McClelland Frog Morton's Cellar

This is a fantastic blend, I have had Frog Morton regular and On the Bayou and this beats the other two by far. That is really saying something since they were all fantastic blends.

The blend yields a whole lot of virginia sweetness with fair amount of that Latakia smokiness we have all come to expect from the Frog.

However, the time spent aging in a whiskey barrel and the addition of the charred stave really refined this blend and transformed it into something both unique and delicious. I chose the medium rating for flavoring, not because I think this has a thick topping like a traditional aromatic, but because the time spent with that charred oak whiskey barrel really added to the flavor. There is a delicious whiskey, woodsy, flavor and aroma that lasts throughout the smoke.

This blend truly is someting amazing and I recommend it to all!

Try it with an early morning cup of coffee, they go together tremendously!

Wow! This my introduction to Latakia and English blends. I usually smoke aromatics but with all the recommendations I asked my wife to get me a tin for Valentine's day.

Upon opening the tin, I thought that I smelled a faint petroleum scent with a sweet/sour note, catsup like smell. I loaded up the bowl and it was dry with a hint of moisture. The char light I thought to myself, "I don't know about this stuff." However, by the end of the bowl, my mind was made up... "This sh*t is good!" The Latakia is peppery, there is a very faint taste of whiskey, and a nice creamy smoke. This has more vitamin N than I am used to getting in my aromatics, but not too strong. Burns to a nice salt pepper ash. I tend to hit the pipe hard and it started to burn a bit hot, once I started sipping it cooled nicely. No tongue bite.

With all that said, you will have to excuse me, because I have another bowl to pack! I highly recommend it. Glad I decided to branch out of just the aromatics.

Update: I was smoking it the other night and my wife came out to sit with me. We discussed the aroma of this tobacco and she hit the nail on the head! She said that it smelled like the air in Western Ireland where they burn peat in the fireplaces. I still love the taste of this stuff. My wife even took a puff (she's not a pipe smoker but rather a cigar smoker) and she also enthusiastically said that it tasted good too. I just bought 4 more tins for a rainy day ( um, week).

I'm still quite new to the hobby. That being said, I LOVE this stuff. Very soft, creamy smoke with just enough flavor to keep you wanting more. The last tobacco I reviewed was Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, which was a little too strong for my liking. Frog Morton's Cellar was nothing but an improvement for me. The tobacco itself has a great smoky flavor that isn't at all overbearing with a subtle hint of whiskey, thanks to the barrel stave included in the tin. The smoke is very light, and easy to enjoy. In fact, after I finished the bowl, it didn't even feel like I had smoked anything. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to start in on the hobby. Bravo, McClelland.

I'm finally through my first full tin of this blend, and good- googly-moogly, I'm loving it.

Appearance: Mostly ribbons, with a view larger, broken pieces of Latakia. The colors range from tan to pure black.

Tin Aroma: Sweet. Very sweet. Hints of whiskey and fruit and a little leather and smokiness.

Flavor: I would not classify this as an all-day smoke for most people, as the sweetness of an American English most be too overpowering. For one or two bowls, though, the sweetness of the whiskey plays beautifully with the smoky Latakia, creating complex flavor that never gets boring and always offers a little bit more. I would say this is a good dessert smoke or any time you are craving an English around people who are picky about room notes.

I'm finding it difficult to classify this as a true English style tobacco- it's more of an aromatic or dare I say "American English"? Far too sweet and goopy to be called an English tobacco and it never seems to dry out on the mat- But alas I've enjoyed this tobacco very much- my wife says it has a pleasant roomnote- the Virginias are cased very sweet as well as the Latakia which is underlying and more of a smoky sweet. Mid bowl the casings are dwindling and they reveal a blend that is somewhat lacking- muted and mild. My tastes for an English blend are not satisfied with this one. This would be a great blend for an aromatic smoker looking to branch out.

After smoking tins of GLP's Sextant and Navigator and discovering that booze and latakia in the same blend don't work for me, I told myself to stay away from this one - no need to try it. However, a well-meaning pipe buddy was bound and determined to send me an ounce to sample, which I did... and since I record my tasting notes via this site on everything I smoke, here they are. Please disregard this "review" if you enjoy this kind of thing.

I like the idea of this, and I think it's well done. The latakia is well to the rear and provides its usual smoke. The whiskey flavor is a bit too pronounced for me, but as I hinted at above, this is a personal bias. The cube is a nice touch and I loved McC's Stave-Aged virginia blend very much. But as with the other booze/latakia blends, the mixing of the two threw the flavor into cloudiness, almost as if the two offset each other but also became less than the sum of their parts. Crossover blends are conceptually nice, but I find that most of them fail to excite my taste buds. Add at least one star to my rating if you like the concept because I think McClellands made this blend into exactly what they were shooting for. In fact, if you think you might like this, you should definitely give it a try. If you're pretty sure you won't, as I was, try it only if it's free!

