Tobaccos McClelland - Yenidje Supreme (Grand Orientals)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-02-22		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

Once I got past my disappointment at the lack of any real immediacy of taste of the oriental leaf, I began to see the truth strengths of this blend. As another reviewer mentioned, when I want a heavier taste of oriental leaf, I'll fire up some Red Rapparee!

That said, this is a very solid virginia blend from the Masters of the virginia blend! It had quite a bit of the McClellands Bulk #5100 Red Cake flavor, with a slight added piquancy from the oriental. I found most of the oriental presence to be in the bouquet, which I found exquisite! I was constantly waving the smoke into my face so I could experience that great aroma. As for taste, this is what I would call a "steady Eddie", that doesn't noticeably develop down the bowl and isn't terribly complex. With so many excellent tobaccos out there, I don't know if a repeat performance is in the works with this one, but I'm very glad I smoked a tin of it. If I ever do try it again, I may add some blending oriental to it, or perhaps some perique.

Note: My tin is over two years old and I got the best results in a meerschaum. For what it's worth.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OleFattGuy (27)	2007-06-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have only smoked a few bowls of this, but couldn't resist being the first to review it. If I change my opinion I will update. I have seen it happen before, so I hope you don't mind. Anyway, got this as I bought the entire series of GrandOrientals from McC. Ripped it open to sniff and got a noseful of that vinegary catsup smell for which McC are renowned. It was a heterogeneous mixture of what I can best describe as medium brown to black broken flake mixed with thin yellow shag, no greens. Took out an unsmoked meer to really taste it pure. I put some pinches out on a sheet of paper to dry for ten minutes before packing the bowl two-thirds full. It took some fiddling and a few re-lights to get it to burn, and the first impression was very mild - almost bland. I puffed slowly as taste began to build up, some sweetness but dry. After a while I felt a need to tamp it and as I did so the tastes began to come through - more in the taste department than in the smell, so I French inhaled to get some more of that, and suddenly I recalled - Camel? Only more distilled or concentrated, a sweetness mixed with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and cumin! At first this seemed quite low in nicotine but that would soon change, though never overwhelming. The smoke is remarkably 'thin' but tasty - delicate! After a while I tamped again and now the tastes got deeper, still fresh but with a real 'tang', more creamy and with the slightest hint of bitterness to it. No bite whatsoever, a delightful tobacco. It has a slew of spicy aromas, sour yet sweet, and quite intriguing. It smokes dry and cool without gurgling and towards the end the nicotine is showing a bit more. I am lost in a meditative, dreamy mood when all of a sudden it is over. A medium grey mottled ash is all that is left and it falls out of the bowl without resistance. This is a great Oriental unadulterated tobacco and I give it a full point!

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-09-12		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

A mixed cut of dark chestnut, brown and nearly black broken ribbon mixed with fine, nearly shag cut olive to tan hued ribbon. The tin nose is fragrant with a pleasant combination of sweetness and spice along with a fleeting sharp note which is slightly citric in nature. Due to the fine cut, the mixture packs and burns with relative ease and presents very little in the way of trouble in just about any pipe.

Sitting atop what seems at times to be a rather overdone base of matured Virginias (including a sizable helping of stoved leaf), the Xanthi is noticeable but much to the chagrin of this reviewer never dominant. Dry with hints of blanched almonds and allspice, while at times the blend presents notes which are ever so slightly reminiscent of the indescribably smooth and nutty flavor of the old Balkan Sobranie cigarettes (in the white tin of 10) or that of the equally much missed original G.A. Andron Turkish Specials (unfiltered of course) it is the character of the sweet, aged Virginias which stands out most of the time. In every dozen puffs, eleven are McClelland Virginia and one Xanthi – when it arrives it is good, but it should really not be so shy. On the mild side of medium bodied, the finish is thin and a bit sweet.

As a Virginia-Oriental blend, Yenidje Supreme is a pleasant, mild smoke, but as a showcase for this particular Turkish leaf it falls a bit flat. The sample on which this review is based comes from a tin dated to 2007. Growing increasingly bored, as this tin began to near its end this reviewer found himself adding a pinch of blending Izmir along with a small bit of mixed cigar leaf to each bowl so as to help things along (and what a pleasant combination it was!). To a certain extent this deficiency is understandable, for while upping the level of Xanthi in the blend and reducing the amount of the Virginia mixture would correct this, it would also most certainly up the price of a tin as well. From the manufacturer's perspective, that may well be a major issue. At the same time, however, in light of the theme of the Grand Orientals series and – more significantly the tin label description – one should expect to pay a premium, and this reviewer would be more than happy to shell out a price substantially more than other 50g. tins outside of the line for a chance to indulge in an explicit and unambiguous tasting of the featured leaf.

Overall, a quality preparation which is worth sampling, but one which is really not much in the way of a keeper in terms of delivering what it promises. In this case, it is really too bad that McClelland did not take the risk, financial or otherwise, of producing something which could have been truly special.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2008-05-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I'll second the olefattguy!

I will add that this wonderful blend will perform at a much higher level once dried out to the point where it is just slightly less than crispy. Try that to get the full flavor bursts much sooner than later.

Again, the olefattguy stole my thunder with his report... Nothing left for me to say... That may be a first. (-;

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-09-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

The reviews by PuffDaddy and PeterD are spot-on IMHO. Yenidje Supreme is wonderful, creamy, cool and smooth. There is something edgy about it, too, but not sharp like the Orientals in something like Balkan Sasieni or Crown Achievement (in its better years). YS makes me all the more anxious to receive my backordered tin of Yenidje Highlander.

Do not fear duplication from Embarcadero, as the yenidje leaf (spicy, creamy) is different from the izmir (soft, subtle spice) in Pease's newest. Embarcadero is also sweeter and more Virginia-tilted than YS. I chose to compare E & YS because they are both very recent releases and of the same genre.

Shoot, there has been a boom for blends with varietal Orientals this year: C&D came out with their Simply Elegant line of blends, McClelland with their Grand Orientals, Mac Baren with HH Virginia and Pease with Embarcadero. The barn doors have been opened once again for purchasing high-quality, Oriental varietals by "boutique" pipe tobacco houses.

