McClelland Old Dog

I really have enjoyed this the few times I've had it. The tobacco itself is full and enjoyable. On top of that, there is an herbal note, I guess from the Xanthis, that I find compelling. This is a very nice, relaxing smoke that, as the tin says, is perfect for "pondering the meaning of life". I can't recommend it enough.

Edit 6/18/2018

I reviewed this one at a time when I had only been smoking for a year. Coming from Cigarettes I really needed nicotine and this one did not give me enough. Over the years, nicotine has become a lesser concern though still appreciated. Of the things I have learned is Turkish/oriental/latakia just does not have much nicotine, so one should never expect it in a blend that uses any as a base or large percentage.

So in comparing apples to apples, I would still hold this blend at three stars. this is a nice tangy edgy smoke with a good oriental presence. The latakia is also there lending those campfire notes and is well situated in a condimental role. The Virginia is awesome, because it is a McClelland product. It has enough sweetness, but never overpowers the other two elements leaving you with little doubt that what you are smoking is a Balkan mixture. The Cavendish, I believe is a Virginia Cavendish. At least that is my guess. It mellows the blend a bit, but is not perceptible on its own, at least to me anyway.

So the end result is the same as was before in that I am holding it at three stars and for my tastes I prefer my Balkans to be a bit more on the creamy side and less edgy, but I enjoyed the tin I just finished and the side stream is lovely.

Original Review 10-22-2012

This did not do much for me. I think the low nic content is my biggest gripe on this. I realize that probably most pipe smokers require less nicotine than I as McClelland blends are very popular and all seem to be too light on the nic for me.

If you are one of the I can't stand ketchup McC haters, you should be happy with this one as it, at least to my nose, contains no such aroma. It actually smells incredible in the tin.

I did enjoy the taste of this, but for this type of profile, I prefer what Rattray's offers. YMMV

This tastes like Frog Morton, but with a bit more wow factor. Tasty and smokey flavour, it is really very nice... but like every Mc Clelland blend I have tried, very weak in nicotine. If this was Stronger I would buy more. For what it is, it's done very well, not for me though.

If you don't like nicotine, but like english blends, buy it. If you need a bit of oomph to your smoke, give it a miss.

If you believe in "Love @ First sight", then you must believe in "Love @ First light". The tin aroma is OUT STANDING, it's a smoke for the seasoned English smokers, and a must try for the non-English, imagine this, Im setting on my front porch just 2 days into summer, the day was 90 plus degrees, now it has cooled a bit, very warm, but comfortable. My front porch has a very nice setting,"Shabby shiek rockers and table, ferns all around, and tree frogs singing and fire flys are dancing, hang in there, Im trying to get my review a proper perspective. The smoke is dence and true English, this has such a wonderfull fragrant, exotic and enticing aroma "My wife dident even mind", if room note was for the smoker only, I would go with very pleasent. The tin moisture was perfect, and easy to smoke straight from the can, NOW,...Smoke this in a meerchum or a good brier, DO NOT WAST THIS BLEND IN A CHEAP PIPE, " personly I would dedicate one for this,..By this time your wondering where Im getting too and when will I end,.. OK, this was so rich and zesty, spicy and tasty that I found a bent pipe to be the best, so when sipping slowly, the smoke enters the nose with delight, I rolled sipped and frenched, with some easy inhaling" only a few times", bottom line, this is a clasic 10 star in my book, and as almost always it's a McClelland, please get some soon, I thought tudor castle was great and still is, but to be fair, the two are different, yet they are in my top list of Mclellands, and Old dog made the summit, Happy Jack, a very happy Jack

Let me start by saying that this was the first tobacco I ever bought. I was foolish in the extreme, buying it mostly for the packaging(I'm a dog lover) and because it was compared to Frogmorton. Frogmorton was highly recommended for a beginners tobacco by all the sources I had checked. On opening the tin the Latakia was all I could smell and it was so moist that it was hard to light and made me hate it and reconsider whether I wanted to smoke a pipe. However I had tried cigars and I knew that the more pungent tobaccos were prized by more advanced smokers. Also I like scotch and at first I hated it for its pungency, but forced myself to acquire the taste. I realized I had just picked to heavy of a tobacco for a beginner and bought some lighter Virginia's to work my way up. So now for the review: although I don't love this stuff I do like and respect it for what it is. I prefer my Virginia's, but I would never be without a solid English blend like Old Dog to break up the monotany of simpler, milder blends. The smell of the tin is very similar to american "dip" smokeless tobacco, which I have since found out contains alot of smoked tobacco, like Latakia. The taste however is very smooth and pleasant, and the room note is pleasant as well(my mom likes it and she hates anything that has an acquired taste). As I prefer milder tasting tobaccos my tin has had a while to age because I only smoke it when I want a change of pace. This said it has aged nicely. I don't know if I will buy it again because I want to try other English/Latakia blends, and since I only smoke them to break up the others I don't go through them very fast. If it ends up being the one I like best it will be added into my permanant rotation. Almost forgot, its so smooth I can inhale it. Its not for that though.

Update; 10/19/2013: After having had some time to gain experience with smoking I have realized that I was not properly drying my tobaccos before smoking. I had a 1-2 month period when I didn't smoke my pipe and came back to find that all my tins seemed too dry, but having read that beginners often don't dry there tobacco enough because they think its too much I tried smoking them as they were. What a difference! My pipe finally stays lit now,I get much less tongue bite, and the aging improved my tobaccos a lot. I now find I really like my one English blend (old dog) and don't much care for more Va's anymore so I am ordering more English blends right now. I like this one a lot and may buy another tin to age long-term. I tried mixing equal parts of this with some McC vanilla ice and it was excellent too.

Its almost as fully flavored as cuban cigar, but it can be more full bodied. You can't go wrong though, i found aging it and putting a warm wet rolled tissue as a humidor improves tase. It is naturally flavorful which is hard to come by nowadays yet a mild enough smoke to be a relaxer.