Lighting and burning characteristics were superb. All in all, this tobacco was a winner.

The tin did not last long, as I recall. I bought a second to have on hand and plan on opening it soon.

A solid 4-star blend

I've read with much sadness all the lamentation regarding the disastrous 2004 Syrian leaf warehouse fire which resulted in the loss of G.L.Pease's great blends such as Renaissance, Raven's Wing etc. Wilderness is the proof that you can still enjoy the incredible smoking experience of this unbelievable Syrian tobacco. An experience not to be missed. How blessed are we?

A nice dose of Drama lends a hand and wafts in and out of the subtle and winey smokiness of the Syrian. Pure and wonderful down to the last draw.

In my pipe smoker's mind, this is what the air in heaven must smell like!

My 1-4 star ratings are very simple: 1 star = garbage or trade; 2 stars = to be enjoyed once in a while for a change of pace; 3 stars = a great tobacco that becomes part of my regular rotation; 4 stars = A magical desert island smoke I couldn't live without.

I've probably smoked over 500 different blends in my lifetime and only 3 active blends have ever made my 4 star list.

This is one of them. Thank You Fred Hanna!!

Smooth Syrian latakia definitely comes out even though this blend is very well balanced on the VA/Or/Lat front. The description says "sweetness, richness...creaminess." Yes, definitely yes, to these three descriptors. This is great stuff.

Updated 8/18/12 I had both a tin of Wilderness and Legends open and was switching smokes between the two, I could not tell the difference. I decided to load two pipes and smoke them at the same time ??? Results: Legends Is creamier, zero spice on the tongue, almost no "McC Vinegar", and a bitter sweet cocca taste. Wilderness, is also very smooth but has that tangy sweet and sour "McC Vinegar" ( I love McC Vinegar), not as creamy, but more hidden flavors of cocoa and sweeter. I think Wilderness is the slight winner for me.

Perhaps it's the Syrian Latakia that keeps everything cool, calm and collected compared to other blends in this category, although I've had some with this ingredient that don't deliver the goods the way Wilderness does. It achieves a creamy richness and pungency devoid of the sharpness and bitterness that overwhelm in other Latakia-heavy creations. Like Legends, McClelland has managed to offer another Balkan that tastes great and is as smooth as Oriental silk. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a robust smoke -- but also appreciate some finesse.

What a struggle. Could not keep it lit....burned hot when it burned at all. Flavor was not terrific. REALLY disappointed. I thought that perhaps because I was new to pipes that I did not "get" what this blend was all about.

Now that the tin has been opened I cellared it in the tin with just the cap on it.

Fast forward 2 months....time to try it again. Hmmm...not as moist in the tin as I remembered. BAM!! Now I get it. The reviews are correct. This stuff is awesome. The flavors are all there in perfect harmony. No relights....no struggle...just blissful thick smoke.

Time to buy some more (and cellar it!)

Propylene Glycol is a flavour enhancer, in addition to moisture management.

One can tell by looking at the leaves, they are too shiny, colours are too rich, and a bit spongy. You can also tell by chewing some of it, a slightly sweet taste similar to balsamic vinegar.

I've some McClelland non-sealed tins which I forgot about in a drawer for fifteen years or so with only the snap-lid on them and they are still supple and moist.

Propylene Glycol obviously keeps things moist for a ridiculously long time. It also enhances the combustion with a cooling effect, all the leaves combust slowly and evenly, around the same temperatures. It also contributes to mouth feel with a slight creaminess, basically because your converting it into a steam vapour and it cools again in your mouth, thus coating it.

Of course there is a trade-off, it obscures the tin-nose a lot. This is quite obvious with Wilderness. And the colours no longer look natural. It also messes things up flavour-wise about mid-bowl when the wheels seem to fall off the bus and the flavour completely shuts down. It does smarten up a bit in the last 1/4 of the bowl with a few hints of the first half.

The first half of of this blend was pleasant, interesting Orientals layered and complex reminded me of Pease's Odyssey in many ways. Mid-bowl it did fall apart and was rather benign.

The last quarter it did come back to life a bit, but was still struggling.

Regardless enjoy your mileage may vary, mine certainly did.

Well, this didn't bring to mind any long-lost blends of yesteryear, but it stands pretty well on its own. I wasn't as impressed with the flavor and smokability of this one as I was its Fred Hanna stablemate, Legends, but this is certainly a worthy blend. It may be more complex than Legends. There was a pretty active tapestry of flavors weaving in and out, with the Syrian latakia adding its usual mild sourness and piquency. The orientals were of the spicy variety, which made the overall picture gel. I found this one a little difficult to smoke when I wasn't paying attention, as the blend forced me to deal with it. As I said, this is one active blend that didn't seem to want to rest. However, the flavor was far from assertive. I wouldn't have objected to a little more "oomph".

As with Legends, a pretty good smoke but nothing I'll smoke again too often. The oriental/latakia market is booming (although Syrian seems to be the provenance of one U.S blender) and there just isn't enough boldness here, even amidst the activity. But if you want a good tasting smoke that is very complex and you like a mild blend, this one could be for you.

