Robert McConnell Red Virginia

(3.01)
One of the original blends from 1848. Rich chestnut coloured leaf from Carolina combine with Virginia brights tobaccos to produce a mild but satisfying blend. A touch of perique gives a taste of elegance and quality. No latakia is added.
Notes: Flavoring according to K&K Website: Chocolate.

Details

Brand Robert McConnell
Blended By Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG
Manufactured By Kohlhase & Kopp
Blend Type Virginia/Perique
Contents Perique, Virginia
Flavoring Cocoa / Chocolate
Cut Ready Rubbed
Packaging 50 grams tin
Country Germany
Production Currently available

Profile

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

Average Rating

3.01 / 4
29

29

18

5

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 81 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 17, 2011 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
It is Red Virginia with restrained Perique. The Perique, while not at the forefront, does peek around the corner from time to time. This blend, for some reason, burns slowly and is semi-sweet and loaded with flavor. The Virginia leaf has a strong bottom that is unrelenting and made my palate sing. This one lives up to its star billing, folks!
37 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 20, 2018 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
Robert McConnell - Red Virginia.

Although it's been fully rubbed some of the 'ribbons' are still fairly coarse. The moisture of my tin couldn't have been any better when I first opened it. The aroma of the blend is only suggestive of Virginia, really.

Classing this as a VaPer would be similar to saying a burger's healthy because it has a lettuce leaf on it. The Perique's been added lightly, very lightly. The Virginias rule the roost here. Being doughy and just sweet enough, with a bit of a tang. The flavour's more nonchalant than some Vas, it isn't all caustic grass and snappy citrus. As a bowl burns I begin to notice a very subtle dark fruitiness. It goes at a medium speed and doesn't bite.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: nice.

Red Virginia? A definite four star smoke:

Highly recommended.
Pipe Used: Altinok Lee Van Cleef: Friday Pipe
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins
Age When Smoked: Four months
19 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 07, 2019 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
The very tangy, dark fruity, earthy, woody, sugary red Virginia is the main component. The tartly citrusy, lightly grassy brighter Virginias have a complimentary role, and are a secondary player. The spicy, raisiny, figgy perique underlies each puff as a condiment. There’s a trace of chocolate from a topping that usually isn’t very obvious. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. The nic-hit is a half step below the strength level. No chance of bite or harshness. Has a hint of a rough edge here and there. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent flavor that also translates to the lightly lingering, pleasant after taste and room note. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Can be an all day smoke. As this is more than a red Virginia mixture, it’s a poor choice for a blend title.

-JimInks
16 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 21, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I bought some tins of this when I realized I didn't want to diminish my 5100 stash too quickly.

I'd say it's on par with red cake, so I enjoy it as much, but it's not the same thing. Much of the taste is similar though. It has what I consider a casing level of topping, like so many other straight Virginia Blends that I don't at all consider aromatics. To me, an aromatic is a flavored tobacco with intentional flavoring and I think this one isn't that at all. It just smells out of the tin a little better than stale tobacco due to a casing of some sort. It's a sign of a well processed high grade leaf that someone took some care with prior to packaging, distributing, and selling. I don't taste it in the smoke at all. It has a bit more strength and nicotine I think than red cake, not a lot, but its a stronger tobacco, maybe even a bit more full flavored as I get down into a good bowl. If there's perique in here, its slight and I don't taste it really at all. It honestly tastes like a high quality straight Virginia blend perhaps a little more dry and earthy than red cake. Could be considered somewhat bland, unless you are particular to the one dimensional-ish taste of other straight red Virginia blends. It tastes like its namesake and it does indeed scratch the same itch as the red cake. No Vinegar McClelland casing though and its more of a broken flake vs. the cake type mixture of 5100. Not the same thing, but close enough that I'm optimistic that I could go without red cake somewhere down the line when I run out as long as variations of straight red virginia's like this are available. Maybe if Royal Yacht and 5100 had a love child that inherited no vinegar......
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 19, 2017 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
This is a weird one.

I'm a big lover of anything Va/Per, so my tobacconist said that I had to try this. I said alright and picked up a tin.

Imagine my face when I first smelled this blend. Strawberries? This isn't a Va/Per! Don't get me wrong, it smells delicious, but just not like a Va/Per. Anyway, thinking that this was actually an aromatic, I picked up a corn cob. I wasn't about to put an aromatic into a briar.

The thing is though.. it's not an aromatic. The smell in the tin doesn't really translate to the actual smoke, at least, not in the aromatic sense. Sure it's sweet, but not sickly sweet like an aromatic. What the hell is this stuff?

It's a touch moist out of the tin, but it packs and lights easily. It does burn a bit hot, even when sipped slow. The flavor is sweet but the Virginia's cut through and they are very nice indeed. Perique? Where? That's the only reason I bought this blend and I can't taste it at all. Maybe I have smoked way too many Va/Per's and this is simply too light for me to notice? That could be it, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.

