McClelland - Grand Orientals: Drama Reserve pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 37 of 37 reviews of this tobacco
Briar Mike	04/25/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
This is another Grand Oriental that just delivers in every way. The Drama Leaf is unique and this blend is a very nice change of pace. I find it to pack well and burn nicely down to the bottom of the bowl. The taste really does remind you of olive oil, to where even my wife can note its presence. I don't really know what else to add other than to suggest you try it yourself. If you like McClelland blends, this one will deliver.
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Virginia lover	02/11/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Smokes well, great taste. Perfect as a once in a while change of pace. The ketchup smelling preservative persists even after six months, that is the only minus. Subtle and delicate flavor, better smoked on a sunny day. This should hit the spot for people who prefer Oriental tobacco blends.
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camachoman	01/23/2010	Mild	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable
This tobacco has a wonderful, delicate flavor. By smoking slowly and savoring, you can really pick-up the subtleties. Nice spiciness and wonderful flavor. A fantastic Oriental!
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WmZiggy	01/20/2010	Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
There is a reason that Camel cigarettes were the "ciggy" of choice among those who like their leaf in that form; they were made with a high percentage of Oriental leaf, which imparts many pleasing qualities. Likewise for pipe smokers in many enjoyable blends. My first introduction to Oriental leaf came with Balkan Sobranie of old. Their liberal use of this tobacco made their blends "pop" with complexity. There are many many varieties of Oriental leaf and like wine grapes their differing qualities are imparted by climate and soil. If you want to dig deeper, I recommend Frederick Wolf's book: "Aromatic or Oriental Tobaccos", Duke University Press, 1962. It is probably out-of-print, but worth the hunt. Drama Reserve is a wonderful blend. I am guessing it is composed of red and stoved Virginia, Maryland leaf, and of course a high percentage of Drama and Mahalia. It has a nice sweetness typical of Oriental leaf with deeper notes provided by the Virginia leaf. It is smooth and light on the tongue and palate. I let the tin dry for a day, and especially enjoy this with a cup of coffee in the morning. It is high quality tobacco in a ribbon cut which burns easily to a grey ash. A 'go to' tobacco.
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bentontool	12/14/2009	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is my first tobacco review... When I first purchased this blend, I made the mistake of smoking it in several pipes in which I had prior smoked VAPERS and Latakia mixes of all kinds... I know... dumb. It is therefore easy to see why I did not understand all the fine praise this blend had engendered. One third of the way down the tin, I read the review by "bent-1", who suggested using a "meerschaum or neutral smoking Italian briar pipe". Wow! What a difference. Bent-1 was absolutely correct! I dedicated a clean meerschaum to this blend and now I see why this is a 4 star blend. I will admit having difficulty describing the flavour of tobacco, but I know what I like, and this blend is indeed fabulous. Hard to describe but all these apply: subtle, sweet, and exotic. Burns well right down to the bottom... no bite whatsoever. I bought several tins based on the reviews and am very glad I did.
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Alguhan	08/03/2009	Mild	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Another great tobacco from this series. Besides the nice spicy, oriental taste it really has a particular taste which I liked a lot. If I would'nt read the tin information regarding olive oil fragrance, I wouldn't describe this gentle and delicious flavor. Yes it is olive oil indeed. A must try and must have for all the oriental fans.
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Xeneize	04/22/2009	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Outstanding Oriental mixture that actually provides the true taste of Drama tobacco. This is my current favorite from the Grand Orientals line, and the one with less vinegar casing. As with most McClelland's, airing out for a while before smoking really enhances the flavors and mitigates the dreaded "ketchup" casing. Update: no longer my favorite, which is now Black Sea Sokhoum.
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Wetheel	04/19/2009	Medium	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
McClelland belts one out of the park. It's pretty, it smells good in the tin, it burns in a most civilized way, and it makes great smoke. Unprompted, I would not have used "olive oil" to describe this; having read that on the label, I noted a slight catch in my throat while snuffling the tin, not too dissimilar to what you get when you take a spoonful of extra virgin oil. Smoking Drama Reserve quite slowly, I observed some progression in the three-way balance--sweet, spicy and bitter--from top to bottom of the bowl. I felt more spice early and more bitterness late, with sweetness throughout. A fine experience, and I hope they made some more.
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DK	03/11/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is the 2nd of the Grand Orientals I've smoked, and is much preferable to the Yenidje Supreme, although I liked it reasonably well. This has more zest than YS. I smoked several bowls of this and my mind latched onto something. I told myself that it reminded me of one of the McClellands brown label virginias that I used to smoke boatloads of 15 years ago. Sure, enough - the #24 also had Drama leaf in it. Sometimes Memory Lane comes to you! I'm going to dig out my one tin of #24 and do a head-to-head, but based on my recollection, the two taste a lot alike. This tobacco has a great pouch aroma, is easy to keep lit and settles in nicely. The virginias are suitably tangy and somewhat sweet, while the oriental leaf adds just a smidge of excitement and "color" to the flavor. I didn't notice any difference of taste as I progressed down the bowl, but just a nice "Steady Eddie" that rewarded in its own way. Still, I would not call this monodimensional, even if it seems that way. McClellands conservative use of orientals in a high quality virginia leaf is not new, and I think they nailed it with the #24 flake, but if you prefer a gorgeous ribbon cut, this is your manna. Smoke it up; they'll make more.
