Robert McConnell Blends - Your Opinion?

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Lumbridge

(Pazuzu93)
Feb 16, 2020
714
2,582
Cascadia, U.S.
They ( Robert McConnell) made a Dunhill clone line up all yellow tins, they have one called Oriental Square that is a clone of Dunhill's Durbar , might want to try that heavy on the Oriental, My go-too for musty Orientals is Presbyterian Mixture, heavy on the other Orientals light on the Latakia...
I noticed some Dunhill clones in there. Was looking at Shakespeare - reportedly not great as a clone of Ye Olde Signe, but still seemed worth trying.
 
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kcghost

Lifer
May 6, 2011
13,419
21,912
77
Olathe, Kansas
Back when McConnell made McConnell's it had quite a reputation for quality. Not near as good today. Any brand that is bought out by another company and they have their own manufacturing processes it usually bodes ill for the original version.
 

vosBghos

Lifer
May 7, 2022
1,530
3,378
Idaho
I thought the "Oriental Square" was basically not very close to Durbar - lacking in both the Dunhill mouthfeel and the sort of perfumey edges that Durbar has. Not a bad blend, but not really Durbar-esque to my palate.
Would you say it's more Oriental-forward with the Latakia in the back seat? Wondering how it compares to their Original Oriental in the yellow tin Latakia wise , I'm always on the hunt for more Oriental less Latakia blends.
 
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Oddball

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 29, 2022
221
1,044
TN
Re. old vs new, that's dead and gone so don't let that deter you.

Scottish Flake is in my top 3 flakes
Oriental is a Skiff Copy that's excellent
Folded Flake is solid.

I have a few more tins that I haven't tried but at the price you can get this stuff, I encourage it's purchase as it's great and pretty consistent from what I have had so far.
 
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mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,992
11,113
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Would you say it's more Oriental-forward with the Latakia in the back seat? Wondering how it compares to their Original Oriental in the yellow tin Latakia wise , I'm always on the hunt for more Oriental less Latakia blends.
I keep both RC The Original Oriental and Oriental Square. My notes:

Robert McConnell The Original Oriental
Tin note is very appealing, caramel and BBQ smoke. Latakia is very much in the background. Not leathery or woodsy. What comes through is a complex combination. Sweet without incense. Has the lightish weight of artificial sweetener or molasses. Hint of bitter. Could be better balanced with more latakia. Seems almost the same as Oriental Square. Smoother the next day.

Robert McConnell Oriental Square
Dampish in freshly open tin. Sweet and floral (rather than incense) dominates over smoke and latakia. Medium bodied. Easily lit. No bite.

I note that I think that STG Durbar is more latakia forward than Murray's Durbar. It maybe that's because I smoke my Murray Durbar aged. I've not made up my mind which Durbar the RCs are closer to.
 
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vosBghos

Lifer
May 7, 2022
1,530
3,378
Idaho
Re. old vs new, that's dead and gone so don't let that deter you.

Scottish Flake is in my top 3 flakes
Oriental is a Skiff Copy that's excellent
Folded Flake is solid.

I have a few more tins that I haven't tried but at the price you can get this stuff, I encourage it's purchase as it's great and pretty consistent from what I have had so far.
Have the Scottish flake and Cake
great for the Oriental skiff comparison I love skiff , have a tin waiting for the 5 year age mark
Funny I bought a folded flake just because I always saw it sold out, now I know why thanks for the info
 

skydog

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 27, 2017
581
1,537
I enjoy the Rich Dark Virginia but the rest of their VA I've tried has just been ok. I prefer Wessex or Rattrays VA. I don't smoke a ton of oriental blends but have enjoyed some of the C&D blends with orientals in them.
 

Bullmoose

Lurker
Feb 15, 2023
43
145
Cincinnati, Ohio
I really like the Robert McConnell blends and gauging by the fact that a sizable portion of their lineup are out of stock within a week or so of dropping, I know I am not the only one that feels that way.

My favorites are Scottish Cake (SC) & Scottish Flake (SF), the Red Virginia and Highgate. All are great summer blends for me, but I also reach for them on occasion in the cooler weather. Right now I am working my way through a tin of SC from 2018 and, like most Virginias, getting some age on them really takes them into a different dimension. There's a lot going on with the SC & SF blends.

I will not do a review on here, as there's excellent reviews on tobacco reviews website. The person who recommended RM to me years ago told me "you might not love them but you won't hate them." Well, turns out I really liked them.

I cannot speak to what they used to be prior to K&K taking the blends over and honestly, I do not care how good they used to be. To me, K&K does an exceptional job with these blends.
 

Hutch Piper

(Hutch1904)
Mar 12, 2022
207
2,001
Charlotte, NC
I’m a big fan of McConnell blends. Sadly, there hasn’t been a drop of some of my favorites in a long while. My local tobbacanist that carries some of the McConnell blends said it has been at least a year. There was a drop a couple weeks ago but Red Virginia and Black Flake were excluded. I called around and received the same feedback. Really hope these drop soon as they are two of my favorites. Note I also smoke Scottish Cake and Flake but you can still find those.
 
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