Butera Matured Ribbon

The lemon Virginia is citrusy with some grass/hay and spice. The stoved black Virginia is sweet in a fermented, fruity manner with some spice. The red Virginia is tangy sweet and a little earthy, and mostly dominates the other Virginias. I did catch a slight hint of the “vinegar” at first, but it was gone very quickly. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. Needs some dry time, burns slow and a little wet with a fairly consistent flavor. Will leave moisture in your bowl. Won’t bite, and has a pleasant after taste and room note. If you can handle the wetness, it makes a nice all day smoke.

-JimInks

Very nice mottled looking ribbon with each of the VA's cut uniformly, and color ranging from mostly darker brown to black with a hint of bright. Tin aroma was of spice racks and was missing McClellands signature aroma...call it ketchup or silage or whatever floats your boat, it was replaced by this pleasant spicy scent. Rather nice but I missed the typical McClellands aroma, as it always promises an excellent Virginia tobacco.

The flavors are easy to pick out and typical for the constituent tobaccos... the red was tangy and mellow, the stoved spicy and cool, the lemon sweet and on the hay side but not too heavily. But blended together, this was a very interesting stew where the flavors both melded together and stood out alone. Extra sweetness from the stoved, which took center stage at various times, but this is mostly Red's show. The black and lemon were in supporting roles. Overall, however, this is a true Blend, with all parties contributing. It smoked very cool as well, with no hint of bite unless well overdriven. It even stood up to some fairly vigorous puffing without losing too much of its cool. This is a luxurious blend that can be smoked absentmindedly or under close scrutiny. Moderately complex, this one's main focus is one great taste, excellent balance and mellowness. 3 1/2 stars, missing greatness by the thinnest of hairs. Recommended to all VA smokers but especially those that favor dark stoved blends, as a nice change of pace.

A friend of mine had this, not sure where he got it but this is one fantastic, smooth rich blend that unfortunately is no longer in production since the closing of McClelland. Another one that makes me wonder if it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Glad I was able to try some of this really great blend. This was from 2014.

I received an ounce of this from a friend. It had been jarred in 2011 so the review reflects an aged version. The tobacco was fairly dark with a few tan bits. It would appear to be mostly red and stoved Virginias. The cut was a medium chopped ribbon with a few hunks of mostly rubbed out pressed tobacco. Mine was delivered slightly dry, and I smoked it this way.

This has been a good smoke, and I have tried it in a number of pipes, looking for the perfect combo. I am about to finish the sample, and I have not found it yet. It is smooth and slightly tangy. There is a mellow sweet to the smoke and the snork gives a little tickle and spice. The flavor intensifies a little in the last 1/3 of the bowl.

This was enjoyable, and I would smoke it again. It is easy to recommend.

Tart and tangy. Sweet. Notes of citrus and various darker fruits. A touch of earth, a touch of spice and a little toast. Fairly complex for a blend of Virginias. A smooth and satisfying smoke. I tried, but I can't find a damn thing wrong with it. 4 stars.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. No added flavoring. Burns well when dried.

I really enjoy the Royal Vintage Butera blends as they use McClelland's excellent leaf but adhere to Mike Butera's recipes, Kingfisher and Pelican I missed trying when they were available everywhere and now command Germain premium prices on auction sites 🙁 I have tried several Royal Vintage blends over the years but for some reason have only reviewed Golden Cake and yesterday I found an unopened tin of Matured Ribbon in my closet that was 8 years old. I popped the tin and my den filled with the unmistakeable matured McClelland aroma (which is divine). The tin was under pressure due to fermenting and sounded like a champagne bottle opening and made my dog run out of the room like a cartoon character.. I dried the ribbons for a half hour and packed a tall deep bowl, first light and I knew this was going to be quite the savory smoke, reminded me of Blackwoods Flake. Sweet and Sour, dark fruit, no bite for me, and when the Red Virginia toasts at the last quarter it's just heaven. My old notes say I thought It was a 3 star blend fresh in 07 but now its even more delicious!

Very nice top and bottom flavors. Initially the smoke is tangy with a sweet and sour flavor, not hard on the tongue. Zesty, but smooth, with a pleasant scent and ample "N". Not grassy or hay like, more McClelland like ,(similar to "Boston 1776" or "Blackwoods Flake"), but with creamy base notes and no vinegar. I've tasted these base notes before? Dark Star? Ashleys #44 ?

Needs drying right out of the tin and maybe a slight rub as it is a little hard to keep lit , but very good on the relight, doesn't get ashy. Grows very dark on the last 1/3 of the bowl, becomes more creamy than zesty. A very interesting smoke throughout the bowl, constantly changing, never bites and never bitter. Has a flavor more like a Virginia that has 3 years of cellar time A solid 4 star

Butera Matured Ribbon (Royal Vintage) tobacco is the prefect collaboration between pipe carver Michael Butera and the McClelland Tobacco Company.

Tin aroma was missing McClelland’s signature aroma vinegary/ketchup.

Matured Ribbon is a nice solid Va flavor with subtle sweet and zesty nuances that will keep your mouth watering. The blend is a very nice, rich blend of Virginias; three different Virginias that burns quite well with no hint of tongue bite. This could easily be an everyday blend. It tastes like McClelland’s No 27. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have several more tins set aside to age. I recommend it highly.

I was fortunate enough to happen upon a tin of this dated to 2000 just last year. It was an incredible experience. Fully coated with crystallized bloom with the incomparable Mcc signature aroma. It was a sight to behold, but I finished my last bowl of it yesterday. 🙁

I enjoyed every bowl of it the sweetness of the VA was perfect augmented with a slight cider tasting tinge added by the stoved element. A lot like 27 to my tastes and, at least this tin, was superior to the tin of Christmas Cheer 2012 that I have been enjoying since last fall.

I am sure my impressions are due, largely, to the age of this tine, but I have to call it as I see it and perhaps this will change with a tasting of a fresh tin. But four stars for now.

I have found Matured Ribbon to be a very high quality tobacco and an exceptional smoke. This blend has the complexity that many other VA's have failed to achieve for me. It's an interesting smoke with the interplay of different types of VA poking their respective heads throughout the bowl.

The tin aroma is sublte and tobacoo fruitiness and the well aged stock of this blend makes its presence known in a very velvet smooth base with some VA tang here and there along the way. A very subtle background of deep sweet aged VA is constant and the other parts of the blend play atop that base.

There was no hint of any topping at all. It has a wonderful taste, does not bite and smokes cool. I ocassionally smoke ths in succession because one bowl just wasn't enough to satisfy my craving for it.

Now my disclaimor. Generally I like a broad variety of tobacco but in the VA's I tend to enjoy the dark mature blends and tend to not like golden, light and yellow blends because of the tanginess and bite (With all due respect to my smoking contemporaries - I don't share the joy of Delayed Gratification - I want it when I'm smoking it and this delivers. I smoke many balkan blends and latakia blends as well and I love the complexity of blends with orientals. I also don't like Marlin Flake the alleged Holy Grail. And, I think that's why I love this tobacco so much because it's deep, dark and complex without being unusually harsh or hot. It is now a regular in my rotation.

Cheers, VC