McClelland Oriental Mixture No. 14

Not bad , but not interesting, very one dimensional. I find myself puffing harder than I should to get some flavor.

I have to agree with the "Master Reviewer ", "Pipestud" from some 25 reviews back on 12/10/2003

I ordered 2 50gram tins of this blend and looked forward to an enjoyable smoke. I tried it in a variety of pipes and was somewhat disappointed. It was not as rich in taste as SuperBalkan made by McLelland and I really can not get too excited over its flavor. I tried it in 2 of my Dunhills as well as a Tim West with a moderately large bowl (about a Group 5) I did smell the "ketchupy" odor on opening the first tin but I ignored this totally. I guess perhaps this blend may grow on me but my initial opinion is one of a mediocre blend.

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.

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.

Container aroma: Sort of sweet and earthy. Had that distinct "liquid smoke" smell. Almost reminiscent of ketchup. The contents are pretty dark, and on the whole, smell nice.

Packs easily... Can't complain about that. I lit 'er up with my Prometheus torch, and puffed away. It wasn't long before I had to re-light it again, but that's okay.

It's a little on the spicy side, but otherwise quite mild, and there's no better word for it than "slightly unusual." I'm not used to this kind of blend, but it wasn't bad.

Deeper into the smoke, the spiciness gets a bit sharper, and honestly, I didn't care to finish it. Otherwise, I'm glad I smoked it, but wouldn't be terribly excited to have another go at it.

I did bite the hell out of my tongue with this, and so I would suggest airing it out first. Towards the end, though, you can blow pretty good smoke rings if you want. It's pretty damned thick.

Tin Aroma: This has the characteristic Latakia smokiness, but sweeter and more 'earthy' than most 'Oriental' blends.

Physical Characteristics: a variety of shapes and sizes to the individual pieces in this blend, ranging from larger dark broken flake pieces of matured virginias to smaller ribbon cut orientals, spaning the whole spectrum of tans and light browns.

Notes: The 100g tin of this I smoked had been aged for three years before I opened it. A little trouble getting it lit, but that is my cross to bear. I prefer my tobacco dry to the point of no return, so your mileage may vary, as they say. A musty, 'dry' taste pervades the first half of the bowl, giving way in the second half to a spicy, sweet flavor, but it comes with a price. The flavor does deepen into a classic (to me anyway) Oriental taste, but I had to pay particular care not to burn my tongue. During a few bowlfuls it felt as if I was playing hide and seek with the tongue bite demon. I find it very distracting to have to pay such careful attention to my smoking technique that a quarter bowl can pass without me enjoying the taste, concentrated as I am on not damaging my taste buds.

Verdict: Not a very complex blend, and probably not going to see regular rotation at my house.