Robert McConnell Scottish Cake

The review below is part of a VaPer Showdown that I conducted between several VaPer blends:

I got the tin the other day and I immediately cracked it open and took a whiff. Mmmm, it smelled like the sour fruitiness of the Virginias and the peppery spice of the Perique. I think that I read somewhere that this might have a small amount of burley mixed in there for good measure. It is a course cut flake and I rubbed it out a little more to help with drying. The appearance is kind of a red, and light and dark browns (mostly dark brown). I let it air out and dry for about 15-20 minutes and then loaded it up into my Peterson Bent Bulldog.

Right off of the bat this was a great tasting blend. Lighting was extremely easy with only one false light. As the bowl progressed, the flavor got fuller and fuller and leveled out at about a medium to full in taste and strength. The Virginias provide the sweetness throughout and while there is a decent amount of Perique in this blend it never overpowers the taste. It?s always there in the background and weaves itself in and out through the Virginias. It has a great, lively flavor that never goes flat. Also, I never had any kind of tongue bite even though I?m sure I got it going hot a few times. The Virginias never go sour either.

The smoke aroma comes off as sweet and fruity and for some reason it smells a bit chocolaty to me. Not sure why that is or if it?s another scent that I just can?t identify but it is close to chocolaty.

Now, I know that I?m going to cause a stir by saying this but I enjoyed this more than Escudo. And the tin of Escudo that I?ve been smoking from is 4 years old. Escudo seemed to have a lot of ups and downs throughout smoking it whereas this blend is steady throughout. It burns slow and it didn?t require a lot of relights from me. With that said, this is just me and my opinion. I know that Escudo has a huge following and I?m one of them but I?m ranking this one above Escudo. Not far above.

Here are the standings so far:

1) McConnell ? Scottish Cake 2) Escudo 3) Treasures of Ireland ? Limerick 4) Dorchester 5) Luxury Bullseye Flake 6) Kajun Kake

This just about knocked my socks off. It was the first tobacco I tasted that cemented me in pipe smoking. It's fruity, sweet, toasty, and goes perfect outdoors with a campfire. I think a nice glass of Laphroaig complements it quite well.

If you're choosing between this and Scottish Flake, go with this.

EDIT: this just gets better with time. I have a good amount of blends laying around but when I have a tin of this it disappears fast. I need to find somewhere reliable to buy this in bulk. Will ask the pipe store next time I'm there.

Tin note sweet slightly spicy slightly earthy. My sample was a bit on the dry side. nice fine flakes I think it had been it a jar for a few years and had become quite dry as I see the other reviews find it moist from the tin. Once it was lit the first thing I noticed was the light topping, rum perhaps but very light and as smoked it goes in the background. Burns very even. The perique becomes more evident as you progress through the bowl and is the main player in the last quarter not overly so just more prominent. Has some light citrus notes as you progress from the beginning. Nice lite summer blend. lots of lite flavors. Not sure I would smoke this all day but a nice smoke to start your day with or on the drive home. Nic hit is right at the medium mark. 3.5 stars

I finally have a chance to give this one a proper review having finished the first of eight tins that I had in my cellar. I say this as this is not my first experience with this blend. I have actually tried it two times previously and it was those experiences that culminated in my buying those tins for the cellar.

Now, this is why I don't review with only a bowl or two at a time. My purchasing more than two additional tins shows that I would have given this four stars, but after finishing the first of these tins, I am left with a three star feeling. It is good, but not great.

The reason for this is not just that I was able to smoke more of the blend, but that the first two times I tried this was while imbibing bourbon with fellow smokers. There is something about the interaction of Dark Fired Kentucky and bourbon that makes a blend like this just really sing, and with a glass of bourbon, I would still say it is a four star blend; however, that is not my normal smoking situation, and I would guess it is not the average smoker's normal either.

