McClelland Drama Reserve
(3.68)
The famed Drama leaf is sweet and subtle with a natural olive oil fragrance. It is grown on the Southern slopes and foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, the Classic Drama Basma District in Greek Eastern Macedonia, and includes the renowned Mahalla. It is refreshing, delicate, intriguing. This blend is designed to demonstrate just why the classic top grade Drama leaf is so celebrated.
Details
Brand | McClelland |
Series | Grand Orientals |
Blended By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
Manufactured By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
Blend Type | Oriental |
Contents | Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
Flavoring | |
Cut | Ribbon |
Packaging | 50 grams tin, 100 grams tin |
Country | United States |
Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
3.68 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 11 - 20 of 44 Reviews
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 05, 2014 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
I come to tobacco reviews.com looking for something new to try. I admit to being somewhat of a tobacco flit, searching for that perfect blend that fulfills my wants. I dig aros and I am a MILD to Medium guy. After decades of cigar smoking and less than a year back into the pipe, I always was and still am a mild/med guy. I have tried several non aros and just can't get into them. Not giving up just yet, I succumbed to the mystique of Drama. This stuff had good reviews so, what the heck. The inclusion of Drama and absence of latakia, I was game (I KNOW that folks speak of latakia in hushed tones but it's NOT for me. I just don't like it. But I was willing to try an non aro again, for shigs and gittles. Drama Reserve, to me, is quite exotic and very tasty. I also dig the fact that it's mild and easy on the tongue but still has depth and layers of flavor that really satisfy.
Pipe Used:
Brog w 9mm filter
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked:
Freshly opened tin
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2018 | Medium | Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
This is a really good blend. If it’s true it is no longer in production then that’s a shame. I find it deceptively good. Lighting is easy, especially if you have given it a day or two to dry in the open air. But the initial light is strong, even acrid. Once you’ve gotten a good charring light and relit, you are good to gently puff and experience all that is advertised on the label. It certainly has an earthy, eastern quality to it. If puffed hard it won’t really cause chemical bite, only a heat bite. The flavor is mild, but if you clench a lot you will taste more earthiness than is pleasurable. Lasts a long time in a leather pouch, won’t completely dry up and crumble. I’ll say again the flavor is mild, with mild aftertaste. But a welcome and unexpected bonus is the really nice room note. Car or cabin smells great after a few bowls of this. Orientals are not ma favorite tobaccos, but for what it is, this is really good. Highly recommended.
Pipe Used:
Various
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2017 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Delicious. No other words. One of the best oriental leaf you can try. This is a top natural mixture, unflavored but aromatic, natural aromatic. Simply wonderful. Try it! Don’t you know the difference between the oriental tobacco and the others? This is one of the best and you can begin to learn the pleasant oriental taste, an exquisite taste. No other words. Excellent work McClelland! In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 10 (the maximum) and four stars.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23, 2014 | Medium | None Detected | Mild | Unnoticeable |
Disclosure: I only smoke bent pipes outdoors (yes, the wife objects to indoor smoking) and cannot speak to "room note" as such but the aroma from the burning tobacco hitting my nostrils is what I enjoy the most about pipe smoking.
I love this blend because it is sophisticated and complex without any latakia. (Don't get me wrong, I do like latakia as long as it does not render a blend too smokey.) But oftentimes I am in the mood for something oriental without any trace of latakia and Drama Reserve is one of the two Grand Orientals blends (the other one is Smyrna) that I reach for in those instances. I find Drama Reserve to be strong enough to satisfy me and reserved enough to smoke frequently, and even during hot weather, without getting a nicotine buzz. At times I have even detected a certain refreshing dimension in it. This is definitely one of my favorites and I highly recommended.
I love this blend because it is sophisticated and complex without any latakia. (Don't get me wrong, I do like latakia as long as it does not render a blend too smokey.) But oftentimes I am in the mood for something oriental without any trace of latakia and Drama Reserve is one of the two Grand Orientals blends (the other one is Smyrna) that I reach for in those instances. I find Drama Reserve to be strong enough to satisfy me and reserved enough to smoke frequently, and even during hot weather, without getting a nicotine buzz. At times I have even detected a certain refreshing dimension in it. This is definitely one of my favorites and I highly recommended.