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Society of the Briar	01/14/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
I bought this based on the reviews posted here and I'm so happy I did. Not quite as strong of a fermented "ketchup" smell upon opening the tin as from say, Christmas Cheer 2007 (which I also love), but it's still there. By this point, I don't know what/where this particular smell comes from, but I know to trust it, so I don't care! What a truly great blend! Nothing bashing you over the head, no casing or topping to speak of, or at least none that I could detect. Olive oil? Couldn't find it, not that I would mind. This tobacco tastes like pipe tobacco, not like cigarettes and thankfully not like a cigar - sorry, just my taste. Smooth, tasty, slightly nutty and natural with a well balanced sweetness on every puff. McClelland has nailed it again. If you absolutely cannot stand an aromatic but still want to smoke around people who don't smoke without offending them, give this a try. Edit: 04/11/09 Just dropping in again on this one try echo my earlier sentiments. Ridiculous? Sure. I love this tobacco. Beautiful, subtle, natural, nutty and toasty with a enough development throughout the bowl to keep things interesting. Sip gently and enjoy.
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OPCguy	01/13/2009	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
McClelland's Drama Reserve is a tasty smoke giving way to beautiful billows of thick white galvanized smoke. This is a hard smoke to define for me for its not quite like any other Virginia/Oriental I have smoked before. The taste is both sweet and spicy with an added layer of something else that feels like a hint of latakia but is not...perhaps that is the olive oily Drama leaf. This an exotic blend and surely worth a try.
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Gordy	11/23/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
Many people dont like using the "fourth star". I think they believe that a four star rating is for that special occasion extraordinary smoke. Maybe. I think a four star rating can be given to an extraordinary tobacco one can enjoy anytime-anyplace, as well as on special occasions. One that is consistantly perfect in flavor and burn. Drama reserve is one of those extraordinary blends. There are so many good products out there these days for nuts like us but its still hard to believe that some are well. Perfect. Upon opening the tin the sweet, natural aroma of the Drama and the honey sweetness of the Virginia are compelling. The stuff is cured perfectly and burns cool and even everytime. The flavor is wonderful and room not too strong so even non-smokers enjoy it, (as much as when I smoke "Town Topic"). Bottom line, I love this stuff! Not to be a trouble maker but it could deserve a 4+!
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PharaohFitz	08/28/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Smoked some of this at the Chicago show before it hit the market. This was prior to the nicotine Nazis banning the enjoyment of our fragrant weed. I have tried it in 5 or 6 pipes and, while I prefer more oriental leaf, I can recommend this blend. I would suggest smoking this blend in different pipes to fully gauge the sweetness and complexity. I found it to smoke very evenly in the different pipes I tried, but they were clean and not stained black and only one was allegedly "oil cured". The bore ranged from 3.5mm-4mm. I usually smoke two bowls of this (sequentially) which could mean that I either crave more nicotine or really like the blend. If you regularly smoke Latakia in your blends, you may not fully appreciate this one, it actually has flavor, aroma, a complex sweetness and does not need the condiment of Latakia to deliver enjoyment or complexity. Not a main course but a desert smoke.
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bent-1	08/23/2008	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant
Lochinvar nailed it for me. I'll add this to Lochinvar's description: The blend has a smooth, silky creamy texture/taste, does quite well in a meerschaum or neutral smoking Italian briar pipe. As most blends, a nice open drafted pipe, & slow sips yield a melange of flavors.
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Lochinvar	08/05/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Another great from this line, perhaps a classic in the vein of Three Nuns Sobranie and Rattray. It lights easily and produces beutifull smoke. The interplay of the Drama and Virginia is like a party on the tongue. This blend is doubly sweet (but not overly sweet) with a honeyed sweetness from the virginias and a nutty, earthy sweetness from the orientals, as well as citrusy, hoppy astringency flirting in and out. But this blend is not for everyone. In fact, no other piper needs to bother with this or Smyrna No1, just leave it to me to get rid of them.
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butman	07/12/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Wow, that McClelland crew really hit a winner with this one. It has an exotic aroma when you open the container and it just gets better all the time. I was a little afraid when I lit up as I have been bitten by Orientals in the past, but this just keeps offering flavors. Nothing overwhelming just subtle and you are stuck in your chair just enjoying a unique and wonderful flavor. Really sorry when it burns out clean and dry at the bottom of the bowl.
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Jimmy Muraco	05/11/2008	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
McClelland's Drama Reserve is a blend of ribbon-cut Virginias with Drama leaf added to the mix. Upon opening the tin you can smell the spice immediately. Due to the cut it packs easily and burns well. It is a bit moist out of the tin but a few minutes of drying time brings it to a better moisture level for smoking. The flavor at first light is a slightly sweet spiciness. It is not a peppery spice like that of Perique but a more exotic one like saffron. As the bowl progresses the sweetness increases slightly and the spice moves to the background playing a supporting role to the VAs. Towards the end of the bowl there is a good base of sweetness with the spice coming through now and then. The blend gets more full at the end but it never gets harsh. Drama Reserve is a cool-burning blend that leaves the pipe and palate clean. If pushed it can bite but that is a given considering the ingredients. Not a blend to be puffed like a locomotive but slowly sipped and savored like a fine wine.
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 37 of 37 reviews of this tobacco