McClelland Dominican Glory Maduro

DGM is the first cigar blend I've tried that gets it right. As MDP in his excellent review points out, this cigar blend does not have any latakia, which I believe is the secret to its success. In the cigar blends I've tried, the smokiness of the latakia works against the distinctive tones of the cigar leaf, destroying the harmony of the constituent elements. McClelland was inspired to stick with virginias to complement the cigar leaf, and they produced a masterpiece.

The maduro is present in exactly the right amount, a darkly sweet condiment with just the right amount of tang to complement the other flavors. Indeed the balance is perfect between the maduro, the red virginia, and the stoved virginia, each one singing its own melody, yet always singing together in harmony. (I suppose I would consider this a most contrapuntal blend!) It's a lovely experience.

Which means that this is not a blend to smoke in passing, because it's not that enjoyable if you're not paying attention. This is something to be sipped and savored slowly and with some concentration. You don't drink a dignified Islay malt like it was a watered down J&B. (Or, to carry our music metaphor further, if you're going to listen to JS Bach, listen to JS Bach...)

I know from experience. My first few bowls were a marvel of flavors. As I started taking the blend for granted, it lost its magic as the flavors blurred together into something a bit too sharp, even unpleasant and bitey. That's because I sped up my smoking rhythm, treating it like a drugstore blend to be huffed. Once I slowed down again and gave it the respect it deserved, the magic returned. Basically, if you do not approach this blend with the respect it warrants, it will not respect you in return.

Not recommended for a mindless smoke; Highest recommendation for a mindful one.

I cannot disagree with the tin description, as DGM delivers on all counts. I have smoked a fresh tin and five-year aged. Ten year old, 100 gram tins are waiting for a 20th birthday coming out party. I prefer this to the very good Dominican Glory. DGM is richer, fuller, and the flake cut makes for a cool, slow burn.

The five year old tin I am reviewing is spectacular. What an aroma wafted from the freshly opened tin! Curry more than ketchup, lively and warm, this was a great moment all by itself. Moisture level was just right to pack a bowl and go. I do not rub out the flakes, but organize them into a ready to burn nugget.

After a lengthy charring light, I let this sit for a minute or two and then fire for real. DGM is ready at the match with spicy and sweet flavors, but is still more savory than dessert. A creaminess developed five minutes into the smoke and the flavors kept migrating within a medium range of flavors- spice, tang, cream, leather, in and out. The cigar leaf is most pronounced in the aftertaste and side stream smoke. The room note shows the high quality tobacco and handling McClelland puts into their tinned offerings.

Like most Virginia flakes, DGM is best smoked slowly, tobacco just smoldering. This will DGT okay, but really not overnight for my tastes. I chalk that up to the cigar leaf, as other cigar-leaf pipe tobacco blends. I think part of the "glory" of this blend is that it does NOT have Latakia, as does just about every other cigar blend available. I like many such blends, but without DGM, there would be a large, sad void in blends.

A brief note on the fresh tin. Very similar flavor profile and aroma. Moisture level must be reduced from tactile moisture and the pipe packed a little loose. Really, both fresh and aged, this is an all-time favorite out of hundreds of blends smoked.

This is a great blend. As expected the quality of the tobacco used is outstanding. Dominican Glory Maduro exeplemifies the versatility of McClelland’s Virginias. How much this mixture tastes entirely unlike a cigar is what surprised me the most. In fact, to my taste the flavor of the maduro leaf is barely detectable. However, the cigar leaf does add a certain fullness to the body of the smoke. The red Virginias are sweet, toasty and tangy and combine perfectly with the deep earthy undertones of the stoved Virginia and cocoa notes of the maduro leaf. Each sip has plenty of flavor and finishes with a delicate pepperiness that lingers on the tongue. The aroma is sweet and the room note does not reek of cigar, instead it’s shockingly pleasant. The tobacco flavor strength is a firm medium and there’s enough nicotine in this to make me take notice. Dominican Glory Maduro is smooth, creamy, tangy and peppery, all in balance and expertly blended. In my books this is another excellent Virginia offering from McClelland, and though the flavor is fairly rich, this is a very good tobacco for warmer weather.

Now this is nice. It packs more punch than you would think and is a palate pleaser. I took a tin of this to my local pipe club meeting not too long ago and it was quite a hit, especially with the guys who smoke cigars regularly.

