McClelland 3 Oaks Original

The smoky, woody, sweet and lightly musty Cyprian latakia is the star component. In an important support role are the woody, dry, slightly sour and spicy, buttery sweet Orientals. The dark fruity, earthy, slightly sugary Virginias also sport light fermentation and “vinegar” notes, though the “vinegar” lessens by the end of the first third of the experience, and weakens a little more after that. The Virginias are a little more than a background player more often that not. There is a little inconsistency in taste as some of the varietals step up and recede at different times. The strength and taste levels are a little closer to medium than the Syrian version of this product, but it still falls just short of that threshold. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. No chance of bite, and has no dull or harsh moments. The tobacco may need a light dry time. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a moderately creamy, smoky, rich flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and needs some relights. Has a pleasant smoky sweet, musty after taste that translates to the room note. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

I purchased this tin from my local B&M that had two years of age on it so I knew I was good to go. Got it home, blew off the dust and cracked the tin. I see three types of tobacco in ribbon cut with a whole lot of stems. Aroma is very smoky with barely any McClelland BBQ tang (which I love). Billows and billows of smoke!!! Great to make smoke rings! Taste is a medium English with a whole lot of flavor. I like this blend since one ingredient does not overwhelm the rest, Latakia is used as a condiment and lets the Orientals shine. The Virginias are nice and sweet and augment the Latakia and Orientals nicely! I am surprised at the previous reviews not being (on a whole) all that kind to this blend, 3 Oaks is really very complex, every puff brings a different flavor and by pulling more or letting it go out you can adjust the flavor as well. Quite entertaining when you are not concentrating on other things. So far one of the best English's I have had so far! Really nice with a little pinch of some Virginia Woods to sweeten it up a bit as well!

*** footnote: I just cannot believe the willpower of some people! I mean imagine someone buying a tin of Autumn Evening in 1962 and keeping it sealed all this time! I cant even keep a tin for two years without opening it... Christmas Cheer 1944!! Wow, even before the Dodgers left Brooklyn!! Seriously though, down at the bottom below a review where it says age is for the age of the tobacco not your age. 🙂 No one cares what year you were conceived in the back of grandpas Studebaker... They do make me laugh though seeing age: 62...

Nice tasting rendition of our old familiar "virginia, latakia and orientals" recipe. Smells sweet and smoky in the tin. Call it ketchup or vinegar or whatever, but McClelland tobaccos have the finest tin aroma! And I hate ketchup and vinegar.

At any rate, I enjoyed the flavor of this one as an all-'rounder, but I especially enjoyed it's layers of complexity. The blend changed from moment to moment. Sometimes it was a sweet virginia with a side of smokiness, sometimes it produced this tart toasted quality, and sometimes it approached a lat bomb. Memories of certain Pease blends constantly came to mind as I smoked this and ultimately I came to the conclusion that it had 90% of the flavor of Odyssey and 90% of the complexity of Abingdon in one blend. It's like someone combined those two but reduced their top strengths somewhat.

This is an excellent blend. I wasn't crazy about all the stems and clumps and that loses one star. I can't call this a modern day classic but it's definitely a blend that someone who is into this traditional recipe should try. It has its own flavor signature that I find quite worthwhile.

This is my kind of smoke! Tin aroma starts off sweet as can be, with a delicious smokiness that makes you impatient to light up. Moisture is perfect, a little on the dry side compared to most, which is the way I like it. Lights easily and stays lit with very little maintenance.

This is such an interesting tobacco! The first third is what you'd expect with a blend including these ingredients - a smooth, smoky, latakia-driven flavor with sweet virginias adding support and an occasional kick from the orientals. After the first third, there is an interplay between the orientals and the latakia, as the virginias always maintain an even-keeled supporting role. At times it tastes just like Lancer's Slices - just VA and lots of LAT smokiness. At other times, especially when the temperature of the smoke rises a little from some more concerted puffing, the orientals kick up and take the lead. You can control which flavor you experience by just changing your cadence.

This blend never burns hot, barely warming the surface of my Nording Signature freehand. Granted, this is a thick-walled pipe but many other blends have heated it up significantly. Three Oaks Original keeps cool, stays rich, never gets sharp or bitter, and smokes to the bottom with a dry, dark-colored ash. No gurgling, just a wonderful, sweet/smoky, oriental-spiced wonder.

As I am ever confused of the concrete definitions of Balkan's, I am going to call this a Balkan since it has Latakia, Turk/Oriental and VA's...this also has Perique but not sure where that fits in with a Balkan. This is a solid blend and I would say not a typical McClelland blend. What I mean is that this is top notch like McClelland blends all are but I do not feel it is a Virginia dependent tobacco which is where I categorize McClelland as world class. This is a very well balanced blend and a pleasure to smoke The tin note is the first place that it strays from the normal McC profile. There is no ketchup/vinegar smell in this blend. The tin note is sweet and smokey and has a sour note, but not the typical McC aroma. The blend is sweet Cyprian Latakia expertly balanced with top grade Turk/Orientals. There is a wonderful malty character along with a fizzy woody spice from the Orientals. I cannot say for sure but the Orientals are of the very best. I sense Izmir and Drama for sure and there is a seltzer like fizz that suggests Yendji to me. The wood is exotic (cedar, hickory and a balsa wood taste). The VA's are a mix but there appears to be a nice stoved red in here that provide sweetness and a breadth quality to the smoke. The perique is almost undetectable until the bottom of the bowl where I get a plummy sweetness and a boost to the spice especially on the retrohale.

The malty flavor and well balanced nature of this tobacco is what makes it so good. I had a very hard time calling our the individual nuances and it would have been easier to write the review as a singular malty, sweet smokey flavor. Almost like good TX BBQ Brisket. It is just damn good! Burns to ash and needs a few more relight than normal (due to the rough cut). A slightly damp heel.

This is another great "staple" English blend that is the brother of the Syrian version. While this blend is very nice and could be smoked everyday, the Syrian version has much more character to my palate. I actually prefer this blend to GL Pease's Westminster though.

As for it smoking characteristic's? Very well behaved, gathers some fullness as you get to the bottom of the bowl. I really enjoy this bend in my Ashton Old Church Poker...

Yes, this is in the "classic English" category and well done...

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.

Yes, it is what the tin description says.

But...

First of all, this is my first McClelland blend so far. I read somewhere that the ketchup/vinegar kind of sour tin aroma is they're signature thing, something about preservatives they are using on the tobacco. Might be, but it's not very pleasant. Yes it's cool-smoking from the tin. But, it still gives me some tongue bite. Drying doesn't help. So, I guess it's the virginias they use. I can't say that I like this stuff too much. However, it's never a boring smoke. You get a different dominating component with each puff. And every time I smoke it seems to be a different experience.

2.7 stars

Tin note of smoky, sharp tangy fruit and sour vegetation. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of black, dark brown and a little light brown. Moisture content is great. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium, and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of herbal floral, smoky, wood, leather, sour musty vegetation, spices, orange peel, toasted bread, earth, sweet tangy citrus, moderately savory, mildly spicy, mild tart dark fruit, a incense and lemon grass background note, and a peppery retro. Latakia is leading with Oriental/Turkish and Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.