McClelland Frog Morton on the Bayou

Now solidly in the post-McC Froggy era in 2020, I've been going through my jars from 2017 to give the blends a fresh try.

Since 2017 I have gained an appreciation of Perique through my ventures into VaPers and I generally enjoy what it brings to the table. I liked Frog on the Town so I was expecting this to be Town + Perique, which is basically seems to be.

While VaPers seem to really shine is adding the pepper or dark fruit notes countering the sweet hay/grass. Here it is adding pepper to a Balkan and is going up against the smoky/sour that I enjoy in Town. I'm think that is maybe 75% successful. Out of the series, I think this one tries to do a little too much. In addition, for whatever reason this one seems to really leave an aftertaste and dry out my mouth.

The tobacco is high quality that we expected from McC. The cut is like the other Frogs a chunky ribbon cut. Packing and lighting is a breeze and it smokes without any trouble.

I'll enjoy my jar, but this isn't one that I'd go out of my way to secure again.

This is an interesting blend.

I like the Frog Morton Series, it is a fine line. On the bayou seems to be a much more gentle touch than the others in this line.

The latakia is there, but somewhat toned down. The virginias are present, proof is in that wonderful McClelland ketchup smell on opening the tin.

The perique is there but..... meh. I was expecting a more perique forward blend. It is nicely done, but not one that perique junkies might seek out.

Overall, a great blend, but nothing really pops for me.

I purchased a tin of this tobacco at least 10 years ago. About a month ago, I opened that tin and dumped it into a mason jar. Since then, I've been having a bowl here and a bowl there, but nothing too frequent.

This is a good tobacco. The smell coming off the mason jar has a hint of leather and a little fermentation (some say vinegar... but for me, it's not that strong). It is very smokable. A solid tobacco.

I did something the other night, however, that turned this tobacco from a good smoke to a "Holy Smokes!" After dinner, I packed a bowl into my stout, rough-cut dublin (some czech pipe purchased out of a discount bin in London about 15 years ago). Along with that bowl, I poured myself a glass of Madeira wine. I lit the pipe, then I took a slow sip of the Madeira, then I took a puff. Holy Smokes! It tasted just like apple pie. Yup... Apple Pie. Jackpot!

The pairing of Frog Morton on the Bayou to Madeira was such an unexpected surprise. Pure pleasure. What's the old saying...? "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while."

I will never smoke this stuff again without a bottle of Madeira handy.

I have held off on reviewing this blend for some time, mainly because I cannot really figure it out. Is it a VA/Per with some Latakia? Is it a Balkan (whatever that means)? I still don't know. Here is what I know: There is damn good leaf in the blend, it was skillfully blended, but I don't know what it wants to be when it grows up.

The tin note is McClelland Balkan: I am not sure if it is a topping, a stave or alchemy but McClelland blends of all types have a distinct signature aroma and they are all fantastic.

The smoke is tasty but confusing. I get red stoved VA's and latakia mostly but there are also woody Orientals and sweet VA's in there as well. They all seem to combat with one another at times and harmonize at others. The first 1/3 of the bowl to me brings the VA's and the perique. delicious and satisfying, Sweet dark fruit and pepper, figs and stewed fruit are at the center. After that the Latakia becomes more prominent. Malty, creamy, sweet and smokey notes become the main theme. The perique is almost unnoticeable in the bottom 1/3 of the bowl, even on retrohale. The blend is top quality. The "problem" with this blend is that it has no true identity. If you aren't in the mood for anything in particular, this is the blend for you. However if you are like me and choose from your rotation based on what you are in the mood for, this has no real good fit. It is good, please don't read this as a poor review of this blend. It just is hard to know when I might want exactly "this" blend.

I would likely rate OTB as 3rd amongst the FM collection, behind both Cellar and Across the Pond. It's a pretty decent blend, but I feel it's lacking something. It's holding back. I think it'd be a lot better with less latakia and more perique. McClelland handles perique very well, in my opinion. But they were a little light handed with it here. I also wish they'd used the vastly superior Syrian latakia, but I know scant reserves would soon bring the blend to a halt.

Right from the start I pick up strong latakia presence. If the overall strength were higher, I'd put this one in the latbomb category. Normally I wouldn't mind so much, but it makes the perique very hard to zone in on. I don't really pick up on the orientals or virginias. They're hiding behind the latakia. The blend smokes well, I must say, despite the higher moisture out of the tin. I experienced no relights or tongue bite.

Summarily, this blend is okay. It's not that unique and I think it could benefit in this regard with the addition of more perique. In my mind, bayou=perique. I know the frog morton series carries a somewhat inflated reputation, most likely due to the relative scarcity of McClelland tobacco to our overseas pipe-smoking brethren. But honestly, when I want virginias I go to McClelland, when I want English I go to Dunhill. As always, your mileage may vary. This blend is worth a try.

Having liked the Frog morton On the town so much, i decided to try this one with the added perique. It was very similar to On the town for me but with a slight hint of the perique spiciness. I did enjoy this tobacco, but not as much as the on the town which I found slightly smoother. Definitely a good tobacco, and nice little introduction to perique.

This frog smelled a bit more musty and sour than the original Frog Morton when I opened the tin, yet everything else was still in place. Both had those dark tangy rough cut pieces of Perique and a spicy bouquet.

Once lit, this one was slightly less dynamic than the original, relying more on the burly flavor of the leaf. Still, it felt right at home within this Craftsbury Series.

If I was hankering for something to take my buds on a ride, and the store only had Bayou, I would be happy to pick it up, but if you had the choice and never smoked the Frog, stick with the original, it offers a bit more bang.

Tin note is tangy, with some sweet and sour. Nice bright Virginias come through light and sweet for the duration of the bowl. Every so often you get some delicious foggy, raisiny tang from the periques. I didn't get much latakia flavor and wish the periques was more pronounced. Overall a great blend.

30-June-2017: New to pipe smoking. Was looking for an "entry-level English". After looking online this one intrigued me, primarily because of the oriental and perique. For me the tin note was smoky, peppery with a sweet under tone. Seemed almost too moist in the tin but didn't want to wait to light a bowl, plus very humid today. Packed nicely, difficult to light and a few relights needed to keep it going. Maybe I was expecting more but there was little to no flavor other the the peppery leading note of the perique, which was nice. Silky smooth smoke and no bite. Looking forward to more smokes from this tin.