McClelland Frog Morton's Cellar
(3.47)
A mellow, fragrant latakia blend aged with stave cubes cut from barrels used to mature and flavor Frog Morton's own special whiskeys.
Notes: Notes: The name Frog Morton comes to us from the works of JRR Tolkien. Frogmorton: A village in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It stood on the East Road, between the Three-farthing Stone (fourteen miles to the west) and the Brandywine Bridge (twenty-two miles to the east). Immediately to the north of the village, the stream known as the Water broke into two, creating a wide watery region - this feature seems to have given Frog Morton its name, which means "frog marsh".
Details
| Brand | McClelland |
| Series | Craftsbury Series |
| Blended By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
| Manufactured By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | Aromatic |
| Contents | Latakia, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Whisky |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin, 100 grams tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.47 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 37 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
There is a little block of wood in the can that you should not try to rub out. It takes hours and your fingers will end up a gnarled, bloodied mess. Do what I learned to do: bypass the little block of wood and go directly for the tobacco, which is fine stuff.
I was smoking this at a demolition derby the other night and a gentleman sitting nearby stated that he liked the smell better than all the exhaust we were sitting in. Therefore, I proclaim the room note exquisite. The wife was not so descriptive, saying "It smells ok." Still, I'm sticking with exquisite. "Frog Morton's Cellar: It smells better than car exhaust!"
Reading the can, one discovers that Frog Morton is a real frog who enjoys smoking pipes and drinking whiskey. This makes him about 100 times cooler than Kermit. Frog Morton's Cellar is a blend with actual cubes of wood in it that have been cut from the actual staves that make up the actual barrels that Frog Morton uses to age his own whiskey. Wow, who knew frogs were so inventive?
Ok, the Frog Morton story is cute and charming and all, but, alas, we know it's not real. McClelland got a hold of some old bourbon barrels, it seems. This then, is a "stave-aged" latakia/virginia blend that I quite enjoy and will be buying more of.
The tin note is sweet and bourbon-y. Rich-smelling. I don't consider this an aromatic in the sense that some sort of sauce has been poured on the weed itself, but it definitely has more going on than straight tobacco.
It is a well-balanced blend, taste-wise, with no one element being prominent. The bourbon element plays well with the latakia and virginia and there is a woodsy quality to the whole thing that comes from, obviously, the chunk of wood the tobacco is aged with. This woodsy quality is not as noticeable in the tin note but really comes out in the smoking. That block of wood may have been up against some bourbon for quite a long time, but it is still 99.99% wood, so it's no surprise that it has a pretty profound effect on the blend.
A delightful and inventive offering.
I was smoking this at a demolition derby the other night and a gentleman sitting nearby stated that he liked the smell better than all the exhaust we were sitting in. Therefore, I proclaim the room note exquisite. The wife was not so descriptive, saying "It smells ok." Still, I'm sticking with exquisite. "Frog Morton's Cellar: It smells better than car exhaust!"
Reading the can, one discovers that Frog Morton is a real frog who enjoys smoking pipes and drinking whiskey. This makes him about 100 times cooler than Kermit. Frog Morton's Cellar is a blend with actual cubes of wood in it that have been cut from the actual staves that make up the actual barrels that Frog Morton uses to age his own whiskey. Wow, who knew frogs were so inventive?
Ok, the Frog Morton story is cute and charming and all, but, alas, we know it's not real. McClelland got a hold of some old bourbon barrels, it seems. This then, is a "stave-aged" latakia/virginia blend that I quite enjoy and will be buying more of.
The tin note is sweet and bourbon-y. Rich-smelling. I don't consider this an aromatic in the sense that some sort of sauce has been poured on the weed itself, but it definitely has more going on than straight tobacco.
It is a well-balanced blend, taste-wise, with no one element being prominent. The bourbon element plays well with the latakia and virginia and there is a woodsy quality to the whole thing that comes from, obviously, the chunk of wood the tobacco is aged with. This woodsy quality is not as noticeable in the tin note but really comes out in the smoking. That block of wood may have been up against some bourbon for quite a long time, but it is still 99.99% wood, so it's no surprise that it has a pretty profound effect on the blend.
A delightful and inventive offering.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Frog Morton's Cellar is the most recent addition to McClelland's "Frog Morton" line of Latakia-based blends. This tobacco comes with a small cube of Oak wood from an old whiskey barrel, thereby imparting the blend with a smokey-sweet hint of bourbon.
