McClelland Frog Morton

I love Frog Morton the Original because it has that English Taste I love but can be smoked while on the move or doing something else. This blend does not bite or need focusing as it is very forgiving. I have recently been smoking Smokers Haven's Exotique Mixture at night and FM during the day as a 100 gram tin of FM is the same price as a 50 gram tin of Exotique. I love the brown sugar BBQ aroma in the tin and side stream smoke... If you think of this blend as what it is IE: Cavendish and Latakia with a little Virginia and not a Super Balkan or Nightcap then I think you will be happy with FM as an all day English blend that is inexpensive. 🙂

McClelland - Frog Morton.

Another blend I received in a trade with Gentleman Zombie. Every time I do a trade with Franck it just reminds me of the great selection of blends available in the U.S.A! From my point of view, this is another one!

The appearance of the blend is very dark: it contains a much higher proportion of Latakia in comparison to the Virginia. The only descriptive word regarding the water content that could be used is Impeccable: not wet, not dry, but ready to smoke. The ribbons are very chunky, I'd say if they were any thicker the blend might pass as being a Broken Flake! The aroma from the tin is absolutely sublime: rich, leathery, and earthy. The second it's lit I feel as though I'm in Utopia:

I love both the texture and flavour of the smoke. Firstly the texture: thick, almost sticky, palpable, and very cool. Secondly, the flavour: Wow, wow, wow; I can see why at present it's the favourite of 48 users (49 once I'm included!). I've not smoked a Latakia-heavy blend anything like this before. Even though the Latakia makes up most of the smoke it's not harsh, nor is it that smoky on the palate: I never realized Latakia could taste so mild! Even though there's more Latakia than Virginia, I get quite a substantial citrus/grass note coming through; combined with the style of Latakia it makes for a brilliantly unique smoke. Although it doesn't have any added flavouring, I'm sure I can taste a black Cavendish-esc vanilla/sweetness. The nicotine's quite mild in this, it would be great to begin the hobby with if you're scared of the stronger Lat' blends.

If Black Cavendish and Latakia were to have a baby, this would be it!

Highly recommended.

Update 09/06/16: this is absolutely superb in a Churchwarden!

Update: This blend has grown on me tremendously over the past few months. After ditching cigarettes, my taste buds seem to be able to appreciate this blend without furiously puffing on it, which means there is absolutely no tongue bite associated with this blend. Very few mixtures have NO bite in my book (Old Joe Krantz, Gatlin-Burley, Carter Hall are the others), so that's a big plus here. Also, the taste seems to have improved, putting it at the top of my English rotation. It's nowhere near as complex as Odyssey or rich like Westminster or Penzance, but Frog Morton doesn't try to be like any of those. It's just a straightforward English that's easy to smoke and appreciate. As others have noted, this is perfect as an introduction to Latakia, but I'd go further and say this is also excellent for "experienced" smokers who can still appreciate something simple. My one complaint is that it seems to have close to zero nicotine, but others will probably consider that a plus.



Original review: On the one hand, this tobacco has a wonderful flavor and (for a latakia-based blend) a pretty good aroma. On the other, it's FAR too mild for me. Although this blend seems to be "bite free" for many smokers, I've roasted my tongue on it several times because the flavor is so weak that I end up puffing far too hard in the vain hope of actually getting a full-bodied taste from it. Also, there are far too many humectants (or something) on this leaf -- I've had one tin open for more than three months now and it's still overly moist. To be fair, though, I'll again emphasize how pleasant the taste is. The VAs are top-notch and possess a lot of sweetness, and the latakia is quite smooth. I mixed some FM with some burley and the batch is currently aging. Hopefully, the burley will give this tobacco enough "kick" to be satisfying while preserving something of the original taste. This is probably good for those who are just beginning to sample latakia and/or don't like much in the way of nicotine.

Being a huge fan of Tolkien, the name of this one captured my imagination straight away as I sat down in my mind's eye next to Gandalf and Bilbo and lit a relaxing bowl in the cool evening breeze. (Okay, the pipe smoking frog on the tin and the venerable McClelland name helped too.) 😛

Reading the description on the tin, I expected something on the order of a Balkan blend, or at least a medium English rich in Latakia . What I was presented with upon tin opening fragrance and first light was an English/ aromatic crossover. This is the tobacco I expected Iwan Ries 'Three Star Blue' to be like, based on R.C.H's description in 'The Ultimate Pipe Book' which it most certainly is not. That however is another story and review so let's get back to the Frog....

I agree with those who say that this one tastes like it smells in the tin. There's Latakia in there but it is sweetened and takes a back seat to the Cavendish component with which it's blended. Is that chocolate or mocha I taste? I'm convinced it's the latter. I find this blend difficult to keep lit in a way which is similar to Tinder Box's 'Philosopher' which leads me to believe it may have a humectant as well. The ash of the two are almost identical with the tell tale black bits left by incomplete combustion. Bystanders have remarked that it smells good compared to my usual afternoon smoke (Dunhill 965) so a pleasant room note can be expected if that's a consideration for ya.

I don't hate this tobacco by any means but I won't be writing any purple prose about it either. It's just not my cup of tea, or bowl of weede as it were.

Somewhat recommended but it won't be a repeat by this pipier at least.