What a fine time to be a tobacco pipe smoker!

P.S. I smoked YS in a Radice Silk 1/8 bent Billiard I spent Labor Day altering. Skip the rest if pipe mechanics are of no interest to you.

I filed-out a "Y" at the end of the stem and made the draft exit hole at the stem button into an oval. I funneled the end of the tenon and put a radius on the outside edge of the tenon. The draft hole in the shank was already clear from the factory, with an above average diameter.

This work removed a "whistle" in the stem and tuned an already fine smoker into a mind blower! I used the same packing method (the "Frank Method"), same blend, but enjoyed a cooler, dry smoke with incredible depth of flavor. Subtleties were revealed in YS previously unknown to my palate with the same pipe. No relights needed after ignition, either.

For me, this verified the principles pipe maker Jody Davis puts forth about unobstructed airflow (and going back further to Jim Benjamin, Jim Cooke, Jess Chonowitsch, S. Bang). A Benni Jorgensen ½ bent pipe I own has a slightly smaller draft hole diameter than the Radice (3.2mm vs. 3.3mm), but arrived new with clear airflow from bowl to button. It has a very thin bit and well-cured wood. The Radice was its equal on all points but for a too-severe taper through the stem and narrow exit at the button. Small tools and hour of patient work made a world of difference on a wonderful blend.

Apologies to the board moderator if this is too off-topic, but the pipe work made a big difference on how I tasted a very fine Mc Clelland blend.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	soteria (6)	2015-02-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The tin note of this tobacco is textbook McClelland, i.e. ketchup! I'm convinced that should McClelland ever tin dog excrement it will somehow end up smelling like ketchup. And the fact that such a pronounced ketchup aroma never seems to translate into the taste of their tobaccos verges on the eighth wonder of the world. There's some really bizarre chemistry/alchemy that's going on at the McClelland factory and I'll never quite understand it.

The good news is that this is a top notch smoke. Since this Yenidje version is the one that lacks Latakia, I was expecting a fairly tame, underwhelming smoke but I wanted to get a better idea of what Yenidje tastes like. To my surprise, this is a very interesting blend with a great deal of interplay and harmony with the component tobaccos.

To start, the Virginia tobaccos are very sweet. All too often the Virginias in many blends disappoint me. Instead of being characteristically sweet, they're often very hay-like and flavorless. Not the case with this blend. I checked the stamp at the bottom of the tin and there were six numbers, ending in 07. Another tin I bought (Yenidje Highlander) ended in 12. Is it possible that the last two numbers indicate the year it was produced? I'm not sure but if the tin is actually new and not from 2007 I can only imagine how much better the Virginias will taste with some age on it.

The Yenidje and whatever other Orientals are present add complexity and take this blend to another level. They provide a good amount of tanginess and nuttiness that balances the Virginias superbly. Most of the non-Latakia blends I've smoked just seem to lack a certain smokiness and depth that I find myself craving. This blend, however, didn't need the Latakia. It delivers perfectly well without it and is never dull or monochromatic. I found myself enjoying the exhaled smoke as much as the taste. It has a wonderful incense-like quality with an underlying sweetness that was extremely appealing.

For me, pipe smoking is about quality over quantity. When I do smoke, I like experiencing a symphony on my palate. This blend isn't a 102 piece orchestra with every bell and whistle, but rather more like a nice chamber orchestra. And that's perfectly fine-it executes well and I'll be enjoying more of this in the future.

Purchased From: cup'o'joes

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tpatriarche (43)	2015-05-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

In one sentence, this is a perfectly good tobacco, but it in no way deserves to be called "Grand Oriental" or "Yenidje Supreme". The Yenidje almost vanishes in smoking, instead of being a strong top-note as one would expect from the name. This is what My Favourite Tobacconist would call a balanced blend.

On opening the tin, the charcteristic McC ketchup aroma was apparent, but doesn't seem to affect the taste of the smoke. I could smell the yenidje in the tin but barely taste it in the smoke. Mac Baren - HH Vintage Syrian has far more yenidje, even my local blender's imitation of Dunhill MM 965 has more. Instead the red-cake Virginia dominates the flavour. Oddly,the Yenidje is more noticeable in the room aroma.

All that being said, this is a fine, satisfying smoke, not too strong but very flavourful, with a fairly complex Makeup. It's just misnamed or badly marketed. I'm tempted to downgrade it to 2 stars for misleading advertising, but that would be unfair. It is not McC's best or most charcterful blend (I nominate St. James Wood for that place), but it deserves 3 stars.

Pipe Used: Carey System

Age When Smoked: Fresh in tin

Purchased From: 4noggins.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2017-08-20		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Its curious to read negative reviews of the grand oriental series. Maybe I should say frustrating. These are superb blends. What they are not is terribly strong. But oriental leaf is not meant to be used in strong blends because they just get submerged and lost. Unless of course you pile on the condimental leaf. And that is not the purpose in this series. What I find with all of them (and smyrna or samsun might be my favorites but i like all of them) is that they are mild but complex, of the highest quality, and meant for reflective times. Now...they also serve as great all day smokes IMHO. I smoke them that way a good deal. The oriental gives the tin smell a magic quality. Its the best tin notes Ive ever experienced in fact. The nic hit on Yenidje is mild...but not super mild. There is for sure some nicotine in there. No bite...never ...and for ribbon cut its a cool slow burn. I wonder if they might eventually provide flake versions...that would be great. But if you smoke Macbaren burley or drugstore blends, then no, this is not for you. The Yenidje Supreme is milder than some of the others, but the flavor is medium. McClelland has the best virginia in the business and all of these demonstrate that. This is naturally sweet (Virginia) with subtle woodsy slightly pungent sour notes. All told a clear 4 star blend.

Purchased From: 4noggins

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Perique (163)	2016-02-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Yenidje Supreme presents as medium brown ribbon wIth a smattering of lighter brown. Tin note is slightly sweet, plummy, dark chocolatey, with hints of stewed fruit and light exotic spice. As with most Orientals, YS arrives at just the right moisture content and is immediately ready to smoke.