The tin pop gives a nice scent of a wood fire and fine spirits. The moisture content is not too moist, that it cannot be smoked straight from the tin, yet a short breathing period brings benefit prior to packing. The leaves are mostly black with a few ribbons of tan. There is a slight stickiness to the touch, however, the blend burns clean and leaves no tackified residue on the bowl walls.
On the initial light, the smoke is dark then slightly sweet with the whiskey flavor coming through. Once the bowl is burning properly you get large plumes of fragrant smoke. The bourbon flavor is strongest in the first third of the bowl and then it becomes more subtle as the smoke progresses. Mid-bowl, the flavors are subdued, leveling out to a mild pure tobacco taste. As the bowl winds down, the blend starts to give one last rise in flavor and then it is over and one is left with a small pile of pure grey powdery ash. Bowl walls are clean and ghosting is almost non-existent.
Overall, this is a very nice blend that you can enjoy anytime, even as an all-day smoke. It pairs well with a good whiskey or a strong coffee.
The tin pop gives a nice scent of a wood fire and fine spirits. The moisture content is not too moist, that it cannot be smoked straight from the tin, yet a short breathing period brings benefit prior to packing. The leaves are mostly black with a few ribbons of tan. There is a slight stickiness to the touch, however, the blend burns clean and leaves no tackified residue on the bowl walls.
On the initial light, the smoke is dark then slightly sweet with the whiskey flavor coming through. Once the bowl is burning properly you get large plumes of fragrant smoke. The bourbon flavor is strongest in the first third of the bowl and then it becomes more subtle as the smoke progresses. Mid-bowl, the flavors are subdued, leveling out to a mild pure tobacco taste. As the bowl winds down, the blend starts to give one last rise in flavor and then it is over and one is left with a small pile of pure grey powdery ash. Bowl walls are clean and ghosting is almost non-existent.
Overall, this is a very nice blend that you can enjoy anytime, even as an all-day smoke. It pairs well with a good whiskey or a strong coffee.
Pipe Used:
Many various brands and shapes
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
1 year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 27, 2013 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable |
Definitely a lovely flavored-english blend: smooth, creamy, smoky, subtly sweet... a quality smoke in every way.
So why not four stars? I'll get to that in a moment.
This is the third of the Frog Mortons I've tried. They're all lovely: the base of these blends provides a solid, stable flavor profile that the master blenders of McClelland know how to tweak into wonderful variations of a theme. But no matter how lovely the details of these variations may be, the base flavor predominates.
I liken it to an omelette: no matter how you vary the fillings, it's still an omelette. Some fillings will be better than others, some won't work at all. If the omelette is over- or undercooked, nothing will taste right. But a great omelette, cooked just right, transcends the particularities of its fillings, no matter the difference in flavor. The omelette is the canvas on which to perform flavor variations.
Ultimately, this is why I give it three instead of four stars: Frog Morton's base blend is a wonderful three-star canvas, and to me this variation does not lift it to the next level: Cellar is a subtly-sweet-bourbon-whisper variation of what is essentially the same flavor profile as the other Frog Mortons.
I can see why many of my esteemed peers believe that this is the variation that lifts the base blend to the next level; but, truth be told, I actually prefer both Bayou and Town to this one. They're all successful variations on a theme, so ultimately it comes down to a matter of taste preference. Which means that this, as well as the other Frog Mortons, are worth a try if you're shopping for just the right velvety smooth subtly-flavored English.
So why not four stars? I'll get to that in a moment.
This is the third of the Frog Mortons I've tried. They're all lovely: the base of these blends provides a solid, stable flavor profile that the master blenders of McClelland know how to tweak into wonderful variations of a theme. But no matter how lovely the details of these variations may be, the base flavor predominates.
I liken it to an omelette: no matter how you vary the fillings, it's still an omelette. Some fillings will be better than others, some won't work at all. If the omelette is over- or undercooked, nothing will taste right. But a great omelette, cooked just right, transcends the particularities of its fillings, no matter the difference in flavor. The omelette is the canvas on which to perform flavor variations.
Ultimately, this is why I give it three instead of four stars: Frog Morton's base blend is a wonderful three-star canvas, and to me this variation does not lift it to the next level: Cellar is a subtly-sweet-bourbon-whisper variation of what is essentially the same flavor profile as the other Frog Mortons.
