McClelland - St. James Woods pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 65 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
Sinister Topiary	05/17/2010	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong
I largely agree with Dr. Scott's review below, especially about the Heinz 57 flavor, and the over-dominance of perique. For me, the taste is like figs seasoned with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, then smothered with Vegemite or HP sauce. It does not have the elegance and balance of Escudo, but instead is monochrome and too sharp. Like all McClelland's blends, it's quality. I expect there are some for whom this will be nectar, but it's just not my flavor.
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sagesmoke	01/22/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

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Traderbob	12/19/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
My first tin of a McClelland brand. Purchased while on the road without being able to try first. Upon opening the tin - strong spicy, almost irritating smell. I have seen the comments of "ketchup" smell and did not know what they meant - now I do. After getting past the initial smell I found the texture and moisture level to be just right for me. Pipe loaded easily as I was careful not to pack too tightly. First light and then pack was smooth. Had to relite a couple of times due to the fact that I smoke tobacco while still moiste. The smell and taste while burning was great and a real suprise compared to the initial smell. Tobacco burned easily to a fine ash. Taste and smell improved as the bowl burned. A great tobacco. Not one of my favorites due to the opening smell, but certainly would recommend this one to others.
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Dr. Scott	12/03/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
My opinion of this tobacco has changed, for the worse, the more I have smoked it. My first time with St. James Flake was like having an exotic new lover. I thought I had found my mate for life, my new favorite tobacco. Perhaps I overindulged, smoking this blend frequently over the next couple of months. If it had been a one-night-stand, I would have been left with romantic memories of an exciting blend. But the bloom is off the rose. Upon opening the tin, the odor is strong and harsh: not really ketchup, and not just vinegar...Heinz 57 steak sauce? It is as if the tobacco has been soaked in Heinz 57 prior to packaging. And contrary to what many reviews say, the Heinz 57 never completely goes away, no matter how long you dry it, or how long it is opened. I can still taste it at the end of the pipe. And after emptying the ashes, the pipe smells of burnt ketchup for some time. After making my way through almost 100 g of this stuff, I wonder if the tobacco is actually cooked in the sauce. The broken flakes are thick and beautiful, black and brown, and feel quite moist. The tobacco burns well with occasional relights. It is slow burning. No matter how I try, I can not get it to burn hot or bite my tongue. It is smooth and easy to smoke. I recommend rubbing it out well, then letting it dry for some time, otherwise you will be left with chunks of charcoal instead of ash. The Perique dominates, indeed overwhelms the rest of the blend. It may be heresy, but I think there is too much Perique in this mixture. Medium nicotine content, and one of the easiest tobaccos I've ever smoked. But I am still bothered by the ketchup-steaksauce-vinegar flavor. What is that?! I probably won't be smoking this one again. I like my VaPer straight. Hold the ketchup.
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Alguhan	11/23/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I get used with McClelland tobaccos very well. I leave the tin open and the plastic lit on its place for a couple of days and the humidity and flavors settle well. The stoved Virginias are delightful and the Perique addition to this blend is generos. I like the full tasty smoke of this blend and the sweet-sour flavor of it as the othe McClelland blends. The rich Perique might be somehow overwhelming if I would smoke this blend daily. Although it is an excellent Virginia-Perique blend.
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BurghBelly	09/12/2009	Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
As I become more experienced a pipe smoker, I've noticed that I detect flavors more fully, and this is certainly a flavorful smoke: The VAs are stoved, and the Perique is quite tasty. A half tin of St. James Woods has been sitting in my basket of current tobaccos, and was unlidded by mistake, but having it dried out turned out to be an advantage -- the broken flake is burning quite evenly, without having to rub it out. Cheers!
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Xeneize	07/10/2009	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable
Another high quality Virginia from MC. This one somewhat reminds me of Blackwoods Flake, although it's a bit milder, less complex, sweeter and daker. Perfectly spiced with Perique, noticeable but never overwhelming. The ketchup taste is less than average for typical MC Virginias, another similarity with Blackwoods Flake. SJW is meant to be sipped, becoming tasteless when smoked hot and making it a great DGT candidate. It would get 4 stars if it wasn't for a rather flat mid third of the bowl: the last one is where the flavor really kicks in.
