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Scottish Blend?
ocpunk714
Master
ok...I just picked up a 3oz tin of Rattray’s Black Mallory. First off, I love it. It’s a very light blend to me. Everything works very smooth...the Orientals and Lat aren’t in overdrive on this one. Very nice for the small rise in temperature we’ve been having in CA.
My only confusion comes into play once I read tobacco reviews. What is a Scottish blend?
It says Black Mallory is an English Mixture, considered a Scottish blend type, made in Germany. I know it says blended for Charles Rattray of Perth, Scotland, but does that truly make it a Scottish blend? This is as mysterious as my quest for what makes an English blend “English.”
My only confusion comes into play once I read tobacco reviews. What is a Scottish blend?
It says Black Mallory is an English Mixture, considered a Scottish blend type, made in Germany. I know it says blended for Charles Rattray of Perth, Scotland, but does that truly make it a Scottish blend? This is as mysterious as my quest for what makes an English blend “English.”
Comments
@ocpunk714 --
ENGLISH (Oriental) BLENDS
A lot of polite, if contentious, discussions have been held in recent years about the accuracy of the use of “English” to describe certain pipe tobaccos. The moniker has become common usage though, so for the sake of brevity, we’ll refer to any blend which uses Latakia as the dominant note as an English blend.
Latakia begins as a Turkish Oriental varietal called Smyrna. These leaves are hung in barns on the island of Cyprus, and a smoldering fire is started on the floor of the barn. The smoke from the aromatic woods eventually permeate the tobacco, turning it dark brown to black, depending upon how long it hangs there. When burned, the tobacco gives off a campfire-like aroma, and imparts a similar flavor, although there are also some savory and spicy elements as well. The smokiness can easily dominate a blend.
Other common elements in an English blend are Virginias and Orientals (which includes the subset of Turkish tobaccos, as well). When Orientals are the secondary note, they’re often referred to as Balkans, but we’ll still keep them under the English blend category.
When Cavendish (especially black Cavendish) is added, the blend might be called a >>>>Scottish blend<<<<, and if Burley is added in any significant amount it becomes an American/English. Some blends may also include dark-fired Kentucky and cigar leaf.
The primary characteristics of these blends is that signature smokiness and a tendency to smoke slowly and coolly. While the flavor might delight the pipe smoker, the pungency of the Latakia might not please the noses of standers-by, so pick your smoking venue wisely.