To my taste, the quality of leaf used in this blend surpasses none other. I love it! One of my favorite tin arts as well.

If you enjoy balkan blends, be sure to give this a try.

Back to Blue Mountain, which, FWIW, is a coffee brand, not tobacco. Mountain latakia, eh, aren't we all? Based on my limited experience in BS I wouldn't be able to tell how close it is to the original. However the first third of the bowl is nice with good virginia presence, after that the taste of engine oil takes over and nothing is left of interest.

My initial impression upon opening the tin was great aroma, slightly moist, and totally black ribbons. I only packed two layers into my large bent freehand pipe.

It took three char lights to get it going. Impressions? Mild. No VA presence. Background Latakia. Lots of Oriental taste noted. Zero bite. Burns well, but does need relights occasionally. Pipe stayed cool. No noticeable nicotene buzz. No sting nose exhale. Pleasant aftertaste.

Much less Latakia presence that Frog Morton Cellar, but that's OK with me. All in all, an enjoyable, mild, relaxing, any time, effortless smoke. A well-blended pipe tobacco. 3 stars.

When I first read about the 2011 Throwdown I could not wait to get my hands on a tin each of Black House and Blue Mountain in order to compare them (and to maybe get a glimpse of the legendary blend they are trying to emulate which I have never had the pleasure of smoking myself). They are both excellent but I think I can guess why Black House won the competition - it is a little spicier and more complex than Blue Mountain and I am told truer to the target blend - and why Blue Mountain won people's choice - it is tangy, zesty, Latakia forward, yet very smooth. I find Blue Mountain has no bite whatsoever.

I enjoy the flavors in Black House but it irritates my sinuses just a bit. Blue Mountain is similarly flavorful but causes no such irritation. I highly recommend you try some.

Not meaning to take away from this excellent blend, but for my personal tastes I'd rather smoke McClelland's more unique creations such as Three Oaks Syrian, Wilderness and Legends, which are all distinct and fantastic in their own right, using those tangy, vinegary McVirginias to generate savory new flavors and complexities, rather than trying to mask them to match aged unobtainium weed from one's cellar.

If you like your balkan smoother, slightly less oriental-forward, and with more latakia than Fred Hanna's blends, without any bitterness, sourness or harshness, and you don't seem to get along with the chemistry of Pease's blends, then this and the even tastier Black House may very well be your go-to balkans. Recommended!! Three stars.

It's only drawback, perhaps only happens to me, is that it makes my lips feel relatively oily and also it is 'very' hard to keep lit. I let it dry out for a long time and it still doesn't burn as smoothly as I would like it.

Lastly, the last 3/4 of the bowl, the taste becomes extremely bland and unpleasant. So, although I love the beginning and middle, in the end it doesn't give me that satisfaction as some other blend do.

Having said that, I am now comparing BLUE Mountain with Hearth & Home's BLACK House.

Blue Mt. is without a doubt a "McClelland blend," having most of the same overriding characteristics that define their English Balkins. (ie, the darkness of their components due to moisture preservatives, etc.) I have smoked many of their offerings in this genre including all the Foggy Froggy blends and most of their oriental/balkin blends; their best by far being Bulk 5110 Full English Dark & 3-Oaks Syrian.

IMHO, Blue Mt. will appeal more to those who tend toward Virginia as the starting point and who prefer more strength in the Latakia department. In this regard, the VA/Lat components of BM overshadow the orientals, resulting in a less dimensional offering. There is also more Nic-kick with BM. As mentioned by many other reviewers, BM is hard to keep lit and I think less satisfying in the flavor/smoke arena as well.

With regard to aroma, Black House (see my review) imparts a luxurious cloud, leaving the room seeping with a nolstagic afterglow. For these reasons, I must give a heady nod to Russ-O as the overwhelming winner of the throwdown. In this contest, the Black Knight easily triumphs over the Blue Squire.

Very Latakia forward, a weighty blend.

The obvious comparison will arise, in my books Russ Ouellette's Black House is better, more layers, complex, full and deep; however, Blue Mountain is heavier.

Really you can't go wrong with either one.

-Came out of the tin with perfect dryness and ready to smoke. -No bitter taste in mouth afterwards -Smoked especially cool.

Blue Mountain – 4.5

* First smoke in Mr. Brog Churchwarden. * One of my best tasting tobaccos. * Was difficult to keep lit though. This continued on subsequent smokes, including in different pipes, where I kept having to light and relight. * Did not burn hot! I even tried to get a bite, with vigorous puffing, and it stayed cool.

So if you're willing to put up with relighting (or are better at this than me... I don't usually have this problem though), it's a great smoke.

Taste: Very rich. In fact, it is so rich it almost burns. I find that with this blend it is critical that you sip it slowly. Smoke too fast and it becomes overbearing and starts to bite a little. The bite isn't quite like a cheap OTC bites. It is different. I suspect it is a change in ph that comes with smoking too fast. I'm fairly good at taking my time. With this one I needed to remind myself to slow down a few times. Smoked at a slow pace the flavor is full, rich, robust, and it won't bite you.

Room Note: I crashed and burned on this one. Nobody likes the room note in this house. I'm imagining me setting on the porch in quiet reflection in the evenings this fall slowly puffing away on this stuff. I certainly cannot allow it to go to waist. It is very tasty.

UPDATE: After some aging in my mason jar, this blend has grown remarkably better. Any hint of bite is gone. It is now a very forgiving tobacco regardless of how you smoke it. The flavor is more complex and the smoke is much mellower while still being very full in flavor and body. I attribute this change in how the latakia has mellowed. I've changed my rating for "strength" to read "Mild to Medium". After experiencing and enjoying a few other stronger blends, I realize that this blend cannot be referred to as a "Strong blend". I still highly recommend this blend and will suggest cellaring for the best possible experience.

Final Thoughts: Whenever I'm craving a LataBomb, this will be the stuff. I also suspect it will blend very well with a few other smokes I have that need a little latakia kick to liven them up. I still have that extra tin as well. I'm going to put it up for a couple of years to see how it matures. More on that in a couple of years.

I DO remember the original Balkan Sobranie 759, and I find it regrettable that the model for McClelland Blue Mountain was a tin from the 80s. In my opinion, the Sobranie 759 really went down in quality in the early 80s, and I stopped smoking it. At its peak in the early to late 70s, the 759 blend had a lemony sweetness along with lots of Latakia. When I stopped smoking it in 1980, to me it tasted like charcoal. I attribute this to the absence of really great Virginia tobacco in the mixture's late incarnation.

Blue Mountain by McClelland is just a really good blend that can stand on its own, and I think anyone who likes this style of pipe tobacco should try it.

Kevin Cardiff