McClelland Frog Morton

I remember my first tin of Frog Morton . I was new to Latikia, I think Crowning achievement was my first of this type and FM was next in line. It was January and my passion for the leathery taste of the new tobacco was at a peak. I smoked three tins of this in a row and I remember thinking I would never smoke anything else ! But by the fourth tin something strange happened. It was a though I had become immune. Suddenly it seemed bland and I decided to move on and I have never returned. I think I just over dosed on this very monochromatic blend but it was nice while it lasted. If you have never tried it you should , it?s still a very good memory for me.

In a sense this is a unique blend as it resembles NOTHING from all sensory points to what we are used to in Europe. Opening the tin, well ... it's black, and that's to be expected because the abstract reads Virginia and Latakia. Mostly black tobacco, and as you pick it up and examine it on a closer look one can see the Virginia as well in the shape of a dark brown ribbon - unlike the latakia which is I guess chunky more than ribbony. The nose is sweeter than smokier, which is quite funny, because with all the black latakia in the content of the blend one would not expect sweetness - so that raises the question of some sort of casing being the culprit. I have laid the tobacco on my tray, and first off I notice how moist it is, taking it a fairly longer time to dry than what I am accustomed to. Loaded and lit: the first impression is dark chocolate, and that's the last impression of it as well - the smoke being subject to little evolution from start to finish. Again, I have a sense of uniqueness as this is not an aromatic in any way, but it leaves a sweet and bitter bouquet in my mouth, that the closest term of comparison I can think of is dark chocolate. And this is positive, as I simply LOVE dark chocolate. Another point to be taken into account is that it can bite your head off. I also have found that this blend more particularly than others, behaves differently in different pipe shapes. Ultimately I can only enjoy this in a GBD Bulldog, which makes it a perfect experience. On a lazy afternoon I am inclined on a churchwarden for this tobacco, with the caveat that is still bites no matter how slow or how dry I smoke it.

Overall, my taste buds tell me that there is something more to the story of Frog Morton that just plain old virginia and latakia ... The taste is very agreeable under the right circumstances, but not an every day blend for me. As a latakia fiend I simply cannot embrace the idea that latakia can be, perhaps mellow, but certainly not sweet. It's one American blend 100%, and judging from the specific ketchupy/vinegary taste and smell of the McCleland virginias, I am inclined to suspect that there is a similar altering ingredient in this one as well, and not just your plain tobacco mix. I will take my time in finishing my 3.5 ounces, and at this rate I think it will take me until Christmas. It's not a turn off blend, but a blend type within itself that I am not used to, given the type of product available in my neck of the woods. I would certainly hunt down Frog MOrton's Cellar in order to get the fuller picture of what this very appreciated tobacco company used to be...

This blend is a very subtle English with sone sweetness in it. I used to enjoy this a lot before I went to the much bolder English/Balkans blends out there. For some reason,it burns terrible for me and leaves a goopy bowl like an aromatic. For a lighter English with this much sweetness,i usually just mix 1q to one of my stouter latakia blends.

Every time I smoke this an annoying frog jump out of the bowl and scream "Hello, I´m a milder and somewhat poorer version of Pirate Kake".

This is not a bad thing though.

First, Frog Morton has so few nicotine that you can smoke it playing tennis or jogging, puffing like a steam boat, and suffer no nic kick. Really, I never get even close to sense any nicotine here! Also, there's no denial, you got lots of latakia flavor! Good quality, good tasting, intense latakia. But that's all you will get. And again, this is not a bad thing.

What is a bad thing for me is the cut, extremely irregular, with lots of sticks. Also, it is VERY wet. You can leave it airing, and still will remain wet and - what´s worse - sticky.

I would recommend this to someone who wants a latakia bomb without any nicotine content, or to any beginner who is wondering "what is latakia? I wish I could see clearly what it is".

When I first opened a tin of frogmorton the first thing that hit me was the immensely strong tin note virging on unpleasant, this was followed up by exactly the same experience upon lighting! Almost sour tasting! So it went into a jar for three weeks and as I'd bought 100g of the stuff I tried again! My perseverance had been rewarded and I have been left with a wonderful tobacco, the Latakia is there in droves but the sourness has gone, the smoke is cool and mellow leaving a wonderful after taste in your mouth, tongue bite nill & stays lit well.

Try it but my advice is give it some air first

Now 3yrs on the shelf and somethings have changed! Hasn’t stood the test of time well and now feels a bit empty, maybe my tastebuds have moved on but has gone well down in my list will be leaving that unopened tin on the shelf for sure

I can only imagine what leather must taste like after smoking this tobacco. It has gotten tiring for me now that i have smoked more than two tins. And no longer enjoy it as I first did. However latakia in general is slowly losing its appeal for me.

My tin is dated 2012 and opened about 5 months ago. It's relatively wet but the upside is it ain't get dry after tin opened. Light sweet English with delicate latakia flavor and I think it very suitable and smooth for anyone wants to try English blend. However, for a seasoned English/Balkan piper, this is a little too light. All frog morton series tastes in similar strength with a little differences. Although I only can give them maybe 2 and 1/2 stars, they are good for beginners.

Not a bad blend. Has a nice flavor. Could use a little more latakia and nicotine. Cellar and On the town a little better, but this is better than across the pond.

Great tobacco here. Love the presentation of the tin, and especially the little drawing of Frog Morton. Overall glad to have purchased it (also purchased the Across the Pond version of the Frog).

As noted, presentation is pretty good. I like the illustration, but I'm not wild about these tins with the plastic lids and all. I rather prefer the sort that have metal lids and a vacuum seal rather than plastic and a metal seal. But oh well. The stuff is loose in the tin, so it's almost like a little jar, and it's a real course cut, but I like it. Fantastic aroma! I love a good Latakia, so this one is just great. Packs pretty easily, although it can be a bit tough to get that perfect balance of loose at the bottom and then tighter as you go up. Not bad though.

The smoke is so COOL with this stuff! It's unreal! I like to let a bit of smoke drape out of my mouth and into my nose, and this stuff never even tingled my nose when I did that. No moisture release at all, just cool burning, no matter how fast I smoked it. I wish McClelland would teach everyone how to make tobacco burn so cool. The taste is gentle yet bold Latakia and just very creamy and tasty. I really enjoy smoking the Frog. I have an issue with the nicotine content though; it's far too low for an English. Why is Dunhill the only company that understands how to put some nicotine in a mixture. Peterson does in some of theirs, but Dunhill is nice and stout. For instance, I would smoke McClelland's AM Pipe over EMP by Dunhill on occasion if it weren't for the weaker nic in the AM Pipe. Maybe this isn't a big deal to some, but I like my tobak to have a bit of a punch, and I generally find that a lot of blenders just fall short on the nic.

Sorry for the mini-rant about nicotine content there, this is really a very nice tobacco. I think that I will keep this on hand from now on just to prove people wrong when they talk about how they don't like Latakia. Someone tell me please, what is not to like about Latakia? I think it's great, and so is the Frog.

EDIT: I'm going back through my reviews as my tastes change and develop, and this one is getting bumped down to two stars. Not that it isn't good, it's very good. It's just not a special tobacco, in my book. Very smooth, cool burning, well-behaved smoke, but basically, there's too much other good stuff out there for me to want to buy this one again.