This is one of the most complex things I've ever smoked, rivaled only by the new Magnum Opus blend from Hearth & Home and some batches of seriously aged Renaissance and Samarrah I lucked into. Every few seconds the flavor seems to shift, yet always retaining a subdued sweetness and the smoky spice of both types of latakia. It never fails to hold my attention throughout the smoke, as it never grows tiresome or bland. While some reviewers have stated they don't taste much latakia, I have to question whether they are simply accustomed to the sharp, smoky Cyprian variety. This is the closest thing to Syrian "lat bomb" I've ever smoked! But that also means the character is very different from Cyprian-based blends, which have a "smoky" or "campfire" flavor. The Syrian, on the other hand, is more reminiscent of red wine, incense, or even curry. Hannah has stated publicly that this contains nearly 35 percent Syrian latakia, which is a prodigious amount of that particular leaf (which is considerably stronger in flavor than its Cyprian counterpart).

Fred Hanna, of course, is known as one of the world's premier experts on the legendary Balkan Sobranie mixtures, and it's interesting to note that the ingredients listed on the label are a dead ringer for the Sobranie "white" mixture of old. It's also worth noting that Hanna has not chosen to describe this as a recreation of that famous blend, although he has said publicly that his appreciation for the classic mixtures is what inspired him to take on this project. I doubt that he could have recreated the Sobranie's flavor with the constituent tobaccos here (McC's virginias are too pungent and unique to ever sucessfully mimic those used in European blends) but this stuff is absolutely superb on its own terms. I've picked up flavors that I've never before encountered in a pipe tobacco, and I've gone through hundreds of blends over the past 20 years. Hanna has said this blend has 12 different tobaccos in it (Syrian, Cyprian, a mix of Vas and a whole slew of orientals) and boy does it show!

The burning characteristics here are pretty good if not spectacular, it's very cool in the pipe, and it doesn't have much potential for bite.

If I have a criticism, it is one voiced already by several others. Wilderness has relatively little in the way of nicotine strength even though it is (to my palate) full flavored. I like powerful blends such as Old Joe Krantz, Billy Budd, Bosun Cut Plug, etc., and Wilderness falls far short of those. On the other hand, I've run into VERY few blends of this type that satisfy my cravings for Vitamin N, and Wilderness does at least have more nicotine than other McClelland mixtures (I estimate it to be about the same as Carter Hall).

Anyhow, Wilderness has shot to the top of my English/Balkan rotation with a bullet. Primo stuff. If you go into it looking for nicotine or a large dose of Cyprian latakia, you will likely be disappointed. For the rest of us, four stars.

But as usual, I have problems with McClelland English blends. They are simply too light for my tastes and I find myself puffing at a ridiculous pace in an effort to absorb enough nicotine. I know that not everyone feels this way, those that seek flavor more so than strength, and I extend an enthusiastic recommendation to these people. For a mild English, Wilderness really is hard to beat, and I think fans of the Frog Morton line will find this a truly exotic, novel creation that may present a pathway to appreciating greater complexity.

So, my "two star" rating in no way suggests that Wilderness is an average blend--it's not. One should only read the relevant (and fascinating) Smoker's Forum posts to understand Fred's passion in its creation, and the deep respect his fans have shown in their embrace of the blend. Yet in my own drive, I find it a bit difficult to fill my pipe with Wilderness, often going for inferior, yet stronger mixes that populate my cabinet. It is these second choices that will compete with Wilderness when my favorites are on back order.

Smoking the blend now in a large bowled Peterson billiard, I am happy for having gone the other route, though I know I will run into the same, conflicting motivations when the time comes to fill my pipe with another English.

*** Update

Well, it's taken me nearly half a year to finish off this tin, and the last two bowls, smoked in quick succession, have warmed me up to Wilderness. I wouldn't call it a favorite, but I have to appreciate the Turkish component, which puts the blend in the same category as Russ's Magnum Opus, different and powerful. It gets in your face and reminds you that you're smoking something special. I still do have some problems with the blend--it starts off kind of so-so and the mildness is always evident. But about a third in when those Orientals kick in it's a sublime smoke. I have a hard time placing the Syrian leaf, but it's not a problem, anyhow. The smokey Latakia flavor is always in the background for me. One bowl left...I think my vacation is coming to an end.

*** Update

A day later and I'm just about finishing that last bowl. Wilderness went from a hated to loved blend in a very short time and I can't quite understand what I missed through the majority of the tin. Perhaps my ability to appreciate Oriental blends has matured, and my desire for overwhelming nicotine doses and Latakia bloat have declined. In any event, this is an excellent Oriental blend--and I say that because the leaf seems to me the most prominent in the mix. Now I'll have to go and reorder based on this brief window of experience. Tastes can change dramatically, I have found, and while I know that to be true, usually my opinions flop in the opposite direction, from Loved to Hated. I have learned to appreciate the Wilderness--sorry for the lousy joke.

A great blend to be kept.

Unfortunately, the taste has just not been as satisfactory. The Virginias used here have a sharpness to them that does not blend well with the other tobaccos. At least to my taste the blend seems out of balance. Mclelland's own Arcadia is a better choice.

There is potential here and perhaps 3 to 5 years of age will meld things together, but for now I will look elsewhere for a nice light English blend.

There is no accounting for taste, it appears.

It's not bad by any means. Just not what I hoped it would be. It comes off to me as an oriental blend, the Latakia playing second fiddle. This in itself is neither here nor there, but I find Squadron Leader a tastier rendition. There are some nuances in Wilderness that are worth exploring further, no doubt, but I find after every bowl I've had that I don't care to flesh them out. Not caring to fire up another bowl is a death blow for a blend, at least in my book.

I still have a tin of it's kissing cousin, Legends, on hand. It will be interesting to see how it compares.

For me, Wilderness gets two stars.