McClelland - Craftsbury Series: Deep Hollow pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 59 of 59 reviews of this tobacco
emmbee	03/23/2005	Mild	Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant
This is one of those unusual crossover blends between the world of mature Virginias for which McClelland is justly famous, and an aromatic that may cause you to ask 'why bother?' The tin indicates that this will transport you deep into the woods away from the urban cacophony, and yet, the not unpleasant, though somewhat cloying vanilla casing seems to direct the palate straight out of the woods and deep into an urban headshop replete with black lights & Gonesh incense sticks. It's better than the pecan flavored Mellow Mack, which is a blend I sort of cared for but now shy away from. It's not as good as the nougat luciousness of Best of Show by the same maker. However, my mouth watered upon opening the tin. It's a cross between a fine shag & a cavendish with some quality Virginias as the backbone. It doesn't sear but it nips the back of the tongue. The scent is pleasant enough. Reminds me a bit of aromatics ala Tinder Box. It can smoke rather musky, leaving the heel with wet dottle. It's really not bad, though I'll stick with McC's Frog Mortons & their Personal Reserve series. In the world of aromatic crossovers, there's a lot better stuff out there worthy of your time & consideration. For example, see my review on Iwan Ries's King's Oriental or Wilke's Bohemian. Now those are aromatics! Two and a half of five stars
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Thatcher	01/19/2005	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Deep Hollow is a nice, light, vanilla-flavored aromatic mixture. McClelland is very good at doing this type of very mild, smooth, and tongue-bite-free aromatic. Like Captain Cool, Mellow Mac, or their Evening Stroll (under the Benjamin Hartwell label), Deep Hollow avoids the numerous pitfalls endemic to aromatics; it is sweet yet not cloying, moist yet not ?gloopy,? tasty yet without a lingering aftertaste, and allows you to taste the Virginias without torching your tongue. I?m not a huge aromatic fan anymore, but when I get a craving, these light McClelland blends hit the spot like no other aromatics can. If I smoked aromatics more regularly, this would get an ?I smoke this on occasion? rating for sure. And as I have found with every other member of the Craftsbury Collection, this makes a great blend for pipe smokers making their first foray into the realm of better-quality, tinned tobaccos.
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Get Bent	11/15/2004	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I picked up a year old can of this based on my tobacconist's recommendation about five months ago and finally opened it. I did not notice the standard "McClelland odor", which threw me after reading all the reviews, but I wrote it off as the additional aging. After letting it dry for five days I loaded a pipe and sat down to relax after work. WOW! I enjoyed it so much I used it to break in a new piece I had recently added to my collection. Deep Hollow smoked cool and to a nice grey ash with little to no tounge bite, no matter how furiously I puffed. It definitely is not your standard cased aromatic, but it had enough flavor to keep me guessing, and enough tobacco flavor and nicotine strength to keep me interested. The Latakia smokers out there will probably not enjoy this blend but the aromatic smokers will find it a nice foray into straight Virginia territory and it could satisfy the Virginia lover's sweet tooth. After a minimum of one years additional aging, Deep Hollow will definitely become a regular in my rotation.
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Briarabbit	09/03/2004	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Today I purchased a tin of this that was five years old, and have smoked a couple of bowls already. I'm not sure how this blend would have been when it was new.It is an aromatic with valilla flavoring. The tobacco envolved is good Virginia leaf and smells good in the tin. When smoked it is most uneventful,and bland.This tobacco is way to mild.
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CaptnDan	08/14/2004	Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant
The question rages, is it an aromatic, or is it not? The Deep Hollow I smoked was six years old at the time. There is nothing semi-aromatic about this stuff ? it is an aromatic all the way. The vanilla topping completely overshadowed the underlying Virginia leaf. I think it is possible that the Va?s have mellowed with age, and that the topping was not this strong at first. I will let the rest of what I have sit in a baggie for a few months and see if time doesn?t mellow the Vanilla? Not at all what I expected from a well-aged McClelland blend.
