McClelland Frog Morton

What can I say that has not already been said. VERY nice blend one of my top choices. It is an easy smoke. Takes several lights to get the fire going but once lit it burns very nicely. I will buy more!

I've heard so much about this tobacco (line) that as soon as I saw it on the shelf in my "local" tobacco shop I "had" to buy it. To be honest I was disappointed. It is not "bad" tobacco but it is not what it is cracked up to be. To be honest, it's not any better than Tinder Box's Philosopher. Just doesn't have the punch I expect from an English blend. This is the most mild English blend I've had to date. Try it you may like it but I can't give it any higher recommendation than somewhat recommended.

One word sums this one up...Wonderful! It will always be on my shelf and in my bowl.

Rather than my usual somewhat verbose review, I will simply state this a a fine blend for the middle of the road or beginner English smoker. I see some here have noted its aftertaste. I liked the aftertaste myself - it extended my enjoyment. After smoking a bowl I look forward to my next one - that's a good indicator for me. I do wish it was available in a larger and cheaper quantity size. It's about double my budget (frown). I would rate it between 3 and 4 stars, but here I post a 4 as it's better than a 3 rating. Just typing out this review has made me want large bowl of this now. Slight update 6 months later: I've taken the Frog to 3 stars. It hasn't changed; I have. It is still better than 3 but not up to the 4 rating I have recently given other blends. And on my scale it is not a definite "will buy again" but a 'would buy again'.

Wow! This blend is --- excellent in every aspects: the name, the image on the tin, the story behind, everything. This is THE BEST L blend that I have had enjoyed. The full taste can calm me any time of the day. I smoked out my first 50 gram tin so easily and I have just ordered 2 tins of 100 grams of it. Just the idea that I could enjoy the blend bowl by bowl exites me already. A highly recommended 4 star blend!

Based upon the reviews of others and the accolades I've heard, I really wanted to like this and other blends from McCelland. However, with all due respect, I find that many of the blends I've sampled have tasted bitter and left a ghost in my mouth as though I just took unflavored cough medicine.

Frog was my second blend, after first trying McCranie's McArris, and I really had no idea what to expect. I enjoyed McArris, but somehow I knew I wanted something different.

For those of you who have not been to McCranie's shop, I can tell you that they are huge advocates of McClelland Tobacco Company. I'd guess that 80% of their tins in the shop are McClelland, and from what I understand, their bulk tobacco is made with McClelland tobaccos. So of course Frog Morton is one of the "showcase" tins, sitting front and center on the shelf. The marketing catches my eye and I inquire about this stuff. I don't listen to the description; my mind is already made up. I'm buying a tin.

I knew I was going to love this stuff as soon as I popped the tin. So much flavor, and it burns so cool! "I don't know how to pronounce this 'latakia' stuff, but it is now my new best friend".

I've since tried many English blends, and have found a few I like better than Frog, but this is still deserving of 4 stars in my book.

Update 4-26-2011: I've decided FM just isn't 4 star material after trying so many other tobaccos. Still good, but not worthy of 4 stars.

Edit: After a long time smoking this blend I had to come back and update my rating for this tobacco. As indicated below, my first impression was less than recommended. However, after smoking this stuff all day in the garage for a year or so, I find that when I want a nice smooth Latakia smoke, I increasingly reach for this. In fact, I realized how much I like it when I realized that I had gone through four 100g tins and panicked when I didn't have any on the shelf.

So, with that in mind, I have to change my rating the Highly Recommended since I "Highly Recommend" any pipe smoker that I know to try it. I just recommend that you give it some time to appreciate it's subtle qualities. Really nice smoke.

My original post:

I just received a can of this last week along with my regular ration of Blackwood's Flake. My benchmark for Latakia's is CAO Old Ironsides, so my review is based upon my comparison to that blend.

Personally, I found this very mild. Nowhere near as rich as OIS. I found that the Latakia taste was there, but with nothing really behind it in the background. I found this to be one of the lightest tasting tobaccos that I think I've ever smoked. During a nice long draw, I got a satisfying taste that seemed to immediately evaporate into nothingness.

I found that it lit well and smoked consistently to the bottom of the bowl. None of the problems some mentioned below.

I was a bit torn between "somewhat recommended" and "recommended" because I think this one really depends upon your tastes. Someone who likes a rich smoke will find it very lacking. Someone who wants a light, delicate taste of Latakia may very well savor it. I think the previous reviews and those in the future will bear this out with dramatically differing ratings.

For my money, I'm sticking with OIS.

for a long time this was one of my personal favorites and i still enjoy it but have found that if i am going to purchase a tin tobacco that i prefer something with a little more variation in the smoke, this has flavor, it just remains the same throughout of the bowl. i suspect that the key with this one is whether you are a fan of lots of latakia or not? some have suggested that this has some type of topping, i'm not sure about that, i don't detect much if it's there, i do think the burning smell is a little more tolerable than most blends of this type and even have had some say that it smelled good while i was smoking it. no problems with the packing, lighting, or burning, requires an average number of cleaner passes per bowl. overall, it's good, a big hit with most.