Benson & Hedges Special (Mellow) Virginia

This blend came as a very pleasant surprise to me. The pouch note is mouth watering, with a lovely sweet toffee/ caramel and honey aroma. Very seductive!. The moisture content is spot on and ready to go. The tobacco is wonderful golden leaves with a trace of dark leaves, ribbon cut, and appears to be of fine quality. I couldn't wait to fire this up, and was rewarded, unusually, by the exact same taste as the pouch aroma. Nice, sweet toffee like flavours , nicely balanced with a slight honey topping. This blend is not supposed to have any added toppings but it has, very mildly, and in it's favour, and will not trash your pipe or make you feel sickly. It burns well, but can get a bit hot if over done. Zero tongue bite though. The only negatives I can find is it does tend to go a bit sour near the end of the bowl, which is a shame, no matter how I pack it, and can go a bit strange, taste wise, when left in a baccy jar for a day or two, again becoming a bit sour. Odd. Other than that I recommend this highly as a good OTC tobacco. Well priced too.

This classic mixture -- Virginia, Burley and some dark-fired leaf -- forms a spicy and tangy mixture on its own. The "mellow" in "Mellow Virginia" is that this blend produces a full-bodied smoke bursting with flavor but lowers the tang, despite having topped the rubbed-out flake with what tastes like honey, citrus or apricot, vanilla and a faint floral essence. The Virginia rises on the tongue with a sparkly vinegar-sweetness, but then the Burley and dark fired rise as a counterpoint, picking up the sweet flavor and melding it into the caramelizing Virginias. This creates a toasted nut and grain flavor where the toffee-like top note takes a background. It loads easily with a dump and tamp, burns slowly and is remarkably bite-free, giving a long-lasting bowl of gentle but flavorful smoke. Wish this were available in the states.

Thanks to Pipes Magazine Forum member "mawnansmiff" for this sample.

**UPDATED TO ADD ** Due to the new tobacco laws in the UK, this tobacco is now sold as "Special Virginia". The product remains the same, they are just not allowed to use a descriptive word in their name anymore! Because of this name change, you may have to wait for the supermarkets to start stocking it again. Bless you Morrisons for being ahead of the competition.

A wonderfully comforting smoke with a rich caramel flavour and aroma. As the ads in the 1980's used to say, it's neither harsh nor mild but cool and satisfying. It's the one I always come back to, especially as my local stores only ever seem to stock St Bruno. I do appreciate the sweetness of Mellow Virginia. True pipe smokers may sniff at it, but it remains my favourite, with its sufficient nicotine hit.

Thank god for this tobacco. Unlike nearly all of the pipe tobaccos youre going to come across who claim to be 'mild' this one actually is and that is a rare thing indeed. If like me you are quite sensitive to harsh tobaccos then this little beauty could be the answer. A cool clean smoke with a pleasant aroma that does not leave any nasty lasting taste. The sort of thing you can smoke all day and not really notice a after taste. A good, cheap, well burning and reliable brand. Go for it. And I dont work for em either 🙂

I was wary of buying this baccy simply because it was a B+H product which brought back bad memories of very bland cigarettes. I needn't have worried though. Upon opening the pouch I sniffed the contents and was pleasantly surprised......vanilla was the prominent aroma for me with just a hint of citrus fruit.

Packing was a doddle as it is more of a ribbon cut than a ready rubbed though it was a tad overly moist for my liking which seems the way with most baccys I have bought.

Fired it up and tugged away until I got a decent burn in the bowl. The vanilla I smelled in the pouch was still there and mid bowl a nutty/woody taste became very apparent which was very pleasant.

A couple of relights were required to keep the party going though I have since aired it for an hour or so and subsequent bowls have rarely needed a relight.

An altogether very smokable blend that I will certainly be coming back to.

I had overlooked this tobacco because of the many negative reviews on this site. Then I was in the tobacconist and a man before me bought a pouch, so spur of the moment I got one too.I found it a very pleasant, nicely burning, easy going and tasty tobacco. An all day smoke.Will be in my rotation.

One of the British over the counter classics that is much superior to other readily available over the counter tobaccos available in Britain. Mellow Virginia (as it used to be known) will always have a special place for me as it was what got me back onto pipe smoking many years ago. It is the same today as it was when I first tried it. Virginia, burley and an addition of kentucky with a stewed fruit, slightly spiced caramelised topping. Packing is easy enough as the small course chunks just find their place in the pipe, lighting takes a little effort but as the moisture is optimal its not too tiring. Then its straight enjoyment from top to bottom. The pouch note does come through but never strongly which allows the constituent taboos to play their flavour notes. Strength is a good kick but should be OK for even the novices. Room note is very nice even the wife doesn't turn her nose up too much.

All in all a very nice smoke, and as I'm sat in my garden with this in my falcon and a can of mcewans export im reminded that all is well in the pipe smoking.

I hated this when I first tried it years ago... because I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Now I'm older... have a pipe with a filter...know how to actually smoke a pipe...it's lovely.its called special Virginia now. It's got a slight vanilla extract thing going on. There's some great smashed up flakes in there. Can get a tad sour in the bottom. But it's the best OTC I think.good smoke

This is a tobacco that I have been meaning to revisit for a very long time. I tried a bowl way back in the 1970s and for some reason I had not gotten round to trying it since. I know that it has had a good many poor reviews, but I like a challenge and wanted to see if it was as I remembered. On opening the pouch, I was greeted with a very familiar aroma of years gone by. Toffee and dark fruit and hints of chocolate reminiscent of old time Confectioners and Tobacconists. In fact it is one of the nicest pouch notes that I have encountered. As it came a little moist, I gave a good half hour of drying time. One false light and one true light and I was in business. The initial flavour was sweet and grassy with a good dose of dried fruit and this intensified somewhat and settled into a classic VaBur by mid bowl with a little dark chocolate from the Kentucky coming into play. The room note carried the toffee fragrance well and for a non aromatic it would be very acceptable to most. There was no hint of tongue bite or any tendency to burn hot. In fact it was a very well behaved smoke and kept its flavour all the way down with a good nic hit to end up. I got nearly an hour smoking pleasure out of a medium sized bulldog bowl. The after taste is great and the beard/moustache note is sublime. I would say in summation that I enjoyed this tobacco very much and would see it becoming part of my rotation. I wouldn't nescessarily recommend it for beginners, but it should please a seasoned Virginia smoker. One to enjoy slowly and it will reward your patience.

Update:-

Half way through the pack and my impressions have only changed for the better. Longer drying time before smoking helps bring out the nuances of the Virginias and it is fuller in flavour and more like a full Virginia. It smokes way better than it has a right to as an OTC blend !