As for me (I'm not normally a cigar smoker), I found the blend to be delicious. I could taste the Virginia leaf, but the cigar leaf was the star.

This is a quality blend, cool and slow burning, and I believe it to be an outstanding way to please the pipe/cigar lovers out there.

If you like cigar leaf blends, then you have to give this one a try. Pricing is a bargain and stands up to Stogie, Habana Dreams, and other, perhaps, better known brands. The flavor is awesome, well integrated and full.

I was turned off by the infamous ketchup/vinegar smell when I opened my first tin. Fortunately, I took the advice of a PipesMagazine reader and let the open tin air - in this case for a couple of months. The smell diminished and the taste improved to 4 star level.

I haven't written many reviews for TobaccoReviews.com and you might notice the blends I write about recieve high grades. That is because I'm not motivated to write about blahh blends.

This is an interesting blend and a very good one to boot. To start with the normal disclaimer to McClelland blends. Yes it has that familiar scent. I think this may be important to those thinking that the Maduro would mask the scent. In fact, the Maduro presence to my tastes was hard to detect on its own merits, however, it did do enough to differentiate this from other McClelland Virginia blends.

If you do like McClelland Virginias, then this, I think, should be something you should try. It is taking the Virginia in a different direction, but it falls far short of a cigar blend where the cigar is more dominant. I would still consider this a Virginia blend first. I really enjoyed and will likely buy some more in the future. Although I didn't notice an appreciable nicotine kick, it only stands to reason that this would be stronger than the other McClelland blends. So this may also be a nice option to many who find McClelland to be tasty, yet weak on the nicotine.

I got this nice tobacco as a gift by my good friend Argyris ("Erinmore") from "pipeclub.gr - Hellenic Pipe Smokers Forum" who he gave me a tin of 100 grams and whom I warmly thank him a lot!

Broken flakes consisting of mature red virginia tobacco and stoved virginia tobacco and autoclaved by adding maduro leaf tobacco . By opening the tin I feel intense and pleasant a sense of vinegar. The well known ketchup taste of McClelland is present in a less tense in this blend.

This is a unique tobacco blend. In my opinion the "secret" is to be smoked with very a calm and slow manner and giving attention to realizing the "rounded" taste and complexity of flavors that can give us. So, sweet and pleasant notes of virginia tobaccos with a touch of sweet nuts, brown sugar and old paper and wood and earthy aroma but delicate also. It's quite creamy and full while the maduro leaves impart a slight peppery taste makes it actually look like containing perique tobacco. Not at all reminded me of the feeling of smoking a cigar. The partnership of virginia and maduro in this blend gives a tasty result, the basis is of the aftertaste of virginia tobacco with maduro adding a pleasant peppery taste that completes the mixture but without duplicating the overall flavor of the blend.

Maintains long after the opening of the tin a very good level of humidity. Lights easily and also burns and smokes just as easily. Moderate nicotine strength, it causes no tongue bite unless it is smoked very fast and nervously. It delivers excellent both in briar and in corn cob. Can be smoked throughout all day long. Does not wet the bowl of the pipe and leaves little messy in the filter of pipe. The room note when smoking it is pleasing.

Worth to aging this blend, I believe the aging will yield the greatest in this pipe tobacco.

It is one of the pipe tobaccos that actually deserves to be enjoyed by smoking it in a very calm way, and as about me, when I am smoking this tobacco, it relaxes me a lot.

In conclusion, Dominican Glory Maduro is a very good and enjoyable pipe tobacco!

3,5 stars out of 4.

What a pleasant surprise! This is really very nice. The reason I'm surprised is that I was totally unimpressed with the other closely named blend - Dominican Glory. One of the other reviewers commented that it tasted like it had some perique. There is something in the component seasoning of this blend that would justify that comment. Oddly enough, when I smoked this, after already being rather disappointed with the other Glory, I started off very skeptical ... however, one third through the bowl I was rooting for it. In fact, it has some similarity to St. James Woods ... except this blend is more suited to my tastes. Wonderfully balanced and tasty smoke.

Starts off very Red VA and then quickly settles down. The stoved VA married with the mature Red VA is an extroadinary balancing act and the mild peppery nuance (which one could easily think is a little perique) must be coming from the Maduro Cigar leaf and it is delightful. It doesn't require any special technique, it is tame with a wonderful taste and very pleasant aroma. I noticed no flavorings in this blend other than those imparted by the Red VA naturally. The smoke is slightly creamy and leaves the palate clean.

