Robert McConnell Pure Latakia

Sadly due to many issues Syria has suffered for many years now. To that end due to the civil strife and over production of the special hardwoods used to smoke this wonderful tobacco the supply is quickly shirking and will eventually no longer be available, at least for the near future. This blend is primarily for mixing (I put a dose in every tin of my Frog Morton blend) but can be smoked straight. Now some folks will not like it straight but others, like myself can enjoy that baked bread/sweet wood smoke/purfume/barbecue taste. If you like me can't get enough of Syrian Latakia you may want to stock up.

This is a follow up. I looked on the back of my new tins and there is a small sticker saying Cypress Latakia. I guess they just don't have any Syrian left. To Smoking Pipes credit they do say Cypress Latakia but McConnell still says Syrian pure Latakia. Once I smoked a new tin straight I knew it could not be Syrian as I did not get that strong sweet wood smoke/baked bread flavor I always get with Syrian Latakia. Oh well. Life is not always fair.

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.

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.

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...

Just one word : handsome !!!

But ... You really have to love latakia. Otherwise this tobacco can be boring.

Excellent for blending. You can try this straight, but it makes for a rather boring smoke.

I prefer Cyprian Latakia for blending, but this is a great tobacco nevertheless.

This is Latakia. What more is there to say? Works well as a blending tobacco.

I had a sample tasting before applying to a blend. As it's own, it's kinda overwhelming but definitely interesting!

It has more of that smoky aroma in a tin than smoke and I would rather say it's more spicy than smokey when smoked. The palette of the taste changed as bowl progressed, but I couldn't pinpoint what exactly changed in it. It burned very dry and had a numbing impact in my mouth. No tongue-bite!

I had some trouble getting it light up, more than likely because it was zero prepared before smoking. Gave a lot of smoke when I got it burning properly! Left only a little amount of light grey ash and none of moisture.

Will try blending little amounts at first since it definitely had a lot of character that could be too much in a blend!

Package note of campfire, earth and a tart wine background note. The soft and dry ribbon cut is dark brown and black and needs no prep. Burns slow with a normal amount of relights. The strength is medium at most and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes smoky wood, leather, floral, slight sweet, and mildly spicy retro. This one leaf show apparently can do it all. Room note is strong, and aftertaste is great.