A New Pipe and Three Oaks

I love the cob. Perhaps it is the dog days of august, the heritage of being an American pipe smoker with what I view to be the most thoroughly American incarnation of pipe smoking. Mark Twain, General MacArthur and so many others have seemed to enjoy this wonderful vehicle for tobacco, and so do I. So on my trip down to Denver I bought a "Country Gentleman." Unfortunately the bark was not included, but I would have loved to have a bark pipe stand! I like the straight stem and I am certainly working my way up to either a "freehand" cob or a MacArthur cob. However, I can hardly find time to finish a bowl in my general cob so that may have to wait. Either way, great smoker, no surprises.
On top of the fact that I love the cob, I also love McClelland tobaccos. Frog Morton being previously reviewed and much loved, this is another Latakia blend by MacClelland. Note: I got the yellow one (syrian latakia) not the white one. Tin description:

Rare Syrian Latakia, with its renowned mellow smokiness, is balanced with naturally sweet Orientals and aged Virginia leaf to create a satisfying blend reminiscent of classic Syrian Latakia blends of old. Formulated by Tad Gage to reflect the character of original Three Oaks Pipe Tobacco, it tantalizes with intriguing differences.

So, you can pick up that this is a "copy blend". It seems like there is some satisfaction in saying things like "I hate copy blends" or "I normally don't like copy blends." However, none of those things would be true. I have never tried the blends they are trying to copy, so I have no gauge for that. Furthermore, I think it is funny that people have a problem with blends that seek to replicate a previous blend. Musical concerts are filled with pieces that have been done well before and we seek to do them well again. I don't mind in the slightest when a brewery attempt to recreate a recipe that they have loved. It seems quite natural to attempt to attain something similar to a great blend of days past. In fact it seems to me to be a rather noble goal. Just like making seeking to make a new blend is a noble goal.

That aside, this tobacco is a great smoke. Delicious. It is my impression that McClelland has a distinct edge when it comes to Virginia tobaccos and virginia blends. I still have never been bothered by the "ketchup" smell, but it does have that nice "McClelland Aroma." In comparing it to Frog Morton it has all of the same advantages of the great virginia tobaccos, and more latakia taste. Where I would give Frog Morton to a first time tobacco smoker and recommend it to anyone who was interested in testing out some English blends, Three Oaks seems a bit more specialized, less accessible. It is nice and full, sweet and spicy. Not too strong, and worth smoking. I don't know if I will buy more when it's gone, but I haven't regretted it for a shadow of a moment.

Frog in Your Throat?

I picked up 100 g of my old favorite Frog Morton on my trip to the big city last week. This baccy is an always beloved, never disappointing favorite for me. There is some latakia, and a nice dark set of earthy flavors. I have been told that there is a vanilla topping in there somewhere, but I taste only sweet earthy, light, english goodness. This tobacco is good in much the same way that Dunhill's My Mixture 965 and Rattray's Black Mallory are good. After smoking them it makes it hard to imagine a world in which they did not exist. Well worthy of their massively publicized reputation.

It has been said of a good story line that the end should not just "make sense" but that it should be inevitably. It should bring us to the point of saying, "Of course it had to end like that, there was simply no other way." Frog Morton is a tobacco like that. It is enjoyable story, with high points and deep intrigue ending with a simply inevitable ending bringing both pleasure and challenge. Truly fantastic.