The nicotine is slightly less than mild but the flavor is not compromised since it is very tasty. It's complexity may be lost after a seriously spicy meal but nonetheless I wouldn't hesitate to grab this as a singular tobacco for a weekend away or a short business trip. The blend is mahogany in color and a broken flake. It smokes cool and dry and performs effortlessly just under a smolder.

I also recommend this to smokers that would like to experience some complexity in a blend that leans towards the mild side of medium and delivers very good taste and complexity even though it is sans Orientals. My preference is to smoke this earlier in the day when the palate is clear. Although as I already said ... you could grab this and smoke it exclusively for a day or two without kicking yourself. Terrific Stuff !!!

Cheers, VC

I really don't look at this flake as a "Cigar Blend".. To me, it's more like a virginia/perique with cigar leaf added in place of the perique. The cigar leaf is more condimental in nature - it's added for a bit of zing.

And zing it does. I agree with the other reviewers here, the Maduro version is much, MUCH better than the regular DG. To me, the cigar leaf adds a smoother dimension to the VA than does perique and given the tendency of McClellands "vinegar" virginia mystery, the smoothness of the cigar leaf offsets the vinegar twang.

The blended maduro adds enough body to make the virginias round and full without dominating. Like most everyone else I expected this flake to taste like a Hoyo Oscuro and was initially disappointed. My disappointment didn't last long because here was a darned good VA flake that was rich in flavor, had some depth and didn't bite. It's the Maduro cigar leaf that does the trick. Very well done.

One of my favorite McClelland flakes. Buy a couple of tins and let them age for 3 - 5 years. You'll be rewarded.

If one wants a cigar in his pipe he can readily go to the Tabac Manil Semois buchons ...literally. So while choosing Dominican Glory Maduro I wasn't looking for a cigar in my pipe, I was just curious to try cigar leaf spiced tobacco.

Did I get any special cigar-leaf aromas though? Yes, I think so. There was a nutty and leathery or even rubbery (not burnt, no screeching tyres here) aroma in the smoke which most certainly comes from it, but far from coming close to smoking a cigar in a pipe, it seemed to lack the intensity the addition of cigar leaf suggested to me. This tobacco was rather closed or tight, not giving as much aromatically as I was expecting. Flavours were a little subdued and the smoke was not very sweet either. So although this is a nuanced tobacco, it's not very forward aromatically. The broken flakes, which are always a joy to toy with, were somewhat damp, but even when I dried them I did not see much difference. In any case this is not a casual smoke, it needs some attention, even if it does not reward it fully.

As to the notorious McClelland's tin note, it is vinegary yes, but apart from the facUpdatt that I do not buy tobacco for the tin note, it's actually very pleasing to me, and in this case it was also enveloped in a beautiful nutty honeyness.

Now if there is one thing which this tobacco excels at, is in its burning qualities. After lighting it almost goes through the end of the bowl without needing any relight, it burns slow forcing you to sip, it burns evenly and dry to the end leaving ...a powdery white ash which is very nice to look at. And only at the very end does it become somewhat bitter.

So, while DGM is obviously made from a top grade leaf, I could not get as much enjoyment out of it as I wished. After finishing about half the tin, I gave up hoping and jarred the remainder on the prospect of better days. If my intuition is right, this tobacco needs cellaring. So, I recommend it somewhat for what it is now, but quality-wise this is a three star tobacco at least, and I hope that one day it will show.

Update 20/3/2017: I opened the jar where I had stored the tobacco for nearly five months to be greeted with an intense tangy vinegary smell, typically McClelland otherwise, which I found fabulous. The broken flakes rubbed out with ease and I let them dry for a little while as I thought right. It lit with ease and soon I realised that Dominican Glory Maduro was in for a radical reappraisal: this time I found it significantly better: A medium strength smooth Virginia with perfect burning qualities, nuanced and flavorful with a wonderful sweet spiced note reminiscent of nutmeg or cinnamon and maybe a subtle and delicate vague cigar leaf note. Absolutely delicious! Definitely four stars now. Reappraisal might have to do with myself only, but I guess the short cellaring did some good to this tobacco helping it open up significantly. Yet if you're looking for a robust cigar taste in your pipe tobacco I can recommend other blends (i.e. C&D's Burley Flake#3, Captain Earle's Honor Blend) and not Dominican Glory.