McClelland Royal Cajun Ebony

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.

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.

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.

Updated 1/30/14- Corrected review, I had mistakenly switched reviews for the Dark and Ebony.

I like it ! Groundbreaking processing , the "Perique" style "pressure/stewing" processing of the Kentucky/Virginia leaf gives a whole new Tobacco. I am not a Burley lover, but this is special,... Buttery, sweet, without the normal Burley bite, smoother. Interesting through the whole bowl, I almost hate to see a bowl end.

The flavor is a cocoa/burnt marshmallows with maple syrup, but in a natural way, dark sweet burley without ever being bitter. I don't find this as mild as most of the earlier Reviewers indicate and I would not recommend this as the first pipe of the day, it is just too much of an explosion of "dark" flavors.

I find this improves with a little breathing and drying time. I think this would be a good choice for public smoking as it has a very pleasant aroma. It's got that Aromatic kind of scent , but not cloying and without a topped taste.

I have to give this 3 stars only because I'm not a burley smoker, but if you are, this is 4 stars .

This is a very nice blend from McClelland's. The Kentucky leaf is in the background but it helps keep the blend interesting. This blend is very mild to me, but if you have a sensitive taste then this would be a great smoke. If you smoke it slow it is light and simple, but good. If you smoke it like a fright train then it gets spicy and it gets a latakia flavor coming out. No tongue bite at all. I can see how people may not just love this blend the first time, it is not a complex blend that will knock your socks off. But if you have time to just enjoy it for what it is you will find there is more to it than what you first thought. If you are looking for strong flavor or taste get another blend, you want a very well made simple and mild smoke look no further.

This was a very smooth smoke, I felt much smoother than what I could remember of the "Dark" version. It had a very interesting flavor, much different from other VA's I've had. I liked it, but I probably wouldn't buy another tin. Even though it's quite mild on the pallet, it has a scent very similar to Latakia IMO. Very interesting blend though not really one of my favorites. I look forward to trying the last of the three blends in the series.

A nicely prepared flake that I found a bit to moist from the tin and therefore let dry for several days. It was worth the wait since relights were greatly reduced. Easily packed, it smoked cool and dry without any bite. The fire curing and stoving is not the same as a tobacco that acutally contains perique but the resulting taste was both rich and sweet. Give it a try.

I found this to be a very unique blend, full on flavor while still mild on strength. A slight taste of turkish and oriental creeps in, slightly salty and rustic. Worth trying.