McClelland Frog Morton

Slightly sweet and smoky with a leather like mouth fell. Burns cool with no bit. Boswell's Northwoods without the black cavendish. Kind of a bear to light at first but well worth the attempt.

10-22-17 I down to my last bowl of this. Sadly though it took me 2 years to get to my last bowl. Age does no good with this blend. It's still a good blend but I'm mostly likely not going to buy anymore. It's to mild for my taste.

The McClelland Frog Morton mixture is a deservedly popular crossover blend, a mixture of an English blend tobacco with clearly discernible latakia content plus an aromatic element. (OK, OK, I know that the term English blend as used in the U.S. is a misnomer, for the majority of pipe tobaccos-- much less all of them-- currently or previously manufactured in England do not have clearly obvious latakia content. Nevertheless the term English blend to denote a tobacco with a distinct latakia presence is so pervasive in the U.S. that I have utilized it anyway.)

Open the tin and you will find a predominantly black short ribbon and some rubbed out flake with just a smattering of brown flecks. Sniff it and you will discover an obvious latakia presence plus the characteristic acetic ketchup/Worcestershire sauce smell of McClelland Virginias. The overwhelmingly black mixture might suggest a tobacco with a huge amount of latakia, but the bulk of the mixture is in fact stoved Virginia. Whether this blackened Virginia has been pressed and fermented to the point that it is in fact Virginia black cavendish only McClelland knows for sure. I suspect it is indeed cavendish.

The tobacco is too moist upon opening, a characteristic of most tinned mixtures. I do not find it terribly difficult to light, but even when properly dried out I need some relights during the course of the smoke.

Once lit the latakia makes its presence clearly known, but this is much less of a latakia bomb than the predominantly black color might suggest. In fact I would rate the latakia presence as squarely between light and medium. The blackened Virginia does not have the grassy, citrus flavor of untreated Virginias, and the amount of unblackened tobacco is too small to give this note. The aromatic note is difficult to characterize. There is a note of chocolate, and maybe a touch of honey or molasses. But there is an underlying sweetness that I do not think comes from the Virginia component. Frog Morton may have a touch of sugar water.

Frog Morton burns cool, even when smoked when it is too wet. And it as free from tongue bite as any pipe tobacco you will ever smoke. The flavor is medium, and the crossover character delivers a pleasant smoke. The nicotine kick is very low, which may be good or bad, depending on the individual smoker.

The dreaded drowned campfire smell of latakia blends is not so pronounced as with many other pipe tobaccos. Nevertheless the room note will win no accolades from non smokers.

Frog Morton was developed with the aim of providing a latakia blend that performed admirably as an all day smoke with the intent that the crossover character would dilute taste overload. I really don't know if this is in fact the case. I vary my smokes, never using the same tobacco back to back, and seldom more than once in every five pipes. But with my varied style of smoking, I do find Frog Morton to be a very enjoyable mixture.

I use the pipes I reserve for latakia blends when I smoke Frog Morton. With my varied style of smoking in which the same pipe is used very infrequently for Frog Morton, I have no problem with the aromatic element ghosting the pipe. Used as an all day blend, Frog Morton might produce a ghosting problem.

The name Frog Morton remains a mystery for me. This particular tobacco has nothing to connect it to J.R.R. Tolkien. And the tin art looks like something pinned to grandmother's refrigerator door with a magnet. But Frog Morton the pipe tobacco is much better than its name or its tin art.

This has been a pleasant smoke. It has stoved Virginias that dominate with a slightly heavy and sweet. There is condimental latakia and a subtle topping that I think is fruit. I was not just bowled over by this, but found it nicely balanced and easy to smoke.

The topping burns off in the first half of the bowl, and the last few puffs are a little ashy for me.

If you are thinking about trying latakia and don't want a bomb, this might be something to try. I think it is a little overrated, but I can believe some people like this more than I do. It is more of a 2.5 for me.

The day was long and my body was tired. I come home to a cozy house with the fireplace rolling. Out my front window I can see out across the Utsalady Bay and to the far side stands Mount Baker with her snowy top. It was time to smoke a pipe on my front porch and further take in the peaceful and serene view. What to smoke? There's no rush. My mood is relaxed and I'm yearning for a smokey drag. I search my ammo can where I keep my tobacco tins stored. Ahhhh yes. A Mcclelland. Frog Morton. I crack open the can and breathe in its fiery smokey aroma. Deeper in I breathe and there's a alfalfa sent with horse pasture note. There's also a hint of something you can't place your finger on. Maybe a smooth gentle fishy note? Nonetheless it is alluringly pleasant. I pack my dedicated Latakia Savinelli Straight in my religious technique as I always do. Not too tight or loose. Upon first light the Latakia is flowing heavy over the palate. Reminiscent of Dunhills Night Cap but not as strong. The Frog Morton is full bodied and smooth. Consistent. It makes me eager to try out the other Frog Blends. As I mentioned before, there is an underlying fish note that I absolutely adore. A fun blend when you want a break from something as beastly as the Nightcap. Silk and smoke. Awesome. Mcclelland Frog Morton.

