McClelland Oriental Mixture No. 14

I'm a big fan of McClellands blends, but not of Oriental No. 14.

This blend tends to bite if not smoked carefully and could use more latakia. It's just that there are a lot of other blends available by McClelland like the Frog Morton blends and #2045 that I can't justify purchasing this again.

I did receive comments from the wife that it smelled good.

Like the reviewer directly above, I thought this blend to be a very exceptional smoke....and unlike the many other reviews previous...I thought this blend was not only smooth and flavorful, but had absolutely no hint of a bite whatsoever.

It's no mystery to most folks that McClelland produces a fine tobacco. For those looking for a good balkan type blend, look no further...this is a superb choice. The flavor is rich and satifying from beginning to end. The balance of oriental, latakia and virginia makes for a most pleasurable smoke. You'll find nothing overbearing in this blend, and once the bowl is finished, those turkish taste buds will cry for more. To top it off....this blend has good lighting and burning qualities..... all of which makes for a tobacco that one can definitely be loyal to.

A really nice oriental forward blend. As others have mentioned its sort of a hodgepodge of flake sizes and ribbons.

I like this one more than No. 12 as it really lets the orientals shine through the bowl. The latakia stays in the background providing a smoky base while the Virginias add a touch of sweetness. It's a smooth smoke and produces clouds of smoke. It burns down to ash nicely without a lot of effort and smokes particularly well in larger bowls.

As pointed out by other reviewers, this mixture is very sweet. But it is also spicy and smokey.

Despite a fair amount of Latakia, the orientals and stoved VA are still detectable.

It has to be fairly dried out to smoke well; the darkness of the tobacco might make it hard to keep lit.

Still worth it, by all means.

I purchased a couple of 50gm cans from smokingpipes.com my regular purveyor of tobaccos. Compared to Mclleland's SuperBalken this tastes somewhat flat to me and without that lingering delicious flavor that I find in Super Balkan. I really couldn't wait to get rid of the bowl as I expected a lot more from the Orientals in this blend. It is Ok I guess if you haven't had a taste of something more flavorful. It burns well but in my opinion something is missing here.

Without a doubt the best of the McC green cans. Loads of latakia and black virginias are pefectly married in this all day smoke. It is flavorful and smooth from first to last puff and has never bitten me. It is a trusty companion that will not let you down. What can I say laddies I love the stuff!

UPDATE 5/8/13: I am removing a star because this has not remained a regular smoke for me. I still recommed it and some may find it to be a favorite.

A friend gave me a tin of this tobacco for my birthday; every friend of a pipe smoker should be so nice. Anyways, immediately after opening the tin I was overcame with the smell of ketchup, I was told by an area tobacconist that McClelland puts a very small amount of vinegar in some of their tins to stay off bacteria growth. If this is true it is the first of McClelland tobaccos that I have tried where this is the case. I took a bowls worth out and smoked it and to my surprise that smell came out in taste too. I then promptly put the tin away and forgot about it for months. The other week while getting a handle on my tobacco stash I saw the tin that I had put in the cabinet, I thought that I should give it one more try? to my disbelief the tin aroma had changed it was now heavy in Latakia. So I put a bowl in my pipe and gave it a second go. It had changed in taste too it now was a true Scottish tobacco, although not the best I have ever had it was pleasing. The initial taste was slightly sweet and then it got spicier as the bowl progressed. It was a very cool bowl and burned to an average ash. I guess that average is the best way I can describe this tobacco, nothing great but not bad either.

Let me just say that this is one of my top 5 favorite blends. I absolutely cannot get enough of it. Most of my tins are now at least five years old, so I can attest that the blend does indeed get smoother with age. Wonderful! The entire smoke comes through as slightly spicy with intermingling sweetness. Comparable to Highland Targe, but much more refined and rounded in flavor.

I am a big fan of latakia and orientals and was expecting an extraordinarily full smoke. I felt let down a little, but not much. One can indeed enjoy the very smooth fullness of the latakia meshed with orientals in this blend. There is also a bit of sweetness, of the type that I normally associate with aged virginias. That was unexpected, but not unwelcome.