I can see why many of my esteemed peers believe that this is the variation that lifts the base blend to the next level; but, truth be told, I actually prefer both Bayou and Town to this one. They're all successful variations on a theme, so ultimately it comes down to a matter of taste preference. Which means that this, as well as the other Frog Mortons, are worth a try if you're shopping for just the right velvety smooth subtly-flavored English.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25, 2013 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
You know this blend doesn't need another review. Seems the reviewers fall into two camps, those being introduced to English blends and those who prefer english blends. I still can't really quite get over the whole McClelland Katsup smell in their Va's, Bar b Que sauce is the pleasant way some folks have described frog morton. Smells like soft mellow latakia with katsup on it to me.
However, after the charring light it tastes like tobacco, a pretty mellow, easy going, causal blend, burns cool, stays lit, though the taste doesn't vary much it's an interesting taste.
It took me a few years to get around to trying this blend. I'm not going to ever turn it down, but I don't know if I'll buy it often. If a friend were asking me about trying their first non aromatic and didn't want a VA/PER this is the blend I'd direct them too. It's inoffensive.
However, after the charring light it tastes like tobacco, a pretty mellow, easy going, causal blend, burns cool, stays lit, though the taste doesn't vary much it's an interesting taste.
It took me a few years to get around to trying this blend. I'm not going to ever turn it down, but I don't know if I'll buy it often. If a friend were asking me about trying their first non aromatic and didn't want a VA/PER this is the blend I'd direct them too. It's inoffensive.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2018 | Extremely Mild | Mild | Mild | Extra Strong |
I was extremely excited to finally try one of the famous blends out of Frog Morton. Happily, I found it at a local B&M for a decent price. Upon opening the tin, there was something odd about the tobacco. It was hard, and cube cut. Nowhere on the tin did it say anything about cube cut. Alrighty then, it’s a mystery folks. So, in picking up this oddly tough, rough, and charred tobacco, I tried to break a piece off. Man oh man, this stuff was tough. After countless minutes of attempting to roll it out, I took a knife with a serrated edge. I’m telling you, devoted reader, I think it dulled my knife, that’s how hard this stuff was! I had to think here, hard and long. Perhaps it’s like a plug, and didn’t need to be broken down. So I attempted to shove the cube into my largest pipe. Miraculously it fit, so time to get a smoking! The topping is definitely wood, and it lasts throughout the whole bowl. It was extremely hard to keep lit, but I finally got a nice smoldering going. Halfway through the bowl, I noticed the tobacco had completely combusted into an open flame, charring the bowl of my pipe. In an attempt to ash the pipe, and put the fire out, the flame strengthened, and engulfed my favorite Nørding. In a panic, I threw it out of my car window on the highway, where the flaming pipe was run over by a semi who was not expecting such turn of events.
All in all, I’d give my experience an 8/10. The strength was mild, the taste was very woody, and it burned hot hot. Lost two points for destroying my pipe, and scarring the poor trucker who almost flew off the road.
All in all, I’d give my experience an 8/10. The strength was mild, the taste was very woody, and it burned hot hot. Lost two points for destroying my pipe, and scarring the poor trucker who almost flew off the road.
Pipe Used:
Nørding 4 (RIP)
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2014 | Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This is my favorite frog I have had so far. The others I have tried are the original FM and FMATP. I gave those two pretty low marks, so the bar is low. With this I find an lat blend that is pretty easy to smoke. It can be pretty tasty to satisfy the contemplative smoke, but also easy to enjoy when you are busy doing chores or such.
I guess you can say it is a good all day smoke. My major problem is that I would turn to two other blends by McClelland to satisfy either of those needs. For the contemplative lat blend, I want some Blue Mountain. for the lat blend to smoke while I am busy with other pursuits, I want some Old Dog.
I am not sure what kind of impact the stave has on the leaf. I plan to use the stave in another blend of which I have been smoking to see if it makes a difference there. I am not sure whether there is a whiskey topping added as well, but there is definitely some sweetness that goes beyond what I would normally get from a McClelland Virginia.
That said, I will probably not order any more of this one, but I do recommend it as I don't think someone can be too disappointed with it, because it is just so easy to smoke.
That, and the stave is kind of cool.
