McClelland Oriental Mixture No. 6

The orange Virginias offer a lightly tangy, dark fruitiness with a bit of earth, a little citrus, and a few blades of grass. The woody, buttery sweet and sour, floral, lightly spicy Oriental is a little more than a condiment, but never quite manages to be a supporting player. The smoky, woody sweet Cyprian latakia has a continual background presence. The strength and nicotine are in the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but does have a rough edge here and there. Burns cool and clean at slightly slow pace with a fairly consistent flavor, though it does suffer a mite from lack of depth and nuance. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs a few relights. Has an okay, mildly savory and lightly floral after taste. Is close to an all day smoke for the experienced smoker. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

The contents of this blend are a bit obscure to me. I wish I knew what sorts of Orientals it contained, this is always nice to know. I also would very much like to know it there is any black cavendish contained herein, as I swore that I could taste it sometimes, but could never be sure.

If there indeed be black cavendish in this blend, I would call it a Scotish, if no, a medium to light English. Either way, it is not a remarkable representative of either style. The Virginia base is nice, though not the best McClelland's has to offer. I do so wish that they would employ some of their fine red Virginia leaf in an English blend. These Eastern Belt Orange Virginias they seem so proud of do not burn as hot as I had expected. The condimental leaf is its downfall for me. They assert themselves only mildly throughout a pipefull, always nearly overwhelmed by the sweetness of the Virginia and always leaving me wishing I could taste them more.

All and all, this mixture demonstrates for me that to make a mild to medium English blend that seems worth smoking is a very difficult thing indeed. I can think of only four or five that manage this and Oriental No. Six is not among them.

Regards, A. Morley Jaques

I opened a can of McClelland's Mixture No. 6 dated 2008 that I had purchased years ago. I found that it smoked cool and pleasant. Maybe because I have smoked stronger tobacco in the past I found this to be really mild. For me, not much Latakia detected. I try to evaluate each blend on its own rather than does it fit in a certain category. I have smoked about 5 bowls and haven't been invigorated yet as tin description but good nonetheless.

I have a hard time recommending this blend. McClelland is renown for their virginia blends. They have a character that is identified with McClelland virginia blends. Here we have an oriental blend. The main tobacco are the virginias. The other tobaccos seem to be a condimental amount of oriental and latakia. So here is the dilemma. As a virginia based blend, that is smoked slowly. It is outstanding. The oriental tobaccos and latakia present the virginia well. My 4-year old tin smoked dry and controlled, because I smoked as a virginia blend. However, if this blend is smoked as a latakia heavy english blend. The virginia characteristic becomes muddled; the blend appears as an insipid english blend.

So, if you like virginia blends this is a four star blend. If however you are a balkans blend smoker, pass.

#6 is an interesting blend. Mostly Virginia, there is a light Latakia component as well. My 1997 tin was disappointing, especially since McClelland Virginias generally age so well. I believe the Virginia DID age well, but not the Latakia, and that tainted the delicacy of the blend just enough to make it smoke monotonously. I have tried this in a newly-purchased tin, and it is quite a bit better. Still, I'll stick with Orthodoxy when I want a light Latakia blend.

I am 3/4 of the way through a tin of No. 6 and this tobacco has yet to impress me. I find it a fairly innocuous blend. The condimental leaf gets lost in almost any size bowl. The Virginia base is pleasant enough, but lacking something. McClelland offers straight Virginias which I prefer to the base in No. 6. With this being said, I did manage to have a fairly enjoyable smoke with this blend in a tall thin-bowled Ser Jacopo.

Appearance: A nicely variegated ribon cut. Mostly red leaf, with some dark Latakia and lighter Oriental evident.

Aroma: Average English bouquet, sweet and smokey and spicey.

Packing: Packed well in medium and large pipes, not tried in small bowls.

Lighting: Lights well, but not exceptionally so. Always needed a charring light.

Initial flavor: Good red Va. Flavor initially, followed by the others very shortly. Not exceptional flavor.

Mid-bowl: To my palae, the red Va. Seemed to dominate the blend. The Turkish and Latakia were present, but in the background. To me, this is a ?lightly seasoned? blend, but one with moderate strength.

Finish: Finishes well, dry and clean with fluffy ash.

Summary: An ordinary English blend. Pleasant enough, but one I will not seek out