This was the very first blend I loaded into a pipe, and while I have since moved on to "harder" stuff, I do realize that my initial enjoyment of Frog Morton is probably solely responsible for my perseverence with the hobby. As such, it has a certain amount of nostalgia for me which draws me back to it from time to time. I well remember the smile that spread across my face and lasted throughout the entire first bowl. Whenever I feel the need to reminisce about that first experience, I pick up a tin. The first few bowls always remind me what a wonderful revelation this blend was to me. I moved to the pipe from cigarettes, and was quite shocked when I discovered, through FM, that tobacco could actually taste good. After the first few bowls, however, I remember why it's not in my stable regulars: mainly, after moving on to fuller blends, FM does seem like rather weak tea by comparison. I will likely always return to this occassionally, mainly due to nostalgia.

Still this a remarkably pleasant blend, and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is just starting out, or as a tame but tasty transition blend for someone curious about, but fearful of Latakia.

I am in the process of going back to some of my old favorite tobaccos that I have stored away. This review concerns a four year old can of Frog Morton. This blend used to be a regular in my rotation a couple of years ago. I had to give this a try to see if I wanted to include it in my lineup again. Except for Squadron Leader, I usually reserve my English blends for the evening. Frog Morton was one, if we can call it an English blend (?), that I enjoyed any time of the day. I now find my all day smokes to be either Squadron Leader, Stratford, or Barbary Coast. Somehow Frog Morton just can't get me to jump like it used to. I would finish my day with something like Dunhill's My Mixture 965 at that time. I might be primed for the Latakia with Froggy, but I could really enjoy it in 965 late in the day. Well, 965 isn't in my regular line up anymore, either. I will occasionally pop a tin of the old Dunhill stuff now and then, for a treat. My evenings are usually spent with Durbar, Nightcap,Esoterica's Penzance, Balkan Sasieni, or, if I would like a Virginia/Perique blend...Haddo's Delight. Frog Morton is a great all day smoke, however. It doesn't overpower you. It's great to hand to a piper who want to make the switch from aromatics to English blends. Some will stay within this "pergatory" of tobacco styles, but others will move in another direction to satify their tastes. I moved on. Even a can as old as mine doesn't excite me even if it burns cool and dry without a hitch. If you are a new English smoker I would give this a four star rating. It won't challenge you. Well, it doesn't challenge me, either. I'll step my rating down a notch to three stars simply because Frog Morton doesn't offer me the complexity that I am looking for. I didn't spend my time describing the experience of smoking Frog Morton because so many others have so well. Still, I would recommend that all who haven't tried Frog Morton should give it a whirl.

It was a happy day when I found a jar from 2018 that I had put away back then to be forgotten with some other jars of course. Now in 2021 I brought it back out to the light to give it a go.

The tobaccos are dark, the tin note is smoky. The moisture content is still perfect. Unlike newer tins and other McC's I don't get the ketchup/bbq note anymore from this jar. It's ribbon cut is chunky and easy to pack. It's fairly easy to light with a charring light and then a true light.

The smoke is quite full/creamy. There is a background sweetness with a campfire accent from the latakia. It burns very cool if not pushed and was even more enjoyable than I remembered back then. The nic level is low to my tolerance and it's def something you could smoke multiple times a day in my book. It produces some moisture in the pipe and really shines to me in smaller or taller bowls.

My favorite Frog has always been Bayou with that touch of perique in it, but with some aging I can tell why this was for so long a favorite.

The ole’ Frog! This Latakia based blend is a McClelland staple and favorite of many. First in the Frog Morton series this mild to medium blend greets you with the classic McClelland’s ketchup smell as soon as the tin is popped however it doesn’t translate to the taste of the blend. The Cyprian Latakia is the major player and gives a nice smokey, woodsy flavor. The Virginia’s are typical of McClelland, top notch providing tones of dark fruit, citrus, and grass. Sweet Orientals help round out this blend without overpowering the Latakia or Virginia. Not my favorite of the Frog Morton’s but still an incredible blend that deserves at least one reservation in every smoker’s pipe!

Frog Morton: Latakia for beginners

The Frog was a straight forward uncomplicated blend to me. Sweet red Virginias with a little Latakia and a slight casing provided me a smooth introduction to Latakia blends. Though it lacked depth and complexity, it was always a pleasant smoke. While there are many quality light English blends on the market, no other blend really compares in terms of the red Virginia varietals.

That said, I do not think any new smoker should mourn its passing. I simply moved on to full English/Scottish blends.