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Tbombadil	02/10/2004	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Deep Hollow, natural or aromatic? It appears that the majority consider this an aromatic. Well, if so, it's sure not a goopy Lane (ever notice how well those two words go together?) type aromatic. As a matter of fact this is the kind of blend that die hard English/ Va smokers will nod and say, " Ahh yes, a crossover blend." Well maybe it is but it's a very relaxing pleasant blend just as is. Although a bit too sweet for an all day smoke this one does indeed make a nice change of pace for those times when something gentler is desired. If you're just getting started in the wide world of Virginias this might be a good one to try, never mind the labels. If you seldom smoke anything but "pure" tobaccos this might be an eye opening change of pace. _____________________________________ I recently opened another tin of this a year or so later than when I did this review. What a difference a year makes. While I still stand by most of the earlier review it's plain to me that this stuff is certainly an aromatic.... and I just don't care that much for aromatics any more. That being said I still think it would make a good starter blend for someone moving away from Lane type aromatics and looking for a more real tobacco.
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Pipestud	01/07/2004	Extremely Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant
I was reading another reviewer's impressions of Deep Hollow and noticed I had a couple of typos in my review. So, this is really just a little clean up on my part. This straight Virginia is artificially flavored. Like all McClelland Virginias, the quality is uncompromising. But, the added flavoring makes the tobacco sticky and hard to keep lit. One positive note about Deep Hollow -- you will not get the typical McClelland vinager/Ketchup smell when you pop the tin. It has a sweet smell with no tang whatsoever, almost vanilla like. It is indeed one of the mildest straight Virginias I've ever tried. Tasteless frankly. I had to keep looking at the smoke to satisfy myself that my pipe was lit. There is a light dressing of some sort, (perhaps vanilla) but my nose just couldn't identify it. If you like an all day, tasteless tobacco, then this stuff is for you. If, on the other hand, your taste buds are yearning for a "manly" smoke, this one's a little light in the loafers.
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The Keeper	01/06/2004	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Update 01/06/03 Having been in the world of the pipe for much longer now, I felt obligated to update this review. Maybe I was more patient, or luckier with my first purchase of Deep Hollow - but a can I've been nursing for months is not worth the dreamy room note and Tolkien nostalgia. Still tasting alright, when I can taste something. The scents are warm and hearth like. Reminiscient of the best of autumn. Keeping it lit and getting a clean burn is a chore. I could smoke it as a mindless "candy" tobacco if not for the constant effort of keeping it lit. The Plus side - whatever chemistry is in this stuff leaves a very nice coat which helps to break in a pipe. IF you plan to use it for aromatics that is. Unfortunately - a downgrade in rating. Original Review: It should be noted that I am a fairly new pipe smoker and am still refining some basics (such as my tamping and puffing skills) but felt it was time to offer another review or two (also see my Frog Morton review). I jumped right from drugstore stuff (which I now do see as evidence of the devil on earth)to some of the more refined Rattrays and Esoterica blends. After a few weeks of hitting "the hard stuff" and thinking "this is what pipe smoking really tastes like" I decided to pull back and try out some sweeter, lighter blends. Being a Tolkien fan, the McClellands were for me a natural and good starting point. Deep Hollow - alright, so the name and package sold me. And I hadn't tried a "higher end" VA yet or aromatic yet. The can and room aroma are wonderful. Light, earthy and sweet all at the same time. I will take more experienced smokers word for it that the casing is Vanilla, but it is subtle and smooth. The taste is fairly mild to the point of being flat at times. I feel like I am smoking this more to smell it, than to get a strong and depthful taste. The tobacco - as I gather all McClellands are - was very wet upon arrival. It took about a week of being opened and shelved for it to dry out to an even smoke. Until then - lots of gurgle and a bit of bite...much wetness at the bowl bottom and many relights. Now about 2 weeks later I get a fairly even smoke and air drying out the tobacco further kills some of the casing and has resulted in a bit of a painful smoke. Straight out of the can at this point it leaves me with a relaxing and sense pleasing smoke that requires minimal effort: perhaps a relight or two through out the bowl but nothing disruptive to the enjoyment. I am breaking in a new handmade briar with it and as long as I cooperate with the pipe and tobacco, it cooperates with me. Smoking too fast or too thickly packed still results in gurgle and sourness. I see this as a very pleasant "relaxation" smoke. Perhaps I'm just easy to please. It doesn't give me a deep, potent experience (such as some of the more potent latakia/VAs do) but it has kept me interested enough to go back and will probably convince me to keep some of this on hand. I'd say this wouldn't be for everyone, but would recommend it to those wanting to bridge the gap between aromatic/sweets and some of the strong stuff. The step of flavored schnapps between table wine and Wild Turkey? Perhaps, but I can be a girly drink drunk on occasion so that analogy makes sense in my case.
