McClelland No. 2040 Cyprian Mixture

I find this to be a pleasant, smooth English with a touch of added sweetness. All the components are pretty well balanced. I like the lighter application of the Latakia, compared to most of todays English blends, which allows the other components to have their say. I would not call the Latakia "light" but more light to medium. All in all a very nice smoke.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Doesn't dry well, but burns nicely. I like it.

Standard ribbon with a fair number of stems, and I note there's even a pretty long stem in the pic above! Not exactly the quality I'm used to from McClelland. Fairly non-descript bag aroma of latakia and some type of casing that smelled fruity. Based on a 1 oz sample.

An aromatic-English crossover with an odd name, as the name indicates a standard latakia blend. This has a mild but prominent casing that reminded me of juicy fruit gum. I see "maple" listed below, but I don't get that. Then again, placing artificial flavors in pipe tobacco is not a strength of mine. The flavor of this was a very basic English blend overlaid with a spiced fruit essence which lasted the entire bowl. No complexity here that I found - just a one trick pony of aromatic English. I can't say I tasted any oriental and the Virginia was subservient to the latakia and casing. I should add that prominent casings often steal the show for me in that they are the most noticeable element. That may be just me, so if a sweeter, crossover kind of latakia blend is what you're looking for, this might be the ticket. It seems to bridge the gap between traditional and American-style and might be a good blend to move newer smokers from the goopy aromatics into higher quality blends. Definitely no goop in this one and it smokes cleanly. Good for what it is, just not my cup of tea.

The toppings are sweet with some fruit and sublimate the other ingredients. The Cyprian latakia is smoky, woody sweet, and a little less than a moderate player. The Virginias are grassy sweet, and don't really stand out much. The Oriental/Turkish is also a minor player, kind of smoky, woody and slightly floral. Has a mild nic-hit. Won't bite or get harsh. Has a mostly consistent flavor. Needs a bit of dry time, burns slow and wet, and will leave a little moisture in the bowl. Requires some relights. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Bulk No.2040 Being an American blend, this is nothing like a good English Cyprian Latikian blend. It is overly moist. It does have a nice sweet raw note with overtones of maple that I found to be excellent. Nice room note, but lacking in palatable character. Regarding the moisture: I suppose you could zap it, but personally, I do not like to microwave my tobacco. It's just wrong. I suppose the upside to being MOIST is that like Cavendish, it would take years to fully dissipate if kept sealed. Anyway, for the most part, when I want to smoke, I want to dip into my tin or jar; rub, stuff and smoke. Yes, like most, I do enjoy the ritual of fiddling with the mix; but not always.

This is kind of a Nightcap/Balkan Sasieni wannabe. Quite frankly, I would rather put my money into one of the aforementioned for the fact that they have OUTSTANDING character that this stuff lacks. Personally, I cannot smoke Nightcap all day. It's just a bit too strong for that...for me anyway. I smoke Nightcap as a treat, or use it as THE GREAT ENHANCER: a little 1/4" pinch to lesser Lats. I could smoke Balkan Sasieni if it were that last mix on Earth and never add to it, but I do love a 1/4" pinch of NC dropped in with it, once in a while. Perhaps that would help kick this blend into gear? Back to my point: I suppose if you find this to be an enjoyable blend; it would make a good 'go to' for an all day smoke in that it's so mild that it wound never become overpowering.

There is no bite whatsoever, which is a great attribute of the blend. On the other-hand, I found it to smoke too hot. By trying to achieve a fuller flavor (which I prefer) I kept pulling on the pipe to get what I get from the aforementioned. Another author mentioned that it might be a little too strong for the greenhorns. Hmmm. I'd say that it is mild enough that with the educated coaxing of an old hat, this would be a very enjoyable first time experience.

Finally, will I buy this again? Doubtful. I know what I like and this to me is just a kind of bland American, wannabe English. It's cheep if that's important to you. But, remember...for less than a couple bucks more, you can get a super quality blend like Balkan Sasieni from Pipes and Cigars dot com, which blows this mix out of the water, and worth every extra penny. My 2 cents...

Update 8/3/2012: I've been adding my personal mixes to the mix at the end of my reviews that I think folks might enjoy. Here's one now: It is half Dunhill Nightcap and half McClelland Bulk MC 2040 Cyprian Mixture from pipesandcigars.com. 4 stars because it completely mellows out any bite from the Nightcap and stays clean and smooth to the last sip. Too me it is literally Nightcap without the bite. Give it a shot.

