McClelland Stave-Aged Virginia 35 Ribbon

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.

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.

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.

====Update July 30, 2015==== I feel the need to make an adjustment with this blend. I don't change my mind often about a blend (I've done so only twice before), but I feel obligated to downsize this one.

Several weeks ago I really enjoyed this blend, but, after leaving it in its tin for a few short weeks, its once intriguing taste has largely dissipated. It still remains a good blend, but the tobacco has lost its initial magic (the oak chunk dried out really fast—maybe that's why the taste has withered, though I don't know that for certain). So, 4 stars upon opening, but withering to 3 if you don't smoke it all right away.

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A piece of bourbon soaked oak in a tin of tobacco? A gimmick? Maybe. But it's a gimmick that works wonders for me. On the inhale I got a combo of the whiskey, not overpowering, and a wisp of cocoanut and vanilla, on the exhale, the oak came through loud and clear (so this is what oak tastes like? Marvelous! It reminded me of cedar). What a wonderful combo!

It's amazing what this fantastic hobby of ours delivers—the blend before, not so good, this blend, truly restores my confidence in the pipe!

This baccy needs to be sipped, or the virginia will kick back slightly, and, as the bowl got down to the dottle (of which there was very little), it got a wee bit hot. This is typical of many virginias, if you chug you can get scorched, so take it slow. Overall, this a smooth blend and it delivers! Excellent!

This is one of the best smoking experiences I've had in a pipe!

Highly recommended!

Keep on Pipin'!

Tried this because of the Cellar as well (and my love of all things Bourbon)- and I was pretty happy with it. Smooth burning smoke with a pleasing scent, much like the Frog without the perfumey scent. Nice addition to the collection for sure.

The only reason I don't give the blend a four out of four, is because it's not something I reach for every day.

The strength of this seems to be your average Virginia, it's a nice medium that's definitely not lacking. The flavoring was not overpowering and very simple. I'm not sure if the wood block does help, but I would think it does. It gives a great taste you look for in a blend such as this.

The taste besides the casing is very good, McClelland always does a full Virginia. The room note was also very nice. The wife approved and said it was pleasant. Definitely one I would recommend if your looking for a stronger Virginia aromatic.

Like a "Cream Sickle" , orange and vanilla flavor ( ok maybe Bourbon) ,but very well done, not cloying. I'm not an Areo smoker, but I can get by with this. I thought this was very bitey when I first opened a fresh tin, but give this two weeks to breath, and it is a creamy Virginia. I'm sure new pipe smokers would like this and probably good for public smoking. As you get halfway down the bowl, this turns into a nice flavorful McC Virginia and you lose the topping. I never give Aros 3 stars but this is a 3 star, even for me. Will bite if you don't pay attention

Agree with most of what reviewer, "DK 10/08/2012", said

Great Virginia taste with a touch of bourbon flavor, definitely not an aromatic, just a hint of added flavoring. Rich tobacco taste, never bitter. Moderate nicotene level. A great addition to a Virginia lovers rotation.