McClelland Grand Tour of Orientals

Having savored and stocked up on Tudor Castle by said company, I was intrigued by the Yenidje tobacco that was mentioned on the label.  Finding out that Yenidje was a significant ingredient in the Grand Orientals line, I decided to track it down.  So above are pictured the ones that most represent the Yenidje from the blends that I purchased. They all have a similar floral elegance about them without the sour Latakia to adulterate the flavor. If you like a little more English in your Oriental then Yenidje Highlander is what you want. Otherwise, enjoy the sweet bouquet (not cased) of fine ribbon-cut Yenidje in the above.  I personally feel that Tudor Castle is still a better flavor overall and I prefer the broken-flake presentation as it slows the burn just enough to relax by.

How much should you spend on a pipe?

Mac Baren Virginia Flake Impressions

Mac Baren Virginia Flake

Nice stuff. It's a mild smoke that burns as hot as any VA flake. It doesn't have the "tea leaf" flavor of Orlik's which isn't a bad thing. Very reminiscent of Dunhill Flake.

If you like VA's, then this is already in your rotation. It is good. Not outstanding so if you happen to see it on sale, pick some up, but you won't miss anything if you go straight to any other VA flake.

I still prefer Orlik and Dunhill over this. Boston 1776 still stands out at the most sublime VA I've ever had.

McClelland Jubilee Tobacco quick note

The best English blend I've had yet! This is what I hoped Elizabethan Mixture would have been (yuck). Mild with all of the notes that one expects of an English blend. Good job McClelland!

Sutliff Private Stock Black Swan Review

Sutliff Private Stock Black Swan

I received a tin of this unusual blend from the Pipes and Cigars customer reward box (see my youtube video). I finally got around to smoking it and...WOW! I'm not sure it's even tobacco.

Imagine, if you will, a dessert tobacco! Yes, sweet. Creamy. Vanilla. Caramelly and almost edible.  The image above is what the blend looks like. Black, through and through. It is about as far away from Virginias as you can get.

I'm not one for sweet blends, but this is amazing! Like any treat, I'm sure it's easy to have too much of it, but right now, it is a good break from my "serious" tobaccos.

Thumbs up!