Robert McConnell Pure Latakia

This tobacco is not intended as a stand-alone smoke. Even so, curiosity drove me to smoke it on its own. I feared that it would be EXTREMELY strong but it was definitely not. It has a very distinctive, spicy taste unmistakably 'Latakia' - that elusive taste in English mixes which sometimes is overwhelming sometimes just noticeable.

But it is not very strong in nicotine or any other way. In fact I got bored after half the pipe, and did not even bother to finish it because of the monotony of the thing.

However, this is JUST the thing that you need for blending your own mixes, or add that extra sting to otherwise bland mixes. As such, it is a five-star baccy!

I remember when buying this, that the man behind the counter smiled and said that this tobacco was not to be smoked by itself. Surprised I told him that I actually enjoyed it. It is blend, yes, in the sense that it is very consistent. It is a cold smoke, easily puffed, it does not require a relight and leaves a lot a majestic smoke that reminds of the incense of mass. Certainly more of an occasional smoke than somehting else, it is a nice one.

This is what a latakia lover needs! A full taste latakia of high quality that can be smoked straight at your morning coffee or your evening scotch.

Tin note is peaty, leathery, fermented tobacco and... Lagavulin 16 yo.

Tobacco is perfectly cut, but came a bit dry. Might take a few matches to light up, but once it’s lit, it will go on easily.

Not lets talk about taste. When I first opened the tin and smoked the first bowl, it was shy with a mild taste, but as I progressed smoking the bowl it turned into a better version, a mild to medium taste. Initially it tasted like you ate some barbeque with some bbq sauce and sipped some Lagavulin 16. Not great, not terrible.

After the first bowl, I’ve put the content in a hermetically sealed jar and I’ve since been collecting from it. Like most tobaccos, after you put them in the jar they start to bloom, their aromas start to intensify and the same happened here. With each new bowl, it was getting better and better.

What I have now is a full taste of smokiness, with some leather and a bit of spice. Tasty, tast, tasty! It does have some sweetness to it as well, just decent enough not to disturb the smoky experience that we’re looking for in latakia.

Unfortunately the aftertaste doesn’t last.

I could smoke this straight every day, and i think i will.

Nicotine is very mild, but the room note is strong. I personally love the room note, but others will run in horror.

Top tobacco. 4 stars!

A post-syrian tin, obviously cypriotic Latakia. Being a Balkan Sobranie fan 30 years ago, I always search for »the experience« I had, then. Some more or less pure Latakia smell quite unpleasant. This one smells great, somehow decent. Nevertheless, smelling a tobacco and smoking the tobacco are two different things. Lighting the tobacco is easy, there is this full »blue« smoke of Latakia. The taste is great: tasty, but mellow, slow and cool, rich and with this quality of francincense. Some pure Latakia tastes »soapy«, not this one! Lovely, the sweetness and richness of Balkan Sobranie memories, far too good to mix it with anything else!

This is a gift of Manitu to the pipe smoker.I´d keeping my old tin of Wellauer for breaking every new pipe and now from the heaven return the happiness.I love too the wonderful charred leaf from Cyprus but this is absolutely different.Plants are different and more,the wood used in curing too,continental oak vs.mediterranean coniffers.Its smoothiness make to add in larger quantity than cyprus to the mixtures.I hope war in martyrized Syria don´t finish with it.

Great blender for that Syrian Latakia amp up . Like to add it to McC's "Yenidje Highlander" and Solani " White and Black". Very monotone when smoked by itself. 2 stars smoked by itself, 4 stars as a blender.

Excellent, superb Latakia, probably one of the best pure Latakia you can find in the market. Of course it is a blending tobacco and you have not to smoke it straight. But if you are an English mixtures' lovers and you like to prepare mixtures by your own, this is certainly for you. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 10 and four stars.

I am a "Latakia lunatic" and hence smoke this one as is. Nice way to introduce some change in a smoking spectrum dominated by Latakia blends anyway (Dunhill SM, MM965 and NC - Ashton Artisan's Blend etc).

This is indeed best Latakia from Syria. Strangely, as I'm a Latakia lover, I bought it for smoking it pure. Its taste is full, smoky and creamy and surprisingly it's not as strong as you may expect. It's jet-black in the tin and it lights just beautifully and produces almost no moisture as you proceed. This is really pure tobacco. It has a certain, nice level of nuances, but smoking it purely is, in my opinion, not as fine as smoking pure Virginia, which I love. Recommended only for Latakia lunatics, for this is really something special. Be careful if you want to use this tobacco in it's original purpose, blending! Too much of it might ruin everything. The manufacturers of great blends know what they do...