McClelland -- Frog Morton

Brand: McClelland
Blend: Frog Morton
Style: Aromatic/English
Pipe Used: Cob
Price: $7.70/1.76oz.

Appearance: 7
Taste: 6
Room Note: 6
Value: 7
Overall: 6

Much of the interest in pipe smoking among the younger generation is due in large part to the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" and the recent award-winning movie adaptations. Wise wizards, cheerfully brave Hobbits, and churchwardens stuffed with copious amounts of pipeweed provide a strong visual cue that pipe smoking just might be worth a try. So it shouldn't be surprising that there are many pipe tobacco blends that tip their caps to Tolkien either directly or indirectly.

McClelland's Frog Morton is one such blend that takes its name from a small Hobbit village in the Shire. I have to admit that it was a combination of the interesting name and the overwhelmingly positive word of mouth that convinced me to try this blend so I suppose I'm just as gullible to slick marketing as the next chap.

The tin I acquired was from 2007 so it already had a few years of age on it when I popped it open. The tobacco was a very dark black and brown ribbon-cut blend that gave off a nice aroma of dried fruit and smokey Latakia.

To try it out I loaded up my Missouri Meerschaum Missouri Pride cob and gave it a quick charring light. The tobacco started burning right away so I soon enough set to puffing.

There is some disagreement over whether the good Frog should be classified as an English or aromatic blend and I must say that the tobacco gave off flavors to support both sides of the argument.

The Latakia was discernible but not nearly as strong as in most English blends while the Virginias were noticeable but also a tad weak on the palate. There was also an obvious topping of some sort that wasn't overpowering but did give the blend a light, fruity taste.

And that's the flavor profile that stayed with the blend from start to finish. For my purposes I'm happy to call Frog Morton an aromatic English and that happens to be a sub-category of which I'm quite fond.

That being said the blend, while tasty, quickly became rather boring as none of its component parts ever truly shone. Frog Morton is first and foremost a mild blend and just didn't provide enough of interest after a while.

The room aroma was better than most English blends but the Latakia, while muted, still provided a bit of funk that's unlikely to be favorably sniffed by others.

Frog Morton was very easy to smoke as it came out of the tin at the perfect level of dryness and burned cleanly down to the ash with no fuss. That's one characteristic that's always appreciated in a tobacco blend.

McClelland's Frog Morton is a nice cross-over blend that might appeal to aromatic smokers looking to dip their toes into English waters but most experienced pipers will find it too bland to satisfy their yen for a true English blend. That's not to say that it doesn't make a nice change of pace smoke as it's a very well-behaved blend that isn't too tasking on an otherwise occupied smoker.

As a die-hard Tolkien fan it's a given that I'll eventually sample just about any tobacco with a Middle Earth pedigree. And while I didn't find Frog Morton to be all that interesting I'm already looking forward to trying his cousins On the Town, Across the Pond, and On the Bayou as a little added kick is just what this blend really needs.