This tin is dated "05" so at the time of opening, 2010, has at least 4 years of age. Opening reveald dark brown and black broken flakes with a small amount of light brown in-between. Sugar crystals were all over the Va portions of the flakes, always nice.

The flavor is Va and Latakia for the most part with some spicyness present throughout the smoke, mostly first 2/3rds of bowl.

I would recommend for a try, but I am not going to cellar this. My first try of this is with a good amount of aging and the Va's definately benefitted.

By the way, I'm not sure what the toasting has done to the flavor.

I like to fully rub out the leaf before loading and smoking. I consider this an evening smoke as its not sweet enough to flavor up my palate early in the day. The smokey Latakia taste comes through in droves, but I get none of the harshness I do associate with some heavier Latakia offerings. It burns dry and somewhat fast.

A palate pleaser with punch!

I'm upgrading this from 2 to 3 stars. I'm usually not a fan of almost tinder dry tobacco, especially in latakia blends. But the flakes in this blend work much better when dried to an almost crunchy consistency. Rubbed out and dry, this blend smokes very well. It's still not going to make my steady rotation but it might make yours. If you like good tasting latakia blends that aren't "in your face" with latakia, give this one a run up the flagpole.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 2/8/09

My quest for the definitive McClelland latakia blend continues! Because this ain't it.

The good news is that this is an incredibly "clean" smoke. That's the best word I can think of, and it reminds me of McClellands #8 Oriental in that regard. It's kind of a palate-cleansing flavor, as though it were meant as a segue from one more flavorful blend to another over a days time. A very friendly, non-cantankerous blend that is easy on the taste buds.

Unfortunately, it also reminds of me #8 in the sense that there's nothing much going on here. It's a decent smoke, but there are other english-style blends around that trump it in my humble opinion. Even blends that are noticeably lighter in taste tend to have more depth and "color" such as McClellands Frogmorton On The Town (my fave McC latakia so far). But as the reviewer below mentioned, some people prefer a less showy blend. Sometimes I do as well but this won't be what I reach for at those times.

I've said before that I find McClellands virginia tobaccos to be the finest of their type in the world. No one can touch this company for virginias, in my opinion. I just wish that I could say the same for their english style blends. The quest continues!

Perhaps it's a bit misnamed. For me, the latakia is very subdued. I found the oriental component much more prominent. Very incense-like. It was quite dry in the tin, and it did improve marginally upon (re)hydration. But it was often a bit sharp on the tongue.

Nothing could tempt me away from Germain's Latakia Flake to smoke this, as it is far and away the best of the latakia flakes in my experience.

I lucked into a 2+ year old tin of this a couple of weeks back and I find myself reaching for it more and more. I keep a little tobacco harem on hand--8 to 10 open tins at any given time--and for whatever reason, I find myself bypassing higher rated, more aggressive tobaccos in favor of BB Latakia. I've never been able to settle on an All-Day-Smoke and, frankly, I've always considered such a thing to be a myth perpetrated by the lazy and unadventurous. (Haha). But BB Latakia Flake has me pondering getting down on one knee and popping the question.

The tin notes are authentic McLelland and the flakes are small chunks of black and deep golden tobacco. What impresses me most about this, however, is the elegance with which it carries itself in the pipe. It's easy to find such an attitude boring, or to mistake it for indifference to your palate, especially if you smoke it distractedly. Concentrate a little and you might just find that this smokey Latakia blend has the kind of beauty you want on hand on a regular basis.

I'm slowly falling in love with the girl next door.

Date code on bottom of tin: 740205. This tin was consumed in early 2007, making it 1+ years old. For interesting info. on dating tinned tobacco, link to:

pipes.org---locate the Forums box--Topics--Tobacco Questions--scroll down , to bottom of page, to Archives Oct. 09, 2005, Oct. 18, 2005, and July 26, 2006.

Packing & Lighting: The flake is easily rubbed out and made ready for packing. This needs to be finely rubbed out, leaving no small chunks, to achieve good taste and aroma. Difficult to get lit. Had to relight occasionally. There is no moisture build-up. The pipe is moisture-free, contrasting with BBAR.

Aroma: Xanthi Yaka seems a fitting name for this mellow, incense-like oriental. This is the same oriental varietal used in McClelland's Grand Oriental Yenidje blend.

Taste: Similar to aroma, with a hint of sweetness, refreshing and smooth. The toasted tobacco is rather evident in taste and aroma, with a hint of fruit; a week later, the fragrant fruit accent is more pronounced. Later bowls did provide for a distinguishing Latakia taste and aroma.

Smoked smooth, not much bite. Laid down a tar in the pipe.

Room Note: Mostly toasted VA, nice though lingering and heavy, somewhat sweet and fragrant.

Overall: Call it a Balkan, where the orientals dominate the Latakia and VA, in the smoke(compare GLPease.com--FAQ). In a meerschaum, rubbed to a fine consistency, providing a lighter room note, this could become a standard, if there wasn't that perplexing tin aroma.

This is a smooth, flavorful tobacco with little or no bite. The room note had a sweet/sour overtone to it that appealed to me, but which might put off one's significant other. Overall, an enjoyable, cool-smoking experience in the medium-English vein.

Husky, nutty orientals and toasted VA dominate the taste. Significantly softened by the toasting process, the caramelly and smooth virginias add a pleasant sweetness and gently compliment the condimental leaf. The latakia maintains a full, though not overwhelming, presence.

One of McClelland's best latakia blends, this is excellent. It is mellow, balanced, and only moderately sweet. This seemed best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.

SG Balkan Flake, Germain's Special Latakia Flake and similar offerings, all taste dull and flat to me. Perhaps too subtle for my taste, perhaps simply and objectively too little flavour.

This flake by McClelland is no exception (and add on that that I am not a fan of most of McC's Latakia mistures, which are often very mild): smells nice in the tin (smoky, sweet, toasted, with very little of their trademark vinegary notes), but smokes completely flat and boring. It's smooth, no bite at all, but also completely unremarkable. No oriental fragrance, very subdued latakia, and also the virginias aren't very fruity or sweet.

To me this flake is not unsmokeable or bad, simply a big YAWN.

Perhaps my taste buds have gotten too old to discern the subtle flavors here; this should be a fantastic flake, but for me the smoking experience was very much as if someone forgot to put an engine in a shiny brand new mercedes coupe. Maybe younger or more adept pipers will find what I've somehow missed, but my own senses lead me to believe that this emperor has no (or very little) clothes.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: The flakes are beautiful to look at. The cut reminds me of one of my MC favorites(#24). The smell rich in oriental and latakia, but that "toasted" flavor is still there.

Packing and Lighting: I stuffed the flakes in and rubbed out a few on top to get going. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Different for a latakia mixture, smooth though. The Va is a bit sharp.

Mid-Bowl: This series tastes burned to me. It is as if someone baked the leaf too much and then put it in the tin. It is mellow and gets in the zone in spite of the flavor.

Bottom of Bowl: A surprising strength kick of both flavor and nicotine. Be sure to eat first! burns to a mottled grey ash with no moisture issues.

Overall: I know that there is quality in this blend, its just the toasted flavor that I can't get over. I know the leaf gets toasted as you smoke it down the bowl, but double toasting (once in prep and once as you smoke it)just seems to make the leaf lose its complexity. The xanthi and latakia used in this smells wonderful in the tin, but in the pipe, it is gone... Finished my tin, but won't buy again. BTW i still think British Woods and Frog Morton across the Pond surpass this blend in both flavor and complexity.