McClelland Rose of Latakia

03-15-2005 The last stop in the MCC Syrian series for me.

Appearance and tin aroma: The Syrian is noticable as small, short (5/8")dark ribbons and can be detected by the nose, but this blend is about VA leaf. The VA leaf tickles your nose as it is of the bright variety.

Packing and Lighting: The leaf is oily as is the norm from MCC, but packed and lit easily. I did have a heck of a time with moisture near the bottom of the bowl though.

Initial Flavor: Bright VA with the Syrian as support only. Slightly sweet flavor from the VA.

Mid-Bowl: This is where this blend does best, but it is still a little too fresh. It tends to burn my tongue and the roof of my mouth. the VA/syrian interplay is nice, but delicate.

Bottom of Bowl:I encountered moisture issues. The moisture build up made this blend go out constantly and left the heel too wet. I tried different packing methods, but to no avail. I believe this blend needs aging to counter the moisture as well as tone down the VA brightness.

Overall: While I preferred this blend over MCC's two Balkan blends, it is still far behind FMATP IMO. There is not enough flavor for this piper to make this a go to blend. The moisture is a big problem too. I suppose age might help, but with the Frog available, why bother? I will let other pipers enjoy this delicate blend...

Rating: 3 out of 5 Points

This recipe demonstrates an interesting trend within the prolific output of Mc Clelland. The tastes that some of us older pipe devotees "remember" from before 1970s are in substantial measure given renewed opportunities. Since the leaf composition isn't to be compared to what was available in tins with names such as Smyrna and State Express , it should be noted that the thin delicate leaf available here is prepared in a process that reminds one of the finer attributes of what is not (to my knowledge) currently available. The time when individual leaf with names like Xanthi , Dubec and Smyrna (to sigh out a few) may return some day. Even then, we should thank those whom offer craftsmanship and product on this level, today. The ribbons are approx. 2.5mm to 3mm wide, cleanly cut, no dust or debris, and burns very well.

The best out of the new Syrian blends by McClelland. I must admit that I prefer Cyprian to Syrian in pretty much every blend. What makes this stand out from the other Mac offerings is the restraint they used with this spice leaf and the wonderful quality of the Va's. Overall however, I feel ultimately that McClelland should stick to Va mixtures and stay away from the Latakia (Cyprian or Syrian) as I have never found one even close to the quality that other houses (i.e. Pease, Dunhill, C&D, etc.) put out on a regular basis.

Very floral aroma and flavor that reminds me of cloves. This one really left its scent and flavor in the pipe. I was still noticing the taste and aroma several bowls later after going back to my regular straight English or Balkan blends. Drier than most McClellands. Not for me.

I think this is a high quality Latakia. A little too oriental for me though. Should mix nicely with some Red Virginnia.

This is a true oriental blend with only a small dose of latakia. Being syrian it does not have a pronounced dark smoky flavor as does the cyprian I am use to, but it has more of a woodsy note. However, the strength and spice do build in the latter part of the smoke from the latakia.

Ribbon cut, it packs easy and burns steady after it gets going from the initial lights. It is dry and moderately cool (at least not hot) unless you press with the puffing.

However, with the fair amount of turkish leaf, I do not regard this as an all day blend. Three bowls in a day were too much for me; one or two will suffice. Still not a true balkan.

If you want an oriental blend without heavy latakia and you want to try your hand at syrian, give it a trial tin drive. I'll try the other new McClelland syrian blend as time allows.

One might expect from the name Rose of Latakia that this would be a full-on latakia blend. Not so. Evidently the "most flavorful Syrian leaves" are indeed so precious that only a little bit of said leaf was added to this blend.

The tin aroma is very subdued- more of virginias (w/o the trademark McC vinegar tang) with little hint of latakia. the resulting smoke is likewise underwhelming. It is not as thin and nearly vapid as FrogMorton (which I enjoy despite these shortcomings), but full in a kind of harsh virginia way. I have always found McC latakia blends rather hit or miss, and this one is in the "miss" category for this piper. It is hard to imagine that age will help things out (other than a mellowing of the Va), but my tin will sure get some, since I do not plan on revisiting any time real soon.

BTW, This one can bite you too, if you are not careful.

This blend reminds me most of McCranies Old Syrian -- good quantities of Syrian, but not enough to keep me interested bowl after bowl. If you've smoked that, this is basicaly the same. Even the appearance inside the can is the same medium to light brown mix of VA and latakia.

I really think this will improve dramatically with age, so I've cellared a few cans, and plan to get more.

The strength, in terms of nicotine, is a bit more than I expected -- not a bad thing, just not what I expected. I think the Balkan/Super Balkan will boost the power even more with the addition of orientals and perique. The tang of the Virginias don't stand up much and the light sweetness of the latakia remains steady throughout, resulting in a lightly sweet blend that can scorch the tounge if not watched closely.

8.5 out of 10.