I've got the pantry stocked with Frog Morton Cellar. It is in my regular rotation, and currently my #3 pipe tobacco.

Initial thoughts: Wonderful tin aroma. Perfect moisture level. Lights easily, and just cruises effortlessly thereafter.

Taste? At first, the Latakia spiciness is front and center. The first third of the bowl produces a stinging nose exhale. No Virgina sweetness noted.

Middle of bowl: the Latakia takes a step back and assumes a supporting note. The Virginia sweetness steps up to the plate. Milder. Can be nose exhaled now with no burn.

Lots of flavor throughout the bowl. Medium strength. Needs almost no relights. Doesn't bite. No noticeable nicotene buzz.

Frog Morton Cellar is tasty! Pairs well with bourbon, rum, or coffee. 3.5 stars. Highly recommended.

Mortgage your house; sell your firstborn; do whatever you have to do to stock up on this blend. The expression "hit it out of the ballpark" is an understatement for Frog Morton's Cellar! It's more like the shot in "The Natural" where the ball keeps going and going and going.

Tin Aroma: Upon opening you are met with the scent of the whiskey. However, it is not overwhelming as some blends are. Mild latakia follows giving the blend a needed "umph" factor. It should be noted that this blend is quite moist. That said, it's moisture did not pose a problem when lighting up.

Taste: As good as it gets. This blend rests easily on the tongue.The latakia balances everything out. Some smokers say that latakia is too strong,but I disagree. In the right amounts latakia is a spectacular leaf. In this case McClelland uses just that perfect balance of latakia.

Frog Morton's Cellar is a rare treat indeed. It is one of those "if I could only have one blend" types. I'll definately have many tins on hand 🙂 I just couldn't fit the stave in any of my pipes.

I am honored and pleased to be the first reviewer for this amazing blend. Mike and Mary from McClelland's came by our monthly meeting for the GCKPC last week and brought us samples of both this blend and Stave Aged Virginia. I spent Thursday and Saturday with this blend and have smoked 10 bowls out of 3 different pipes.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of any of the other Frog Morton Blends. I know many love them, but for me I'm more of a Syrian Star kind of man and love my Syrian latakia and tend to shy away from Cyprian blends. I was also very skeptical about this blend because of the "wood insert" in the tin. I wasn't sure how it would work, and as these tins have only had 2 weeks to age it's still pretty new. So with that in mind, here's the review.

I started at pipe club packing my Bruce Weaver lovat (a great english smoker) with a bowl full of the fragrant Whiskey touched leaves. Taking a whiff out of the tin you get a sense of the Latakia, but not overwhelmingly so like some of the other Morton's. This seems to just tease you. You also get a light sense of the whiskey but only when your nose is near the stave.

Once the bowl was packed I performed my pre light ritual of 4 big inhales through the pipe to clear the chamber and test the draw. On inhale one the flavor hit me. A delicious taste of of an almost sweet liquor hit my mouth. I sniffed the tobacco again but got no smell to match what I was tasting. The next 3 inhales all felt the same. So I decided to apply heat. Upon the Charring light I was now greeted with a stronger taste but now with that creamy smoothness of the tobacco joining it. I got a good char and then moved to the relight. Now here is where it gets impressive. Keep in mind this is non-dried tobacco straight out of the tin. I smoked the bowl for 1 hour and 5 minutes straight with no relight. The tobacco burned smooth and even and the flavor profile was delicious. After about 20 puffs I passed my pipe to club president John Cermack (a Morton Lover of all flavors) and told him he had to take a puff. His reaction was as surprised as mine and I had to pry the pipe out of his hands so I could resume my smoke.

The first 10 minutes or so were creamy whiskey goodness which slowly brought forth the latakia flavor. About 20 minutes in I had a good hit of the latakia but the sweetness seemed to go almost buttery. After 40 minutes a nice nutty flavor emerged that really stayed for the rest of the smoke. The smokes since have all followed very similar patterns with a few hitting the buttery flavor earlier in the smoke, but all have been completely wonderful and refreshing. This will most likely become a regular in my rotation. Mike and Mary have truly come up with a new and amazing blend. My applause to you and my thanks for giving us at the Greater Kansas City Pipe Club a chance to be early samplers of the blend.

Dustin "Big D" Babitzke