McClelland - Craftsbury Series: Virginia Woods 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
Inquisitor	01/19/2005	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
As a McClelland Virginia lover, I expected this to be wonderful. BIG disappointment. I found this to have a cigarette-like quality, with a cloying, almost-MacBarenish note that gave me a headache and made me vaguely nauseated. Well, guess I'll just have to be satisfied with the other 8 Mc VAs that I love! With the exception of the flavors mentioned above, this has very little flavor. There is a winey note that doesn't go away, and while it could potentially meld well with other stronger flavors, here it just stands alone.
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Jakob Kiilerich	01/17/2005	Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This my first blend in the McClelland line, and I must say I am disappointed. For a Dane like me, the vinegar smell is very strange, and something I do not fancy at all. The tobacco is beautiful in the tin, but there are so many stems in it. I had to go through the whole tin and remove them. As Eulenburg said, the moisture-level (artificial I believe) is too high, and even when dried out, this tobacco is almost incendiary. There is some weird topping added; very discreet, and very foul. I am sure this does not go for all McClellands blends, and it has not scared me from trying more of them. The leaf is of very high quality, but it burns like a sunny day in hell. Nicotine content is too low for me also. Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark
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The Keeper	01/17/2005	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I have been blessed with a 10 year aged sample of this weed. It makes for a truly smooth, quiet and "woodsy" smoke. Perhaps due to age, this comes off as being one of the nicest straight VA smoke experiences I have had. There is sweet and sour notes through the entire first 3rd of the bowl. After that the tobacco flavor kicks up and a hint of spice (very perique like) enters the smoke. At points I agree with those who list this blend as mildly topped, at other points I think I am tasting just the trademark McClelland aging process. By the end of the bowl a bit of refinement is lost and the taste is very cigar like - musky woodsy and spicey. While I still rarely reach for straight VA tobacco - this one is certainly at the top of the heap.
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Danno	09/07/2004	Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Seductive, this. A friend passed a tin over to me which had been coagulating for six years or better, a gift of rare proportions. Tin aroma is muted but still retains the tendrills of well prepared virginias. Initial flavor is VERY subtle, you will not taste any of the nuances if you've smoked an English prior to. Around bowl three, likely due to palate and pipe adjustments, revelations slink in. Now the true depth and mysteriously velvet-like flavors begin to show up. I found that this smoke did not lend itself well to enthused puffing, as it will bite but of greater import, the dynamics disappear when coerced instead of beseeched. I am not a patient man by virtue and have left many mild and subtle tabaks in my wake, abandoned in the quest for more forceful experiences, hence my suprise at enjoying this offering, it being exceptionally mild and deviously subtle. Those who crave an experience when smoking, one requiring total devotion to briar and technique would do well to have a go here.
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Young Piper	09/01/2004	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
Had to change my rating, its 9/1/2004 and i do not have any aged tins left. The new tins are not as great and have much more moisture and along with that more tongue bite. I will smoke it if offered, but most likely will not purchase another.
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Beer	09/01/2004	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Like the Mc C Aromatics in appearance (same ribbon cut and colors), but without the sticky casing. There is some typical Cavendish sweetness in the nice alternance of sour and candy sweet (in a monodimensional way). Sometimes a bit boring and not on a par with the best virginias from this brand, but good.
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DUPE.629	06/20/2004	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
June 2004. Virginia Woods. I have just opened an aged tin of V/Woods and I feel compelled to say the ageing process is remarable.Very little ketchup smell at all with this aged tin. What a diiference age makes to this tobacco,not a sign of a bite,very smooth and absolutely delicious. I'm far more impressed now,than even in my first review.Thumbs-up. 8 out of 10.
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chaplikc	02/16/2004	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
This is a good virginia blend that does not realy stand out to me but does not realy lack in a bad way either. I feel it is a good middle of the road virginia blend. I will say that this does get alot better with aging. Worth a try.
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Jaybee	01/23/2004	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is obviously a quality tobacco. Considerable drying time is required and there is very little bite. Although I enjoy a number of the McClelland virginias, there's something about this one that I just can't get my head around. It tastes like 5100 (I like 5100), it tastes like Dark Star (I like Dark Star), but somehow the combination of the 2 just doesn't work for me. The sweetness of the blend is too distracting for me. Still it's a quality product and worth a try....tastes being subjective.
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RCUSElder	09/12/2003	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Strong
This is another foray into the unchartered territory of Virginia blends for me and I have to say that this is another pleasant surprise. Upon opening the tin, yes there is that famous "catsup" odor which I find pleasant. Medium to long red, lemon, and brown leaf abounds. packing is easy, lighting is easy. The name "Virgina Woods" is appropiate because that is exactly what I think of when smoking this blend. It is deliciously woodsy with those sweet virginia undertones. All in all this is a good medium to full strength blend that you can smoke all day. I did find that it works better for me in smaller pipes. Enjoy... 4 out of 5 points.
