McClelland Black Shag

My first couple of bowls of this were most dissapointing. Little taste, infact rather bland all round. Maybe I dumped the bowl out too soon instead of letting it really get going? My last smoke started just the same, and I had to really persuade myself to keep smoking. "Life`s too short to smoke stuff like this" I kept thinking to myself. The pipe was a very deep Comoy Oom Paul. A full 2 inches of bowl depth. Maybe this had something to do with the experience that unfolded. As I smoked away, it eventually hit me that this was actually "sort of o.k" and half an hour into my smoking, I suddenly got it. It was starting to taste sweet and deep and full. Rather like one of the Rattrays virginias like Old Gowrie. The sweetness also reminded me quite a lot of Escudo Navy Flake! After some time I was actually really enjoying this smoke. It does seem to take a long time to manifest itself, but when it does...a delightful sweet smoke will reveal itself to you. Most suited to large pipes with a deep bowl in my opinion. The impatient puffers need not apply. This needs dedication and patience.

This is a lot like a straight virginia in that it is fairly bitey, but it doesn't have the sweetness of a virginia. I don't detect any latakia unlike some of the other reviewers but I concur that it must have some orientals on account of its flavor characteristics.

The small chunks burn slowly, and since you need to smoke this fairly gently a bowl lasts a pretty long time. The flavor seems to build up as you smoke it. Its pretty good tobacco, but I don't think I would get it again. It reminds me mostly of a very mild virginia except it still has a bitey nature, which if I have to deal with bite then I prefer a fuller taste overall.

My first impression when opening the can was disappointment as it wasn't black tobacco at all but a dark brown virginia shag with some black in it. As I had told my tobacconist, it was going to be my gamble of the week (the new blend I try every now and then). It's a nice virginia, with a good strong flavor that stays lit well, so it's easy to slow down the puffs to avoid bite at the early stage, and from the middle on down it doesn't seem to matter how hard you puff. The flavor stays well to the end, it's not particularly sweet, almost more like a virginia-perique type flavor. Good enough to smoke the rest of the can, and I'll see if this blend is in my future then. I should note that people have speculated on Holmes' favorite tobacco endlessly, and having worked in a tobacco shop in my youth, I doubt this is the kind that he smoked. Holmes would puff all night with a clay for example, can you see anyone doing that with any virginia blend?

Smoking Black Shag is a flavorful, unique experience. I can't quite put my finger on its composition. Sometimes I think there's latakia in Black Shag and sometimes I don't. It probably contains a stoved Virginia and a little latakia; maybe there's a little perique or Oriental as well.

The flavor is rich and spicy and it leaves a tickle when I exhale through my nose. If you puff too hard it can be a touch cloying Towards the end of the bowl the spiciness builds and I get a nicotine kick. My main complaint is that it can be a little sharp and not as round as I would like.

This would never be an everyday smoke for me, but I will finish the tin.

Standard McClelland tin note. Not my favorite McClelland VA, in the same boat as Epitome and a few others. Now there is no such thing as a "bad" McClelland Virginia, however when you stand among giants it is hard to dunk. Very monochormatic blend, not nearly as earthy or sweet as I thought it might be. Not as bright as a typical straight Virginia. Top shelf leaf and processing but just not a very flavorful blend and zero complexity. A steady Eddy. Not a bad smoke but on the bottom tier for a McClelland Virginia.