McClelland Frog Morton on the Bayou

Today's story is a blunder on my part. I stocked my smoking drawer full of Syrian mixes, and then kind of got sick of them. Thinking I would just break out a Cyprian blend, I was startled to find this is all I have on hand--except for a half full tin of Perfection, which isn't all that perfect, in my opinion.

This is my second look at a Frog Morton blend, the first being FMATP, which I liked. Frog Morton on the Bayou isn't bad, though I don't think it's great, either.

I'm working through a 2005 sample here. Beautiful packaging and presentation. The contents of leaf are mostly black, with some dark brown strands. I'm guessing it's mostly Cavendish, considering the strength factor, which is rather subdued, and the minimal intrusion of Latakia, present but not ubiquitous.

Well, here I am, enjoying about my sixth bowl full of this stuff and I find myself craving something bigger. It's about the same in strength as FMATP, but, I don't know. I realize this is a tepid endorsement, and really, there is nothing wrong here. Great ingredients, subtle. Too subtle, almost. The Perique doesn't hit too hard. If I got my hands on some blending components I'd probably douse the thing with a hard shot of Latakia and maybe a bit more Perique. Of course, this would savagely pollute the poor Bayou, so I'll just leave her alone.

I suggest FMOTB after smoking a lighter blend, or early in the morning before hitting the heavy stuff. Smoke a bowl of Nightcap and then working your way down will leave one scratching their head. I say that because I almost feel like I'm too eager in my puffing, waiting for greater complexity to develop but never getting there. Yes, it's too refined to call this a beginner's blend, but I'm stronger in the now growing conviction that I'm smoking filler tobacco with a touch of condiments for flavor.

I suppose I imagined something more adventurous in these exploits. As it stands, I doubt I'd buy more land on the bayou. I need something different. And I don't want it to be perfect.

Another interesting twist on the Frogmorton theme. I enjoy the aromatic element of the FM series, but find that I tire of the sweetness quickly and want to go to a straight latakia blend without the aromatic element. Like most McClellands, it comes far too wet to smoke and must be dried before use. This is billed as a Balkan, but I do not get that connection.

The novelty of this series has definitely worn off. I find myself reaching for a nice bowl off Peterson or Dunhill. Off the four blends that I have tried, all were of the poorest quality in regard to tobacco condition(ie. stems and cut). This is a shame, although lacking in quality control, the blends do contain quality tobacco. This blend is no exception. To be honest the perique in this one is a waste. It is overpowered by the Latakia. There is also a cloying hint off the same flavored Cavendish that I detected in the "Frog's Cellar" blend. I thought it might be ghosting, it was not. Honestly, other than this, the blend is almost identical to the original "Frog Morton". With one more blend in this series to try, I hope my experience will improve. Cheers.

First FM I have tried-tin aged about a year.

Tin note is Englishy-lat like, with some earthy Perique smell and a healthy McC's dollop of catsup-albeit rich in a red gravy sort of way.

Good texture, very few stem pieces noted. Blend packs well, I fill these sorts of baccy's loosely, and though it requires a few re-lights, minimal wetness noted.

I am at the point of adoration -in a non-religious sense-with good Balkan blends, and this is a good smooth tasty smoke. The Perique is subtle to my palate, it's there but it plays only a bit character role. It's fairly complex flavor-wise, and it plays well with a number of beverages-my favorite here being Guinness E'S, which results in a clever sweetness of both drink and baccy.

I may update this upward from 2-3, but I have to compare the rest of the FM's before I ponder further. Solid blend, either way.

I prefer the original to this. I have had one or two reasonable smokes from FMOTB but most a fairly average. Doubt i would buy more. Quality made though so it may be your cup of tea. You have to try it to find out.

I love the original Frog Morton and was anxious to try this. I am glad that I only bought a 50g tin, because I don't think I'll smoke it all that often. First let me say that this tobacco smokes very cool. The taste that I got was of a mild-to somewhat strong sweetened black tea. It was also a wee bit peppery. At one point I tasted a note of cinnamon. The first half of the bowl is usually most enjoyable for me, but in this case it was the lower half I liked most. By then the Perique had lost some of its dominance and began to blend better with the Latakia and orientals. The taste became much richer and fuller. There was a lot of gurgle in my pipe. I'll dry this out a bit before smoking next time. It was definitely an unusual smoking experience, but in a good way. I just don't think FMOTB is my "cup of tea." I was surprised to read that this didn't leave an aftertaste in the mouths of a few reviewers here. For me it left an unpleasant aftertaste which I could only eliminate by eating some well-aged Danish bleu cheese.

I bought this primarily to try as a blender. I love a 50/50 mix of Anniversary/Frog Morton On The Town and wanted to know if adding some perique might make another interesting variation.



So this is the result:



FMOTB straight: Smooth mellow semi sweet but the perique overpowers (I would agree with Pipestud) *



FMOTB/FMOTT 50/50: To mild, lacks a full bottom and again the perique overpowers *



FMOTB/Anniversary 50/50: Ok if you like perique but for me I miss the sweetness of the basma. **



FMOTB/Anniversary/FMOTT 10/50/40: This I like, the full bottom of the Anniversary, sweetness of the FMOTT basma and just enough perique from the FMOTB to make it tantalizing. This blend is smooth, tasty, complex, will not bite and leaves a lovely aftertaste. Needless to say, all the ingredients are of the highest quality. **



Try it, you may like it, you may love it. I will buy FMOTB again, but only for blending.

I love Frog Morton, so I was intrigued by the addition of perique to this blend. Maybe I'm just way too attached to Frog Morton, but I found the changes to the tobacco unsatisfactory. Like adding chocolate to my favorite coffee...sure, they're two things that I really love, but that doesn't mean I'll love them together.

The original Frog Morton and Frog Morton on the Town have seriously grown on me over the past few months, so I picked up tins of the other two blends in the line to give them a whirl. I enjoy perique blends a lot -- the stronger the better -- but the perique in this blend just didn't taste good to me. I don't think it's anything wrong with the blend,per se -- I think it just doesn't agree with me.