McClelland Latakia Flake

I found a tin of this from 2005 a few years back and opened it pretty quickly after bringing it home. I was underwhelmed by it on the earlier tastings. The main problem was the Latakia came off as very flat. I believe this is due to the age of the tin. In terms of aging, it is said that this can happen with Latakia and I believe that this is to blame for what I was tasting.

It still was not bad, but I don't think I got to experience it as it was intended to be experienced. One irritation that is also likely present when it is fresh is that it is a bugger to get lit. Once that is accomplished, it smokes pretty well. The vacancy that was left by what was once, likely, a robust Latakia profile left little else to really stand out. There was some Virginia sweetness, but not enough. The Xanthi, may have been detectable, but its presence was light.

Overall, I will leave this at 2 stars for now in hopes that I may try a fresher tin later to see if my mind changes, but I can't recommend the blend on the 10 year old tin I tried. It just wasn't memorable. I would rather be pulling on some fresh three oaks (original or Syrian) or Balkan Blue than this one.

I have to admit that I am a McClelland fanboy. I am astonished by the quality they offer(ed) in their products and consider some of their blends among my all time favorites.

That being said, Latakia Flake, while being a good tobacco for sure, misses the mark of greatness for me. The main reason for that is that amongst McC's remarkable offerings it does not really stand out. If this had been produced by any other blender, I might have been tempted to award this with four stars. For me it lacks that extra magical quality that I find in some other McClelland pipe tobaccos. It's hard to put into words but what I mean is that you understand the blend "passively" - that you can never pinpoint exactly how the true greatness came about because the tastes of the different tobacco varieties blend into each other so perfectly and just transport you to another space. With this tobacco, I CAN pinpoint how the blend comes about exactly, which leaves me with a somewhat more rational kind of enjoyment (idealist though I am) and this consequently takes away some of the magic and diminishes my enjoyment.

Still, this is a good tobacco I quite enjoy. 2 out of 4 stars.

I don't think I have ever tried an English/Balkan and said right away that "I love this". This one never seemed to "fit" with me.

This tin is dated "05" so at the time of opening, 2010, has at least 4 years of age. Opening reveald dark brown and black broken flakes with a small amount of light brown in-between. Sugar crystals were all over the Va portions of the flakes, always nice.

The flavor is Va and Latakia for the most part with some spicyness present throughout the smoke, mostly first 2/3rds of bowl.

I would recommend for a try, but I am not going to cellar this. My first try of this is with a good amount of aging and the Va's definately benefitted.

By the way, I'm not sure what the toasting has done to the flavor.

I absolutely love many of the MC blends, but this "toasted" series has just left me flat so far. I was hoping that this one would do smething for me, but alas, I'm just not into toast in my pipe.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: The flakes are beautiful to look at. The cut reminds me of one of my MC favorites(#24). The smell rich in oriental and latakia, but that "toasted" flavor is still there.

Packing and Lighting: I stuffed the flakes in and rubbed out a few on top to get going. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Different for a latakia mixture, smooth though. The Va is a bit sharp.

Mid-Bowl: This series tastes burned to me. It is as if someone baked the leaf too much and then put it in the tin. It is mellow and gets in the zone in spite of the flavor.

Bottom of Bowl: A surprising strength kick of both flavor and nicotine. Be sure to eat first! burns to a mottled grey ash with no moisture issues.

Overall: I know that there is quality in this blend, its just the toasted flavor that I can't get over. I know the leaf gets toasted as you smoke it down the bowl, but double toasting (once in prep and once as you smoke it)just seems to make the leaf lose its complexity. The xanthi and latakia used in this smells wonderful in the tin, but in the pipe, it is gone... Finished my tin, but won't buy again. BTW i still think British Woods and Frog Morton across the Pond surpass this blend in both flavor and complexity.

Can't really describe much better than to say that I was left feeling like I wasted my money on this one when I could have gotten Frog Morton and gotten a richer, more flavorful experience. It's certainly not a bad smoke; but it's one of those "if you're going to do something, then do it right, or don't do it at all". If I want a latakia, then I want it to be bold, spicy, and with "that smell" that it leaves that is hard to describe. Same goes for a virginia.

This one just kind of drifts around taste-wise between the different types of tobacco, without giving much of an experience of anything in particular. I ended up mixing this one (I know, heresy) with the remainder of some FM that I had and jarring it (about 2:1). Actually, it made a nice mix. Might try stoving it and see what happens! 😉

Maybe that sums it up...it's a good tobacco on it's own, just not exceptional, and might be better as a mixing blend of some sort.

Gorgeous, dense and blocky little flakes with a sweet and smokey scent. Looks and smells promising. When smoked, however, there's little depth. In fact, for such a hearty flake, the smoked flavor is thin and disappointing no matter what kind of pipe is used.

Perhaps my taste buds have gotten too old to discern the subtle flavors here; this should be a fantastic flake, but for me the smoking experience was very much as if someone forgot to put an engine in a shiny brand new mercedes coupe. Maybe younger or more adept pipers will find what I've somehow missed, but my own senses lead me to believe that this emperor has no (or very little) clothes.

Considering my general dislike of German-made pipe tobacco and my wide appreciation of McClelland tobaccos, Blakeney's Best Latakia Flake surprises me. This Latakia flake has tastier undertones, but harsher overtones than C.A.O.'s Old Ironsides (see my review of that as well). While I will continue to smoke Old Ironsides on occasion, I will not be purchasing more of Blakeney's Best Latakia Flake. If you are looking for a better Latakia flake, go with the DE version and leave Blakeney's Best on the tobacconist's shelf.