McClelland Smyrna No.1

To add to the trivia regarding this blend, you can see the hole in the Smyrna leaf where each leaf is strung for curing. Can you imagine running a needle and thread through each leaf and the quantity it takes to make a pound! Ok, that said, this is wonderful tobacco. The light, spicy, almost cinnamon-like flavor and sweetness develops after lighting and one settles into this smoke. This blend has a wonderful complexity moving between suble sweetness and cinnamon and other taste notes. As with oriental leaf, it is light, soft and smooth. My guess - and I stress guess - is that this blend contains Maryland to enhance burning qualities, and a red Virginia to deepen the sweetness. The tobacco is a ribbon cut. It burns to a nice white ash. It was not wet on opening the tin, nor did it have the ketchup or vinegar smell McClelland is often noted for. It does not burn hot, nor bite. This is a light and nice smoke any time of the day.

The best in the series! It displaced Samsun! This is sweet rich acidic satisfying, one of the greatest tobaccos on the market today (they are sure to cancell it now). It starts of dry and then develops the rich, spicy exotic oriental taste, soon followed by a virginia with a flavor like freshly cut clover hay. I am putting as much as I can behind. If you smoke no other tobacco this year than Smyrna, you have spent the year well. If you dont like it, dont smoke the rest of the tin, send it to me.

A rich, creamy, fragrant blend. Somewhat sweet, peppery and herbal with incense-like (bordering on soapy) notes. The taste resembles raw vanilla (maybe it has a deertongue top dressing which gives it that peppery edge.) Very exotic -- makes you wonder if there's non-tobacco herb leaves in it. It packs and burns well without bite; burns evenly, effortlessly, and dry to the bottom of the bowl leaving white ash.

To date I've tried Smyrna #1 and Classic Samsun from McClelland's Grand Orientals series, and I liked the Samsun much more. If memory serves, I think John Cotton's was a better Smyrna blend.

I don't wish to discourage anyone from trying a tin of this merely because I'm not keen on it. If for no other reason, do it for the experience -- which is the real benefit of having McClelland produce an entire series of orientals.

The presentation of this mix has a nice detail. When you open the tin, a leaf yellow-greenish Izmir sheet appears with a hole, as a sample of the artisan manufacture of the mixture. The aroma of tobacco is incredibly fragrant and can transport you from the living room of your house to the middle of the field without leaving the sofa. Here you have to make an effort to detect the familiar smell of ketchup since it is deeply buried at the bottom, perhaps due to the aging of the tin that I am reviewing.

The flavor is delicate and requires a slow smoke to extract its nuances. Very well balanced, nothing sticks out too much. Although the oriental leaf is the protagonist, it only gives it a slightly spicy flavor, without being tiring. Subtle buttery notes appear towards the second half of the bowl. It burns well without the need for more relighting than average.

This is the only McClelland from the Grand Orientals series that I have tried and I can say that of the Oriental type mixes that I know till the date, this is one of the best, if not the best (IMHO). Despite the difficulties at present, I will do my best to try some more of that series.

I received a sample of this from a kind fellow piper.

From the bag it smelled of hay, wood, and a bit of spice with only a hint of the typical McClelland sweet VA scent. Light to medium brown ribbons and leafs. Easy to pack and load and light.

Upon lighting I got the typical Mc. sweetness from their excellent VA's with just a hint of the spice (but not hot) from the orientals. At first it reminded me slightly of Arcadia, but that was only the first few puffs. It then changed and became much more oriental forward with woodsy savory tones that were complimented now and again with the sweet, tangy virginias. There was definitely a spice to the smoke that seemed to make my tongue feel hot. It wasn't tongue bite and the smoke was cool and smooth, but there was some kind of spice from the tobaccos that gave me that impression. It was quite good, but wasn't anything that knocked my socks off. I love McClelland blends and feel fortunate to have been able to try this out.

I was given two bowls of this as well as the small Turkish leaf that comes in the tin at last week’s pipe club. I cannot really review this one well but only to say that it smokes sweet, mild with a slight hint of spice. On the second bowl I ceremoniously smoked the leaf along with the rest of the tobacco. I have an unopened tin of the Drama leaf from this series dated 2008 but can’t bring myself to open it just yet. In hindsight I wish I had known McClelland was closing shop and I would have bankrupted myself stocking up. It was still nice to sample this thanks to my fellow club members.

My first delve into Oriental tobaccos. I am not a fan of blends with Latakia, so this seemed like a logical choice. This is a mild blend with a really nice taste, very different from the aromatics I usually smoke. I will keep it in stock but need to smoke it outside as it didn't pass the wife test. She found the aroma to be similar to incense used at church, so it has been banned from inside smoking. If you are an aro smoker looking for a change, try this!

Not a tobacco equivalent of a varietal wine, but a very nice blend of virginias seasoned with oriental leaf. The tobacco is mostly mid browns with some light and some black leaf present.

The tin note is spicy plum pudding.

This tobacco burns well and is imo a perfect moisture content. It is a light, sweet and spicy smoke perfect for a change of pace. I surprised myself how much I enjoyed this blend and found myself going back to it repeatedly.

I love Drama Reserve and Yenidje Supreme. But this Smyrna, although a small leaf (the single intact leaf included in each tin is a very nice touch), it is so fragrant. And let me tell you, this fragrance is either one you love or one you hate. This is not a taste I can even describe with words. You'll just have to give it a whirl, but from memory, it is musty and potent. It ghosted my pipe for 5 bowlfuls afterwards. Not a pleasant taste at all. I gave the remainder of my tin away.

If you love it, more power to you. But it was not for me.