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tramroad28	07/04/2009	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
I tried this blend a while back and disliked it from the get-go and never made it thru the can. Blamed it on the sharpness of the perique amongst other reasons. Now, upon time and thought, I am not so sure. I post a NR simply because of that experience but acknowledge how personal tastes change or develop and plan to give this one another go. I post now simply to note that reviews are perhaps better termed ...opinions.
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Britannia	05/14/2009	Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
What can you say about this quality VA/PER? This is a quality smoke at it's best, stock up before it goes the way of 965. I'm starting to do this with all my 'baccies' I like and enjoy. It doesn't get better then this folks.
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quantumboy	04/18/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I've been learning to appreciate VAs more and more lately. Although this is a Vaper, it's a great way to ease into VAs. It's a medium-dark broken flake that looks just like Christmas Cheer except just a tad more broken up. Typical McC ketchup aroma that leans more toward A-1 steak sauce, with a great sweetness and a tiny hint of the Perique lurking in the background. In other words, it smells great! I packed it lightly in a chubby Savinelli Author, and it burned well right out of the tin. The Perique manifests itself more during the first third as the familiar tang in the nose, but the VA sweetness shines through. This is a rich, wonderful smoke, and I marvel that it's me writing this since I have not been a big VA fan. But I'm learning... The pipe lasted more than an hour. The Perique spice settled in and melded nicely during the last two-thirds, becoming the condiment that it's designed to be. The VA flake is obviously very high quality. My tin says it was canned in 2006 so it's had some time to age. As a typical English blend lover, I can heartily recommend St. James Woods and will certainly be buying several tins to age even further.
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Tripjoker	04/14/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
This is a real winner from McC. As Vapers go, this is one of my top 5. All the right flavors and strength levels are hit. Coffee, fresh baked bread, cinnamon, fresh turned dark bottom land, and the tang and sweetness of great Virginias. As with most all McC. products, it does need a bit of drying to get to the proper smoking humidity for me. But that's OK. I'm more than prepared to go the extra mile for a smoke as good as this one. And as far as the ketchup smell goes, I don't care a wit about it. I ain't here to smell the tin, I'm here because I smoke the stuff and the ketchup does not come through in the smoke or flavor. That Vinegar smell is really more of a byproduct of the Virginia curing in my opinion. McC does have a unique process and treats their tobaccos alittle differently. I'm generally not a fan, but when they get it right, I have to say so.
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Tatonka	04/06/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
I flat out love this blend! What can one say? Far in the background there is cedar freshly cut. A little closer but still far off is the Italian Roast coffee and cinnamon. Then the spice really begins to tickle the tongue and the flavor opens into a full symphony of Virginia's warm sweetness which is complemented perfectly by the soft tingle of what must be the Perique...never more noticeable nor more enjoyable than in this blend. This one must be smoked in a large bowl and the first true light needs to be a good, long, even one. Once it really catches, it offers a nice long smoke. The bowl stays cool and there is no discernible bite. To my tongue, Latakia feels cool and Perique feels warm and this is the warmest smoke I've ever enjoyed. Definitely four stars!
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Eulenburg	04/03/2009	Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant
The dominant flavour here is of the red Virginia, with a decided Périque buzz on top of that, not unlike Wessex Sovereign Curly Cut. It's a combination I love. This has a bit more body at the bottom, but it also has a pronounced McClelland ketchup stink in the tin which is sometimes tasted in the mouth. I don't love that. This would have been a good three-star choice except for it.
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DK	03/07/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
While Sam Gawith's St James left me a bit disappointed and wanting more perique spiciness, this one delivers in spades! Another McClellands masterpiece! This one is just about perfect as a VaPer, with a generous heaping of everything I crave in those special blends. The perique meshes much better and more fully in this one than the SG SJF. There is the occasional separation during moments in the bowl and from bowl to bowl, but overall this is one of the most harmonious VaPers its been my pleasure to smoke. This will be in my constant rotation. Dry this one out a bit (perhaps more than a bit!) and enjoy. And, good news to you (we) cellar dwellers, this blend, while wonderful from a brand spanking new tin, becomes ambrosial with a few years of aging on it. McClellands rules in the virginia and vaper categories! On the other hand, the tin of SG FVF I just cracked may just give the House of McClelland more than just a run for their money. Review coming up in about a month - stay tuned!
