McClelland Vanilla Black Cavendish

VBC is a really mild, sweet, and pleasant smoke. Easy on the palate and an excellent choice for the beginner. A good option for anyone who wants to enjoy a sweet aromatic smoke. I like Lanes BCA a little bit better, but many like this more than BCA. Either way you can't go wrong.

after hearing about this being the top of black Cavendish blends, I had to try it (since I am an aromatic/BC smoker for the most part). it is a good smoke but not superior to the lane bca (or smokers pride black Cavendish for that matter) although they run in the same vein, they are different in taste. this one is more buttery in taste and the vanilla is less pronounced in taste. it is less humid although heavily cased. it takes the fire very well and leave minimal dry dottles. the room note is pleasing and the after taste is appealing. mild all day smoke for aromatics and black Cavendish lovers.

Best aromatic blend I have smoked. Also very cool smoking, great blender for the hotter burning blends. Tin aroma is pretty amazing.

The bowl of VBC that I am smoking now is about 2 years old. The tobacco is still sticky and moist. The short ribbon cut makes packing quite easy.

The flavor and sweetness have mellowed some, but there is still no doubt that this tobacco was heavily cased. Tons of sweet vanilla, and the burning sugars add a sensation of over-cooked (but not burned) caramel. The room note is pervasive and pleasant.

This tobacco can bite somewhat if puffed too hard, or if it is packed too wet, so sip with moderation. This is a great aromatic for newbies and mild 'baccy lovers.

this is the best aromatic i've had so far. smells incredible, lights well and stays lit. tastes good and much better than most vanillas i've tried. one day i may end up blending this with a burley or something with a little more strength. but i'll keep purchasing it and enjoying it as is. highly recommended aromatic.

When I first opened the pouch, I was not sure this was really vanilla. I have to agree I thought it was more like a sweet Butterscoth. I didn't smoke it until I let it dry some because it was very moist right out of the pouch. After an 8 hour dry on a baking sheet, I smoked this in a savinelli "clarks Favorite" pipe without the balsa wood filter. The first half of the bowl had very little flavor, and was very mild. It stayed lit very well, but again, the flavor was not there for me. The second half smoked a little better, and although it was still a very mild smoke, the vanilla flavor did make an appearance at the end. My opinion is this would be a nice tobacco to blend with a burley. I can't see me smoking it by itself as the flavor is just to mild for my taste. I would say this is a great smoke for someone who is just starting out. Its better than alot of aromatics I started with I know that.

A good bulk aromatic. Very wet out of the pouch/bag. however, I laid mine out on a baking sheet on top of some wax paper and stuck it outside for a few hours in the open air to dry out and then popped it back in a glass jar to relax.

I'd say with a little TLC you shouldn't have a problem with lighting, smoking and bitting issues.

Seriously wet sweet stuff. Went straight through it. If you like cased tobacco, then this is the stuff.

I'm really not much on black cavendish tobacco. I usually will not purchase a blend if it has too high of a percentage of the black stuff. I bought this strictly as a blending tobacco to tame some of the harsh or too strong blends I have on hand.I was pleasantly surprised by VBC. I haven't tried Lane's version but I can't imagine it being any better than this. Yeah it's sweet and heavy on the vanilla but not cloying and there is some hint of tobacco taste. It burns cool,doesn't bite or get goopy.I never would of expected it but I do occasionally smoke a bowl of this straight. It's a bit much to take on a regular basis but when I get the old sweet tooth going this works fine.

As a blending component to tame some overly spicy Virginias or a Va/Per that may have too much Perique for your tastes this works wonders. I now have reclaimed a lot of blends that I wasn't enjoying. It doesn't turn them into super blends but it makes them enjoyable enough to polish off the ignored offending blends.

Smoked straight it rates 2 1/2 stars. As a blending component I give it 3 1/2 stars.