed to do so.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not the best!

Original Oriental? A four star blend:

Highly recommended.

Highly recommended.

I am used to smoke Latakia containing Tobacco like Peterson Balkan Delight and Balkan Flake from Samuel Gawith. I have to admit the taste of this Tobacco is much "softer" but it is a real Delight to smoke late at night sitting in the garden and looking to the sun going down. The tobacco's room note is also more tolerable for non smokers when used in-house. A very welcome Tobacco and even one you could smoke all-day long, something you can't do with a real heavy Latakia.

I surely shall buy it back and even cellar it.

I have found a new friend in this. Wanting to try a quintessential "oriental" of sorts so i could determine its taste charecteristic;i sought this site for inspiration and found this. I ordered a tin online as a sample as well as some regulars and other newbies..

I have had a real go at this since i have purchased it and it has a certain enigma value that i like a lot, but struggle to describe easy..The saying "less is more " applies i think, and its simplicity is its strength and i think it goes to show that sometimes its not what you put into a blend but what you leave out that makes a good baccy..

The surprise in the taste was pleasant as well because i had in my minds eye(or tongue)a preonception that it was going to be one of those sort of "once in a while" smokes;the word oriental conjoured up a vision of a rich ,sweet and sour sauce bomb,perhaps a bit like a hyper version of"erinmore balkan mixture" .

Anyway ; i pop open the tin and take a sniff and i can immediately smell some familiar ingredients that i have encountered in other balkan/english mixtures.

Tin aroma;of naturally sweet aromatic mixed herbs,not as industrial or creosote-ish as other favourites of mine ,and there was no familiar but likable diesal engine sump oil factor to this one either(i try to find adjectives)..

I scrape the contents off the paper card lid and it feels basically smokable.. The appearance of contents;a few yellows,some orange,tan and dark browns for the main part ,and a smidgeon of khaki green,,its a medium ribbony sawdust cut.

I load into a new 6" georgian clay(which is my favourite standard type of pipe BTW)..

Using a gas lighter(because clays dont care)the baccy takes flame easy and fluffs up slightly where i give it a quick tamp with my finger WHICH I LICK AFTERWARDS then carry on.. Its an easy tobacco to work with.

My first impressions after getting into it was that it wasn't spice shock assault that i was expecting,and it was quite a sober and sensible smoke(i was bracing myself unnecessarily for exteme spice which didn't actually appear),the other thing that got me was how smokey this was considering it supposedly has no latakia in it,,;smokey but not in the familiar latakia smooth,sooty type way(i think i know what i'm talking about,, i hope)..

The other pleasant surprise was how natural and unspoilt this mixture is..It had in its unique way;that archetypal "natural tobacco" factor combined with an interesting complexity..

The no nonsence and strait talking conversation of this smoking experience was on the same par as "irish oak" and "old dublin",,;no casing/topping detected whatsoever and it has a unique factor..

I'm so glad i had a bowl of peterson "irish oak" before hand actually ,because it gave me the perfect datum from which to judge..

Comparison to other blends;i can say roughly between "irish oak" and "old dublin" there must be some common middle ground ingredients,but it has an identity of its own and is not like a hybrid.(its a different brand anyway) It fills a vacuum on the taste spectrum which i did not know was missing until i tried it.. The consequences have been strange in that; it has helped me to appreciate "irish oak" and "old dublin" even more as well. Its a complimentary member.

Anyway; its taste fluctuates down the bowl to be interesting while sticking within the main conversation. Good interplay of ingredients taking turns or coming in combination.

What it doesn't have in its ingredients,augments the ingredients that are present in proportion, while still maintaining a perfect balance of firing order and a medium strength english property.(this is a 1000cc triple as opposed to a 1000cc four).Its got a lumpy factor and not as smooth but no worse off for it(charecter factor).. Its not harsh though..

Taste; i have already said that i was pleasantly surprised by its natural unspoiled factor;i will try to explain its own flavour rather than by comparison goal posts. I get a very herby taste with lightly salted creamy butter,as well as a slightly sweet and cheese(parmesan-ish) and onion buscuit savoury type taste..(Onion bread?).