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john doe	01/23/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
UPDATE I am upping my rating, this is a four star blend. I have finished the tin, and the second half of the can, as it dried in my glass jar, was like smoking a completely different tobacco. Fresh out of the tin it's sugar and spice, three months later and a bit drier, it's sweet and sour and cigar flavor. Both are amazing. This is a must smoke for VAPER lovers! -- I finally get it. Vapers, that is. Smoke this one really, really slowly, at just the right moisture level, and the orgasm at the bottom of the bowl is something special. Takes a lot of hard work and skill to pull it off the though, and if you puff too hard this sucker bites badly.
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arpie55	01/20/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
what can i say that has not been said? this is by far my favorite perique/va. blend. i can smoke this in any size pipe, at any time of day, anywhere and thoroughly enjoy it. this starts with the va. coming to front but then about a quarter of the way down the perique starts to struts it's stuff with a flavorful, fruity presence. this tobacco can be packed to burn slow and is a very good warm weather outdoor smoke, not because it smells bad, but because it burns so cool. i love it!
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1	11/04/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
What can I say about the magnificent tobacco blend from McClelland? It is truly a pleasure to smoke, the perique is perfect and the stoved VA is awesome. This tobacco surpassed my expectations. I sipped the first part of the bowl to find it subtle and not overly powerful. By the middle of the experience some sweet notes of the tobacco came out and by the end I was asking for more. Highy recommend.
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beaupipe	11/02/2008	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
There are few things that I enjoy more than buying pipe tobacco in a well-stocked cigar shop. Once upon a time, the store's buyer loaded up on pipe tobacco using the "if I have it they will come" logic. But they didn't come. I found just such a place in Vegas and picked up a few McClelland tins from the forgotten corner behind the ashtrays filled with tinned tobacco. The highlight is the '03 dated St. James Woods. I can't imagine being without this tobacco now that I've tried it. Personally, I think the tin aroma is more HP sauce than ketchup- courtesy of the figgy perique, no doubt-and I've never had a problem with McCelland tin notes anyway. To me, they're a sign of authenticity. This has dried out over the years and looks really beautiful--a mix of brown and black broken flakes alongside semi-broken clusters that make me think of jerky nuggets. It's not the easist to rub, and it's a devil to keep lit, but it is sooo worth the extra effort. At this level of maturity, this is an elegant, elusive, exasperating, extraordinary smoke. And oh so long. I couldn't believe how long it lasted. I also picked up '05 Blending Perique and BB Latakia Flake. I might have to go back and scoop up the rest of their unintended cellar.
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Pipe4ever	10/21/2008	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
St. James Woods is an excellent Virginia perique blend, one of the best in the market today. The tin aroma is the same as Blackwood flakes, means sweet ketchup and vinegar, the flakes is ready to pack directly into your pipe, no raping or drying is needed, the burning property is dry and clean. The taste is wonderful, same as bwf but a bit spicier and a shade sweeter. This is a delightful smoke, deep, sweet, dark, creamy and mellow. I love most McClelland offering and I really enjoy the ?ketchup? taste and smell they have. Blackwood flake, st James wood and dark star are 3 tobacco from the same family. If you like the virginia of McClelland, buy these 3 blends.
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Russell	10/15/2008	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Here is another winner from McClelland. I love perique and this has a good proportion of it, every third layer or so in the flakes is a nice slab of it. The note in the tin is of stewed fruit, apple cider vinegar, and very faint notes of spices, with tobacco notes weaving in and out. Rather pleasant really. Smoking it, it is one of the smoothest offerings from this venerable company I have tried to date. Tin moisture is just right. It burns all the way down to a gray ash without the slightest moisture build up, and the perique character deepens as you go. It hits the sweet spot about 2/3 of the way in, and keeps going to the last quarter of the bowl, when it develops a nice spicy flavor. Put it in a tall narrow bowl and go slowly. Don't break it up any more, just load it up, light, tamp, and relight. It will burn down to the bottom of the bowl rather easily if you keep puffing steadily. The flavor is perique, grassy virginia and some hint of a top note, perhaps spices and sugar, but it may be naturally in the virginias. Tastes remotely like the sweet smell of burning hay. The room note is really good but might not be appreciated by everyone, and it smells of spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and tobacco. Highly recommended! I'll be buying a lot more of this one.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 65 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >