McClelland Bombay Court

Bombay Court amazes me every time I smoke it. Deftly blended and beautifully balanced creating a rich and creamy flavorful smoke. First light you get cool smoky latakia and that is the last time you will taste it so fully. The Turkish/Orientals are forward but nothing dominates. Pull a little harder and you get some fine Virginias. Sip and some cool Lat comes in. It's all almost perfectly integrated. The last third melds together into something singular and fantastic with a slightly salty beef jerky flavor that can linger on the tongue for quite some time. I love this stuff.

Have to mention that weird ketchup tin aroma. With the smokey background maybe something closer to an aged chipotle sauce? What's more strange is I've come to love that smell, and when I catch a whiff of it I salivate in anticipation of the next bowl.

This is a great smoke and a real favorite. Also a really nice counterpart to London Mixture.

Move over you Frogs. Now this stuff is, oh so yummy, it's almost too hard to describe.

I've tried this in three different pipes, the last one being a Ceramic Bowled Calabash. Being a glazed bowl and kept quite clean, it doesn't have the ghosts' of a 100 different tobaccos.

The flavors of Bombay Court came through in waves, and it only got better down to the last snippet of tobacco. The Virginias IMHO were the most predominant, with the remaining tobaccos appearing in the background where they added some very tasty additions to this amazing smoke.

This is my first venture into a McClelland Tobacco, and I wasn't disapointed. 4 Stars and a Plus!

Randy W...

I hold Latakia in the same esteem I hold Perique. It's a spice/flavoring. I like English/Scottish blends, but want my Latakia in the background. In general, I feel that McClelland tastefully handles Latakia in their blends. A little smokiness to balance out the sweetness of VA's is always the way to do it, IMO.

Bombay court is a regular standby that has handled evening Churchwarden service for me, particularly during the colder mos.

Here' why. There's always a surprise at the "bottom of the box" Upon lighting, the Turkish and Latakia dominate. Around mid bowl, the torch is passed to the VA's. The smokiness of Latakia stays present but is offset by the sweetness of the Virginias. It's a smooth transition, like a DGT you kept smoking. Non-smokers weren't assaulted by the Latakia.

Very dry and white ashes. 4 stars and many cans in the cardboard boxes I call a "cellar" , but I see no need to age, I like "as is"

Pouch Aroma: When I opened the bag, I was greeted by the delicate aroma of a blend rich in Orientals with a light touch of Latakia. It's a beautifully warm, nutty and leathery smell that reminds me of saddle leather and early spring air redolent of wood fires and freshly-turned earth. Appearance: I'd venture to say that this is a very well-aged tobacco. The color varies from black Latakia pieces, some dark brown broken flakes and on through the majority of richer medium browns with some lemon Virginia ribbons and greenish-brown crimp-cut Turkish pieces. All, especially the broken flakes, are liberally dusted with sugar crystals which shine like pixie dust. BEAUTIFUL tobacco, Don!

Packing and Lighting: I'm going to put this in a Don Carlos 3-note partially rusticated bent pipe which is, by far, my best pipe for English tobaccos. It's got a rather large bowl and I filled it to the top, as I think this will be a fine, long smoke. It packed easily as I tried to get a good variety of the component tobaccos, a task made simpler by the variety of cuts with many ribbons to help hold things together. There was only one thick stem which had apparently gotten pressed into a flake, but those are fun to chew on so I don't mind.

The first touch of flame gives me a naturally sweet mouthful of rich, medium density smoke which is smooth, slightly nutty and contains the barest trace of Latakia smokiness. It lights easily and starts out cool, with promises of great things to come. The most noticeable elements are the Virginia base and a generous amount of Turkish. Above all, this stuff is VERY smooth but of light to medium strength thus far. All in all, it's going to be a great morning smoke. Exposition: The key notes for the first third of this bowl have been sweet and nutty. On the tongue it reminds me of lightly smoked roasted cashews, while the smoke wafting from the bowl when I send light puffs into the stem is pure roasting chestnuts! The Latakia is only present for me in the room aroma which reminds me somewhat of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe. As the bowl burns however, the sweetness is subsiding into a soft richness as the Virginias take on their usual later-in-the-bowl density and weight.

The Story: Down past the halfway point, the sweetness has subsided a bit and there is a distinct pepperiness on the tongue and an astringency when exhaled through the nose. Not a trace of bite yet but the spicy flavors are drying my mouth a bit; the strong Assam tea I'm drinking with it matches well though and enhances the light smokiness of the Latakia. This stuff is a great light smoke, perfect for a sunny morning like this. It's dry-smoking, stays lit extremely well with only light tamping and changes flavors in a very subtle way with no obnoxious interludes. I detect no air- or fire-cured tobaccos in here at all.

Denouement: Even the finish on this tobacco is beautiful, with the sweetness peeking back out between the full flavors of the Virginia and Turkish tobaccos. The Latakia is still in the background, having been used as a spice rather than a main course. There is also a rich, slightly sour note which calls to mind the end of a bowl of McClelland's #2015, but not as distinct. It's a wonderful way to end a great smoke - fluffy mottled ashes, rich biteless flavor and a pleasantly accessible simplicity. This isn't a complex smoke for me; rather, it's a quiet thoughtful experience which requires little attention to keep things burning easily and coolly.

Pros: This has no bite, lights and burns quite well (but not like tinder) and the flavor stays relatively stable throughout the entire bowl. It's rich but mild, low in nicotine and easy to smoke for extended periods. I can see this being a good all-day smoke for lovers of oriental tobaccos who are overwhelmed by the amount of Latakia in many Englishes yet enjoy the subtle interplay between a solid Virginia base and well-used condiment tobaccos.

Cons: None that I could find, unless one can't make room in one's day for something this mild and smooth.

It is a three-and-one-half star tobacco for me, but I will go to four. I would just about rate McClelland's worst blend four stars. Miss them, and enjoying my modest remaining stash.

Is this an English; an Oriental-forward English, or a Balkan? Depends on your opinion or terminology. The Latakia is present (as are the Orientals), and in this tin from 1991, I suppose it could be Syrian Latakia, because it seems to have that winey taste, but hard to tell by now.

1991; McClelland had not gotten their tins quite right at that point, and the tobacco was dried out. I had to reconstitute it. What I got is heavenly, and a great Balkan (or Oriental-forward English).

I prefer those McClelland broken Virginia Flakes with the vinegar, or catsup smell (I get more vinegar than catsup), but this is a very nice light-English smoke. Or Balkan; the Turkish makes its presence known.

I was right to crack this tin; it was dried out, and wouldn't have improved any more. I will go to it in its reconstituted version in the jar, when I want a nice English/Balkan.

Update 2/15/2023 Boys and Girls, a word of advice: when reconstituting (re-hydrating) old dried-out pipe tobacco, do it slowly with DISTILLED WATER. I made an amateur mistake and used tap water added all at once to the tobacco, and air dried it to jarring moisture. It molded! 15 years of pipe smoking, and I should have known better. Should have re-cased it in molasses water and stoved it...at least I got to try a few bowls.

I picked up a 50g. tin of this at a tobacco shop the last time I visited the "big city" simply on impulse. And I'm glad I did. I am a big fan of VAs and VA/pers, as well as English/Balkan blends. The first impression on opening the tin was a soft cushion of ribbon cut VAs, some brown and black striping, and not a whole lot of McC ketchup. Very smokey. Smokes like a dream with a little dry time. And it DGTs very nicely. This was my first light Balkan/English blend and it is a treat. Just enough latakia to take you into the "realm", plenty of VA sweets to remind you what this is based on, and the orientals take off to the east every now and then. This would be a great first trip to England for VA, VA/per groupies and a nice change-up for the heavy English/Balkan fans. I really enjoy this smoke at mid day before gearing up for a latakia hit in the evening. THis one stays on my shelf 'til something better comes along.

I like the orientals in this one. The latakia does not drown everything else out. The virginia is tangy. Nicotine is on the light side. No bite.

This is a very flavorful English blend. Good moisture content from the tin, was easy to load and light. Only needed a minimum of attention while smoking. Left a salt and pepper ash and a dry pipe. The Latakia is very noticeable in the tin aroma, but none of the components dominate the flavor. Could easily be an all day smoke. Possibly too intense for a new pipester but the aromatic smoker and the seasoned pipester of "non-flavored" blends just may enjoy this, even if only on an occasion.

These notes are based on a tin of Bombay Court originally packed in 1999.

If I had written a review based on the first few pipefuls after opening the tin, I would have rated this blend as "ho-hum". But I put the tin away and actually forgot about it for about six months. When I rediscovered it, and loaded a pipe...Wow! The idle time made a world of difference. It was a little drier in the tin, and the flavors of the virginias, turkish and latakia now seemed to be in perfect balance. A classic recipe, beautifully executed. This has quickly become a favorite of mine.