The charring light is peppery and spicy, quickly producing volumes of grey plumes with a smokey room note. From the true light onwards, YS is black pepper on the tip of the tongue, spicy, with a somewhat sharper and smokier taste than most blends featuring some generic "Turkish". Like all good Orientals, the burn is fast but never hot, very dry-smoking, with no bite. The flavors of this Basma (more specifically, Xanthi) blend are very consistent throughout the bowl with black pepper and spice predominant.

There is some sweetness from the Virginia, yes, but I'm clearly in the minority here in not picking up sweet flavor as dominant in this blend (though there is a subtle plum backdrop to this otherwise spicy formulation). Despite not being a raving fan of McClelland-style Virginias, the strong Basma masks and blends with the Virginia very well and I really enjoyed this blend. Exceptionally well blended and consistent. A very good Oriental, though not my favorite of this series. What it has going for it is smoothness and, as such, could be an all day smoke for those who enjoy this style of tobacco. While many refer to Oriental tobaccos as lighter in nicotine, I found this blend fully satisfying.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	crazy owl (74)	2016-01-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Extraordinary exhibition of the art of blending:best oriental leaf,magical Va both together in the exact proporcion.Nothing more and nothing less.Intensity,strength(What are smoking people who call this mild?),flavour and nicotine,not a little.I´m afraid of typical Va biting but after smoking this fabolous blend I´ll try the famous McClelland´s virginias.To be a little punctilious I´ll say that the peculiar aroma from Yenidje is almost the same of the sawn olive wood more than oil.In every case this doesn´t result after burning in a frying smell but it preserve the crude aroma from olive wood.In short a almost mystical experience,not for every day or hour.

Pipe Used: medium or small briars

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: smokingpipes

Similar Blends: Agonya but softer.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tleek (51)	2014-01-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

good blend. Oriental must and virginia sweetness. Definitely quality, and definitely brings out the best in this most interesting and complex oriental leaf. Almost cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove like with a sweet virginia base. the flavor is incredibly complex and hard to describe. The aftertaste is almost refreshing. A bit of a tea type taste with hints of mint.

I prefer yenidje highlander which is very similar but with a small amount of latakia, but this definitely does a better job at showing off the wonderful oriental tobacco which gives the blend its name

Similar Blends: McClelland - Yenidje Highlander (Grand Orientals).

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-05-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Yenidje adds a sweet and subtley herbal flavor. A unique treat found in many less than stellar blends, this is a blend that truly exemplifies the Yenidje (Xanthi) flavor profile.

A must try!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-10-19		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I was deeply disappointed with this entire series. I heard they were coming out with Oriental blends not Virginia blends with dashes of Oriental. I was all a twitter in anticipation waiting for them to debut, then when I got hold of the tins and ripped them open and sniffed it was felt like the time I took a facemask to the groin in junior high football. Virginias? faint smells of sugary top dressing? My heart sank as I loaded my first bowl. I tried to offset my initial disappointment by reminding myself that it was flavor and aroma that mattered. It is, and the blend (all of them) failed to deliver. The oriental is there and it teases, but the virginia base tobaccos overwhelm them most of the time. These are not the scrumptuos blends showcasing exotic and rare tobaccos that I hoped for. They are virginia blends that have been laced with precious oriental. McClellands has disappointed me, and I have been a big fan for awhile. They are behaving like a tease. The oriental shines through occasionally, but the blends tend to be too moist, smoke hot and taste predominately like rather boring virginia blends. What a waste of Orientals.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mithrandermeer (1)	2022-02-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Wish I had given this one a try when it was still in production - if I had a time machine I would certainly squirrel a bit away for the future.

Alas! This is a wonderful smoke. Buttery, smooth, and well-balanced with a delightful undercurrent of vinegary tang. The sour notes bring to mind Levant Mixture, though there the similarities end. Mild in strength but approaching fullness in flavor and aroma. Try it if you can get your hand on it! 4/4

Pipe Used: Meers of various shapes and sizes

Age When Smoked: 15

Purchased From: Pipestud

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drdave (17)	2017-11-07		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

To me this tastes absolutely nothing like Middleton's Cherry Blend. I said that just to grab your attention. And now just two more words: Exotic Masterpiece.

Pipe Used: Wilmer 3 star straight grain Tilshead Freehand

Age When Smoked: 4 months

Purchased From: Cigar and Tabak

Similar Blends: in a class of its own.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2015-01-29		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is a complex tobacco, quite fragrant, but to my tastes not as sweet as the other entrants in the Grand Orientals series. It has a pronounced peppery quality that is perique-like in its insistency. I found the smoke produced some minor irritation in my nose and mouth, possibly because of the famed concentration of volatile oils . Stronger in nicotine than I would expect from a notionally light Oriental. In my opinion this is a good example of why some Oriental blends cry out for Latakia to soften and broaden the experience, and accordingly I would never choose this tobacco ahead of its stablemate, Yenidje Highlander.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2012-03-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

A very mild McClelland with just enough Yenidje to flavor the blend without overwhelming the Virginias, YS is a beautiful example of Mac's Grand Orientals. It tastes so good, you won't mind the paucity of nicotine. A perfect morning smoke, without a hint of tongue bite, you can puff as hard as you like. YS is an ideal blend for the novice pipe smoker and a perfect companion to the veteran.

Although I wrote that you can puff hard as you like, I must qualify that statement. The favors in this blend are fragile and subtle. The slower you sip this one, the more you will get out of it.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Sampled from a 2007 vintage tin. Many have already described this blend's attributes better than I could. My first impression was that it tasted somewhat like Sullivan & Powell's Gentleman's Mixture Original and that's some really good stuff. This makes a pretty good Balkan with some Latakia blended in. I mixed a small amount of McConnell's Latakia with this and it wasn't bad at all.

