McClelland Bayou Slice

(3.39)
Sophisticated small slices of the smoothest Louisiana perique aged in cakes to mellow with sweet, zesty matured Virginia. Rich and satisfying, with perique's uniquely mysterious and compelling aroma, enhanced by Blakeney's exclusive toasting process. "Choose Blakeney where toasting bans the bite for a smoke that's right"
Notes: McClelland introduced their Blakeney's Best line at the 21st CORPS (Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers) Pipe Show in Richmond, Virginia. The 50 grams tin was released to the public in late 2005.

Details

Brand McClelland
Series Blakeney's Best
Blended By McClelland Tobacco Company
Manufactured By McClelland Tobacco Company
Blend Type Virginia/Perique
Contents Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging 50 grams tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.39 / 4
17

10

3

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 31 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 12, 2012 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Bayou Slice IMHO is one overlooked VaPer. Bayou Slice is a wonderful combination of matured Virginias perfectly balanced with a perfect amount of perique for my taste. The tin that this is based on is a few years old, so keep that in mind. The usual McClelland fermented smell is there in its glory, but to me it isn't relevant. I prefer to fully rub it out and let it get bone dry. When prepared this way, I find the BS performs at its best. It's sweet, but not overly so and has just the right amount of pepper to balance it out. It is my favorite VaPer from McClelland. It won't replace Escudo in my rotation, but it is well done and should be a staple in any VaPer lover's cellar. Highly Recommended.
18 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 14, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The matured Virginia offers deep tangy fermented stewed dark fruit and light citrus in addition to a little grass and a fair amount of earth. It’s the major component. The Louisiana perique is spice with deep raisin date and fig flavors. The nic-hit is medium and gathers a little strength as you go along. The “vinegar/barbeque” smell does translate to the taste a bit. Won’t bite or get harsh even if pushed. It may need a light dry time as it’s moist out of the tin. Well balanced, you notice every nuance in every puff. Burns slow, cool, clean and smooth with a very consistent taste all the way to the end. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. I suggest breaking up the fakes a little for an easier burn rate. The spice sweet, mildly smokey after taste pleasantly lingers. Not an all day smoke, but one that is repeatable.

-JimInks
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 26, 2008 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
McClelland's has landed another incredible tobacco with this one. Very similar to a standard in my rotation, the McClellands Bulk #2015 Virginia Flake. This one consists of small, broken flakes that rub out very easily. Nice "tang" to the virginias and the perique adds the proper amount of spice. Burns well and smokes easily to the bottom of the bowl, all the while developing more complex flavors. The richness of the taste probably means this shouldn't be smoked all day, but with all the wonderful tobaccos out there, McClellands and others, why would you... variety being the spice of life, and all that.

McClellands has never made a virginia based tobacco that I have not enjoyed thoroughly. For me, they are the ne plus ultra of virginia blenders. I'm less enamored of their orientals but I still have a few more tins to sample - Latakia Flake, Bombay Extra. But if a virginia flake with perique is your cup of tea, don't miss this one.
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 21, 2011 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
As Virginia/Perique combinations go, this is probably one of the better ones out there. I enjoyed the pungent aroma of this one from the moment I popped the tin and took a whiff. The broken flake can be further rubbed for a more even burn and the smoke was very cool and dry. Perique lovers should give Bayou Slices a try. The lemon Virginia puts the pucker meter at the middle of the scale and it adds refinement and body to the peppery Perique.
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 04, 2009 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
Tin: A cross between the classic McCethup signature and sweet ripe fruit, the odor similar to Acadian Ribbon, plus a VA background. Dark chestnut hue composed of brown-black to tan broken flake that could be compressed and sticks together, though leaving no residue on the fingers. The tobacco averages 1x1/4x1/8 inch "guillotined slices ready-to-rub." Date stamp on bottom: 730306 means it was tinned in 2006.

Prep & Burning: Rub the flakes out well, into small pieces. Lights and burns well. Took three relights. When left out to dry, it was almost completely dry in 45 minutes.

Taste & Aroma: On first light, it is a mellow, vaguely sweet, zesty matured red ribbon. About 1/4 of the way down, perique becomes quite evident, pungent, musty smoky, and truffle-like. From then on, it is VA tang interspersed with the sweet ripe fruit note, mingling with perique mustiness.

Don't know if it is the "classic Blakeney where toasting bans the bite...", but after multiple bowls of BS, there is some tongue bite towards the end of a bowl which may be just plain heat drawn up the stem.

