McClelland Yenidje Supreme

BriarChef and OlFatguy "hit the nail on the head" with their reviews. Although I have never been a cigarette smoker, Balkan Sobranie 759 was my 'go to' tobacco in college that introduced me to Yenidje, and I have never forgotten it. This blend takes me back to those days, only without the Latakia punch. Smoked this one in an old and wonderful Comoy Rhodesian which afforded my nose the occasional French sniff. Ambrosia! Enough said.

This review is based on a 2007 tin, opened 9/2008.

I was actually reluctant to try this, because I found Yenidje Highlander to be such a transcendant experience. (That blend is glorious, in my opinion.) I was afraid this one couldn't compare.

And it doesn't, really. It's a different kind of blend altogether, with a softer Oriental leaf, more Virginias, and no latakia whatsoever.

Distinguished by a hint of McClelland's trademark Virginia flavor (which I find enjoyable but which some disparage), this is a straightforward Virginia/Oriental. Despite the tin copy, I didn't find the Xanthi particularly highlighted in the bowl, it's simply a soft Oriental presence throughout the smoke.

I kept thinking of other similar tobaccos as I smoked this one. I prefer this to Embarcadero, where I thought the Orientals got lost in the Virginias. (This is where McClelland's unique Virginia flavors help the tobaccos retain more of their own personalities, I think.) And while I enjoy a more-dominant Oriental presence -- as in Red Rapparee or Presbyterian -- Yenidje Supreme delivers a smoother smoke than either of those worthy blends.

Smoke it slowly, and give the blend a dedicated pipe while you're trying it out.

Bob

Back in the good old days Balkan Sobranie made exquisite cigarettes from Yenidje, packed in a metal tin of ten, the cigs were wrapped in the most beautiful paper I've ever encountered. Unlike most cigarettes, these had no "throat grab" and left an amazing, pleasant room note. These were very delicate smokes...unfiltered, but no where near the power punch of a Camel non filter.

This pipe blend reminds me of those cigarettes in every positive way. On infrequent and brief breaks from the kitchen a pipe was out of the question. These cigs filled the bill perfectly.

This pipe tobacco fills the same void: Delicate, interesting, subtle and refined. No powerhouse, and if you smoke it fast or aren't paying attention you will miss its many fine qualities. If you are looking for something English, Balkan or even Aromatic you will be disappointed. This is in a class by itself.

I bought this tobacco to try something different and was pleasantly surprised. It has a mildly sweet and complex taste. It is not overpowering in any way. The tobacco is moist, lights easily and stays lit. It does have a slight ketchup smell in the tin that McClelland is known for, but not as strong as other McClelland tobaccos I've tried. I think this tobacco falls somewhere between Latakian and Virginian tobacco; closer to Virginian.

The tin aroma of this is Heinz, with lots of plum.

I used the Frank method to smoke this(and many ribbon blends). As usual it suited this blend well. The bowl burned nice and cool with no bite. The bowl burned fairly quickly.

There is a mild smoky, spicy flavor to this tobac that is quite charming, and there's floral hints in there that can't be denied. There's something else in there I can't put my finger on, but it reminds me slightly of an Italian brush fire smoldering during autumn in Tuscany. This is a very interesting, delicious blend I will add to the cellar.

Wonderful.

I will not usually buy something as daring as this. If it does not say Straight Virginia or the like, I wont part with my cash. I recieved this in a package from the one and only Mr Pipestud. I looked at the tin and rememberd reading about it on this site. It was when I opened the tin when I started salivating, as strange as it may seem, it kinda reminds me of Balkan Sobranie but without Latakia.

I regard myself a strange monkey as far as tobaccos are concerned, I only smoke Virginias. I only smoke Latakia blends about once every 2 weeks and VaPers about once a week. I have to say that this blend is now part of my menu of tobaccos. I will smoke it as I do Reinier LGF.

The taste is unlike any tobacco before it. If I had to make a comparison, I would probably say that this is what Balkan Sobranie would taste like if someone forgot the Latakia. This tobacco is very refined and cool with only hints of Yiendie nicely balanced. I smoke it for taste and not for a nicotine hit.

Mo, South Africa

I tried McClelland?s Grand Orientals Yenidje Supreme yesterday for the first time. Here?s a quickie initial impression, based on only one bowl:

In the tin, this tobacco is a ribbon cut consisting of about 2/3 wider reddish-brown ribbons and 1/3 narrower, yellow-brown ribbons. The tin note is red-Virginia fruity, with a pleasantly sourish dry-spicy undertone, and a whiff of the typical McClelland acetic acid. It came fairly dry for a tinned tobacco.

I smoked this baccy in a Dunhill Root Briar 413 billiard. No group number stamped, but I think it?s a 3-4.

First light: the dry-spicy aroma came on strong, with not nearly as much sweetness as the tin note promises.

First half of bowl: the flavors intensified nicely, though all remained light and subtle. Some of the Virginia fruitiness started to come through, though it continued to play only a supporting role. I would characterize the developing flavor as one of cinnamon and possibly cardamom, with a slight peppery/wasabi component that tickled my sinuses most pleasantly. It had a curious but rather nice dry dustiness to it, like spices stored for a long time in an arid place. This blend has a strong resemblance to Just For Him?s Golden Cashmere, and Pipeworks and Wilke?s Gotham Court (if Gotham Court were made with no aromatic flavor additions).

I found the bowl a bit difficult to keep lit.

Second half of bowl: the flavor got even richer. There was a lot going on in there, but always in a subtle way. This is not a blend for mindless smoking. The flavors don't walk right up to you and introduce themselves with hands outstretched; you have to be the one to seek them out! There developed some hint of a woody note, but not that of a freshly-cut bole; rather, like the smell of some spicy tropical wood that has been cut into lumber and stacked for years. I?m only familiar with lumber from native trees of eastern North America, so the closest example I can come up with would be the incense-like smell of lumber cut from redcedar, a.k.a. Virginia juniper, maybe combined with the smell of sassafrass sawdust. Weird, I know, but as a former portable sawmill operator, that?s the source of much of my olfactory vocabulary?

Anyway, the bowl got a bit bitter at the end, but it smoked dry, with clean white ash and only a small bit of dottle left at the finish.

All in all, a most satisfactory purchase! I enjoyed the opportunity to get a good taste of a single variety of Oriental, so I will better be able to identify it in other blends. I emptied the rest of the tin into a mason jar to enjoy later, because I?ve got other open jars and tins I need to finish up. I?ll be curious to see how it smokes after a while in the ?cellar!?

McClelland is not among my favorite blenders. My sense is that on the whole, they produce good, but not great blends from better than average, but not superior leaf.

Yenidje Supreme is an exception. Here we have a blend that uses oriental leaf of the highest caliber in a blend that smokes cool, dry leaving only a trace of ash at the bottom of the bowl. I would recommend this blend to anyone with an interest in orientals, notwithstanding the few negative comments on these pages.

First of all, when I opened the box, tobacco looked very dry. The ketchup flavor exists but it is very light. Probably the box was decayed, as Pipestud told me.

It is the first Oriental tobacco that I try and without being impressed, it convinced me to try more of this kind, cause their flavor is interesting. It is different. In the beginning it was sweet and light, gentle tobacco but as long as the fire was going towards the bowl, it got a bit heavy and bitter. At the moment, I cannot compare it with other Oriental but surely I was not that impressed as I was with Campanile Mixture. It didn?t warm up the bowl and burned dry till the end.

I smoked pleasantly the whole box, trying to discover and discovered NEW flavors, for me.

I will try later again, a maybe, better box and I will revert with an updated input