Take the old Balkan Sobranie and toss in a good measure of unsweetened Black Cavedish and you have Nine 2 Five. Well done, McClelland's!

I'm going to be aging tins prepared from a large bulk order - I suspect that these fine ingredients will age very well. Particularly since this has no ostensible casing other than what the VA cavendish brings to the party and it is so well balanced.

With all its strength, it has no harshness or bitterness. It also holds my interest through large bowls and relights are a dream even after a few hours.

Nicely done.

When 9-2-5 was first listed here as a new blend I first became aware of its existence. My B&M being a huge McClelland house I emailed them asking if they intended to stock it. The immediate reply was in the affirmative. A week later I received email notification that it had arrived. I forthwith powered down my PC and headed out the door to buy a sample. I was greeted at El Fumador with a full jar of this bulk blend, a jar which readily admitted my probiscus for my first whiff. Yes, it was faintly like MM 965. I was encouraged and purchased a 4 ounce "sample", immediately loading a large billiard with the tobacco right then and there, the tobacco being pack ready for moisture. It had NONE of the McClelland signature and infamous "capsupization" topping - a big plus for me. At first light I was struck with a blend that was far sweeter than MM965 (which I attribute to McClelland's Cyprian Latakia which always seems sweeter than I like) and far, far saltier. The famous MM965 "creaminess" was lacking. However I reserved my judgment.

For the next week I smoked at least one bowl a day for this sample. Always the same experience greeted me - too sweet, too salty, no mellow, creamy body. This was MCCLELLAND - I did not expect a turkey. Something was amiss for sure. As I proceeded through this first week I found that a about 1/2 bowl one became aware that the was is no nicotine lightweight (which is fine), but at 2/3 bowl I was digging it out of my pipe as it began to turn harsh on me. Not good. I took the remainder of my sample and put it into a small mason jar, put that in my cabinet and forgot about it. Three weeks ago I loaded a bowl form the jar noting a distinct MM965 jar note which was not so evident before. The sweetness was somewhat abated as was the saltiness and I could smoke the entire load through the dottle without a building harshness. Last week I opened the jar and found... a very MM 965 aroma. ??? Hmmmmm...I spent the entire week smoking this exclusively. It now seems very Dunhill-like. Sweetness toned down, saltiest gone, still not as mellow, but, hey, one can't have everything in life. In short this CAN be a 965-Match...if allowed to dry some. This is the only conclusion I can come to.

Had I rated this the first week it would barely have merited a 2 star rating. Now, however, I look forward to smoking this and I give it a solid 3 star rating. This is high on my scale as a 4 means I will definitely repurchase. It might go 4 - time will tell.

In the bag, 925 smells very much like a VaPer, sweet and earthy, despite the lack of Virginias in the blend. At first light however, I swore I was smoking a burley blend, despite the lack of...well, burleys.

I agree that the Orientals and the Cavendish speak more loudly than the Latakia, which makes it a very one-dimensional blend. It's tasty, but nothing that will make you do cartwheels around the yard. It smokes slow and extremely cool, with no bite or bitterness noted.

925 is the same from the front of the bowl to the finish, making it kind of like the mac n' cheese of pipe tobacco: It's comfort food that you can smoke.