McClelland Yenice Agonya

The Grand Orientals are sort of one-hit wonders. Most will never have a place in the regular rotation, but each is a unique and beautiful example of the art.

Yenice Agonya is a perfect blend of mild Virginias coupled with a mellow fragrant oriental, highlighting this varietal's special flavor.

Ideal for Virginia lovers looking for a little spice in their smoke, YA is one that I will keep on hand, even if I only make it through one tin in a year.

What a treat this blend is!

I've been kind of jaded with many of the new blends that have come out in the last couple of years, but this one was a pleasant surprise.

The Tin aroma is delicious, yes it has the typical McClelland signature note, but the oriental is still noticable. It is a little wet upon opening the tin, but it still burned like a champ.

The flavor is really delicious, with slight cigar notes from time to time. The flavor is complex as well like some of the finest Belgian beers. the varietal is very apparent in this blend and very welcome indeed! I much prefer this blend to Yenedgie Highlander, even though that blend is another excellent one.

All in all, this blend is going to be a new staple for me. Just enough strength with plenty of complexity, great burning characteristics, what more could you want? Another bowl, thank you! Highly recommended.....

Presentation is medium brown ribbon with the occasional lighter strand. Tin note is slightly pungent with a hint of vinegar, along with some chocolate and herbal notes. The charring light is slightly toasty, nutty and creamy with an assertive touch of balsamic.

The mouthfeel here is very full and creamy, but the blend itself is not heavy. That balsamic note dissipates during the first third of the bowl and the remaining smoke is creamy, with touches of chocolate, wood, parchment, herb and spice. This is a tobacco that helps clarify why master blenders so often describe fine Orientals as "aromatic".

Like any quality Oriental, Yenice Agonya smokes cool and dry and is above average in smoothness even within its extremely smooth-smoking class. Flavor profiles, by the middle of the first third, are consistent to the end. The finish is dry with little residual moisture. As with any quality Oriental/Virginia, there is absolutely no bite to this blend.

The Grand Orientals series, to my palate, is a smashing success. And Yenice Agonya is no exception. A singularly unique and world class blend.

Presentation: surprisingly dark in the tin, with long, waxy ribbon-cut leaf, and small chunks of what looks to me like black-stoved Virginia. The leaf is clearly superior quality.

Tin note: mild McClelland signature tang, combining sweetness and spice and a leathery, earthy undertone.

Light: Burns very easily, though this sample has been resting in a tin for about a year and is probably just this side of dry. It can be packed quite hard and still maintain an open draw, which helps concentrate the mildness of the smoke. Two charring lights is more than sufficient for the whole bowl.

Bowl: The fact that this is a mild and subtle tobacco does not mean that this is too mild or too subtle. The delicacy of the Agonya leaf is well framed by the aged virginias, and the overall balance is superb. I highly recommend dedicating at least a few days to this tobacco, to allow the palate to adjust to its soft-spoken delicacy. I also recommend a wider-than-usual bowl. My most satisfying smokes have been in pot-shaped pipes, an old Charatan Belevedere 4, a GDB Speciale, and two Stanewells, a newish 11 and and old 13 billiard.

The best comparison I can make is to subtle, mildly astringent teas, like high-grown Darjeelings, which are by comparison to heavier Assams almost etherial, but in the end infinitely more compelling, herbacious and mildly astringent, fruit-filled without any cloying sweetness.

In short, another triumph in the Grand Oriental's series. Not perhaps quite at the pinnacle where I would place Yenidje Supreme, but up there.

What a delightful blend this is.

It took me a very long time to appreciate this one -- I stuck with it for almost two years, in fact, because I sensed it would one day come alive for me. And it has. And it was worth the wait and the effort.

First it had to age properly. Without letting it age and dry, it's a very vinegary, overly-spicy blend. But letting it dry and mellow really makes the ingredients meld into a uniquely subtle and complex flavor that requires some focus to appreciate.