I typically drink water while smoking and this lets me really experience the inherent flavor of the blend without interference. Under these circumstances, I found Scottish Cake to be a little too dominated by the Kentucky, making the sweetness of the Virginia or the spice of the perique hard to detect. I was also able to really appreciate the abundant Nicotine. This one is not super heavy, but it will definitely scratch a "nic-itch" if you need to do so.

Overall, I do like the taste of Dark Fired Kentucky, but without the assistance of a good bourbon I like it more lightly applied than it is on Scottish Cake. To be truthful, with water, I find this to really be a two star blend, so I am averaging this out to a three star due to how good it is with my favorite spirit. The good thing is that this will not not bring feelings of regret for purchasing the tins as they will now give me an excuse for enjoying a glass of Bourbon a little more than usual. And who knows, I may choose to edit this while plastered one day in the future, proclaiming it the greatest thing ever made. 🙂

These Virginias are wonderfully fermented to a deep complexity, with more flavors of dates, and figs rather than hey, or grass. I can't tell if Kentucky and the perique are jostling for attention here, or not. I feel as if deep Virginia has them both hushed. But I'm a cigarette smoker with an insensitive palate. I know Virginias aren't alone here. But I couldn't tell you who is in the passenger's seat. It rubs beautifully, and you may have no problem lightening it straight out of tin, but I recommend 15 minutes of drying. I rub it, place it on a clean surface, then smoke a cigarette. That's enough drying time for me. It will make a good smoke for summer, but even better in winter due to its depth. I say, its like a different class of VaPer.... you have the sweet, citrus grassy class, then you have the deep figgy class. This is definitely not a grassy kind, at least not to my taste. I love it for the reason that I can have my luxury navy flake with citrus hey, then I can switch to this marvel of a blend and still remain out of English blends, where they tend to overwhelm my palate, rendering me even less perceptive towards subtle flavors of VaPers. Amazing, well rounded, cool burning, consistent, and relaxing blend. If you have never had this type, don't judge it after only one bowl. If you don't think it's for you, walk away for a week. Then come back to it again. Its wonderful.

A temping tin appearance with temping compoments and blending cought my attention.once the tin opens a tense sour and spicy smell comes out.the dark broken flakes have a lot of moisture and i recommend some further rubbing and drying time for a smoother lighting and fewer relights.while smoking the flavours feel natural and strong.perique offers most of the flavours from figs to raisins and plums.virginias support the flavours offering some grasses and dark fruits.kentucky burleys add spices and sour notes.the flavours combine almost perfect with some sweet notes from a mildly applied topping to a complex blend.burns slow and medium hot to perfect ash with a lot moisture left at the filter.nicotine level is medium and the aftertaste is sour and spicy.room note is heavy with no tongue bite present.an all day smoke.generally i liked the complexity of this blend but i found a luck of balance between the flavours.

Smooth, sweet and plummy, with no trace of topping or flavoring. Just enough citrus to keep your taste buds perked up. Slow burning, yet producing a large volume of luscious smoke. The Kentucky leaf takes it out of the VaPer genre, but Vaper aficionados simply must try this.

I smoked this in the 1980s and it was a great tobacco...I smoked it again recently, it is still a great tobacco. Beautiful tin note, raisins and honey. Smokes really well all through the bowl. The blender may have changed but this is just as good as the original.

This is quite a rough and chunky rub out of the packet, I found it easier to pack after breaking it up a little bit more.

The aroma is very light and this impression carries on through to firing it up.

The perique is barely there - which is good for me! - just enough to give that slightly snuffy sensation at the back of the nose, but in a pleasant way.

Beyond that, the Virginia is very much to the fore with the addition of a slight, almost zesty tang, again very pleasant.

So overall I am enjoying this. Seasoned perique-heads may find this a touch on the mild side, those who tread carefully around the Louisiana wallop as I do might find this a nice surprise.

EDIT: Having come back to this blend I find I am enjoying it more and more, it really is a fine example of its kind. Rating increased from 3 to 4 stars accordingly.

Highly recommended.