McClelland Oriental Mixture No. 1

I recently smoked my way through a 13 year old vacuum sealed t3.5 oz. Tin. The tobacco had signs of fermentation and was absolutely sublime. It had an endless procession of vivacious virginias, teamed with tasty orientals mingled in the most delightful fashion with some lustful latakias and pixie peri questions being delightfully coy. The mixture of the demure and the rich and robust was delightful A very fine blend I have tins aging.

Just for reference, I'm smoking a tin from 2007. While it hasn't aged much, it may have made a bit of difference.

I'm still relatively new to pipe smoking, and this was one of my first good experience with orientals. One of my go-to tobaccos up to this point has been McClellend's Red Cake bulk #5100, and I do get hints of that in this tobacco. The description given for this tobacco is pretty spot on. I love the flavor of the McClelland virginias because of their sweet, mild taste. The orientals just make it a bit more interesting that 5100 in my opinion.

Similarly to McClelland's Frog Morton Across the Pond, this tobacco is pretty smooth in flavor. I like this style english much better than some of the heavier latakia blends because of its milder flavor . In fact, the orientals give off a smell/taste of incense (although very mild.)

Lastly, when I first smoked this tobacco I was sampling a tin from 03 and I definitesly think the orientals came out more in that smoke (although it could have just been that particular tin). I would highly recommend this tobacco to any Virginia smoker, or even perhaps someone who smokes mostly latakia based english blends who is looking for a change of pace. 4 stars!

pouch aroma pretty typical for McClelland--my tin was dated '06 and was perfect right out of the tin--

one char light, probably not needed but did it anyway--next light went almost all the way to the bottom with no problems--

nice light flavor--light on the latakia, but the orientals shone through, as well as the virginias--

i encountered no bite, but i believe it will do so if pushed--smoke this one slowly--

i like #1 as well as oriental #14--both will be stocked in what passes for my cellar

This is a lovely, mild english/oriental tobacco that will probably be liked by those who are waiting for Dunhill's E.M.P. to return(apparently around Jan 2010). I tried it recently and have re-ordered. It builds in strength as you reach mid-pipe, but the increase in richness isn't overpowering. Other tobaccos in this vein include Rattray's Mixture #7 and Professional mixture, and Red Raparee. Certainly worth trying.

What I wrote about Oriental Mixture No. 14 also holds true for No. 1 - this definitely wasn't one of McClelland's most extraordinary and mind-boggling offerings but a very reliable and consistently good smoke nevertheless. So much for the objective part - because even though I wouldn't rank No. 1 above No. 14, I still find myself smoking No. 1 so much more. It is one of my very favorite smokes for the first bowl in the morning with a cup of tea. One needs to approach this tobacco from the right angle, though. I for my part can't stand too much nicotine and have never gravitated towards blends that focus a lot on Burley. In a similar vein, I like my Latakia used as a condiment rather than as a main ingredient. I therefore see, why this isn't your cup of tea if you are accustomed to tobaccos that are diametrically opposed to this specific genre. I don't know why but recent batches of my favorite "light" Englishes show very harsh Latakia and I simply can't bear it, so I am smoking more McC Oriental Mixture No. 1 because this is a blend where all the ingredients are integrated in perfection. Smooth, sweet, ever so slightly tangy. It is the "Kabinett" Mosel Riesling of the pipe tobacco world. Extremely enticing, refreshing, offering complexity but never too much and possessing a fairly light body with tremendous transparency. Admitted you don't get the full flavor spectrum of Arcadia or the very dissimilar Bombay Court, but why would you have to if you can go for this simple pleasure.

Extremely straightforward oriental English blend. Loved it. A+.