I also had to find the right pipe for it. It may be the most subtly temperamental blend I've known, one that required just the right bowl to really make it sing. For me, a dublin -- and only a very certain French dublin -- somehow concentrated the flavors to fully reveal its creamy, dry, smoothly delicate tangy spiciness. There's something mysterious about this blend: the oriental wafts and shimmers in the flavorscape, but only from certain angles.

This beautifully burning blend is a very subtle, complex and unique delicacy, one to savor for meditative times. It's a quiet masterpiece for the discerning palate, very zen. Oriental lovers owe it to themselves to give it a try.

Mixed cut, contains ribbons from brown leaf, pieces broken off from flakes and also some black chunks of heavily pressed stoved tobacco. The tin note is delectable! It smells like a Christmas pudding (with just a trace of the vinegary tell-tale McC aroma) but in a subtle way, not the in-your-face aroma of Danish aromatics.

Now the moisture is all right, but the mixed cut requires some effort to light, I think it calls for rather big-ish bowls as it’s a little unwieldly. Anyway, a little drying won’t do any harm.

Once lit the tobacco gives off a sweet, smooth and mellow taste of medium strength and with a delicate heavenly aroma of sweet spices. I find all of the tobaccos in the McClellands Grand Oriental series delectable. Such a pity they gone…

The words smooth, mellow, delicate and subtle describe perfectly the tobacco but I’d just like to comment on the craftmanship that was contained into its manufacture. I live in Greece and I have access to top quality pure oriental leafs like Basma and Izmir, so I can make my own Oriental blends using Virginias like Golden Glow, 5100, Opening Night and others, sometimes adding Perique other times not. Sometimes I achieve really great blends. Now on the market, there are but a few Oriental blends without Latakia and some of the best are G.L. Pease’s, my favourites being Embarcadero and Temple Bar. My own blends are comparable to these. What I mean is that with the materials I have I can make Oriental blends of similar quality and taste. McClelland’s Oriental series on the other hand have a character of their own. They might not showcase the Oriental leaf as prominently and purely as Pease’s blends – they are not what I would suggest someone wanting to discover how the Orientals taste to try because above the Oriental character it’s the McNeill hand that shines. I would compare Pease’s blends to Italian cuisine – top quality fresh raw materials without much handling so that they show their character. McNeill’s blend on the other hand are comparable to French haut-cuisine: he takes top quality raw materials and transforms them to something different… He had a way to treat tobacco which is unique and yet unrepeatable and for this reason his retirement is all the more lamentable.

My second landing on Mc Clelland planet and I think I´ll stay here forever,mayhaps some trip to Hearth&home or Presby.The so called ketchup typical of this world for me is delicious,real matured leaf not as the crude one of CD-GLPease.Agonya doesn´t attain the level of original greek but is wonderful on its side and perfectly married with,sorry I repeat,the heavenly Va from Mc Clelland.In short less complex than Samovar or Black House,both excellent ones,but cleaner.One must be very careful about moist level,too high bad for Va,too low killing Agonya.It deserves a well proportioned bowl tilted to the wide side.Fine baccy.Bye forever Pease & Co,glad to meet you,McClelland.

I love this stuff. At first glance and sniff upon opening the tin not very impressive. Let it sit a minute then the fragrant sweet spiceness is revealed. Overall a very nice smooth refreshing smoke. Great anytime! Burns great! long cut! a gem!

I have devoted myself to the current orientals offered by McClelland and GL Pease. I am getting schooled in the flavors of oriental tobacco; I hope the schooling never stops. The flavors are subtle. In fact Carter, which I smoke as a break from these tobacco seem to be heavy.

Yenice Agonya is another fine burning blend with delicate flavors. The blend is smooth. The taste is sweet. I always felt straight virginia blends tended to turn sour in my mouth. Yenic Agonya allows me to taste sweet virginia without the sour. The balance is amazing.

I recommend this blend, but first lighten your taste buds. Instead of smoking just one oriental varietal at a time, I have all the varying tins open. Their differences are astonishing.

Also these blends can be smoked all day.