McClelland CORPS Cyprian Star

Almost full black in the tin with just a few strands of light brown interspersed within. A sweet, full tin aroma of Cyprian latakia (go figure), coffee and a lightly sweet something else I couldn't place. Cut is ribbony and it left a lot more small pieces in the bottom of the tin than I like. Not sure if that's the blend itself or if it had been bounced around before it got to me.

Initial lightup revealed the latakia in the forefront which fairly quickly subsided into an oriental (Basma is one of the few orientals I can pick out of a crowd of other condiments) and then almost as quickly into a coffee-type flavor that I associate with the Royal Cajun series. It's a stoved VA flavor with the addition of whatever the processing is that gives us the Royal Cajuns. It's a dark and semi-sweet flavor with nice body, and the added sweetness from the Basma along with the usual smokiness from the latakia made this a very intriguing blend. If you like all those flavors together, this is a winner. I did, and I didn't. Sometimes it's fun to have a stew and as good as this is, the melding of all these flavors occasionally put me off. But that's me... if you enjoy a complex-to-simple back and forth journey and enjoy latakia mixed with more sweetness but that doesn't teeter into English/aromatic crossover land, this is one to try. I'm surprised it only has 2 reviews. Nicely done and really a 3.5 star blend but probably one I won't purchase again.

Tin Aroma - Smoky, sweet, honey-like, slightly spicy, and somewhat citrusy.

The cut of this blend is it pretty wild. There are some lighter lemon and tan colored strands that are long and thin and more shag like, and the rest of the darker leaf is a combo of ribbon and chunky course cut.

The charring light brings forth a swell of sweetness along with a touch of a sour contrast with a slight hint of a coffee-like flavor. Cyprian Star is very smooth, but I wouldn't classify it as creamy. The first portion of the bowl carries a very pleasant sweetness, and a the slight sour twang that builds as the bowl progresses. I also detected a hint of clove that is very reminiscent of a Djarum clove cigarette. The latakia is very subtle and much more background than I expected given the smoky intensity of the tin note.

About ten minutes in the sour flavor intensifies and overwhelms the balance a bit. Like I mentioned the Latakia is very subtle and one could almost lump this in with the Frog Morton products. Honestly given the component tobaccos at play this is really a better tasting and more complex version of Frog Morton on the Town, and the complexities are most likely achieved by the unique cut.

Around the half way point the sweetness returns along with a nice spice kick and the smoke is more full and less dominated by the aforementioned sour flavor. Some slightly heavier Cyprian Lat flavors begin to come forth but none of the more intense pine pitch flavors of bolder blends are represented.

Towards the end of the bowl the flavors become a touch more intense but compared to more complex Lat mixtures there's no big crescendo. However, what Cyprian Star does well is give the piper a smooth, mild, sweet, smoky flavorful experience that is the hallmark of top-notch McClelland latakia blends. Cyprian Star has no bite whatsoever. When smoking this my pipe remained just slightly warm and the moisture level was perfect with just 10-15 minutes dry time.

This is quite a nice smoke altogether. I could easily smoke several bowls of this a day and not tire of it. It's smooth, flavorful, and well behaved.

The Cyprian latakia is smoky sweet but is a supporting player at least half the time. The Oriental/Turkish is smoky and woody, kind of sweet with a touch of sourness. I think the coffee essence that others have noticed comes from it, too, because I also got a faint hint of it. The Virginias are a little tangy with dark fruit and citrus notes, and slightly earthy and grassy. I barely noticed the "vinegar". The nic-hit is mild. Needs some dry time, and while it smokes cool, the flavor is slightly inconsistent at times, especially when the Oriental/Turkish takes the lead. Won't bite. Will leave a little moisture at the finish, and needs some relights. Has a decent after taste. Not quite an all day smoke. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

Cyprian Star doesn't get too much attention, but I picked it up because of the enchanting island of Cyprus, where memories abound. That said, I had convinced myself that I preferred Syrian latakia, and I found myself unimpressed with Cyprian Star in comparison. But then something changed. One evening I realized that the lemon description might be referring to actual lemon - I don't know how else to explain the yellow bits in the otherwise jet black mixture. And this leads to an intense but unique and absolutely pleasant aftertaste/postbuzz which I will be seeking again. It took me a while to come to this conclusion, but in short, this is the tobacco that caused me to forsake my preference for Syrian latakia. The magical island of Cyprus has won me back. Don't pass this one by - nothing else delivers its savory sensations.

I liked this blend when it was first released by C.O.R.P.S. and it is still wonderful today with Cyprian Latakia that is not too bold or forward as it plays around with the Bright Virginia. And what makes this blend really sing is the Basma. It's a not often used Oriental that must be applied with care and McClelland's certainly did that with this wonderful weed.

Add a review...why not? I am not sure why I review blends that are defunct. I guess I think back to when I was a new pipe smoker and think about how I sought info on what I might like and what stuff might be worth on the resale market, but more importantly if I would even like it. So here it goes. Tin note. McClelland English, they all smell pretty much the same within a narrow bandwidth: Great VA's, a little ketchup, smokey Latakia and some sweet top note. I am sorry I didn't scoop up more of this one. McClelland English blends are all mild and well balanced. They all have some kind of sweet topping, and in my opinion, all are good. Some are great, but McC is known for VA's, there they have no peer. This one has something extra compared to others. I have heard some say that the VA's in this blend are from the the Cajun series that have some proprietary processing. I tend to believe this as the flavor profiles are very similar. The flavor is a mild to medium English when it comes to Latakia. I like this and it allows the blend to be rather complex, if you allow yourself to concede the Latakia is not going to coat your tongue before you start smoking (this is true for all McClelland English blends). The sweet and earthy VA's are the lead for me. I know this is not the norm, but I get a malty, sweet earthy VA signature to this blend. The creamy, smokey Latakia is tie for second fiddle with the outstanding Orientals. The spice and woody and even buttery flavor of the Orient comes through in spades. Retrohale significantly increases the depth of flavor so I encourage you to exhale through the nose. This is where that odd, coffee like flavor comes in. It is like coffee, one sugar two creams. I also notice the coffee flavor on the relight, big time. The complexity is stellar. The smoke develops as you smoke this down. I like a large, Group 4, size pipe. My favorite was a Moretti Volcano. Smoked 75% of my tin in this pipe. The smoke gets stronger and has more of an espresso flavor in the bottom 1/4. Great Balkan blend. Wish McClelland was still around or maybe someday they will sell these recipes with a rider that anyone that takes it up will source or grow quality leaf. Too good to disappear.