I believe there is Red Virginia combined with the Yenidje in this blend. I like these Orientals for a change of pace. Sometimes, I might even fill the bottom third of a bowl, or use something like this to mix in a little flavor & tone down the finish of a very strong blend, or one that might be Latakia heavy. Anyway, there's not much I can complain about with this offering. I concur with most of the other reviewers...4 **s!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2009-01-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

very boring and one dimensional! i found very little to praise this tobacco for except for the honest tobacco taste and clean, complete burn. as i continued through the tin i had the same thought that others have expressed "it needs a little something more" so i tried adding a little blending perique- it did nothing for it. i smoke the whole tin but i assure you i will not go back for seconds.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	quantumboy (130)	2008-11-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Y'know that wonderful smell of dry oak leaves while you're raking your yard in autumn? Add McC's classic ketchup smell and that's the tin aroma. Very nice actually.

Straight from the tin it was relatively dry. I just carelessly crammed my pipe about half full and lit it up, and it burned perfectly. Upon lighting it's relatively mundane until the bowl warms up. After five minutes it settles into a nice smoky flavor but with the Virginias readily accessible - a good thing for me since I like straight Virginias.

It never gets really complex, but it's just a steady supply of mild flavor - a little VA sweetness mixed with a particular earthy taste I haven't experienced elsewhere (the Orientals obviously) and can't really compare to anything else. If you're careful and keep it cool this blend will reward you with a very interesting, relaxing smoke. Don't expect a big buzz, just mellow flavor for a mellow afternoon on the back porch. Three and a half stars...think we'll call it three.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth 69 (117)	2008-09-11		Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I think the McClellandization of this blend destroys whatever fine subtleties and character of this oriental leaf may have. This blend was absolutely flat and bland along with McC's characteristic acetic acid bouquet from the tin. It's an absolute shame and failure to treat, process oriental leaf this way but since it's so bland I suspect this oriental variety or quality may not have whole lot of intrinsic funky aromatic character that oriental leaf is usually thought of. Yenidje!Of coarse I'm thinking of Balkan Sobranie but there is nothing of character in this McClelland blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2008-06-13		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

What in the world do so many favorable reviewers see in this stuff? I find it to be a thin, shallow smoke with, in the worst sense, a bitter and raw green note that's way too prominent. The exotic tastes that do come through (cf. OleFattGuy's astute identification of cardamom, cumin, clove, etc.) I neither expect nor appreciate in a smoke. With so many good tobaccos out there why would anyone endorse this?

"Yenidje" is probably the Greek word for dandelion; and somewhere in Greece there is a farmer having a good laugh.

I just don't get it; must be a personal chemistry thing, or this is the wrong tobacco genre for me.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lochinvar (78)	2008-01-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Great stuff as are almost all in this line. Great blend for oriental lovers.This showcases the pungency of the oriental, while adding virginas to make it a well rounded smoke. THis and the samsun are the best in the range. Dry and pungent, great all day. I always have a tin of this going. Does well for me in large bowls and small bowls equally. Some have complained that the Oriental is not the clarion note in these blends (and I will agree in the case of Yenice Agonya). You must remeber that oriental is a condimental leaf, even if it is our favored leaf. It does its work like a good soldier and blends well with other tobaccos, unlike latakia which tends to be the center of attention, sometimes allowing the others to play. On its own it can be somewhat stringent and acrid. Sometimes there is a tiem for that though. If you jst want oriental, no virginia I would look into the Pipeworks and Wilke No 10 and the Peretti Oriental No 40. They do have some latakia but the taste is oriental. IF you are that dedicated you can pick out the latakia, I have...lord I'm an oriental leaf geek, and just have the oriental. I would stay away from th McClelland blending oriental, its just cardboard they found in Turkey.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-12-16		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Yenidje Supreme is a delicately flavored blend. It is wonderful. It is gentle on the tongue. I was expecting a bully blend that is full of dark virginia. Light brown tobaccos dominate the blend. It does have the McClelland's scent, but I never taste it.

I see this blend as an example of what this oriental varietal can do for a blend. It is not a showcase of oriental tobacco. What does it do? It brings out the spiciness of the virginia. There is a creamy nuttiness.

All of these flavors occur, while the tobacco smoulders evenly and dry, to a fine ash.

The cut of the tobacco is suited to any bore. It did not turn bitter nor burn unevenly in any different shaped pipes, I used. However, this blend should not be smoked after a heavier blend. Certainly not after an english or balkan blend. View this tobacco has a almost undetectable virginia blend. The gentle flavors put a smile on my face.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PeterD (91)	2007-07-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Both previous reviewers have made some valid points regarding this new product. While I didn't smell the customary "catsup" scent, that almost bland first 5 minutes was just a prelude to a delicate,fresh, slightly sweet smoke.

This is more complex that it first hints to be... intriguing, with some depth developing in the last half of the bowl. This tobacco is best "sipped"... allowing the flavors and aromas to mingle... meditative, to say the least.

Smoked in a group 5 straight billiard.

Highly recommended.

...a pipe is to be savored.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ChollyWheels (12)	2022-07-28		Very Mild	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

Reviewing disappeared tobacco is unkind, I'm going through my only tin, and will miss it when it's gone.

The leaf is mostly black or dark. The tin note is AMAZING -- if it wasn't such a great smoke I'd just sniff it - transporting to some imagined Balkan world -- Bond, James in from Russia with Love.

It smokes great too -- the reason McClelland's is so missed.

The taste improved after the tin was open a week. The flavor seems very Oriental to me (I'm no expert, but my idea of an excellent tobacco is Pertti's Tashkent).

I can never report "room note" -- I think that's up to the non-smoker in the room.

PS... Yenidje Supreme seems to benefit from a clean/ed pipe

Pipe Used: Savinelli grezza large bowl with carbon filter

Similar Blends: Not sure the age. The tin is stamped 620207 , Not sure where I purchased it. Pipestud maybe. (some vintage site).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2018-01-04		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was a bit of a disappointment for me. Tin note was signature McClelland VA, ketchupy sweet and spicy. The favor profile is that of a stoved Virginia blend with a hint of Oriental. The tin description leads you to believe you are about to embark on a magic carpet ride to the Orient not a ride in a pick up truck through rural North Carolina. Mostly quality stoved VA (5100?) bready, hay flavors, some sweetness form non stoved VA. A hint there of woody Oriental but it is masked by the overpowering VA profile. There is a nice toastiness to the flavor. Don't get me wrong, I like Virginia's and I really like McClelland Virginia's but I was looking for a more Oriental forward smoke from these tins. If you want another nice VA blend with some background Orientals, this is for you.

