McClelland Wilderness

My first experience with a English/Balkan blend was Frog Morton On the Bayou. Loved it until it got some age (4Months). That Toad turned to card board. No more McClelland for me. For some reason I picked up three more McClelland tins, one happened to be Wilderness. I have really begun to enjoy orientals via Sqaudron Leader and H&H Larry's Blend. Today, I said "what the heck, it's time to open that 2 Year old tin of Wilderness".

First half of the bowl was mild, reminds me of Sqaudron Leader. By mid-bowl the orientals are dancing with the Syrian and Cyprian Latakia. The Latakia is definitely in the back ground. The red Virginias are really nice, they remind me of SPC Mississippi River. I haven't reached the end of the bowl quite yet, Oh! There it is sweet leather. Nice. Hints of orange spice, earthy leather....very exotic. (This stuff gets so subjective 😜)

I really hope after jarring, Wilderness doesn't do what The Lousiana Toad did and turn to bland card board spiced with tape.

I'm journeying back indoors to repack this pipe. This rarely happens.

UPDATE May 22 2015 I made a statement about the Latakia being in the background, I don't know if that is entirely accurate. You may sense that it is but I think the Syrian Latakia brings a little sweetness that marry's well with the red Virginia. Giving Wilderness an illusion of lat. in the background. Of course this isn't any where in the ball park of being a Lat. bomb.

i'm pretty numerate and recently hit a certain age, then looked at my pipe tobacco section of my storage facility, did some quick math and realized that it was time to sell some tins that my OCD behavior had led to accumulate. my daughters, i knew, would never ever know what to do with the stuff. so, McClelland was a logical first choice to cull. as i started gathering and organizing by blend and age, between wiping the sweat from my saddened brow, i came up with about 700 aged tins to sell in lots of 50, fairly and surely. i left a bunch for myself. while considering whether this was the sage approach i popped a tin of 2011 Wilderness. upon first light i had to chase the thoughts of forgetting the whole sale process entirely. i love this tobacco. over the years my tastes have focused -- not in type of tobacco but, rather, in certain tobaccos within each category. this, along with plum pudding, ring my bell big-time in the balkan world. smoky, unctuous, sweet yet "manly", great mouth feel and retro/after taste. the lat is there as a foundation for orientals that are fragrant not sour, and the virginias on their own would rival 5100. think i'll keep a good bit of this out of the thinning process.

This is a very nice Balkan blend and a refreshing break from the Latakia mania in most newer English blends these days. Tin note is latakia forward with the familiar McClelland ketchup smell, but not as strong as other blends. Sour Orientals are also front and center in the tin note

The flavor is deep, complex and well balanced. The use of both Syrian and Cyprian Latakia is masterful. The base of Virginia's is sweet and I believe it is a blend of bright and red VA's, some of them stoved.The stoved VA's play nicely with the fabulous Turkish/Oriental adding additional spice. The Oriental's are the star of the show. Woody and spicy with a "fizzy" seltzer like flavor. There are toasty notes along with sandal wood. The Syrian latakia is sweet and smokey and the Cyprian kicks in here and there with that campfire flavor and pine tar (maybe creosote). This blend changes throughout the smoke and should be smoked when you have time to contemplate the different tobacco's. My favorite part of Balkan's is the malty flavor and this one is no exception but it was improved by the combo of Latakia from two countries (my opinion I guess). Great smoke...I wish there was more Syrian Latakia to make more. I have one tin and it will be taken out on occasion

Complex, buttery medium English defined by the red Virginia base and interesting mixture of orientals. Really good quality leaf. A four star blend without any doubt.

I really enjoyed the vrginias in this blend there is a certain amount of sweetness to this blend that I find delightful. It is always a treat to have quality Syrian Latakia in a Balkan blend. I also was impressed with the choice of orientals Mr Hanna chose for this blend. All in all a delightful cool smoke with a wonderful room note. There are some pleasant florals coming from the orientals as well. I smoke this all day long. Peace.

Fred Hanna must know his craft, because the Collector Series has some fantastic blends to savor, and I see Wilderness as being the Yang to Legends Ying- two blends sharing the majority of individual components, but exhibiting markedly differing flavor profiles.

Legends, IMHO, is to this period in time what great tobaccos of the past have been touted to be, Sobriane, Three Nuns, perhaps even Bengal slices from back in the gap. The difference with both of these Hanna creations is that these gems fly under the radar and are not well known, yet both have 4 star ratings!

So where Legends is creamy, sweetened naturally by the Orientals, deeply Balkan in its makeup, Wilderness to me approaches this genre from a briny saltiness, never from a position of sweetness, yet rich and oh so tasty, complex throughout the bowl. It is strong in the Vitamin N department than Legends, making it more appetizing as a nightcap bowl.

Burn characteristics are spot on, single light, slow burning never hot, never harsh, even for a chimney such as myself!

I cannot recommend this blend enough, although Legends is right below Penzance in my top tobys, although Wilderness would more resemble Penzance than its brother. ...from the same mother. Highly highly recommended.

This is another of the modern englishes that I've recently gotten around to smoking. I couldn't find it on local smoke shop shelves, so I bid on a tin or two on e-bay. When I opened it I knew I was into something nice. When I lit it, I was sure. The tin appearance was attractive - a brown and black mixture with a wonderful aroma. Being a McClelland blend I anticipated it would be quite damp. It was a pleasant surprise to find that it was only slightly damp and a sample dried out overnight to a smokable condition. I can't help but wonder if the blender, Fred Hanna, had anything to do with this drier presentation.

When you light this tobacco up, you know you are smoking something solidly traditional and of very high quality. The smoke is rich, smooth and dense and very, very enjoyable. There was absolutely no bite nor did it have any unusual qualities. I smoked it straight through with constant enjoyment and had no desire to alter it in any way. It is an outstanding example of what I refer to as a "sweet english".

Wilderness is one of the best of our renaissance englishes that we are so lucky to have today. I rank the top three modern englishes as: Magnum Opus, Wilderness and Black House in that order.

Ah! Wilderness. Thanks Fred. Four Stars.

With the first touch of the match I was reminded of a 90% Dark Chocolate flavor , some sweetness but a slight bitterness. Very smooth and bite free with excellent balance between all the components. Yes, this reminds me of Legends and Jubilee. Very complex and interesting . Pleasant incense like aroma. I can't see why this isn't 4 stars , and I do like this better than Jubilee which is very similar.

Updated 8/18/12 I had both a tin of Wilderness and Legends open and was switching smokes between the two, I could not tell the difference. I decided to load two pipes and smoke them at the same time ??? Results: Legends Is creamier, zero spice on the tongue, almost no "McC Vinegar", and a bitter sweet cocca taste. Wilderness, is also very smooth but has that tangy sweet and sour "McC Vinegar" ( I love McC Vinegar), not as creamy, but more hidden flavors of cocoa and sweeter. I think Wilderness is the slight winner for me.

I ordered a tin of this based on all the positive reviews here. As soon as it arrived I opened the tin in eager anticipation. The tobacco was beautiful. The tin note was amazing. I excitedly fired some up.

What a struggle. Could not keep it lit....burned hot when it burned at all. Flavor was not terrific. REALLY disappointed. I thought that perhaps because I was new to pipes that I did not "get" what this blend was all about.

Now that the tin has been opened I cellared it in the tin with just the cap on it.

Fast forward 2 months....time to try it again. Hmmm...not as moist in the tin as I remembered. BAM!! Now I get it. The reviews are correct. This stuff is awesome. The flavors are all there in perfect harmony. No relights....no struggle...just blissful thick smoke.

Time to buy some more (and cellar it!)