McClelland Bombay Court

Tin Aroma: Very dusky, but with a hint of that famous McClelland ketchup smell to it. I suppose that means that there is a goodly portion of Virginias in here. Not an overpowering aroma by any means. This is actually a pretty light scent for a Latakia blend, especially a McClelland one.

Physical Charisteristics: Small ribbons, mostly black or brown, with a little golden showing here and there for good measure. Packs easily, due to the small pieces, but is a bit springier than is desired, for much the same reason, I imagine. This springiness is only a momentary annoyance, and not really problematic.

First Light: This blend did not want to be lit, and once lit, did not want to stay so. However, after a bit of wrestling, it decides that not only would it like to be lit, but it would like to be engulfed in flame. In the space of three puffs, it went from sputtering to raging inferno, and my tongue screamed in agony. However, I quickly got it under control and moved on to the full smoking enjoyment that Bombay Court can provide. I can tell immediately that this blend will require careful smoking in order to get everything possible out of it. I will not be idly puffing on this while working, I will sit down and give it my full attention. The rewards with Bombay Court are immense, if it is approached properly.

Notes: Dries out the mouth a little, but nothing a good cup of tea can't fix. Coffee seems to overpower this blend (at least the coffees I like), so I would stick to tea with this one. I love it with a little Irish Whisky, or a light Scottish Whisky. Stays lit with very little attention. I walked away from a bowl of this, and came back a good five minutes later and it was still lit. Fine white ash, almost powdery. The kind of ash it is awfully easy to suck through the stem, so I stir it up and dump it before tamping. Mellows out quite a bit in the second half of the bowl. I could easily smoke a lot of this, and in an age where the tobacco choices are so vast, that is saying something. Not as heavy as some 'english' blends, this is a pleasant year-round smoke, whereas some of the 'englishes' I enjoy must be relegated to the colder months, due to their 'weight'. This is most likely due to its relatively low Latakia content. The amount of Orientals in this blend is high, which makes a nice change from my normally Latakia heavy blends, but still within what I consider the 'english' type. I would caution against smoking this all day however, too many of the nuances of it are lost with repetition, and to lose its subtleties would be a crime. This is good in a meerschaum, but does not really shine unless it is in a briar, and gets even better once it and the pipe have 'gotten to know each other'. If you are going to smoke this on a regular basis, it would be worth your while to dedicate a pipe to it. You will not be dissapointed.

My review is based on a 2005 tin, opened and smoked (very quickly) in 2009.

I'll keep this brief. As others have noted, this is a delicious English blend with a decided emphasis on the Turkish. The McClelland Virginias provide a rich and flavorful foundation, and there's just the right balance of latakia in the blend. This is an excellent smoke that comes very close to being "highly recommended." I thoroughly enjoyed it.

While my tastes in tobacco are wide, usually Oriental blends are not my first choice. But from time to time I find their character exciting and necessary to have in the tobacco bar. Usually the problem I find is they are rich and heavy after awhile. But Bombay Court was like a fine dry gin. Very dry, balanced, nice flavor and pleasant room note. This would be the one Oriental that I could smoke every day for an extended period of time. I smoked it in a Peterson rustic dry system. It packed easily. Lit easily and stayed lit to the bottom of the bowl. Burned down to a fine white ash and left the pipe very clean. Would reccomend it to English blend smokers wanting a break from their usual blends.. This was very balanced and unobtrusive..Will keep a steady supply around.

An excellent offering in the Personal Reserve series by McClelland. This is a rich, dark blend of ribbon cut Virginias with Macedonians and a hint of Latakia. It has much of the same McClelland benchmarks: ketchupy tin aroma, thick, sugary cuts of tobacco and attention to quality with an emphasis on top grade stoved Virginia. This has much of the exotic charm of the British Woods with a bit of sweet piquancy ala Frog Morton. But it?s a more reserved version of each. Though it doesn?t rock my world like the two aforementioned, it?s a mixture worthy of merit. This could easily be an all day tobacco, as it doesn?t burn the tongue and no wet dottle is evident. Excellent, though I probably will stick with British Woods or one of the Frogs when I?m in the mood for a tobacco of this style.

Three and a half of Five Stars

This is a truly delightful English blend. I seem to have a love hate relationship with McClelland tobacco-- either I love one of their blends, or I am absolutely uninterested. This is one of those that I love.

The colors of the blend vary from very light lemon Virginias and light Orientals through to the jet black Syrian Latakia. The tin aroma is about as one would expect-- pleasant with a distinct latakia note.

By and large, I'm not a huge latakia fan. I do have a few select latakia blends that I enjoy from time to time, but I generally smoke Virginia and Virginia/Perique blends. This is one of the few latakia blends that I enjoy.

Generally, I favor Englishes that are not everwhelmingly predominant in latakia. I find orientals a necessity for balancing the harshness of the latakia. On the whole, this blend meets my rather exacting specifications for an English blend-- it is sufficiently well balanced that I very much enjoy it.

I found this tin in the back of my closet where it has been "lost" since I purchased it from Barry Levin. This was my regular smoke before I discovered Sobranie White and the PCCA blends. Bombay Court is a medium-strength all-day blend of a virginia base, a fair bit of orientals, and a little bit of latakia. Because of its virginia base, this tobacco is cursed with the McClelland ketchup syndrome, especially apparent after nearly a decade of aging. A day or two's airing-out solved this problem, though.

Smoking it for the first time in years, I am still impressed with its easy smoking qualities. It contains more orientals than I'm generally fond of, but balances them well with its sweetness. The latakia isn't really so much in the flavor so much as the aroma.

The flavor is a sweet, salty nuttiness that reminds me somewhat of salted pecans, with a very slight smokiness. As you progress down the bowl, the orientals build up and the smoke becomes drier and more pungent, and the orientals start to build up on the back of my throat and I get a bit of dry-mouth. This never gets too bad, though, about the same as Pelican does, and much less so than Dunhill Std Mixture Medium.

Good stuff. Not quite as much latakia as I generally like, I'll have to try tin of Bombay Extra soon, that sounds like it's probably right in my sweet spot. (edit: nope, prefer regular BC).