McClelland Black Sea Sokhoum

I love orientals. There, I have said it This is a rich complex oriental. To me this is an all day smoke that continually remains tasty every time to the end. Robust, even non smokers like the aroma.

Recommended to me because I was looking for a cigar blend. This is not it. When I'm thinking corona or maduro, this falls far short. Settling that aside, I'll review it for its own merits.

I'm a heavy puffer, so I prefer blends that smoke cool. This isn't too bad. It smokes completely down to a fine white ash. But no hash taste. There is a bottom-of-the-bowl taste I don't like, though. A sweet, off flavor.

The tobacco has a sweet flavor, but it's a bit sour to me. I'm not a huge fan of orientals, but I've had several I like. I tried it, then waited a year and tired it a few more times. I'm not really a fan. It's not bad, but not my style.

As the other McClelland Grand Oriental series tobaccos I've unsealed the tin, closed the lid, and left it a couple of days for the smell and flavors to be settled.

The very well known, typical McClelland's sour-sweet smell and flavor is present in this tin. The subtile cigarette smell can be detected even from the tin. As said on tin description this is not a cigar (cuban for example) taste. This is cigarette taste. Some of our reviewer friends may have had this misunderstandig.

This blend smells and tastes like Classic Samsun of the same Grand Orientals series. It is a bit more powerful and sweet. The Virginia addition must be somehow higher in this blend. Behind the sweetness of Virginias the exotic, cigarette tasty oriental is present. This Turkish also has more spicy notes than the Classic Samsun. The bowl gets richer in smoke and flavors when you reach the half of it. It finishes without any bite or overhelming taste or nicotine dose, leaving a soft whitish ash.

If you like the sourness of typical McClelland blends and fine oriental smokes like me, this one is also a great choice together with the other blends of the same series. I'll keep on smoking at least one bowl per day from these Grand Orientals. And Black Sea Sokhoum will not be an exception.

First of all, I would like to thank McClelland for the wonderful blends he has given us in these 40 years of activity. It seems impossible to me the factory is closing down. I can’t believe it, but unfortunately all is true. Great McClelland and thanks for all. We will miss you. And I want to thank Pipestud for the latest blog that represents all of us.

Now the review. Black Sea Sokhoum is another McClelland masterpiece. Sokhoum is a particular leaf very difficult to find. Delicate, aromatic, but also mellow and tasty. And this blend (Virginia with Sokhoum) is a natural aromatic mixture with a full-bodied flavor. Really pleasant. No defects with a clean, gentle and harmonious taste. Just a little more “rustic” than the other “Grand Orientals”. Without any doubt, this could be a four stars, but I give it only three stars because, in a hypothetical preference scale among Grand Orientals, in my opinion Smyrna n°1 and Drama Reserve are superior. Anyway a great natural blend. So, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 9 and three stars.

Superb. Just an absolute must if you like oriental leaf at all. The entire line of Grand Orientals is very good. Its hard to pick a favorite although this is in the running. And for those who complain of ketchup.... just stop. You give yourself away as a novice. McClelland is, perhaps, the best producer of pipe tobacco today....though Gawith is in the running. The virginias are top flight...a mix of various kinds and the cut is ribbon, though not too fine a ribbon. It smokes easy and very cool. In fact amazingly cool given its a ribbon cut. The flavors are multi layered and smoking slow is the best way to get to appreciate the complexity. This is gourmet stuff. A top five star blend if such a thing were available here. No casing, just tobacco.

This was a real treat and, to date, my favorite of the grand oriental series. This blend is cigar like, but not much like a cigar if that makes any sense. The oriental used (BSS) is one I never hear of as being called out in other blends. In fact it seems many blenders are hesitant to really detail what Oriental or Turkish leaves they actually used. In a sense it makes this series, produced by McClelland almost a must try for anyone curious of the differences between Orientals.

I find many oriental and Turkish varietals come off as sour to my tastes. This has held true for the other GO blend I tried, but this one very little sourness to it. Aside from describing it as cigar like, it is a little woody tasting. It is hard to describe the actual flavor. One should just buy it and discover for themselves.

It is my hope in going through the various GO series, I will find the Oriental flavors that make me go wild. Like those used in John Cotton 1&2. It may have been a touch of this, but was definitely not classic samsun. I have also smoked enough Smyrna and Yendge to know it is not them. With all of the rest of the series in the cellar, hopefully I will be able to narrow in on it.

Anyway, back on topic. Try this one for something different from McClelland. As an endnote, the oriental will not completely cover the Ketchup smell, so the ketchup haters should give it a pass. 😉

In the tin, this medium ribbon blend is notable for its initial turkish spiciness, along with a distinct cocoa note. The McC virginia fermented scent, stemming from both black stoved and red virginia, is present, though subdued. There seems to be condimental leaf, neither black stoved virginia nor latakia, which may be natural burley black cavendish or, more likely, dark kentucky. Perique seems absent from this blend.

Since the spirit of this series is, apparently, the splitting of hairs... some nuances exhibited are: dragonwell tea, chocolate, and rye toast. I must admit that the "cigar-like" characteristic eluded my cognizance.

Black Sea Sokhoum is savory and delivers loads of nuance.

Chamber Gauge: Medium

Black Sea Sokhoum is an excellent Oriental mixture, my favorite among the Grand Orientals collection. It shares the spiciness and sweetness with its cousins, with aditional subtle tastes of burley and cigar. Although I enjoyed the others, I won't be buying tins in the foreseeable future. BSS is the exception: I feel I need some more of this one.

Cigar like? Hmmm. There is no cigar leaf in this blend, so the tin description could be a little confusing. I smoke cigar blend regularly and I don't detect any cigar leaf character here. I assume it's just a description of the flavor present in this blend. Also, while I think is a good high quality blend, I don't taste exotic oriental tobacco either. The tins description leads us to believe that is a traditional virginia/oriental tobacco. However, It's a sweet aromatic, and tastes like their other mislabeled blends like Syrian "Balkan" or Virginia Woods! The typical McClelland virginias with a faint acidic smell are present. There is a sweetened or cased dark tobacco which really makes this an aromatic blend. It is light and has a lovely room note. But it's not what's advertised, which is so typical with McClelland.

Good quality and some people will like it.