Seattle Pipe Club Mississippi River

I have reviewed this before years ago, but I must have deleted. I've have Mississippi River in both the Pipes and Cigars .com produced and the sutliff produced versions.

P&C version:

Originally purchased in April 2014 in bulk. The P&C version used McClelland blending tobaccos. The bag aroma is mildly ketchupy, sweet, spicy, and creamy with just an extremely minor touch or a smokey undertone from the latakia. I'm almost certain the base Virginia's were 5100 and 5105.

From beginning to end flavors are consistent. Lots of sweetness, spice, and creaminess, but with more body than just red and stoved VA alone. The Orientals and perique add body while the latakia helps add the creaminess.

I still have a small sample left with 9 years on it. Aged, it's darker overall but mellow in flavor. The latakia is more present than new.

Sutliff version:

The tin note is like brownie batter and vinegar. Sweetness, cocoa, and tang from the vinegar. I noticed the longer the tin is open, the more pronounced the vinegar is.

From. Beginning to end, the flavors are consistent, but very different from. The original. Sweetness, very mild spice if any at all, the latakia is more pronounced in the flavor with its smokiness. The cocoa aroma does transfer to the taste. I suspect this version is heavily cased in some sort of cocoa casing. The vinegar also used in the casing doesn't not transfer to the actual flavor.

The difference IMO is night and day. I much prefer the P&C version over the Sutliff version. But of course, it doesn't matter since McClelland no longer exists. I don't purchase Mississippi River anymore due to the price.

Starts off with really bright Virginia sweetness. Similar to tart cherry or other stone fruits. The Perique is really only apparent on the retrohale for me, barely so, but I can tell it’s there. As the bowl burns down, the perique adds a little spice, and a touch more sweetness. Otherwise it is a pretty linear blend.

The main problem with this blend, is it makes my mouth water uncontrollably, so I’ll have to remember to have some pipe cleaners ready.

As others have noted, this is an attractive "krumble kake" in the tin with a delicious tin aroma of fruity red Virginia. When crumbled and dried briefly, it yields a number of thin flakes and a fair amount of tobacco dust. This may be the reason it burns rather hot. The flavor is thinner than the tin aroma would lead you to expect and this was somewhat disappointing. Requires a few relights and burns cleanly. I have jarred the remainder of the tin and will see if some aging can improve the flavor.

It is claimed that Joe Lankford had a dream about the recipe for this mixture. It's hard for me to say what twilight genius visited his mind at that hour, because I have very mixed feelings about Mississippi River. But let's cut to the chase. The tin did not have a date stamp on it, however, I'm pretty sure it was produced around September 2021. So the tobacco in it was fresh. By the way, the tin was as big as in the case of Plum Pudding, when you open it, you get the impression that tobacco was obviously unfilled - you could have put 100 grams in it.

The appearance: tobacco, finely chopped and pressed into a "crumbly cake" of almost monochrome dark chocolate color. The tobacco is easy to peel, and chopped into neat bars of about 10 grams each.

Flavour: sour barley wort straight from the oak barrel, spiced with smokiness and tar, quite bright black pepper, some cooked plums, a bit of withered hay. Sour note clearly dominates, only intensifying if you let the tobacco rest, and almost overlapping the latakia, not to mention the rest of the notes - orientals, say, I could not detect.

Taste: The initial fruity sweetness of the tobacco is quickly and excessively overpowered by the spice of pepper mixed with the sour taste of stout. A smoky latakia note covers the main picture, but the tobacco flavor clearly lacks the volume to call the overall bouquet an English blend. Closer to the middle of the pipe, the acidity goes away a bit, and the taste of the blend begins to resemble a white dry wine drunk around a campfire. The tobacco smokes quite hot due to its fine cut and thin leaf, burning out into a light gray fine ash and leaving almost no moisture. The strength of the blend can be called close to medium, in very large pipes a nicotine hit is possible. The tobacco has a citrusy, sour-sweet aftertaste.

The tobacco smoke has a light smoky flavor with a sourness. It is not heavy and perhaps not uncomfortable.

Bottom line: I smoked almost the entire 2 oz tin within two weeks, trying the blend in half a dozen different pipes. Perhaps the most honest thing to say is that I didn't understand the author's intent. Perhaps Joe was hungover and decided to recreate from memory the taste and flavour of what he had been so drunk on the day before. Perhaps the flavour and taste of the mixture was related to the steamboat parties on the Mississippi. I never solved this puzzle. One thing I could say for sure was that the mixture was definitely not for me.

This is a really good tasting tobacco, but it has some flaws. I don’t think it’s what most people would expect from an English. The Latakia, and Orientals are background players. Its more of a Virginia blend with some condiments. I found it difficult to keep lit. No matter how much I dried, or packed it, every 7, to 8 minutes, without fail, it would go out. I’ve had several tins over an 8 year span, and they all acted the same way. Maybe it’s me, I don’t know. I’m going to give it 2 stars as It tastes good, but Its hard to recommend a tobacco that’s consistently fighting with me, so it’s somewhat recommended.

I started this off by calling a store in Mississippi to get an opinion on the McClelland Frog Morton Bayou and could I obtain something sorta similar. They told me this.... I purchased this along with Plum Pudding and I love both blends however this one is my #1 for now. I love the subtle complexity with a good amount of tangy driving the bus. It keeps its flavor for most of the pipe and will change during the last 20%. The tangy will take a backseat and it will still be a great flavor just changes.

Some Virginia/perique blends I tend to find a bit underwhelming. Mississippi River takes a Virginia And perique blend and adds another dimension to it. Technically it is an English, but Mississippi River is no doubt being driven by the Virginia tobacco’s. Tin note is reminiscent of McClelland Virginia, but a bit more spicy. The smoke starts sweet and mild but builds in flavor quickly. At the mid bowl point, in my experience, is when some vap/er’s loose their magic. They muddle and become monotone. Not here. This is when the Latakia earns its keep. It assists in making Mississippi River taste great, burn cool, and smoke all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Again, just like Plum Pudding, drying this blend is key to a good experience.

SPC blends all seem to have a reputation of excellency, especially Mississippi River, and it certainly lives up to it. The sweet Virginas stay in the forefront with a sweetness throughout the blend, with the assistance of the raisin-like sweetness from the perique. The orientals deliver a wonderful spiciness that doesnt fade while the latakia stays in the background but gives a steady smoky taste.

For a Balkan/English blend, this blend actually delivers a pleasant room note, which even the wife noticed.

Update: 05/20- Though still a quality blend, I have just grown away from the extra-vinegary note of most SPC blends. This one is not exception. Nor do I have much enjoyment of krumble kake blends, as they seem to be more trouble to prep, typically needing drying out. So despite some great flavors and notes, my rating has dropped. 6/10

I consider this more of a red Virginia vapor . Sweet dark fermented fruit mostly with spice and some bbq sauce notes . The orientals and latakia fade in and out nicely . I labeled the jar after opening Mississippi River Red Virginia. I like this in a medium sized bowl like I do all Red Virginias . Someone else said they didn’t like this in a wide pot and i agree . Very tasty and deserves 4 stars ! Seattle Pipe club blends are really growing to my liking . A 2 oz tin adds value to price !! Man does this get creamy in the last third of the bowl !

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,..,,,,,.........Update 01/05/20 sometimes this blend is so tasteless that all i get is some red Virginia sweetness barely and that’s it ! I smoke it from the same pipe too !! Other times it is great , too inconsistent for me . I have read some other reviews that seem to agree and I don’t think it is just me . Downgrading it to 2 stars .