McClelland Stave-Aged Virginia 35 Ribbon

Mike McNiel has got to be the most underrated blender on the planet. He is always coming up with new innovative pipe tobacco for the smoker and his Stave Aged Virginia, with the block of whisky barrel wood in the center is exceptional. The Dark and Red Virginia leaf, combined with the natural flavoring that has escaped from the block of wood, combined to make the ribbon cut leaf naturally sweet with overpowering hits of spice at first light. The blend settles and provides a creamy smooth flavor that is unique, simple and refined, all at the same time. A nice bit of nicotine hit with this one and the wife loves the room note. A win-win blend all the way around.

Pipestud

The various light, red and dark Virginias provide a bit of tangy fermented ripe dark fruit, tart citrus, a little stewed fruit and sugar, a lot of earth and wood with a little grass. They also have a little essence of “vinegar”, which weakens quickly, but never totally dissipates. The quality Kentucky bourbon has some depth to it, and is responsible for the obvious spiciness. It does sublimate the Virginias to a moderate extent, and mostly holds on to the finish. The strength and nic-hit are just past the center of mild to medium, and the taste falls a tad short of medium. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool and clean and slightly slow with a mostly consistent, deeply rich sweet and mildly savory flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs a little more than an average number of relights. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste, mostly due to the bourbon. Can be an all day smoke for those who like aromatics and straight Virginias. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

Since trying Frog Morton's Cellar a bit ago, I decided to pick up a tin of this as well. Boy, am I glad I ever did. This is great stuff. I too thought it a bit of a gimmick, just to help in selling a new blend, but the cube of the barrel wood really does add to the flavor and room note of the Virginia nicely. This baccy does not even come close to biting and burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the pipe. Recommended highly.

Ribbon cut of sandy brown through to black in color. Tin aroma reminded me of rum-raisin ice cream (bourbon-raisin?). Little oak smell as well from the bourbon-soaked chunk of oak that resides in the tin, black on on side. I was mildly intrigued but not overly optimistic.

Lights easily and stays lit. I did not dry this out but found that it smoked a bit better as it dried in the tin - subsequent bowls worked better than the first 3-4. The phrase "it's all in the snork" rang loudly true. This one came alive through snorking and I found myself doing so more often than usual. More savory than sweet, which surprised me, but still a hint of VA-with-bourbon sweetness at the rear. Up front was this very light but very wonderful spice note that was quite compelling. I can't help but wonder how this will age, and I'm going to buy more tins to find out! This is not quite up there with my favorites (yet) and I wouldn't call it a 4 star blend to my tastes (not quite!) but it's deserving of a taste test by anyone who's eyes aren't crossed by a little booze in their 'baccy. Doesn't unseat GLP's Haddo's Delight for me but it's a worthy blend that is quite tasty, if not the last word in complexity.

This is an interesting take on the McClelland Virginia and a very good one at that. The quality of the leaf cannot be denied as it comes from a brand long known for Virginia excellence. The anti ketchup crowd may be able to tolerate this one as the whiskey presence tends to mitigate the characteristic McClelland scent.

This is a straight Virginia flavored with both Bourbon and a Stave; the latter of which is a piece of a bourbon barrel that is placed in the tin. It is unique and good. It smokes like a typical MCC Va with a different sweetness to it, no doubt from the addition of the Whiskey. It is also more of a shag cut as opposed to the normal broken flake composition of many of my favorite MCC Vas.

The stave is a neat concept and as I discovered with my Frog Morton Cellar (which also includes a bourbon topping and stave) it can later be reused in other blends with good results. I found Mac Baren Navy Flake to be a little bland and I added the Stave from FMC to it and it really brought the blend to life to my tastes. I just finished this one up and have put the stave in a remaining Jar of Uhle's 00. That blend is fantastic anyway, but I just smoked some after the Stave had been sitting in it just a few days and it was still good with an different type of sweetness to accompany the already fantastic nuttiness of the blend.

Back to the Stave Aged 35th blend. I do recommend this one, but maybe more as a novelty than as a regular smoke. I will give it three stars as I don't think any Virginia lover will be too disappointed with the purchase, but I also don't see it becoming a mainstay in many of those cellars as it does kind of lean heavily to the aromatic side. It might be a great blend for the aro smoker looking to jump into Virginias.

At first I thought the chunk of oak barrel was a bit gimmicky, but I really do believe it adds a nice woodsy, mild whiskey aroma to the room note. This is a delicious blend that I can smoke pretty much all day. The sweetness of the Virginia really shines in this one without bite.

I popped open my tin some months ago, just to try it, and to take note of my initial impressions. To the nose on opening, it smelled flavorful, a hint of light bourbon whiskey aroma and fairly typical Va smell. The first pipe was nice, not a rush to get out and buy more, but definitely something to try again. Tonight, I filled a corn cob with it and got volumes of rich, white smoke and a sweet and wonderful blend of lightly topped whiskey tobacco with the sweetness of the Virgina tobaccos. The aftertaste had that delicious grassy Virginia taste, no bite. A re-light or two necessary but became more tasty as the bowl burnt down. I think the corn cob is the pipe for this blend. I'll buy more.

A very delicious tobacco to say the least! I opened the tin and smoked away and it smoked wonderful! There was no bite, no continual relight, it was great straight out of the tin. I couldn't taste bourbon or whiskey but the tobacco has notes that you'll find in any whiskey. The notes compromised of raisin, vanilla, caramel and fig, all typical flavors that you'll find in a whiskey. By the way, the tobacco pairs wonderful with a porter or stout beer, especially one that has been oaked. I suggest you grab yourself your favorite porter/stout and enjoy this tobacco. If you don't enjoy aromatics, this might be for you because it doesn't smoke like your average aromatic. The flavor and topping are very light and the Virginias definitely make their presence known. I would say this tobacco is definitely worth the try to say the least.

This is a really wonderful light aromatic/Virginia crossover. As a lover of Frog Morton Cellar, I know what magic McClelland can do with their blends by the simply ingenious addition of a small block of wood from a bourbon barrel.

Upon opening my six year old tin, the soft aroma of bourbon wafted upwards, along with a gentle fruitiness from the finely cut Virginia ribbons. The cut, color, and mix of reds reminds me of Aurora.

This is, thank goodness, not a heavy aromatic. Easily packed, and lit, this tobacco delivers a gently sweet aromatic smoke from start to finish. Lite nic hit, great room note. Very much of an all day smoke. I started, as many pipe smokers do, focusing on aromatics, but have (for a while now), moved on to smoking mostly Virginias. These days, heavy aromatics no longer appeal to me. But as a “light aromatic,” this blend satisfies my love of Virginias with a reminder of how pleasant a soft aromatic can be.

Highly recommended, and a great introduction to Virginias if you are coming from a preference for aromatics.

I’m not an aromatic guy... I like to taste the tobacco. Using the bourbon barrel stave was a fantastic idea. I don’t know enough about artificial toppings to know if there’s been any other tampering with McClelland’s top notch VA’s, but there’s none of the gloopiness, the stickiness, or by-product aromas/tastes that is often associated with chemical additives. I get only a subtle, authentic vanilla-y toffee note which marries with the gentle, moderately complex and agreeable VA’s.

Not a commanding tobacco by any stretch. It requires little practical attention in terms of prep or lighting, and even less attention in terms of my taste buds - offering up its goodness readily. My wife absolutely loves the smell of this one and, while tolerant of my Latakia fixation, wholly appreciates when I light this up.

Just as I am something of a VAPer tourist, I am even more so with flavored tobaccos. And this one, satisfies that occasional foray perfectly.