Robert McConnell Scottish Cake

I have been smoking Scottish Cake for years and in the tin it smells sweet and full. The somewhat thick sliced plug provides deep flavor, with the Perique suppling the raisin and plum notes. The Kentucky adds some body and strength, but it is far from forward. I can’t help but compare this to Hal O’ the Wynd, a favorite of mine, as they both contain Virginia, Perique and Kentucky. But Scottish Cake contains a topping that, while pleasant, has me reaching for HOTW much more often for better tobacco flavor. SC burns cool, even when pushed, but the manually added sweetness keeps it from being an everyday smoke for me. Flavor wise, it’s pretty straightforward, only deepening in flavor and sweetness as the bowl progresses. There are more bass notes than high notes to the Virginias. There is a bit of a caramel note too (not to be confused with the candy). I do find that the Perique gains a small amount of pepper in the later stages of the bowl. Aging this blend only serves to deepen the sweet flavor which isn’t a bad thing! I have one remaining tin that was made by McConnell (verses K&K) that if I remember I will update the difference here. All in all, SC is a decent and enjoyable blend, but often leaves me wanting more tobacco flavor.

McConnell’s Scottish Cake (by Kolhase & Kopp) presented in my reviewed tin as a well broken “flake” amidst moist, shaggy, golden, reddish- brown, and dark brown ribbons. It took me a while to figure out how best to smoke it, but I suspect that many will not be as “sensitive” to its additives as I am. Tobaccos seem to be mostly orange and red, air cured and stoved VAs (I understand they claim "dark" VA), along with a smidgen of flue cured, some KY, and some Perique. Whatever toppings they put on it, it smells like light, sweet brown bread and currents in a newly popped tin. It comes pretty well ready to pack and smoke after a few minutes dry time, and it loads, lights and burns down OK. I will say right off that I much prefer this blend dried out, as this tempers some tastes I don’t like, whether from the topping or just body chemistry, I’m not sure. Dried, it’s very fragrant off the match, with lightly woody, floral notes along with more grasses than one gets from stoved red VA (let alone "dark" VA), and there also seems to be more zing from the VAs than from the Perique or the KY; but we’re not talking a lot of zing here, in any case. There are dates, slightly musty figs and sourness from the Perique, and fatty nuts, slight BBQ, and some bitterness from the KY. It burns pretty slowly considering the cut, and since there’s no need to pull to keep it lit I like to take it very slowly, so muddled spices and bitterness do not overtake the delicate-yet- satisfying aromas. It stays true top to bottom when smoked slowly, except it gets better for the last part of a bowl, only if I smoke it “correctly”. Although the aromas are sweet like a patisserie it does not strike me as all that sweet until I finish a bowl, when some sweetness appears in the after taste. Strength is a tick over medium by the end of a bowl, and the tastes are just over that. Room note is pleasant.

Variations of VA/Bur/Per are my long-time, go-to tobaccos, and RMSC has some serious “competition”, including in-house competition from McConnell’s Folded Flake, also Rattray’s Old Gowrie and Hal o’ the Wynd, not to mention GL Pease’s Triple Play, which ultimately overshadow and relegate MSC to 3 stars, IMO.

This review is a re-visit of the Scottish Cake. I smoked, loved and reviewed this blend quite early in my "pipe-career", yet I haven't smoked it in a while. "This is THE smoke to me", I was proclaiming in my old review. Well.. now that I've smoked many other blends I don't see it as "THE smoke", but definetly as a wonderful smoke. Yet I have to admit that I find the Old Gowrie to be superior to this blend. It may come down to personal preference though, this blend is "brighter" and sweeter than Gowrie is.

When opening the tin, you'll get bewitched by a lovely aroma that reminds of very ripe and juicy-sweet oranges and tangerines mixed with raisins. The intense fruit-aroma is underscored and balanced by a full-bodied spiciness of black pepper nice! Well conditioned Broken Flakes with intense colors of mainly dark- and medium-brown, that also hold a few brighter stains of yellow and beige. A tad too moist right out of the tin, it can make use of some drying time. Drying it out too much takes some of its "fruity-magic" though (Top-Flavoring that fades?) In the smoke it's not as intensly fruity as in the tin-note, yet it has a decent foundation of a honey-sweet, ripe and juicy fruit like aroma. I get oranges, tangerines, raisins, maybe even a bit of plums, love that! As counterpart a robust spiciness is apparent, that has some good amount of pepperiness to it. They form a synergetic melange of fruits and spices, with some bready, nutty and yeasty undertones, as well as a splash of lemon and grass. It leaves a peppery and slightly fruity-sweet aftertaste in your mouth, that'll make you crave for another bowl!

Even though the taste is very rich with intense aromas, this can be smoked again and again. It's bold and mellow at the same time - if that makes any sense! 😉 Strenght-wise it settles in the "medium"-range, whilst the taste if fullbodied. If you look for it, some complexity can be found, But you might just as well puff it without concentrating too much on it, easy going smoke.

I've found some lists of addities in blends produced by K&K, so I'll have to say there is some very(!!) mild flavouring to it! It's not much, but it's listed in there. Yet this feels and smokes most natural and the flavourings really just accompany with the natural qualities.

3,5-stars, again I find Old Gowrie to be ahead of this! But still... enjoyable smoke!

Hmmm! I have this tendency to refer to this as Escudo Light, and I can't seem to shake it. The tobacco appears to be Escudo, but not in coin form, but more like someone haphazardly rubbed out the coins somewhat. The flavor, too, is Escudo Light. The sweetness of Escudo is subdued, the perique zest is subdued and the overall blast of flavor is subdued.

That said, this is a fine tobacco on its own. There is a burley (or Kentucky) body to this blend, but it is also subdued. The virginia becomes more prominent down the bowl but there is an initial wisp of VA sweetness just at the match. The perique stays in the background.

If you've tried Escudo and found it too sweet or too heavy or too something-or-other, give this a try. It might just have tamed whatever you didn't like in the former. I'll stick with Escudo, thanks. No real need to revisit this one.

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. 🙂

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.

It happens with some tobaccos that it takes me longer than with others to make their review, because after smoking a pipe it suggests me one rating and the next one suggests another. With this one, exactly that has happened to me. Now, almost finished the 100 gr. Tin, I think the time has come to start writing ...

A va / per in the European style, and by this I mean that the nuances of the perique are more fruity than vinegary, but take this comment as a generalization. Virginias predominate with a slight addition of perique and what seems like a pinch of Kentucky. It's tasty, burns well, and doesn't sting your tongue at all. It should be smoked slowly so that it does not show its bitter side and has a more satisfactory smoking experience. To give you an idea, the Kentucky ingredient is applied here even more lightly than in Solani's Silver Flake. His presence is as subtle as it can be in HU Tobacco's Aus dem Krater. The perique is a bit more remarkable.

All in all I would say it is a good quality tobacco and I will finally rate it three stars, but I understand the reviewers who give it four.

I bought this one in July and have been smoking it on and off since. With this being Kentucky, Virginia, and Perique I usually smoke this if not always in my Altinay Meerschaum Poker. This has a nice strong flavor and not really sure what I taste the most of, either the Perique or the Kentucky. It lights easily and produces quite the plumes of white smoke. Some reviewers claim there is a topping on this one and it very well could be but I can’t tell. This is a full tasting blend that I smoke in the afternoons with my coffee. I like Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG blends and this one is no exception. With over 107 reviews this one is definitely popular and I couldn’t agree more.