McClelland Yenidje Supreme

I'll second the olefattguy!

I will add that this wonderful blend will perform at a much higher level once dried out to the point where it is just slightly less than crispy. Try that to get the full flavor bursts much sooner than later.

Again, the olefattguy stole my thunder with his report... Nothing left for me to say... That may be a first. (-;

The reviews by PuffDaddy and PeterD are spot-on IMHO. Yenidje Supreme is wonderful, creamy, cool and smooth. There is something edgy about it, too, but not sharp like the Orientals in something like Balkan Sasieni or Crown Achievement (in its better years). YS makes me all the more anxious to receive my backordered tin of Yenidje Highlander.

Do not fear duplication from Embarcadero, as the yenidje leaf (spicy, creamy) is different from the izmir (soft, subtle spice) in Pease's newest. Embarcadero is also sweeter and more Virginia-tilted than YS. I chose to compare E & YS because they are both very recent releases and of the same genre.

Shoot, there has been a boom for blends with varietal Orientals this year: C&D came out with their Simply Elegant line of blends, McClelland with their Grand Orientals, Mac Baren with HH Virginia and Pease with Embarcadero. The barn doors have been opened once again for purchasing high-quality, Oriental varietals by "boutique" pipe tobacco houses.

What a fine time to be a tobacco pipe smoker!

P.S. I smoked YS in a Radice Silk 1/8 bent Billiard I spent Labor Day altering. Skip the rest if pipe mechanics are of no interest to you.

I filed-out a "Y" at the end of the stem and made the draft exit hole at the stem button into an oval. I funneled the end of the tenon and put a radius on the outside edge of the tenon. The draft hole in the shank was already clear from the factory, with an above average diameter.

This work removed a "whistle" in the stem and tuned an already fine smoker into a mind blower! I used the same packing method (the "Frank Method"), same blend, but enjoyed a cooler, dry smoke with incredible depth of flavor. Subtleties were revealed in YS previously unknown to my palate with the same pipe. No relights needed after ignition, either.

For me, this verified the principles pipe maker Jody Davis puts forth about unobstructed airflow (and going back further to Jim Benjamin, Jim Cooke, Jess Chonowitsch, S. Bang). A Benni Jorgensen ½ bent pipe I own has a slightly smaller draft hole diameter than the Radice (3.2mm vs. 3.3mm), but arrived new with clear airflow from bowl to button. It has a very thin bit and well-cured wood. The Radice was its equal on all points but for a too-severe taper through the stem and narrow exit at the button. Small tools and hour of patient work made a world of difference on a wonderful blend.

Apologies to the board moderator if this is too off-topic, but the pipe work made a big difference on how I tasted a very fine Mc Clelland blend.

The tin note of this tobacco is textbook McClelland, i.e. ketchup! I'm convinced that should McClelland ever tin dog excrement it will somehow end up smelling like ketchup. And the fact that such a pronounced ketchup aroma never seems to translate into the taste of their tobaccos verges on the eighth wonder of the world. There's some really bizarre chemistry/alchemy that's going on at the McClelland factory and I'll never quite understand it.

The good news is that this is a top notch smoke. Since this Yenidje version is the one that lacks Latakia, I was expecting a fairly tame, underwhelming smoke but I wanted to get a better idea of what Yenidje tastes like. To my surprise, this is a very interesting blend with a great deal of interplay and harmony with the component tobaccos.

To start, the Virginia tobaccos are very sweet. All too often the Virginias in many blends disappoint me. Instead of being characteristically sweet, they're often very hay-like and flavorless. Not the case with this blend. I checked the stamp at the bottom of the tin and there were six numbers, ending in 07. Another tin I bought (Yenidje Highlander) ended in 12. Is it possible that the last two numbers indicate the year it was produced? I'm not sure but if the tin is actually new and not from 2007 I can only imagine how much better the Virginias will taste with some age on it.

