McClelland Arcadia

This blend has the "ketchup" smell you usually find in McClelland blends, but it's not present in the taste. There is a topping that I've detected in their Frog Morton series that seems to add a little sweetness here. This blend is lightly grassy, woody and earthy, with fermented tangy dark fruit sweet stoved Virginia. It is well enabled by the smoke, herbs, vegetation, earth, wood, leather, and dry spice from the Orientals. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste is a slot short of the medium mark. The nic-hit is a rung below the strength level. Won't bite or get harsh even if pushed. Has a few small rough edges. Burns a tad slow, cool, clean, and fairly smooth with a very consistent sweet and floral, mildly spicy flavor that never weakens. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste, and room note. Aromatic smokers who want to go in a different direction may find this to their liking. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

I picked up a tin of this about a year ago while I was traveling and put it in my cellar. I opened the tin to send a sample to someone and sealed the rest in a Mason jar but for some reason I didn't try it myself until about a week ago. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this tobacco but I was very pleasantly surprised. The tin note has just a little bit of ketchupy/vinegary aroma but it's very mild. Just under that is a bit of grassy/hay from the Virginia. It packs very well, lights easily and stays lit. There is a natural sweetness to this tobacco but there is also a pleasant tangy/sourness to the sweet. When the smoke passed over my tongue my initial thought was of the sour sweetness of a sweet tart but that's probably a bad analogy because it's not sweet in a candy way. Maybe the sweet tangy quality of a good barbecue sauce would be a better description, particularly since I thought I noticed a subtle smokiness hovering in the background. I assume that's from the Oriental. For me that rounded out the flavor nicely and gave it more complexity. In any case it's a very pleasant flavor and a very satisfying smoke. The flavor remains throughout the bowl. This one is a winner for me and something I plan to keep on hand.

McClelland shines with this one. A perfect balance of Virginias and Orientals. As with its name sake, I find this to be a true gentlemen's smoke. A slight bit of a sour tang, blended with a few sweet notes and a little bit of smokiness in the background. Not to complex nor overtly simple, perfectly rounded out in my opinion. I am not a latakia lover and do not miss them is this blend. Of course it will nip a wee bit like any Va if pushed to hard.

I am a sherlock fan and I do think this an apt mixture for a man of Watson's civil and informed taste. Though the man is fictional this tobacco is based on the very real blend of old.

I have puffed this through a number of good briars and no doubt find it to be excellent in all of them. I pack it either by layering or the frank method, both to great result. perfect moisture content out of tin and great McClelland aroma. great tin artwork and a perfect all day smoke as well. As the tin says "An original pipe tobacco recipe worthy of offering to one's best friend."

Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I agree with BostonPipe...Arcadia is a friendly mixture without a lot of frills. Loved the shag cut -- helped promote an even pack and burn every time. Unique flavor too. Although there is a good portion of the cool and airy Oriental leaf, this one packs some punch, and I found it to be quite welcome. I'll cellar some as this one has all the ingredients for promoting depth and flavor variances as time goes by.

Arcadia was the name of the fictional mixture in Sir James Matthew Barrie's minor masterpiece of irony, My Lady Nicotine. This was, supposedly, the real-life Craven mixture, which Barrie actually smoked himself. If this is a reproduction of a real-life mixture, how could it possibly have anything to do with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional stories of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson? The entire tin legend for this tobacco is arrant nonsense, and an egregious example of the lengths to which blenders will go, to say nothing of any value on their labels.

Either that, or they have a very wise confidence in many of their customers' inability to tell fact (Craven's) from fiction (Sherlock Holmes.)

Be that as it may, this is a good blend. The bouquet of the almost shag-cut tobacco, unlit, is yeasty in the way of latakia, but I do not taste latakia when I smoke it. The chief flavour is the savoury sweetness of lightly-stoved virginia, but some other leaf?not Turkish, I woundn't think?keeps it from getting syrupy. The taste bears some kinship to Rattray's Dark Fragrant, but this is a far more manly, interesting smoke. It is a bit like Haddo's Delight without the Périque.

An excellent afternoon mixture, if smoked slowly.

What a wonderful smoke this is. The Orientals provide the main flavors of wood, leather and a hint of butter along with a fair amount of spice and a bare hint of smoke. The Virginias are stoved and provide a little sweetness with a toasty note. Not terribly complex, but it's very well rounded with nice depth. Absolutely delicious. Truly, a great blend.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. Not sure about a topping or not. If there is one it's extremely mild. Burns perfectly straight from the tin.

Ribbon cuts, darkish in appearance, a mingle of dark probably stoved virginias and black latakias with considerable less quantity of brighter leaf presumably oriental. Tin note is mostly leathery, tangy and to a lesser degree smoky - latakia dominant - but has also a degree of sweetness. Easy to fill and light. Smoking Arcadia at first, though very satisfying and with a bold flavor, I considered it to be just an occasional smoke for my taste because I thought it was a rather dry smoke. Predominant aromas were leathery and smoky with a black peppery spiciness. And although a rich smoke it was not heavy at all. Still, it's better for the evening than at the start of the day. Yet as soon as I got used to it I began to detect a very welcome subtle sweetness. This combined with the fact that it burned very smoothly and stayed lit to the end gave me a deeply satisfying and relaxing experience which I relished for several 45-50 min smokes. Better when smoked calmly as flavors deepen throughout the bowl. Nicotine level is medium +, just right for me to get my kick and it burns to a beautiful fluffy white ash. Room note is rather subtle considering the latakia content of the blend. I know there is a controversy concerning whether this blend contains any latakia at all but if it doesn't then I'd be very surprised...

I totally agree with Beaupipe's review. This one should have been great for me based on the ingredients... and I did like it ok. But the oriental flavor began to wear on me over time. It took me about 6 months to finish the tin and what hit me as favorable with the first few bowls became what turned me off the last few.

I still recommend that people try this, as there seems to be a lot of dissension in the ranks. For that reason, I give this 3 stars. For my own enjoyment, 2 stars.

I had some samples of this a while back and liked them. I'm now almost through a 3-year aged tin & can truly say that I REALLY like this. Oddly, it seemed quite hot & thin in the narrow bowls I usually use for Vas, but in a big meer with a pot-shaped bowl nearly 7/8" across, it transformed into a genuinely rich smoke. Started with lots of Va highs, plenty sweet, a little spice from the O's. Mid bowl develops a creamy balance with the spices kicking in & out, finish is dark with lots of Va base under Oriental tang. Very lightly cased, I think. Nice room note, but pricey for me.

A very mild smoke, but with a fair amount of flavor. A real Oriental treat for any smoker in the mood for a mild, smooth, relaxing smoke. I get a lot more Oriental than Virginia, but it's not overwhelming in any aspect. Likely a good intro to this catagory for the OTC smoker