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NEWMAN	12/22/2003	Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
The tin aroma of this nicely prepared mixture of red and dark VAs + Black Cavendish was as inviting as the room aroma. If the taste was only as good, this would be an enjoyable smoke. From the tin, the tobacco was too moist for me and benefited from drying. However, in doing this, some of the casing disappeared and a rather bland taste remained. It was also well rubbed out and I still prefer tobacco in flake or plug form. If I was smoking more to please others with the aroma, this would be an ideal smoke. However, even McClelland has better bulk offerings where the sweetness is from natural tobacco rather than additives. This blend might be enjoyed by new pipe smokers but lacks the flavor and strength of my prefered VA flakes and Va/Perique blends.
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	12/15/2003	Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Deep Hollow. Is this McClelland's tobacco an aromatic or not? You could probably ask 20 people and get 25 opinions on this subject. I am only decided that this is a fragrant tobacco, along the line of a couple of the Rattray's blends. Opening the tin of Deep Hollow presents a little of that usual McClelland smell as well as tobacco that gives a little vanilla-esque nose. This is another tobacco that can be a little moist in the can and some drying certainly doesn't hurt. The tobacco packs well and light easily if you have followed the slight drying process. Deep Hollow is a very nice tobacco to both the smoker and those around. The flavour is not what you expect from the smell in the can - instead it is that of excellent stoved Virginias, which to my palatte is more toward the black Virginia rather than red Virginias in this blend. The vanilla really doesn't come through that much in the smoke and is probably there for the spouse. This tobacco can bite, but only if you do you best impression of a Hoover on the pipe. Overall, this is a nice fragrant tobacco that burns clean to a grey ash.
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	12/15/2003	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
This is another one of McClelland's semi-aromatic blends with names from Tolkien's Ring series, the best known of which is probably Frogmorton. Deep Hollow is basically blend of stoved Virginias and some vanilla essence. The essence isn't overdone like an actual vanilla aromatic, its mostly present in the aroma and only slightly in the taste, which is primarily of the virginias (although the vanilla does build up a bit after a few bowls in the same pipe). I'm primarily an English smoker, but this blend is a surprisingly good change-of-pace smoke, and it comes in handy if you want to smoke around non-smokers without ruining a perfectly good pipe with propylene glycol.
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WxGuy	10/20/2003	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Well, this is McClelland blend that does not get me excited in any way. After significant drying and about 6 months of aging, I can see little improvement. Nothing here offends, but nothing really grabs me about it either. Dark Star it is not. In my mind, a good virginia builds to a crescendo, but DH plods along... and then the show is over. The end of the bowl also tends to be a bit harsh, not a worthy price to pay for a 10% or so strengthening of taste. Maybe I will try this againg after a year or two more aging, which can work wonders on even the most mundane of virginias. I prefer my virginias, if at all, in the flake form.
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SFC/E7	06/21/2003	Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I find this blend to be a very esquisite by McClelland and I generally do not care for the McClelland Tobaccos. To the debate, is it or is it not an aromatic or is it or is it not a natural tobacco? Tough call, although being an aromatic connoisseur I would say this is a conflict between the aromatic and the natural arormas of the Red and Stoved Virginias. I find Deep Hollow to be a very intriguing blend that has influenced a sensation of sweetness to my liking. I also find that by leaving this tobacco for a few days in a jar increases the prodominate taste of the Virginias to their fullness. But... again there is that same old cnflict; Is it, or is it not? Oh what the hell, I enjoy this tobacco in my Eric Neilsen and my Balleby and really that is all it really matters.
