Quote Originally Posted by c.ortiz108 View Post
I was just looking at that and the others in the line. They all look pretty good. Curious about McConnell's Oriental, too. Apparently the same blend since the 1820s.
Hi Chico,

Short story is that the dates of inception for a number of companies in the pipe business are convenience and not very accurate. It's possible that the Oriental mixture is very old but it changed in 1989 when McConnell closed and their brand mixtures, as well as Rattrays, began being manufactured by Kohlhase (Germany). The Kohlhase tobaccos are good but not the superb tobaccos that McConnell made (I lived on them for a couple of decades).

If you do try the current version of the McConnell Oriental I'd love to hear your thoughts since it was my favorite mixture of that type.

Crown Achievement, by Lane, is a remake of the original that was their flagship tobacco for many years. I tried some a few months back and it's a robust Oriental but not as smooth or elegant as the McConnell Oriental was.