The merits of the tobacco aside, the merits of the tin art are not something to be scoffed at. For some reason the frog is a perfect mascot for the pipe. Though I know not why. Let's examine some examples and see if anything comes to be more clear.
Frogs do have a particular way of looking dapper, and distinguished. Yes, they are a bit fat, but they are supposed to be. The pipe seems to fit very well with their distinguished image.
This seems to confirm the "gentleman frog" ideal mentioned above. Even when talking about being broke, the frog still looks his best, even with nothing besides his full suit and what would seem to be a bayou churchwarden beyond any I have seen.
This frog reminds me of one of my life goals: to enjoy a bowl totally in the buff. The circumstances will have to be planned out correctly, as I am not able to smoke indoors. That aside, this frog brings about the congenial friendliness of the pipe that sits back on a toadstool and enjoys the day that is laid out before him.
This gent seems in no way arrogant. I must admit, suspenders do something grand for most any outfit (including a barrel), and this is no exception. I love the clay pipe, and the way the artist seemed to catch the upward gaze of the frog in a way that is optimistic, but not obnoxious.
This curmudgeon brings a less flattering view, perhaps. But then we note the cane that seems to insinuate the dignity of age, and most importantly the animals rushing either to or from their doom behind him. We find this pipe smoking frog to be the only one in the picture with any bit of sense, and a look on his face that tells us that he is well aware of the fact. Perhaps this is the best picture of a pipe smoking amphibian, as it shows the world racing around in circles while the pipe smoker smirks and enjoys his moment!

And this was all my limited time were able to provide. I will always be blessed with the images of Richard Scary, many of whose animal heroes enjoyed the pipe. And think that other pipe suited animals would be bears, river rats (thank you Wind and the Willows), owls, and certain breeds of dog. While other animals like snakes, foxes, small dogs and chickens are particularly unsuited to pipe smoking.

Another Evening with the Frog

I don't know that I have a favorite tobacco. I guess I just like them all so much that it's hard to make a definite choice. I bought a small container of Frog Morton tobacco not a week ago. I have been smoking mostly bulk tobaccos for most of my pipe smoking life. I have enjoyed bulk tobaccos a great deal and have often thought that trying anything else could be quite dangerous as I could then be committed to spending more money on an already expensive habit. Yet, so much about this tobacco called to me that I could not resist it any longer.

Things that drew me to this tobacco:

1) The Picture - I don't imagine that this is really the top draw, but I am confident enough in my superficiality that I can say that I just love the picture of this well dressed Frog having a pipe on a log and enjoying his little bit of latakia and cavendish.

2) The Reviews - The reviews that I have read and seen have all lead me to believe that a great number of people want to say something negative about this tobacco, but can't seem to find the words. The rest of the reviewers seem to enjoy it greatly and want to keep it around.

3) Room Note - I always smoke outside (I have not yet been able to win the battle for tobacco indoors) so room note means very little to me. What does mean something to me is getting kicked out of my bed for smelling too strongly of nice English blends. My wife has no taste, but I love her no less for that fact. Besides, it would be worse if she liked it, I don't think we could afford two pipe smokers in our household. The usual English bulk blends I smoke are half latakia. There's quite a kick there for the non-smoker to smell!

4) LOTR association - I am hopelessly in love with the world of Hobbits, Wizards and Pipes. So anyone willing to allude to Tolkien's work at least has my attention.

So, after all of the hype, what did I think. I gotta tell you, I don't believe a person can be truly objective, less so a pipe smoker concerning tobaccos. I know that if I put my mind to it I can enjoy anything from Captain Black to Prince Albert to Aromatics to Naturals...you get the idea. (I have to add the brief caveat that I really have never been able to enjoy cherry blends...cough syrupy. Ugh! But this proves my point more than anything. I try new cherry blends already scowling...not objective at all!) So I decided I liked this tobacco a week and a half before I smoked it when I was hearing it described. (The back of the can is great as well. It is written for someone like me...someone who wants to be drawn into their little world and pretend that a frog really spent four years putting together this perfect blend of tobacco for my enjoyment).

And can you imagine that I really like it? I do! The Latakia is nice and the blend is superb. I love the casing on the cavendish (my local tobacco source swears it to be vanilla...ok) The whole thing is rather nice. It is a nice slow smoke ( a 1.5 hr bowl tonight while reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) though I do have more relights than average on this one...especially near the end of the bowl. I can't decide what it is that sets this blend apart from the bulk tobaccos I usually smoke, beyond the obvious difference in the amount of latakia and presence of some aromatics. It just feels like there is an extra touch of care in it. I can't figure out how, why, or when, but I feel like that goofy little frog actually put some good time and heartfelt effort into blending this tobacco and I'm glad to benefit from it!