McClelland Black Shag

I agree with the comment that this tobacco is pretty underrated. A nice virginia shag, Black Shag has sweetness, roundness, and a bit of mustiness...in a good way. The blend is mostly a dark shag, leading me to believe that it has a high percentage of matured Virginias. The blend is plenty sweet, well balanced, and just musty/tangy enough, create a pleasantly complex blend. Improves with age, be it in a jar, or the toe of a Persian slipper nailed to the mantle...

I have had an interest in shag cut tobaccos for a while now. So the name and association with Sherlock Holmes was all I needed to give this one a go. I've now been through three tins in about two months, so this blend has been in my daily rotation and will likely remain there as long as it's available.

Appearance/aroma- I was somewhat disappointed in that this is not a true shag cut. The strands are cut very short, and have a "rice-like" appearance, rather than the angel hair pasta appearance of true shags such as Five Brothers, GH Kendal Gold, etc. No matter though. A short and very tiny cut blend of predominately black (about 80%) and reddish brown tobaccos. The tin aroma is smokey, with the fermented McClelland aroma in the background.

The Smoke - In a blind test, I would likely say that this blend contains a wee bit of Latakia. However it is subtle and I'm not at all convinced this is anything other than mostly stoved Virginia. The smokey and lightly sweet flavors meld into a delicious, dare I say barbecue-like flavor with a similar aroma filling the room. Nicotine content is mild, so in that category I'm not sure this blend would be to Sherlock's liking.

Even though Black Shag is ready to smoke straight from the tin, I prefer to dry it a bit before firing up. I give it two charring lights and it's ready to go. About halfway through the bowl, a pleasant creaminess replaces the smokey flavor, while the sweetness turns to a gentle spiciness. Thoughts of (imagined) Latakia disappear as straight Virginia flavors take over in full.

Very easy on my tongue. This blend simply doesn't bite me at all. I could see potential for mild tongue burn for those given to such things, but given the cut this one should be smoked rather slowly of course.

Final Thoughts- McC. Black Shag is one of my go-to tobaccos. I simply love it and must have it on hand at all times. As a fan of Virginias, I find this one to be very unique. I really can't think of anything that tastes similar to Black Shag. Smokey, sweet and lightly spicy goodness. Highly recommended.

McClelland?s 221-B Series is surrounded around the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. We grew up reading and watching the films of the witty detective smoking his pipe, and finding clues, solving cases left and right. Now, we have a special line dedicated to the man himself.

The first blend in this series is ?Black Shag.? The tobacco is contained within a small tin containing 50grams of this wonderful blend. The covering of the tin makes anyone that is a Sherlock Holmes lover to tear right into it. On entering the store, I grabbed a tin, removed the plastic cover, and pulled back the seal. I loaded up my pipe and enjoyed a full bowl before even buying. On the cover is a picture of Holmes smoking a bent pipe staring into his magnifying glass. While the design is simple, it is nice to look at.

Upon opening the tin you are greeted with not only the aroma but fine cut strands of brown, red, and black delights. The tin has the slight hint of the famous McClelland ketchup, but very little. After smelling the tobacco for a while the ?ketchup? disappears and you are left with the real thing.

Load the pipe as you like, there is no science to smoking this blend. It lights right away and it stays lit. With the first puff you will be welcomed with a slight spice, very enjoyable.

One should make sure that they smoke this bowl at somewhat of a slow pace. You do not need to smoke extra slow, but tone it down a bit compared to your usual speed. If you go a bit fast you will be victim of tongue bite.

This tobacco remains the same throughout the entire bowl; this is a real pleasure to get your hands on. I recommend this to anyone that wants to smoke a good Virginia blend and one that will not hurt your wallet. I truly enjoyed it and this will be a continual line in my cellar. I can?t wait to tear into the other two blends which are seated right next to me.

Pipeing Joe ______(_)

I love shag cuts, I love virginias, I love Sherlock Holmes....so why don’t I love this? I’ve tried to find a redeeming quality (besides the cut) but am unable to do so.

If you had told me this was just Virginia I wouldn’t have believed it. The leaf is very dark, very mature looking, but the flavor is thin, and what you experience in the tin is not reflected once lit. I have aged this several years and thought it might shine with age, but sadly no.

