Scottish Blends - Any Favorites?

[VikingPiper]

So still being fairly new to pipe smoking I have seen some blends be called Scottish. What would make it Scottish rather than just an English blend? Or is this just words and marketing?

Additionally, I have a trip planned to visit Scotland at the end of June and was curious what would be your favorite blend to smoke in the highlands of Scotland? Is it a Scottish blend or something else?

So far I have a tin of McConnell's Scottish Blend and am thinking of scooping up a tin of Rattray's Highland Targe as well.

 

[Andriko]

As far as I can tell, a Scottish blend is an English blend but with Cavendish in there as well. My Mixture 965 and Red Raparee are pretty good examples.

As for what to smoke in the Highlands, I have no idea, but whilst your in the UK you can maybe get a tin of Bothy flake (an aromatic with some whiskey) which is names after a type of Scottsh hut.

 

[kcghost]

I thought it mean an oriental forward English blend.

 

[Andriko]

I thought it mean an oriental forward English blend.

It could be that also. To be frank, there doesn't seem to be much distinction bewteen English, Scottish or Balkan a lot of the time. It's got latakia and oriental in it, so it could be any one of those!

 

[kcghost]

That's true.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

The ones I’ve tried have been made of Burley, Virginia and Cavendish.

 

[mingc]

965 is, I think, the archetypal Scottish blend.

For what it's worth, Greg Pease says:

Q: What is generally meant by "English," "Scottish," and "Balkan" style?

A: The definitions of these terms seem somewhat fluid, apart from the fact that all tobaccos bearing these appellations contain Latakia. To my mind, it's more important to consider the difference between an English mixture and a Scottish one. In the first case, Latakia is a more dominant note, with Virginias and orientals filling in the gaps. A Scottish style blend, on the other hand, is dominated by matured virginias, possibly with small amounts of oriental leaf or a bit of Latakia for spice.

There's been some discussion of late about what a “Balkan Blend” is, and after some poking about in old ephemera - tobacconists' catalogues, old magazines and so on - I'm beginning to believe that the term is meaningless. Generally, people seem to apply it to an English mixture with a greater presence of oriental tobaccos, but this isn't really a fair cop. I suspect the term was probably originally used to describe a blend that is similar to the now venerated Balkan Sobranie. What's interesting is that this particular blend was dominated by virginias and Latakia, with only delicate sprinklings of oriental leaf, which is quite at odds with the current colloquial usage.

Probably better just to think of the two terms as being interchangeable, if we use them at all, since any definitions we create will be similarly aribtrary. For more on this subject, have a look at my article, What IS a Balkan Blend in Pipes Magazine

G. L. Pease - Some Frequently Asked Questions

 

[anotherbob]

I think of it as English plus. And cavendish seems to be the plus as well as perique sometimes. I always say this though, that what they put on the tins means what they want it to. You in theory could release a cherry aromatic blend with no latakia and label it as a fine English blend. It would probably not help your sales but...
These terms don't have any official definition and can best be described as tends to have or mean.

 

[DanWil84]

My Mixture 965 and Red Raparee are pretty good examples.

This. I like red rapparree a bit more than 965. I think you should smoke whatever you fancy at that moment and not specific a Scottish blend.

 

[VikingPiper]

This. I like red rapparree a bit more than 965. I think you should smoke whatever you fancy at that moment and not specific a Scottish blend.

You're not wrong, I just like to be a little too on theme sometimes lol.

 

[DanWil84]

You're not wrong, I just like to be a little too on theme sometimes lol.

If you enjoy a blend like 965 or RRR you should smoke it! Some think blends with Latakia or English/Balkan are a more fall seasonal blend, June can be like fall on the British isles I think you can smoke any blend any time. I enjoy English in summer also. Enjoy your time there, I think it allready looks great on TV. Although it's only a few hours by boat or under an hour by plane I've never been there.

 

[VikingPiper]

If you enjoy a blend like 965 or RRR you should smoke it! Some think blends with Latakia or English/Balkan are a more fall seasonal blend, June can be like fall on the British isles I think you can smoke any blend any time. I enjoy English in summer also. Enjoy your time there, I think it allready looks great on TV. Although it's only a few hours by boat or under an hour by plane I've never been there.

Haven't had 965 yet, but have a tin on the shelf next to the McConnell Scottish Blend. I have had GLP's Chelsea Morning and I like that one quite a bit! I even ventured into C&D Pirate Kake and enjoy it as well, maybe just not as often as Chelsea Morning.

 

[npod]

I spent years trying to define "Scottish Blend." Eventually I gave up. It is like defining true love or pornography, it is something you just know when you know. Even Greg Pease agrees on this one. The OCD scientist in me had a difficult time letting go, but eventually I gave in and just accepted that most of the marketing is not true. Some say Cavendish added, some say perique added, some ramble incoherently. For me personally, I consider Red Rapparee and Blairgowrie to be classic Scottish blends. But even Greg admits to the slight of hand sentence he uses on the label as a hedge, "Created in the classic Scottish blending style." I love how he says blending style and not Scottish Blend .

 

[pantsBoots]

Fully agree that MM 965 and Red Rapparee are about the best examples of Scottish Blends I have tried. I'd add Robert Lewis Tree Mixture into the fray.

 

[Peter Turbo]

Bag End from The Country Squire

 

[sandollars]

IMHO, you already have the finest Scottish blend in your possession in the McConnell's tin. Finding it is pretty hit and miss though.

 

[kschatey]

Rattray's Red Rapparee

 

[judcole]

The late Joe Harb once told me that, on a trip to Scotland, he asked every tobacconist he went into for what they considered their most "Scottish" blend. He said the results were more like Mac Baren Mixture (Scottish Blend) than anything else.

 

[Architeuthis]

Rattray's Jock's Mixture ??

 

[alaskanpiper]

Rattray’s Red Rapparee