McClelland Frog Morton

Frog Morton was one of those blends that I had heard everyone raving about and so I decided I'd give it a go. Initially, I was not impressed. I was expecting much more latakia flavor from the blend than what I got out of it. Upon opening the tin, you see an overwhelming amount of black flakes mixed in with some bright virginias. I was then overtaken with that McClelland Ketchup smell. That really surprised me given the amount of Latakia I saw in the blend. With a bit of air time, the latakia starts to become noticeable in the tin note. Moisture content was high so I let it air for quite some time. Again, my initial bowl was underwhelming. It seemed to be one note of bread and smoke but too light to really catch my attention. I thought I had wasted my money on this blend, but there was still more to smoke. The next go around I was a little more pleased. Maybe I was more patient with the blend and less distracted by other concerns, but I could get more of the latakia flavor coming through and a bit of sweetness that I wanted a bit more of in the blend. After several more bowls, I finally hit a stride with this blend and realized it was really an all day smoke that you shouldn't demand much from. You can pack it, light it, and go about your business. It lacks the punch and savor of an afternoon or evening pipe for me, but it can be great for working around the yard. However, the price point for an all day blend isn't what I would like to see, in my opinion you can fulfill that same role out of a bulk blend like C&D Yale Mixture for a much better price point. I will add, many people like the smell of this blend. That can make a world of difference for some people.

With stoved virginia, I thought I would really enjoy the original FM. Out of the bunch, I would put this one in fourth or fifth place. I just don't like it. I can see it's of typically high McClelland quality, though, so I'm gonna give it 2 stars instead of 1. Because I don't hate it. It just doesn't do it for me.

In the tin this stuff looks like a raving latbomb, with with a majority of black leaf present. Some of that is the stoved VA, some is latakia, but I believe a lot of is black cav. This would explain why even the latakia flavor is so subdued. I really can't even pick up on the VA. I get a subtle smokiness from the latakia, but it's overshadowed by an unpleasant sourness that I think comes from the combination of a topping and too much black cav. Either way it sort of ruins the smoking experience.

I respect McClelland and cherish many of their blends. This one needs to go back for reprogramming. Your tastes may vary. But my picks would be On the Bayou or Across the Pond before the original.

Frog Morton is a masterpiece blend. I am sure this will go down in history with the likes of Nightcap, Golden Slices, Royal Yacht, Balkan Sobranie...you get the picture. This is a truly masterful blend. I had Frog Morton proper after I had tried all of the other in the series. My favorite (I think) is the Cellar edition but it is so hard to say. Here is my review: The tin note is similar to other McClealland tobacco's you get the ketchup/Worcestershire but not nearly as prominent as other varieties in the McClellnd line. The tobacco is a beautiful black and red ribbon with that McClelland "chunkiness" to it The blend claims to be a Virginia and Latakia blend, but I would swear there were some orientals in here. Both the room note and the flavor tell me there are some incense like orientals in the blend, but maybe it is my nose and tongue that are off. This is a consistent smoke, it starts out with the vanillaish sweet caramel flavor profile with the latakia coming to the front and then slightly stepping to the side. throughout the bowl I kept getting the incense coming from my sinus' in both an olfactory presence and a taste. Very complex an satisfying. It was a cool smoke throughout and did need a few re-lights but not many. Disclaimer: I have been on a bender the last few weeks trying to nail down my " preferred flavor profile". I have gone through about 6 bowls a day of English blends from heavy Syrian Latakia blends to other latakia forward blends. Frog Morton (and the series ) keep coming to the top of my list. I could smoke this all day but would be hard pressed to give up my first smoke (Early morning pipe or Escudo...depending on the day). But this is a fabulous tobacco. Bravo Zulu McClelland, Bravo Zulu

This tobacco is utterly nasty!

Actually, it's the flavoring I find intolerable, I might actually like it without the topping. I've always heard great things about this tobacco, so together with that the description and LOTR references I was really excited about trying it.

The first thing I noticed was a sweet and salty taste, along with a swampy sort of flavor which could really lead me to believe I had a frog stuffed down there in the bowl. Hmm, interesting I thought, and puffed on. But it kept not growing on me. The whiffs of actual tobacco I got from it kept leading me back into thinking that I'd eventually like it, so I smoked on for half a large bowl.

But what really turned me off completely was that after I put down the pipe I kept smelling this sort of pink bubble gum smell in my clothes. And it wouldn't go away. And the more I smelled it the more I just couldn't stand it. The smell just seemed more and more cloying and sickeningly fake and sweet. In an effort to wash clean of the smell I decided to wallow in some Mississippi mud, which helped, but that nasty smell just seems to keep hanging around.

I used to smoke flavored tobacco a long time ago, then I spent several years smoking cigars exclusively. Now I'm back into the pipe, and I am really not interested in flavored tobaccos at this time. But even when I did smoke flavored tobaccos I don't think I'd ever want anything that smelled like this.

With tobaccos I don't take a liking to I usually keep them around a while to see if later I end up liking them, or blend them together with something else to come up with something I like well enough. But I have no idea what I'm going to do with this. If I stow it away for a few years, will the nasty topping go away to the point where I can stand this?

I have been curious about this one for a long time. So many smokers swear by it and give it high reviews I really was expecting a solid addition to my cellar and a blend to smoke for years to come. I must say in my opinion this is a very overated tobacco. I found the smoke to be average at best. The top note is not something I like and the tobaccos never seem to really stand out or make themselves known, it was a bit boring in my opinion. I would compare the "sameness" of the bowl to be like a codger blend such as sir Walter Raleigh or Velvet. I like codger blends, I know they will be one dimensional and sweet. The difference is that I can get a tub of velvet for less than two tins of Frog. Now to each their own, what I love in my pipe others would hate-it isn't like there is a right or wrong on a blend, simply the smokers opinion and in my opinion this is a blend I will not buy again

A delightful latakia blend that I found very pleasing. This blend highlights the correct use of latakia. One of the very best blends available, I highly recommend this blend.

I've heard a ton of good about this blend and have been excited to try this blend. I popped the tin, and the latakia hit me in the face. A very deep, campfire latakia smell. Not much else in the tin. It's a coarse ribbon cut, perfect moisture from the tin.

I packed this into a cob, and lit it up. And it's just another 'proper' english blend.. It's latakia forward, a little sweetness from the virgina and not much more.

If you like a proper english you'll like this. Not really for me.

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.