I guess you can say it is a good all day smoke. My major problem is that I would turn to two other blends by McClelland to satisfy either of those needs. For the contemplative lat blend, I want some Blue Mountain. for the lat blend to smoke while I am busy with other pursuits, I want some Old Dog.
I am not sure what kind of impact the stave has on the leaf. I plan to use the stave in another blend of which I have been smoking to see if it makes a difference there. I am not sure whether there is a whiskey topping added as well, but there is definitely some sweetness that goes beyond what I would normally get from a McClelland Virginia.
That said, I will probably not order any more of this one, but I do recommend it as I don't think someone can be too disappointed with it, because it is just so easy to smoke.
That, and the stave is kind of cool.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 03, 2019 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I had the privilege of trying this out of print blend and am sad to see it go. I'm a fan of latakia and this blend really hit the spot for me. I'm searching for anything similar and so far the best I can think is it reminds me of a blend from Tinderbox called Philosopher though It has been many years since I last had it so I hope memory serves me here. Will update with thoughts on this.
Pipe Used:
Nording freehand
Age When Smoked:
6 years
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2017 | Medium | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
These may be common, but I'm relatively new to pipe smoking so this blend to me was a bit of a singular experience being the first I have had that is both aromatic and English/Latakia. This smells good in the tin. Very whiskey-like topping dominates the bouquet.(I do not believe it is all from the stave-cube either, but an actual sauce) Some floral notes, but they are tough to pick up on because there are such formidable vinegar/alcohol fumes present. From a fresh tin, that was all I could smell. It may dissipate with some aging. I mention all of this because other reviews seem to have had less of the whiskey influence. May be that mine was just very fresh. After some dry-time, it smoked well if not a tad damp needing only two relights past the initial true light. The taste was a sweet and smokey English with that whiskey note managing to hang around until the last I smoked of the bowl. (I rarely smoke the last bit.) Bite free and if you enjoy the liquor, you could smoke this all day. For me, it will be a few pipes a week-smoke. Delicious, really and it seems quite popular. I imagine it will be around for a long time. The Frog Morton series has been a solid two for two for me. This and 'On The Town' are two pipeweeds I'll be keeping in stock. The only inhibitor to perfection I could possibly see with this blend, is the topping. The strong whiskey note makes it so specific a smoke, it may limit the appeal for some. Then again, how many pipe smokers dislike whiskey? haha
Pipe Used:
Bjarne Viking Skagen, Virgin
PurchasedFrom:
PipesAndCigars.com
Age When Smoked:
Fresh from Tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 26, 2014 | Medium to Strong | Mild | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
I don't have much to add to all the other positive reviews. My experience was that this was a very agreeable introduction to English blends and as the year has progressed, it continues to be a go to for a reliable "english" experience. I couldn't detect any particular whiskey connection as promised on the tin, but as I really do not like whiskey, that was a good thing! the tobacco remains very smokable 6 or more months after opening the tin - I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing with regards how freshness is maintained in the Frog Morton Cellar (I'm always a bit wary of any bread for example that is still edible 2 weeks after purchase - what did they shove in it to allow that to happen?, etc!) - anyway, just an observation that for an ocassional smoker of English Blends, this seems to last well after opening so may be a good choice. As said elsewhere, my experience is that this tobacco is very docile and can be smoked at whatever pace suits with next to no bite.
Pipe Used:
barber B Line B3 straight billiard
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
New to 6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2014 | Mild | Mild | Mild | Pleasant |
Very nice and enjoyable. Out of the tin the nose is mildly sweet and subtle. The ribbons are uniform and alternate between light and dark browns to black. Moisture fresh from the can is perfect for immediate use. Gravity feed....char...tamp....and light leaves you with a one match smoke. Cool. Mellow and subtly sweet this is a blend that is easily French inhaled and rolled around the tongue. I'm not sure if the charred oak chunk is really effective but it's a neat idea nonetheless. I will definitely keep this in my library as it is a nice simple smoke.
***2015-07-30 Update ***
One year in a mason jar and this blend has become even more mellow than when I first opened the can. It is a beautiful smoke and ages very very well.
***2015-07-30 Update ***
One year in a mason jar and this blend has become even more mellow than when I first opened the can. It is a beautiful smoke and ages very very well.
Pipe Used:
Several Peterson's
PurchasedFrom:
Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked:
New
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