I think Holmes could and would do better..

The tobacco blend of the famous (and fictional) Sherlock Holmes. Honestly I was a little bit disappointed (especially after Mclellend's Watson blend being so good), but that isn't to say that it's necessarily a bad smoke.

To start with, it's dry (very dry) straight out of the tin and the cut is incredibly fine. It also has that odd barbeque sauce smell that so many Mclellend blends have, but underneath that the scent is rich and deep.

It packs well (on account of it being so finely chopped) and lights easily, but does have a tendency to burn hot if you're not careful. Also, despite it being a rather dry blend, it always seems to leave a wet a goopy mess of dottle at the bottom of my pipes.

Finally, it's taste is okay. It can get almost bitter if it gets too hot, but otherwise it's a pleasant smoke. Not too harsh or heavy on the flavour, but also not too light. It's not something I'd like to fill a room with and wallow in, but I didn't dislike the aroma or the atmosphere it left around me. I think it would make a good outdoor smoke for when you're out and about (as opposed to an evening fireside smoke after dinner).

I smoke a ton of Gawith And Hogarth Dark Birdseye and love that stuff. Believe it is just dark stoved Virginia tobacco cut into a fine shag cut. I thougt I'd try Black Shag because it sounded like what I like and I enjoy a number of other McClelland tobaccos. I'm smoking a bowl of Black Shag right now and can't tell it apart from Dark Birdseye. This one comes tinned and the other comes bulk. Take your pick they are both great. Strong, lights and burns easy. I like it!

Now that I've had a bowl or two I actually think DS is a little better than DBE to my thinking. That little bit of distinctive McClelland taste comes thru just enough to give it a little more depth. I think it might smooth out a bit with a little aging but.....don't they all?

It's a mistake to compare tobaccos against each other… every blend is carefully crafted with many reasons in mind, taste, burn, quality, aging.. but never " I made this so people can compare it to…"

With that said, if we knew nothing of McClelland and Black Shag was the only blend they produced they would be a success. Black Shag is a unique quality blend of tobacco that stands alone. I'm primarily a VA and Vaper smoker and Ive been meaning to try this but put it off until today. I found a tin of Black Shag at my local tobacconist with a date of 2011. Popped the top and found what is usually red and stoved VA in flake form but finally shredded. It had the McClelland VA smell and bit of vinegar and what's this? I touch of oriental that is giving it a small hint of English blend vibe, and dotted here and there with what I believe may be a wee bit of Black Cavendish they may be keeping a secret. It could be small bits of black stoved VA. What's not to love?

First impression, this was the exact rate of moister needed for a smoke now junky like me. This just didn't happen, McClelland designed it this way. This finally shredded VA goodness will have you locked and loaded faster than Delta in a Taliban firefight. I packed it in a pipe I just smoked and had handy, my monster Peterson XL305 (Ironically the Sherlock Holmes shape). Easy light and burn….

Ah….! There's that tasty sweet Red and Stoved Va I have come to know from some of my favorite McClelland blends, Blackwoods and No. 24 and even St James Woods. This time its in a easy ready-to-rock like a Hendrix CD. I can see Black Shag and I are going to be good friends. This is a great blend by McClelland. I highly recommend it if you like VA's. Easy tasty smoke I am giving my highest 4 stars as I can't find any fault with it.

On a side note: This blend is PERFECT for breaking in a new pipe. Easy to pack and control. It will burn even and easy to a sweet fluffy ash. You'll get the sweet VA carbon as well.

Like a number of other reviewers here, I had to try this simply because I am a Sherlock Holmes fan. This does not have the usually strong ketchup smell associated with a lot of McClelland's Virginia blends. It is there, but is very muted to me. This is a fine blend that lights and stays lit well. It produces a nice amount of smoke. I sometimes detect a slight peppery flavor about mid- bowl. Nothing offensive at all. The wife really does not like the smell that much, so it gets the pleasant to tolerable rating on room note. It burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. YMMV, but all in all, I would recommend this blend.

I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a stronger mixture.

Quality is obvious but it lacks taste. Too bad!