McClelland Frog Morton

--Update--

A year later and I still crave this candy once in a great while, though I rarely keep it around at this point. The Hostess Fruit Pie and Yodels of the tobacco world? I often wonder why I've bothered to smoke it, half way through...but I keep going back for more...

And that tin I bought a year ago...still moist... *shiver*

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After the many reviews of Frog Morton, I had to give this classic a shot. Ok the Tolkien thing sold me too. Good show McClelland...I don't part easily with my hard or ill gotten cash.

I can see why it is so popular. I have come to think of it as "English Light"? A good break when you don't want drug store sweetness or the punch of the heavier blends.

I love the earthy tones and smell upon opening the can. A bit of muddiness to the texture (twigs and all) and yes, the weird worscester sauce smell. It does conjure up Shire-esque visions though I suspect the hobbits would want something a bit stronger and sweeter (more on Dark Twist later...)

My first smoke of Frog Morton enraptured me. I thought... *This* is it! I was sure I'd cast aside both the drug store brands and the stronger non-aromatics for this as a regular treat. The taste was so completely different than most of the other tobaccos I've tried (which admittedly aren't a whole lot).

The wetness and getting the right amount of drying time frustrated me a bit but I think it has for the most part aired itself out. For the claims of no bite - this little b@*&ard bit me good once or twice...but perhaps it is the new pipe and my relative inexperience with pipes.

Even two weeks later it can still be a bit uncooperative as far as gurgle and relights, but that could also be me. For the most part though it will burn clear to the bottom and leave a decent ash with a bit of persistence. Fantastic white smoke. Lots of it.

I just took about a 1/4 pipefull with me while getting my car lubed. It lasted until I returned 30 minutes later (so much for 10 minute oil changes). Considering I look like a Hell's Angel compared to most of the upscale locals - my smoking this down in a hand-cut freeform bent pipe on a bench outside of the Mr Good Lube must have been a sight.

Is that casing bubble gum? For some weird reason that keeps coming to mind but not in a bad way. I enjoy the casing and the room note. It is very fruity but not at all overbearing. Very little tobacco taste comes through and I don't get a hit/rush off of this (my first bowl of Highland Targe did infact leave me with the feeling that a Highlander had kicked me down the stairs).

It is pleasant and light with the underlay of the English smokiness. I am sure friends would enjoy it around a campfire or dining room and that itself may make it worth keeping some on hand.

I have found that as the smoking of this has continued I have found it to become slightly more boring. Unlike Deep Hollow which I still can pop in and smoke with some excitement.

Frog Morton will likely come into my rotation again - and I do recommend it to those seeking an "English Lite" type mixture, but for now I will probably step onto another tobacco road, and see where my feet (or perhaps tongue and mouth) carry me.

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.

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.

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.

Famous as it is, I must say it is not my cup o f tea. This reminded me somewhat of a very toned down Red Rapparee, the difference being, of course, that in Rattray's the sweetness comes from the natural sugars in the red Virginias, whereas in the Frog the sweetness comes from the artificially flavored Black Cavendish (Burleys, Iguess). If you fancy combining Captain Black (white) withe Latakia, well, there it is.

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.

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.

It is only out of respect of all the brethren that this does not get one star from me. Not that it really matters with nearly 250 reviews to date. I did not like this and this now makes 2 for 2 on frogs I don't like. (FMATP the other)

I think I just probably am not a fan of full english blends in general as I have yet to find one I really like. I also join the chorus lamenting the lack of nicotine with this and with McClelland in general.

The positive. The tin note is incredible. What do you get when you mix ketchup and smoke? BBQ sauce and this is exactly how it smells to me. I like this, several don't. It smokes slow and cool, perhaps cooler than any other smoke I have had. It is hard to even tell it is lit from the feel of the pipe. I imagine it would be hard to get a bite from this. Finally, the room note. I had several people tell me they smelled nothing, which I take as good from a full english blend.

The bad. The taste doesn't do it for me.