McClelland Black Shag

McClelland's Black Shag is the first of the 221B series. This is a blend with no major faults but at the same time has no great preeminently favorable qualities.

The pouch aroma is weak and holds similarities to that of a stoved Virginia blend. This blend contains Virginia, Oriental, perhaps Turkish, and no Latakia tobaccos.

This blend has a pleasing, easy to pack shag cut that contains the occasional stem. Black Shag is tinned with medium to low moisture.

Black Shag lights easily and burns in the same manner. An interesting side note would be that the smoke produced from this tobacco seems to almost have a blue hue to it. The room note, although not offensive, is somewhat bland and uniform.

The taste, like the room note, is quite mild, yet not in the least way offensive. Even though this is a more mild English tobacco, it still has the ability to produce tongue bite.

Overall, I recommend this blend to anyone who enjoys very mild English tobaccos or to those, like myself, who smoke it occasionally to create a change in pace from the more Latakia-rich blends.

Black Shag is a tobacco I will smoke in the evening, whilst reclining on the porch. Loaded in a large Peterson bent, it provides over an hour of no-frills smoking. Black shag is the tobacco equivalent of reading the comics page: easy and entertaining enough to keep you at it. Although I'm certain that Sherlock would have felt this leaf was far too wet and mild, I do enjoy its company from time to time.

It has been a snowy month of February, so I thought I might get a tin of this to sample the next time I got "snowed in". That opportunity came over Presidents' Day Weekend. I opened the tin and did as the tin says, "smoke immediately". I poured myself a miniscule of a nice VSOP and loaded up a large Boswell 1/2 bent and switched on the stereo. Generally speaking, what one expects from a shag is a lesser quality of leaf, but the VA in this blend is quite good. While loading, I did notice a preponderance of stems, but after removing what I could I was left with a rich, dark, oily tobacco that makes me salivate. As Jeff Beck played "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", I fired up my Boswell. I was greeted with a rich volume of blue/grey smoke that was a little sweet, a little nutty. This gentle sweetness played with my palate for the length of the bowl. It did not gain much srength, nor did it develope much as I s-l-o-w-l-y worked my way down the bowl. It was my intention to smoke this as a pace that just barely kept it lit. What I received was a good and satisfying smoking experience. I will need to get more of this. No dottle remained - just a fluffy white whisp of ash and a desire to smoke more.

Give this a 4 out of 5.

I was attracted to this tobacco by the image of sitting by a fire, persian slipper in hand, and puffing away late into the evening deep in thought and solitude.

The tobacco is predominantly back with dark brown strands. A few lighter brown strands are barely visible. The smell is ketchup light, and similiar to McClelland's Virginia #25. And yes, it will bite like McClelland's mature Virginia line of tobacco's.

The fine ribbon cut packed well in both large and small pipes (Ascorti bented apple and Small Barling pre-trans). It was moist, but stayed lit.

Once lit, the taste is predominantly sour with sweet/ nutty/ spicy leather undertones. I find it to be on the stronger side, though the smoke itself could be described as thin as opposed to creamy. The flavor did not change through the smoke with the exception of increased sweetness at the end.

There is a peppery effect when blowing smoke through the nose, and I find the overall pungent room aroma pleasant. I suspect, however, non tobacco lovers would not.

The finish was short with little aftertase (or does the toungue bite distract?)

I like to smoke a bowl as a break from standard engligh blends. It seems to rejuninate my taste for them while providing an interesting diversion. I would recommend this as an occasional smoke to stimulate the palate.