McClelland 3 Oaks Syrian

I'll keep this brief in case you're in a hurry. For those of you who, like me, are relatively new to pipe smoking but ready to move beyond aromatics or straight virginias (where I was stuck for awhile), this is a great place to start in my opinion. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars but I'm in a good mood.

It's a light smoke (as these blends go) without too much of the earthy taste normally associated with latakia. Perhaps my taste buds are simply attuning themselves to the more exotic flavours of latakia and orientals, but I find that I could smoke this blend all day long (I just smoked two bowls in a row). It's mellow (even when inhaled through my nose) and creamy, smooth, relaxing, and the latakia is very easy to get along with. If anything, I find myself wishing for a bit more punch from it. I'm going from memory but I think G.L. Pease 'Abingdon' is similar but offers a little more oomph. I don't have much trouble keeping 3 Oaks lit and I don't find I get any tongue bite from it at all (and I smoke like a freakin' locomotive).

I am not a big fan of McClelland's tins, though. It's certainly not a deal breaker for me but I find the opening is too small to easily fill my bowl without spillage and the tin is too tall to put in your coat pocket and carry around without noticing it there. On the other hand, it's possible that this style of tin may slow the drying-out of your tobacco, since there is less tobacco surface area exposed to the air than in wider diameter tins and you can "burp" the flexible plastic lid (squeeze out extra air). I wonder if someone has ever compared rectangular metal tins to circular metal tins to the sort of containers used by McClelland and G.L. Pease for keeping tobacco fresh? This would be very helpful to folks like me who are far too lazy to do that whole mason jar thing and always have a few tins open at once. Get on that someone. 🙂

That part about me being brief? This is me being brief. Happy smoking!

A short ribbon mixture of mahogany and dark tobacco. The tin note is of wood and leather, a firm Latakia presence, dried fruits, and what I think might be a brandy topping. There is also a distinct gloss to this tobacco, indicating perhaps PG has been used. Not a concern for me, but PG seems to be an issue for some people.

This is a Latakia forward English. For my own use I think of it as a 'not quite' Lat bomb. 'Not quite' because the percentage of Lat falls just short of being a bomb, and because this tobacco is far too multi dimensional for such a restrictive label. But like Lat bombs, this tobacco delivers enormous amounts of creamy, billowing, soft smoke with the most opulent mouth feel.

Alongside this is a sweetness from the Va, enhanced perhaps by a Brandy topping, and some spice from the Orientals. The sidestream aroma to this tobacco is wonderful.

Burns beautifully down to fine white ash.

The four year old tin I purchased was a nice change of pace from the usual McClelland ketchup aroma, this was more similar to my favorite Dunhill blends of Durbar or London Mixture but without the nicotine hit . Highly recommended.

Well-blended combination of very good tobaccos. Can pick pick out the different elements, which complement each other well, without any one overwhelming. Lights easily, burns clean. 4*.

The little sister to Samovar in my opinion. Syrian latakia is superb, especially McClelland's stock!

The orientals give this an added depth that makes each bowl complex. Each puff has you guessing which flavor will be at the forefront. An absolute palate pleasing and fun smoke!

This is one of my first tins of tobacco I've purchased; I'm a novice, so my opinion as one of little experience. The smell in the tin is very pleasing and really smells like latakia. That's what sold me on the blend, the sample was being used at my local shop as an example of the tin smell of latakia.

The smoke is pleasing and smooth, nothing harsh or chemical tasting. There is no nicotine kick in this tobacco, I never felt the nicotine buzz throughout the bowl of this tobacco despite not being a regular smoker.

My only complaint is that it was difficult to keep lit. It wasn't damp, but burned like it was. I even left some out to air it a little and it still had trouble burning. It requires several relights during the bowl.

Despite the difficulty in burning, I'd still recommend this tobacco to others.

Could people please add a line describing the tobacco they usually smoke? It would be nice to know the pallet of the reviewers. Also, please tell us if you work in tobacco industry or sell tobacco.

Reading the reviews on this one would confuse Albert Einstein. Opinions of Three Oaks are off the chart in every direction. Is someone working sabotage or is someone selling? Only thing to do is try this tobacco. I guess that is the idea.

Three Oaks is a light duty English blend well worth a good try. It's a good introduction English. I did not get my Vitamin N fix from this blend. But, a dash of cut BLACK XX ROPE added to top of pipe filled that need. Also, a pinch of Deer Tongue erased all ash taste and gave it a totally new personality.

Mix and stir this tobacco for consistency. I think shipping separates the content. My tin got better tasting as it dried out.

Usually, I smoke full and strong English blends, Virginia, Turkish, Latakia. I don't like Perique. I don't sell tobacco. I love to play around with blending to my taste.

Easy to pack, satisfying solid and rich flavor from start to finish. Top Shelf.

Update 2/2014: This blend has become my benchmark for Balkan style blends. I reach for it when I want a rich, full spectrum of flavor. It is like a full-blown symphony, replete with hypnotizing oboe solos (orientals), thunderous and driving tympani drums (latakia), the clear call of trumpets (VAs), and a few crashing cymbals and bass drums (magic?), all beautifully and harmoniously executed.

This blend is a very nice mixture with the Orientals in the forefront. If you love Orientals and Syrian Latakia, this is the blend for you. This a true masterpiece.