McClelland Smyrna No.1

First let me say that I do like all Orientals and this is no exception. This comes with perfect moisture to smoke. I find the taste so interesting, full Oriental, and a great change from the Latakia/Perque blends. The taste is a sweet & sour with a smooth musky scent. Doesn't bite ( if you take it slow), just the right spice to make it interesting and it lights and burns great ,but maybe on the hot side. I detect a hint of clove , nutmeg and cocoa , but mostly cedar . It is a little light on "N", but that doesn't bother me. This is somewhat complex depending on how fast you smoke this as you can change the flavors .This actually passed MY wife test, which is very hard to do. This gets 4 stars, as I want to keep this around and keep in the rotation.

Updated 7/19/12- I find this tobacco starts off very flavorfull, more sour than sweet and maybe some cedar scent/flavor. Unfortunately I tend to smoke this fast and by about halfway, the smoke turns hot and bitter, my fault. For me, "Drama" holds it's flavor better at a faster paced smoke.

As Pipestud says, this blend is a "template for sweet, light and spicy Oriental leaf." Spot on. I could swear this has latakia in it, but, alas, no—it's Izmir. What a fine, fine leaf this is. It's zesty, though not overpowering, it's sweet, though again, not overly so. It has that "Turkish" taste to it, though a bit muted this time around (as compared to say Turkish 84 or Drama Reserve). The nic hit is moderate. I still prefer Drama reserve, but this one's a close second.

A brief side note concerning the Virginia's often used in this series—thus far, I deem the Virginia's as being not much more than a filler; the taste is present, but, in each case the orientals come to the forefront (as it should be). So, truly, the oriental tobaccos are the stars of these blends.

McClelland's Grand Oriental series is turning out to be my favorite line of tobaccos; I've not been disappointed in any way with the three I've tried thus far, namely Drama, Katerini and now this sweet weed, Smyrna. I'm looking forward to trying the others.

Recommended!

Call me easily amused, but I think it's way cool to pop a tin of tobacco and find two full leaves on top! I found this to be a mild, spicy blend with delicate but noticeable flavor. I did not find this to be full flavored at all, as many of the reviewers did. Instead I found it subtle, with nuance upon nuance, and very complex. I liked the roasted nuts comparison, and I agree.

Again, this McClellands Grand Oriental is worth trying but I did not find enough here to bring me back to it. Still, I think it's a marvelous achievement for McClellands and I suspect it will have its share of devotees. The Classic Samsum is probably the only one of the series I will smoke regularly.

Is there anyone else tired of hearing that McClelland's blends smell like "catsup" or "vinegar" in the tin? As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what a tobacco smells like in the tin: what matters is how it tastes and smells in the pipe.

The first time I tried Smyrna No. 1 was in a churchwarden outside in my backyard in a slight breeze with a dark Greek coffee. That was a mistake (not the coffee). The tobacco burned fast, slightly hot and tasteless. I figured it was much too light for my taste.

Shortly thereafter, I wanted to give this tobacco another chance; but this time indoors. I tried this fine blend in an old, small GBD pipe from the far end of my pipe rack. I made some Greek coffee again, which I love to smoke with any tobacco, and lit this tobacco in my basement.

The flavors are there but subtle. I can understand why I missed out on the cool, slightly sweet, spicy, peppery taste outdoors. I especially liked the taste on my tongue at the end of drawing on the smoke. The smoke was creamy, full and the oriental taste light. The smoke dissipates quickly. There is absolutely no bad aftertaste. The tobacco packs easy and smokes dry all the way to the bottom of the bowl to a fine grey ash.

I think it an ideal blend in a small pipe, indoors and should be smoked early in the day. I don't know yet if it will be part of my regular rotation, but when I'm looking for something subtle and exotic early in the day I may turn to this blend more often than not. I will always keep a tin around.

A friend sent me a generous sample of Smyrna No. 1 and I have enjoyed the chance to smoke this.

It is a mild, sweet and slightly spicy blend. For me, it is one of those smokes like Embarcadero that is a little delicate and benefits from a dedicated pipe to really "get" it.

if you like orientals, this is a great one to try.

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!

This puppy really settled down and mellowed out after opening and leaving it to rest in the tin for a week or two. Yet another winner in the Grand Orientals series. Smyrna is similar in some ways to Samsun and the much lighter Katerini. By comparison, however, it is richer and more dense than Katerini, and a bit darker and more earthy than Samsun, with what could be perceived as undertones or suggestions of fig, cinnamon, and some other light spices. It is a bit two-dimensional and simple on the palate, but its focused, balanced flavor is sufficient to carry it on its own merits. Like the rest of the series, it lights and burns flawlessly, down to a light grey powdery ash, with no goop or mess. Won't bite or burn hot, but if you go ballistic on it and puff like a freight train, it can dry and numb the back of your throat, like most Turkish blends with a fair amount of nicotine. Prefers to be sipped and savored from a small bowl to explore its smooth, rich flavor, or worked more intently from a large bowl to kick up its spicier side. Unlike Katerini which is more delicate and better smoked in the morning or early afternoon, this is an all-day anytime smoke with plenty of flavor, but still smooth, mild and sweet. Tasty Turkish satisfaction. Well done. Three stars.