Pipe Used: briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: Mars Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	1979 (62)	2017-08-02		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

McClelland - Yenidje Supreme

A blend that is gentle, subtle, delicate.  Nutmeg, cloves, maybe paprika.  Not real deep but yet I quite enjoyed the variety of kitchen spice flavors.  A hint of the virginia twang and citrus, no hay.  Not wanting to say it's topped, but considering the slight clove type notes and sweetness a very light topping could be possible.  Very little nicotine.

Is this blend truly soo-preem?  I'm not sure.  I didn't get the sense that it put the yenidze on display as fully as it could have.  Still, the taste of this blend was memorable to me and it was worth spending the numerous relaxed bowls I had with it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2016-09-20		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Yenidje Supreme is, IMHO, an artful blend even though it somewhat belies its series title of “Grand Orientals” by being for the most part a Virginia based blend, only interspersed with a little Yenidje. Still the Basma component is ever-present but subtle. It is a delicate and elegant tobacco which was not made to impress but still its qualities shine through. Mellow and sweet Virginias are seasoned with nutty and sweetly spiced Yenidje (Basma) leafs creating a clean, dry, natural-tasting smoke with delectable honeyed sweetness on the palate and a slightly sweet and nutty aroma. Seems to contains fine ribbon cuts of differing widths from light brown to almost black and some shades in between. Tin note is also subtle but exquisite, nutty natural tobacco reminiscent of sweet spices with a hint of vanilla. It really makes me wonder if there is a very mild topping here, but it’s certainly possible there is none. Packs, lights and keeps lit with ease and burns to a fine grey ash. There is no bite however you smoke this blend, but slow sipping releases an intoxicating mellow honeyness that induces a drowsy delight…Room note for me is quite pleasant, and I also got some favorable remarks (not from the wife though – this has not happened yet…). Very natural tobaccoish, almost cigaretty in the most pleasant form imaginable. Actually, this blend being mild but flavorful is the first tobacco I use in the morning. Delightful but not overwhelming, with a medium nicotine kick and a welcome sweetness, it has a cigarette-like quality almost like the ideal cigarette I’ve been seeking (in vain) all these years I have been smoking them. It’s the second tobacco from the Grand Oriental series I taste, the other one being the Smyrna No.1 which I found slightly more pleasurable, but even this is a four star blend!

Pipe Used: MM corn cobs

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: McClelland - Smyrna No.1 (Grand Orientals).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ROTHNH (11)	2013-06-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just popped a tin of this stuff and I gotta say it delivers. This tin, too, though just received, was canned in 2007. It's just the right moisture and I don't find the ubiquitous Mickey C "ketchup" here (though I don't mid that at all in other blends).

It lights easily, smokes cool, is sweet and a little peppery (just enough, not too much). There's just enough Turkish Yenidje (Xanthi) in this blend and it never overwhelms the fine virginias. It's a mild smoke, but flavorful. It doesn't bite. The retrohale is nice. The room note, while not exemplary, is good and wife-friendly. Kind of reminds me of Balkan Sobranie 759 in a way, especially when the sweetness kicks in. Burns cleanly to a fine white ash.

If you like Orientals, without the lakatia to obfuscate the flavors, this virginia-forward blend is sure to please.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2010-08-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I find this to be an interesting blend. I usually like Orientals as a spice not the main player but I find this blend to be quite enjoyable. It has a burst of flavor from first light and it does not fade all the way down. Quite sweet and tangy but with a a creaminess as well. The leaves and buds of this blend are wuite small, making it very easy to load the pipe and light. I covers the brown color spectrum from very light to very dark in a fine ribbon cut. It has a sweet, musky almost perfumy aroma in the pouch, yet it does not have the perfume taste of any topping. It has a medium full flavor but no bite at all and for some could be an all day smoke. It has a pleasant but not great room note, would not offend anyone but would never get the yum aroma of a lot of blends. It smokes down to a clean powdery ash that it gray and black intermingled. Smokes very dry and is a great sipping tobacco to go with a drink. This tobacco does not gain anything down the bowl stays consistant throughout. I do recommend trying this one. Note: no Ketchup aroma with this one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2010-01-22		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

BriarChef and OlFatguy "hit the nail on the head" with their reviews. Although I have never been a cigarette smoker, Balkan Sobranie 759 was my 'go to' tobacco in college that introduced me to Yenidje, and I have never forgotten it. This blend takes me back to those days, only without the Latakia punch. Smoked this one in an old and wonderful Comoy Rhodesian which afforded my nose the occasional French sniff. Ambrosia! Enough said.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RMBittner (66)	2008-09-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This review is based on a 2007 tin, opened 9/2008.

I was actually reluctant to try this, because I found Yenidje Highlander to be such a transcendant experience. (That blend is glorious, in my opinion.) I was afraid this one couldn't compare.

And it doesn't, really. It's a different kind of blend altogether, with a softer Oriental leaf, more Virginias, and no latakia whatsoever.

Distinguished by a hint of McClelland's trademark Virginia flavor (which I find enjoyable but which some disparage), this is a straightforward Virginia/Oriental. Despite the tin copy, I didn't find the Xanthi particularly highlighted in the bowl, it's simply a soft Oriental presence throughout the smoke.

I kept thinking of other similar tobaccos as I smoked this one. I prefer this to Embarcadero, where I thought the Orientals got lost in the Virginias. (This is where McClelland's unique Virginia flavors help the tobaccos retain more of their own personalities, I think.) And while I enjoy a more-dominant Oriental presence -- as in Red Rapparee or Presbyterian -- Yenidje Supreme delivers a smoother smoke than either of those worthy blends.

Smoke it slowly, and give the blend a dedicated pipe while you're trying it out.

