McClelland Blue Mountain/Balkan Blue

Just obtained some. A Very smooth and rich flavor. To me it gets better deeper into the bowl. Like mince meat pie - lots to enjoy here. I'm sure I will be plumbing it's depths for some time. Recommended highly.

I'm a new pipe smoker. I don;t have the flavor profile yet to tell you if something tastes like fruit or nuts, and perhaps never will. I know when i like something and when I don't. I purchased this after reading the reviews and because of its rep from the contest. I am not disappointed. Using Margate as a reference, it is quite milder than that. Upon opening the tin, greeted by a nice mix of brown and black ribbon and a sweet smoky aroma. This is my favorite tobacco so far, if I'm even experienced enough to choose one. I found this to be so intriguing, the flavor changed with almost every puff. The smoke is smooth and smoky, and quite different when you exhale through the nostrils. This is a fun one to play with, smoke it slow, smoke it fast, tastes different every time. Super enjoyable.

Based on reviews I've read of this tobacco I bought two tins of it. I felt fairly sure I would enjoy it. And enjoy it, I have. This tobacco is, in my opinion, what is called a "Latakia Bomb". I enjoy latakia based blends very much.

Taste: Very rich. In fact, it is so rich it almost burns. I find that with this blend it is critical that you sip it slowly. Smoke too fast and it becomes overbearing and starts to bite a little. The bite isn't quite like a cheap OTC bites. It is different. I suspect it is a change in ph that comes with smoking too fast. I'm fairly good at taking my time. With this one I needed to remind myself to slow down a few times. Smoked at a slow pace the flavor is full, rich, robust, and it won't bite you.

Room Note: I crashed and burned on this one. Nobody likes the room note in this house. I'm imagining me setting on the porch in quiet reflection in the evenings this fall slowly puffing away on this stuff. I certainly cannot allow it to go to waist. It is very tasty.

UPDATE: After some aging in my mason jar, this blend has grown remarkably better. Any hint of bite is gone. It is now a very forgiving tobacco regardless of how you smoke it. The flavor is more complex and the smoke is much mellower while still being very full in flavor and body. I attribute this change in how the latakia has mellowed. I've changed my rating for "strength" to read "Mild to Medium". After experiencing and enjoying a few other stronger blends, I realize that this blend cannot be referred to as a "Strong blend". I still highly recommend this blend and will suggest cellaring for the best possible experience.

Final Thoughts: Whenever I'm craving a LataBomb, this will be the stuff. I also suspect it will blend very well with a few other smokes I have that need a little latakia kick to liven them up. I still have that extra tin as well. I'm going to put it up for a couple of years to see how it matures. More on that in a couple of years.

As a smoker who has been trying new blends since 1971 when I first took up the pipe, I have to say this is one of the nicest English style tobaccos I have ever tasted.

I DO remember the original Balkan Sobranie 759, and I find it regrettable that the model for McClelland Blue Mountain was a tin from the 80s. In my opinion, the Sobranie 759 really went down in quality in the early 80s, and I stopped smoking it. At its peak in the early to late 70s, the 759 blend had a lemony sweetness along with lots of Latakia. When I stopped smoking it in 1980, to me it tasted like charcoal. I attribute this to the absence of really great Virginia tobacco in the mixture's late incarnation.

Blue Mountain by McClelland is just a really good blend that can stand on its own, and I think anyone who likes this style of pipe tobacco should try it.

Kevin Cardiff

Being a masterfuly balanced classic English mixture, I enjoyed this tobacco very much. The problem comes with the name. Those lucky enough to have tried the Blue Mountain Latakia leaf will find that the one in McClelland's homonym comes very short. Still, a great English mixture with Latakia in the lead.

The taste was nice, similar to frog morton. Very smokey flavour with a bit of sweetness, burns well, I get 1hr+ in my bulldog. This would be a 4 star blend if there was more nicotine. It seems to smoke better dried out a bit. I won't be buying more, but all in all, it was pretty good.

Blue Mountain is fantastic. In the tin it's fairly dry, mostly dark ribbons with a few lighter strands mixed in. The tin aroma is very subdued, hardly any vinegar note.

It smokes wonderfully. The latakia gives the rich, leathery, dark, smokey notes folks have mentioned, but there's also a pleasant mild sweetness. It is very smooth and full, yet for all it's richness the nicotine content is mild and there's little to no bite. It makes copious amounts of thick white smoke, and burns down to ash.

This is a terrific blend.

The tin opens with a nice smokey latakia scent and a very, very, vague trace of a sweet vinegary/tomato scent. I was immediately reminded of the Frog Morton blends.

I loaded up a small Bjarne pipe(5 1/2 in). Lit up and puffed away. I was very pleased with the taste. It has a stronger latakia flavor than Frog Morton but was not as unique and mystical as Frog Morton on the Town. A very nice Balkan.

I am not a big Balkan blend fan, but I do like some once in a while. In fact I don't even like English blends that much either, can't smoke them every pipe full. Sometimes the Latakia just doesn't do it for me. I prefer straight Brightleaf. A few friends highly recommended this to me, so I knew I had to try it. Upon receiving the tin and opening your hit with the Latakia, but also a very subtle sweetness to it as well. I loaded up my pipe and puffed away and from the first drag I knew I was in for a treat. Very smooth and pleasant, and just heaven in a pipe. I can definitely taste subtle hints of that Virginia. I have quickly finished the tin, and I am now ordering 4 more. Quickly becoming a favorite, which says a lot because I normally don't care much for blends heavy on the Latakia. I have never had the pleasure of smoking Sobriane but this blend is GOOD.