McClelland Frog Morton Across the Pond

My tin's about two years old now and has aged beautifully. The wet-and-fruity Virginias have mellowed, and the overall blend is drier and burns better. (I give most McClelland blends plenty of drying time, especially when new; exposing a bowl's worth to air for a day or two seems to do it.)

As other reviewers have observed, this is a mild English and pretty light in terms of nicotine. The Latakia is subtle, but the flavor profile is still wonderful. Slightly smoky, slightly sweet, and really well rounded. Most of the Frogs would be a good intro to English blends, and this one's no exception. (On the Bayou is the exception, imo, given its healthy slug of perique.) On the Town is still my favorite of the FM lineup, but this one deserves at least three stars.

This is without a doubt next to regular Frog, Boswell Railroad Station and Northwoods, one of my most favorite blends among all the other Froggy blends. This I expect is the only blend of the four that really and truly uses any Syrian Latakia. I wonder how much longer that will last? It doesn't carry as much of that vinegar flavor that Froggy carries and is a bit more wood smoky tasting. You also get that delicious baked bread flavor now and again that identifies Syrian Latakia is present but the amount must be small. I have to say that this blend hits all my buttons. Room note is very nice and has that great wood smoke aroma. Just an all around great and enjoyable smoke. I have no idea how much Syrian Latakia is left in the storehouse but I hope they have a bunch left to continue this outstanding blend along with regular Froggy.

Really surprised with this one since I didn't care for one of the other Frog Morton versions I had tried. There almost seems an alcoholic quality to the tin aroma even though there is no alcohol from what I can tell. What I realized is the stoved virginias which have a very slight tang and sweetness and perhaps the other leaf elements produce almost red wine like undertones; Very sophisticated and appealing. The latakia is slightly in back of the virginias which leads to a more rounded taste and better balance to my preference. Being Syrian, the latakia has more of a pine needle and spice-like smokiness that I think is superior to Cyrpian and especially so in this blend with the character of the stoved virginias. It's not oriental heavy but it is there rounding out the blend. There is depth and layers of complexity along with refinement in this blend that I haven't noticed in most other english tobaccos these days. Being a Frog Morton blend it is rather cool on the palette and is a good choice for those who find more natural virginia ribbon based blends too sharp. A real surpurlative blend for my taste.

McClelland - Frog Morton across the pond.

Another one from a trade with Gentleman Zombie where we included a few 'opened, but not so fond of' blends'. The first of these that I reviewed was another by McClelland: Bombay Court. I gave that four stars, it was great, and I feel it's the same scenario with this; absolute quality. Cheers pal!

I can't comment on the age, but that doesn't bother me right now; it's achieved a perfect water content whilst opened and gives a delightful smoke. Now, I'm considering it maybe because it's Syrian Latakia, but the flavour's nowhere near as smoky and formidable as Lat' can often be: it tastes rich, but not astringent. The tobacco's work together nicely as the combination of the earthy Lat', and the slightly spicy Oriental's make for a tasty, yet calming smoke. Without sounding sycophantic towards Franck (Gentleman'), I too struggle to detect much Virginia; I'm putting this down to the inimitable nuances of the other two tobacco's making the Va seem redundant. I'd put the nicotine as a steadfast medium amount, a good blend for anytime of the day! As much as I love this blend, I do have a little problem: slight bite. To be fair, this doesn't happen until I'm over halfway through a bowl, and when it does it doesn't cause me too much of a problem. As it's only a tiny bite, and that's subjective, the rating won't diminish from four stars!

Highly recommended.

Frog Morton jumped away from me and into the pond, never to truly be seen again. I found this to be a light English, which for many is exactly what they want. The aroma was very pleasing, but I didn't get the mouth-feel I enjoy in a medium or stronger English. This also didn't seem as full bodied as I like. What I will usually do if I want a lighter smoke is sip more gently on a stronger blend and if more oomph is desired then I increase my puffing cadence so I can get the best of both worlds from one tobacco. This tactic didn't really work with FM for me, so for those who feel this is a blend that suits them well then that is great...it certainly is made well and its constitution is of fine tobaccos, it just wasn't quite what I look for. Otherwise, it did smell nice in tin, was of good humidity, the bowls fragrance was nice, it loaded easily, burned reasonable well and produced a moderate amount of smoke...important factors for any tobacco in my opinion. A good blend, light, but good. MCBY

A blend that belongs to those bringing you to a journey.

If you search for the strength and the overwhelming sensations, this tobacco won't satisfy your needs at all. Here you enter in a subtle and calm universe.

I personally never trust a tobacco at the first smoke. Your pipe needs to be introduced slowly to it, and after few smokes it will gradually unveil the full game. By giving a chance to this tin and doing so, I have been so amazed. This is definitely one of those tobaccos I like to call my "meditation smoke".

Smoke it slowly, and gradually discover the subtlety of this blend. You will notice that from the beginning to the very end, it will exactly taste the same, just amazing. And no tongue bite at all.

I am someone who love "the kick" in everything. I love ultra spicy food, as I love the overwhelming sensation of the Latakia and Perique. But for this tobacco, I wish to find some for years again, because it sooth my mind.

Go for it, I bet that Gandalf would dig it.

I worked my way through a tin of this over four months and never really had a eureka moment. I was drawn to this tobacco having never tried Syrian Latakia and wanting to.

It is clear that a lot of people do like this one, perhaps it is the variety of oriental used. I just can't seem to enjoy this one. I do concede in the quality of leaf and smokability of the blend, but cannot go over two stars on this one.

I will not repurchase, but probably will try the other Frogs as I am curious about them and they seem to get higher praise on here anyway.

I have tried all four Frog Morton blends.

All share similar characteristics. They all smoke much better in corn cobs than they do in briar. They are all soggy with humectant. They are all beginners' smokes.

FM was mild, smoky latakia with chocolate flavor. FMOTT was very mild latakia with a creamy caramel flavouring. FMOTB is a four-star blend that I am hoarding to smoke in my cobs, a true delight.

This? Eh? A failure. The worst of the line. No flavour. Maybe it does have Syrian latakia. Whatever. It still sucks.

This is an interesting entry in the Frog Morton line. For one, it's the only one with Syrian Latakia, and this will play a major role of how this works, yet the role is played from the shadows. Then there is the show of the Ketchup taste and aroma..There isn't a more elaborate way to describe it, a mix between sweetness and sourness with a bit of earthiness all around. It is fairly dominant and consistent throughout the smoke. With just a little hint of caramel sweetness every now and then, and just a pinch of mild smokiness from the Latakia, that provides more smoke than smokiness in the taste profile. My tin came at perfect moisture and It packs well, get lit with a bit of work and for the most part stays lit. Stays consistent throughout the bowl both in aroma and flavour without any bite at all or harsh spots. Burns down to the end leaving little to no dottle, yet it leaves a bit of footprint in the bowl smell. But so far that didn't interrupt other blends in the same pipe. It is a nice one that I will savour, and maybe add to my rotation as a delicacy.