McClelland Frog Morton

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 has been around for about thirty years and I smoked it when it first came on the market. I didn't care for it that much and didn't pursue it. In the ensueing years, I've smoked the blend on rare ocassions. I felt it suffered from excessive dampness, darkness and sweetness and couldn't compete with other English blends I was smoking at the time; Dunhill 965 being a prime example. I was mildly surprised to inherit about 1/3 of a pint canning jar of Frog Morton in bulk in a recent buyout. So, I smoked it again. This specimen of the blend had dried some in it's post sale life and that removed one of my objections. Still dark and sweet, it had lost it's McClelland "ketchup" tang and that was, also, to my liking. The blend is mildly English and smokes so soft that a beginning English smoker could start with it. Latakia in the background, it is a minor mystery to me what the base formulation is. I don't believe it is just Virginia, as our description states. Some think it contains a black Cavendish, and they could be right. Others talk about Orientals and such, but I don't know about that. It was a pleasant smoking experience; more pleasant than any previous encounter from the past and caused me to raise my rating to three stars.

I enjoy the Frog Morton series of tobaccos but I actually prefer 5110 bulk from the same blender. This one is good but it's just missing something for my tastes compared to 5110. I just get more flavor and feel more satisfied after a pipe of 5110.

This review is based on a near 20-year-old tin of the Frog. After near two decades of aging, the tobacco still held quite a bit of moisture and needed some drying time. The vinegar smell of McClelland blends is not present. The Virginias and Latakia merge into a mellow and smooth smoke. There is no sharpness in the smoke and I can barely taste the Virginia leaf, which seems to have sucked in the pleasant campfire smokiness of the Latakia and darkened to a dark brownish/black color, while losing any grassy or citrus flavor notes. The Latakia seems to have lost some of its edge, but stands at the forefront of the blend, though still in a mild manner.

20-year-old Frog Morton is a pleasant smoke, though I do not think aging/cellaring adds to this blend. It just further mellows out an already mild English blend. If you have any Frog Morton in your cellar, I would smoke through it and enjoy it now while it retains more flavor from the Latakia and Virginia tobaccos.

I was fortunate enough to get 10 tins of this in my cellar before production ended. I hadn’t smoked it for a long time so decided to crack a tin and right a review not realizing I hadn’t prior to this.

Now that McClelland is no more there has been a lot of chatter about replacement blends, particularly of the Frog Morton series. Whilst I dearly love all in the frog series there are equally as good if not better tobaccos still in production. But what this series in particular did so well for me that others don’t (especially this tobacco), was understated.

This tobacco is very subtle, I don’t mean light, lacking in flavor or other potential negative, I mean this as a compliment. I love big rich flavorful tobacco, but so few offer the subtleties and complexity of frog. It is a rich creamy smoke remarkably well balanced and entising, never boring or one dimensional, and always alluring. If you haven’t tried it and are able to, do! As I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. If you don’t have it and aren’t able to get any don’t despair, there is a host of other great tobacco that is equally as remarkable and more so, see my other ratings for recommendations.

McClelland’s Frog Morton. The O.G. of the series and probably the least talked about.

This blend is pretty damn fantastic. The tin note is a perfect balance of sweet, stoved virginias, smokey latakia, and a BBQ-esque top note (maybe from the latakia processing, maybe from natural preservative toppings. Some describe it as Worcestershire Sauce, but seeing as this blend is made in Kansas City and not the West Midlands, I’m inclined to go with BBQ. The virginias form a cavendish-like base of bready molasses while the smoky-sweet latakia is added with a light hand. Easy light, no bite, and desirable (to me) room note.

Drinking a Manhattan with this blend seemed to work out just fine. Great stuff.

Frog Morton is a favourite among pipe smokers and for good reason, its great! This blend has a lot of notes it borrows from English blends, that results in a very light but flavourful smoke. There really isn't much else to add that has not been said already. The blend has no flavourings to my knowledge and is just a good old fashioned straight blend. Buy it, you won't be disappointed!

Frog Morton is a rare blend. On the surface it has nothing special, a simple mixture or virginias and orientals (latakia?). When you inspect it it has the standard look, a predominance of darker leaf with some lighter virginia, with a somewhat coarse ribbon cut. The smell when opening the box is rather bland, you get a hint of the orientals, but it's not as strong as in other brands. There's also the infamous "ketchup" or "sauce" smell, but rather faint also.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special. It has no trobule packing, a couple of matches to light and then the smoke. Oh! Now I see.

The taste is mellow, for a blend with orientals, it smokes easy and cool. It does have some of that earthiness and herbal taste, but very well balanced with the virginias. The nicotine hit is close to non existant. The taste remains consistent through the bowl, and the smoke is light, not creamy. The room note is tolerable, non smokers may complain a bit -it has oriental leaf after all- but not much, some will find it quite pleasant.

So far, there is nothing at all out of the ordinary, but Frog Morton is more than the sum of its parts: McClelland has found a balance with this blend, maybe because of the recipe, maybe because of the quality of the tobaccos used or maybe there are other factors.

The end result is a mixture that it's easy and very pleasant to smoke. It has just enough complexity to be a smoke for a special occasions, when you just want to sit down, relax and forget about the world, but is also mellow and light enough to be an all day smoke, you can fill a bowl and smoke it at any time. Try it, at worst you'll find a mellow blend that, while not bad, doesn't do anything for you, at best you'll find your new favourite, something you'll keep coming to.

A real mellow pleasure. When I want to just "smoke a pipe," I grab this. I don't have to think about what kind of experience or flavors I want, just a smooth, easy smoke to have while taking a stroll in the woods. It's well-rounded; no aspect of it overshadows another. While it hasn't elicited the best smoking experience thus far, it is probably the one tobacco I would choose if I had to.