McClelland Yenidje Highlander

Yenidje Highlander presents very similarly to Yenidje Supreme but with a darker shade of brown and a smattering of black. The tobacco is on the dry side, as one might expect with an Oriental. Tin note is somewhat pungent, spicy-sweet, herbal with just a hint of ferment and tang. Takes a match well and burns dry and cool.

I expected this to be basically Supreme with a pinch of Latakia, and perhaps it is. But Highlander surprised me with more complexity than Supreme. I found the Virginias to be more assertive here and had you told me that was the case, I probably wouldn't have bought it, not generally being a raving fan of McClelland Virginia-forward blends. But the nuance and balance of blending here is simply extraordinary. The interplay of sweet, sour and spicy is a true testament to the blender's artistry. There is perhaps no better marriage than Oriental and Virginia tobacco in the hands of a master blender. The Latakia is truly condiment here but does magical things to this blend, grounding the sharper tobaccos and adding a mushroomy earthiness by mid bowl that contrasts beautifully with the dryer Basma notes and sweeter Virginia.

Highlander is smooth, rich, balanced and extraordinary. Fully satisfying without overwhelming, Highlander is a world class blend.

Miss Perique found the room note awful. But I loved it.

I Definitely highly recommend this tobacco. The latakia is light and the majority of flavor is provided by the top quality, very delicious, oriental leaf. Throughout the bowl the is an underlying Virginia sweetness that mellows and sweetens the smoke. It occasionally comes to the forefront of the flavor profile while being smoked, but for the most part provides that much needed back drop.

The Yenidje or Xenthi, or whatever kind of oriental leaf I cant pronounce is in this blend is excellent. Very spicy, not in the sense of a burning sensation, but like spices used to flavor meets. A bit of a clove flavor, and even a very very subtle mint like flavor in the way background of the smoke behind the virginias.

The Latakia produces its usual smokiness, though combined with the intense oriental flavor, produces something very close to a very spicy ham or turkey flavor, less the obvious taste of the meat itself.

Smells delicious to me in the tin and in the air.

This truly is an amazing tobacco, everything about it is great. It was good enough to make me want to try the other blends in the series.

This tobacco is to be smoked as a treat, and not like everyday tobacco. I've been smoking it regularly for the past days, but this requires comfortable atmosphere, and not in the rush or while doing something else. I smoke it while driving lately, and I regret for missing all the subtle notes that require more attention. I'm not going to write about it's tin aroma, because every McClelland tin is absolutely the same, you can't tell by the tin aroma which is which because they are all like ketchup. If you leave it a bit to settle down, dry and mellow, the ketchup aroma disappears and it's ok. I put mine in a leather pouch and after a few days there it gets just as it should be. Latakias are less than expected, but there are both syrian and cyprian, so it's ok in the first third of the bowl. Yenidje is present, adds sweetness and freshness and together with syrian latakia makes the blend somewhat noble. After the first third, latakia goes completely in the background and the oriental comes upfront and the fun starts. VA also comes to the attention, and combined with the oriental it gets as fantastic as it can be. Wonderful all the way down throughout the bowl. You can dry it a little bit more than usual if you wan't to underline even more the fantastic oriental note. It tends to bite however, even if sipped gently. Nicotine is ok, but taste isn't full as I expected. It's subtle and mild, I know, oriental blends are like that, and if you put more of the "body" tobaccos, the orientals wouldn't play well, but this one could use just a little bit more VA and Latakia for my account. Anyway, awesome tobacco, try it, you won't regret.

I have been smoking a 2007 tin of this superb blend a lot over the past couple of weeks. I'm near the end of a bowl in a Peterson B5 Donegal Rocky p-lip that is dedicated to lighter Latakia blends like GLP Piccadilly. But I digress... The yenidje is sublime, lending an herbal, vaguely floral note. The Virginias are sweet and give a solid foundation to the more exotic varietals from the former Ottoman Empire. I get that meat & potatoes flavor of burley here & there, and I assume that emanates from the Maryland tobaccos. The Cyprian gives a little body, but that Syrian is so intriguing. I'm familiar with it through MacBaren's HH Vintage Syrian, FMAtP. It's a big treat. Much more complex and definitely spicer and less smoky than the Cyprus leaf. This is good stuff and have a few more sealed tins from the early days of the blend, along with Black Sea Sokhoum--my other favorite in this series. I give it a 3.95 out of four because I occasionally get the McClelland ketchup thing. It's nice to exhale via the nose to experience a little more completely.

I have a dreadful fear, that the day may come when the Grand Orientals have run their course, and I have yet to sample the greater majority.

