McClelland 3 Oaks Original

This blend reminds me of one of my favorite blends Chipman Hill, or, better still, as I'm sure 3 Oaks was around well before that blend, Chipman Hill reminds me of 3 Oaks. This blend confirms to me that McClelland knows how to handle Latakia—the Frog Morton Series, the Oaks, and the many other Syrian and Cyprian Latakia blends they offer, this has to be their specialty.

All the baccy's in 3 Oaks really work well together, especially the Latakia. The smokey sweetness of that leaf really shines through here, but the other baccy's weave in and out very well. This is a nice blend, in fact, a great blend.

I heartily recommend this one, especially for English/Balkan pipers.

Keep on Piping!

This is another delicious, extremely high-quality blend from McClelland. Demetri used the word "regal" to describe this blend, and I think that's a perfect characterization. Indeed I don't think I can improve on Demetri's review. I will however offer a couple of annotations to it.

Before I had read his review I, too, thought of Johnnie Black. Whereas Three Oaks Syrian is an excellent example of tobacco blends being like a "single malt" scotch, this can be likened to a top-notch blended scotch. And, to continue the comparison, like a blended scotch this can be enjoyed with more frequency, unlike a single malt which ought to be savored when the time is right.

You can taste the many similarities between these two siblings, and yet they're different enough to be entirely different smokes. To use another analogy: by taking an image and shifting its color lookup table (eg: moving the hue slider in photoshop) the image can have an entirely different feel. This blend feels like the taste-lookup table of Three Oaks Syrian has been shifted from unique, translucent waves of creosotic amber to more opaque waves of a more familiar sweet-smoky ivory creaminess to create a different, though equally exceptional smoking experience.

I don't experience the aftertaste that Demetri does, which causes him to drop his rating to three stars. However, I was reluctant to give this one four stars because I didn't think it would be fair to its sibling Three Oaks Syrian, which is a truly transcendent blend. But it would be wrong to give this any less than four stars since it legitimately deserves it -- it's an exceptional blend in its own right, one which I find I can smoke more regularly than its brother which, to me, is to be more savored. This and its brother have both become desert island blends for me.

After loving the Three Oaks Syrian, I felt compelled to try the Cypriot version of the same. This also gave me the opportunity to confirm something that I had long suspected, that I prefer Cyprian Latakia to Syrian Latakia.

In any case, both of these blends are full Latakia blends and do offer a great way to compare the two leafs side by side, although anyone wishing to take on this experimentation, better act quick as it appears McClelland has finally reached the end of their stash of the Syrian leaf and with the state of the civil war in Syria, the leaf's very existence seems close to extinction.

On to the smoking experience. This delivers exactly what one should want from a full latakia blend. Creaminess, smoothness and smokiness all wrapped into a smoking experience that refuses to bite. This one lights up a little better than most other McClelland blends, but otherwise performs similar. Although this has Virginia in it, you will not pick up any ketchup, or whatever you associate McC's signature Virginia tin note with.

The Lat pretty much dominates the scent. The oriental component is apparent once lit up and compliments the latakia perfectly. This is not an all day type blend. At least it isn't to me. Anything this heavy in Latakia is an end of the night thing for me, preferably with a glass of whiskey on the rocks.

In summary, it is good and everything you should want in a full English blend.

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.

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.