Robert McConnell Ripe Honeydew

Every once in a while, you cannot get want you want so you settle for something else. Ripe Honeydew in overall appearance is a light honey colored tobacco in smallish flakes and strands with rare bits of dark ribbon. It may very well be topped with honey, but the aroma in the tin tells me a light German chocolate and raspberry essence has been added to the recipe, if only sparingly. I do not detect the presence of honey as I do with, say, MacBarens Navy Flake. I am a very slow puffer, yet this tobacco is hot in the bowl, in the mouth and in the nose. I do not describe it as a bite, but as an irritating heat sensation throughout. The flavor is of an acceptable lightly sweetened Virginia. It is difficult to know whether the unpleasantness is due to high nicotine or to the combustion of the sweetener. I suspect the latter because I am not usually put off by high nicotine content. Far down the bowl, the smoke smoothes out, but only briefly. This blend is a disappointment after McConnell's Scottish Cake and Scottish Flake. Too bad. My assessment is that the tobacco itself is pretty good, but the mixture has been bungled with the choice of sweetener. I will be able to finish this tin, but I will not buy another. Paddy.