Rattray's Jocks Mixture, Not Sure What To Make Of It

I've been sitting on this tin for almost a year now and I couldn't decide what to smoke so I decided to pop it open and give it a go. Inside the tin is a colourful mix of tobaccos, the tin note is pleasant and I can smell the topping which to me smells of some kind of Alcohol (cognac maybe?) as well as the Latakia. The charring light was pleasant and I could definitely taste the Latakia, although it is most definitely a condiment, and the Virginias come through with a honey like sweetness.
However I could not keep this stuff lit to save my life! I opened the tin and left the lid off for a couple of hours while I did some running around and the top layer was nice and dry. The flavour was nice when I would have to re-light (many many times), but I would have to pull on it so hard to keep things going that I was getting a little steam burn on my tongue. It didn't bite at all, I just couldn't coax any flavour or smoke out of it. I tried it in a Brigham with a filter and then a Savinelli without the adaptor thinking the wider draw might help. It did a bit but not as much as I'd hoped. I haven't had this much trouble keeping a bowl lit since my first forays into flakes earlier this year, and this was possibly worse!
Anyone with any words of wisdom about this blend? I really want to enjoy it as the ingredients speak to me as being what a pipe tobacco should be, it just didn't deliver. By no means am I giving up but just curious if there are some quirks to this blend.

I wasn't attempting to dry the entire tin, I was just hoping to get the top layer dried out while I was rushing around. The layer I used to pack my pipe was on the verge of crispy so I don't think it needed more drying. It may have been a little tight on the first bowl, but the second was definitely looser so I don't think it was that. (although the second bowl was a wee bit better)
Jud - the light application of the Latakia is what appeals to me, I'm working my way towards Lat blends and having this mixture I thought would just add some smoky balance to the blend.

Thanks Doc, that's the kind of advice I was hoping to find. I have no intentions of giving it up, in particular after just 2 bowls. I'll try the air plug method perhaps tonight and see how that does. Any suggestions for a pipe shape to smoke it in? I've tried a billiard and an acorn so far.

Another crack at this tonight and quite a bit better. I used the "swirl method" to pack the bowl nice and loose and I used an old basket pipe with a pot shape that is likely my most broken in pipe. Still not quite the flavours I was hoping for but it stayed lit much better for me and it often teased me with what it could become. The latakia really gives a nice hint of smokiness and I get a hit of sweet from time to time from the cavendish, a hint of caramel. I'm going to try it again in this pipe tomorrow to see if I can coax a little more flavour, I'll also try it outside as sometimes that helps me detect flavour vs inside a smoke filled room.