Robert McConnell - Rich Dark Virginia pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 9 of 9 reviews of this tobacco
Kilmarnock Piper	11/20/2009	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Someone has to stand up for this fine blend, so I will step up to the plate and go to bat for it! If we could give "partial stars" this would be perhaps a 3 1/2, but all these one star ratings make me want to raise the average. I bought a tin in Richmond (Old Virginia Tobacco-a bit pricey, but they have some older tins on their shelves; I even found some ten year old Ashton there), and read the reviews before smoking it. I'm glad I'm not impressionable, even though this is all a matter of personal taste after all. But one star? I found it to be a mellow and enjoyable blend. No strong or unique character, but sometimes that it what I need. This is dark and rich in the tin and has a pleasant mild smell. It smokes clean, and much like Stonehaven (which is a little better, IMHO), can be smoked fast and heavy if one so desires.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Pipestud	07/09/2005	Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant
This one caught me by surprise. The name and description led me to believe this would be a rather dark and flavorful leaf, especially since it is produced by one of the great tobacco blending houses. Although delightful to look upon and smell, it produced a far different presentation at the match. Just not much to it. Light in flavor with a nondescript topping, this one just didn't get the job done. Not much nicotine either. After completing the first bowl, the back of my throat was buggered up a bit. My tongue felt slapped around, too. Oh well, you can't hit a home run every time you go to the plate. In the case of Rich Dark Virginia, the mighty McConnell struck out.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Tiger	11/08/2004	Medium to Strong	Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
I am pretty much in line with the reviewer "Paddy" above. "Rich Dark Virginia" was, for me, not much taste and a lot of "harsh". Can't find even one star for it. Tiger
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Inquisitor	06/23/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is better than McConnell's Red VA, but not appreciably. Again, I have a chemically poor reaction to this, and it tastes cigarette-like to me. If you love Red Virginias in the McClelland/McConnell/McCranies style, you will probably really enjoy this. For me though, it doesn't rate.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
SFC/E7	01/24/2004	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Very Pleasant
I do not know what I was thinking when I purchased this tobacco, oh yes now I remember Rich Dark Virginia Tobacco Matured In Bond. First off the tobacco did present itself as a nice Virginia Blend upon opening the tin, although I was expecting a little more freshness, although, it did present a very sweet tasting tobacco from the first match to the end of the bowl. I think I may be a glutton for punishment as this is my third bowl in as many days. I wanted to give this a fair trial before canning (trashing) is probably a better word . I was looking for something a little more stout than what this tobacco can deliver and I can truthfully say it will never be purchased by me again.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
pmonroeb	12/22/2003	Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I have been experimenting with dark, stoved virginias lately because of my fondness for Dark Star. Lately I have tried this, Esoteric's Stonehaven, Rattray's Marlin Flake and Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake. Of these, I find this one not to be the most satisfying, though still good. It packs and burns well and has a pleasant enough room aroma, but I find the Stonehaven and Marlin Flake better. If you are wanting to try these, I recommend Dark Star and Stonehaven first. The Marlin Flake is also recommended, but tends to burn hotter for me.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Paddy	09/05/2003	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Almost identical to Astley's #88 in appearance. It appears to be a stoved Virginia. It has a neutral sweetener and a mild, but acceptable level of Virginia flavor. Unfortunately, it has a bad edge to it. I suspect it is the result of expert treatment of inferior Virginia. Paddy.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
grimpeur	11/28/2002	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
I long for the day when someone, for the good of humanity, finally starts a college of tobacco blending and tasting. This tobacco is so sweet, I find it difficult to believe that it hasn't been assisted in some way, although I hasten to add it's sweetness is not at all disagreeable. Nor is it at all goopy or sticky. Can a the leaf from a weed be so delicious on it's own?! In that it came from the same company, and is of the same type, it shouldn't be considered too bold to say that this is very much like Rattray's Dark Fragrant...only more so. If Dark Fragrant is four on a sweetness scale of ten, I would put this at six or seven. The tobacco aroma is "old-timey" both in the tin and in the room. It very much sent me back to the time of my youth, ogling pipes and tins in pipe stores. Although I like this very much, I just happen to prefer the more mature, quiet style of Rattray's for a stoved Virginia.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Sykes Wilford	10/07/2001	Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
I've had this tin for some time now and having smoked about half its contents, I decided I review this blend. The tin nose is exceptional-- gently sweet and rich in the way only dark cured Virginias can be. I've given this tin a little time to dry-- perhaps a touch too much, but it's still in perfectly smokable condition. The tin nose has an almost citrusy, orange-esque smell too-- it is just a hint, but it certainly adds to the overall pleasant tin aroma. It appears to be a fully rubbed out flake. Extremely dark in color; the uniform dark, reddish brown (bordering on black), is nonetheless visually interesting. As promising as the tin aroma is, I'm slightly dissapointed with the smoke flavor. It seems a little more muted than I would have expected. There is a touch of the same sweetness, but nothing as pronounced as I would have expected given the tin nose. I can't detect the pleasant citrusy notes that I noticed in tin either. It isn't bad; I just don't find it sufficiently complex to keep me interested. It is a cool smoke, which is a bonus for those that struggle with tongue bite, but there just isn't enough here to keep me interested. I'll continue to smoke it from time to time and I'll update if it grabs me in some way down the road, but I doubt I'll buy another tin after this one is finished.
Showing reviews 1 through 9 of 9 reviews of this tobacco