Yenidje Highlander?

[thomasmartin]

I wanted to taste the flavor of this fabled Queen of Tobaccos and purchazed some Mc Clellands Yenidje Highlander (Yenidje supreme was not available). I was rather dissapointed. All I tasted was (high quality and tasty) VA but almost nothing else. Even the Latakia was almost completely hidden by the flavor of VA. I tasted nothing oriental whatsoever in that blend. Is there something wrong with my tastebuds? Is the flavor of Yenidja in fact so subtle that it may completely be blended out by the VA? Or is there something wrong with the blend? Batch variation? I will return to it this evening to give it a fair shot but this was quite underwhelming.

 

[tmb152]

I like the McClelland Wilderness better.

 

[sablebrush52]

Yenidje is a very different flavor than other orientals, not as pungent, salty or sour. I prefer to make my own version using Yenidje Supreme and adding a bit of Syrian blending Latakia to it. That way I can control the balance. Try Yenidje Supreme with 25% HH Vintage Syrian, which is easier to find these days than pure Syrian.

 

[thomasmartin]

I like Balkan Blue a lot!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Here's what I thought of it.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/yenidje-highlander-review

 

[thomasmartin]

Thanks. You seem to confirm the VA forwardness I perceived. I think I have still to develop my palate in order to appreciate the fine subtleties of the oriental leaf.

 

[alexnc]

RE: Try Yenidje Supreme with 25% HH Vintage Syrian
Packing for a drive - you just made me toss an unopened tin of HH Vintage Syrian in my duffle!

 

[balkisobrains]

thomasmartin
I wanted to taste the flavor of this fabled Queen of Tobaccos and purchazed some Mc Clellands Yenidje Highlander (Yenidje supreme was not available). I was rather dissapointed. All I tasted was (high quality and tasty) VA but almost nothing else. Even the Latakia was almost completely hidden by the flavor of VA. I tasted nothing oriental whatsoever in that blend. Is there something wrong with my tastebuds? Is the flavor of Yenidja in fact so subtle that it may completely be blended out by the VA? Or is there something wrong with the blend? Batch variation? I will return to it this evening to give it a fair shot but this was quite underwhelming.

You might be over-cooking it. I find all of the tobaccos in the Highlander to be very tasty especially during the first half of the bowl. I messed around with some bulk leaf Yenidje earlier this year and it has a very subtle flavor and it is easy to lose in the Highlander due to the Latakias, or even the Supreme if you overcook it. I just smoked some Supreme, and to me the Yenidje in it offers a thin light sweetness like honeysuckle nectar with a hint of bitterness at the front of each draw, then the VA flavors come in at the end of the draw. If you start to heat it up, the sweetness turns bitter-only, and if you keep going, the VAs take over completely, so it is easy to miss. The Yenidje in the Highlander tastes pretty much the same to me as it does in the Supreme, but it is a lot harder for me to detect because of the Latakias. You might want to try the Yenice Agonya because it has a much more distinct flavor going on to me. It smells and tastes a little like coconut aroma in addition to the VAs. Reminds me of the beach and suntan lotion. I even thought that it might be topped when I first smelled the tin note, and someone on tobaccoreviews website said the same thing, but I have noticed this type of coconut aroma flavor in the actual smoke flavor of a couple other blends that are not supposed to be topped, but it is fairly strong and prominent in this blend. Now whether or not that is what I am supposed to be tasting in the Agonya I could not tell you, but the Yenidje in it seems stronger and a bit different than those in the Highlander or the Supreme. They all need to be smoked slowly and re-lit carefully to get all of the flavors, and keeping the grey ash from falling down into the unburnt tobacco, blowing it off as it develops, and keeping tamping to a bare minimum seem to be a good ideas with these ones. I would say keep trying. :puffpipe:

 

[thomasmartin]

Thank you. In fact I had problems keeping it lit and had to smoke a little too fast on order to not need to relight every two minutes. This may indeed be the reason for my difficulties tasting the subtle flavor of the yenidje. I will dry it out some and retry!

 

[rmbittner]

Thomas,
I can't help thinking you're missing something. Did you try at least three bowls in the same pipe?
For me, the orientals do come through clearly. (Also, don't forget that latakia itself is made from oriental leaf.) In fact, Yenidje Highlander is, for my palate, a Balkan blend in which all of the constituent tobaccos are perfectly balanced. Also -- again, this is just my take -- it reminds me very much of the original Balkan Sobranie (at least, the early-80s version).

 

[fitzy]

Oh your definitely missing something. It's one of my favorites.
In addition to smoking it too fast also try smoking it in different chamber diameters.

 

[dottiewarden]

The whole VA taste thing concerns me as I was hoping for a strong Oriental forward blend. This thread has convinced me to keep my tin in the cellar for at least a couple of years more.

 

[balkisobrains]

dottiewarden
The whole VA taste thing concerns me as I was hoping for a strong Oriental forward blend. This thread has convinced me to keep my tin in the cellar for at least a couple of years more.

I would recommend cracking it and trying it now. It should not taste like 100% VAs. If you wait two years to decide that you like it, you might not be able to buy it since it has Syrian in it, and who knows how long that will last. I also think that it was released after the 02/15/07 cut-off date, although I am not 100% sure on that.

 

[thomasmartin]

Perhaps I may indeed be missing something. But please keep in mind that I have a variety of English/Balkan blends that I enjoy and where I don't have any problems in discerning and appreciating the various oriental components. Perhaps that this is indeed a batch variation problem.

 

[dottiewarden]

dottiewarden
The whole VA taste thing concerns me as I was hoping for a strong Oriental forward blend. This thread has convinced me to keep my tin in the cellar for at least a couple of years more.
I would recommend cracking it and trying it now. It should not taste like 100% VAs. If you wait two years to decide that you like it, you might not be able to buy it since it has Syrian in it, and who knows how long that will last. I also think that it was released after the 02/15/07 cut-off date, although I am not 100% sure on that.

Good thinking, balkisobrains, I'll crack the tin in a month or so.

 

[balkisobrains]

Do you guys know what tin dates you are smoking on or have? My can that I am familiar with is from 2014, and I opened and jarred it December 2015.