Talk to me about McC lat blends.

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tarheel7734

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It has been about a decade or so since I have explored McC lat blends. In the past I have loved the frog blends and 5110. I was looking at Bombay court, Bombay extra, British woods, and the Oriental mixtures. Some blends I have had as of late are Penzance, quiet nights, and bowlegged bear. In the past I have enjoyed squadron leader and most of the dunhill English blends. I guess iI am wondering what your experience with those McC blends and how they compare.
 
Wish I could be of help, but my exposure to McC's has been limited to their straight VA's and some Orientals...

Hopefully someone here will have some experience and share, I'm always curious........
 
McClellands flavor profile is very different than what you'll find in Squadron Leader, and I've not yet tried anything McClelland that is anything like Squadron Leader. That said, Oriental 14 is excellent, one of the most enjoyable Cyprian lat blends I've ever smoked. Their Three Oaks Syrian is outstanding as well.

I've not smoked anything Dunhill in ages. Right when they switched from Murrays manufacture to Orlik. I threw in the towel then and there. Not even sure who'se making it for them anymore.
 
monbla seems to be our resident McC expert here. I'm sure he'll be along anytime with recs.

Me, I got nuttin as I'm off Lat blends. Although I will say that Anniversary took a special place for me years ago. But that was primarily a 'ginny with a small amount of Lat. Prolly doesn't qualify.



Cheers,

RR
 
I have smoked a fair number of McClelland latakia blends & the best way I can describe them is that they are almost all sweeter than average. A lot of this has to do with the unique character of McClelland's Virginia leaf which I have always found to be sweet, not overtly sweet, but just an overriding warm tone indicative of the character of their well fermented and aged VA leaf. All of the Orientals they use are top notch, full of character and very fragrant (some more than others) Their Drama and Yenidje are standouts. The Cypriot latakia that they use is also a bit different. I find to be somewhat muted in flavor, rather than spicy and pungent, especially when compared to the latakia blends in the GLP catalog and the like. In other words, expect a well-matured flavor, even from mixtures with a fairly recent tin date.
 
D and B has summed it up quite well IMHO. Along with what he says I have always kept three of their Lat forward blends on hand, Scottish Woods, Oriental #14, and British Woods in the Personal Reserve series. :twisted: :twisted:
 
When I smoked Latakia blends I believed British Woods to b their best Latakia blend.

But like others, I think McClelland does Oriental blends really well, most of which also contain Latakia...though I'm no expert there.

Of course, you could go over to the review site and do an advanced search for L blends...see which are the highest rated, the most rated, etc. It can be very interesting. Select which specific tobaccos you want in your blend, etc. It' s really fun.
 
British Woods is as Englishy as any of them, but the real latakia standouts to me are Legends and Wilderness, both Fred Hanna blends I think. Superb.

On a different flavor tangent, their "Jubilee" is also awesome. Not a lat bomb, hell I don't even know if it has latakia... I think it must have some. But a beautiful, gentle, intoxicating blend.
 
tarheel,

I've always enjoyed McClellands Blue Mountain which is a Lat heavy Balkan blend. They changed the name to Balkan Blue awhile back, so if you find any tins with the old Blue Mountain label, you know you are sitting on an aged tin.

If you are confused as to the difference between a Latakia blend and a Balkan blend, you can further your confusion by checking out the blog Greg Pease wrote on the subject.

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/what-is-a-balkan-blend/
 
Hey Sasquatch!

Really enjoying that giant rusticated Oom Paul I bought from you a few years ago..

Classic build, so well made & just the most gorgeous finish.

Nice seeing you hanging out here.
 
There are days that British Woods is the reason I get out of bed.
 
I have 50+ tins of McC's various Latweeds plus the ones they made for Bob Hamlin (PCCA). I love'em all; I must say the tin of Blue Mountain I just finished (the first of five in the cellar) was as luscious a pipe tobacco as I have ever enjoyed!! :cheers: FTRPLT

BTW...All the recommendations above are spot on!! Just try all of'em!!!!!!!!!
 
Blackhorse":cjl2o0oc said:
Hey Sasquatch!

Really enjoying that giant rusticated Oom Paul I bought from you a few years ago..

Classic build, so well made & just the most gorgeous finish.

Nice seeing you hanging out here.
Glad to hear it....

I'm trying to spend a little more time in a few online communities I've been ignoring for awhile, this one included. I had a couple of slower years for pipes, real life being very busy, but I'm trying to keep at it a bit more these days, and I like some of these forums a lot, BoB being one that's usually civil.

 
Civility is our middle name.

We believe it's really important and work hard to keep it that way.

Great member lineup right now. Friendly, active, knowledgeable.

Good place to hang.
 
I'm trying to swing by more often as well...still puffin' as much as before, just haven't had the time for forum stuff.

Although the fact that we still let ruffians like GK in the door makes me question any claims of civility. :D
 
I'm a big fan of British Woods and Scotish Woods. I enjoy those two more than just about any lat blend I have had to date. As a matter of fact, British Woods is a blend I'm almost out of and I should probably do something about it bc I think it's brilliant!
 
I am familiar only with the McC blends available in bulk. My favorite is their #2030 Grade 1 Balkan. Not long ago I ordered some of their #5110 Dark English and found it a bit heavy in the Latakia content. As an experiment I mixed it half & half with the #2030 and ended up with a very delightful mixture.
 
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