McClelland 3 Oaks Original

This is my first blend and I am making this review for others who are not experienced smokers. I am very sensitive to cigarettes and was worried about biting off more than I could chew. I also am not a fan of cloves or clove cigarettes, so I was looking for something enjoyable that was not flavored with strong aromatics or sweet things. This tobacco was a perfect choice for me, and it was made based on the reviews from others. I would recommend this to any new smoker who is looking for something that is not too strong but, at the same time, is not designed to taste like something other than tobacco. Experienced smokers should disregard this review in favor of others, as I have an undeveloped palate and am just getting started. I don't know if it is common to need to relight the pipe often when smoking slowly, and so I will say that I do have to do that with this tobacco. Also, most of my pipes take a filter, and I am using Savinelli balsa's. I have one other tobacco that I find very similar called Frog Morton On the Bayou, and it claims to be a Balkan blend.

McClelland - 3 Oaks Original (Collector Series).

Strange, the tin lacks the usual McKetchup smell. Where the ingredients are concerned it's quite fair, there's roughly an even amount of each colour. It's quite a coarse ribbon.

The smoke is exceptionally tasty. In the lead is the Cyprian Latakia: smoky-sweet. But even though the Lat' leads, I wouldn't call it a Lat-Bomb. The Orientals put a stop to this becoming one, being relatively creamy. The Virginia's the lightest of the three leaves, it could easily be missed. The burn from 3' is faultless, generating a thick, cool, smoke. I don't think this would bite anyone, no matter how hard a puffer they are!

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant (to me).

3 Oaks Original? Great!

Highly recommended.

One of my favorite Latakia blends. As with most Latakias, this is probably not something to smoke in a car or other confined space with a loved one. Overall however, the Virginia adds a nice touch to this and I find it a go-to Latakia for me. Maybe not the most memorable smoke in one's collection, but a solid, pleasant pipe.

I've been looking at this tobacco for a long time. For some reason, I was drawn to it; perhaps it was the rustic look of the label or the name. At any rate, I pulled the trigger on a tin of it and I must say that it isn't bad. Upon opening the tin, I was a bit afraid of smoking it. It smelled a bit musty, which is an instant turn-off for me. I left the tin open for a couple of hours and the mustiness subsided.

I packed a bowl in my Sasieni and went to puffing. I had to relight several times, which doesn't bother me, but yet I did notice it. The smoke was rich and full of flavor. The first half of the bowl allows the Latakia and the Orientals to take center stage. There is a definite presence of smokiness, and the Orientals give it a spicy note instead of a floral note. It mellows out around mid-bowl and calms down quite a bit, allowing the darker Virginias more room to sweeten things up a bit.

I like heavy English blends on cold, snowy mornings on my ride to work. This one is something I will consider keeping in my rotation. I think it will age nicely. If you like sticking your head into a camp fire, grab this stuff.

This blend is not bad. The majority of the flavor comes from the latakia, but the strong presence of Virginia is always noticeable. The orientals also come through strong. Every ingredient in this blend is very noticeable, and mixes to create an odd, musty, smoky sweet sort of taste. More smokey-sweet than anything.

Burns pretty cool, and has a decent flavor, however it is a little hard for me to keep lit, but all Mcclelland tobaccos are, so must just be me.

I dont know why but it seems like a smoke for foggy/rainy days.

A true classic English mixture, masterly balanced to provide a rich, smoky and sweet smoke. Hard to tell wether I like this one or the Syrian version better. Both are really great!

This one has taken awhile for me to warm up to, however I have and I really like it. A big lat hit, but not overwhelming. The Turkish and Orientals provide a nice balance and the Virginias are the glue that holds it all together. Rich, luscious, smoky and overall wonderful.

This blend truly gets better with age. Out of the tin it is a nice smoke but give it a few years aging and it is an unbelievable blend. It really gets much sweeter with much more complex flavors. This blend is truly one of a kind. Nothing is exactly like it and the flavor is simply a Latakia lovers dream.

When I first opened a tin of this I was not pleased with a strong stench of what I took to be a heavy handed application of the so-called condiment, Liquid Smoke, aka "Barbeque Sauce". I hate any trace of this stuff, and here it is the main thing going on, IMO, a pox on this blend. Is this "Latakia"? I think not! I spread the tobacco on blotter paper and aired it until the "smoke" smell lightened up, a couple of days. As with most McC blends, I had to re-light often when smoking it, but the smell and taste of this stuff isn't so bad, once the BBQ thing was throttled back. Jarring and cellaring have helped it quite a bit. I still smoke it occasionally, and it has become more and more like a decent (if weak) Balkan as it ages. 2 stars it is, due to aging "potential".

Update: 10-08-13: While the Liquid Smoke topping smell has finally about worn off, it appears that any "Latakia" aroma and taste went with it. Basically, any tobacco flavor TOO starts out with seems to diminish over time, once the tin is cracked. Since I only had time for one bowl, I did not even want to smoke it. I dumped it out, and I was left with an unpleasant, oily aftertaste that went on to ghost the next tobacco I put in the pipe. I'm presently stuck with the worm of an idea that part of the problem is propylene glycol; but another problem for me is that there's not much going on here, otherwise, either.