The Yenidje and whatever other Orientals are present add complexity and take this blend to another level. They provide a good amount of tanginess and nuttiness that balances the Virginias superbly. Most of the non-Latakia blends I've smoked just seem to lack a certain smokiness and depth that I find myself craving. This blend, however, didn't need the Latakia. It delivers perfectly well without it and is never dull or monochromatic. I found myself enjoying the exhaled smoke as much as the taste. It has a wonderful incense-like quality with an underlying sweetness that was extremely appealing.

For me, pipe smoking is about quality over quantity. When I do smoke, I like experiencing a symphony on my palate. This blend isn't a 102 piece orchestra with every bell and whistle, but rather more like a nice chamber orchestra. And that's perfectly fine-it executes well and I'll be enjoying more of this in the future.

Its curious to read negative reviews of the grand oriental series. Maybe I should say frustrating. These are superb blends. What they are not is terribly strong. But oriental leaf is not meant to be used in strong blends because they just get submerged and lost. Unless of course you pile on the condimental leaf. And that is not the purpose in this series. What I find with all of them (and smyrna or samsun might be my favorites but i like all of them) is that they are mild but complex, of the highest quality, and meant for reflective times. Now...they also serve as great all day smokes IMHO. I smoke them that way a good deal. The oriental gives the tin smell a magic quality. Its the best tin notes Ive ever experienced in fact. The nic hit on Yenidje is mild...but not super mild. There is for sure some nicotine in there. No bite...never ...and for ribbon cut its a cool slow burn. I wonder if they might eventually provide flake versions...that would be great. But if you smoke Macbaren burley or drugstore blends, then no, this is not for you. The Yenidje Supreme is milder than some of the others, but the flavor is medium. McClelland has the best virginia in the business and all of these demonstrate that. This is naturally sweet (Virginia) with subtle woodsy slightly pungent sour notes. All told a clear 4 star blend.

Extraordinary exhibition of the art of blending:best oriental leaf,magical Va both together in the exact proporcion.Nothing more and nothing less.Intensity,strength(What are smoking people who call this mild?),flavour and nicotine,not a little.I´m afraid of typical Va biting but after smoking this fabolous blend I´ll try the famous McClelland´s virginias.To be a little punctilious I´ll say that the peculiar aroma from Yenidje is almost the same of the sawn olive wood more than oil.In every case this doesn´t result after burning in a frying smell but it preserve the crude aroma from olive wood.In short a almost mystical experience,not for every day or hour.

Yenidje adds a sweet and subtley herbal flavor. A unique treat found in many less than stellar blends, this is a blend that truly exemplifies the Yenidje (Xanthi) flavor profile.

A must try!

Wish I had given this one a try when it was still in production - if I had a time machine I would certainly squirrel a bit away for the future.

Alas! This is a wonderful smoke. Buttery, smooth, and well-balanced with a delightful undercurrent of vinegary tang. The sour notes bring to mind Levant Mixture, though there the similarities end. Mild in strength but approaching fullness in flavor and aroma. Try it if you can get your hand on it! 4/4

To me this tastes absolutely nothing like Middleton's Cherry Blend. I said that just to grab your attention. And now just two more words: Exotic Masterpiece.

Sampled from a 2007 vintage tin. Many have already described this blend's attributes better than I could. My first impression was that it tasted somewhat like Sullivan & Powell's Gentleman's Mixture Original and that's some really good stuff. This makes a pretty good Balkan with some Latakia blended in. I mixed a small amount of McConnell's Latakia with this and it wasn't bad at all.

I believe there is Red Virginia combined with the Yenidje in this blend. I like these Orientals for a change of pace. Sometimes, I might even fill the bottom third of a bowl, or use something like this to mix in a little flavor & tone down the finish of a very strong blend, or one that might be Latakia heavy. Anyway, there's not much I can complain about with this offering. I concur with most of the other reviewers...4 ****s!