McClelland Oriental Mixture No. 1

The Latakia is light lending a whisper of smoke that is always present. The Orientals and Virginias contrast nicely with a sweet & sour interplay. The Virginias have a nice fruity note that, at times, reminds me of Kool-Aid. Not sure if that note is natural or not, but I'll say no flavoring detected. A nice blend.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in flavor. Burn is decent. Needs a few relights.

This is the first of McClelland's Oriental series that I have tried. It's really an excellent, mild smoke. Very tasty with a balance of Virginias, Orientals and Latakia. I'm debating whether to include it in my regular rotation. Almost, but I don't think so. Certainly worth trying. I give it a 3.

I found a jar of mixture one while organizing my cellar and decided to give it another try.

Moisture was great. Easy to load. Easy to light.

I find myself really enjoying this now. The Latakia is light and the orientals add spice to the underlying sweetness of the base of Virginia. It tends to want to burn a little hot if pushed.

This is really good and I am glad I found the jar to finish but not good enough to pay today's prices for more.

Contents: Latakia? Well, there was a little in there. Fine with me, I like just a touch, usually. Someone gave it to me as a sample-actually when I bought my all time favorite example of tin art, C&D Constipated Cockroach, on Ebay. It was mellow and enjoyable, seemed well aged and quite dry in the ziplock bag, and not too much of the orientals for my taste.

Edit 7-11-2012: I cracked a tin of 2006 not too long ago, and have been enjoying it. It is a bit too mellow and one-dimensional to be a go-to smoke, but I smoked almost half the tin pretty fast, so I think it could be one of those tobaccos that I could sometimes really be in the mood for. Lucky for me, I also have a sealed 100g tin from 2000 in reserve. I was right in my original assessment of the Latakia content: it is light, and reminds me somewhat of Rattray's Professional Mixture in that regard, though only in the application of the Latakia. The Rattray's Professional is an entirely different animal!

One last observation for now about the Oriental #1. Most McClellands I have had, especially the typical matured Virginia broken flakes, tend to get very dry and crunchy when I leave a bowl's worth in my drying bowl for a couple hours. This, for some reason, stays at about tin moisture even if I leave it overnight, which is ok, since I have no lighting/burning issues with it.

BTW, I have come to appreciate Latakia more by now, though I don't like typical Medium Englishes so much; now I like either the light touch found here, or a real mainline, such as is found in C&D Pirate Kake! I really like Syrian Latakia, but it is hard to find. I fairly recently reviewed Hermit Antique pressed Syrian Cake, and love the stuff: winey!

A very mild - almost too mild - oriental blend. It's not complicated, but it's delicious. The latakia is barely present, but that's not a bad thing at all.

Burn quality is fine, and I rarely need to relight this. It has the McC ketchup smell in the tin; as always, it never transfers to the smoke (it is exclusively a tin smell) and I've actually come to like it now that I'm accustomed to it. The only trouble I have is that, while I love the flavor of the tobacco, it is so soft that I'm inclined to puff too hard and get a touch of bite.

Tin Note: Smelled nice.

Packing: Packed very well.

First Impression: Not bad at all really. Not a heavy taste which is good because it was warm out.

Halfway Through Bowl: Started to become difficult to keep going. Smoke ran out too. Must be too much Va for me. Tongue started to get a little sizzlin.

End of Bowl: Dont smoke this one all the way down. Leave a little in the bottom or you get a nasty flavor.

Room Note: Smelled awesome

Likes: Good for a rotation to get away from English on occassion.

Dislikes: Va (or something) was a little warm on the mouth. Kept moving the pipe around to keep the bite to a minimum. I imagine if I smoked this in a larger pipe I wouldnt be able to speak for a day or two.

This is a good tobacco, but not sure its something I would stock up on. I wouldnt mind keeping a little around for every once in awhile, but I am sure there is something out there I would like better.

The tin description given above is exactly correct. I offer this review as one who smokes not very many English blends, and those infrequently. I prefer Latakia to be very gently applied; "Squadron Leader" is as strong as I like it, with "Standard Mixture Mild" being preferred, amongst the tinned blends. Lately, I have been experiencing a bit of throat irritation when I smoke "Early Morning Pipe", and have been looking for something to replace it.

This would seem to fit the bill. When used as the label suggests, I find No.1 to be superb. Gentle Virginia, no bite, the merest hint of Latakia, some times there, sometimes not. I enjoyed every bowl. I admit that I wonder what it would be like with just a touch of Turkish tobacco though.

I think this blend was a bit misunderstood ... smoking a pipe is so much about mindset. On this warm November evening in TN, this can of 1995 I just opened hit the spot.

Light? Yes. Subtle? Definitely. Able to pick out the VAs, orientals and pinch of camp fire Latakia? Without a doubt.

Go slow. Relax. Don’t push it for more than it offers.

It’s a lot like the space invaders video game — simple and enjoyable as long as you are NOT looking for Madden 2020.