I get a hint of pepper on the tongue but not in a black pepper perique sence like in "irish oak";it is more of a sensation than a flavour,its a prickle but not tongue bite,,,;perhaps it is the herbs(or whatever) asserting their own sensation. Its hard to put my finger on, and i am still trying to solve it;green aromatic herbs like summer herb salad;there is a herbal bitterness but its pleasant.Its on the herby more than the spicy side,which is perhaps what impressed me about it and enforces its unique factor. Sometimes it has a sage and onion stuffing taste in a way as well

This blend does not mention having any latakia in it,and i don't know if it has any or not,,,and even if it hasn't its not exactly missed either.. This tobacco has its own natural smokey factor,and i can see why some may feel they are tasting latakia,but it maybe an illusion of familiar taste association from the other ingredients;although smokey,it has its own smoke and not because of ,or the same as the fortified type of smoke due to the curing method of any latakia.. So comparing it to "old dublin"(sorry i could not resist) i can say that the oriental in this is augmented while the sooty leathery ,smooth ,smokiness of the absent latakia is diminished..

I look at tobacco as an acoustic property, that cannot be amplified electrically;you have the size of your bowl to smoke it in,but what ever you want to put in for maximum taste,you have got to be prepared for the fact that you will have to take something else out and thats generally it.(as long as you are willing to stay within a single bracket of mild,medium,or strong) You see;i like my englishes/balkans medium and my ropes and plugs strong(they have to be strong to justify the fuffing about with!).. So sticking to my parameters its obvious that i cannot have it both ways of having all strengths of the ingredients while maintaining a medium dynamic combined strength;what ever i want to bring in i have got to be prepared to chuck something else out;the way i get round this is by smoking variations in a day to keep my pallet interested..(i could perhaps stack my bowl with a pinch of this, and a pinch of that, to creat a medly actually,,havent thought of that before!)

This oriental tastes basically what i wish "old dublin" would taste like sometimes,,,;by fluke it has been achieved sometimes,and other times i have wished "old dublin" to give me more of something else..(old dublin has been my so far favourite regular purchase)wanting all this while staying within the medium english strength factor. Trying "oriental" has made me realise that i had been asking too much of a single blend "old dublin"to give me that amount of deviant compass(plus i don't like it if a tobacco doesn't taste consistant as well either)...

And so i have found a tobacco "oriental"that gives me that bit more, and a bit less, that i can instantly go to while not hoping my "old dublin" would taste a bit more "this or that way" sometimes. It means i don't get bored basically and means my rotation between 2 alternating blends has been smoothed out with this new harmonious member..

If you like or are familiar with "irish oak" or "old dublin" you may find this a worthy contemporary with an identity of its own whileit has the ability to be a variation on a simular ingredient theme,,(another actually is a blend called punchbowle that has just virgina and latakia,and with these 4 blends there is for me a definative north,east,south and west within the medium strength bracket of simular ingredient, natural tasting, medium strength english tobacco's.)

Its burn rate is the slower side of medium i have noticed and so it is kind to the small bowl handicap of my clay pipe(which i smoke for their pure tobacco taste,,;again you can't have it both ways)

Clays smoke hotter but it was cool at the mouth end.

After taste is herby and i can taste a herby like vinegarette-ish taste on my lips. It does not cloy my clothes like say a saucy and spicy"erinmore balkan mixture"(which i liked but wanted a toned down version for allday puffing,,;i found that solution in "squadron leader")

Nice for me room note,and enough strength that when smoked outside not much is lost in the wind as far as taste.

It stays lit quite well and burns to light battleship grey ash,in the same manner as either "old dublin " or "irish oak"

Nicoteen hit is medium and satisfying and doesn't leave me wanting.

I will will definately purchase more of this and regret not purchasing more when i was purchasing.

The pleasure this gives me whilst smoking in the sun and staring through the blurry smoky haze and the heatwave shaddows is epic;i was mentaly on a sail boat whilst sitting in that garden chair in my crappy yard ,,,no shit this stuff makes me feel like a satisfied millionaire doing exactly what i would do if i was a millionaire.. Peace and 4 stars!

Tin: Light brown, and black, with the odd olive strand. Initially, it had a strong, acrid, sour undertone. There was no display of quality VA or spicy oriental. A smoky aroma is noticeable along with an unnatural organic tone, an unsweet odor of rank, smoky barbecue sauce. A couple of hours after tin opening, it seemed to transition into a mainly smoky Latakia aroma. A sweet oriental bouquet was latterly present. Compare this to McClelland's Oriental Blending tobacco available from SmokingPipes.com.

Packing & Lighting: The standard ribbon cut was not very moist; within a few minutes it was crispy dry. A typical two-match deal, with a relight, but it did have significant gurgle, contrasting with the dry tobacco. Left to dry for one-half hours, it was close to bonedry, crispy. In fact, the exceptional amount of goopy moisture, draining out of the stem, made me wonder.

