McClelland Yenidje Supreme

In one sentence, this is a perfectly good tobacco, but it in no way deserves to be called "Grand Oriental" or "Yenidje Supreme". The Yenidje almost vanishes in smoking, instead of being a strong top-note as one would expect from the name. This is what My Favourite Tobacconist would call a balanced blend.

On opening the tin, the charcteristic McC ketchup aroma was apparent, but doesn't seem to affect the taste of the smoke. I could smell the yenidje in the tin but barely taste it in the smoke. Mac Baren - HH Vintage Syrian has far more yenidje, even my local blender's imitation of Dunhill MM 965 has more. Instead the red-cake Virginia dominates the flavour. Oddly,the Yenidje is more noticeable in the room aroma.

All that being said, this is a fine, satisfying smoke, not too strong but very flavourful, with a fairly complex Makeup. It's just misnamed or badly marketed. I'm tempted to downgrade it to 2 stars for misleading advertising, but that would be unfair. It is not McC's best or most charcterful blend (I nominate St. James Wood for that place), but it deserves 3 stars.

Yenidje Supreme presents as medium brown ribbon wIth a smattering of lighter brown. Tin note is slightly sweet, plummy, dark chocolatey, with hints of stewed fruit and light exotic spice. As with most Orientals, YS arrives at just the right moisture content and is immediately ready to smoke.

The charring light is peppery and spicy, quickly producing volumes of grey plumes with a smokey room note. From the true light onwards, YS is black pepper on the tip of the tongue, spicy, with a somewhat sharper and smokier taste than most blends featuring some generic "Turkish". Like all good Orientals, the burn is fast but never hot, very dry-smoking, with no bite. The flavors of this Basma (more specifically, Xanthi) blend are very consistent throughout the bowl with black pepper and spice predominant.

There is some sweetness from the Virginia, yes, but I'm clearly in the minority here in not picking up sweet flavor as dominant in this blend (though there is a subtle plum backdrop to this otherwise spicy formulation). Despite not being a raving fan of McClelland-style Virginias, the strong Basma masks and blends with the Virginia very well and I really enjoyed this blend. Exceptionally well blended and consistent. A very good Oriental, though not my favorite of this series. What it has going for it is smoothness and, as such, could be an all day smoke for those who enjoy this style of tobacco. While many refer to Oriental tobaccos as lighter in nicotine, I found this blend fully satisfying.

good blend. Oriental must and virginia sweetness. Definitely quality, and definitely brings out the best in this most interesting and complex oriental leaf. Almost cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove like with a sweet virginia base. the flavor is incredibly complex and hard to describe. The aftertaste is almost refreshing. A bit of a tea type taste with hints of mint.

I prefer yenidje highlander which is very similar but with a small amount of latakia, but this definitely does a better job at showing off the wonderful oriental tobacco which gives the blend its name

A very mild McClelland with just enough Yenidje to flavor the blend without overwhelming the Virginias, YS is a beautiful example of Mac's Grand Orientals. It tastes so good, you won't mind the paucity of nicotine. A perfect morning smoke, without a hint of tongue bite, you can puff as hard as you like. YS is an ideal blend for the novice pipe smoker and a perfect companion to the veteran.

Although I wrote that you can puff hard as you like, I must qualify that statement. The favors in this blend are fragile and subtle. The slower you sip this one, the more you will get out of it.

Y'know that wonderful smell of dry oak leaves while you're raking your yard in autumn? Add McC's classic ketchup smell and that's the tin aroma. Very nice actually.

Straight from the tin it was relatively dry. I just carelessly crammed my pipe about half full and lit it up, and it burned perfectly. Upon lighting it's relatively mundane until the bowl warms up. After five minutes it settles into a nice smoky flavor but with the Virginias readily accessible - a good thing for me since I like straight Virginias.

It never gets really complex, but it's just a steady supply of mild flavor - a little VA sweetness mixed with a particular earthy taste I haven't experienced elsewhere (the Orientals obviously) and can't really compare to anything else. If you're careful and keep it cool this blend will reward you with a very interesting, relaxing smoke. Don't expect a big buzz, just mellow flavor for a mellow afternoon on the back porch. Three and a half stars...think we'll call it three.

McClelland - Yenidje Supreme

A blend that is gentle, subtle, delicate.  Nutmeg, cloves, maybe paprika.  Not real deep but yet I quite enjoyed the variety of kitchen spice flavors.  A hint of the virginia twang and citrus, no hay.  Not wanting to say it's topped, but considering the slight clove type notes and sweetness a very light topping could be possible.  Very little nicotine.

Is this blend truly soo-preem?  I'm not sure.  I didn't get the sense that it put the yenidze on display as fully as it could have.  Still, the taste of this blend was memorable to me and it was worth spending the numerous relaxed bowls I had with it.

I just popped a tin of this stuff and I gotta say it delivers. This tin, too, though just received, was canned in 2007. It's just the right moisture and I don't find the ubiquitous Mickey C "ketchup" here (though I don't mid that at all in other blends).

It lights easily, smokes cool, is sweet and a little peppery (just enough, not too much). There's just enough Turkish Yenidje (Xanthi) in this blend and it never overwhelms the fine virginias. It's a mild smoke, but flavorful. It doesn't bite. The retrohale is nice. The room note, while not exemplary, is good and wife-friendly. Kind of reminds me of Balkan Sobranie 759 in a way, especially when the sweetness kicks in. Burns cleanly to a fine white ash.

If you like Orientals, without the lakatia to obfuscate the flavors, this virginia-forward blend is sure to please.

I find this to be an interesting blend. I usually like Orientals as a spice not the main player but I find this blend to be quite enjoyable. It has a burst of flavor from first light and it does not fade all the way down. Quite sweet and tangy but with a a creaminess as well. The leaves and buds of this blend are wuite small, making it very easy to load the pipe and light. I covers the brown color spectrum from very light to very dark in a fine ribbon cut. It has a sweet, musky almost perfumy aroma in the pouch, yet it does not have the perfume taste of any topping. It has a medium full flavor but no bite at all and for some could be an all day smoke. It has a pleasant but not great room note, would not offend anyone but would never get the yum aroma of a lot of blends. It smokes down to a clean powdery ash that it gray and black intermingled. Smokes very dry and is a great sipping tobacco to go with a drink. This tobacco does not gain anything down the bowl stays consistant throughout. I do recommend trying this one. Note: no Ketchup aroma with this one.

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