Overall it's an enjoyable, smooth smoke with good flavor. I wouldn't call this an aromatic, but I really wouldn't call it a Va/Per, either. It's good quality tobacco, but not I'm not sure if I would buy it again. Definitely not if I'm in need of a good Va/Per fix.
Pipe Used: Various
PurchasedFrom: Local tobacconist
Age When Smoked: New
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 12, 2017 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
Virginia/perique blends are my favourite so without doubt i had to try out this one.the tιn appearance prepares you for something unique.once you open the tin a sherry topping comes out with some dark fruits and sour notes.some broken flakes are detected the,texture is smooth and the moisture level is high.some drying time is needed and needs effort to light.several relights are needed while smoking..once light the flavours are very balanced between the topping and the virginias.red virginias mostly offer dark fruits and earth notes.bright virginias are citrucy and bready.the perique is in the backround and adds some sour notes.the sherry flavour is there till the end.burns slow and medium hot without dumbness.some moisture is created in the end of the bowl.no tongue bite detected.the nicotine level is almost medium and the room note pleasant.lots of puffs had common flavours with irish oak from Peterson.can be easilly an all day smoke.recommended for a nice smoking experience.
Age When Smoked: Dried out for 30 mins.
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 07, 2014 Mild Mild to Medium Mild Pleasant
I bought it blindly from a random tobacconist during one of my tobacco hunts. I was in a "virginia phase", so it caught my interest. When I opened the tin, the smell was fruity, but in an artificial and chemical way, so I got immediately turned off.

Quite moist, but ready to be smoked. The first third is sweet and fruity, but you can recognize the same chemical taste you smelled. It lacks complexity, and you are never sure if you are tasting tobacco or whatever flavoring they use. Perique? Maybe, but the same applies. From the second third on it becomes boring, and that's the opposite of what I would expect from a VA blend.

I smoked three bowls, then I gave it to my father who likes aromatics. Would not buy again. It's not bad, I just found it boring and I didn't like the taste too much.
Pipe Used: Savinelli, Stanwell, Peterson
Age When Smoked: From the shelf
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 13, 2014 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Tolerable
After finishing a 100g tin, I still have a most contrary kind of feelings. On one hand, there's not much to say against this blend. It is quite decent Virginia. Perique is but slightly noticeable (though I'm a big Perique fan and maybe just too used to it). The broken flake can be rubbed to fine ribbon and burns perfectly well. Moisture was perfect, and, well... everything seemed to be just fine with it. Except the casing. Yes, I didn't expect it to be an aro, and still believe tha it was never meant to be. But still there was always present some light flavour, reminding somewhat of chocolate and somewhat of the worst and most chemical aromatics like Mac Baren Ambrosias. For me it was the thing that I didn't look for and didn't appreciate in a 'natural VaPer' kind of blend. And it quite spoiled all the experience with this German product for me. Maybe you will give it a try and come to enjoy it, but I'm not buying this again.
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 09, 2020 Mild Extremely Mild Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
I'll admit it: the name, tin art, ribbon cut, and long history is what drew me to this one. Who doesn't want to smoke a 170 years old red Virginia blend?

In the tin I get sweet notes of strawberry, and chocolate.

Upon lighting the pipe, you immediately taste a sweet warm flavor of Virginia with just the tiny addition of chocolate. The chocolate reminds me of CAO's Eileen's Dream, but far more subtle to a level that it's hardly noticed. The Perique, as well, is extremely mild and honestly I would've completely believed it if the manufacturer said that this is a straight red Virginia. It has a pretty consistent flavor, although the (hardly noticed) chocolate addition does show itself from time to time when I retrohale. The sweetness on this is a bit hard to pin down. It's neither Orlik Golden Sliced juicy/hay sweetness nor Escudo bread notes. Maybe more of a berry type of sweetness. It's also a bit milder in flavor when compared to either of those.

I enjoy this blend very much. Only problem I have with it is that if you're not careful it will both warm up and may bite your tongue. For this reason this is much more enjoyable if you just sip it slowly. Aside from that, this is a fantastic sweet and tasty blend.

It's more mild than medium in strength and body. It's not a complex blend. Easy to pack and smoke. Just a tiny bit moist. Recommended to leave out about 20 minutes to dry.

Can be an all-day smoke if you're a slow sipper. Works best in a small bowl for me. I use one of my Stanwell 242, which gives me the best results by far. Larger bowls didn't allow me to sip and caused it to over-heat more easily.

Very enjoyable blend. Been hard to decide between 3 or 4 stars rating. So I guess 3.5 leaning towards 3 because other Virginia blends are closer to perfection than this one.
Pipe Used: Stanwell 242
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: New
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 21, 2015 Mild Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
So, this is a nice little change of pace for me, from time to time. I love virginias as well as Va/Pers. Though I'm not big on aromatics, I don't mind topped tobaccos on occasion, even heavily topped ones. In fact, Mac Barens #1 is an all time favorite of mine. I do find a difference between topped tobaccos and heavily cased tobaccos with sauce. This blend has a nice little fruity topping that goes very well with the red Virginias, IMHO. I wouldn't smoke this all the time, but on a bright spring morning like today's ( 4 April 15, 70°, South Louisiana ) this blend is hitting the spot. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to go from full aromatics into the world of light virginias. Also, though I have yet to conduct this experiment, I would think that R.M.'s Red Virginia may make for an interesting blending tobacco. Either way, at a fair price, I would go for it.
Pipe Used: Savinelli House pipes
PurchasedFrom: Pipesandcigars
Age When Smoked: 5 months
6 people found this review helpful.
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