McClelland Frog Morton

I started with the Frog Morton spin offs and not the original product. I didn?t expect this one to be as great as Across the Pond or On the Town, but was I proved wrong. This has the more characteristic McClelland Worcestershire aroma in the tin, but the taste and burn are exceptional. The Frog, as I am finding out, is a magnificent critter in all its manifestations.

The leaf is dark stoved Virginia in thick cut ribbons and rubbed out flakes with a nice background of Latakia. The smoke is cool and even, with one charring light usually enough to keep the whole thing going for about an hour of pure smoking delight. The room note is heavenly, and the Latakia, while evident, takes its part gently in the background without crowding out any of the other players. The taste develops and gets better as the bowl progresses. At times the warm & toasty Virginias stand out, but not for long, because the Latakia rears its head to provide curiosity to the nose and palate. This is a tobacco I could smoke all day. The only reason I don?t is that I would run out of the tin in a couple days and have to rush right down to the store to buy another.

I take back all the nasty things I?ve said about McClelland and its barbeque tin aroma throughout the years. When I first tried them, I was too young and foolish to appreciate the quality and magnificence of its pedigree. Frog is a must try for every pipe smoker. Even though taste is such a personal thing, I can?t imagine anyone not liking it, especially those new to non-aromatic English blends. While so many tobaccos are overrated, Frog Morton truly deserves all its accolades.

As for all the embarrassment about the chintzy tin art and the 3rd grade level froggy illustrations, get over it! Okay, so it?s not a visual masterpiece, and it?s a bit on the cutesy side. Is there no room for a bit of playfulness? Besides, it?s the contents that count, and the Frog never disappoints.

Five of five stars

The "ketchup/BBQ" scent is there, but doesn't interfere with the taste as much as I expected. The smokey, woody, earthy, musty Cyprian Latakia is the lead component, and plays fairly well with the stewed dark fruity, citrusy, mildly earthy, lightly grassy Virginia. I don't know what the sweet topping is, but it could be whiskey based. It moderately sublimates the tobaccos. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste barely reaches the medium mark. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the mild threshold. Needs some drying time before smoking, but don't dry it too much or you'll lose some of the taste. Requires relights, and leaves some moisture in the bowl. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a very consistent, fairly smoky smooth flavor from start to finish. Won't bite even if pushed. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste, and can be an all day smoke. It's basically for smokers who don't want lat-bombs and/or easing their way into English blends. More of a crossover blend than a straight English.

-JimInks

Dark black with flecks of brown leaf in the tin. Good moisture content right out of the jar. Unfortunately, I get the impression that this just misses being a 3 star tobacco by a hair. I can't put my finger on either what's missing or what's there that shouldn't be (I'm leaning toward the former). It's like neither the latakia nor the virginia allows each other to develop. This starts out smoky and mildly spicy and stays that way. The VA's are so light as to be bland and seem to be in the mix only to keep this from being straight latakia. As the previous poster hinted, this blend is not much if any different than any other run-of-the-mill English. There's nothing inherently wrong with it; it just doesn't ring any bells with me.

I'm going to add a smidge of perique or some blending orientals to this to see if I can make it more interesting. If you like a monodimensional mild English that you could probably smoke all day, this should be on your short list. It really did not stand out enough for me to encourage me to buy it again.

--Update--

A year later and I still crave this candy once in a great while, though I rarely keep it around at this point. The Hostess Fruit Pie and Yodels of the tobacco world? I often wonder why I've bothered to smoke it, half way through...but I keep going back for more...

And that tin I bought a year ago...still moist... *shiver*

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After the many reviews of Frog Morton, I had to give this classic a shot. Ok the Tolkien thing sold me too. Good show McClelland...I don't part easily with my hard or ill gotten cash.

I can see why it is so popular. I have come to think of it as "English Light"? A good break when you don't want drug store sweetness or the punch of the heavier blends.

I love the earthy tones and smell upon opening the can. A bit of muddiness to the texture (twigs and all) and yes, the weird worscester sauce smell. It does conjure up Shire-esque visions though I suspect the hobbits would want something a bit stronger and sweeter (more on Dark Twist later...)

