In the tin, this looked a lot more like 759 than Black House did. Smelled more like it as well. In the pipe, it had that same smoothness but seemed more smoky than sweet, unlike the other two blends. And somehow, that is what elevated this one above those two for me. This one was richer and more flavorful while also being less strong. McClellands has a way of making mild tobaccos with rich flavor profiles (think the Royal Cajun series) and they nailed it with this one. Top to bottom smooth but with a nice flavor edging towards the sharpness I like but well rounded. I think it missed the mark if the intent was to make this a match of 759 but this blend is the better for it. Perhaps the attempt alone was enough, as I'm not usually a big fan of McClellands latakia blends. I consider FMOTT more of an oriental blend, so this will be the first McClellands "english/balkan" style blend to make my rotation. And it hits that rotation hard! Excellent flavor and depth without being obnoxious about either. Highly recommended, if not the possible replacement for 759 that Black House seems to be.

I am not old enough to have smoked 759, so my review is based solely on this blend. Count me among those bored to tears with reviewers going on and on about "the old balkan sobranie." It's like people saying, "Sure, Domingo is good, but you should have seen Caruso back in 1919." I can't, so just let me enjoy Domingo.

I was fortunate to attend the 2011 Chicago Pipe Show and held with the majority that this was the best. (Sorry, Russ!) The blend is thick, smooth, and consistent. I've just finished my first tin and used small, large, briars, and meers and found it respond perfectly in all of them. I suggest rubbing out the top third of the bowl for easier lighting, and you should expect multiple relights on this one. It burns down to about 10% dottle without going harsh or getting hot. I am prone to bite (see my review of Carter Hall), and this has none. It can cake things up, so watch that. The aftertaste is marvelous.

All that being said, this proves to be one dimensional. I tasted no real development through the bowl. Hence, I doubt this will change with aging. But, heck, it doesn't need to. The room note, which I almost never can tell, is obvious on this. This would make Pepe Le Pew blush. I hope to smoke it around my ex- wife one day.

All-in-all, highly recommended. Blue Mountain is a must-have for my cellar.

The tin note is heavenly. Even if I choose another blend for my pipe, I will open the can of Blue Mountain just to get a little glimpse, a whiff, of the eternal. If only it smoked just like it smells!

Slow puffing and a churchwarden stem help to cool the smoke and soften the bite. And it does bite!

If you are in the mood for Latakia, you can't beat this blend.

Regarding room note: My lovely and articulate wife has requested that I never smoke this again. "It smells like burning shit," she says. Fortunately for me, she adores the smells of Blackwoods Flake and Presbyterian Mixture. I will save Blue Mountain for when she is out of town.

If a blender could approximate an aged blend with a fresh blend, and the target blend was widely smoked somewhat recently (hence, a large pool of smokers available to judge the effort), then the implications for future blending experiments are tantalizing. Hence, why I think Blue Mt. is a portal blend (along with Black House).

The result? I probably will not bust the bank buying up BS 759 to smoke BY THE MEASURE OF BLUE MT. Will I smoke Blue Mt. regularly? Most likely, I will smoke it occasionally. It does not sing with Oriental leaf like Legends, Wilderness and Samovar from the same blender- and personal favorites. The Latakia is too dominate for me even in pipes where the non-Latakia Oriental leaf is more pronounced (i.e., wide chambers and stacks). In more typical billiard, Dublin, bulldog pipes, Blue Mt. is more monodimensional, tasting mainly of Latakia and an occasional, pleasant sweetness.

This is a smooth blend, low in nicotine, with a pleasingly pungent room note. Contrast with the similarly Latakia-heavy Bombay Extra. The latter is brash and packs a much heavier nicotine hit. Both are cased, but the added flavoring is nondescript in each.

I have never smoked 759, and so I am reviewing Blue Mountain on its own merits. This is very nice indeed. Sweet, smoky, and mineral like, especially iodine as found in in Penzance or Skiff.

[Note: yes, iodine, most certainly not ammonia.]

It is definitely toward the milder side of mild to medium in strength, but nicely "middle" in flavour. I find Blue Mountain very pleasant, and recommend this far above something like Three Oaks.

It smokes wonderfully. The latakia gives the rich, leathery, dark, smokey notes folks have mentioned, but there's also a pleasant mild sweetness. It is very smooth and full, yet for all it's richness the nicotine content is mild and there's little to no bite. It makes copious amounts of thick white smoke, and burns down to ash.

This is a terrific blend.

I loaded up a small Bjarne pipe(5 1/2 in). Lit up and puffed away. I was very pleased with the taste. It has a stronger latakia flavor than Frog Morton but was not as unique and mystical as Frog Morton on the Town. A very nice Balkan.

I don't care about some "legendary" mixture now likely long past its prime. I do appreciate that its memory inspired the authoring of this delightful blend. We are indeed living in wonderful times for pipe smoking: the choices and availability and quality of tobaccos have never been better.

Oddly, Blue Mountain manages to have a unique character despite the dozens of similar-seeming blends I've smoked over the years. It has the richness of Penzance but with a sweetness not normally found in a balkan. The room note, despite the latakia content, is wonderful (no distaff present for confirmation). Blue Mountain is rather more of an "oriental bomb". The flavor evolves, changes, returns, and changes again, depending on the puffing rate and time since lightup. I find I can pretty much adjust it to my preference. As another reviewer observed, one can burn it completely to ash, an ability shared by very few blends.

My favorite vessel is an old, full-sized Wilke bent billiard, though I have yet to find an unsuitable pipe for it; I favored a small clay for the first tin. I pack it moderately for best burning; the moisture in the tin is perfect for my tastes and habits.

Nicotine lovers may downgrade this mixture for its relatively low levels. My chemistry is sensitive to nicotine and I particularly enjoy being able to enjoy a full bowl at a time.

I'd like to think this will age well, though my experience with latakia bends (particularly Penzance) has shown that fresher is better. Nevertheless, I'm stocking up on this and smoking the hell out of it while it is available and hope some remains for aging.

Kudos to Mike McNeil at McClelland, he has made his claim to fame. Four star stuff!