McClelland Syrian Full Balkan

I got bit with the Syrian bug after hearing so many rave reviews and near cries over some supposed fire, so this was the blend I chose, of the few available.

Either Syrian Latakia entirely lacks the basic smokey essence of its Cyprian cousin, or McClelland just doesn't use much of it here. The characteristics that I traditionally associate with Latakia are entirely absent, to the point of near frustration. I even failed to get that nicotine hit I hear is so common to the Syrian leaf. So take note--this is an *extremely* mild blend with an almost flat flavor.

The tin exhibited the classic McClelland smell of ketchup or vinegar, depending on your opinion, but was a bit subdued from one of their typical Virginias. There was also a pronounced bite, though nothing overwhelming to the point of dissatisfaction. Apart from that, my tin was surprisingly dry, with very little moisture.

Nothing remarkable here. I hope it was the blend and not the Syrian stuff that caught my dislike.

I'll stick to Nightcap, thanks.

I must echo what most of these earlier reviews state. This blend seems misnamed. It's not bad...it's not extraordinarily good either. Still, I have consumed over half a tin in three days, which must mean something. Mostly I've smoked this as a first bowl of day thing...a sort of "wake up the palate". Additional comments: I would not hesitate to recommend this light blend to new pipe smokers who come to pipeworld from cigarettes. It's so light that an accidental or intentional inhalation will not bring on a choking fit. And, my wife says it reminds her of incense in church. I thought she was mistaken until I left room and returned twenty minutes later and then detected the aroma she did.

This is an okay blend that i smoke on occasion. I have only gone through about a half a tin. I was expecting a very full flavor, based on the name, but it is in fact pretty mild. Does not really taste like a balkan blend very much to me, but more like a light english. It is decent, but like all McClelland tobaccos i find it hard to pack and keep lit. My first taste of Syrian latakia, and I have to admit i like that. It seems a little sweeter and less harsh than cyprian.

Overall, while it is not true to its name, it is still a decent tobacco but not a favorite by any means.

This is not a bad tobacco; however, there are many house blends that are at least as good and much cheaper. If it's Syrian Latakia you're looking for, try HH Vintage Syrian.

This blend is in the my favorite category of tobaccos, Balkan, well sort of. While the name Full Balkan is on the tin, the blend is just barely a notch up from Rose of Latakia. The taste of this blend is slightly above average and given the predominate sweet Virginia taste this blend Balkan would not be the name I would give to this tobacco. There is also a subtle Oriental taste and barely a Latakia note. What Latakia is present is absolutely top shelf, but underwhelming to my taste buds. Tin note is slightly sweet, not smokey, and the typical McClelland vinegar. The burn is good, no tongue bite. The white ash at the bottom of the bowl is what you would expect out of a high quality blend. The big issue here is the lack of Latakia and Oriental assertiveness for a blend named Full Balkan.

The tobacco has a wild cut and burns very well, with no excess moisture. It is a delicate English mixture, definitely not full and absolutely not a Balkan (that name is heresy for such a tobacco, as is the "full"). The taste of Syrian latakia is quite evident, though applied in a very subtle way. It's a better blend than most of McClelland's Cyprian latakia offerings, but frankly I find it quite flat. Good, mind you, but it doesn't have that extra layer of complexity and flavor of the equally delicate but more interesting Rose of Latakia. Yes, this is very similar to Rose of Latakia, but not as fruity and sweet. I am happy to have tried a tin, but I doubt I will buy another, as there are several more interesting tobaccos out there. The Syrian leaf is top quality, though.

===August, 2015 update==== This blend has been sitting around decanted in sealed mason jar now for better than three years, for a promised revisit. It's time has come. What struck me this time around was a scent and taste of rose or rose water. This surprised me somewhat as I didn't catch that the first time around. Secondly, the overall taste profile improved, but only marginally—this blend, now at least, has a taste all the way through the bowl, which is good. It's possible the pipe I used in the first review wasn't the best, a Savinelli King's Cross; a small pipe. For this revisit, I used a much larger pipe, and, sure enough, the taste expanded a bit. This time the blend performed better, though I still find it to be a 2 star experience (say a 2.5, rather than a grudging 2). In the end, then, aging this blend has improved it, but only marginally.

====Old review below==== I had an up and down experience with this one—literally. The first half of the bowl was interesting, smokey, BBQ-y, the latakia played well with whatever else is in this. Then, something very odd happened. About half way through the bowl the flavor dropped out! The damnedest thing. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. So, the best I can say for this 'baccy is that it was good up front, then, zippo! nada! One last observation, and pardon me if someone has stated this before, there is nothing particularly "Full" about this blend. I don't know where this comes from. I don't regret trying this one out—I'm aging the rest of the tin now, we'll see if that makes any difference down the line.

Cheers!

There's something interesting and beguiling about the tin aroma; you would expect a stronger flavor, but alas the smoke is too cool. I like cool smokes, don't get me wrong, but this was too cool. Fortunately, I had an old tin of Esoterica's Margate on hand, I blended them together...Presto! Amazing smoke! I highly recommend blending the two.

There's some fine tobacco's in this blend, but in it's current mixture, it's just plain boring. A sweet VA taste dominates the blend, and the Syrian is nice, but it's missing something. I almost wish there was some burley mixed into the blend.