My first smoke of Frog Morton enraptured me. I thought... *This* is it! I was sure I'd cast aside both the drug store brands and the stronger non-aromatics for this as a regular treat. The taste was so completely different than most of the other tobaccos I've tried (which admittedly aren't a whole lot).

The wetness and getting the right amount of drying time frustrated me a bit but I think it has for the most part aired itself out. For the claims of no bite - this little b@*&ard bit me good once or twice...but perhaps it is the new pipe and my relative inexperience with pipes.

Even two weeks later it can still be a bit uncooperative as far as gurgle and relights, but that could also be me. For the most part though it will burn clear to the bottom and leave a decent ash with a bit of persistence. Fantastic white smoke. Lots of it.

I just took about a 1/4 pipefull with me while getting my car lubed. It lasted until I returned 30 minutes later (so much for 10 minute oil changes). Considering I look like a Hell's Angel compared to most of the upscale locals - my smoking this down in a hand-cut freeform bent pipe on a bench outside of the Mr Good Lube must have been a sight.

Is that casing bubble gum? For some weird reason that keeps coming to mind but not in a bad way. I enjoy the casing and the room note. It is very fruity but not at all overbearing. Very little tobacco taste comes through and I don't get a hit/rush off of this (my first bowl of Highland Targe did infact leave me with the feeling that a Highlander had kicked me down the stairs).

It is pleasant and light with the underlay of the English smokiness. I am sure friends would enjoy it around a campfire or dining room and that itself may make it worth keeping some on hand.

I have found that as the smoking of this has continued I have found it to become slightly more boring. Unlike Deep Hollow which I still can pop in and smoke with some excitement.

Frog Morton will likely come into my rotation again - and I do recommend it to those seeking an "English Lite" type mixture, but for now I will probably step onto another tobacco road, and see where my feet (or perhaps tongue and mouth) carry me.

Froggie is popular with the latakia crowd because it is almost biteless and subdued in its palate sensory projection. If you eat a plate of straight latakia, you might get more in your system than what Froggie delivers in a pipe. The ripe Virginia leaf and delicate and sweet Orientals play just far enough in the background so as not to interfere with the richly rewarding Latakia taste of this specially processed Latakia leaf. A remarkable blend that has been a featured staple in the McClelland's lineup for a long time.

Others have commented on this being a hybrid aromatic/english blend. Try as I might, I have a hard time placing this in the aromatic camp. Certainly not at all like Cross-Eyed Cricket (thank goodness) or even Mephisto in that regard. It is a bit sweeter than a traditional english, but not terribly so. I do not understand how it offends in that regard. I had smoked a good deal of FM before I heard it was a closet aromatic, and I never would have guessed. As Granma would say, "and Froggie seemed like such a nice boy...".

The cut makes it easy to handle, and once dried out a bit (OK, quite a bit) it packs and smokes well. The virginias, if that is what they are, are of a fairly dark nature and almost look like brown cavendish.

This blend is mild, especially considering the percentage of dark flakes in the sample that would lead one to believe that this was a latakia-laden blend. Not so. A little disappointing in that regard. the smoke is kind of, well, watery. It does gain in strength near the bottom of the bowl, but also gets kind of steamy, too, even when dried out. Why must McC be so heavy-handed with the moisture? And did you ever wonder why this stuff never molds, being so moist? Cigars certainly do. Humectants must be at play here, or maybe even more insidious chemicals... Hey, what IS that McC katsup smell, anyway?

At any rate, I would have to say that overall I prefer Frog on the Town and Frog on the Bayou to the original Frogmorton, in that these last two hold my interest a bit more than FM. Still, I will always keep FM around. It is like a good friend who's conversation can become tiring after while, but who makes a good occasional companion for old times sake.

With all this fuss about Frog Morton on this site I had to go out and get a tin last night. Frankly, I was very frightened by the results.