Pipe Used:
Various bent with 9mm filter
Age When Smoked:
Not cellared
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 11, 2010 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Smokes well, great taste. Perfect as a once in a while change of pace. The ketchup smelling preservative persists even after six months, that is the only minus. Subtle and delicate flavor, better smoked on a sunny day. This should hit the spot for people who prefer Oriental tobacco blends.
Virginia lover
Virginia lover
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2009 | Medium | None Detected | Full | Tolerable to Strong |
McClelland belts one out of the park. It's pretty, it smells good in the tin, it burns in a most civilized way, and it makes great smoke. Unprompted, I would not have used "olive oil" to describe this; having read that on the label, I noted a slight catch in my throat while snuffling the tin, not too dissimilar to what you get when you take a spoonful of extra virgin oil. Smoking Drama Reserve quite slowly, I observed some progression in the three-way balance--sweet, spicy and bitter--from top to bottom of the bowl. I felt more spice early and more bitterness late, with sweetness throughout. A fine experience, and I hope they made some more.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 03, 2020 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Typical McClelland VA tin note. I have become a huge Oriental fan. When I first started smoking a pipe, Oriental blends seemed devoid of any flavor. As I matured as a pipe smoker I started to appreciate Oriental forward English blends and then Oriental blends sans Latakia. This is among the greats. I am not sure if I am glad or annoyed that I saw olive oil used as a descriptor for the flavor of this blend prior to smoking it. I am fairly certain I wouldn't have made that connection on my own, but whoever made that observation was spot on and I taste it in the smoke and in the finish. I have never used this descriptor before but this blend, for me, compares to a dry wine. What I mean is that that characteristic that makes a wine dry (think Sauvingnon Blanc or Chianti) is what I get in this blend, almost tannic. The VA is the base and it is a typical rich McClelland VA: bready with a subtle sweetness. The Oriental's in this blend give it a buttery, woody, nutty, and of course olive oil like flavor. I have played around with pipe rotation on this one and found, strangely enough for me, that this smokes best in a smaller briar (group 3) although is quite good in a cob and a meer, which I normally prefer lighter blends...but my Dunhill Chestnut group 3 Zulu made this baby sing.
Pipe Used:
Briar's, meerschaum and cobs
Age When Smoked:
7 years
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2017 | Mild | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
I am a big fan of McClelland's Grand Oriental line and the Drama Reserve might just be my top dog. To be sure, all blends in the line are keepers. What sets Drama apart for me is the slightly sour sweetness and depth of flavour. It packs and burns with ease, especially after some light airing. The smoke is rich and leaves a wonderful room note. Like all Grand Orientals, it is a wonderful smoke in warmer weather, though performs just as well in the cold.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 2016 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
For an accurate description look Petrisz.IMHO this is the top of Grand Orientals,sure Yenidje Supreme and Agonya are wonderful ones,24 with the oriental touch too,but the exquisite balance of Drama is close up to perfection.By the way the typical smell is,for me,not of olive oil but of olive fresh cut wood.
Pipe Used:
many
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes
Age When Smoked:
current production
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 11, 2014 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Medium to Full | Very Pleasant |
Has a tin note of those sweet and tangy Virginias that McC seems so noted for. Always reminds me of Christmas pudding. Beyond that is some stunning complexity to the nose. Every time I sniff the tin I come up with something slightly different. This tobacco has some earthy, herbaceous notes, cedar or sandalwood perhaps... all very elusive to me.
This baccy burns a treat. It is atm my preferred breakfast smoke. Push into the hole, light and go. The cut is a very short ribbon, almost like a chip or cross cut: very easy to handle.
Once lit, this baccy is tart and sweet and very fragrant. It is as energising to the senses as a conversation with an intelligent woman. Naturally, I love it.
This baccy burns a treat. It is atm my preferred breakfast smoke. Push into the hole, light and go. The cut is a very short ribbon, almost like a chip or cross cut: very easy to handle.
Once lit, this baccy is tart and sweet and very fragrant. It is as energising to the senses as a conversation with an intelligent woman. Naturally, I love it.