McClelland CORPS Vanilla Ice

Delicate aromatic with whisps of Vanilla taste throughout the smoke. Clean and mostly dry burn. Lots of Cavendish leaf in this one with a delicate balance of Virginia leaf to add a little body to the blend (but not much).

I submit that this is as good as it gets for those who enjoy light and airy aromatics.

And, for whatever it's worth... I do like the tin art. (-;

The room note rating is set up poorly on this site... It assumes that a strong room note is bad. This is not the case. The room note for this particular tobacco is very pleasing, but not particularly weak. The room note is a definite crowd pleaser. Even people who typically hate pipe smoke will be happy to be in the presence of this stuff.

The packaging is ultra ugly, but who cares, really? Upon opening the vaccuum sealed tin the first thing you notice is the scent of butterscotch. It's almost overpowering actually. The tobacco is mainly dark ribbons with a few flecks of brown and tan. I did find a couple twigs in the tin, which surprised me considering the other signs of extremely high quality.

This is one of the best tobacco's I've ever smoked. It will probably be far too weak for any seasoned pipe smoker, but if you enjoy aromatics like I do, than you will be very pleased with this blend.

After 3 bowls of the stuff, I haven't had to light more than 3 matches. It burns better than any other tobacco I have ever smoked. In this sense, it's perfect.

The taste is not overly sweet... A simple tobacco with a hint of vanilla sweetness.

I'm very impressed with this blend.

The black cavendish has the vanilla flavor you expect from it, but the toppings have a bit of it, too. The lemon Virginia is a little grassy and citrusy sweet. Needs some dry time, burns a little slow and moist, but it doesn't leave any dottle; just a little moisture. Needs some relights. Has little nicotine. It has a smooth, lightly creamy quality that doesn't weaken or bite. Has a very pleasant after taste - better than many vanilla flavored blends - and room note. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

A really nice and mellow smoke. This has a nice tin note of vanilla, but when smoking I get vanilla, a touch of maple and a nutty flavor. It's moist but not wet out of the tin. I never dry it but I could see some people drying it for a bit. I typically only have one relight and it maintains a great taste from start to finish. A really nice aromatic that gets the wife's seal of approval.

I am fairly new to pipe smoking.Well my grandfather, one Uncle,and my Dad all smoked pipes so I have been around it my entire life but didn't pick it up until my Dad and Grandfather passed. I haven't smoked a ton of different tobaccos but I have smoked a decent amount considering the short amount of time I have been smoking.I haven't smoked many Aromatics but out of the ones I have tried with a vanilla topping this one is my favorite.Smoked cool,looked great, and the tin smell was amazing.This had a definite vanilla taste but not overpowering and stayed sweet and consistent throughout the bowl.The tobacco had good flavor too,nice and sweet,but not overpowering.The vanilla flavor enhanced the tobacco and vise versa,they complemented each other very well IMO. Maintained a nice balanced smoke from start to finish. I would recommend this to a beginner or lifelong smoker, especially if you enjoy aromatics or want to try a lighter aromatic with great flavor and well balanced. I will definitely be buying more of this!

Ice, Ice Baby!! Oops wrong Vanilla Ice. Well I expected a little mint, menthol, peppermint etc. to give the "Ice". This blend has little or no cooling flavor to it. What it has is an excellent sweet vanilla flavor that remains throughout the smoke. Tin note is sweet vanilla and light up is easy. Tobacco is not very moist and so lights easy. First couple of puffs are a delight of sweet creamy vanilla. The sweet creamy vanilla flavor continues all through the smoke. Frankly, this is one of if not the best aromatic in the catagory of taste and flavor I have ever smoked. Room note is very lite with just a hint of vanilla. This is a first rate four star smoke in my book.

I like Vanilla flavored pipe tobaccos. This is a good one. It's very similar to McClelland's nougat flavored Best of Show, which I prefer slightly more. Relatively mild, nice flavor and room note. Great smell in the tin. It gets a 3 in my book.........recent update: I've been smoking this for a while now, and really love it. It's my favorite vanilla/cav blend. A real winner, and a certain 4. Skip what I said earlier. I'm older and a better judge now. Well, at least older.

Something unusual here. Definately different yet pleasing. I am not big on aros but I like to keep a tin or Vanilla Ice on hand during the summer. Upon opening the tin you smell the sweetness, almost a lemon/cake like smell. The tobacco is a unique and interesting color too, light with dark streaks running through it. Kind of a "blond" almost. Every tin I have had came a little moist and benefited from a bit of drying out before lighting up. However, once dried a bit, it lights right up and burns clean with minimul relights. If you do not dry it, keep your lighter handy! If you dry it a bit, I find the flavor to be better. I get a nice, lemon/citrus/heavy vanilla flavor which is very unique. It is a refreshing taste in my mouth almost like mint will do but it is not a mint flavor. It just leave your mouth with that "refreshed" feel. Now, all of this said, I keep this, almost exclusively, as a summertime smoke. For me, this tobacco just fits on a hot summer day, especially while I am fishing or doing yardwork. I try not to overdo it since, as I have said, I am not really partial to aros and I could see me burning myself out on it quckly. As is, I shall be keeping a tin of this handy every summer.

Bright citrus has its edge rounded with hint of vanilla. Reminiscent of Coca-Cola (without nearly the the same syrupy sweetness). This is what I smoke if I want something "for warm weather but with a little complexity".

A very good all day crowd pleasing aromatic. Quality leaf, quality topping. Smokes a bit airy, but doesn't even hint at biting. Vanilla fades away after the first 1/3, but good tobacco flavor remains.