McClelland Blending Latakia

Ok, if you're going to blend as I do (amateur level only), I think you have to smoke this straight at least once (once is enough!) which I did. It's not as overpowering as I feared as the straight perique is. It's actually quite tasty but a little too one dimensional.

As a blending tobacco, it's excellent. I do screwy things with this like mixing it half and half with blends like Mac Baren's Virginia #1 or SG FVF, rubbing out the flakes to make the cuts fairly consistent. I also make blends with this, orientals, and burleys. It's fun to blend and this condiment definitely lends its voice to the mix, often too loudly. High quality tobacco and a must for amateur blenders. Good smoky flavor.

Bulk: Deep, coal black, broad cut form. Although not sticky, the tobacco can be pressed into a ball. Smoky Latakia aroma.

Burn Qualities: Did not burn well at all.. It took numerous relights and a lot of puffing; with a little drying, easier to keep lit.

Taste & Aroma: Rich, smooth, smoky, leathery, woodsy. An almost sweet aspect. Not overpowering, medium in strength.

Nicotine: Medium, not the "Latakia blast" that was expected.

Overall: Like some other McClelland blending tobaccos, not overly remarkable; middle of the road blending tobacco.

Naturally, a blending tobacco is not normally smoked "straight". I make a lot of different original blends and I use this particular Latakia exclusively.

Ease of use is great, it remains at the right moisture content in the tin, is not too sticky when handling and gives a nice cool smokey flavor to any blend you can create.

Whenever I design a blend containing a lot of hotter-burning leaves I add a certain amount of this to ease the "bite-and-burn" affect.

If you feel like creating your own custom blend or just want to boost the Latakia content in your favorite blend, this stuff is great to have on hand.

This is Cyprian Latakia by McClelland. It is used in many of their blends. I love latakia but I believe that the Syrian is far superior to its Cyprian cousin. The difference between the two is supposed to be derived from the materials used to stove the curing fires. With this blending Cyprian, you get decent latakia textures but, it does little more than pass the grade of "generic." For those of you who love latakia, go with Gawith & Hoggart's straight blending Syrian Latakia. I have a really awesome old-time tobacco shop that I get all my stuff from. This latakia from G&H is not listed in the reviews but, will blow your socks off.

October-2003. Blending Latakia. For blending this is great for adding more punch to various tobacco's. Good pure latakia flavour,but a little to strong to smoke straight.Honest in everyway.

I purchased a tin of this to try as a blender for my various concoctions. Upon opening the tin, you are greeted by medium length, broad-cut dark leaf. The tin aroma is of musty, leathery straight latakia. Packing is easy, but I only pack half a bowl of this leaf at a time. It tastes sweet, leathery and smooth. Don't be decieved, it is full rich latakia and you won't be able to taste much else the rest of the day after smoking this. As a blender, I have found it wonderful. I have mixed it with various other tobacs and the interplay is wonderful. It mixes well with syrian latakia as well. Here is a blend you may want to try: 30% of this, 20% of syrian latakia, 10% burley ribbon, 40% "cumberland". Rating: for blending 5 out of 5 points. Enjoy...

I have a few old tins of true Syrian Latakia that is going the way of the Dodo bird. I opened a new tin which is now all Cypress blend of several I purchased recently. I tried it out straight to compare to my Syrian blends. The tin note is about the same as the old Syrian blend. That wonderful smoky smell that I love so well. Burns really nice but there is a real taste difference between Syrian and Cypress in this blend. While I get that baked bread and sweet smoky flavor with Syrian the Cyprian blend is less sweet and a smoky licorice flavor with hints of pepper. Room note is almost non exsistent except for a very light smoky aroma. These are certainly two different animals but both are nice in their own way. I still lean toward Syrian but since that may not be available again in my lifetime I need to learn to like Cypress Latakia. I can smoke Syrian straight but the Cypress blend is not near as sweet or had the great flavor I get from Syrian and I would not want to smoke Cyprian straight again. I will use for mixing. I am going to try some with some Peterson Nutty Cut to see how it mixes. If you have any pure Syrian Latakia lock it in a safe. You won't see any more for some time to come.

Although having smoked a great variety of Latakia blends throughout the years smoking straight Latakia was still educational. This tobacco is not meant to be smoked straight but as a condiment. Nevertheless I did enjoy this mono-dimensional but very clean and straightforward smoke. The tobacco burns very easily, the smoke is super cool and it has a low Nicotine content. I've successfully enhanced a bit uninspiring blend with this Latakia. But I'm also sure that this was not the last time I smoked this Latakia straight.

Smoked on it's own it is not bad but not something I'll do very often. My first attempt at blending invovled the following:

50% Half&Half, 40% Prince Albert and the rest the latakia, overall I was impressed and pleased.