McCranie's Red Virginia, Vintage 2011

I recently smoked my first tin of this tobacco, and feel that it deserves to be reviewed. To give you a little background about myself, I grew up in the historic, Little Dixie region of Missouri, and started smoking pipes as a very young boy back in the 1940s. This year, 2017, marks my 70th year of pipe smoking. I have smoked several thousand pounds of straight Virginia, burley, and perique tobaccos and blends over those years, and feel that I am somewhat qualified to make this recommendation. McCranie's Red Virginia, vintage 2011 is an excellent example of a single-crop tobacco, which I heartily recommend to any smoker who enjoys straight Virginias. It has the softest feel of any tinned tobacco I've ever smoked, packs and lights easily, and gives a consistently mild, but rich and flavorful, smoke to the bottom of the bowl. Having had the pleasure of smoking several, superb Red Virginia vintages throughout my life, I can't honestly say that this tobacco is "the softest, most enjoyable red Virginia we've ever smoked," as is stated on the McCranie tin. Unfortunately, my memory of older tobacco vintages and memorable smokes from years ago no longer serves me well enough to make such comparisons. However, I can definitely say that McCranie's Red Virginia, vintage 2011 ranks right up there with the very best, red Virginia vintages I have ever smoked. And that, for me, is saying a lot. I believe that anyone, who truly enjoys straight Virginia tobaccos and Virginia blends, would be doing himself a real favor by trying this particular tobacco.