06132006 McClellan Bulk#2040 is my second foray into McClellan Bulks. The aroma from the pouch reminded me of Old Dublin (my favorite tinned tobacco). A couple hours airing time were needed to get the proper moisture, and then 2040 was loaded into a favorite Peterson. I find #2040 to be a very well blended, well behaved tobacco. Easy to light, and a delight to smoke, #2040 stayed cool to the bottom of the bowl. The flavors were a well orchestrated medly of the different tobaccos in the mixture. No matter how hard I puffed, I could not entice a tongue bite. This blend may be a bit too strong or intense for a beginner, but for the seasoned smoker, it is a very relaxing blend (IMHO). This could be an excellent blend for an aromatic smoker who is seeking true tobacco flavor without casing and "goop". Combine the great blend with Smokingpipes.com's very good prices, and I think I have found my all-day blend.

07052006 The more I smoke this blend, the more I like it. I have smoked this in cobs, meerschaum, low priced briars, and higher priced briars, and it's always smooth, cool and clean burning, and never a hint of tongue bite. Just received 2 pounds with my latest order from Smokingpipes.com. Hope they keep this in stock. No matter what else I smoke, I come back to this in the next bowl. I'd give #2040 Cyprian Mixture 10 out of 10 stars.

12012006 On a whim. I mixed equal parts of this with #5110. Wow, the addition of a blend containing Basma is amazing. Smooth, cool, even burning. A very well orchestrated mixture.

I received a sample of #2040 with a recent tobacco order. It looked a bit frightening with its dark color and heavy Latakia odor. Not to worry, it looks more imposing than it really is.

Like the very articulate Lustra, I found this to be as good a bulk Latakia blend as there is on the market today. Soft, a tad on the sweet side, and no heavy Latakia after-taste.

It burns well despite the fact I had trouble drying it out. I suspect a secret McClelland's humidifying agent has been added to the Cavendish in this blend.

Worth the burn in a favorite pipe, McClelland's #2040 gets a thumbs up from me. And, with the current Cyprian Latakia shortage, you might want to order a pound today for pleasure tomorrow.

A good bulk English from McClelland that is in the same style as FMOTT. This blend is of the so-called Modern English style with some black cavendish mixed into the blend. Like almost all McClellands, it comes too wet for optimal smoking qualities.

2040 is a very rich and flavorful blend with the best qualities of the latakia and black cavendish coming through.

Some pipe blends are sought out, while others just find us. The later is what happened with McClelland No. 2040; also known as Cyprian Mixture. A long time pipe smoking friend recently bought out the last two and a half pounds of this tobacco from Tinderbox East, here in Columbus, and insisted that I take a two ounce sample. Cyprian Mixture is a scarce item in pipe blends, in that, it is an Aromatic American English. That is the only thing about this blend I found interesting. CM smoked consistently all the way through as, both, an insipid light/medium English and a vague aromatic. I cannot identify the aromatic element in this blend and didn't really appreciate it's presence. I don't think it added any elan to the blend and, by the mid point of the bowl, had actually become annoying. The tobacco blend hidden behind that

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flavoring was a fair-to-middling English smoke with a range of tastes in it's profile. Too bad it had to be sullied by that vaguely unpleasant flavoring. I noticed, in reviewing our reviews of this blend, that most of us didn't care for this tobacco very much. I concur at two stars.

McClelland - No. 2040 Cyprian Mixture.

Not too coarse for a broken flake, but although none of the pieces need discarding it still couldn't have been smoked fresh due to the moistness: not wet, but the pouch's seal needed breaking to allow some air to it.

The smoke has a very smooth/relaxed kind of English flavour. Although the Latakia's the stronger of the three, it doesn't seem too coarse a flavour; it has a calmer style. The others are further down the pecking order. Adding to the insouciant character of #2040 is a sweet topping, but unlike some of the reviewers I struggle to detect much fruit; there might be some, but if there is it's nowhere near as loud as the sweetness. The burn has a medium speed, doesn't require much maintaining, and gives a low temperature smoke.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: a little heavy.

I like my English blends to be English, and my aromatics to be aromatic. This falls between the two. Somewhat recommended:

Two stars.

For both newcomer to orientals and English bends and the experienced daily smoker, this is a journeyman's smoke. At bulk price well worth the price and easy on the palate.