Bob

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-08-02		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

Back in the good old days Balkan Sobranie made exquisite cigarettes from Yenidje, packed in a metal tin of ten, the cigs were wrapped in the most beautiful paper I've ever encountered. Unlike most cigarettes, these had no "throat grab" and left an amazing, pleasant room note. These were very delicate smokes...unfiltered, but no where near the power punch of a Camel non filter.

This pipe blend reminds me of those cigarettes in every positive way. On infrequent and brief breaks from the kitchen a pipe was out of the question. These cigs filled the bill perfectly.

This pipe tobacco fills the same void: Delicate, interesting, subtle and refined. No powerhouse, and if you smoke it fast or aren't paying attention you will miss its many fine qualities. If you are looking for something English, Balkan or even Aromatic you will be disappointed. This is in a class by itself.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JEM (24)	2008-02-23		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought this tobacco to try something different and was pleasantly surprised. It has a mildly sweet and complex taste. It is not overpowering in any way. The tobacco is moist, lights easily and stays lit. It does have a slight ketchup smell in the tin that McClelland is known for, but not as strong as other McClelland tobaccos I've tried. I think this tobacco falls somewhere between Latakian and Virginian tobacco; closer to Virginian.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-02-09		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The tin aroma of this is Heinz, with lots of plum.

I used the Frank method to smoke this(and many ribbon blends). As usual it suited this blend well. The bowl burned nice and cool with no bite. The bowl burned fairly quickly.

There is a mild smoky, spicy flavor to this tobac that is quite charming, and there's floral hints in there that can't be denied. There's something else in there I can't put my finger on, but it reminds me slightly of an Italian brush fire smoldering during autumn in Tuscany. This is a very interesting, delicious blend I will add to the cellar.

Wonderful.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mo (81)	2008-02-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I will not usually buy something as daring as this. If it does not say Straight Virginia or the like, I wont part with my cash. I recieved this in a package from the one and only Mr Pipestud. I looked at the tin and rememberd reading about it on this site. It was when I opened the tin when I started salivating, as strange as it may seem, it kinda reminds me of Balkan Sobranie but without Latakia.

I regard myself a strange monkey as far as tobaccos are concerned, I only smoke Virginias. I only smoke Latakia blends about once every 2 weeks and VaPers about once a week. I have to say that this blend is now part of my menu of tobaccos. I will smoke it as I do Reinier LGF.

The taste is unlike any tobacco before it. If I had to make a comparison, I would probably say that this is what Balkan Sobranie would taste like if someone forgot the Latakia. This tobacco is very refined and cool with only hints of Yiendie nicely balanced. I smoke it for taste and not for a nicotine hit.

Mo, South Africa

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-01-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I tried McClelland?s Grand Orientals Yenidje Supreme yesterday for the first time. Here?s a quickie initial impression, based on only one bowl:

In the tin, this tobacco is a ribbon cut consisting of about 2/3 wider reddish-brown ribbons and 1/3 narrower, yellow-brown ribbons. The tin note is red-Virginia fruity, with a pleasantly sourish dry-spicy undertone, and a whiff of the typical McClelland acetic acid. It came fairly dry for a tinned tobacco.

I smoked this baccy in a Dunhill Root Briar 413 billiard. No group number stamped, but I think it?s a 3-4.

First light: the dry-spicy aroma came on strong, with not nearly as much sweetness as the tin note promises.

First half of bowl: the flavors intensified nicely, though all remained light and subtle. Some of the Virginia fruitiness started to come through, though it continued to play only a supporting role. I would characterize the developing flavor as one of cinnamon and possibly cardamom, with a slight peppery/wasabi component that tickled my sinuses most pleasantly. It had a curious but rather nice dry dustiness to it, like spices stored for a long time in an arid place. This blend has a strong resemblance to Just For Him?s Golden Cashmere, and Pipeworks and Wilke?s Gotham Court (if Gotham Court were made with no aromatic flavor additions).

I found the bowl a bit difficult to keep lit.

Second half of bowl: the flavor got even richer. There was a lot going on in there, but always in a subtle way. This is not a blend for mindless smoking. The flavors don't walk right up to you and introduce themselves with hands outstretched; you have to be the one to seek them out! There developed some hint of a woody note, but not that of a freshly-cut bole; rather, like the smell of some spicy tropical wood that has been cut into lumber and stacked for years. I?m only familiar with lumber from native trees of eastern North America, so the closest example I can come up with would be the incense-like smell of lumber cut from redcedar, a.k.a. Virginia juniper, maybe combined with the smell of sassafrass sawdust. Weird, I know, but as a former portable sawmill operator, that?s the source of much of my olfactory vocabulary?

Anyway, the bowl got a bit bitter at the end, but it smoked dry, with clean white ash and only a small bit of dottle left at the finish.

All in all, a most satisfactory purchase! I enjoyed the opportunity to get a good taste of a single variety of Oriental, so I will better be able to identify it in other blends. I emptied the rest of the tin into a mason jar to enjoy later, because I?ve got other open jars and tins I need to finish up. I?ll be curious to see how it smokes after a while in the ?cellar!?

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-12-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

McClelland is not among my favorite blenders. My sense is that on the whole, they produce good, but not great blends from better than average, but not superior leaf.

Yenidje Supreme is an exception. Here we have a blend that uses oriental leaf of the highest caliber in a blend that smokes cool, dry leaving only a trace of ash at the bottom of the bowl. I would recommend this blend to anyone with an interest in orientals, notwithstanding the few negative comments on these pages.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-12-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

First of all, when I opened the box, tobacco looked very dry. The ketchup flavor exists but it is very light. Probably the box was decayed, as Pipestud told me.

It is the first Oriental tobacco that I try and without being impressed, it convinced me to try more of this kind, cause their flavor is interesting. It is different. In the beginning it was sweet and light, gentle tobacco but as long as the fire was going towards the bowl, it got a bit heavy and bitter. At the moment, I cannot compare it with other Oriental but surely I was not that impressed as I was with Campanile Mixture. It didn?t warm up the bowl and burned dry till the end.

