McClelland - Known for VA But Were They Good at English?

[rushx9]

FMAcross the Pond, 3 Oaks, Balkan Blue (Mtn), Oriental 996, Cyprian Star, Butera Royal Vintage Latakia #2..
McC Orientals were just as special as their VAs. Combine the two... hard to beat.
Don't even get me started on Classic Samsun ?.
Definitely envious of @chasingembers stash of Yenidje Highlander and Balkan Blue. I actually lose sleep over the thought of him tiring of latakia and throwing them in the garbage!?.

 

[BarrelProof]

FMAcross the Pond, 3 Oaks, Balkan Blue (Mtn), Oriental 996, Cyprian Star, Butera Royal Vintage Latakia #2..
McC Orientals were just as special as their VAs. Combine the two... hard to beat.
Don't even get me started on Classic Samsun ?.
Definitely envious of @chasingembers stash of Yenidje Highlander and Balkan Blue. I actually lose sleep over the thought of him tiring of latakia and throwing them in the garbage!?.

He’d never do that. They’d be used for Bonsai tree mulch.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yenidje Highlander and Balkan Blue. I actually lose sleep over the thought of him tiring of latakia and throwing them in the garbage!?.

Yenidje Highlander barely has latakia in it. You really have to be looking for it to find it. Never smoked the Balkan Blue, a fellow was selling off bits of his cellar a few years ago and I bought those for $50. I mainly keep them for photo window dressing.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I actually lose sleep over the thought of him tiring of latakia and throwing them in the garbage

?‍It's just tobacco.

 

[judcole]

I really liked Balkan Blue - still have three tins. I also really enjoyed Celebrated Sovereign in the Ashton Revival series. Was one of the small minority that did not care for the Frog series at all. Crossover latakia blends just tend not to work for me.

 

[sablebrush52]

I just gave away all of the Frogs. They just weren’t for me. I like mixing Yenidge Supreme mixed with 20% Vintage Syrian. I have a stack of Balkan Blue waiting for the right moment.

 

[tfdickson]

The post-closure reverence for the Frog Morton blends always struck me as odd. From the time I started poking around forums in the late 90s until the day McC closed they seemed to be regarded as a stepping stone to get aromatic smokers to try something less overtly flavored and more about the natural tobacco flavors. “Fisher Price: My First English” seemed to be the consensus assessment. Which is really what it was, a cross over. That said, I’m sure it outsold #24, probably my all-time favorite regular production blend produced by anyone, multiple times over. Can a Big Mac become a cult classic? Sure, I guess it can if you take it away.

 

[prairiedruid]

3 Oaks Syrian is the best Syrian blend I have smoked. Murdock's Pipe under the McCranie's label was blended by McClelland and was quite tasty.

 

[donjgiles]

I am mostly a Va/Per smoker but, there are times when I enjoy British Woods.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

The post-closure reverence for the Frog Morton blends always struck me as odd. From the time I started poking around forums in the late 90s until the day McC closed they seemed to be regarded as a stepping stone to get aromatic smokers to try something less overtly flavored and more about the natural tobacco flavors.

This

 

[pip01]

British Woods is excellent. As is 3 Oaks Syrian. I have Blue Mountain and Wilderness which I haven't tried yet but I'm sure they will be great too. FM on the town is also very good.

 

[troutface]

Never enjoyed the Frogs, but really liked Scottish Woods, which seemed to fly under the radar.

 

[OneGoodBulldog]

If the mods around here started deleting stuff that was redundant we'd have a pretty thin forum.

 

[mparker762]

They did some good english blends, largely because of their excellent orientals. If they put much virginia in them then the blend was overwhelmed with that vinegar flavor. I loved their stuff for several years but eventually got tired of the ketchup. I recently sold off all my mcclelland tins except for bombay court which is amazing, and which I fortunately have several lbs of.

 

[renfield]

Their English blends were quite good. Balkan Beauty is a favorite, as is Blue Mountain.

They used excellent quality Virginias and Orientals in their Englishes and blended them with skill, IMO.

 

[lochinvar]

They had a few good entries, but their Virginias, VaPers and VaOrs were their masterpieces. I couldn't find much to get excited about in the Frog Series (besides the name and art) or in the Green Tin Oriental line. On the other hand, I loved Samovar, Scottish Woods, Balkan Beauty and Yenidje Highlander.

 

[daytonsean]

Blue Mountain is one of the best blends they did.

 

[EA-6B]

Their Syrian stuff is as special as their VAs. I didn't cellar any of their straight Cyprian blends, & went elsewhere for that type of blend. But Syrian Star, Orient996, 3-Oaks Syrian, & Yenidje Highlander are my faves.

The SS & 3OS have a lot of Syrian. The 996 has just a dash of Syrian. The Yenidje Highlander has a blend of Cyprian & Syrian Latakia.
Glad I wasn't late to the party & could avoid hoarding MacBaren (yuck), & Ashton Artisans Blend with Cyprian before they bothered to change the label to say Cyprian (oops).

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Same blend. Turned out Blue Mountain was a trademarked coffee name.

Oh wow, you learn something everyday. I always thought it was kinda just a way they "processed" the coffee, no idea they've had it TMed.

 

[GCW]

Their Syrian stuff is as special as their VAs. I didn't cellar any of their straight Cyprian blends, & went elsewhere for that type of blend. But Syrian Star, Orient996, 3-Oaks Syrian, & Yenidje Highlander are my faves.
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The SS & 3OS have a lot of Syrian. The 996 has just a dash of Syrian. The Yenidje Highlander has a blend of Cyprian & Syrian Latakia.
Glad I wasn't late to the party & could avoid hoarding MacBaren (yuck), & Ashton Artisans Blend with Cyprian before they bothered to change the label to say Cyprian (oops).

Sounds like I’ll need to try the highlander as a few have mentioned it being stellar.