McClelland Blue Mountain/Balkan Blue

I bought this blend and Blackhouse together to try side by side and compare. As you probably already know, both of these blends were winners in the 2011Balkan Sobraine throwdown at the Chicagoland pipe show. Blackhouse won the judges decision for best match and Blue Mountain (Balkan Blue) won the People's Choice award.

Having never experienced the fabled majesty of the original Sobraine, I have no way of comparing these blends to the original. That being said, both blends are very good in their own right, but if I had to choose between the two for a winner, Balkan Blue would win for me hands down.

This blend is a bit moist from the tin and requires a little drying time to really open up. It is cube cut I believe, which isn't my favorite because it can easily be over packed, but with careful packing, it burns and smokes excellently! I have tried it in a variety of pipes, but it really shines in a traditional calabash. I could definitely taste the orientals distinctly in the Calabash as compared to briars or even a regular Meerschaum. It has a very incense like spice quality that I haven't found in many other blends that I can only attribute to the orientals. The Latakia is present, but in good balance with the other tobaccos. It does build throughout a bowl though and shows up most noticeably in the last third of the pipe. Though it is easily over packed, it still performs relatively well and burns on the cooler side if this happens. No tongue bite, but it can dry out the mouth a bit. The room note is excellent as well, so the little lady is okay with it in the house which is always a plus.

Blackhouse on the other hand is quite dry from the tin, and must be packed just right or it bites like crazy and tastes like ashtray. I actually had to rehydrate my tin of Blackhouse because it was so harsh. Don't get me wrong, it is a great blend, but is more fussy than Balkan Blue, so my vote goes to McClelland's.

After smoking some of the blends in the Frog Morton line, this was much appreciated. Not that those blends are bad at all, but this is more robust, fuller bodied, and tasted wonderful in a nicely assertive manner. All the required characteristics were present (perfect moisture level, loaded easily, lit well, remained lit well and created a good amount of smoke) I never smoked the famed blend this is modeled after and I feel there is no need to, this stands so well on its own merits. The balance in this blend is close enough to perfect to be quite thrilling yet totally relaxing at the same time. The flavors and aroma were excellent, yielding hints a leather, campfire, some deep sugar, a slight mustiness and sourness...wonderful. I can't wait to try a 3 year old tin which resides in the cellar. Highest recommendation! LAMYAK

Let's get it straight: if this is meant as a replica of 759, it failed big time. It doesn't taste like the rich and voluptuous 759 from the cylindrical tins from the '70s, it doesn't taste like the ultra intense from the flat tins in the '80s, and it doesn't taste like the mellow and less Oriental/Latakia driven pouches of the '90s. Not only that: it also has that very peculiar touch to the Virginias, that sweetish base taste, that it's typically McClelland and nothing else.

That said.... it's an excellent blend! Latakia heavy, not as Oriental-laden and fragrantly subtle as a true Balkan should be, but so far it's my favourite "English" from McClelland, beating even the "crossover" (or heresy, but what a nice heresy) called Frog Morton.

It packs well, in its largish and coarse cut, and burns cool and slow to the end. The first thing you get (also in tin aroma) is that funky sweet note, not much unlike that of some of McClelland's nice aromatics like Pal O'Mine, Captain Cool, etc (which are excellent aromatics, by the way). You know it? That note of coconut, toffee, nuts... Here it's of course subtle, but definitely present. Something in the casing?

Anyway, the sweet note, while something innatural and unexpected in such a blend, is not bad... and it soon goes in the background letting the Latakia sing. And I must say that it's excellent Latakia: smoky, fragrant, leathery. Much more impressive than in many other (disappointing) McC latakia blends, especially the ones boasting the Syrian leaf or the classic "green label" series.

What else to say? It's not exaclty a Balkan, it's not exactly an English, it's not a masterpiece of complexity and nuance like the GLPease tobaccos (Westminster and Lagonda in particular come to mind). It's a simply a very enjoyable, low maintenance and flavorful Latakia blend. And as such, I'll gladly buy it again.

McClelland doesn't disappoint with this latakia blend again. It's a hit right on the bulls eye!

Starting off by cracking the unique golden brown and chromed blue labeled tin was something I had been looking forward to my whole drive. It was the first day of my camping vacation. And Blue Mountain was a blend I decided I was going to really disect and see what makes it such a good blend in my opinion. The tin smelled great to me, a latakia lover. My better half was present and she wanted a smell. She did not like the fragrance one bit. This let me know it was gonna be a winner. And I was childlike impatient to get it into my pipe to smoke.

I opted on a Ben Wade Chesham. And I was not let down by the pipe or the blend. Packing was easy and customary as the blend is a ribbon cut. Although the tobacco was more rigid, not dry at all and not wet, than I usually know a ribbon cut to be. This may have been due to the altitude of around 7,000ft. Lighting the tobacco was easy as packing, lighting a char light and one tamp. Billows of the smell of latakia filled the air. It was phenomenal and I knew I was going to love this trip and blend.

