McClelland Black Shag

This is monochromatic, flat, and will melt the tounge. There is some latakia flavor in it and that is its only positive quality.

Enough has been said about the rich, tangy flavor and intoxicating room note (appreciated by the hardest to please non-smokers in my clan), not to mention its mercy to the tongue.

Becareful to not over pack the first and second fillings when you load your bowl. The cut of tobacco lends itself to clogging easily if aggressively packed or tamped.

I did not like this even when tried several times in several differant pipes. I find this to be rather harsh and bitey even when smoked slow. I could not see myself smoking anymore of this with all of the good virginia blends on the market. Mcclelland has several very good virginia blends in my opinion and this is not one of them.

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.

Well, I guess that with over 100 blends in McClelland's repertoire, there are bound to be some I do not like at all and Black Shag is one of those. My tin was quite dry on arrival, a somewhat welcome change for a McClelland offering. Problem was, the tobacco tasted and burned dry. I don't know- probably the shag cut does not go well with my puffing style. I tried smoking real slow, but never really got much more than a hot musty flavor- kind of reminded me of that smell you get when you first turn on the heat after the furnace has been dormant for several months. I did not get bitten by this blend, but I can imagine it could raise blisters on a devil's butt if misused.

I cellared my tin for about six months, with a bit of rehydration. End result- dusty furnace. I can't say that it tasted "extremely mild" but I sure could agree with "flat".I hope I can find someone that appreciates this tobacco and I'll give them what remains. I have had enough for this lifetime.

This tobacco isn't bad. If you have a taste for stronger tobacco and you don't NEED to taste the Virginia in any pipeweed you use then this is a good choice.

It packs well given its composition of slightly harder-than-normal tobacco; it is moist and as soon as you open the tin you can smell Latakia and orientals distnctly. The ratio Virginia to orientals favors unequivocably the latter tobaccos, and frankly that's exactly how I like my smoke to be.

It lights very easily, often without the need of a second light.

It burns evenly and well, but as most McClelland blends it should be smoked slowly to really appreciate every draw. No need to puff nervously, you'll get a tongue burn and overheat your pipe. My advice is: smoke it in a pipe with a longer stem, such as a 3/4 of a bend or a full bend.

The Latakia is evident as soon as you light up; other orientals and some Virginia complete the picture and are more evident farther down the bowl. Some moisture is left at the end, as with every McClelland.

It is a strong tobacco, not necessarily adequate for all day smoke. It is sold in a 50 gr. so if you are an habitual pipesmoker it would difficultly last more than a couple of days as an all day smoke.

The room note is pleasant and not too strong. A good tobacco to keep around for those pensive moments.

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.

I went on and gave Black Shag the highest rating because though I don't smoke it daily it is "One of my favorites" and I smoke it as often as possible. The shag cut packs and lights readily enough and I like the sweet, nutty flavor. I find that the sweetness lasts well into the bowl while becoming richer as you smoke down. Mostly VA flavor with a bit of tanginess, the hint of English flavor keeps the smoke interesting and tasty. Smokes cool down to a whiff of dry whitish ash. No bite and no problems w/gurgle when smoking this in a bent Castello Sea Rock dedicated to this blend. I didn't use any cleaners until the pipe was finished. I enjoy smoking this, and I think maybe ol' Holmes might even approve of this. Works for me.

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.