Taste & Aroma: It has mild qualities of an oriental: sweet, nutty, with naturally spicy, fragrant aromas. I don't notice the VA. A slightly smoky Latakia undertone adds a tad of complexity. A light oriental character predominates. There is no heavy hand of Latakia or VA, as in many full English blends. If smoked hard, it may be a little bitey.

The above was smoked in a briar, outdoors. Maybe this accounts for a more oriental experience, strongly so, when next smoked in a meerschaum.

Indoors, in the meerschaum, there is a distinctly oriental flavor and aroma. It is decidely nutty, buttery, and sweet; spicy and zingy; an ample potpourri of oriental aromatics. In this second setting, it is a very fragrant oriental mixture. Also, the gurgle is nonexistent. Maybe it's just me, but towards the end of the bowl, it seems so spicy as to be peppery to the tongue. I do not think it is steam. On second thought, by the end of the bowl, there is a smidgen of bite.

The tobacco was smoked later, again, in the same briar and was delicious, though in the meerschaum, even more so. That initial experience of modest oriental qualities, and excessive moisture draining out of the stem, must have been some sort of aberration.

Nicotine: The briar smoke was mild. In the meerschaum, it was strong, almost very strong, heady. It alternates between mild to strong, usually closer to strong.

Room Note: Fragrant oriental perfume, but not lingering.(This is where the ratings schema needs to be broadened: to wit, RM Oriental is full, strong, but quite pleasant, agreeable.)

Overall: The tin aroma was deceptive. However, it does smoke with the full flavor and aroma of an oriental tobacco. RM Oriental is one of the tastiest and naturally aromatic of all tobaccos. I could have almost eaten it, there was so much creamy flavor. 3.7-4.1 stars, a solid 4 stars.

This merits comparison to McClelland's Oriental Blending Tobacco which is what I would smoke for a full oriental experience.

This is a blend that is hard to describe in a good way . The fragrant Orientals are obviously in the lead . The Latakia backs them up perfectly. The rest of the tobaccos meld together to compliment the blend deliciously. Original Oriental is fragrant , buttery , creamy , spicy ,sweet,salty,smokey,nutty,with a toffee like finish. This is great blending IMO . If you like the balkan blends you should try this . Easy 4 stars

This Blend is - along with the newly released Durbar - one of the finest Orientals on the marked: Balanced, elegant and complex. Latakia is in the background, strength is medium.

One of the grand pleasures of a pipe smoker: To sniff the rising smoke of a decent Oriental from your bowl. I prefer this much to Mc Connells Scottish Mixture.

Wow what a spicy and really "century old" formula. Here it is, a big oriental mixture without any Latakia in it, sweet & spicy as it has to be.

This blend is able to develop a sweet bouquet of intense but natural flavours of an excellent Virginia and Macedonian leaves. A little cavendish, which is not extremely sugary is added for a little more depth and perfect to even the burning qualities.

The Oriental leaves are so earthy, incense-like spicey that it's no surprise someone may sense some good latakia in it, but there isn't any. Anyway it's not a bad idea to add some, paying attention not to exceed: it's easy to transform it from a glorious balkan to an overwhelming blend.

That sweet & "cheese like" aroma and taste of Macedonian leaves is marvellous. If you're looking for a intense oriental nirvana, savouring sweetnes with no fruit flavours or any casing added, this is the right blend, for you.

It sends you back in time, savouring some 1800 Orient traveller's taste, in a Agatha Christie book, for Example... 2 steps up from other McConnell blends I like but don't love, this is really excellent, for a decent price. Far better than a lot of celebrated UK English blends or Balkans.

It only lacks a little nicotine punch, but it's perfect in moisture out of the tin and steady burning.

Update - October 2011 - After some time in the cellar, I give now the fourth star to this quality blend, it is simply delicious.

I found it refined, round and naturally sweet and very savourful. Just a single relight for the entire bowl in a mid size Peterson.

A must-have.

Tin notes of sour, sweet and smoky. The mixed cut is mostly black with dark brown and a little light brown. Tobacco is soft and slightly tacky, no prep needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength mild to medium, nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is med and somewhat consistent with notes of smoky wood, earth, mildly sweet ripe fruit, floral and a little spicy. Oriental/Turkish is driving with Virginias riding shotgun. Cavendish and Latakia are in riding back. Room note is pleasant to tolerable and after taste is good.

This is exactly the sort of oriental mixture I want to smoke. Notes of sweet butternut squash, woody incense, and smoked fruit (apples/pears). The latakia is extremely mild, serving as a nice condiment and nothing more. The cavendish keeps things cool, and allows for flavors to blend into a sweet and woody delight. Smoke this with coffee on a crisp morning and be rewarded with a sensational experience. 4 stars.