I smoked pleasantly the whole box, trying to discover and discovered NEW flavors, for me.

I will try later again, a maybe, better box and I will revert with an updated input

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Glorfindel (86)	2007-11-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Careful careful on extreme reviews (+ or -) of this tobacco! Unless you have tried other pure varietals of orientals - unadulterated with other leaf or flavors - give this one some pause and keep an open mind.

This is a very mild tobacco with a goodly amount of oriental spiciness and herbaceous aroma. However, it is not round or full bodied, yet I don't think orientals are meant to be.

Sometimes when I smoke it I find it to be very non-descript, difficult to get it to commit to any noticeable flavor or depth.

Similar to a VA? Well, kind of like a VA without the tang and round creaminess - the very thing that makes the smoke a pleasure.

All in all, I find this varietal to be rather unsatisfying but not a turn off either. Its charm is in it's ability to allow a dedicated pipe smoker to explore what a high quality, single-variety-oriental is like all alone - making your appreciation and palate more educated for future judgements (I think so anyway).

This variety doesn't age well once opened and exposed to oxygen. I suggest smoking the whole tin within the first 2 weeks for maximum enjoyment. I wish I had. Lastly, I loved the fresh tin aroma and flavor when first opened - high quality fermented leaf smell. No, its not ketchup folks.

I will buy this again, but I will smoke it quick once opened, my remaining portion will taking some effort to smoke up. Though I am looking forward to mixing some into a latakia-heavy blend to see what happens.

I expect Yenidje will make a great blender.

By itself this is a good smoke for the purist and pleasureable yet educational experience for all pipe smokers.

Worth a try.

Merry Christmas, Thanks, Glorfindel

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2007-10-15		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Another good one from McClelland new series. The humidity in the tin is perfect and the cut is pretty fine, therefore the packing and lighting are very easy. The first puffs are Virginia-dominated, with just a hint of the classic McClelland vinegar taste, then the Orientals come in and it's a wonderful explosion of sweetness and spiciness. The nicotine level is low, but it doesn't interfere with the pleasant feelings I had from this marvellous blend. The smoke experience is something I will describe as "creamy", borrowing from previous reviewers; never tiresome, always interesting and pleasant. No bite here, and easy burning. Top shelf

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-09-02		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not ever likely to be my regular, but as a change of pace it is very good. Slightly sweet and naturally aromatic but not from additives, only from the tobacco. No latakia noted.Cool and clean burning. Probably need to devote a pipe or two to this since the latakia in most of my blends interferes with the orientals.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2007-08-14		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Oh, what surprises this held for me! Despite an ugly tin and packaging presentation, (my opinion, anyway) this stuff rocks! I'm doing something I rarely do, and writing a brief review here since there are so few. Here it is, guys - you really need to buy a tin and try this. It's just a unique experience. when I'm a little farther along on this blend, I'll write an update. For now, this is (again) a totally unique and delightful smoking experience. Unlike anything I've ever tried before...sweet, quite mild, no bite, and a very unique flavor. It's almost a "clean" taste; some complexity, and always interesting. This is cool...here's a blend masterfully composed of tobaccos that I can't really even pronounce, and it's a McClelland blend that doesn't have that heavy vinegar aroma, which I just despise. It's creamy smooth, a grand change of pace, extremely intersting. Definite 4 stars. That "Queen of Tobaccos" name is not a stretch at all.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2018-11-28		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An ok, balanced VA blend, with the Xanthi/Yenidje adding light herbal notes throughout. If you want to taste the Xanthi without the other Orientals (and especially Latakia) this was a good blend to try, but even if it were still available, I wouldn't have bought more to cellar.

Note: also nice to meld this into some of the basic VAs to add some complexity.

Pipe Used: briars, cobs, and meers

Age When Smoked: 11 years +

Purchased From: 4 noggins

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2016-01-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

Disappointing! Perhaps the measure (amount) of Virginia, Maryland and Yenidje is not perfect (hit), but this tobacco is really flat, monotone, without character. You can perceive the taste of Virginia and also of Maryland but in this case Yenidje doesn’t make the difference. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2015-07-20		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Being new to varietal orientals I wasn't quite sure I would be able to distinguish the yenidje from the rest of the blend. I have previously bought bulk blending tobaccos of the spice persuasion (perique and latakia of various types) just for a proper reference point, which is something every pipe smoker should do to really start enjoying this hobby imo. The cut and quality of the Virginias in this blend remind me of black shag from McClelland's 221b series and like that blend this is a VA forward blend, and nobody does VAs like McClelland. If you are familiar with other McClelland VA blends you will pick up on the Yenidje rather quickly. Some have described it as piquant, sharp, citrus and all are applicable. It doesn't hit you but every 3-4 puffs or so, but I can say it is very pleasant. One reviewer noted the smell of the smoke right off the bowl as wonderful and I can +1 that sentiment as I waft it back and forth under my nose the whole time I'm smoking it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2014-12-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smooth, cool, creamy with an extremely pleasant spicy note. Burns well, fresh out of the tin, all the way down, on one light. The unique leaf is quite a find! 4*.

Pipe Used: Italian Basket

Age When Smoked: Tin Stamp 620207

Purchased From: P&C

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigCasino (27)	2013-12-01		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have yet to find Grande Oriental series that wasn't made from quality tobacco and this one is no different, the ribbon cut packs nicely, lights easily, and burns well, leaving the sweet taste of the yenidje on your tongue, I don't know if these blends will bite but you want to keep at it slowly as the delicate flavors seem to fade the harder you push it

Pipe Used: CassanoCanadian, a Big Casino Cutty

Purchased From: Alegheny Smoke Works

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peppino (74)	2011-08-30		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I smoked this in a Charatan HM and it was great. This a special tobacco that fits an unusual void. It has good burning qualities and a nice aroma, the sweetness arrives about mid bowl. This was also found in the 759 blend back in the day. The virginia can be tasted more than you might think, the yenidge add's a backround flavor and sweetness to the blend. So if you favor Va's this is one you should try for a change of pace. If your looking for something to relax and sip, this is one of those blends. Give it a try. A good tobacco that's great on the re-light! Leaves a good clean ash, one of my important factors. 4 stars

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Glade someone else taste's nutmeg in this, subtle. Tasty!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-07-31		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Torelable for oriental blend, not somethink special, very few amount of Basma leaf too much ketchap inside.. i prefare Smyrna No1 100% (Nikolas/Greece)

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-07-29		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nutmeg!

