What exactly is a Scottish blend pipe tobaccy?

[BLM25Super]

One of the first tins i bought as a pipe smoker was Mac-Barens Mixture. Took awhile before i really started to enjoy it . But after i started to learn how to smoke it i enjoyed it more. I have not bought any more Scottish blends since however i have some coming sometime hopefully in the near future. I ordered Compton's of Galashiels Scottish Mix. Thier site on pipes2smoke says your orders may be delayed 4 weeks. Anyhow i just wanted to see if i could find any other folks out there who kniow more about scottish blends. And which ones are the best on the market.

 

[-R.]

Looking both of those blends up on Tobaccoreviews.com, they're somewhat different. The MacBaren seems to be a Virginia/Cavendish/Burley blend, whereas the Compton is a Virginia/Cavendish/Latakia/Turkish blend.

That all seems to tie into my experience that the term "Scottish Blend" is a pretty nebulous term, maybe moreso than "Balkan". Most often, I've seen it used as a term that denotes an English (Latakia, if you prefer) blend that's centered around matured Virginia tobacco, with a lesser amount of latakia and oriental tobaccos than in a traditional English blend. I cannot recall where I ran across this designation, but perhaps someone else here will know.

Doing some reading while I type this up, I notice some folks seem to think that a Scottish blend will have some amount of Cavendish in the mix, but not everyone seems to consider this an integral part of a blend being a Scottish blend.

Then there's the confusing habit of Virginia/Perique blends occasionally being referred to as Scottish blends. Robert McConnell's Scottish Cake would be an example of this.

So, err, it seems that the term's meaning depends on the context that it's being used in. Though, I have seen the term refer more to the previous English-esque blends than the VaPer category.

Hopefully someone else more educated on this subject can come and clear matters up for us.

 

[MisterE]

I found this by GLP on his site (I hope he doesn't begrudge me for copying and pasting it here):

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

 

[BLM25Super]

Thx for the research. I guess that pretty much sums it up.

 

[-R.]

A correction to my post. Doing some more digging, it doesn't seem like VaPers are referred to as "Scottish blends", but rather that I've seen them as referred to as being a blend in the Scottish tradition. Does that imply that VaPers were first blended by the Scottish, or that they found their initial and/or dominant popularity in Scotland, or what?

 

[BLM25Super]

I found an article that says Mac Barens Mixture "Scottish Blend" was named as a scottish blend by mac bearen because of scotch whiskey that was added to the mix. So maybe Thier Scottish Blend doesnt actually fall into the traditional description of what a scottish blend is. However i did like Mac Barens Scottish blend and would like to find something similar that maybe even is better. For the price i thought it was a good deal . I could buy it in bulk, can it and never have to buy it again maybe. JR cigars has it in 5 lb bag for around 100$. Like i said though i might find something similar to it that may be even better. So that is i guess what my intention was with this thread(topic), too find something similar that may be a better quality.

Now that i have ordered Compton's of Galashiels Scottish mix i am wondering what to expect . It did get good reviews on tobaccoreviews dot come but there wwerent many review albeit they were mostly 4 stars.

 

[BLM25Super]

Finally recieved my Compton's Of Galashiel 'Scottish Mix'. great tobacco very high quality. I ordered 200 more grams of it onec i smoked 4 or 5 bowls of it. And also ordered some of thier macedonian mix. Spoke with thier founder maxim engel on the phone . Really helpful guy and great tobac. I highly Recommend it.

 

[smokey422]

I was always of the opinion that a Scottish Blend is an English blend that contains Cavendish. I'm certainly no tobacco expert, just my $.02.

Smokey