McClelland Classic Samsun

Ahh, the Samsun! Like all blends in the Grand Oriental line, this one is sure to please an experienced smoker as much as a newcomer. It is easy to fall in love with, while offering great depth to the more discerning palate. The palate is tantalizingly sweet, especially once you master the pace. Light in strength yet highly satisfying in flavour, room note, and the after taste. As great in the heat of summer as it is on a winter afternoon.

I wish I could compose the words and sentences to do this tobacco the full justice it most assuredly deserves. If one cares for Oriental tobacco at all, this will very easily go to the top headings of your list. A taste of spice, a taste of sweetness, a taste of earthiness. None of which are overwhelming, but migrating to the front for prominence, staying long enough for you to enjoy and be pleased by that sensation, then withdrawing to the background for the next momentary sensation to please you and it then also drifts into the background to be replenished by a new sensation of pleasure.

It does not bite your tongue or scorch the roof of your mouth. I have not been able to push it to become a nuclear rocket sled on a stick. I make the suggestion to get your pipe packed correctly so that you may smoke it as slow as possible, not to avoid heat, but so that you may "sip" this tobacco and truly enjoy its spectrum of flavors.

I highly recommend this tobacco not only to Oriental tobacco lovers, but for those willing to change from aromatics or Latakia smokers wanting a change of pace. It is on my lists of "Always Have" and "Grab Now."

My Dunhill pipes love it and so do I.

This is the blend that has turned me on to try the rest of the Grand Orientals series. Quite good. And sip slow, not fast, or it will ruin it. I thought I hated it at first, but that was because I was huffing and puffing.

Sweet, delicate, satisfying, and not too rich, so that this could be an all-day for some.

UPDATE: I figured I should come back and say that the roomnote on this is fantastic. A friend was smoking it near me and it was amazing. I'm not sure how anyone could dislike this note, smoker or no.

Along with Drama Reserve, my favorite from the Grand Orientals collection. Low on vinegar casing, this is the more "burleish" of all Orientals, with an earthy, almost nutty taste and excellent burning properties. And the only one I can smoke twice in a row without getting bored.

A must try.

Throughly enjoyed this blend. Classic Samsun is a subtle blend, and best smoked in a pipe that smokes neutral, such as a meer. It has a lightly creamy flavor, with a natural sweetness. There is a nutty component, such as in a good straight burley, but without the cigarish flavor or bite of a burley.

I'll add to this review as I'm not doing justice to the blend. Suffice to say, this is what I want my aromatics to smoke & taste like.

The word I can better think of for describing this blend is: Neutral. For the good and for the bad. There´s nothing to criticize about it, but nothing to praise either. As I said, this quality can be good or not so good, depending on personal preferences and different moments. In other words, for me it´s great to smoke it early in the morning, when the tasting buds are flowering and need something delicate and elegant, or it can be good as well to "clean" your taste, just in the sense Francis Poulenc used to say that Mozart was to clean your ears after Wagner; but on the other side it´s flatness can make it become very boring.

What happens to me is that every time I smoke it I say: Wow, how nice is this!, but I almost never feel like smoking it again. I have to force myself, to say it somehow. Weird, isn´t it?

It tends to become a little bitter towards the end, as most orientals do.

Pipe smoking friends, this is wonderful. It just has to smoked to be believed. There is a slight cigar note, but the main thrusts are subdued Virginias and exotic, dark spice and earthy truffles. There is a pleasant acrid, slightly sour note noticeable at bowl's end.

Samsun is not Yenidje and it would have been hard to note the differences without this series (I'll bet most blending houses nowadays need this series to compare what fine varietals are all about, given that most blenders have recently only had blended Orientals to work with). Both varietals are wunder-leaf on their own.

This kind of mixture makes one forget about Latakia, and makes me think that blenders use too much Latakia to compensate for low-quality Orientals and/or inferior flue-cured tobaccos.

There is some sort of chocolate top note, but whether this is from the leaf or accentuation by the blender, I'm not sure. This top note does not translate into the flavor or burning aroma.

The burning qualities and ash are superior. This is very cool, dry smoking and lush. I will try the rest of the series, now that I have smoked YS, YH and CS.

The coarse ribbon cut packs and lights well. The smell has the classic McClelland vinegar with some celery salt and curry (seriously). Very spicy, but not overpowering. Very unique.

The flavours come across as nutty, musty, and toasty, with a little sweetness. As you work your way down the bowl, the spice and nuttiness grows, while the sweetness steps back. The bottom of the bowl is much earthier and carries some marshmallow-like sweetness. The flavours are gentle, but not disappointing.

Just right on the nicotine. I'd call it medium strength.

Though it did tend to smoke a little wet for me, it burned to the bottom cleanly. Don't ask me how.

It's a nice blend, but were it still in production, I probably wouldn't buy it again--there are just too many blends to try!

I’ve traveled throughout Asia and have a thing for orientals. Lol.

In the tin, this blend had a nutty and faintly dried prune/raisin smell. It was easy to pack and after a couple of charring lights we were smoking. The flavor was mildly smoky and sweet. I was unable detect plums/raisins. It was a pleasant smoke and stayed lit almost to the end, but I had to relight once. I hit it pretty hard, but it didn’t over heat the bowl or bite me. The nicotine was mild, too. I’ll continue smoking it to see if my opinion changes, but right now I have to say it wasn’t special, but it was good.