My first thought when I got to look at the label was, "Geez,..did somebody find this drawing at a craft fair?" I mean--take a look at the label close up. This DOES NOT look like it was drawn by a professional illustrator for the label of a major pipe tobacco manufacturer. It looks more like something you might find hanging in your Grandma's kitchen. Even the type is messed up--I've seen secretaries make better layouts in PowerPoint. In fact, the label is so unbelievably silly looking that after staring at it for a few minutes at Tinderbox I actually felt a little foolish purchasing a tin.

An awkward transaction took place:

"Um, pardon me sales person, but I'll pass on the nice Dunhill tobaccos you've been showing me, instead I'll take the tobacco in the shitty label that looks like it was drawn by a third grader."

"Uh huh yes, the one with the retarded frog on it"

"No, I'm not into Lord of the Rings, Hobbits, or wizards or anything like that. I just want to try the tobacco in the painfully ugly can"

"No, I don't need a Churchwarden pipe to go with it! Please, just put the tin in the bag before somebody sees me."

After rushing from the store, finally free of what was becoming a horrifying exercise in bad taste, I went to my car and relaxed for a few moments. I tentatively poked and sniffed at the innards of the can.

"Hmmm,.. smells like latikia and virginia. Allright, that seems safe enough--can't be too bad I suppose".

Feeling a bit reassured, I packed a pipeful of Frog Morton. It was then that the true inner evil revealed itself. After smoking but half a bowl, I immediately felt the urge to play D&D. Please Lord, help me!

Even worse, I had to fight off the unholy desire to return to Tinderbox and purchase a knobby cane and one of those God-forsaken Danish pipes carved freehand from a hunk of drift wood.

I went home and lay on the couch until the urge passed. Thankfully it did pass, however I know there are many others who get caught up in the Frog Morton web, unable to break free.

Yes, pipes are treacherous business--never doubt it. Those with questionable taste should just stay away. You could end up like one of those crusty old coots polluting the atmosphere with Prince Albert Cherry Vanilla. Or worse, you could end up with the insane desire to place Boris Vallejo "Lady Demon" posters on the wall, watch reruns of Doctor Who, and attend renaissance fairs while dressed as a druid--all while smoking a clay pipe full of Frog Morton and thinking of yourself as "colorfull." (Shudder)

I just opened a tin of this coded 45702, which I guess makes it 12 years old. Somebody correct me if I've got the age wrong. WELL: no funny smells anymore, no ketchup, Worcestire, nothing but tobacco & CHOCOLATE!!! in the tin. I would have sworn it smelled like Latakia & dark chocolate & the better half agrees. In the pipe, though, it's just tobacco & one of the best lat blends I can remember. The Va's come through now & then, but the smoking characteristics are what's best for me - really RICH flavor, totally smooth, no bite, no acidic aftertaste, almost floral at the top, though pleasantly sweet, smoke drier & richer down the bowl. Twice already I have been surprised by a mouthful of ashes at the bottom, not realizing iot was done. Just wonderful stuff.

A mostly black short ribbon tobacco with a smidgeon of golden leaf. The tin note is mostly the Christmas pudding aromas expected of McC Virginias, altho the Lat aroma sits squarely in the mix.

Takes a light beautifully and burns without attention. Produces pillows of creamy smoke. The aromas fill the nose and mouth with soft and sweet notes.

Seems to be mostly a stoved Va blend, which suits me just fine. Might not please the pipester seeking a nicotine hit or the broad mid palate of a burley blend. I found this beautifully weighted for my current tastes if somewhat lacking in complexity. The latakia presence makes it too rich for an all day blend, the premium tobacco price might rule that out as well, but feels like a great late afternoon indulgence with a big mug of builders tea.

I have a weakness for simple Lat/Va blends. I've liked every one I've tried. If my memory is correct this is the first I've had that uses stoved Virginias and it adds an extra dimension that makes this one stand out. The toasty note really fits in here beautifully. The Latakia is just right, light enough to let the Virginias shine yet heavy enough to do some shining of it's own. Very nicely balanced with plenty of flavor. Burns very well straight from the tin. Most bowls are one match bowls. Sometimes another is required to finish it off. Just a really wonderful smoke.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. I can't detect any added flavoring.