As I kept puffing I realized a consistency, a consistency that I really liked. Normally as one smokes a pipe different flavors come out as the time goes on. Sometimes strength changes as well. Not so here. This Blue Mountain was the same all the way through. I also noticed a smoothness when exhaling through the nose. Absolutely nothing harsh or irritating. Only smooth, calm enjoyment.

Upon ending with the sensational Blue Mountain I had to ash my pipe. There were a few ribbons that forgone the burning that stuck to the side of my bowl. I noted that this did happen several times while smoking this blend but nothing that takes away from the experience. Sometimes it happens.

All in all this blend has made my regular weekly rotation. And if you're a lat lover, as I am, then this is a must try! Just writing about it makes me want to fire up a bowl right now.

As I stated in my musings about BlackHouse I support the idea of blenders using old blends for newly inspired blends, with the emphasis on inspired. I approach them as a "new" blend and decide simply do I like them or not. I like them both but for different reasons.

Blue Mountain is the sweeter of the two but not as sweet as say Frog Morton. It's rich and flavorful without being overbearing and the nicotine level is indeed very low, which pleases me, but if you like a nic bomb this isn't it.

To recap, I'm happy they had the contest and that these two new tobaccos were released as both are on my shelf.

Although I first smoked a pipe in 1958 when I was a sophomore in highschool, I didn't discover english blends until some time around 1962-1963. At that time Balkan Sobranie 759 was on the shelf in razor-cut tins. It was expensive compared to peoples' bulk english blends and, being a poor student, I favored the bulks. Be that as it may, between 1965 and 1970 I was lucky enough to smoke this most venerated of pipeweeds. To many, it is the holy grail of pipe tobaccos - selling today on e-bay at an unbeievable $450/two ounce tin!

I have a very good memory, in general, and remember very well the smoking qualities of every iteration of this blend - from the old razor cuts to the last iteration in plastic roll-up bags. But, this is a review of McClelland Blue Mountain. I want to state up front and emphatically that NO iteration of 759 ever had as rough and coarse a cut as Blue Mountain. This was my immediate reaction to the tin I opened. The aroma was wonderfully reminiscent of older 759, but - the long, broad and krinkled accordian-like strands of this blend are totally foreign to ANY 759 I can recall. I own old tins of 759 and opened one somewhere in the last seven or eight years. It does NOT look like this blend.

This tin was very wet. I have come to expect this with McClelland tins. I followed my normal process and put an ample amount on a sheet of paper to dry out overnight. Hah! The next morning it was just as wet as the day before - too wet to smoke. So, I left it to dry out for a second day and - what? - it was practically as damp as the first morning! I wanted to sample this blend , soooo - I put it in the microwave and gave it 10 seconds. Would you believe it was still slightly too damp to light? So, I gave it ten more seconds and watched white fumes wafting off of it! I posit to every reader that all of this is ALL WRONG! There is no good reason for using propylene glycol as a humectant on pipe tobacco and I have come to limit my use of blends that use it.

Otherwise, I enjoyed smoking this blend. It does have both a tin aroma and a smoking aroma that is reminiscent of older 759 - but, its aroma is actually too strong. The aroma dominates the smoke and, after awhile, I began to realize that older 759 also had a stronger english "nose" underneath all of this aroma that Blue Mountain simply does not have.

So, passing on the coarse cut, abundant dampness and overly fragrant complaint; I give it three stars and reccommend it. However, any blend that I have to struggle with to this extent just to dry it to a smoking consistency can't have four stars.

Going to keep this short and sweet.

Very Latakia forward, a weighty blend.

The obvious comparison will arise, in my books Russ Ouellette's Black House is better, more layers, complex, full and deep; however, Blue Mountain is heavier.

Really you can't go wrong with either one.

Well, highly overrated in my opinion. I know I smoked a 50gm pack of 759 at least once around twenty years ago and can't quite remember it's character in relation to the original smoking mixture which I settled on between the two. But, The 759 version at the time was billed as "For those who were captured by the charm of the original smoking mixture but desired a greater proportion of oriental tobaccos..." IIRC. I couldn't detect much oriental in Blue Mountain. It's predominately a broken blackish cake with a few lighter strands. It seems McClelland has almost took a cavedish process to this blend with a round, creamy sweetness to the heavier latakia character. Sounds like Frog Morton as someone mentioned in a previous review. I found this too monochromatic in character and overly processed as an english blend for my taste.

Revised review 2015-1-29-- I've been smoking a two year old bulk Blackhouse vs a 3 month old tin of Blue Mountain back to back and personally I like the Blue Mountain better. Not that Blackhouse is bad, but I find the BM smoother but still lacks some N punch and flavor with probably a little more sweetness than the BH. Now if you are looking for a Balkan Sobraine winner, it's been too long ( 1966) for me to compare.

I think reviewer, Marshall Law 2013-03-28 , said it best, if I may quote, "If you like your balkan smoother, slightly less oriental-forward, and with more latakia than Fred Hanna's blends, without any bitterness, sourness or harshness, and you don't seem to get along with the chemistry of Pease's blends, then this and the even tastier Black House may very well be your go-to Balkans."