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Theodoric	08/26/2002	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
This is alright, but for a lightly aromatic Virginia blend, I prefer Two Friends' "Heritage." Deep Hollow just doesn't smoke all that well, and it doesn't amaze me enough to put up with the constant relighting. It tastes good, though, and definitely smells good...Heritage just tastes and smells better.
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Tantric	07/05/2002	Very Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant
Deep Hollow was something of a disappointment. To start with, I detected a slight vanilla like casing, which somehow diminishes the tobacco?s natural flavour. Then, there is a hint of that vinegar smell, present in many McClelland blends. It was easy to pack, but not that easy to light. Perhaps too much moisture. Once it got going, I never really felt the presence of tobacco flavour at all. It produced a nice room aroma, but it was very frustrating in terms of a good smoke (even by mild standards). I let my pipe rest for a while, relit, but nothing doing. A bland, lacklustre smoke, which I would only recommend to beginners.
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father_brian	04/02/2002	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
If you're an avid English smoker like myself, Deep Hollow offers a nice change of pace. But like any vacation: it's nice to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. I find straight Virginas too sweet to smoke regularly. It is pleasingly aromatic, but not annoyingly so. Like all McClelland blends, it is extremely moist upon opening...and I'll be damned if they don't put ketchup or vinegar in it! (for those who don't know about this urban legend, buy a can and you'll understand)
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Commons	12/22/2001	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Marketers take note: I decided to buy this tobacco by U.S. company McClelland merely because I liked the name. In any event, this is your average looking dark brown, ready-rubbed tobacco consisting of Virginias. A whiff of the can told me that Trevor Talbert's disdain of McClelland blends held true for this one: it smells like tomato soup and is overly moist. Since I rather like a good Tomato Soup Cake, I chose not to be daunted by its decidedly unpleasant tin aroma. I hiked off into the woods and settled myself into a dark pine grove to light up (and promptly lost the path...stupid trees). Lit, it had a sweet flavour common to Virginia blends and... and... well, whether it was imagined or not, I also thought I could sense a lingering effect of the tomato-tin aroma. All in all, it burned decently, though the last quarter was far too wet to be smoked?perhaps letting it dry out will help. Although this isn't a bad blend, it's also not particularly great either.
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Sykes Wilford	10/10/2001	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Very Pleasant
Having avoided aromatics for years now, I finally feel it's my duty to try and review a few objectively. I haven't been an aromatic smoker for a very long time-- alternatively smoking Englishes and Virginia and Va/Perique blends, I have long looked down on Aromatics. Well, I guess I finally feel sufficiently comfortable with my status as a discriminating smoker to try and review a few of these (NB: my tongue is firmly pressed against my cheek before I start getting hate mail). I don't detect much of the ketchupy smell that predominates in so many McClelland's blends. The tin aroma is pleasant-- raisins and figs predominate along with a distinctly vanilla scent that seems to tie it all together. The tobacco itself appears to be a combination of light, red and dark Virginias along with Black Cavendish, which makes up possibly 20 or 25% of the blend. The flavor is much as I would have expected given the tin aroma. There is clearly a casing of some sort, though I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. I honestly don't much care for the flavor. I just don't like cased tobaccos and I can't get past that to enjoy the blend. The room note is superb, however. I enjoy this blend very much when I am not the one smoking it.
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tslots	09/15/2001	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Not being a big fan of straight Virginia blends right now ( I prefer English / Oriental / Latakia ), I found that I do like Deep Hollow. Opening the tin reveals a mix of tan to black ribbon-cut tobacco with a sweet aroma very similiar to Captain Black ( re: raisins, vanilla and ketchup ). It's also pretty moist so I've found it best to dry out for awhile before loading in your pipe ... otherwise you will have frequent relights. It burns well and to a grey ash, but can get hot and gurgly if smoked too fast. It has the typical tart and slightly sweet flavors I associate with Virgina tobacco. The smoking aroma is not overpowering, the nicotine level is fairly mild and it leaves a nice aftertaste. Overall I enjoyed the bowls I've smoked and would recommend to those that already like this McClelland series and are looking for a mellow Virginia blend.
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