The simplest mixture of the Frog Morton series, made up only of Virginia and Latakia, but which provides a rich and pleasant smoke, perfect for pairing with a good whiskey. There is not much complexity in this mixture and in my opinion, it does not need it either. Four solid stars.

At the time of my writing this, I've smoked 24 different blends, and the flavors found in Frog Morton are quite unique compared to everything else I've smoked. I get it now, when people refer to the ketchup-like smell of McClelland blends. At times it seems like ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, or sometimes soy. Anyway, the taste is pleasant, and the room note is pleasant as well. It burns fairly cool.

I expected to taste more latakia, considering how much dark leaf there is in the blend. I guess a good portion of this dark leaf is what people call stoved virginias? IDK. Anywhow, the latakia is very subuded. This is not a complex blend - the taste is pretty consistent from start to finish.

I found that I enjoy Frog Morton more in a pipe with a smaller chamber, such as my Peterson 999, or a Missouri Meerschaum Legend.

I've come across many on the internet who have recommended this for beginning pipe smokers, or for those who are new to nonaromatics. I can understand recommending this to the experienced pipe smoker who is new to nonaromatics, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend this to a new pipe smoker. The thing is, no matter how easy going the taste is, and no matter the fact that it doesn't bite, the cut used makes it hard to get a good pack IMO. Even worse, this stuff is very moist out of the can, and I had a really hard time trying to find a sweet spot, moisture-wise. With 10 minutes or less of dry time, smoking Frog Morton was an exercise in frustration. I experimented with drying it for 15, 20, 30 minutes, and even an hour. It always seemed like it needed more dry time. Then at one point I ended up leaving the jar open for a couple hours - but that had the opposite effect of a thin, dry, tasteless smoke - then I had to re-hydrate. If I'd had this suggested to me as a brand new pipe smoker, and had to fuss over the tobacco this much, I could see someone getting frustrated and giving up. Be that as it may, this is a moot point now, since McClelland closed up earlier this year. Finding their blends now requires a willingness to pay +4x retail value, lots of luck, or having good connections.

Considering that I started pipe smoking about a month after McClelland closed, I'm glad I had the opportunity to smoke a tin of Frog Morton and experience it for myself, rather than be frustrated for feeling like I missed out. While I did enjoy the blend, it's not a blend that I feel particularly sad about not being able to buy - there's lots of other stuff I've smoked that I enjoy as much and more.

This is my first blend from the line.the way the frog smokes in the tin appearance prepares you for an all day english blend and after trying this one out i agree!when the can opens a nice smell combined from smokey and sour notes comes out.the blend is mostly dark with some bright virginias present.the moisture is a bit more than proper so some drying time is needed.packing is easy and lighting needs some effort.several relights are needed.while burning the flavours are clear,natural and pleasing as the description promises.latakia are the main player giving smokey notes,coals,woodsy notes all these in a sweet mix.virginias support the flavours with some dark fruits,grassy and sour notes.the flavours are very balanced and rich.burns cool and slow with some moisture being created at the end of the bowl.the nicotine level is low making it an easy blend to smoke during the day but not a proper one before going to bed.the room note is tolerable for the wifes who can tolerate latakia!no chance of tongue bite.i wanna notice that this is my first Va/latakia blend and the luck of orientals gave a different dimention to the flavours.in conclusion this is an all day blend simple and rich,and a good one to enter the latakia world.the nicotine level could be a bit higher and still it would be an all day blend.

Lots of 4 stars or 2 stars reviews here. Let's write one more 2 stars review. Great smell from the tin. Very dark in color, chunky, with some slender brown streaks. Will stay moist forever, but smokes well regardless of the fact it is sticky and wet. On first light, one gets a whiff of Latakia, then it's all gone. I suspect that the virginia in this blend has been cavendish-ed. This blend has no tang, no body, no structure, no high or low notes. It has that typically sweet-ish cavendish note, which always reminds me of sweetened milk or wet cardboard (not that i ever actually ate wet cardboard...), slightly maple-ish at its best, but overall very mild and very... bland. Nothing citrus-y, fruity, spicy or truly sweet. The latakia CAN be tasted, or imagined, if you puff very hard, actually i like this tobacco better when abused, some woody / sawdust-y notes can sometimes be coaxed out of the Frog. It is an innocuous tobacco, it doesnt bite, it will burn quite well regardless of packing, will never get harsh. But it just doesnt offer much. I like the tin art. And am amused by the fact some people actually criticize said tin art, as if Frog Morton could truly be taken seriously as a tobacco... It is, at best, the proverbial all day smoke.

The simplest way to put it for this blend is that it's Frog Morton's Cellar without the "cellar" -- ie. without the whiskey note.

Tin note gives a nice, smokey smell of latakia and that is what you taste when you smoke it. Not harsh at all. Some might find it too mild I suppose, but frankly, as one not looking to be punched in the throat by a blend, while also not wanting the "hot air" feeling that comes with some tobaccos, this one is quite pleasant.

While FMC is "smokey-sweet" this is mainly smokey with some subtle flavours from the other tobaccos in the blend.

Good solid blend. FMC is my top choice, but if anything every happened to that blend, I'd go with this one as a replacement.