Nicotine: Medium to strong perique queasiness

Overall: A VAPER in which the perique is strongly noticed, actually rather strong in perique. If you are in to VAPERS, 4 stars.
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
OSR
Jun 12, 2015 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
I've just popped open a 10 year old tin of this fine Va/Per flake and the tobacco is dark brown, mottled with black, and covered in aged sugar crystals.

I fully rubbed the flaked into bits and let it dry for 10 minutes before filling my pipe. The lighting char produced full, toasty Virginia flavor with almost a chocolate pepper flavor. Magical!

Nothing quite like this exists on the market. Tasty all the way down with more richness towards the bottom. Toasty goodness, whatever it means. No edge of harshness anywhere - fine and mellow with plenty of flavor. This is arguably the best VA/PER blend I've smoked.
Pipe Used: Eltang
Age When Smoked: 10 years old - Original Run
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 26, 2013 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Visually, this tobacco presents very similarly to two other McClelland VaPers: Beacon Extra and St James Woods. Lovely, dark broken flake. And like it's cousins, also shares that signature McClelland tin note. Lights easy, burns well. Smokes very dry relative to the moisture level of the broken flakes in the tin, and drier than it's cousin blends. Perhaps due to this toasting process?

I would describe this blend as a milder version of Beacon Extra. A fine tobacco, but not one that jumps out in this crowded field. And that's a shame, because this is a very good, under-appreciated blend that deserves wider recognition. A good choice for the regular VaPer smoker- just don't expect to be overwhelmed. Rather, expect to be pleased. And isn't that what we're after? Pleasure? After so many "in your face" Perique blends, I find myself enjoying and respecting Bayou Sliced. I'm not sure what the toasting process is, but it definitely mellows and smooths out the smoke. The Virginias are very tame and well-behaved in this one. And the McClelland VA tang is deep in the background by mid-bowl. Overall a fine VaPer blend.

Like most McClelland Virginias, improves dramatically with some extra-extended dry time. Like most VaPers, improves with age.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 25, 2015 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
If you like mature VA's and have not tried this blend yet you are in for a treat - McClelland knows VA and this is yet another confirmation. Typical Mcvinegar fragrance on opening. Rub out gently and let air on paper for an hour, pack inverted. At first the Perique steps forward with a burst of pepper, then comes the mature VA - graham cracker sweetness, a hint of hay, and pumpkin-pie spice and mellow sweetness. Every now and then the Perique pops up but never overwhelming. From mid- to end of the bowl nothing but sweetness and smoothness with occasional accent of Perique which maintains interest. I don't know if it is the 'Toasting' or just the selection of premium VA but this blend is smooth and velvety to the very end with no bite. A truly delightful smoke with that pleasant, sweet VA room note. Flavor profile and room note remind me a lot of Solani Silver Flake #660 but without the slight edge I get from the Kentucky in Silver Flake.
PurchasedFrom: Pipesandcigars.com
Age When Smoked: 1 year
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 13, 2014 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
Blakeney’s Best – Bayou Slice is a very nice, well ballanced Mature Virginia and Perique.

Upon opening my 2 yr-old tin, I was greeted with a pleasant hay and earthy aroma that has a very faint sweetness that is difficult to name (no topping though, just the perique hinting at figs).

The tin calls this “sophisticated small slices of the smoothest Louisianna Perique aged in cake to mellow with sweet, zesty Mature Virginia …” I fully agree! The sliced flake are about ¾ inch long and ¼ to 3/8 inch wide. They are “Ready-to Rub” however I found that they were at a perfect moisture content straigh out of the tin and packed well in my pipe without rubbing which allowed them to burn nice and slow.

Charing light greated me with a smooth and rich flavor of a well aged MV. This continued through the first third to half. As the second half of the bowl was reached, the Perique came in with a light peppery flavor that was an enhancement that complimented the MV and gave a nice enjoyable smooth smoke with many subtle falvors; I even caught a passing taste of chocolate.

For those concerned about the Perique, I would say that this blend is more MV with a gentle use of a well behaving Perique that enhances the blend bringing a nice flavor profile that is very enjoyable with No Bite. The room note is plesant … my wife says it is nice.
Pipe Used: Several - Worked well in all sizes
PurchasedFrom: EBay
Age When Smoked: 2 years old
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 31, 2005 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
This tobacco was passed out as a freebie at the recent 2005 Kansas City Pipe Show. I've just gone through three bowls in two days and it's solid.

The broken flake breaks up easily. It lights and stays lit easily. It is easy to detect the various leaf, including the Perique which doesn't wallop the palate. Instead, I received just a gentle kiss of that Louisiana product which was added in masterful and delicate pinches.

A little light for me to consume regularly, but still powerful enough to demand some attention every now and then.
5 people found this review helpful.
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