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SFC/E7	07/27/2003	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Not a bad tobacco, the tin aroma is the usual McClelland aroma, the cut is rather coarse with some stem. I found when packing the pipe I had to remove some of the tree limbs, other than that it packed very well. The tobacco was not too hard to lite which did surprize me it was such a coarse cut of tobacco. This was not a harsh tongue biting tobacco and somked very smoothly. I dected no wheezing or gurgling and the tobacco did take on a sweetness as it neared the bottom of the bowl. This will join my occasional tobacco shelf. Smoke it slow, enjoy it longer
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Darwin	06/16/2003	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
It's both smooth and rich as stated in the decription. I enjoy the flavor and aroma. Virginia Woods tastes a little like 5100, but I taste a stoved VA as well. There is a another tobacco besides VA in this blend, maybe an unflavored cavendish. Whatever it is, it's a nice touch. There is lots of high sugar content VA present, but it doesn't burn the tongue; that might be due to the cavendish. I recommend this blend, but I also recommend that you let it dry quite a bit before smoking. For some reason, Virginia Woods comes loaded with PG. I pour out all of the 100g tin on a magazine and let it dry for 36 hours. After that, it's really a nice blend.
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Gae Richards	03/26/2003	Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant
Virginia Woods is one of the nicest tobacco's I have tried.It light's easily & behave's very well. Plenty of Virginia flavour in varying degree's,& strength.But 'never' overpowering at all. The virginia's are mixed well,offering a good all round taste, that stop's it from being dull & boring,that make's for a very pleasant change. The flavour's were consistant right to the bottom of the bowl.I didn't detect any tongue bite at all,even when I puffed a little faster.I could smoke this very easily all day.Very Pleasant! Highly recomend Four & half star's out of Five,in it's class.
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Eulenburg	03/01/2003	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Opening the tin of this beautifully-named blend, I detect a background note of something like burnt rubber, a note that is present during the actual smoking. I assume this to be some humectant or other, which will evaporate after a while. This review is based on that assumption. If the smell does NOT go away, I will lower the recommendation and throw the tobacco away. Many are the comments that have been made about McClelland's odious use of humectants. I feel it is high time the company did something about it. I don't know that the other premium tobaccos are: I suspect some cavendish muffler. For a pure Virginia blend this bites very little, and one gets to enjoy the zip of the lemon Bright without the penalties: quite an accomplishment. Otherwise this is more of the nutty Red grassiness kind of taste than the maple sugar kind of taste: very agreeable and sec, with an occasional, almost-Périque pungency. If it weren't for the gaminess of the [glycol?] dingitude, this would be an excellent product. Get with it, McC. Leave that stuff for antifreeze, damn it!
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Briarabbit	02/06/2003	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
The name is so right, because the tobacco is comprised of so many stems I nearly sent it back to the manufactuer to ask,"what the hell". I mean really, its like somebody sat down to strip the leaves and put the stems in this can. The tobacco that is present here is ribbon red virginia,and maybe some burley there too.It does have some broken black stoved cake Va also. The taste (if you can find one) is bland and you'll burn your tounge so bad you'll be looking for the number to the Shriner's burn center in Galveston,Texas!
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Pipestud	11/10/2002	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Wow! McClelland really hit a home run with this terrific blend. It is deep and rich in flavor, and for us long-time puffers the added wallop of nicotine was of particular delight. I can see, however, where the neophytes might swoon and drool if they don't keep down their puffing cadence! Virginia Woods is reportedly a sister blend to Dark Star. But, I find no comparison at all. In addition to being a flake, Dark Star burned hot and juicy to me. Virginia Woods though, is cool, dry and chock full of thick, creamy smoke. I have tasted many McClelland blends over the years, and this one ranks with the best. Give it a try!
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Jon Tillman	05/27/2001	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Tin Aroma: Vinegar, ketchup, whatever you call it, this is most definately a McClelland blend. Physical Characteristics: dark brown ribbon cut, mottled with some blackish ribbon, and very moist. It has always amazed me how long a McClelland ribbon will keep moisture. However, it is easy to fill and pack with, and it takes the charring light well. Notes: I like to char this one, and then let it sit for a while to dry out a tad more before smoking. I suppose that means that almost every bowl I have smoked of this has been DGT'd to some extent. I do love the 'burnt marshmallow' aroma that this blend gives off. Very thick smoke, good for coloring a meerschaum, if you are the type to blow smoke at the pipe while smoking. The flavors become darker and richer as the bowl progresses. This blend tends to start off a bit spicy and disjointed, but by the midway point, it has settled down into a very nice rich smoke. The flavor/aroma I am most reminded of by this blend is caramel, burnt caramel.
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farndog	03/26/2001	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
When I open a tin of Virginia Woods it strikes me as being very similar to McClellands Blackwoods Flake in smell. Virginia Woods is finely cut into ribbons that pack easily into all but the smallest pipes. It is hard to tell if there is any topping on this tobacco. My opinion leans towards there not being a topping because of its simularities to Blackwoods Flake and Dark Star - just good stoved Virginia tobaccos. Virginia Woods burns clean after easily lighting. The flavour is red and stoved Virginias. This tobacco could almost be called a crossover blend - a nice change for those accustomed to aromatic tobaccos.
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BobT	03/13/2001	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Tin aroma is light and slightly sweet, and flavor is much the same when lit. Smoke it slowly and there's plenty of that light Virginia sweetness. Try to hurry it and it'll scald your tounge. Overall, a nice mild smoke.
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 59 of 59 reviews of this tobacco