McClelland Bombay Extra

Well, this was a disappointment. Liking Bombay Court, I thought this would be as good or "EXTRA" good, it's not. It burns hot and bitey and lacks a distinctive flavor of Orientals that I get with BC. The blending proportions are so "out of whack" I don't even consider them similar blends and they're not !

Agree with reviewer DK

Revised 6/30/2014- Well once again I have to eat my words, this isn't bad. Give it a month to breath and it delivers a medium latakia / oriental flavor. It's one of those smokes that is good anytime between heavier blends. I still like Bombay Court better, this is just of a different style. 3 stars

GREAT Smoke, really enjoyed my first bowl of this from a 100g tin I received. Nice flavors throughout the bowl, burns slow, cool and steady, min-relights w/frank method.

I will be stocking up on this for aging

This is my all time favorite. When I smoke this mixture, I'm part taking in the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Revolution. I become whisked away, bending time and space. BLISS, ABSOLUTE BLISS. The melding of tobacco tones in my mouth, perfectly. On a scale of four stars, I rate this at SEVEN STARS. What I will do, is to let it breathe in open air until it is not moist to the touch of the back of my fingers, and at that point I delve into that enigmatic pleasure zone: Man, Tobacco, and Pipe.

I believe Mark Twain once said, "Too much of anything is no good, except too much whisky, which is just right." This is a blend for people who feel that way about Latakia. Bombay Extra has way too much Latakia, which some of us feel is just the right amount. If you are an unrepentant Latakiaphile, then you will also be able to taste the meaty Orientals and McClelland's outstanding Virginias in this blend. But if you think Latakia is best used in moderation, you will probably only taste Latakia.

As for tin aroma, it smells like all good English blends smell: bloody awful. I don't understand why anybody cares about tin aroma. In my experience, generally the worse a blend smells, the better it tastes, and vice versa. If I want tobacco that smells good, I'll buy an aromatic and use it as potpourri in my smoking room, while I smoke real tobacco. (I actually did that once. It was enjoyable, but expensive.)

I usually drink tea, but sometimes I'm in the mood for a double espresso. Likewise, I usually smoke medium English blends, but when I want a serious Latakia hit, I reach for Bombay Extra.

Opinions, opinions....

I find this to be the most complex blend in the entire McClellands line of mixtures. One can taste all of the different tobaccos and none of them dominate the blend.

This is a tobacco to be sipped. It's not a full mixture though the label would have you believe that there's some strength in the mixture. The virginias are the base but the rest of the tobaccos come through nicely.

My advice is to buy a tin, pop the top and let it sit (with the plastic top on it) for a couple of weeks. There's something about letting certain tobaccos breathe and this is one of the mixtures that benefits from breathing.

Steady and complex to the bottom of the bowl, I prefer this in larger pipes. A very nice tobacco for the sippers among us. The oriental tobacco mixed with the perique really does the trick. Well done.

Some of the reviewers here keep trying to hold this tobacco up beside it's brother and expect the same thing. This tobacco is not Bombay Court,it's Bombay Extra, a whole different person.

This blend is just right for me.. The Latakia I do not find too overpowering but bold and well stated. The toasted Virginia components that play along sweetly with the Perique makes this a tasty smoke. The Perique adds it's stewed fruit background,and the smoke is thick,and curly smokey sweet.

I did play with this blend trying to figure out how to help you guys who have a tin of this now and don't like it too much. Here it goes: Add two chopped up level tablespoons of Dark Star to Bombay Extra. You'll be sending me Christmas Cards after you try that!

Thoughts from my tobacco log dated 2003 and to this day I stand by what I thought then! Well I went to visit Dick at the tobacco shop and I went to find some Bombay Court only to find none on the shelf. Dick comes over and hands me a 50g tin of this and tells me to try this one out. So after grabbing a tin of a Peterson aromatic and some Lane bulks and an inexpensive church warden I walk to my Brat and load up the pipe. Whoa!!!! What is this??? Spice....pepper maybe?? Whatever is in this tobacco made the hair on neck stand up and want more!! It is very much like the other Bombay but is very spicy and I want more more MORE!!!

I've smoked two tins of 100g of this tobacco.

The first one made me fall in love. It became my favorite tobacco. Thick smoke, intense flavor, complexity in the right measure, and it has never let me down, always a great smoke. A wide variety of different tobacco was mixed bringing various layers of flavor. In short, a highly recommended tobacco and a incredibly memorable one.

So memorable that I bought a second tin to never run out of this wonder.

But time plays tricks. My second can did not impress me. Certainly not displeased me, but not enchanted me anymore. But I don´t think that the tobacco has changed, instead I have "saturated" my taste of such heavy English mixtures and so.

Anyway, it is a high quality tobacco, complex enough to be interesting but not for being boring, and certainly worth a try. Problably the problem is with me, not with the him!

I only recommend that, after opening the tin, let it breath, for my taste it comes a bit too wet.

Update: 3/17 This is a really good blend that I enjoy late in the evening after dinner or later on in the night when I am relaxed and want a full flavored smoke. The latakia is a major player but not overpowering. I get spicy notes and some natural sweetness as well from the other tobaccos used. I had to come back and redo my review as when I had first reviewed this blend years ago I was not experienced enough to truly enjoy what this excellent blend has to offer.