I absolutely love this blend. It's got an English kick like I've never tasted before, and the Syrian leaf is a beautiful accompaniment to an already well blended mixture.

I remember my early pipe smoking days...just a couple of years ago...I bought the McClelland Super Balkan variety, and I just couldn't pick it apart from a regular Cyprian mix. I think the defining moment came when I smoked MacBaren's Syrian mixture and fell in love with the different properties from the Cyprian leaf.

Now, Highlander has both, but I can easily detect the Syrian, and I cannot fathom a time in the future where the supply may run short and dry. I don't care what it takes, I want more Syrian Latakia in my blends. Bashar al-Assad is a jackass to be sure, I understand, but I am willing to overlook some serious flaws if I can keep smoking this masterful concoction.

Ahhh..my dwindling tins!

Four of Four.

First off, I hope someday, somehow, to burst a major and irritating myth here. It's a little off-subject, but I can't resist the temptation any longer. Good Ladies and Gentlemen: McLelland flakes DO NOT SMELL LIKE KETCHUP, CATSUP, OR ANYTHING IN BETWEEN...A recent non-scientific study has revealed this very clearly to me, anyway. Similar to catsup? Maybe a little--McC offerings such as Dark Star or the annual Christmas flake can also be compared to certain types of chutney, fermenting hay bales ... but who started this ketchup thing? Anyway, it's only an opinion, but it feels good to get that out into the open!

Yenjidje Highlander: ahh! It's Christmas in August! I love this blend -- smooth, inviting, prone toward meditative, relaxed reverie. Been having success with this fine blend mainly in my small collection of Dunhills--very satisfying in a clay-type Churchwarden, and I may even dedicate a group 3 tanshell lovat to this one. Less tame and a little bit harsher in a short, stubby Castello which has a lot of air flow.

As others have noted, YH doesn't veer full-on into the territory of heavy Balkan blends, as there is indeed not enough Latakia for that to be the case, it seems to me. What is this--a 'Turkish' or 'Oriental' type blend?

In my original review, I'd mentioned a touch of harshness at the charring light. I take that back--I may have been working it too hard or putting the flame directly to leaf, a surefire way to get a bit of bite.

With easy puffing, small bowlfuls lasted a long while, up to an hour, for me. Not always staying lit easily but I've been enjoying this blend during one of the most humid summers in my memory (smoking outdoors 95% of the time), so that contributes I reckon. An instant favorite which will remain in my top rotation as long as it's available (hopefully for many years) and it was enjoyed/appreciated by my non-pipesmoker friends on a recent trip to the north woods of Maine (the mosquitoes did NOT enjoy it, fortunately).

Sounded exotic so I took the plunge. This is a smoke that reveals itself over time. and it is worth the journey. There are many things going on here. Im not a big latakia lover--but i do appreciate and enjoy the smoky exhale of the leaf. Here it is applied with grace and a true blender's skill. the Latakia supports rather than leads. and it is only noticeable on the back end of the smoke--which is perfect for that effect.

The full body of the blend is a cool and easy smoke. its there to enjoy if you want it, but not bold or in your face. All I can really say is--when i first smoked it-I thought--OK, mellow English blend with slight sweet overtones of a hint of Syrian will be OK for that rotation disruption once in a while. But now, its my go to smoke morning or night. I appreciate its light complexity and character of the smoke. it seems to bend to fit the mood.

Good stuff, indeed. The tin I bought had a few years of age on it, which had greatly softened the Lat and focused the Turkish leaf. The Turk was out front, the Virginian well in the background in this tin, with the Lat providing a bit of generalized smokiness. It was terrific.

No McCletchup, just a wee vinegary frisson to the tin note upon opening. The sweet and sour of the Turkish leaf tasted great on the draw, but the room note did not make me any friends. Don't know how this compares to a fresh or fresher tin, but I recommend it wholeheartedly. Not too strong, though: nic-hitters will have to get that somewhere else, though there is enough nic and tobacco taste to satisfy all but the hardest hitters, I think.

Let me confess that I am not one of the Oriental cognoscenti, though I like the stuff. This blend is really tasty if you like the sweet-sour Turk experience, with a strong VA bottom. Love the coarse cut, too.

This pays homage to the Sobrranie of old. It is a very flavorful blend. A true Balkan in every sense of the word. The Xanthi is strong in this blend and I love its bitter mid-range flavor notes. Unfortunately this one stinks really bad to non-smokers, so be warned. I have gone through several tins of this blend and am currently out, time to re-stock! Definitely one of my favorites...