I can only describe the taste as delicate. And very sweet. It does require a bit of attention to catch the subtle nuances. The taste will shift periodically from yenidje to virginia, sometimes both and back. Rarely the stewed tomato of the tin note makes it through the burn. Nicotine here is... well, I'm not sure there even is any. Very pleasant flavor although sometimes I wish it was more of what it is. Smoking one bowl almost always leads me to smoke a second as I marinate in the just lovely taste of this blend. Nice change of pace for a fellow who generally smokes more potent stuff...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-02-15		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

A very disappointing blend to this reviewer's palate.

This one does have a very subtle, sweet taste but not nearly enough of it. As I progress thru the bowl, the question, "Is this all there is" keeps coming to mind.

I do like orientals but will look elsewhere to find a suitable blend.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2010-06-22		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is the one I like the most from the Grand Orientals line. It shares the common features of Orientals mixtures, but this one is a bit sweeter and the less flavored (just a slight ketchup taste). Oddly, I find it more similar to Black Sea Sokhoum than to Yenidje Highlander.

3.5 stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-05-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The other reviews here have covered this blend aptly. Sweet, mild, slightly tangy, flavorful, and an easy prospect to pack, light, and fry down to the depths of the bowl without the need to relight. Interesting enough to encourge me to fire up a second bowl consecutively. A memorable smoke that has earned its way into my rotation. This blend likes a wide bowl to develop its full flavors, and a tighter packing to burn cool and even. Although dominated by the classic, tangy McClelland's virginias, the presence of the oriental is undeniable, distinct, intriguing, and quite satisfying. Stays with you pleasantly for some time after the smoke. Sweeter and far more flavorful than the Agonya blend. Tangier and less sweet than Black Sea Sokhoum, slightly less fragrant than the impeccable Samsun, bolder but less nuanced than the delicate Drama and Katerini. It is immediately evident how well this particular oriental will blend with latakia, and I can distinctly taste this particular oriental in several of McClelland's English and Balkan blends. Three stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-11-03		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A subtle blend. The initial light up is satisfactory--a gentle Va. is all I detect at first. At that point it's a little plain for my taste. But about a quarter of the way in the oriental announces itself, not loudly but distinctly. It is present for the rest of the smoke, and it complements the Virginia nicely. This is hardly a powerful tobacco. Its elegance is the chief appeal. I smoke a range of different tobaccos: latakia, Virginias, cigar leaf, burley, and various combinations--I like them all, as a rule the stronger the flavor the better. Yendige Supreme is the exception. It's the mildest tobacco in my rotation, but it is so interesting that it will remain there for the foreseeable future. Four stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-08-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

One of the best orientals I've smoked.

The McClelland's usual sour smell, lots of smokers name it ketchup, adds a very particular flavor to this blend. I air dried the tobacco and smoked it daily one bowl after another. Will be a great pleasure to smoke it again as soon as possible. Here you can taste a very good quality of oriental tobacco blend with an unforgetible play of spices on your taste buds.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-06-23		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have two ratings on this blend...

For the first few minutes after the initial light or after a relight, until the burn rate stabilizes, this stuff is as foul as you can get... my simpletons description is green, sour and like licking an ashtray... so 1 star. Drying out might help here.

However... once the tobacco enters the 'zone' it can be smooth and sublime... so 4 stars plus here.

Overall I must rate it a generous 3 stars... as an enthusiastic novice I can't maintain the perfect temperature indefinitely and suffering through the transitions is painful.

My Grand Oriental, Sexy Seductress is Katerini Classic which I consider to be extremely underrated (good for me because that means I can quietly buy all I can afford and still expect that its in stock) I am definitly enamored with that classy lady!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Nick (74)	2009-01-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This one was a real dissapointment for me. It was a little over a year ago that I read all of the great reviews for this blend and I, "had to get some". It was a little pricey but you know how it goes, this is 4 star stuff and I, "had to get some". Well, here I am about 15 months later, I've consumed about ten pipe fulls, they've produced about eight headaches, and every pipefull has left me with the feeling that I smoked a pack of Camels and got lucky with an ashtray. The truth is IMHO of coarse, the first half of the pipe is not bad, slight Virginia sweetness, nice little aroma, but then instead of improving it all just goes to hell. My pipe turns sour and I feel like I'm licking an ashtray, and as an added bonus, that taste stays with me for hours. Oh yippie!

Am I stubborn, stupid or what ? When would you have stopped ? Lots of people like this weed,... but me,... I'm done.

Confessions of a tobacco junkie.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-06		Mild	Medium	Mild	Tolerable

How disappointing. I read the other reviews of this blend, and I was ready for an oriental hit! But this blend is nothing more than a cheap date. It's hot air, cat piss and catsup. If you like a lot of smoke with very little to no flavor, then this is your blend. Maybe I'm spoiled by the GL Pease blends, but come on... where is the flavor??? And Orientals? You have got to be kidding me!!! I had 2 puffs of Orientals in the whole bowl. If you want Orientals, try Charring Cross. I'll age this blend and hope for more (even though the can reads 1/26/07). 2 of 4 stars, and I'm pushing it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-05-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Where I'm sure it has its place, Yenidje Supreme is not in my rotation...as a matter of fact I will just go ahead and state that I have been totally unimpressed by any McClelland tobaccos. Generic and boring (generally as all McClellands are) I can't see this one being on the shelves very long. Nothing special at all grabs my senses with this. Although tangy and lemony I cannot-for the life of me-detect any Oriental spice that should define this pathetic, lifeless, mass of ribbon cut boredom. As stated in my previous review of Blackwoods Flake (also by McClelland), this reinforces my dislike and intolerance of an inferior product supplied by a juggernaut whose goal is to produce superior profit with inferior quality.

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