McClelland Royal Cajun Ebony

I appreciate the previous reviewer's analogy to a chocolate stout very much! That's exactly the feeling I had. This blend looks like Lane's BCA in the tin. Dark, dark black and so finely cut that smoking it in a cob might require a screen! Glorious sweet fermented tin aroma with a background of chocolate and coffee.

The flavor is remarkably complex and interesting. It doesn't change much down the bowl until the last 1/3rd, where the light sweetness gives way a bit to a more heavy-bodied, fuller taste. I think the "explosion of flavor" in the description is a bit over the top but I do appreciate blends that smoke mild but are full flavored. This is 5100 Red Cake's dark-hearted brother. Where Red Cake is soft and sweet, RCE is deep and mellow, both being extremely enjoyable. Burns to a clean light-gray ash and needed few relights.

I'm not sure what this "new tobacco" thing is all about but I approve boisterously! This is an exciting product. Certainly the best stoved VA I've ever smoked and I am stocking my cellar with more of this, as well as sampling the other two blends in the line. This is something everyone should try at least once.

Virginia, Perique and Kentucky processed in the McClelland's special way for their Royal Cajun series. A very impressive compilation that burns cool, has some strength and will give the VaPer crowd a unique smoking experience.

Pipestud

Another wonderfully dark, smooth, chocolate stout of a blend using McClelland's great new cajun black. This variation explores the same territory as RCD, though RCE is a little sweeter, less spicy and peppery, and slightly more monochromatic than its sibling RCD, but it still has lots of wonderful subtlety. If you like one you'll like the other.

This is a very nice blend that's almost as good as RCD, but it's missing just that touch of magic to make this one as extraordinary as its sibling.

My conclusion is that this almost-politically-correctly-named blend is more of a curiosity than of a smoking delight.

The weird combination of high sweetness and smell of burning rubber is so contradictory it could even be interesting to try. Try this. It's not bad. It's just weird. What if you liked it?

Well, I tried. It was fun to try a bowl. Now I'm thinking what to do with the rest of the tin. I have no slightest intention to smoke this again. And I never throw any tobacco away.

UPD after half a year:

OK, I didn't throw my "Ebony" away. After sitting for 6 months in a non-sealed tin the tobacco has dried up a bit and improved. The unpleasant "burnt rubber" tone has mostly gone while the remarkable sweetness remains. It's much more palatable now and I will finish the tin but it's still too much of a weird concoction to buy this ever again.

This tobacco behaves nice and is smooth with richness yet I found it to be lacking in some dimensional depth. The Charring Light and first 2/3 of the bowl is good and the last 1/3 is better and if it had another name I would be more content. The Dark Fired Kentucky was mild in strength and the “wow factor” just isn’t there for me ... But I do like this tobacco.

I think I will blend in a little bit of perique and press it for a while to see if it adjusts this blend to the “Royal” image that I have in my mind when I read the label.

This tobacco is one of the best I've ever smoked, if not the best. First the tin note is amazing - like brandy flavoured chocolate, not to speak of the nice charcoal looking coarse appearance. It has a tangy sweetness and a buttery creaminess that descends on the palate towards mid-bowl. This does not taste like tobacco at all. I have tasted several brands of tobacco - Aromatics, Virginias, Burleys, Orientals, those with Latakia, Perique, what have you in the tobacco world, from the highly acclaimed brand names around, but I must confess that this is really good. It actually tastes like food, bread and butter. No matter how you load your pipe, nothing 'expected' sneaks up on you, like some bite or bitterness or after-taste that you occasionally get from most other tobaccos however 'eminent'. This is a mild-medium exciting smoke that can be enjoyed all day. Indeed, if not for the fact that I have a collection of other tobaccos that I smoke and want to savour, including some cellared ones that I expect to improve with age, this one can be smoked exclusively. I have not tried the Royal Cajun Dark nor the Royal Cajan Special but will do so soon. If they are anything like the Ebony, then McClelland would have made, arguably, one of the best triad-tobacco blends in the world. Besides, this is a newly purchased tobacco made in June of this year (2015); if it tastes this good one wonders what it will taste like if allowed to age (presuming it improves with age). This is highly recommended. I will surely obtain more tins and try the other two (Dark and Special) blends out asap.

Black, smooth, sweet, smokey and absolutely rich. This blend of Virginias and Kentucky leaf demonstrates the magic that occurs when flue-curing, stoving, fire-curing and Perique-style processing meet in a gloriously complex explosion of flavor.

Yes, this tin descriptions pretty much nails it. I enjoyed this blend. When I first opened the tin, which happened to be 9 years old thanks to my good fortune at a B&M one day, I really expected something like Dark Star. And to be true, it kind of is, but more earthy and more spicy, whereas dark star is more about that preserved fruity sweetness.

this was a real pleasure to smoke, but almost too unusual to be a mainstay in my rotation. The tin lasted a long time as it just kind of got passed over a lot. For my perique needs I prefer that leaf to be paired with more grassy/lemony type Virginias and for my stoved Virginia sweet tooth needs I would rather smoke Dark Star. That said, I have nothing bad to say bout this blend.

One thing I did note though is the ingredients led me to believe that I would finally be smoking a McClelland blend high in Nicotine. While RCE is heavier than the average McClelland blend, it was no nic powerhouse. In any case, McClelland is so tasty I tend to overlook nicotine content when enjoying their blends. They are also amongst the most innovative blenders out there and this is a prime example of that. Good stuff that is worth a try.

The Virginias are mildly toasty, mildly fruity, and mildly sweet. The "Periqued" Kentucky is deeply earthy, mildly spicy and very smooth. It's a really nice tasting blend whose key feature, for me, is the smoothness. Looking forward to trying the others in the series.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in flavor. Burns well.

Opening this 5 year old tin of Royal Cajun Ebony revealed loose, coarse cut ribbons of tobaccos that were mostly rich black in color with a fleck of brown here and there. It was just slightly moist and the tin smelled of hickory smoked barbecue sauce and subtle spices. An unlit sip gave me a smoky taste that reminded me of Latakia.

My first few draws after lighting produced a light chocolate taste, but as the bowl progressed things got a bit livelier even though I never experienced a "complex explosion of flavor." At I progressed down the bowl the chocolate taste remained constant, but a spicy sweetness like cinnamon and a Latakia like smokiness became noticeable at various times. The room note was toasty and slightly sweet which seemed very pleasant to me.

I really like this tobacco, the strength is about right for me, and the tastes were pretty enjoyable, if unremarkable. I did not care for another tobacco in this line, the Royal Cajun Dark, as much as this one. Ebony was a little stronger and tastier to me, and I will most likely be buying more of this.

I received this tobacco as a part of the YTPC Secret Santa in 2015. The description intrigued me, so I immediately opened it up and smoked a bowl's worth.

I was quite pleased with the smoke. The flavors are not terribly complex, but offer enough enjoyable variety to keep me entertained. The main two flavors I get are a rich sweetness and a savory smokiness. Other flavors come in and out, but for the most part that's what I get.

Even when straight out of the tin after opening the mildly wet tobacco didn't bite and managed to stay lit for most of the smoke. No complaints in that department.

The room note leaves a little to be desired. Not overwhelming, but it is quite 'campfire stinky' as my family describes it.

This seems to be McClelland's showcase for their Cajun Black tobacco, and it does that very well. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for with being very well made and predictable tastiness. I can see adding this as a condiment to another blend, much like the Perique it draws inspiration from. Not quite a four star rating, but a darn fine baccy.