Opened a Tin of McClelland Smyrna No 1... do they all come with uncut leaves?

[northernneil]

Do all tins of the Smyrna No 1 come with the uncut samples of the "so small, so fragrant" Smyrna Leaf?
Also, the blend is an enjoyable smoke,but I find the Virginia to overpower / hide the delicate oriental leaf.

 

[hawky454]

I believe they do, yes.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Give a try to the "new" Smyrna, by Std. Tobacco of PA. It rocks!

 

[clickklick]

Yes, very nice touch!

 

[bonehed]

They're to use as wrappers for tiny cigars, I think...

 

[misterlowercase]

Really elegant presentation and further evidence of McClelland's commitment to excellence,

taking the extra time and care to place those leaves in the tin.
Neat stuff.
Way back when, State Express London Mixture also placed a leaf in their tin,

this is the only photo I have of one and you can barely make it out but it's there...

...here's the little insert that came with the tin also:

*note:

I think Izmir is another name for Smyrna,

can anyone confirm that for me?

.

 

[prairiedruid]

Izmir is the name of the town in Turkey, it was a Greek outpost called Smyrna long ago. The tobacco is named after the city in the region it is cultivated. So yes Izmir is Smyrna.

 

[misterlowercase]

Thanks Druid!

 

[prairiedruid]

+1 on the new SToP blend Smyrna. Very tasty! :puffpipe:

 

[misterlowercase]

I've never gained much familiarity with the Oriental strains because they're mostly used as condiments for Lat mixtures and I'm just not much of a Latman --- and I've read that most modern Turkish is more of a mish-mash rather than specific cultivates, can anyone elaborate on that?
I may need to check out the McClelland series and get a feel for them just because it's quite rare that the Oriental leaves are used for showcase flavoring as the main player, so that's alluring.
Sidenote,

this thread made me dig up an old ish of P&T that had a relevant article I was prompted to remember,

it's got alotta good info innit too if you have a copy,

it's in:

Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine Vol. 15, #2, Summer 2010

"Exploring the Orientals"
excerpt:

Mary McNiel describes Smyrna as -

"...the most aromatic of all the Orientals," which "grow dense and extremely fragrant in this dry country moistened by Mediterranean Sea breezes."
The company's Smyrna No. 1 features a whole tobacco leaf at the top of the tin to exhibit firsthand its delicate size and the labor-intensive air-curing process. Each petite leaf is strung carefully by hand and hung up to air cure, a process revealed by a tiny hole that is visible in the leaf at the top of the tin. The fact that an entire tobacco leaf fits easily in the tin is illuminating. These tiny leaves typically reach less than 2 inches long when ripe for the picking - minute by comparison to its counterparts in the Western world. As McNiel points out, "An American leaf grown in rich soil can reach a yard long," when harvested.

::

 

[cortezattic]

From the May 12, 2014 installment of Ask G.L. Pease:

From John: Orientals are generally lumped together as a group. The few individual tobaccos I hear about are Latakia and Smyrna, both of which I enjoy in blends. Are there any other varietals that have a distinct taste that we should look out for as having a unique taste?
A: That’s quite a tin of worms you’ve opened, and it would take pages to address the subject fully, but I’ll do my best to provide some sort of meaningful synopsis. Different types of oriental tobaccos are grown in a variety of regions, and their unique characteristics will be determined both by the tobacco’s genotypic nature and the conditions under which its grown. Just as virginia tobacco grown in Africa will result in a product that will be very different from the same strain grown in Virginia, an izmir leaf grown in Bulgaria will be different from the same seed grown in Izmir, Turkey, known as Smyrna in Latin, from which it gets its name. And, the fact that some use the Latin names, and others the Greek or Turkish names for the same tobaccos adds to the overall confusion.
The sad fact is that it’s very difficult to get single strains of oriental leaf in the quantities we need for the tiny pipe tobacco market. Most of the farmers will contract with the big cigarette tobacco brokers, and their varietal leaf ends up in a sort of homogenous product simply known as “oriental” tobacco, or sometimes “Turkish,” despite the fact that much of the leaf is grown in Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and so on. It’s easy enough to get this in steady supply, and it’s relatively consistent, so we try to be happy with what we have, whilst simultaneously dreaming of a day when all the myriad varietals will rain down upon us like a relentless shower of Tetris pieces. It ain’t gonna happen.
Once in a while, though, a few bales of something really interesting fall off a camel drawn wagon, and finds its way into the pipe tobacco market, a flea on the back of vast cigarette empire. We all jump for joy, make blends with it, and then immediately start wondering what we’ll do when it runs out, hoping that something equally exciting will come along to replace it. Despite the promises of leaf suppliers, it’s a constant search and rescue mission to keep oriental tobaccos in stock in the grades we want. So, yes, there are many wonderful oriental tobaccos. Most of them we will never see, other than blended into cigarettes, which makes me cranky...

 

[misterlowercase]

Most excellent Cortez,

exactly what I was looking for!

:clap:
GLP is such a fine writer!
I love his poetic turns of phrase and general literary competence...

Once in a while, though, a few bales of something really interesting fall off a camel drawn wagon, and finds its way into the pipe tobacco market, a flea on the back of vast cigarette empire. We all jump for joy, make blends with it, and then immediately start wondering what we’ll do when it runs out, hoping that something equally exciting will come along to replace it. Despite the promises of leaf suppliers, it’s a constant search and rescue mission to keep oriental tobaccos in stock in the grades we want...

::

 

[supdog]

Misterlowercase, here's a thread I started when I was starting out smoking a pipe.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/smyrna

 

[mso489]

It's a really evocative touch, the tobacco leaf in the blend. I dig it.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Smyrna and Izmir are the same tobacco ( as previously pointed out by some). The reason people often say they are different is because there are many different strains of Izmir (aka Smyrna). For instance, a Smyrna type tobacco could actually be Karabaglar, Ozbas, Otan or Incerkara. The same thing is done to Virginia's. There are dozens of different stains of Virginia that are grown but they are get lumped together. Burleys are the same too.

 

[texmexpipe]

I haven't tried this one but have tried a few others in the line and love them. I'll have to get me a tin of this.

 

[ssavarimuthu]

What a cool touch! I'm a sucker for things like that, kind of like the stave cube in Frog Morton's Cellar.

 

[northernneil]

Each petite leaf is strung carefully by hand and hung up to air cure, a process revealed by a tiny hole that is visible in the leaf at the top of the tin. The fact that an entire tobacco leaf fits easily in the tin is illuminating.

Thank you for finding this MLC. It clearly explains the reasoning in placing the leaves in the tin.
I have been thoroughly enjoying this blend this week. Also, I have discovered that with a little more cadence while puffing, I can coax the orientals to come to the fore front.

 

[mcitinner1]

Because of this thread, I ordered one of all eight of McClelland's Grand Orientals series. I opened the tin of Smyrna No. 1 tonight to see if it's true, and...it is true.

 

[jitterbugdude]

I opened the tin of Smyrna No. 1 tonight to see if it's true, and...it is true.

But how does it taste?????