Star Rating = 3

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst

Pouch Note = 7

Room Note = 7

Flavor = 7

Bite = 8

Burn = 8

After Taste = 8

Raw Score = 45

Rated Percentage = 75%

Comment = Smooth, Strong Strength Flavor, not an all day smoke

The reason I point this out is due to the fact that many claim this to be a blending tobacco yet it was not contained in the section that he has for blending tobaccos, so I am not sure of whether it is the intent of McClelland that this be a blender or not. Of course, anything can be a blender if the user so chooses.

I smoked it straight. I had two ounces and split it up with a friend in exchange for some of the 2015 he had purchased. I would say I got the better end of the bargain. This tobacco is nice and mild and has a slightly sweet cider taste to it.

It did burn wet as anything and the pipe gurgled bad necessitating a swab with a cleaner with every smoke. I can't give this better than two stars based on both this and the fact that there are just too many other vas that I would opt for before this. As a blender it may well go up to three stars or four, but that was not how I used it and my blending experience so far has kept me to buying blends created by experts.

If you are venturing into blending or looking to add a little something to a flat Va, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a few oz's or pounds!

Smoked straight, this was an extremely mild blend that was easy on the tongue and on the tastebuds. Probably close to no nicotine. Very similar to Rattrays Black Virginia, and just as hard to keep lit, at least initially. Very reticent to take to the match and I had to relight early and often. Once it gets going - about 1/3 down the bowl - it does better. Not much to get excited about straight but certainly inoffensive and non-biting. Nowhere near as good a straight smoke as McClellands Black Shag, also a stoved VA.

As a blender, this is a critical component. I blend it with #5100 and perique and create a nice, subtley spicy smoke. But for me it's blending qualities shine when mixed with a lemon VA. It tones down the citrus quality and adds a fair amount of tang. Definitely creates some additional complexity as well. 2 stars as a straight smoke, 4 as a blender.

It has been pressed to the point of no return and no matter how hard you puff trying to find some flavor, it will not bite. It did burn well and (thankfully), rather quickly.

This tobacco does make a great blender. It can mellow, add complexity, and sweeten about anything you add it to. In fact, I've added it to other straight Virginia's and the the result tends to be nicer than either of the tobacco's seperately.

4 stars as a tobacco you should have in stock for experimenting with blending at home.

2.5 - 3 stars as a tobacco by itself.

Packing & Burning: Gravity feed, then use constant tamping and puffing to concentrate the taste. It takes a relight regularly.

Taste & Aroma: Initially just moderately sweet, but mid bowl, good stoved VA qualities develop, rich, dark, almost carmelized, not bitey. Akin to mildly carmel, browned popcorn. Also a nutty chocolate complexion.

Nicotine: Mild

Room Note: Tolerable

Overall: This one matches the qualities its expected to have. 5105 gives a good idea of what a stoved VA is all about. Use a large bowl to bring out these characteristics. 3.8 stars.

Try this for a really nice pound to age: 10 ounces of 5100 Red Cake, 4 ounces of this Stoved VA, and 2 ounces of McLelland's Blending Perique. If you like a stronger VaPer, by all means, add an ounce or more, and subtract it from the 5100. But, leaving the four ounces of 5105 is a key. Obviously, stoving hastens the sugar development, and yields real aging benefits. I have pounds of this aging at present, in varying strengths of Perique. I recently broke the seal on one of my Mason jars and went through a jar of the above blend that was merely 13 months old, and found it to be marvelous already. In a year or two, it'll be special, I believe. Will it be the next Escudo? Nah... but it will be a far more economical everyday go-to blend.

I'm a huge fan of Rattray's Hal-O-The-Wynd, and was happy to learn that Smokingpipes.com is now selling this in 17.5 ounce bags. I bought my first bag, mixed in 4 ounces of 5105, and have sealed the blend in more Mason jars. (Quart-sized) These funny little black sticks of stoved VA will help to soften the HOTW, and I'll bet that when I first smoke it, it'll be marvelous. A year should even make a great difference.

Making our own blends is fun, though highly subjective. But as a blending tobacco, I'm at a loss without 5105. I know of no other bulk stoved VA out there quite like this.

I'll finish up the bag by adding this to some thin bodied aromatics I have laying around, to add some body without changing the flavor.

I can't imagine repurchasing this one.

The so-called McClellend catchup odor was absent, but there was a faint, slightly spicey aroma from the (bulk) package contents. Very good moisture content. The only negative comment I will make is that I was expecting a little bit more from this blend, and I will agree with some other reviewers in that it is 'monochromatic' in its overall aspect. However, I have purchased pricier VAs that do not measure up to this blend. Generally, I think that VA smokers will truly enjoy this blend, as I did.

Nice, great for stoved VA fans- Great price in bulk. I find it similar to me to Dark Star, with greater emphasis on 'tangy' and less diverse and rich. A daily stoved VA smoker would find this a good buy. The 'tang' dominates and grows torwards the bottom of the bowl. BETTER PICK: DARK STAR OR BLACKWOODS

BETTER PICK: MCCLELLAND CHRISTMAS CHEER 05' OR 06

Initially, I liked this tobacco a great deal. I was (and still am) quite impressed by its unique flavor. Unfortunaltely, there are lots of others that are equally unique. The worst part of this blend is hard to light and impossible to keep lit.

It bears little resemblance to Black Vanilla or Dark Fragrant as McCllend suggests.

If you do purchase this blend and share my experiences, use it to tone down other tobaccos that you might find overwhelming, but do not buy it for that purpose.

A loser from this otherwise fine blender.

Aroma: Typical sweet and tangy aroma of a stoved blend, but without the intensity of McC #25. I had hoped that this would be a bulk equivalent, but apparently not.

Packing: Pack only with some difficulty due to the odd cut. I had to rub some of it out a bit to avoid odd sized pieces which would burn poorly.

Lighting: Lights slowly, sometimes needing two charring lights before the main event.

Initial flavor: Dark flavor of stoved Va., but without any highlights. Really monochromatic.

Mid-bowl: No real life in the blend for me. Boring in taste, and does not burn well ar all. Seems to burn wet, or maybe that?s just my saliva reaction to over puffing.d.

Finish: Very difficult to finish a bowl of this tobacco. Also left a lot of guck in the stem.

Summary: Only for the dedicated lovers of the darkest Virginia. For me, a major disappointment. Nothing like my memory of Rattray Dark Fragrant.

Flavor-wise, this doesn't meet my minimum threshold. Nothing bad about it, some good flavors, but they are very faint. Room aroma is quite nice, suggesting some minor unidentifiable topping. Doesn't bite. I will save this for blending, perhaps to lighten up an overly-latakia'd blend, or to cool a bright VA.